He straightened the sleeves of his white coat with a firm tug. “What you know about men’s bathroom habits could fill a thimble.”
“Whatever you say, Dr. Poe.”
We quietly pulled open the double doors and entered a large room with a long row of kennels on either side. While the dogs couldn’t see us, they could hear and smell us. They whimpered and barked louder than they had just moments before. The center wall on the left had an orange hose wrapped up on the end, and it looked like another row of kennels on the other side.
Christian ran his fingers through his hair and then raked it back to the front, something he did when frustrated. He could filter out specific sounds, but it probably wasn’t easy with all these excited dogs. After a minute, he walked past the orange hose and turned right. I grabbed Shepherd’s sleeve and dragged him to the cages in front of us. We needed to locate Viktor, and fast.
Shepherd took the cages on one side and I took the other. These poor dogs probably just wanted to sleep, but the main lights were switched on. Some dogs were alone and others were caged in groups, clamoring for attention. The papers on each door listed the breed, gender, and other information I skimmed over.
Poodle, pit bull, Lab, mixed breed…
“Who the hell are you?” a man blurted out from the other side.
“They didn’t call you?” Christian asked, hiding his Irish accent. “I’m here to empty a few cages for the new arrivals.”
“What new arrivals? Who let you in?”
“Your assistant up front.”
“I don’t know who you are, but you’re not allowed in here.” The man sounded flustered, obviously thrown off by Christian’s white coat.
“I’d rather be in bed with my wife, but this is an emergency situation. They busted some old lady hoarding eighty-five dogs.”
“Why didn’t they call Sasha?”
“Heck if I know. Maybe she didn’t answer. Let me show you my papers.”
When Shepherd and I reached the last cage, we turned the corner and waited at the end until Christian finished.
“I bet all this barking drives you up the wall,” Christian remarked before we heard the heavy slam of a body thrown against a cage.
When I peered around the corner, Christian was staring into the man’s eyes. There was a mop and bucket next to an open kennel. It didn’t seem logical that he would wait until after midnight to do chores that would disturb the animals, but maybe he didn’t care. I couldn’t hear what Christian was saying to him for all the barking. While he charmed the worker, Shepherd and I finished checking the rest of the dogs.
“He’s not here!” I yelled out when we reached the end.
Christian pinned the man with his gaze. “Where’s the wolf?”
“Wolf,” the guy repeated in a monotone voice. “Kill room.”
My heart sank, and I fled. I opened every door, my head spinning at the thought of finding Viktor’s body amid a pile of dead animals. I couldn’t catch my breath as I looked around at towels, litter, supplies, and bags of kibble.
“Down here!” Shepherd boomed.
I skidded into the hallway and followed his voice to a dark room with numerous cages against the right-hand wall. They were all empty except one.
“Viktor.”I recognized the markings on his back. I fell to my knees and looked at the animal crouched in the back. His grey eyes were slanted, his long snout wrinkled, and every sharp tooth on prominent display.
“Easy, Raven. He’s been in here a while. All he smells is fear and death.” When Shepherd reached to open the cage, the wolf lunged and growled, rattling the metal doors.
We jumped back and waited for him to recognize our scent.
“Hey, Viktor,” I cooed. “It’s me, Raven. I know you can’t hear me, but your wolf knows me.” I avoided direct eye contact and knelt down again. “Are you ready to come with us? We don’t have much time.”
When I slowly reached out to lift the lock, he lunged at the cage door so fiercely that I fell onto my back. The wolf snarled and snapped, his eyes teeming with blind rage.
“Fuck!” Shepherd looked around. “Maybe we can sedate him.”
I scoffed and rose to my feet. “And who’s gonna hold him down while the other pokes him with a needle? We can’t even open the damn cage.”
