Seeing the pup go limp, Marissa let out a breath.
"Thank you for being the help, Teresa."
"No problem, whatever it takes to watch and heal this poor wolf."
Teresa let Marissa take the pup back inside the office. Meanwhile, she took off the bite suit, unsure why Marissa had one.
They entered the hospital room and placed the pup back on the bed. This time, Marissa had an IV drip attached to one of the pup's arms. A heart monitor was also connected, and Marissa inspected at the tear on the pup's back leg. Other than the leg, the only other serious injury was a torn throat that had healed wrong.
"How's she looking?"
Teresa slipped on some gloves and went over to the older woman.
"Well, I think her wolf is coming forward. It's healing faster; I mean, some of the smaller wounds are fixed already. This is good; this means the wolf could explain more things to her."
"Hopefully, that means she will shift and can tell us more about herself."
Marissa sighed, and Teresa gave the woman a look.
"I don't think she knows how to. When I explained things, she didn't seem to know anything about packs or shifting."
A wolf raised without a pack, Marissa had never heard of that before. Even rogues form packs within themselves. A wolf won't survive all alone; they need a pack for the need of a wolf. If anything, they get lonely and lose the will to live.
Something happened to the pup, that much was obvious. These bite marks and wounds don't happen from wandering in the woods. Another wolf had attacked this pup, but why? Pups are precious and protected, not almost killed.
"How could that be? We both know what happens to wolves that are all alone. This pup looks to be ten at the most. She must have been with a nomadic pack, and her pack is looking for her."
Marissa paused as she considered Teresa's words.
"If that was the case, we should have wolves chasing this wolf down. No pack would let a pup like this just wander away."
"I'll talk to Rosalia when we finish this exam. Hopefully, we can find this pup's family and get her all healed up."
With the pup unable to fight, the two women finished the check-up quickly and without any scratches. The pup was in perfect condition by the end of the long exam. The only problem was the leg, but even that was looking better.
They kept the pup one sedatives for the next four days. To make sure the leg wouldn't get worse or infected, Marissa would need to make the pup stay still. Once the stitches were out of the leg, stopped the sedatives, and took the IV out. The pup would be a little crazy when she wakes up, but it would be worth it. This exam wouldn't have happened otherwise, and she now needed to talk to the Alpha.
****
Her head felt like it was fuzzy, something she wasn't even sure how to describe. Her legs were heavy, and her eyes couldn't open. She felt so vulnerable.
"Hey, pup."
She was still with the humans. Her memories returned, and the pup let out a whine. So close.
"I bet you feel kind of strange. You were sleeping for a long time, so it will be a process to get up again."
What had the humans done to her! How long was she asleep? Had they hurt her in any way?
"Don't worry, calm down."
Instead of slowing her heart rate, the pup's got worse. The pup couldn't remember anything from Marissa confronting her. How much time had passed with her unconscious?
Soft paws ran down her back, and the pup was surprisingly calm. This time the paws were warm and threaded through the fur slowly. Without even noticing, the pup's heart rate and breathing went back to normal.
"I know you are nervous and scared. Try to trust me; I don't want to hurt you. Teresa and I just want to see you walking again."
The pup didn't do anything in response. She didn't trust the humans; she didn't trust anyone. But they hadn't hurt her yet. They were even helping her heal. Who would do that to a stranger? She had even bitten one of them.
"So, once you are up and running, we can do whatever you want. Teresa keeps talking about showing you the other pups while I think we should go outside. Some fresh air would do you good."
This human sounded so good. There was a part of her that was scared and wanted to run away. But the other part wanted to trust Marissa and Teresa. They were so lovely and caring.
If she were out in the woods, the pup would have died by now. Without support, a wounded animal doesn't survive.
She was going to take a risk. Trust these humans enough to get back on her feet, and that was it: nothing more and no complicated relationships.
The pup took a deep breath and stretched her legs. Feeling all four move, she continued waking up her small body. After forcing her ears, nose, and paws to move, the pup finally opened her tired eyes.
Marissa was staring at her, teeth bared. But her eyes were still kind. Maybe humans showed their teeth when greeting? Marissa and Teresa kept showing their teeth, but they didn't do anything aggressive anyways. She didn't like these humans; they are complicated.
"Now that you are up, what should we do first?"
First, she wanted to stand up. The pup's ears perked up, seeing the white things gone from her body and her leg. She was free of those stupid restrictions!
"Happy? Your leg is all healed up, so that means you don't have to worry about bandages anymore."
The pup forced her legs to move and support her body. Finally, standing, she let out a happy yip, which turned into a howl.
"You wanna go see those other pups first? Then we can relax by going outside after."
Go along with the humans and then escape. With her leg fixed, she could run away with no problems.
Standing up, Marissa came forward with her paws outstretched. The pup gave a snarl, warning the human away. Marissa took several steps back, letting the pup jump-off on her own. There is no more incredible feeling than landing on your feet without any problems.
The pup watched the human with careful eyes but followed along. Marissa opened the wall and continued walking. The pup surveyed the area, making sure that there weren't any other humans around. She could run from Marissa but not from multiple humans.
She wasn't sure if she was happier or more concerned that there weren't any more humans. It smelled like there were other wolves around, but she couldn't see anyone else.
Finally, there were signs of life in the house. As they continued walking, the noise grew to shouts and laughter. They were definitely getting closer to the pups.
"Now, they are kids, so they are gonna be loud, crazy, and all over you. And you can't bite them."
Marissa gave a serious look and even shook her finger. As if she could bite a small pup. Pups are protected, watched over.
