Heart of the Wolf

Chapter 1 - The Meeting

This morning Owen had received news of fighting among the packs. Unfortunately, one of the packs had recently become aggressive towards the others. Their new Alpha female, the ruler of the pack, was a very aggressive wolf and a rival pack had the best hunting grounds in the park.

It was now his job to find out how many wolves had died. It was important to know, since the wolves were still being re-introduced into the park and he had been charged with tracking, as well as documenting their effect on the park.

He spotted the first in no man's land. It was a young grey wolf and his shoulders immediately sagged in regret. He immediately recognized the beta of the Black Plateau Pack. He just hoped most of them fled to other packs when theirs had fallen. This wolf had gotten away from the fight but had later died from the wounds. They were so severe; he could tell that from here. He couldn't help but respect he animal though, he had fought till the very end to protect his family and their home.

He was examining the beta when a soft whine filled the air. He immediately tensed up, unsure of what to do for a moment. Was another one close by? He scanned the area and his eyes soon fell on a black figure laying on its side. He had never seen this wolf before, and he had been monitoring them all. Did this one wonder into the park and got caught in the fighting?

He wanted to go to her, but a hurt animal was still a dangerous one. He picked up his radio and reported that he had a live, hurt one. As he watched, the wolf whined again and tried to climb to its feet. It fell after a few seconds though, obviously in a large amount of pain. Watching it, he could tell the wolf was exhausted as it again tried to rise, then fell.

The glint of something in the morning air caught his eye and his eyes fell to her wounded leg that had a distinctive bit mark that anyone with his position could recognize as another's teeth marks. He knew that like the beta, she had likely fought until her injuries had forced instinct to win against the pain.

Screw it, he thought as he watched the wolves body shutter once again in pain. He was probably going to get bit, but if he could help, he was going to. He knew it was a a terrible idea, but watching a animal in pai while he could do something was killing him inside.

Owen slowly made his way towards the black pelted wolf, but to his surprise, she just simply laid still and watched him. Her eyes didn't hold fear, or aggression. He had studied the wolves for years since he had returned from college and in doing so, he had learned to mostly read their body language.

Owen did notice that she had bright blue eyes and he sighed in relief at the confirmation. Blue eyes were a domestic trait, which also meant she had to be a wolfdog. Maybe she had gotten lose from one of the park visitors and had been in the wrong place at the wrong time when the fighting broke out.

"Easy girl." He said with more confidence, but still hesitantly. Wolves could be startled very easily and that was the last thing he wanted with her injured leg and weak body.

She probably was a visitor's pet, he tried to tell himself though his nervous swallow. Wild wolves wanted nothing to do with humans and would fight to protect themselves if one came near. She was almost completely relaxed in his presence and no wild wolf would act this way, this close. The sight made his fear fade, but only slightly. One way or another he was going of find out how bad of an idea this was.

When he reached out to touch her, she tensed a little, but showed no aggression, so he touched her. Her fur was soft as he ran his finger through it on her side. Some of the tension left her when he did, and the sight further convinced him that she was used to human touch. She also didn't become startled when he spoke, so he also reasoned that she was used to the sound of human voices.