My mind was starting to feel sluggish as the men spoke to each other. Pretty soon the one who had poked at me packed up his things and left, then I was carefully lifted and moved into a large bedroom. It smelled like the man who was carrying me...Cole.

"I'm going to set you down, then untie your legs so you can rest until your appointment tomorrow," he said as he carefully put me on a big pile of soft blankets that made me want to drift off right away. I'd never felt something so soft that wasn't freezing and didn't melt after a few seconds of resting on it. I don't know why my eyes closed while another werewolf was handling me, but everything about this place was so comfortable and warm compared to where I normally slept...

"Heh, feels good, doesn't it? I can't wait till you learn how to talk to me. All the stories you could tell after being alone for so long."

When I felt his hand gently stroke the fur along my face, I blinked open one eye and grunted a quiet woof in warning, but for some reason, that had him laughing.

"You're a sweetheart. All that growling had to just be fear. I'll show you that you're safe from now on, and I'll fix that leg of yours, too. Pretty soon you'll be running marathons with the other pups in the pack."

Weird person keeps talking when I don't even respond.

His attention shifted from my open eye to what he was working on with his hands. The ropes on my legs pulled and loosened, then were tossed aside to free them. Thankfully he hadn't messed with my injured one, only wrapped the other three with the rope earlier. Since they were free, I gave a good stretch and yawned before nuzzling a bit more into the soft blankets.

"I'd love to feed you some more, but the doctor said no food or water until after your surgery tomorrow. Once you're feeling better, though, I'll be spoiling you rotten."

He reached forward and patted my belly, making my ears pin back for a second before I realized he wasn't trying to hurt me.

"I'm gonna make this belly fat and fluffy once more. You'll be gorgeous when all of your fur grows back and you have a good twenty or thirty more pounds on you."

Hmm. Man, this person likes to talk about things I don't understand. Ramble ramble ramble, but at least he isn't hurting me at all and let my legs free of the ropes.

"I'm gonna have to keep that muzzle on you until we can actually communicate somewhat, though, but I swear I'll take good care of you."

With a slight roll of my eyes, I lifted my head and yawned, grumbling a few times as I did so since I couldn't open my mouth that wide because of the thing he'd fastened over it. The combined actions made it appear that I was mocking him, but he just laughed again. Geez.

"I get it. I'll leave you be. I'm pretty tired, too. Let me know if you need anything."

When he moved around me and then climbed into a thing I think was called a bed? I licked my lips in thought. I remembered from a long time ago, I had a bed...it was a car...a race car, I think is what Mom called it. It was so cool and comfy...I want that again. Could I have that again? Would this man let me use his bed? Even a little part?

I knew I was pushing him and still honestly didn't trust the man at all, but I was tired and the remembrance of my old bed got my body moving.

"Woof..."

He was just getting comfortable when he heard my quiet bark and looked over at me.

"What's up, Tanner? Do you need to go to the bathroom?"

What's a bathroom? It sounds familiar, but I don't remember what it means.

Ignoring those words, I woofed again, then tried to get up on the raised bed. My bad leg kept getting caught, making me stumble back each time I was almost up. Grr!

"Oh, you wanna get in bed, don't ya? Well, you still need a serious bath and that mange cleared up, along with a flea pill, I'm sure, but what the heck. I can clean the bedding tomorrow since it's about time to anyway."

I had stopped struggling to get up and just flopped my head on the bed while he babbled to me again.

Really, does he still not realize that I can't understand him? Do most other werewolves talk to people who don't understand them? Or is he really just talking to himself? I remember Mom saying that isn't very smart to do in front of other people.

"Alright, kiddo, let me help you out."

When he came around and grabbed me from behind, I let out a surprised growl, but he just ignored it and hefted me up onto the bed with little effort. The surface made my balance uneven, but eh, there was no reason to go any farther so I just flopped down where I was. Mmmm, this is even better than those blankets. Hnn? Speaking of those, I was soon tucked in by several of them....mmm.

