Page 8 of Planet Wolf

3

Iwoke up warm and curled up on Doctor’s lap. No snow fell around us, but it took me a minute to register that we had to be in some kind of cave. A small fire burned in the corner, the smoke being sucked upward by a natural vent on the ceiling. I didn’t see the other two Wolves. Doctor lay close enough to the fire against the cave wall to feel the heat, and he had his eyes closed. The gentle, rhythmic sounds of his breaths came and went, warring with the sounds of the wind outside.

It was some kind of storm, but I’d bet they hadn’t known it was coming any more than I did, since they also seemed like it had caught them unaware. I lifted my hand to rub my eyes only to discover it shook. Yep, I’d made it to full-on withdrawal from at least one of my meds. Which one? I had no idea. It really could have been any of them, but it was a fast withdrawal, so that meant probably the one for my seizures. They warned me we would have to step that down, if I ever wanted to cease taking it.

Doctor caught my hand in his, his eyes open, alert, and on me.

“Hi,” I whispered. “Sorry you’re stuck with me. Did your other friends leave? Shift and head onto the mountain without you? Did they leave you here to deal with the human who keeps getting sick?”

He frowned and helped me to sit up. My shaking hands couldn’t be lost on him, or the way I was sweating, even though I was also freezing. Taking my hands in his, he held them steady and warm. Then, he brought them to his mouth where he kissed them, gently, twice.

I caught my breath. That was surprising. And lovely.

Doctor A placed my hands over his heart. Finally, he let them go. What did he want? Confusion warred with the natural sense of being squirmy and off that came with having fainted. He wanted to know what was happening to me. How did I know that? I didn’t have the slightest clue. Just that, in that moment, even though we couldn’t speak the same language, I could hear him. He wanted me to somehow, please, tell him.

I pinched my fingers together and then opened them until they were the size of a pill. Then, in my best mime impersonation, I showed him how I’d swallow a pill. I hoped maybe he’d understand what I was indicating.

He blinked rapidly and then nodded. Okay, he’d understood. Maybe? Hopefully. He drew me to him, and I put my head on his shoulder.

Then he started talking. I’d have given anything to understand him. Where I came from, people were not as naturally affectionate as these men seemed to be. There was another trouble to this withdrawal—if I really had none of the medicine left, I might very well have a seizure. Fainting was one thing—I hated it—but seizing was the absolute worst. Doctor hadn’t left me. If his friends really had moved toward safety and left us behind, then how long until he gave up on me and joined them?

Tears swam in my eyes. Was it possible I would die alone in this cave, on a strange planet in a snowstorm? Why had I lived through the explosion to simply perish here?

He made a sound similar to a tut-tut and kissed my hand again. I met his gaze. Maybe I was seeing what I wanted to see, but I would’ve sworn right then that he wouldn’t leave me. This person—who was both man and beast—would stay right by my side.

A noise caught my attention as Hunter came into view. He dragged behind him a dead animal that looked pretty similar to a pig. Last night, I hadn’t been able to identify what they’d brought me to eat, but I was pretty sure it would be similar to pork. My heart sped up, and it took me a second to realize why. I was very glad to see he hadn’t left us after all.

Doctor said something to him, and Hunter dropped the pig near the fire before coming over to me. He bent over and cupped my cheek. For one second, he held my gaze before he ran his hand through my hair.

Leader appeared right after that. He brought plants and a bucket that he filled up with snow. He placed it next to the fire, and it dawned on me that he was trying to make water we could drink. When was the last time I drank anything? It hadn’t occurred to me that I was thirsty, but sometimes I did lose track of my basic needs.

Like Hunter, Leader came over and sat near me, checking to make sure I was okay in his slow way, as if in greeting. He still had the plants in his hand, so he passed them to Doctor.

They were all stuck in the cave because of me, I realized with dawning horror. If not for me, they’d probably be home.

“You know, I don’t think in my whole life I’ve ever helped a stranger like you’re helping me. I mean, sure, Iamtrying to help a lot of strangers now. But on an individual basis, no, I haven’t before. I don’t know how or why you’re doing this, either. Maybe all Wolf shifters aresonice, but I can tell you’ve gone above and beyond. I… I will never be able to thank you. Not enough, anyway.”

Leader bent over and put his head in my lap. He curled up next to me and closed his eyes. I blinked. Well… that had been unexpected. In a million years, I wouldn’t have foreseen him doing that. Of course, he’d been up all night on guard duty.

Hunter kissed my cheek. I gasped. They shared such easy affection. In my family, we loved each other a lot, but we weren’t physically expressive about that affection. Not at all, honestly. Sometimes we hugged, but mostly our affection came in nice smiles at appropriate times. He backed up and went to cook the food while melting the snow to make water as if there wasn’t anything strange about the exchange.

Doctor did something with the plants. I wasn’t sure what, but they all seemed to have a task and endeavored to fulfill it. It was quiet, barely a noise in the cave. I swallowed, and the sound of it jarred me. Without thinking about it, I ran my hands through Leader’s hair in my lap. It was thick, soft, and it didn’t feel dirty–surprising, considering how we’d been living. He sighed and snuggled further into my embrace. Minutes later, he lightly snored.

Like last night, I was struck by the trust his ability to rest so near to me proved. Of course, he could probably wake in a second, shift, and take out my eyes in half that time.

A disturbing thought, Esther.

Or not, kind of. It really was horrible to think about someone gouging out your eyes, so I wouldn’t. I’d just consider that it was incredibly nice to be there with them. After all, I showed them trust, too, not that I had a choice when I fainted. Still, they took care of me while I was out. I could baby Leader for a while.

Doctor held up a leaf from one of the plants then motioned for me to open my mouth, like he wanted me to eat it.

I shook my head. Didn’t he remember the berries? He motioned again. Obviously, he wanted me to try.

I sighed. They’d been right about the meat the night before, so I could give it a small try. Chewing the greenery, I considered it. I noticed it had little taste, a surprisingly bland plant. I didn’t think it was going to make me sick, so I ate the whole thing. A sort of mellowness moved through me within minutes, and much of my constant worry fled. I lifted my head to look at Doctor. What had he given me?

He pointed at my hands. They weren’t shaking anymore.Oh wow.He was helping with my withdrawal. “That is very nice of you.”

Maybe my gratitude translated, because he smiled and nodded. Then he rose and went over to Hunter, presumably to help him.