EP5

He snarled, boasting of being a red wolf and small. Sure, it looked big for a real wolf, but as a lupus garou...

He ran his hand over his back leg. Had he not seen her do this, she would never have realized that she was as numb as her leg. "Long legs, the most beautiful red hide I've ever seen on a wild wolf." He looked at the black haired man. "In the fire, Joe. We'll have to find him a wife."

Fantastic. If they lock him in a room with a real red wolf... oh god, couldn't they be planning to take him to the zoo?

"This wolf girl will be our ticket, baby." Joe held a cell phone to his ear. "Hey, we got him! Yep, wolf female, not male as I thought. Damn! I said I saw him pass by last weekend."

Why hadn't he seen these men? Have you smelled their pungent smells? did you hear them?

He had let his guard down and now he would pay.

"Yeah, he's big." Joe nodded. "We thought one dart would suffice…we bought two." He ran his hand along her side. She tried her scariest growl, but her voice sounded more like a sickly low groan. "Maybe 110 pounds, more the size of a grey." He chuckled. "I know, I know, I told you he was big. No, he's not fat. He's lean when they come in, he just has longer legs and a longer body and the prettiest red hide you've ever seen."

He ran his hand over her back. "Okay, we'll get him out of here. Be there in about three hours; longer, if he comes. Each of the tranquilizers was set for a 40-pound wolf, not as big as he was. But we didn't want to exaggerate. And let them know that Big Red might have a mate now." Give it to me. Melbourne, Florida, the zoo doesn't need to lend us money. If it doesn't mate with coyotes, it's about to get a piece of red wolf"

He laughed, no doubt amused, at the response to his comment on the other end of the line.

He muttered inwardly.

"Okay, from here." She turned blonde. "If he's doing so well in this woods, it would be a shame to have him in captivity, Thompson."

"Hey, like you said, he won't find anything of his kind here. We're doing him a favor."

She was smoking inside, and if she hadn't been so drugged, she would have bitten them both.

***

Three days later, Bella passed by her new zoo house—beautiful flat rocks to rest, tree-shaded areas, and an indoor exhibit where people were gawking at her through fingerprint-smeared glass windows.

Angry at the hunters, and even more at herself, a growl roared in her throat. How could she be so loose on her run that she hadn't noticed them before, she?

She stopped and took a deep breath, then looked at the top of the pen. There is no way to climb up. Given that the cliff that provides shade on a sunny day curves towards the top, he would never be able to do so even if he transforms into human form.

He walked towards the pond. As he plunged his tongue into the water, Big Red sneaked up behind him. she growled. Withdrew. The poor old horny red wolf was dying to mate with him. She smelled perfectly ripe, it was just time for a wolf to mate, so she was sure she was wondering what was wrong with her.

She shuddered. Mating with a pure wolf... just that thought.

She kept walking but stopped when the familiar scent of lupus garou caught her off guard. Two men, both about five or ten feet tall, leaned against the wrought-iron railing across the ditch. The breeze carried her scents, musky and wild. But as she ran, she recognized the scent of one of the Cascades. Oh my god, did they follow him here? Unless they live in or around Portland... not good.

She examined them more closely. Both men wore short brown hair - dyed with a slight reddish cast - and watched her curiously. But they both had small jaws,

Red lupus garou. His heart took a dive. He had not seen his species in human form since he lost his own humans at the age of six.

They smiled as they observed them and lifted their noses slightly, sniffing the breeze when it changed direction.

"Hello honey," said the old man, who appeared to be in his late twenties. "Where have you been all my life?

Belle stepped back. "I'm a lesbian."

He looked at the other, probably closer to his age. He grinned like he was advertising a teeth whitener. "Yes, Alfred, he's one of us. He understands every word we say. Correct mating age too."

"Yes, in the heat." Alfred rubbed his smooth chin. "You got yourself in some kind of predicament, huh?" He looked around, and when he saw that there were no other visitors nearby, he turned and winked at her. "We'll take the risk of getting you out, but on one condition."

He showed her his teeth and he burst out laughing. His friend joined the choir.

"Maybe he'd rather have me," the other man said, putting his thumb on his chest. "He certainly can't ask for it." He pointed to Big Red. Crossing her arms, she said, "It's him in the forest, don't you think?" said.

Alfred nodded, the smile on his lips not reaching his darkened eyes. "By all accounts, it's him." He grabbed his friend's shoulder. "Make sure no one comes."

His friend turned around and watched as Alfred unzipped his pants. He had obviously planned to save her and make her his wife. The wolf's urge to mark his territory stifled better human judgment. After urinating along the bottom edge of the fence, he zipped up his pants and smiled. "We'll be back later, sweet thing." God help me.

The guard's door creaked open and turned as Thompson entered with the black-haired man. Thompson staring at himredeemed them. "And what are they feeding him, Joe?"

"They fast once a week. Feed bone or muscle meat once a week. For the rest of the week, two-thirds dog care, one-third frozen cat diet. He's eating well. I don't know what the problem is. He won't let him near him for breeding."

You better believe this, Joe.

He walked, found a sun-drenched area near the entrance to their fake cave, lay down and rested his head on his paws.

"We've considered sending her to another zoo. Some are interested in mating her with a male to provide some more offspring. They're trying to get some more red wolves into the smokies, but they need to be wild. If they could find a mate as wild as she is, she would definitely do it."

He lifted his head and looked at them. If he could look at them, he would.

Thompson smiled. "This seems like it might interest him. But disturbing him again might do more harm than good. Let him get used to it for a few more weeks. Then if he's still not ready, we'll move him."

Joe pushed his baseball cap back from his forehead. "You don't think he's too young."

"No, he's ready. He's just a little shy."

Hmpf. Shy, that would be the day. Then an idea occurred to him. Maybe Thompson would make a good wife. He looked strong enough to take down Viki and loved wolves. If she could forget the fact that he had shot her and shoved her into the zoo with a horny big red wolf, maybe it would have been she. She laid her head back on her legs.

But then a terrible thought occurred to him. When would the moon disappear from the sky? to curse. The waning crescent would soon pass. Then it would be the new moon again. He started to quicken his steps.

Before that happened, he had to flee until the return of the moon, before becoming a human with no chance of remaining a wolf. From the beginning of the waning crescent to the new moon there would be seven days. But three days had passed, and by the time he made his deadly run, he had already observed the descending crescent...

He couldn't remember. two days? Three?

to curse.

"There's been an unusual interest in him lately," Thompson said.

He stopped walking and turned to listen.

Thompson put his hands on his hips. "Isn't it interesting how he listens to our conversation now?"

"Sometimes it seems that way. He's really kind."

You should see me on a bad day.

Thompson nodded. "The wolf is a wolf that is still wild at its core. Anyway, a man was interested in transferring him to another zoo. But…" He looked down at his feet. "I don't know. I didn't trust him. He seemed to have something else on his mind."

When he lifted his head, his blue eyes widened and he straightened his back. He pointed to the scarecrow with his head. "Actually, the man is over there, right there."

He turned to look at the railings and his heart nearly stopped.

"Get what I mean? It's like he understands everything we say."

He couldn't take his eyes off Diana. All those lonely years he stood before her in the ditch, dreaming of her firm embrace and now. His heart was beating so fast that his ribs were definitely bruised. Adrenaline was coursing through her body at dizzying speeds, as she thought it had come to her rescue and gave her hope. What she wouldn't give to nip him by the neck, knock him down, and lay him on the ground. His hard touch embraced her with immoral desire to possess her fiery kisses.