Marissa then showed her teeth and opened the door.
Small humans were everywhere. They were playing with unusual small items, all of the humans talking loudly. There were even some that seemed to be babies. The humans were all jumping around and playing with each other. They all looked so cute as long as they stayed on their side of the room.
"Go on. Go and play with the kids."
The pup didn't move. The kids, as she called them, were scary. Screaming, shouting, and crying. Who knows what they could do with their strange paws?
"Hi!"
The pup jumped back and snarled at the creature.
"You new here?"
The human had her fur tied up with her teeth showing. She was flailing her paws around and was shifting her back legs.
"Don't growl pup. Be nice to Theodora." Marissa scolded.
She didn't' trust these humans. These smaller humans weren't as controlled as Marissa and Teresa. She didn't want to do this anymore.
So, the pup turned and ran away from the humans. She could hear Marissa yelling and chasing her, but the pup didn't stop. She had no idea where she was going, but she knew she had to get out. She had to get away from the humans and their strange words.
Eventually, she saw sunlight. Freedom! The pup ran at full speed, needing freedom.
That plan was suddenly ruined when the pup ran into the glass door.
The pup shook her head and stared outside. Grass, trees, the world, they were all just a paw step away.
Reaching out, she stared as her paw stopped. The pup scratched at it, not sure what was even happening.
"Glassdoor. See-through and the enemy of humanity."
The pup let out a growl and continued pawing at the glass door. She didn't like it. She wanted to go outside, and this thing was blocking her.
"If you would just take a couple of steps back, I can open the door and let you out. That sounds good, right?"
The pup snarled at the door once more before stepping away. Marissa then reached over the pup's head and opened the door. As soon as it was, the pup was gone. She ran and ran, finally free.
It felt exhilarating, the wind blowing through her fur and her feet striking the floor. Her leg was healed, which meant that she wasn't restricted at all. She could do what she wanted, get away from the humans, and continue running.
The pup reached the tree line and finally stopped. She panted, and her legs hurt, but it felt great. She felt alive again.
Now she would run. Something or someone was chasing her; she had to run to survive. No resting, no pausing. Survival was what mattered.
Those humans were nice, though. Marissa and Teresa were helping her without reason. They took care of her and let her rest in a safe place.
Maybe she would have been safe back there with the humans. That would mean no more running. It would be a place to rest and get protection, a secure place. That could be nice.
Instead of continuing into the forest, the pup stopped. She laid on the grass and looked back at the human's shelter. It was large, safe, and full of kind humans. At least, some of the humans were nice.
Was it worth the risk?
'Why are you hiding?'
The pup jumped up, growling at her surroundings. But there wasn't anyone in the area. Marissa didn't even follow her.
'They didn't hurt you, they fed you, sheltered you and let you rest. Will you find that out in the open?'
Who was talking to her! There wasn't anyone near, but the voice was ringing clear.
'You have been through a lot, but these people would take care of you.'
She had gone crazy.
'I'm your wolf; I'm here to help you and guide you in the right direction. And you need to rethink the whole run-away plan.'
Since when did she have a wolf? Wasn't that something Marissa had explained? The human had talked about wolves and humans sharing a body and things like that. If that was true, did she have a human form like Marissa did?
'You have a lot to learn, pup.'
****
Marissa watched the pup with a bright smile. This little pup was too cute. First, running into a glass door and then growling at it. Adorable!
Then she had run away with her tiny little legs, and it was so cute. The pup was currently lying on the grass, jerking her head around and growling at the air. The pup had probably just rediscovered her wolf.
Hopefully, this would help. Marissa didn't want to let the pup go, but she couldn't force the pup to stay at the packhouse. Forcing the pup to stay would only make things worse. She would have to come back on her own.
Having her wolf would help with that. The wolf could share information that would make the pup more comfortable with the pack. At least, that was the idea.
Eventually, the pup calmed down again and was relaxing in the shade of the trees. Figuring that this was the chance, Marissa went down the porch and strolled to the pup. Can't scare the poor thing away now.
The pup looked up when Marissa got closer but didn't move away. Taking that as a good sign, the woman sat on the other side of the tree.
"Perfect day out here. I'm just glad that the snow is all melted. I love the snow, but nothing beats spring flowers."
As expected, there wasn't any response from the pup. Still, the pup wasn't running away, so Marissa kept talking.
"I love being out here. The wind, sky, and trees all make the day complete. It makes me feel so relaxed like I'm at home."
"But as much as I love it out here, nothing beats sleeping in a warm bed after a hot meal. Today has been busy for you, and I bet you're tired. If you are comfortable, we can go back, feed you, and then get you in a soft bed."
This was it. If the pup agreed, Marissa could slowly help this pup open up. She would build trust between them, help her heal, and grow. The pup was still malnourished and weak; if she ran off now, the pup would end up dying out there.
Glancing over, Marissa hid her smile. The pup had inched over but wasn't looking at her. The pup wanted to come home but wasn't willing to show it.
"Well, either way. I'm gonna head back, but feel free to come back to the packhouse. I'll get some food ready."
With that, Marissa walked off, knowing that the pup would follow. She would most likely stay for one night, and then it was up to her to convince the pup to stay longer. If it all worked out, the pup would have a safe place to live, and Marissa would be there to help.
This was all going to work out. Hopefully.
****
I'm adding pictures this time of how I picture the characters. Feel free to use or ignore them, this is just for fun. In order from left to right we have Marissa and Blake on the top with Teresa and Tyler on the bottom.
See Y'all soon!