~Cole~

Once I got him tucked in, the pup was out like a light. He was quite a snorer, too. I couldn't really blame him, though. This was probably the first time he'd slept in a bed since he was five. That thought had me shaking my head as I got myself situated on the mattress so I could read a bit before going to sleep. It was such a terrible law for a pack to have...poor kid having to run away from everything he knew, just because he didn't change. Some werewolves just didn't shift. It wasn't common, but I'd met several werewolves who remained a wolf and just joined wild packs or even stayed with their current ones and played the pet role outside of their home.

If he never changes, I suppose I'll have just picked up an extra mouth to feed.

After a few chapters from my book, I set it aside, along with my reading glasses, and clicked off the lamp by my bedside. Time to get some rest for a busy day tomorrow.

"Up and at 'em, Tan," I said quietly as I gently rubbed the pup's shoulder through the layer of blankets I had piled on top of him last night. We were running a little late, but I just couldn't make myself wake him when he looked so comfortable...however, that leg really needed tending to, along with his mange and I'm sure quite a few other things. When his pretty silvery-blue eyes blinked open, I smiled and straightened up.

"We've gotta get going, kiddo."

Tanner looked up at me from beneath one of the blankets but then quickly ducked back under the mound of warmth so that I could only see the tip of his nose in the muzzle. Crap, I forgot he doesn't understand much. I couldn't really wait and try to explain that we needed to get to the vet, though, so uh... With a slightly guilty grin, I scooped him up with the three blankets I'd wrapped him in last night and promptly headed for the front door.

"Rowin, door."

My beta bounded around the corner a second later with half a pancake hanging out of his mouth in a pair of red and black checkered shorts. He quickly got the front door open after grabbing my keys and ran ahead to my car, getting it unlocked. He then opened the back door as I approached. By that time, Tanner was struggling and growling as he tried to get out of the blankets and my arms.

"It's okay, shhh. We're here to help...though you don't understand a word I'm saying," I said to him soothingly as I got him inside and quickly shut and locked the doors.

"Phew! Thanks, Row."

He grinned and finished off his pancake before replying.

"Need me to come, Alpha?"

Glancing back into the car through the tinted windows, I noticed Tanner already getting the blankets off and starting to nudge at the windows with his wet black nose.

Err, probably would be best if he did. I hate accepting help since my wolf is quite full of itself being the alpha and all, but I'm not about to risk having Tanner get away from us, especially with that muzzle on. He'd starve if he couldn't get it off.

"Yeah...get in the passenger side."

He gave a curt nod and quickly ran back to the house to shut and lock the door, then climbed into my dark blue SUV. Tanner instantly became more guarded when Rowin joined us, and growled at him the entire way to the vet. Oh well, as long as he isn't trying to get out of the windows or tear up my car, we can handle some growling. When we pulled up into the vet's parking lot, I turned the car off and had Rowin go get the vet's door open. Since Tanner was already out of the blankets I was gonna have to grab him and get him inside as fast as possible. He was waiting when I went to the back to open the door, but I caught him just as he tried to jump out.

"Tanner, no! No," I shouted as I fought with his squirming body. He was too focused on getting out of my arms to send a thought reply since I had a feeling that he knew that word, but that was fine. I literally had to fall into the office and have Rowin slam the door behind us to keep Tanner inside. Geez! The pup was strong when he really wanted to get away. Since we were already inside and there was no one else so this early, I just let him go. He bolted to a corner under a chair, but that was totally fine with me.

"Hey, Doc. We're here," I called through the small check-in window. I heard him in the back a moment later and walked over to meet him when he strode in through the examination area's door.

"Mornin', Doctor Wolf."

I know, it's a cliché name, but at least it isn't something like 'doctor kitten'.

"Looks like our little patient isn't too thrilled to be here," he noted with a grin, making me glance back at Tanner with my own smile. He was still growling from the car ride, but it gained a few notches of volume when Doc went over to see him. I followed, kneeling down beside the chair Tanner was using to try to hide from us.

"Did he sleep well last night? Any problems?"

"He was good. He slept on the corner of my bed."

Both werewolves looked at me with raised eyebrows.

"Yeah yeah, I know. I don't let anyone in my bed. It won't happen again, I just wanted him to get some sleep before the surgery."

They still didn't look like they believed me, but thankfully they dropped it.

