The words were so quiet that Leon wasn’t positive he’d heard them correctly. They also sounded slightly slurred, and that worried him.
He glanced around, hoping for a tree or even a bush to shelter under. God knew, they’d spent half the day surrounded by the things. But there was nothing nearby, just sodden ground and cold rain. And it wasn’t like he had anything to rig a shelter with anyway. All he could do was try to keep Karl warm despite the damn rain that kept falling, hoping his enhanced healing would repair his injuries and protect him from hypothermia. He pressed closer against him, trying to think of a way out of this.
Chapter Fifteen
LEON
Leon lay there for hours, close to Karl but not exactly in the way he’d have wanted. He hoped the sleep Karl had slipped into was a healing slumber rather than unconsciousness from the wound on his head.
Lying quietly at least gave him time to think and plan. They were too far from the ranch for him to run for help—he couldn’t leave Karl alone and defenseless out here that long. His only option was to look after Karl as best he could and hope his shifter healing did its job.
Shortly after the rain finally stopped, the pup stirred. Leon made sure to keep his hand on its ruff. The last thing he needed was the damn thing that was the cause of all this running away. He was terrified it might decide to shift, leaving him with a small child to wrangle.
He hovered his other hand over Karl’s leg, not quite touching the torn thigh. The blood seemed to have clotted now, but the bruising across Karl’s ribs had deepened to a sick purple.
The pup started nosing at Karl’s arm, and then it attempted a growl, which ended in a high-pitched squeak. Karl had no chance of sleeping through the piercing sound.
“Where’s your nearest cache?” Leon asked, as soon as he opened his eyes. “I figure I’ll get what we need from there. I don’t suppose you keep a spare satellite phone in any of them?”
“Too expensive when they’d likely never be used. Batteries would be wrecked after one winter.” Karl’s speech was choppy as he tried to keep his breathing shallow. “There’s a stash about a mile northeast of here. You know how they look. It’s where the trees turn to lodgepole pine.” Even those few words seemed to exhaust him.
“I’m going to need to leave the pup with you,” Leon said. “Can you hold on to it?”
He saw the spasm around Karl’s mouth, drawn tight with pain and also with something more. “Don’t know if I can stay awake,” he said. “Don’t want to hurt it.”
Leon reconsidered. Maybe he could carry it in his mouth in cat form, then shut it in the box of stuff he was going to bring back with him in human form. But it would slow him down, and he wouldn’t be able to fight if he needed to. As he was considering the problem, the pup finally stopped nosing at Karl, tucked himself between Karl’s arm and his body, and fell asleep again.
“I think you’ve been adopted,” Leon said. “Reckon it’s exhausted and will sleep the rest of the day.”
Chances were the pup would be happy lying next to Karl. God knew, if the situation were different,Leonwould be pleased to do exactly that.
He wasn’t sure if Karl even heard him. His eyes were closed again, and he made no sound. Leon stood quietly, making sure he didn’t disturb either of them. He hesitated a second longer. Karl’s face had slackened, unreadable in sleep, and Leon had the sudden, ridiculous urge to touch his shoulder. Just to check he was still there.
He took a couple of steps back and shifted. And then he ran, with everything he had.
* * *
He’d found the cache more easily than he’d expected, the small marks subtly carved into nearby tree trunks helping him to locate it. Rooting through the storage box, he’d dumped out anything he didn’t think they’d need so he didn’t have to carry it all. He’d helped himself to clothes and a pair of sneakers in his size, all of which made his return journey more comfortable than he’d feared. The relief the clothes provided from the chill damp air had underlined how urgently he needed to get Karl warm.
When he set the box down, both the pup and Karl stirred. The pup scrambled upright, hackles raised with shaky bravado, and let out a growl that sounded like a squeaky toy being stepped on.
Karl reached to rub its head. Subsiding, it settled against him once more.
Leon inspected Karl carefully, from head to toe. Relief hit him low in the gut as he saw he’d improved—less pale, and there was no fresh blood visible from his head wound. The leg, though, that was still a mess.
First things first. Before embarking on amateur first-aid hour, he wanted to make sure both Karl and the pup were warm. He laid emergency blankets over the two of them, got some painkillers intoKarl, and prepped an MRE, more concerned with warmth than nourishment.
“D’you think it’s old enough to be able to eat?” he asked Karl, drawing back the blanket enough to uncover the pup.
He lifted it by its scruff from its warm nest so that Karl could see it properly, ignoring the pup’s flailing protests as he did so. It was very small, with ears that still weren’t fully erect, and its paws were comically huge. Leon had no idea what that meant in age. Or how age was connected to feeding habits. “If not, maybe it can have some gravy from the stew.”
Karl looked at the pup being held in front of him, and Leon was relieved to see his eyes were brighter and more alert. “Bits of meat should be fine, so long as you chew them up first,” he said. His lips rose slightly as he saw Leon’s disgust.
That, more than anything, persuaded Leon that the wolf was getting better. Not much longer and he’d be back to his truly objectionable self.
KARL
Everything hurt. His head throbbed as if something was trying to tunnel out through his skull, and every breath came shallow and sharp, like broken glass grating against his ribs. Karl was no stranger to pain, but he was rarely injured and helpless out in the open, with a pup pressed against his side and a cat acting as nursemaid.
