The Last Shifter’s Baby

“You’ll need to call someone in to do a consultation for surgery, I can’t do it, Luke. I’m sorry.” She said and slowly turned off the machine.

Luke smoothed the ruffled fur back into place, fingers scratching down the side of the tiger’s neck. “Yeah, I’ll let Maggie know. She has our list approved people. She can get her transferred somewhere.”

She helped him get the tiger comfortable in a holding cage a safe distance away from the wolf and her pup, frowning as his mood grew more solemn. She knew that look in his eyes, he was falling deeper into his own thoughts. It wasn’t his fault, but he couldn’t see that yet. When they finished in the medical center, she could see him hovering, clearly uncomfortable with the idea of leaving the tiger.

“Could you show me to the giraffe habitats? I really wanted to start surveying the land you’ve been using.” She said.

Luke’s attention snapped back to her. “Of course, do you want to use your ATV or my truck?”

“Truck, please. It’s much warmer.” She answered and his answering smile was small, but it was progress.

*****

In the next three weeks that followed, Rebecca worked with Luke nearly every day. She could have worked by herself. Her job was designed for independent work after all, but neither one of them seemed to want to part. She had successfully surveyed the three of the habitats at the sanctuary, the giraffes, tigers, and lions and was pleased to see some of the animals starting to respond to her presence. She didn’t know how, but she knew that her easy acceptance had something to do with Luke. Thinking of the man brought a rush of heat, and she pressed ice cold fingers against her cheeks, trying to quell the burn. The attraction that she felt for him had done nothing but grow the longer she spent in his presence. It was the way he held himself, completely at ease and yet in control. The animals respected him, hell, she thought almost bitterly, they treat him as if he’s their alpha. She couldn’t stop watching him. The longer they worked together, the more her eyes were drawn to him, watching the way he worked with the animals and demanded their respect so easily.

Today, she and Luke had to reintroduce Henry the wolf pup and his mother back to the pack. She still wasn’t sure how she felt about it, but she’s learned to trust Luke. If he said they would accept them back in, then they would. She jolted as she hit another deep rut on her ATV, she was supposed to be meeting Luke in the wolf habitat at ten, but she was a little early. She was never good with late mornings; she didn’t understand how he could sleep as late as he did.

As she drove, her thoughts wandered, and she wondered if she’d be able to sleep in later if it was Luke lying next to her. She shook her head as if trying to physically dispel the thoughts. Even if nothing was going to come of her crush, she could at least be thankful that in her time at the sanctuary they had become close friends.

A flash of dark fur to her left had her hand falter on the accelerator and the ATV lurched to a stop beneath her. The howl sounded in front of her, long and haunted, and rose goosebumps along the flesh of her arms. The next she saw, a black furred wolf was stepping gingerly out onto the road, the yellow in its eyes glinting, breath coming out in soft clouds against the chill of the morning air. They regarded each other, blue eyes locked with amber, and suddenly the wolf was moving again, plunging back into the forest and disappearing into the net of thickening trees. She released the breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding as a disturbing thought popped up in her mind, there are no black wolves in this habitat.

Shaken, she quickly got the ATV moving again, driving through the twisted forested path to their meeting point. When she got to the little clearing, Luke wasn’t there yet so she used the time to go through the wolves in her mind. Being here for nearly a month, she knew most, if not all, of the wolves by sight. They were all sandy colored, not a single one she could think of was black. They didn’t even have a brown one. Luke would have told me if they were getting a new one, hell, I would have seen it before he released it into the habitat, she thought. As she waited in the clearing, the crunch of cold soil under a boot drew her gaze toward a patch of trees, and she visibly startled when a man she didn’t recognize emerged. The first thing she noticed was his piercing green eyes and the short, almost military cut of his light brown hair. He was dressed in hardy blue jeans, tall hiking boots laced up his calves, and a black trench coat that fell past his knees.

“Excuse me, how did you get in here? This is an enclosed habitat for-“

“Agent Wilson, FBI,” he interrupted, flashing a badge too quick for her to read, “I’m looking for a man who may be going by the name of Luke Wright.”

She opened her mouth to tell him that she worked with Luke and that he’d be along shortly before snapping it closed again. Doubt building in her mind, this doesn’t feel right, she thought. This guy just suddenly walks out of the trees claiming to be FBI? How did he even get in? She frowned and took a step back towards the ATV, fingers gripping the fabric of her satchel where her phone lay.

“Look, I don’t care who you say you’re with, you don’t have any right to be in here. It’s not safe for my animals, it’s not safe for you, and unless you can provide some sort of warrant or other document within the next five seconds, I’m going to need you to leave.”

Agent Wilson kept her stare for a long moment before scowling, “I’ll just see myself out if you aren’t going to cooperate.”

She shook her head, “I can’t let you just wander around in here. I’ll drive you out myself and get someone to escort you off the premises.”

For a moment it looked like he was going to fight her on it but after a few seconds he nodded, almost to himself. When he looked back at her, he was wearing a cold smile. “Thank you, I never got your name.”

She climbed into the ATV, turning on the engine. “I never gave it.” When he walked closer towards her, she could see a strap and the tip of dark steel poking over his shoulder. I think that’s a shotgun… She could feel her muscles tense as he climbed into the ATV, laying the gun across his lap. That’s definitely a shotgun. Her mouth opened to speak; she couldn’t stop herself. “Do FBI always go around packing shotguns like that?”

His lips twisted into a smirk. “Special case,” was all he said. Rebecca didn’t waste any more time, pushing the limits of the little ATV as she drove him towards the entrance of the habitat. It unnerved her the way he stared; deep green eyes locked on her face. He didn’t even try to hide it. He kept the gun across his lap, fingers wrapped around the cool metal. She could see flashes of dark fur between the trees and occasionally get a glimpse of glowing, amber eyes. This time it didn’t scare her though; she almost felt a little better knowing something was with her.