Within you I found home

prologue

        "It's not much longer now," Jessabelle yelled over the pounding rain, an oversized hood covering her head and protecting her from the harsh elements.

        Your belly knitted with concern. "Poor thing must be frozen."

        You also wear your hood up, a trap clutched between your hands. You'd brought it just in case you couldn't lure the cub to you and had to leave it there overnight.

        Pavement morphed into grass and grass turned into leaf piles and trees. Jessabelle remained in front of you, the ends of her coat brushing against the foliage.

        And then she stopped by one of the larger, older trees.

        You silently stood next to her, watching as her finger touched her thin lips in a shh gesture before pointing ahead.

        Your eyes followed, squinting, before landing on the bottom of a charred tree. It was split down the middle and there it was - the little cub curled up in a ball inside of it, black fur coat soaked with droplets of rain.

        Your chest ached when you noticed it shivering.

        Placing the unarmed trap on the ground - you didn't think you'd need it - you unbuttoned your coat and snuck forward with light steps.

        Either the cub couldn't sense you over the pounding rain or it was too cold to care because it didn't so much as flinch at your presence, not even when you knelt and gently wrapped your hands around its upper body. Not starved, you noted. Quite the opposite. 

        You immediately pulled it to your chest, concern swelling further when the little one still didn't respond.

        You were worried it was too far gone. No reaction was a bad reaction. You'd have taken growling and biting over this placidity any day.

        You wrapped your coat around it, hoping the warmth of your body would safely bring its temperature back up. You could feel the slow - too slow - rise and fall of its breathing as water soaked into your favourite tunic, chilling you.

        But that was fine.

        It was a small price to pay.

        At the very least, you could offer it comfort in its final moments.

        "I fear it won't survive the journey back," you confessed to Jessabelle quietly.

        The downfall had tampered off to a dribble.

        A frown creased her features.

        "My home is closer. I already have a fire going," she suggested. "Go – run if you must. Fredericks home. I'll be with you shortly."

        She knew if you were to go at her pace it'd only slow you down.

        You hesitated but only for a second.

        "If you're not back by the time I get this little one stable, I'm coming to look for you," you warned, your feet already moving.

        "Just go!"

༓･*˚*･༓☾ WYIFH ☽༓･*˚*･༓

        Jessabelle's home was the same size as yours, with only fewer cages, less fur, less smell (perks of the job), and less clutter.

        She once confessed to you that she'd love to turn her home into a rescue as you did, but her husband didn't share the same passion and had forbidden it.

        Fredrick, predictably, wasn't too happy to see you standing at their door holding a shivering wolf cub but you didn't care.

        You simply barged past him and ordered, "Go make sure Jessa makes it back okay. She'll explain."

         He grumbled but the older man with a large nose, thinning salt and pepper hair, rounded glasses and a miserable expression did as he was told.

        He was harmless. Mostly.

        Just a bit grumpy.

        As you crossed the threshold and beelined for the fireplace, Fredrick shrugged on his beige coat and slipped out of the house, closing the door behind him.

          Kneeling in front of the fire, you peeled off your coat and glanced down at the black ball of fluff cuddled into your chest, its snout hiding under a delicate paw.

        It was the size of a twelve-week-old cub, you estimated.

        "You'll be okay," you whispered, using the fabric of your coat to wipe away any excess moisture from its fur.

        You were close enough to the fire that it would help dry the cub, but far enough away it wouldn't warm too quickly. A quick climb in temperature could be dangerous so you had to be careful.

        You sat like that for a while, holding it, stroking it's slowly drying fur and humming a gentle tune.

        Hope filled you when you notice its breathing beginning to return to normal. Its eyes remained closed, however, so you use the opportunity to feel it over for broken bones.

        Jessabelle and Fredrick returned then, quietly stepping inside.

        Fred grumbled, moaning about getting wet for an injured mutt and stomped to the kitchen whilst Jessabelle rolled her eyes at him, removing her coat.

        She approached you and perched on the edge of her cushion-covered bench a few feet away so she didn't disturb the cub too much. 

        "I swear," she sighed heavily, keeping her voice quiet. "My husband has more mood swings than a person menstruating. He is going to be the death of me one day." Shaking her head, she turned her attention to the cub. "How is he?" she whispered, annoyance replaced with worry.

        "Right hind leg is a bit swollen," you informed her grimly. "It might be sprained. He's almost dry though so I should be okay to move him soon."

        You didn't want to overstay your welcome. You knew Jessabelle didn't care. Frederick was a different story.

        "Well, the little one is in the best hands," she said confidently, a reassuring smile turning up her thin lips.

        As if it heard her – as if it wanted to know exactly whose hands she was talking about – the cub shifted its snout from underneath its paw and lazily blinked its eyes.

        Blue.

        Oh, so very blue.

        You'd never seen the ocean before but you were positive it had nothing on the sharpness of this wolf cub's eyes.

        As beautiful as it was, you also noticed something was very, very wrong.

        The shape of his head, nose, teeth – no, no, no, no.

        Too wide, too broad, too pointed.

        You gasped when the realisation hit you straight in the chest. "Jessabelle..."

        "What's wrong?" Immediately, she was on alert, back straightening.

        "This isn't a wolf cub." A chill settled over you and you shook your head in pure disbelief.

        You couldn't believe it.

        It was not possible.

        But there it was – impossible staring you in the face.

       Slowly, you shifted your gaze to Jessa, eyes as wide as saucers. 

        You whispered to her, not quite believing your own words. "It's a shifters pup."