A Wolf's Call (complete)

Prologue

The morning light drifted softly through the cave entrance, lighting silhouettes of awakening wolves. In the middle of the rising wolves is a different creature, unlike the wolves, yet accepted as one of the pack. She has been curled up with the alpha's cubs. Stretching, she leaves the pups to move silently out of the cave.

Crawling along on four legs she moves slowly, making her way instinctively to a stream to quench her thirst. She laps the water into her throat with a rough tongue. Her paws are more defined with individual sections, which help her to grab and hold the prey she catches for the pups. Her ears are short and on the sides of her head, her snout is also short and close to her head. Yet her ears are sensitive and she freezes, head turning slowly towards a crack in the ground. Slowly she turns her body to face the hole, and she places her legs behind her, ready to pounce. A small furry nose appears, ears pricked for any sound of the predator that stands only a few inches away. The creature does not move. Like a grown wolf she knows the precise moment when to pounce. The long eared creature hopped from its burrow before stopping to check for any predators, assured that there is nothing to fear, the rabbit lowers its head to feed. This is the signal the predator had been waiting for; in a flash the creature was on the rabbit, sinking its sharp teeth into its neck and twisting, killing it instantly. The creature moved away from its prey and looked down on it sadly.

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'There have been recent reports of a feral child, by the looks of her she's been out there for many years, we suspect she's 14 or 15. Will you accept her?' a man said into the telephone.

On the other end of the line a woman considered her answer 'where is she coming from?' asks the woman.

'Canadian mountains, she's currently with a pack of wolves. As far as reports go, she communicates with them. We suspect she doesn't speak any human language. She's your type of patient isn't she? I'm sending you a picture as we speak.'

A ping on the woman’s computer told her the email had arrived. She opened the picture and was shocked at the sight. There were 6 wolves running with the 15-year-old girl right in the middle. The girl had long brown hair that flew behind her. She seemed to have the pelt of a wolf on her, but after a careful glance the woman saw that it was not the girl’s skin. The girl had bloodstains around her hands and mouth. The girl ran barefoot yet seemed to show no discomfort.

'What is she wearing?' asked the woman confused.

'We believe that it is a wolf’s pelt, we don't know how but it must be the thing that keeps her warm. Will you take her?'

'It'll be difficult, like domesticating a dog, then teaching it to be human, but yes, I'm sure we're up for the challenge!' replied the woman.

'A team will pick her up by helicopter tomorrow, you should expect to see her by the afternoon, doctor,’ he said, hanging up.

'How are we going to deal with you?' said the doctor looking at the image of her soon to be patient.

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