"Alright, let's get him into the exam room. I left the door open to the back and the one room I want him in so let's see if he'll go on his own," Doc said, and I nodded in agreement. Doctor Wolf lifted the chair Tanner was hiding under, and the pup quickly went to the next. When that one was lifted, he moved again, then again. When there were no more chairs left in his line of sight, he bolted into the back, then skidded into the room at the end of the hall, the only one that was open. We all ran back and rushed inside, shutting the door before he could try to get out.

"Nice. That was much easier than I thought it would be," I cheered while Rowin nodded. Doc just laughed as he turned away from his counter with a syringe in hand. Err, I wasn't a fan of needles, and I doubted Tanner was going to make poking him easy. I stared over at him, and sure enough, he was glaring at the doctor.

"Uh, do you want me to hold him?" I asked, already moving toward Tanner.

"Yeah. That'll probably be best. Don't want the needle breaking, and having to do it again will just stress him out further."

"Alright. Just do it quickly," I said as Doc laughed and nodded. I let out a small chuckle and knelt down, quickly grabbing Tanner in a tight hug. Doctor Wolf was thankfully fast and professional with the shot, getting it in and out in only a second or two. Tanner snarled, but that muzzle kept my face from being removed, though he did hit me pretty hard with the darn thing as he snapped his head to the side.

"Let him go. He'll fall asleep in a minute."

I did as told and jumped back as Tanner lunged. He was already beginning to look drowsy after a few seconds, but when a minute had passed and his wolf still hadn't gone down, I glanced up at Doc.

"Quite a strong pup you found, Alpha."

My smile was hard to hide as I nodded in response.

"He is. I can't wait until he can say more words. He's going to have so much to tell us."

"Yeah. All those years by himself. As soon as he learns to trust, he'll probably be glued to your side, too."

Hm, I'm more of a loner when it comes to having people 'close', but maybe I could learn to open up a bit for Tanner.

When Tanner finally passed out five minutes later, Rowin and I got him up onto the surgery table as Doc prepped him. I looked him over while Doc worked, noting that he was definitely short a good twenty plus pounds and that his mange needed treatment, but he would make a great wolf when everything was finally done.

"Alright, he's all set. Watch the monitor and make sure he's breathing. I'm going to get the collar out of his neck first."

I nodded and quietly watched the heart monitor beep steadily throughout the thirty minutes it took Doc to get the disgusting thing free. The collar was extremely small, just adding more evidence to our previous idea that he'd been a runaway. Changing my focus back to what was going on, I noticed the large gash that now ran around Tanner's neck. It was definitely infected, but Doc didn't seem too worried so I kept myself from panicking and waited for my next assignment...which came rather quickly.

"Grab some of the wipes from the counter and begin gently rubbing them against the wound. You can be a little rough since we really need to get that cleaned out well and he's out cold for now. Thankfully most of his hair is missing around the injury so that shouldn't get in the way."

With another nod, I grabbed the container and brought it over to begin scrubbing. Dirt and old blood came off quickly, but there was so much because of the amount of time the injury was left to worsen. Rowin brought over a garbage can and another box of wipes, which I was grateful for, since by the time I was comfortable with the new, much cleaner-looking injury, the garbage can was full and we were just about out of disinfectant wipes. Running my arm across my forehead, I looked over at Doc and saw that he had actually gotten Tanner's leg opened up and was working on splinting the bones together.

Poor pup is definitely going to be in pain for quite a while, but hopefully Wolf will have some good drugs to at least keep the worst of it at bay while the injuries heal.

"He'll probably need to relearn how to use it, but the leg was luckily a clean break and the bullet went straight through. But it was never set, so he probably kept the leg up to keep from hurting more when running through the forest and it just healed that way."

A rather weird thought came into my mind, which actually had me snickering a little as I asked, "Does he need a 'cone of shame' so he doesn't mess with it?"

Doc mirrored my laugh as he began sewing up the injury around the pins and bar holding the limb in place.

"Considering his understanding, absolutely."

I face-palmed and sighed, though I couldn't hide the smile that was stuck on my lips from showing.

"It's gonna be just like when a puppy from the pack breaks a paw or leg, isn't it."

