Chapter 8: The Injured Lone Wolf

“Blake,” she says a little more sternly.

He pulls away from her. “Autumn…I’m sorry…I thought you…” he stutters before trailing off.

The pain in his eyes causes her to regret making him stop. She wants him, but she doesn’t even know him.

“I do…I mean…I did,” she argues. “I just need some time to think things over, I don’t know what keeps getting into me,” she says, getting out of the cart.

Blake nods and watches as she climbs out of the vehicle.

“I think I’ll walk back to the house. I need to get my car and go connect to the trailer’s internet. There’s work to do, after all,” she mumbles while making a beeline for the walking path.

“Autumn, wait!” Blake yells. He runs up to her and gives her a card. “This has my cell number so you can reach me whenever you need me. The WiFi passwords for all the buildings are on there.”

Autumn takes the card. “Thank you,” she replies, backing toward the path.

She just needs to get away from him right now. Maybe Roy can take her around the sanctuary later. As she walks along the path she starts to feel normal again. Something about Blake sets off fireworks in her head that trigger primitive desires she’s never dealt with before. Autumn welcomes the nice cool breeze against her skin as she quickens her pace.

After about fifteen minutes of walking at a good clip, she can see the welcome center in front of her. Roy’s truck is parked by the dumpster and she can see him unloading some bags into it.

“Need a hand?” she asks, jogging up to him.

Roy looks up from the pile of bags in his truck bed and smiles. “Hello again, Miss. I appreciate the offer, but it’s just a bunch of garbage. I don’t think you need to be elbows deep in this mess.”

“It can’t be that bad. I used to volunteer at our local animal shelter back home, nothing can beat that mess,” she says while returning his smile.

“Let me help you up then if you’re sure,” he extends his hand to her.

Autumn places a foot on his bumper as Roy hoists her up into the bed beside him. The two don’t talk much as they make quick work of the remaining bags. With the last one tossed in, Autumn jumps down and watches carefully as Roy climbs out of the truck’s bed. He reminds her of her father, they’re probably about the same age, so she finds herself willing to go above and beyond to help him.

“Thank you, Miss,” Roy says while removing his hat and rubbing the sweat off his brow. “I can’t remember the last time someone offered to help me with the garbage.”

“Any time,” she replies, wiping her hands on her leggings.

The two of them turn as a pickup truck pulls into the welcome center parking lot. There’s a man and a woman in the cab looking rather distressed. The woman notices Autumn and Roy by the dumpster and points at them, directing the man to pull around.

“What in the world is going on here?” Roy asks out loud as the truck pulls to a stop beside them.

The woman gets out and looks panicked. “We have a wolf in our truck bed,” she says while waving Autumn and Roy over.

Autumn looks at Roy confused as she hurries toward the back of the other truck.

The driver had gotten out and is in the process of dropping the tailgate when Autumn comes around the side of the vehicle. The metal clanks as it slams down, exposing the largest gray wolf Autumn has ever seen. Its coat is dark brown, almost black, and the muscle structure is impressive. The back legs are touching the back of the cab while its head is resting on the tailgate.

The wolf is knocked out cold and Autumn can see some blood matted to his fur.

“What happened? Where did you find it?” Autumn asks, reaching a hand out to touch the wolf’s head.

“It was on the side of the road about five miles up. I didn’t know what it was at first, it just kind of looked like a log. When we went by, Lucy here said it looked like an animal,” the man explains through his own show of panic.

The woman picks up where he stopped. “We love animals, and I knew this sanctuary was up here. I thought maybe it was one of the wolves from here.”

Autumn looks over at Roy and he shakes his head at her.

“It’s not one of ours, Miss. We ain’t got any wolves here that look like this,” he replies, taking a small step back.

Autumn pulls out her cell and the card Blake had given her. They are a sanctuary, and it’s their duty to see to the protection of all gray wolves in the area.

“Hello?” Blake says on the other end of the line.

Autumn puts him on speakerphone so Roy can hear. Someone is yelling in the background on Blake’s end, but Autumn can’t make out what they are saying.

