heat. Whining, I pawed frantically at the silk binding my muzzle. When I kept whining, my wife snarled a curse at me but loosened the silk enough I could force open my mouth to pant. For a long time, all I could do was concentrate on breathing.
Idette returned our bags to the rental car, set me on the front passenger seat, and drove away from the lodge, leaving me to wonder when she had found my keys. There was no sign of my cell phone or wallet, and I decided she had left them in the forest with my blood-stained clothes.
Whenever they were found—if someone found them—the discovery would cause a stir, not that it’d do me any good. They’d be looking for a man, not a wolf. I considered the things she left behind, sighed, and decided if I managed to transform back to a human, I’d be grateful for the inconvenience of replacing my identification, my credit cards, and all the other things I had kept in my wallet. I’d lose the contacts on my cell, but they could be recovered.
The keys I understood; they were useful to her. The rest of my life didn’t matter, especially if she had no intention of letting me be anything more than a wolf. She had her own credit cards, she had identification, and knowing her, she had a small fortune of cash hidden away in her purse.
I remained quiet, wondering what my wife intended to do with me. What purpose did I serve her when I was a small, lamed wolf? Once again, my wolf encouraged me to bide my time and be patient.
I didn’t have much choice. Until my neck healed, I was easy prey for just about anything. How long did it take a wolf to heal? The injury should have killed me, which didn’t bode well for a quick recovery and escape.
I flopped on the seat, wondering how Idette planned to deal with the challenge of making the rental disappear.
Making me disappear was easy enough. If she left everything but my keys in the woods, someone would eventually find my kayak. If the police searched long enough, they’d locate my clothes and assume an animal had gotten me. All she had to do was tell the police a pretty story about a rabid wolf in the forest.
Forensics would find wolf tracks and fur near my bloody clothes. While Idette’s footprints were in the woods, I had no idea how long she had been a wolf before attacking me.
In theory, if it didn’t rain, investigators might be able to track Idette’s wolf prints to my kayak. Even if it rained, there was nothing to tie a wolf to a human, and Idette could claim the wolf had hunted her, too. She could lie her way through the case with ease, especially if she had paid any attention to my work over the years.
There were a hundred and one different ways to hide a murder or disappearance. If I couldn’t figure out how to transform back on my own, it was entirely possible I’d become an unsolved mystery.
No one in their right mind would believe Idette could become a wolf. All she had to do was claim she had been chased off by a wild animal and I had disappeared. The woods surrounding Lake George were plentiful and thick.
Someone in the area could probably verify hearing the howling of a wolf, which would support her story. She’d get away with murder, and as long as I remained an animal, there was nothing I could do to stop her.
At least the LAPD had just cause to investigate Idette. If they hunted her down and found me as a wolf, I could get away from her. Once free, I could figure something out. While my plan was fledgling at best, it would do for the moment.
I forced myself to relax and wait for Idette to make a mistake. When she did, I would be ready.
When Idette stopped at a strip mall an hour or two away from Lake George, she locked me in the trunk. My cheetah didn’t mind the enclosed space, but my wolf bristled at the indignation of being trapped. He wanted to pace; to ease his anxiety, I hobbled on three legs. Something about whining comforted him, and I indulged in the urge.
The darkness didn’t bother me, but my
Idette returned our bags to the rental car, set me on the front passenger seat, and drove away from the lodge, leaving me to wonder when she had found my keys. There was no sign of my cell phone or wallet, and I decided she had left them in the forest with my blood-stained clothes.
Whenever they were found—if someone found them—the discovery would cause a stir, not that it’d do me any good. They’d be looking for a man, not a wolf. I considered the things she left behind, sighed, and decided if I managed to transform back to a human, I’d be grateful for the inconvenience of replacing my identification, my credit cards, and all the other things I had kept in my wallet. I’d lose the contacts on my cell, but they could be recovered.
The keys I understood; they were useful to her. The rest of my life didn’t matter, especially if she had no intention of letting me be anything more than a wolf. She had her own credit cards, she had identification, and knowing her, she had a small fortune of cash hidden away in her purse.
I remained quiet, wondering what my wife intended to do with me. What purpose did I serve her when I was a small, lamed wolf? Once again, my wolf encouraged me to bide my time and be patient.
I didn’t have much choice. Until my neck healed, I was easy prey for just about anything. How long did it take a wolf to heal? The injury should have killed me, which didn’t bode well for a quick recovery and escape.
I flopped on the seat, wondering how Idette planned to deal with the challenge of making the rental disappear.
Making me disappear was easy enough. If she left everything but my keys in the woods, someone would eventually find my kayak. If the police searched long enough, they’d locate my clothes and assume an animal had gotten me. All she had to do was tell the police a pretty story about a rabid wolf in the forest.
Forensics would find wolf tracks and fur near my bloody clothes. While Idette’s footprints were in the woods, I had no idea how long she had been a wolf before attacking me.
In theory, if it didn’t rain, investigators might be able to track Idette’s wolf prints to my kayak. Even if it rained, there was nothing to tie a wolf to a human, and Idette could claim the wolf had hunted her, too. She could lie her way through the case with ease, especially if she had paid any attention to my work over the years.
There were a hundred and one different ways to hide a murder or disappearance. If I couldn’t figure out how to transform back on my own, it was entirely possible I’d become an unsolved mystery.
No one in their right mind would believe Idette could become a wolf. All she had to do was claim she had been chased off by a wild animal and I had disappeared. The woods surrounding Lake George were plentiful and thick.
Someone in the area could probably verify hearing the howling of a wolf, which would support her story. She’d get away with murder, and as long as I remained an animal, there was nothing I could do to stop her.
At least the LAPD had just cause to investigate Idette. If they hunted her down and found me as a wolf, I could get away from her. Once free, I could figure something out. While my plan was fledgling at best, it would do for the moment.
I forced myself to relax and wait for Idette to make a mistake. When she did, I would be ready.
When Idette stopped at a strip mall an hour or two away from Lake George, she locked me in the trunk. My cheetah didn’t mind the enclosed space, but my wolf bristled at the indignation of being trapped. He wanted to pace; to ease his anxiety, I hobbled on three legs. Something about whining comforted him, and I indulged in the urge.
The darkness didn’t bother me, but my
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