by R. Casteel
Lobo growled a warning, Back off, pussy, I’m hungry.
At her warning growl the cat changed its mind about acting so ferocious, went clawing its way up the man’s leg, and didn’t stop climbing until it was sitting on his shoulders.
“Hey, lady, control that damn pet wolf or take it outside.” The irate man swore, rubbing his leg where the cat had been efficient in the use of its claws.
“An animal like that shouldn’t be allowed out of a cage.” The lady with the dog’s head sticking out from between her breasts added.
“I assure you, she is quite safe as long as I am with her.” Taneika tried to reassure them. She sat as far away from the other people in the room as she could. Lobo limped over and stretched out on the floor in front of her.
The little Pug was squirming and barking trying to get loose.
Lobo let out a couple little woofs, Hey kid, you want to get loose? Try peeing on her.
“Lobo, enough,” Taneika scolded.
The front of the woman’s flowery dress turned dark and she screamed. “Fifi, how dare you wee-wee on Mommy!” She sat the dog on the chair beside her, took a paper towel and blotted the material, trying in vain to wipe away the strong odor of urine.
Taneika covered her face with her hand, smothering a laugh.
The Pug danced in a circle on the chair barking for joy, it worked, it worked. I’m free! She jumped off the chair and ran over to Lobo, licking the wolf’s face, kissing her. Thank you, I hate it when she does that.
“Fifi! Come back!” The woman turned white, her eyes rolled to the top of her head and she fainted.
The receptionist took one look from behind the counter and picked up the phone. As she dialed, she called out, “Doc, we have an emergency in the lobby.”
Doc Gregger stuck his head through the door and quickly assessed the situation. “Taren, I think you might want to bring the wolf on back.”
“Come on, Lobo,” Taneika called. “You’ve created enough excitement for one day.”
Lobo got up and limped through the door into the office.
A few minutes later, the front door opened and Jeanie came in carrying a small black satchel.
“Hi, Sis. Taneika took Lobo into the back. I think your patient fainted at the thought of her pet being eaten.”
Chapter 18
Taneika followed the doctor back to a small exam room. There was a pedestal table in the center of the room. Several cabinets with glass doors lined one wall, a deep sink, bookcase and a desk sat against the other.
“Hello, Lobo. What happened to you?”
“She got caught in a trap,” Taneika explained.
“I’m going out and talk with Sis.” Taren stated from the doorway. “She might need help when her patient comes around.”
She waved him away and knelt down beside Lobo.
“Go ahead and put her on the table so I can get a better look,” Doc Gregger instructed.
Taneika gently picked her up and sat her on the table. “Lie down, girl.”
Carefully, Doc cut away the soiled bandage that covered the upper front leg. Seeing the extent of the damage, he filled a syringe. “This will deaden the pain and allow me to get in there and try to repair the damage. But I must warn you. She must not be allowed to use the leg for a while. She could still lose the use it.” He slipped the needle under the skin above the jagged, torn flesh, working his way around the leg.
Doc took another syringe and drew a vial of blood, marking it with the date and Lobo’s name.
Taneika raised an eyebrow as he placed the vial on a tray. “What’s that for, Doc?”
“I work with the authorities on keeping track of the wolves in the area. Any time a wolf is brought in, I take a sample and send it off. Most of the time, the wolves have been killed. Those that have been captured and released in the area are all marked and I record everything I can about them. It gives us a better understanding of the health of the wolf population in and around the park as well as where they’re from. If the wolf is alive, and if it doesn’t have an identification number already, then one is assigned to it.”
Taneika walked to Lobo’s head and gently pulled her lip away. There was a tattoo already there. “When did you do this?” She felt violated somehow. This having been done, without her knowledge, upset her.
“Sorry, Taneika, but it’s the only way to keep track of the wild wolves. Some of them have been fitted with radio collars and are tracked almost continually.”