It wasn't really a question, but Doc answered anyways, his own grin growing on his face.

"Yup. Except this puppy is gonna be much bigger and probably much angrier. You took him out of his natural environment and forced him to go to sleep, then he's going to wake up feeling like shit with a giant cone on his head. I'd say your legs are gonna be bruised rather quickly from him trying to run around and get it off."

I watched as he began wiping off the leg along the sutures where he had shaved away what little fur was there for a cleaner surgery. He'd done a great job, and the injury actually looked much better already with the leg positioned down where it should be. As he went about bandaging up the collar injury after checking my work, he told me to turn off the anesthesia machine and grab a folded cone off the counter. Hah, he'd been completely ready for Tanner. I did as told, turning off the machine and removing the pup's anesthesia mask so he could begin to wake up. After his neck was thickly bandaged we got the collar hooked up over them and fastened his muzzle back in place. We'd had to take it off since it was unsafe to try to use it with anesthesia.

"He's going to hate me for a while after all of this," I said, shaking my head as I glanced over at Doc, who just smiled and began washing his hands in the counter sink.

"Yeah, but hopefully he'll understand eventually that you did it for him."

"Yeah...hopefully."

Doc turned a moment later and nodded to Rowin and I.

"Get him home before he starts coming around more. His eyes are already beginning to flutter so by the time you get him back, he may be a handful, and here—" He handed me two pill bottles and a big container of medicated shampoo.

"He'll need those. Pain pills. They'll knock him on his ass, but they do the best job. Just don't give him more than three a day. Not even if he whines, and believe me, he will. The shampoo is for his mange, but wait and see how the injuries are healing before you wash him. If you want to do it tomorrow, then make sure his leg is wrapped and his neck doesn't get wet."

I smiled and nodded as I took the pills and tucked them in my jacket pocket, then handed the bottle of shampoo to Rowin.

"Got it. Let's get going, Rowin."

"Yes, Alpha," my beta replied as he stepped up to help with Tanner, but I had already managed to get the pup safely into my arms. So instead, Rowin walked with me as Doc followed, getting the door as Rowin ran ahead to open the back door of the car.

"Open the trunk area. It'll be easier to get him out of and probably more comfortable considering the space."

Rowin nodded and quickly got the back open, then helped me get Tanner inside. At least it was an open trunk so we could keep an eye on him in the rearview mirror, and I might have sped a bit on the way home, but we got there quickly and right as Tanner began whining from the back.

Damn, those sounds are already making me feel like crap.

"It's alright, Alpha. He needed the help, and he'll thank you once he's feeling better," Rowin said, obviously picking up on my thoughts. What he said was true, but man, Tanner could whine just as well as any puppy. Just pulled at your heart like nothing else.

"Okay, let's get him inside."

That was easier said than done. He was thrashing pretty badly when I finally managed to get him to one of the guest rooms. I nearly dropped him twice when he caught me in the face with a claw and then followed it up with a good hit to my chest with his cone and muzzled jaw.

"Nn! Damn," I shouted as I tried to keep him still—no thanks to my beta. Rowin was chuckling at us, but when I snarled at him, he thankfully hurried with a huge blanket in his arms and helped me set Tanner on the floor with it. The pup might have been more comfortable on the bed, but if he fell, he could cause some serious damage to his healing injuries. Rowin had grabbed the big comforter from the bed anyway, so Tanner at least had a good amount of softness beneath him.

"Phew. Thanks for the help, nearly dropped him there," I said, half in sarcasm as I glared at Rowin.

"No problem, Alpha," he said, snickering. "Is there anything else you need help with?"

"Yes. Please go cook a good amount of meat and put it away in the fridge when done."

He nodded and quickly complied, leaving me with a small whimpering wolf. I really wanted to stay and comfort him, but each time I got closer he growled and tried to get up. That triggered louder whines as he partially put weight on the leg he wasn't accustomed to being there.

"I can see you aren't really interested in being comforted so I'll go help him cook, just rest for now, Tanner. You're safe here."

He watched me until I clicked the door shut, then I could hear him move a bit and settle back down on the blanket.

Thank god he isn't trying to get the cone off anymore, but those cries are seriously going to wear me down soon.