-1-

The gravel beneath my boots crunch, echoing for miles throughout the empty forest only being accompanied by the soft hum of the wind and the chirp of the morning boots. I sling my bag further over my shoulder, walking faster as I hurry off to work. There was no way I could be late again—curse my damn alarm clock for never going off!

A sudden gust of the cool autumn breeze rustles the trees, as I feel every single hair on my arm stand up in attention while goosebumps arise on my skin. Even with my thick, maroon sweater on, and the coffee I was nursing in my hands, the weather still chills me to the core.

As I continue to walk, I suddenly hear someone ahead of me. My head snaps up, and when I realize who it is I begin to smile.

"Good Morning Miss. Green!" I call out, waving, as a small smile greets her timeworn face. With her cane in hand and a leash in the other, she totters towards me.

"Well hello dear!" Her small voice coos and it was so quiet as if she wasn't as close as she was I wouldn't be able to hear her over the wind, "How are you, Rose? It's been a while hasn't it?"

"Oh, I've been doing just peachy!" I give her a small hug. All of a sudden, I feel something wet on my hand. Glancing down, I notice her Bernese Mountain dog sitting beside her, head cocked to the side. I smile. When I pet him, he rubs up against the side of my leg showing affection. "I can see Pumpkin is doing just fine. He seems much better since his last visit to the vet. I'm glad his prescription is working."

When I was treating Pumpkin, I made sure to reassure Miss. Greene that he'd be alright. Like me, animals were her favorite companions, and I knew she'd be upset if anything were to happen to Pumpkin, so I made sure that she wouldn't worry too much about him, and I assured her that we would treat him well.

"He's doing so much better since her visit! I owe you and Lizette so much for helping him, I don't know what I could do without him by my side." Her smile brightens, and her eyes crinkle at the side. Giving her one more hug, we say our goodbyes and she pulls Pumpkin along with her to where I presume back home.

-

A few minutes later, after walking at a very fast pace to the point where I was out of breath, I found myself in front of the familiar building - the Crownsville Animal Clinic. Pushing open the glass door, the small bell rings throughout the quiet building, and a rush of warm air greets my skin. I flip the sign from 'Closed' to 'Open', before walking towards the front desk. I clock in before placing my bag down glancing around. This place sure was empty this morning. I walk towards Liz's office, knocking softly.

"Liz?" I call out, and when there is no answer, my eyebrows furrow.

Where could she be?

"Hey Liz!" I call out again, walking towards the kennels where I hear some shuffling.

Opening the door, I peek in to see ahead of blonde hair leaning over a few of the feeding bowls, pouring in some food. Walking towards her, I grab one of the jugs of water and kneel beside her beginning to fill some water bowls. Her head suddenly snaps up, and when she sees me she yelps in surprise spilling some of the food everywhere.

"Ah! Rose, you jerk. Maybe a warning next time, jeez." She huffs out, as I burst out laughing. She rolls her eyes, before playfully punching my arm, and starts laughing along with me. "I was just getting their food ready for when they all wake up." She motions towards the kennels, where all the dogs lay, either sleeping or looking towards us eyes wide and tails wagging.

"I thought you weren't even going to show up this morning, to be honest." Liz grabs some of the bowls, before placing them in the kennel, and I follow in suit, assisting her.

"Well, sorry for being late again. My alarm clock must be broken, at this point, it doesn't even go off in the morning."

She lets out a small laugh, "Uh-huh, I'm sure that's the problem. Anyway, don't worry. I'm glad you even show up at this point, you're a real big help. Oh, by the way, no need to worry about deliveries this morning. No dogs coming in today—although, Cooper here is getting picked up today. Aren't-cha boy?" She coos out, scratching one of the small, black Labradoodles behind his ear. Cooper has been here for quite some time, so I'm glad someone finally chose to adopt him. It brought a smile to my face.

"Well, then I guess it's his lucky day. Now, I better start going through some of those files if they're going to show up today," I state, walking back to my front desk, and when I take a seat in my swivel chair. Pulling open the metal filing cabinet, I pull out Cooper's file before scanning through it. Once I finish, I sit there, bored. The faint consecutive click of the clock sounds throughout. I let out a sigh, spinning in my chair.

Today is going to be a long day.

-

I stand up from my desk grabbing my bag. Another day coming to a close. A different day, but why does it feel the same as yesterday?  I shake off the thought. I love this place—even if some days are duller than others.

