Lust in the Moonlight

Chapter 14

Gaining speed down the road that was dominated by the night and forest, I had no plans for slowing down. I let my anger consume me as I drove, the roaring of my engine, my naked feet on the brake and gas pedal, blood-ridden hands clenching the leather on my steering wheel, all motivated me to get this wolf to safety. I heard soft whimpers in the back, alerting me that he was still alive.

“You’re going to be okay, you just gotta fight just a little while longer..” It felt like I was committing my entire life to getting this wolf to safety. I took glances in my rearview at this mysterious creature that made its existence known to me. I couldn’t help but feel a slight connection to it. I wanted to know everything, who hurt him, who tried to capture and kill him, and the sudden protectiveness I felt over him.

When I finally made it to civilization and the booming streets of California, I reached into the passenger seat, and fumbled with my clutch until I finally opened it to retrieve my phone. I only knew one person I could help, and that was the person who gave me my first job at the animal rescue. Mr. Barnes. He ran a side business from home where he took in stray animals and cared for their injuries before admitting them to an animal rescue. 

I called Mr. Barnes numerous times with no answer. I was already making my way to his house, running through red lights and not stopping at stop times. I can only imagine the parking tickets that were going to be mailed to my house. Countless people screamed and honked their horns at me. The only thing I could do was shout an insincere apology. Finally, when Mr. Barnes called me. I rushed to answer the call.

“Young lady, do you have any idea how late it is?! I absolutely cannot bear the younger generations-” Mr. Barnes screamed into the phone. I had no knowledge of the time or how late in the night it was, but none of that was important to me. I quickly looked over my shoulder and the wolf, by some miracle, was still breathing. I turned my attention to the road, making my way to Mr. Barnes’s house.

“You can scold me later! I have an injured wolf with me! I found him in the woods outside Lennox manor, he’s lost a lot of blood, you have to help him please!” I screamed frantically. I hadn’t realized how emotional I was, but there was an unspoken attachment to the wolf. My face was hot and I could feel the build up of tears behind my eyes.

“Of course, bring him to me!” Mr. Barnes said, clearing his throat, waking himself up from deep slumber, I smiled and hung up the phone and tossed it, concentrating on the road ahead of me.

“I promise I won’t let you die, everything is going to be okay..” I breathed, hoping he would hear me. I could only imagine how scared he was being hunted by a bunch of heartless people. It was beyond me how Mr. Lennox could allow this to happen on his property.

When I pulled up to Mr. Barnes' house, conveniently, there was also his business attached right next to it, ‘Animal Barn’ in large blue letters plastered on the front. Oh how he loved naming his businesses after him. Mr. Barnes and Cooper were standing at the door. Once I was in sight, Mr. Barnes came dashing down the driveway in his pajamas. I got as close as I could to the front door before stepping out of the car. 

“JESUS CHRIST! WHAT THE f**k HAPPENED TO YOU!?” Mr. Barnes gasped with fright, stepping closer to the car. He looked at me with complete horror and a bit of disgust. My appearance was the last thing on the list of worries.

“The wolf Mr. Barnes!!” I hollered, motioning to the back seat. We had no time to waste on chit-chat. He quickly resumed the task at hand. I opened the door leading into the back seat with Mr. Barnes is not too far away from me. Blood had completely stained my white leather seats and began to flood the car floor. I looked over my shoulder to Mr. Barnes, who was completely stunned at the scene, which was odd because Mr. Barnes has seen and dealt with worse.  It took him a minute to look at the state of the wounded animal. He looked at me with an unrecognizable look.

“Where did you say you found him again?” Mr. Barnes focused all of his attention on the wolf. He shoved me to the side and ducked into the car. I would’ve been offended but I knew how serious the situation was, so I put my feelings to the side.

“In the woods surrounding Lennox Manor. At first he attacked me but he was defending himself, I’m sure. If anything, I think he was asking me for help. There was a group of poachers in those woods” Mr. Barnes, who was more capable of lifting the wolf, picked him up with ease. I stepped out of his way and trailed behind him when going into the building. 