“Mother, please,” Blake huffs.

Autumn should have known. “Hey, we have some people here who are bringing in an injured wolf. Is it okay to take it in?” she asks while trying to ignore the non-stop bickering Lana in the background.

“Sure, no problem,” Blake replies quickly. “I’ll talk with you later, okay?” he adds before hanging up the phone.

Autumn shoves her phone back into her pocket and looks at Roy. It’s clear Blake hadn’t really heard anything she just said. He was obviously distracted by his mother. “Well, you heard him,” she says with a sigh.

“That I did,” Roy replies while helping the other man close the tailgate. “If you folks will follow me around to the clinic, we can take this wolf off your hands.”

Autumn rides with Roy and he leads the way back to a building separate from the main pack’s territory. It takes all four of them to lift the massive gray wolf into the building located in the middle of the enclosure. It’s set up to handle any medical needs the wolves may have.

After placing him in a holding crate, the two people who brought him in thank them and take their leave. Autumn draws some blood and starts assessing the wolf’s condition. It appears he was possibly hit by a car. The wolf’s back leg looks injured and he has some deep gashes. Autumn will be able to better assess him once he is awake and standing.

Roy watches from the other side of the room. “I don’t know how you guys do that,” he says.

“Do what?” Autumn replies, writing out some labels for the samples.

“Everything you do,” Roy replies. “I’ve watched Connie a few different times, but I don’t have the stomach for it."

“It took me a while to get used to it, but now it’s just another part of the job. A blood sample can tell us a lot, along with all the other samples I’m going to take. Fur, saliva, and even nail clippings. Everything tells a story and gives an animal a voice,” she explains.

Roy shuffles toward the door. “Are you okay in here, Miss? I need to get back to my work.”

Autumn looks up from the lab box she’s packing with the lone wolf’s blood sample. “Yes, thank you so much for everything. I’m just going to finish up a few things here and take this box into town for shipping.”

Roy smiles and nods before leaving.

Once alone with the strange wolf, Autumn decides to get a better look at him while he’s still unconscious. He’s absolutely breathtaking and unlike any wolf she has ever seen. His muscle structure is massive and shorter than the average gray wolf.

Autumn knows that there are a number of sub-species of gray wolves, but this one feels special. She wonders if he is a new species.

“Now, that would be a find,” she says to the empty room.

She will have a better idea of what she’s dealing with once his blood work comes back. His fur looks like silk, and she reaches her hand out to touch it through the bars.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” Blake says from behind her.

Autumn jumps up and spins around. “I was just…” she stutters.

Blake looks angry. The look in his dark eyes, combined with his furrowed brow, causes her to take a step back.

“I know what you were going to do,” he mumbles in a deep tone as he walks up to the holding pen. “What is this creature doing here?”

Autumn feels attacked. “You said we could take him in, remember? I called you and asked,” she replies, snapping out of her stupor.

Blake turns around with the same rage in his eyes. “I said we could take in an injured gray wolf. This doesn’t look like a gray wolf to me,” he says while pointing at the creature before them.

Autumn doesn’t know how to reply. If it isn’t a gray wolf, what is it?

“It’s injured and it’s my responsibility to help him,” Autumn huffs, taking a brave step toward Blake. “I’ll get him fixed up and then we can find another place for him to go.”

This appears to upset Blake even more, but Autumn will not budge. She vowed to help animals and do everything she can to protect them and their environment. She takes her job very seriously.

Blake runs his hand through his hair and takes a deep breath. “I’ve already stuck my neck out for you. I don’t think you understand what you’re asking of me.”

Autumn doesn’t know what he’s talking about, but she’s had enough of his games.

Blake takes another step closer, closing the space between them. Autumn suddenly feels really warm and her stomach flutters. She finds herself thinking about his mouth on hers.

The moment is short-lived as the room fills with the rumbling of a deep growl. Blake turns on his heels, moving just enough for Autumn to see the lone wolf up on all fours.