Green - a werewolf story

48. Thorn in My Side

Vanessa cursed as she looked at the blood leaking from the wound in her leg. The scratches had been deep enough to expose her thigh bones, but five minutes later they were already healed enough that she could get back to her feet.

She looked over at the furry body lying a few feet away. It appeared Madame Genevieve's spell had rendered him unconscious and she was grateful that it had been instantaneous. Skinny, or not, he was a big wolf and she'd have come away with more injuries than a scratched leg if she'd had to fight him.

Vanessa approached the seemingly unconscious wolf with extreme caution. Pretending to faint in the middle of an attack seemed like a strange feint, but she wasn't taking any chances.

She moved closer and tapped him with her toes. He didn't move. She kicked him a little. No reaction.

Vanessa smiled. It seemed like whatever that spell was supposed to do it had started with knocking him out. Perfect.

Turning, she hurried over to the child. Baby Alba was sleeping soundly, completely unaware of the drama that had taken place not a stone's throw away from her. Vanessa was careful when she picked her up, but she had the feeling a bomb could have gone off right by them and the baby would have gone on sleeping.

She looked around, but the street was still empty and it seemed no one had woken up during her and Golden eyes' conversation, loud though it had been. Thank goodness for that. The last thing she wanted to do was to explain to someone what she was doing standing naked with a baby in her arms over an unconscious dog in the middle of the night in a neighborhood she had no business being in.

"Alright," she murmured to herself. "Mission accomplished. Time to go."

She put the baby down on the ground again so that she could turn back into the wolf and start the trek home. Then her eyes caught on the still unconscious wolf in front of her. She couldn't leave him lying there. He'd be completely defenseless if someone attacked him.

Vanessa hesitated. Her leg throbbed and she was still feeling salty enough that she wouldn't mind if he got a little hurt. It took every ounce of her not overly large supply of empathy to remember that it wasn't his fault he was here. That he'd been hurt by the same monster that had hurt her and her family. The monster she should have killed ten years ago.

"Fine," she muttered. "I won't leave him like this."

But what was she going to do with him? She couldn't exactly bring him with her either. No pack would accept caring for him after what he'd tried to do. He'd be lucky if they didn't kill him the minute they saw him. He'd be better off lying around here in the open.

She looked around in search of inspiration and her gaze snagged on one of the nearby houses. She smiled. That ought to do it.

Fifteen minutes later she was running back the same way she'd come with baby Alba safe in her cocoon of silk in her mouth. It was more difficult to move by people undetected now and she was certain that there had been more to that charm than what Madame Genevieve had told her.

Her still stinging leg didn't help lift her mood. She felt exposed and exhausted and was nearly at the point where she'd start growling at the people who crossed her way rather than try to blend in with the shadows and hope that they didn't notice her.

"Look at that dog! It's huge," someone yelled from the other side of the street.

"What is it carrying?"

Vanessa cursed under her breath and turned down a small alley to avoid them. It would be just her luck if someone called animal control. She'd accidentally ended up in the pound once when she was still new to being on her own. It was what she imagined hell was like.