Call of the Wild

5 - The Mistake

I come to with a pounding headache, lethargy turning my muscles to lead, and a croaking moan rising in my throat.

That makes me freeze. Not a whine, or a whimper. A moan. A human sound. A distinctive human-in-pain sound.

My head is full of smoke, but I know I'm lying somewhere comfortable and warm— without fur and completely naked, which is vaguely concerning. I can hear hushed voices, but I cannot quite distinguish what they're saying.

There's a scratchy blanket draped over me; a warm weight coaxing me back into that delirious fog.

I shove the feeling back with some difficulty and force my eyes open. It takes a while and I have to rub the grit and sleep from my unwilling eyes, fighting the overpowering urge to fall back into a haze and drown in it.

The voices go deathly quiet. The tension in the room is palpable.

I've been in my wolf form for so long, with only the briefest shift to human, that I panic a little when my hand rubs at my face instead of a paw. And then I peer up and panic even more, because I'm lying on a sofa and my kidnapper and his friend are sitting together on the other sofa, staring at me in horror— as though they're looking at a monster. Which, I suppose, from their point of view, they are.

"Um... hey," Mason manages, his voice trembling. "Hi. Hello."

Robin clings onto his arm. They watch me keenly— wide-eyed, hearts thundering, breath catching.

I push myself up into a half-sitting position and they both flinch back as though they aren't already halfway across the room. The sharp movement draws another pained noise from me as my hand jumps to my head. Fuck, it hurts. What the hell did she give me?

"Ow," I force out. What a fucking mess I've made of everything.

I don't have the strength to stay up and instead sink back down onto my side, eyeing the others warily. I need to focus. If they try anything, I need to fight.

Mason sits forward instead of shying away. Concern rushes across his face. "Are you okay?" he asks.

I almost laugh. Then I catch myself and glare at him instead. "What do you think?" I shoot back, a hardness to my gritty voice that lights a flicker of fear in his expression.

My throat protests at the effort it takes to speak, and I sound in desperate need of some water.

Instead of backing off and submitting, though, he forges on. "Are you... you're the, uh... the guy that broke in... that... didn't break in...?"

"You—" I have to stop and cough, because it feels like nails have scraped my throat raw. "You're the one that... that brought me here."

Robin, looking on the verge of going into shock, slowly gets up and backs out of the room, never taking her eyes off me until she's out of sight. I stare right back, just in case. If she's running, I cannot stop her. At least, I reason, no sane person would believe her if she talks about a wolf changing into a naked guy.

"Holy shit," Mason whispers, covering his face with shaking hands. "You're the wolf. How the fuck are you the wolf?"

"You hit me," I say, listing all the reasons why this mess isn't my fault. And all the reasons why I have every right to be pissed at him. "With your car. And then you... you fucking stole me and tried to feed me kibble—!"

"I thought you were a dog!" he defends, his voice shrill with panic as he parts his fingers to stare at me. "How are you a wolf and a guy?! That's impossible!"