The Last Shifter’s Baby

Rebecca smiled politely, absently nodding her head as she took the opportunity to look around. “Yes, I’m Rebecca Wilson. Are you alright?” She motioned awkwardly to the phone and the woman’s flustered appearance.

She laughed good-naturedly. “Oh, I’m fine. It’s just getting close to our first school event; I get a number of calls from nervous parents every year around this time. Some of those mothers make it sound like we just open the gates and chuck their kids in with the lions!”

That startled a laugh from Rebecca who abruptly covered her mouth. “I’m sorry, it must be difficult for you.” The woman waved her off and typed something into the computer.

“Oh, you get used to it. My name’s Maggie, by the way, I run the office here. You’re actually a bit early, I don’t think Luke’s done with his rounds yet. He’ll be the one showing you around.” She explained. “Do you have the forms we sent you? Wonderful,” she said as Rebecca slid the completed paperwork over her desk. “Well, you could wait here, or you could go try to find him on your own. I think he might be in medical; you just go through that back door there and take a hard left, it’s the first building.”

“Thanks, Maggie, I’ll see if I can find him.” She said and pushed open the back door, turning to the left. The medical center wasn’t hard to miss, the doors painted bright red, and Rebecca pushed them open calling out, “Hello?” At first, she thought she must have been in the wrong building because it was the most disused medical center she had ever stepped into. The equipment, exam tables, and holding cages looked brand new but they were all empty. She didn’t even see any staff.

“Hello?” She called again, walking farther into the building. She barely held back a squeak when the doors directly in front of her were pushed open. The man who walked out was tall, somewhere in the six-foot range if she had to guess, he had black hair that curled around his ears and at the base of his neck, and eyes the color of whiskey. It looked as if he hadn’t shaved in a day or two, not enough scruff to look sloppy, but just enough to make him look unkempt and wild. Wild? Rebecca thought frantically, trying to reign in her blush before it could take over her whole face. This isn’t a Tarzan and Jane thing, deep breath, don’t be creepy.

“Hi, I didn’t hear you come in.” He said and Rebecca took a moment to admire the strong shape of his jaw as he spoke. His voice was a little gruff but pleasant sounding, almost as if he didn’t use it often.

“Sorry,” she muttered, clearing her throat, “I’m Rebecca Wilson. I’m the visiting zoologist, here to study the habitats you have here.”

“Rebecca,” he said, and she was a little more than embarrassed at the way she shuddered hearing that voice say her name. “Rebecca, right, I remember Maggie saying something about you.” He held out his hand for her to take. “My name is Luke Wright, I guess I’ll be showing you around today.”

She took his hand and tried not to focus on how warm he felt against her skin or how the rough patches on his hand caught against hers as she slowly slid it out of his grasp. “It’s nice to meet you.” She found herself muttering again. The bundle she hadn’t even realized he had been cradling in his left arm began to wiggle and she gasped. “What’s that?”

He laughed, a rough, pleasant sound and adjusted the blankets until a small furry head poked out. The sandy colored wolf pup looked about ten weeks and a little small for its age. “This is Henry.”

Rebecca felt herself frown. “I didn’t realize you bred the animals here.”

Luke shook his head. “We don’t encourage the animals to breed but we don’t stop them either.” He laughed. “Don’t give me that look. I know what you’re thinking but we don’t sell the offspring, they stay with their pack.”

Her cheeks flushed with embarrassment. “I’m sorry, it’s just- “

He held up a hand, stopping her, a friendly smile on his face. “It’s alright. I understand your concern. There’s a lot of places out there that abuse the system, breed their animals, and sell the offspring for profit.” He put his hand on her upper arm, squeezing lightly; she could feel the warmth of his palm seeping through her shirt. “We don’t do that here. I’m pretty protective of the animals in my care.”

She nodded, trying to smile back at him. “I’m sorry, I just hate when sanctuaries do that.”

His smile widened as he held her gaze. “I do too.”

She cleared her throat, looking away from him as she felt her cheeks heating up. “So why is Henry in medical?”

Luke’s expression instantly changed, becoming more clinical. “I had to separate him and his mother from the pack for the birth. I didn’t really expect her to be able to bear pups, we rescued her from a private owner when she was eight and she’s been here for a year and a half. I didn’t want to take any chances.”

She nodded and examined the pup Luke held in his arms. “He looks healthy, a little small, but healthy.”

“I’m just waiting until he gets a little bigger before I reintroduce them to the pack.” He said.

“I’m surprised you’re going to risk it at all with as much as this one’s been handled.” She said, motioning the pup. “I know a good zoo that would take him.”

“No,” he said harshly, then continued, softening his voice. “The wolves won’t reject one of their own.”

“Right… Well, I believe you’re supposed to be showing me around today?”

He smiled almost sheepishly, “I’ll get him back to his mom and then we’ll head out.” He walked into the back with the pup, leading her out to the entrance of the sanctuary once he came back. He unlocked the gate and motioned her through, locking it behind them.

“The whole sanctuary is enclosed?” She asked.

Luke nodded, walking her out to a red and black ATV. “Yeah, we have a big population of wolves that I’m pretty sure the locals don’t want running through their backyards.” He got into the driver’s side. “The gate we went through puts us in the wolf habitat. We also keep cougars, bobcats, coyotes, whitetail deer, and a small herd of elk in here. It’s our biggest habitat here at the sanctuary.”

Rebecca frowned. “You keep all of them together? I know this is the biggest habitat but that’s a lot of predators per square mile. How do you control the infighting? How do you keep them from over-killing?”

The ATV rumbled to life as soon as she was settled, Luke guiding them onto a small dirt track leading into the forest. He glanced at her as he maneuvered around the deep ruts carved into the track, shrugging a little. “The animals have their ways to keep the peace.”

She huffed and opened her mouth but before she could ask another question Luke accelerated, the ATV bouncing along the track and down a steep hill. This time Rebecca couldn’t stop the squeak that flew out of her mouth, her fingers scrambling to find something to hang on to as Luke laughed, deep and rough. She felt goosebumps raise across her arms, but it was definitely from the near death experience and not at all because of Luke.