Chapter 04
1322 Words
Stella Hart
The moment I opened the back door of my car, reality finally hit me.
“…Okay.”
I stared at the wolf.
He was still motionless, his eyes closed, breathing even more slowly than before.
“…Now what?”
No answer.
Obviously.
I looked at the front porch of my house and then looked back at him.
Brilliant, Stella.
You brought a wild animal home.
Step two?
I haven’t the faintest idea.
I grabbed my phone and texted my mom—something quick, just to put her mind at ease. I was sure that if I called her, she wouldn’t hang up.
I turned my attention back to the wolf.
After several failed attempts—and more grumbling than I was willing to admit—I somehow managed to drag him out of the backseat.
Every inch felt like I was moving an anvil.
“I hope this is all worth it,” I muttered, panting.
By the time I finally managed to get him down the hallway, I was already dripping onto my hardwood floor.
“…This whole mess is going to take a while to clean up.”
Once inside, I looked around the house.
Where should I put him?
Living room?
Too open.
Kitchen?
No way.
Guest room?
Too many things he could destroy if he woke up disoriented.
My eyes fell on the downstairs bathroom.
Small, easy to clean, a door to keep everything nice and secure.
“…It’ll have to do.”
It wasn’t a good plan, but it was the only one I had.
“If you wake up,” I said, groaning as I strained to drag him inside, “please don’t eat me.”
Silence.
“I’d really appreciate it.”
Somehow, I managed to get him settled on the bathroom floor.
He hadn’t moved even once.
His breathing was still the same.
The coat I’d thrown over him earlier was completely soaked.
I grabbed every towel I could find in the linen closet and came back.
“…Google.”
My cell phone was still in my pocket.
“Please, know something I don’t.”
I sat down on the bathroom floor and typed:
What to do if you find an injured wild wolf?
Thousands of results.
Most of them were completely useless.
“Do not approach the animal.”
“…A little too late for that.”
“Contact your local wildlife authorities.”
“Great...”
“Never bring large predators into your home.”
“…Yeah.”
“I probably should have read that one first.”
I kept scrolling.
Forum after forum.
Article after article.
Nothing that really helped.
Then...
One result caught my eye.
Blackwood Wildlife Veterinary Center
Emergency Care for Wild Canids.
My shoulders relaxed with relief.
“Ah, thank God.”
At least now I had something—a number.
Please, pick up.
I pressed “Call.”
Then it rang—once, twice, five times, ten times—and nothing.
Straight to voicemail.
“…Of course.”
I checked the time.
1:47 a.m.
I sighed, already feeling hopeless.
Normal people are asleep—and of course!
Apparently, I’m the only one who isn’t.
The automated voice beeped, prompting me to leave a voicemail.
I froze.
“Oh.”
I’m going to… leave a message…
“Hi…”
I looked at the wolf.
“My name is Stella Hart.”
“I… um…”
I rubbed my forehead.
“I think I found a wolf.”
Silence.
“…Or maybe a very, very big dog.”
I looked at him again.
“No.”
A nervous laugh escaped my lips.
“It’s definitely not a dog.”
“I think it’s a wolf.”
“It looks like he was hit by a car… or maybe attacked. Honestly, I’m not sure.”
“He’s unconscious.”
“Still breathing, but with difficulty.”
“And...”
I looked around my bathroom.
“...He’s inside my house right now.”
Another pause.
“That probably sounds terrible.”
“It actually is terrible.”
“If anyone could call me back as soon as possible...”
“Of course, I have absolutely no idea what I’m doing.”
I hung up the phone and let my head fall back against the wall.
“Well.”
“That was awkward.”
The wolf remained perfectly still.
I sighed.
“I guess it’s just the two of us.”
Following the instructions from one of the veterinary websites, I carefully dried his fur as best I could.
The towels turned pink almost immediately.
Blood, rainwater, dirt from the ground…
Every now and then, I’d pause just to make sure he was still alive.
He was.
“You’re stubborn.”
I wasn’t quite sure why I was talking to him.
Maybe because the silence seemed too loud, or maybe… because I was trying to convince myself that this wasn’t completely insane.
When I finished drying him off, I draped a thick blanket over his body.
Only his head remained uncovered.
His ears twitched once.
Or…
Maybe I just imagined that.
I found myself reaching out toward him again.
“…One more time.”
My fingers carefully glided through the thick black fur along his neck.
He was warm now.
Despite everything… he was warm.
That strange sensation returned instantly.
It was like a sense of relief, or comfort—I wasn’t quite sure.
It was like sinking into bed after weeks of terrible sleep.
It didn’t make any sense.
All of that—that situation—shouldn’t have made me feel…
Safe…
I furrowed my brow.
“What are you doing to me?”
He didn’t answer.
I sat down next to him, pulling my knees up to my chest.
Outside, the rain continued to pat gently against the bathroom window.
The storm wasn’t over yet; it had just moved a little farther away.
I should have been terrified.
There was a wild predator lying unconscious less than two feet from me.
Instead…
I couldn’t stop watching him breathe slowly.
My cell phone rested on my lap as I kept searching for information.
I read about everything.
Internal bleeding.
Shock.
Hypothermia.
Signs of infection.
Everything I read made me feel less prepared than before.
“I’m terrible at this.”
I rubbed my eyes, yawning.
“I’ve officially adopted a wolf.”
The words sounded ridiculous when spoken aloud.
Sleep crept in without permission.
My eyelids began to burn.
I blinked a few times, my eyes growing heavier and heavier.
The phone almost slipped from my hand.
“No...”
I whispered to myself.
“I can’t sleep...”
What if he stops breathing?
What if he... wakes up?
What if—
I looked at him one last time.
His chest rose.
Then it fell.
“...Just... don’t die before dawn.”
I rested my head against the wall.
Just for a minute.
Just until my eyes stopped stinging.
...
...
...
Something soft brushed against my cheek.
It was warm, soft.
I furrowed my brow.
My eyes opened slowly, and what I saw was… the ceiling of my room.
I blinked a few times, confused.
“...What?”
I sat up so quickly that the blanket slipped onto my lap.
Blanket?
I looked down.
Dry clothes?
And... clean?
I stared at my hands.
They were clean—no blood, no mud, no dirt.
My heart skipped a beat.
“No...”
I didn’t remember taking a shower.
Much less changing my clothes or going upstairs.
I threw the blanket aside and ran into the hallway.
With every step, my pulse quickened.
The downstairs bathroom came into view.
The door was closed.
Exactly where I’d left it.
Or…
Had I left it that way?
My hand gripped the doorknob; I could feel my heart pounding harder and harder.
I took a deep breath.
Then I pushed the door open.
- Writer