Doc started prying in the open wound, digging out torn flesh, hair and bits of rust from the trap. “The tattoo is almost painless. I did it while she was here with her mate. I did him too. Listed them as a pair in the records.”
He reached for a needle and thread. “How you doing, girl. This is going to take some time to get everything put back. Just lie real still now.”
Slowly, he began to sort all the muscles and tendons that had been severed. Starting next to the bone, he painstakingly reconstructed the leg. “You know, Taneika,” Doc spoke as he worked. “This has been a busier than normal winter for sending in blood samples of wolves. Jeanie brought in a sample a month ago but wouldn’t tell me where she got it. I had a test done on it and the DNA matched Lobo’s blood. I wonder where she came in contact with your wolf.”
Panic gripped her like the steel trap that had held Lobo’s leg. She knew instantly where the sample had come from. Legs that had carried her up and down mountains became weak and she gripped the table with both hands as the doc’s words bounced around within the distraught walls of her mind. The classes at college on ancestry and DNA came back to her and tightened around her heart like a steel band. She tried to speak but no sound came from her mouth. It was suddenly difficult to breathe and she tried to swallow the fear that choked her.
Doc Gregger looked up from his work. “Taneika…Taneika, what’s wrong? You’re white as a sheet and trembling like a leaf.” He got up and took hold of her. “Come over her and sit down. Sorry, I forgot that sometimes operations like this can be difficult for someone who isn’t use to the blood and what’s required in surgery.”
He helped her to the chair and she sank into it, thankful she no longer had to stand. A glass of water was placed in her hand and mechanically she drank. She tried to focus on his words.
“Are you going to be all right? Should I have Jeanie come back?”
“I…I’m…fine.” She looked around the room, her eyes stopping on the table. “Take care of…Lobo.” Who am I? What…am I?
The childhood taunts of The Freak and Wolf Girl, that had followed her around the reservation came back to haunt her like a ghost from the past. She closed her eyes trying to block out the tune of ‘Mary had a little lamb,’ cruelly adapted by the other children to torment her. Her parents had known, yet they had remained silent all these years.
Taneika had sought for years to find the missing pieces of her life and now, with the picture was almost complete, she regretted it. Her eyes focused on the back door.
Standing, her legs threatened to buckle under her. She waited for the room to quit moving and walked hesitantly to the door.
“Are you feeling better, Taneika?” Doc Gregger inquired.
“I’m going to…step outside…” Her mind strained to find a reason.
“With the snow suit on and as warm as it is in here,” he turned back to the delicate task of sewing a tendon sheath, “I imagine you are a little warm. When Taren returns, I’ll tell him you stepped out.”
Taren! She’d forgotten about him.
She shivered, not from the cold of being outdoors but from fear. Lobo, lying inside on the table stopped her from running. She leaned her back against the building, slid down the rough bricks, and sat in the snow. Silent tears coursed their way down her cheeks. She couldn’t leave Lobo, not now.
A cold nose brushed her face and a long pink tongue licked the tears from her cheek. She blinked and Lobo’s mate came into focus. “I thought I told you to stay around the cabin?�
� she scolded. Wrapping her arms around the muscular neck of the wolf, she pulled him to her and buried her face in his thick winter pelt.
The wolf whined, I couldn’t leave Lobo here alone. She stayed with me when I was hurt. The man here is good and kind, for a human.
The door opened, Taren stepped outside and closed the door. “Doc said you weren’t feeling good.” He knelt down beside her and rubbed the wolf’s head. “Hi, boy, couldn’t stay away?”
“I’m feeling better,” she lied.
Taneika started to stand and Taren offered her a hand. Ignoring his help, she moved away from him and reached for the doorknob.
Placing his hand against the door, he prevented her from opening it. “I want to know what is going on. No more lies. You’ve been out here crying and don’t try to tell me differently, your eyes are red and puffy.”
“Move, please. I want to go in.”
