The Pack Vet

Chapter One

          Kadence sat at her desk with a heavy sigh, finishing the pile of paperwork. After a long day, she was looking forward to going home, propping up her feet, and binge-watching Netflix; but being one of the best vets around meant she worked late more than she wasn't. She sighed again, filing the papers away in her desk, just as someone began banging on her clinic door, making her jump. "We're closed!" She called, but the banging continued. "You'll have to come back! I'm closed." Still, the banging grew louder. Kadence rolled her eyes groaning, standing, and walking towards the door. She opened it quickly with a loud sigh. "You're going to have to come back. I'm......" "Please! Can you help me?!" The old man pleaded. The front of his shirt was soaked in blood, and it covered his hands and arms. Kadence looked on in horror. "What happened? Are you okay? I'm not......I'm just a vet..." "I'm fine, but please help him!" He pleaded again, running back out to his truck, and opening the tailgate. An animal that looked like a massive dog lay unconscious. 

          Kadence ran inside, grabbing a gourney and helping the man put the massive animal atop it, rolling him back inside. She wheeled it to the surgery room, studying the animal. It looked like a dog, but it was massive. Too big to be a regular dog but maybe a mix between a wolf and a dog. Still, she had never seen a wolf this size either. The animal's paws alone made up both of her hands combined. "What kind of dog is this?" She asked slowly. It didn't look real. "Look please just help him." The man said. Fear and sadness flooded his eyes and Kadence couldn't hide her own pain. 

      "What happened?" She looked back down at the animal's right side. A few smaller wounds were visible on its massive neck and shoulder. "He was attacked." Kadence looked up suddenly. Hesitation and curiosity now ate at her. "Look please he needs help." "Not until you explain What the hell this thing is!" She demanded running her hand across its soft black fur. When she looked at the man, who now seemed to be fighting tears. "I will explain everything; but please...." The man stopped short as the animal began to shudder. "What the hell?" Kadence took a step back. "Please...." The old man cried, letting the tears fall. "Ok...There is a bag in my office. Inside there is a vile, and a syringe. I need you to go get it. Hurry!" 

       The man come back quickly, handing it to her. "Ok hold him down as best as you can." "What? Why?" "Because Salitacam burns once it hits the bloodstream and whatever......this...thing is, is gonna have a sudden burst of adrenaline." She explained as he held tight. Kadence counted to three and then injected the medicine. The animal jerked suddenly, a loud dangerous growl escaping. It started fighting to get up as they struggle to hold it. "No! Axton stop! You have to lay still! Axton stop please!" 

        Slowly the animal relaxed, panting heavily until it finally began to even out and go under. The man sighed as Kadence let go of the animal's fur. "I'm gonna go get the sutures to close the wounds." She looked back at the man and animal as she walked out of the room. The entire thing didn't make sense. The man, the animal, the wounds. Nothing. An animal that size was...unnatural. She shook her head trying to make sense, grabbing her materials and walking back into the room. "What the fu....." "Wait! I told you I would explain!" The old man said suddenly. Where the massive animal had just been, now lay a man. Kadence sat the sutures down, looking at hi, and she couldn't help but think how gorgeous he was. 

           Kadence mentally cursed herself. She was a vet, not a human doctor, but clearly, this...man was anything but human. His dark brown hair clung to his forehead soaked in sweat. His head lay to the right towards the older man, exposing the deep neck wounds. Slowly her eyes traveled over his strong, broad shoulders, to his perfectly chiseled chest. Rock-hard abs that she couldn't help but imagine what they felt like. Peaking just from under the waistband of his basketball shorts was the "perfect v" that only tempted her imagination. Much like his hair, his body was drenched in sweat. A small pool of blood had begun to gather under his left side and she quickly gathered herself and her equipment, Without looking up at the man, she instructed him how to help, which he did willingly. "What was that.....that you gave him?" He asked slowly. Kadence didn't answer him, instead she decided it was a great time to get her own answers.

        "Who are you?" She didn't look at him, but she could feel his eyes on her. "My name is Micha." "Who is he? Or better yet...What the hell is he?" Micha sighed heavily. "You have seen him....you tell me." He questioned and now she looked up. He wasn't being sarcastic, he wanted her to say it. "That's not.....that's not possible. They....there's no..." She broke off because she couldn't form the words. Why? "There are no wolves around here? They are not supposed to be inside the town limits." "I didn't have a choice. He was gonna die." She sighed again, moving to his neck. "His name is Axton."