Page 7 of Last But Not Leashed

Jerome coughed before whispering, “If you have to shoot her, she might hurt Dale even more.”

“I won’t have to shoot her if she cooperates.”

The female released me and hopped away. “Who hurt my male? Tear apart. Yes. You let me tear apart. This be good.”

The promise of violence got a chuckle out of my boss. “We’re not sure who attacked Mr. Jones yet, but if we find out who, we might even let you have the first crack at him. Now, please shift.” Once the female obeyed, standing naked in the parking lot, my boss barked, “Hose the lot down.”

Neutralizer wouldn’t reverse an infection, but it did kill the virus when outside of the body. Pale, shimmering foam rained down, and the yips of excited lycanthropes filled the air. I itched where the neutralizer got into my open wounds.

There were a lot of them.

“If she takes as much as a single step towards Dale, shoot her,” my boss ordered. Footsteps drew close, and a few moments later, she crouched beside me. “All right, Dale. I need you to keep still and quiet while your virus works its magic. If you can shift to your standard wolf form, you should. You’ve been mauled.”

I bared my fangs at her and growled to display my opinion on her request.

She swatted my snout. “No. You’re going to do as you’re told without snapping at me.”

One little nip wouldn’t hurt, would it? A single drop of my blood could spread my virus to her, a subtle claim on her no one could reverse.

If my virus could speak, it would’ve been singing, Mine, mine, mine.

The click of a safety disengaging alarmed me into rising to all fours, snarling as I searched for the source of the sound. Several cops pointed their weapons at me, waiting in tense silence. I stood and straightened to my full height, restraining the urge to shake.

I didn’t want to infect them, but if they came near my boss while armed, I’d rip them apart.

“Easy, Dale. You’re soaked in blood. It needs to be neutralized.” My boss patted my arm. “Officers, he’s not the issue. The pack attacked him. He’s a CDC employee—one of my contractors. Jerome, please introduce your pack to the police while I take care of Dale.”

“You got it, Ethel.”

Since standing hurt, I crouched at my boss’s feet, snarling and snapping my teeth whenever anyone thought about closing closer. When growling tired me, I kept my teeth visible in silent warning.

I meant to stay on guard for as long as needed, but my virus flew the white flag of surrender. Without it sustaining me, I sank into a semi-conscious daze, aware of only the presence of the woman I had no business desiring but needed anyway.

Chapter Two

Jerome prodded me with his shoe, and I landed a bite on his sneaker. I spit out a chunk of leather and flattened my ears.

“You need to shift, Dale. There’s no way we’re going to drag your fat ass around. You’re caked in neutralizer, too.”

My boss snickered. “You’re rather pink and sparkly right now. It’s a good look on you.”

Pink and sparkly beat electric purple and blue any day of the week. With a tired groan, I lurched to all fours, braced, and shook out my fur. “I don’t need to be dragged, thank you. I can walk.”

“You’ll pass out in my truck on the way home. Your virus is tapped. Shift to your wolf so we can carry you once you go down. You’re coming to my place until we’re sure you won’t snap like that crazed bitch and do something you regret. Don’t worry about her, though, she’ll be all right; she’s so hopped up on pixie dust right now she won’t be a threat to anyone other than herself. I thought you’d appreciate knowing. Unless you press charges, she’ll get off light.” Jerome prodded me again. “Once your virus recovers, you’ll need to be questioned.”

Talking helped me ignore the sensation of my skin tightening and itching as my virus worked to heal my battered body. “There’s not much to tell. I did my rounds. The hybrid female approached me. She wanted to know where the male she’s courting was. I told her to contact the CDC. She decided she needed collateral. When I said no, things got violent.”

“Well, you put up a fight, I’ll give you that much. You tossed a young one into a car so hard you about killed him. He’ll probably survive. If he doesn’t, well, no loss there. Only an idiot attacks a pack wolf and expects an easy win. You got a better look at them than we did, I suspect. Do you believe any of them attacked the bitch’s male?”

I grunted and barely avoided shaking my head and tearing open the wounds on my throat again. “I don’t know.”

“Shift to your wolf form, Dale,” my boss ordered. “We need to see how well you’re healing.”

With no way to escape exposing my humiliating fur color, I sighed, crouched so I wouldn’t fall over during the shift, and obeyed. It took longer than I liked, more evidence my virus was nearly tapped out trying to keep me alive. I flopped onto the asphalt with a pained groan.

“Fuck. He’s still bleeding.” With no fear of contamination, my boss ran her fingers through my fur around my throat. “Check his leg.”

Jerome batted my boss’s hand aside and grabbed me by the scruff with one hand, pinning me with his weight while he leaned over me to check my hind leg. “It’s still bleeding, too. I’ll call in a few members of the pack. Hopefully, Allison and I can provide enough blood, but I’d feel better having the others on hand if something goes wrong. Where should we take him?”