Taren kept his hand flat against the door. “Not until I have some answers.”
“Fine, have it your way. Stand there all damn night, see if I care.” Taneika turned away and started to walk around the building.
His hand lashed out and grabbed her arm. “You are not running away this time.”
A menacing growl came from behind him and Taren turned his head toward the wolf. Lobo’s mate was posed ready to spring. His lips were pulled back in a vicious snarl revealing long, razor-sharp teeth. The wolf’s hackles were raised as a signal. No other warning would be given.
Taren expected a rebuke or command from Taneika to calm the wolf.
“I think you should let go.”
Her words, spoken in a slow, deliberate frosty tone shocked him. Something was definitely wrong here. He removed his hand and stared at her retreating back as she walked away, the male wolf following at her heels.
What the hell is going on? He slapped his open hand hard against the brick wall. Jeanie won’t talk to me, and now you walk away. “Shit.”
He went inside and Lobo raised her head and let out a short woof. “Hey, girl, are you feeling better?” Reaching out he scratched the wolf’s nose.
‘Woof.’ Better than you’re doing right now. The stuff the doc gave me is great, man. Can I have some more? Lobo licked his hand and panted. It’s better than those mushrooms I ate one time on the reservation.
“I wish I could understand you,” Taren spoke in a soft whisper. “You might be able to tell me what to do. Something is bothering Taneika and she won’t talk to me.”
Take me home with you, Lobo whined. She’ll show up eventually.
Doc Gregger walked in. “Ah, there you are. I’m all done with Lobo. She will need to stay off that leg as much as possible. Any strenuous use could separate the internal stitches. Where’s Taneika?”
“She went for a walk. I’ll pay the bill and come back for Lobo.”
A few minutes later, he returned and Lobo sat up.
Hey, Taren, Lobo whined. How come I see three of you and the table is turning around?
“Easy girl,” he cautioned. “I’ll help you down. We don’t want to undo all the work the doc has done.”
He scooped Lobo up in his arms and carried her out to the truck, placing her on the front seat. “You want to go home with me, girl?”
She licked his face. There’s hope for you yet. Let’s go.
Taren paused with the truck door open, one foot on the step as he looked up and down the street. Taneika was nowhere to be seen. He got in, started the engine and left the parking lot. Lobo lay down in the seat, resting her head on his leg. Driving with his left hand, his right hand slowly stroked Lobo’s side.
* * * * *
The door opened and Taneika entered the waiting room of the clinic.
“Hi, I thought you were gone.” The receptionist smiled at her. “Taren left with Lobo an hour ago.”
“He what!” The shock of her earlier discovery gave way to rage. She forced her breathing to slow down. Control, maintain control.
“He paid the bill and left. I saw his truck pull out and figured you were in it.”
“Damn him!” Control. She turned and went back outside, slamming the door behind her. She could picture the grin on his face as he left. The sanctimonious, conceited, conniving bastard knew she wouldn’t stay away if he had Lobo.
Taneika stood on the sidewalk with her hands on her hips. She scowled as she stared down the street.
‘Woof…Woof.’ Where’s Lobo, I want to see how she is.
“Gone, Taren took her.”
A low growl came from the wolf and his canine teeth showed stark white against his dark pink gums.
“Those are my thoughts too, but stand in line.”
What are we waiting for, he whined. Let’s go.
She turned from the clinic’s entrance. It was closer through the woods but with the snow, her speed would be reduced. Taneika started jogging down the road, the wolf easily running beside her.
As the early winter night approached, she increased her speed. The first tell-tail signs of pain arrived and she leveled off, staying below the threshold that would change her. Lowering the zippers on Taren’s snowsuit, she let the wind cool her body. The added wind drag caused her to labor harder in order to maintain her speed and the pain came back.
Screw this.
She lengthened her stride, pushed the pain and burning aside. Each time going through, it became easier. Coming back was always the same. The power of the wolfs’ blood flowed in a vortex of renewed energy through her body.