The place wasn’t as big or grand as an animal hospital, but the small quaintness did its job. The reception area had cute animal posters plastered all over the wall with ridiculous but clever puns. It was hard to keep up with Mr. Barnes as he rushed past the front desk, Cooper and I followed him anxiously into the operating room. It smelled like citrus and disinfectant, placing the wolf on a steel operating table. Mr. Barnes was covered in blood on his front side, but he still took the time to put on a surgical gown, gloves, and a mask.

My hand reached out, wanting to bring comfort to the dying wolf, but unexpectedly Mr. Barnes stopped me with a shake of his head.

“Seraphina, I adore you, but please leave. The wolf is in critical condition, and I need to be focused and have no one in my way..” The request was weird because I was always his little personal assistant when I used to work here. Even though I wanted to object, I put my wolf's needs ahead of my own desires and nodded. My body turned and headed back down the hall we came from.

I felt nothing but utter helplessness whilst I paced around the reception area. Cooper kept watch over me. Keeping myself from spiraling, I kept going over the events of what happened in the woods. I thought about nefarious beings who could hunt down such an innocent, majestic creature. I desperately needed to know how he was holding up, and if Mr. Barnes could save him, but I was restricted to this area only, and it was haunting me. Loitering around wasn’t something I could do, my fingernails dug deep into my palms and I kept darting my eyes back down the hall hoping for a status update, but it never came. I knew I couldn’t interrupt Mr. Barnes while he was operating, so I bit down on my tongue, stopping me from asking any inquiries. 

Much time went by with no news from Mr. Barnes. The pacing brought nothing but exhaustion to my body and I had retired to a chair. Cooper rested his head in my lap, I bet he was curious on how his fellow canine was holding up. Caressing his head and combing my fingers through his fur brought stability to my troubled mind. The silence was eating me up but before I could go back, an unexpected visitor came through the front door. At her entrance, a soft bell rang which snagged my attention. At this time, it was a face I needed to see.

“Lord almighty, what happened to you?!” My grandmother exclaimed with wide concerned eyes as I stood up. A huge sigh of relief escaped my lips, I tried to hold back from my tears but her warm embrace that came without hesitancy caused me to fully break down.

“I don’t even know why I’m crying..” I buried my face in the crook of her neck and wrapped my arms around her frame. The warmness of her cashmere sweater did wonders for my nerves.

After sitting Granny down, she revealed to me that Mr. Barnes had called her after getting off the phone with me. He left the storytelling in my hands and that’s exactly what I did. Although I left out my heated rendezvous with Mr. Lennox, I told her everything that happened in grave detail and she too was horrified by the events. Granny tried to convince me to go home with her, wash up, and come back in the morning, but I refused. I couldn’t go anywhere  without knowing the status of the wolf. I’d have to admit, I was standing on ignited flames. My feet hurt, it felt like there were moments of tearing apart, but I didn’t care for my appearance because, as foolish as it may sound, only one thing mattered to me.

“Completely irrelevant and slightly inappropriate, but please tell me you took pictures before you went dancing with the night fairies. I would’ve loved to see how you looked-” She said slowly but without shame. Taken aback, I gasped sharply and snapped my head at her.

“Gran! That is not the issue at hand!-” I started. Gran threw her hands up in the air in defense but rolled her eyes, not caring for the ramifications of her words. A small groan left my throat as I looked up to the ceiling with slight annoyance.

“I have pictures on my phone-” I mumbled before looking down at her, a satisfied smile spread across her lips and she patted my knee. I guess she was the distraction I needed. As soon as silence fell upon us, Mr. Barnes appeared, pulling off a pair of bloody latex gloves and tossing them in a small trash bin. He pulled down his surgical mask, revealing his face. Anxiously, I shot up from my seat waiting for him to speak. Before I could open my mouth, Mr. Barnes saw my face in duress and spoke before I could bombard him with questions.

“He is okay. He lost a lot of blood but he is a fighter-” Mr. Barnes said with a sigh of relief, he looked stressed out as well. The tension that surrounded my heart eased, a small smile formed on my lips.

“Can I see..him?” It was more of a response than a question. Brushing past Mr. Barnes, I picked up speed down the hall to where he performed the surgery. 

“N-No Seraphina! He n-needs rest!” Mr. Barnes tried pleading with me nervously, he grabbed hold of my arm but I fiercely snagged it out of his grasp. Nothing was going to stop me from seeing that wolf.