Working title: Phoebe
Part 1
Leah was wandering on the beach enjoying being alone for once, in human form of course. As a wolf she had no privacy. The sun was hiding behind thick grey clouds. She listened. It was quiet, too quiet. No birds were singing.
Suddenly the wind picked up its pace and small droplets of water started falling from the clouds above. That's when she saw it. A big furry animal was lying near the water not far from her.
The fur was dirty. It looked like a mix of mud and dried blood. Leah couldn't determine which color the fur was, or more importantly what kind of animal she had in front of her.
She carefully made her way closer to the animal. It didn't move. When she got closer she saw what it was. It was a big wolf, a shape-shifter but not one of the others. She had left them in the forest earlier to get some time alone.
When she got closer she saw that the wolf was smaller than the others, closer to her own size but slimmer. Leah stepped on a piece of driftwood which snapped under her feet. The wolf didn't move, not even an ear twitched. Leah let out a breath as she moved closer to the wolf's head. Its eyes were closed.
This close she could see how thin the wolf was. Like it hadn't eaten for a very, very long time. Leah froze when the wolf's chest moved. It was breathing, but each breath it took was followed by a wheezing sound. It was sick, dying.
Leah cursed. She didn't know what to do. Her mind told to run, but her heart said she couldn't leave the wolf here to die. It was alone, just like her. She definitely didn't want to alert the others. She sighed and made up her mind.
Slowly she reached out and touched the wolf. The fur was rough and tangled. Here and there pieces from the forest were stuck in it. Pine needles and leaves mixed with mud and dried blood.
Leah removed her hand and looked towards the wolf's face. Feverish brown-green eyes met hers.
"I'm not gonna hurt you." She said. The wolf blinked. "I'm gonna help you, ok?" The wolf didn't respond, its eyes closing again.
Leah moved the wolf to an empty cottage outside of the settlement. It took her more than two hours to get the wolf there from the beach without being seen. Getting the wolf into the cottage wasn't easy either. The wolf was too weak to stand on its own so Leah had to half carry half drag the wolf into the main room.
Leah covered the windows to keep the wind and the rain out as well as to shield the wolf from prying eyes. She snuck blankets out of her house and made a sort of bed in front of the fire. The wolf licked her hand with a warm tongue when she put a blanket over it. Leah smiled.
"I'm gonna get you something to eat. I'll be back in a minute." She said.
As promised Leah returned with a hare, some apples and fresh water. When the wolf smelled the hare it attempted to sit up, but settled with holding its head up. The tail weakly wagged from side to side and the wolf made low whining noises.
Leah pushed a bowl of water towards the wolf. The wolf whined and stared intently at the hare.
"Drink first." Leah said and started working on the hare. The wolf watched her intently but did as she said. Leah handed the wolf pieces of meat and the wolf gently took them from her hand swallowing them whole.
"You need to chew." Leah scolded. The wolf snorted. When Leah offered the wolf the piece of an apple the wolf pushed it out of her hand and motioned towards the hare with its head.
Leah sighed and picked up the piece of apple and offered it to the wolf again. This time the wolf took it and chewed it before it swallowed.
"Good." Leah smiled and gave the wolf more meat.
Leah continued feeding the wolf and soon the wolf laid its head to rest on the blankets between its paws. Leah left the remaining apples and filled the bowl with water before she put more wood on the fire.
"I'll come back tomorrow. Don't go outside." Leah said. The wolf blinked at her and sighed before falling asleep.
The wolf soon regained its strength and the fever submitted. Leah guessed the wolf was too weak to phase as it remained in its wolf form.
One sunny day almost a week after she had found it Leah decided to clean the wolf and brought rags, towels and a bucket with her to the cottage. The wolf greeted her with a wagging tail and whines when she opened the door.
Leah threw the wolf one of the hares she had brought with her and the wolf caught it easily. As the wolf ate Leah went outside to the nearby stream and laid the rags and towels down on the ground and waited. Soon the wolf came to her sniffing for another hare.
"No, not yet." Leah smiled. "We need to get you clean first." The wolf snorted. Leah filled the bucket with water from the stream and poured it over the wolf. The wolf quickly shook the water out of the fur and drenched Leah in dirty water. Then it tilted its head to the side and gave a low bark in a playful manner.
"Really funny. Now be still." Leah answered. The wolf did as she said and stood still as Leah lathered the wolf with some dog-shampoo. When she poured water over the wolf again the foam had a dirty brown color.
It took Leah almost two hours the wash the wolf until the water was clear. When Leah reached for a towel the wolf shook the water out of its fur, drenching Leah again. Leah pulled one of the wolf's ears. The wolf lowered its head and Leah started drying the wolf.
When Leah was satisfied the wolf got up only to lie down in the grass and start rolling around. Now when the wolf was clean Leah saw that its fur had a light golden color with slightly lighter areas in its face and on the legs and tail.
"I'll bring you some clothes tomorrow and we'll see if you're strong enough to phase." Leah said and the wolf looked at her while wagging its tail and letting out a low happy bark. Leah smiled.
A.N. So, what do you think? Like? Dislike?
Let me know. More parts are coming.