* * * * *
Taren pulled into his drive and turned off the engine. Lobo sat up and looked around.
“We’re home girl. I don’t know what’s in the fridge but there’s bound to be something to eat.” He got out and stopped Lobo from jumping down.
“Not so fast. The doc said you were to take it easy.” He gathered the wolf in his arms and lifted her from the seat. Setting her down, he waited ‘til she had turned the snow a bright yellow and then carried her to the house.
Once inside with three feet firmly on the floor Lobo followed her nose to the kitchen. Standing on her hind legs, she sniffed the boxes on the table before making her choice. Clamping her jaws around the selected box, she pulled it to the floor. The lid popped open and Lobo was rewarded with half of a large sausage and pepperoni pizza.
Taren laughed at the cheese hanging in rubbery strings from Lobo’s mouth. “You like that, girl?”
‘Woof…Woof.’
“Help yourself, there’s more up there somewhere.” Taren walked over to the fridge and peered inside. He glanced back at Lobo as she pulled another box from the table. Looks like Lobo will be the only one getting fed tonight. Reaching in he pulled out a can of beer and popped the tab. Lobo’s ears stood up and her head snapped around.
“What is it, girl? What’s the matter?” Her eyes were locked onto his hand, shifting with each movement he made. “Is this what you want?”
Lobo barked, her tongue dangling from the side of her open mouth. Saliva dripped onto the floor.
Taren laughed, took a bowl from the cupboard and poured out a small amount of beer. He leaned down and sat the bowl on the floor but before he could straighten up again the bowl was empty. “Sorry, girl, I don’t think you need to be drinking very much. I’m not sure you’re of age.”
Leaning against the counter, he held his beer loosely in his hand.
Lobo struck without warning. Her movement was a blur as her jaws clamped around the can and took it from him. Metal crunched and gave way. Liquid spewed from the holes made by her razor-sharp teeth. She dropped the can and quickly lapped up the foaming liquid.
“Okay, you win. You can have the beer.” He checked his fingers to make sure that none of them were damaged. Pulling another beer from the fridge, he went to the living room, sat on the couch and propped his feet on the old table. He supposed it was an antique; it had been sitting in the back of a second-hand furniture store covered with dust. It went with the couch he had bought, not that it match
ed, but both were old with battle scars left over from previous owners. Too tired to remove his boots, he looked at the marred table and closed his eyes. What’s one more scratch.
The couch sagged as Lobo lay beside him, her head resting in his lap.
Taren was awakened the next morning by a rough wet tongue on his face. Lobo whined and limped to the door.
“I’m coming, girl.” He lowered his feet to the floor and stood. Lobo was sitting patiently at the door, her injured leg resting lightly on the floor.
“Remember, the doc said no weight on the leg.” Opening the door, he found his snowsuit wadded up in front of the door, where its irate wearer had apparently flung it. The snow in the front yard was covered in blood, with a scattering of rabbit fur. Bloody footsteps led off in the direction of Taneika’s place.
Lobo stepped outside and whined.
Taren knelt down and placed his arm around the wolf’s neck. “Well, girl, it looks like she showed up. Go on, do your business and come back in.”
She limped off the porch and squatted.
Taren caught movement from the corner of his eye and turned to see another wolf approaching. The low growls coming from the wolf gave him a feeling this was not a welcome home social call. He sniffed as he circled Lobo, and then turned his head towards Taren. With canine teeth bared, he stepped between them. Using his body as a shield, he tried to push Lobo away from the house.
Lobo turned and barked, trying to get back to the house but her path was blocked.
“Go on, girl. Go with your mate and find Taneika.”
He watched as Lobo limped across the snow, her mate following close behind, preventing her from returning.
Taren stepped back into the house. It wouldn’t be long before Taneika showed up. He hoped she was in a better mood than Lobo’s mate.
Chapter 19