Walking to the kennels, I lock everything up, before going back towards the front. Lizette was leaving her office, locking it up as well, before she looks towards me.

"Have a good night Lizette-"

She stops me before I can finish. "Rose, can we talk real quick before you leave?" She had a somewhat sad look on her face, and I felt my heart drop in my chest. I wonder what's wrong.

"Yeah, what's up?" I ask, walking up so I was beside her.

"I just..... Wanted to say thanks for all your help today, Rose."

I let out a small laugh, "It's literally no problem. This is my job you know." She chuckles, and we sit there in silence for a few seconds. I can tell somethings still bothering her. "Is something wrong?"

She sighs, "You know Rose... You're talented. I mean, like really talented. You should get out of this stupid town while you can. I mean, you could go to college, become an actual vet. You're meant for so much more than this."

Her hazel eyes lock with mine, and I realize the sincerity in her voice. I place my hand on her back, before giving her a small smile, and a reassuring pat.

"This place is my home. I grew up with everyone around here—this town raised me. The forest's my backyard, I have an amazing job, an amazing friend. Not to mention, it's peaceful here." Lizette sends me a small scowl at my reply and runs her hands through her curly locks. Moving her bangs out of her eyes, she reaches to her back pocket and pulls out a pamphlet.

"I'm serious, you're too good for this town. Just... consider it, okay? It's a nice school, and you'll have a great start there. I'm certain of it. I can help you with payments too, I mean you've done so much for me and—" Before she can finish her sentence I pull her in for a hug. Even though Lizette is only a few years older than me, I've always looked up to her. She was like a mother figure in my life, but at the same time was also my best friend.

"I'll look at it, okay? I'll be sure to try to get here earlier tomorrow so you won't have to wait up on me."

She nods, and we both away from our embrace, and I grab the pamphlet from her shoving it in my bag. We bid each other goodnight not long after and both go our own ways. Walking out the door into the familiar cold night, I suddenly feel a strange feeling in my gut. It was almost eerie. I continue to walk, trying to ignore the feeling but I can't help but notice how everything screams 'creepy.' I can't even see the stars due to the thick fog which is also making it almost impossible for me to see even a few feet in front of me.

When I get closer to my cabin, I see the silhouette of something lying a couple of feet in front of me, I squint trying to identify whatever it is. The closer I get, the faster my heart beats in my chest. Covered in light brown fur, a wolf lies there, it's chest rising and falling, while blood oozes from its body. My stomach lurches, and without even giving a second thought I rush towards the side of the beast, frantically looking for its injuries. This beast could be extremely dangerous, yet here I am inches from it.

Trying not to hurt the animal as I further examine it. What I discovered to be a male wolf was ginormous—much bigger than any other wolf I've ever seen, and he was bleeding out fast. I apply pressure on his right leg, and a low growl rumbles from his chest, and he slowly raises his head sending me a glare. When his gold eyes lock with mine, I can't look away. What a beautiful creature. Almost instantly his growling ceased when he sees me, and he begins to wince once more. He's hurt real bad.

"Don't worry," I say, "I can help."

Why am I talking to a wolf? Heck, why am I even helping it? It could hurt me right now if it wanted to. Or maybe the other wolves he was with are coming back any second and I'm just provoking this one.

Looking around, I see no other wolf in sight. No paw prints indicating anyone else was here either. He was without a pack. Wolves usually never leave a fellow pack mate behind, so what was he doing here?

I have to help this wolf.

The wolf is staring intently at me, and when I go to get up and leave the wolf's head nudges my arm. It was almost as if he was begging me not to leave.

"I'll be right back, I just have to go get the equipment I need to help you." I turn to go walk inside, and I hastily unlock the door hurrying inside and pulling open countless drawers and cabinets grabbing everything I needed. Rushing back outside, I look over the animal once more. I've never worked on an animal this big by myself before. I hope I don't hurt him. Sitting beside him, I place all of my equipment beside me before further examining its injuries. Frowning, I realize how bad the injury truly was. A large gash was on the side of his leg, and it went quite deep. I would need to stitch him up. Grabbing a needle and thread, I disinfect the needle before taking in a deep breath. Then, I start.

He howls out from the pain, and I bite my lip forcing myself to continue. It was just a wolf, and I was saving it, yet seeing it in pain caused my heart to ache. Whenever I help Lizette operate on an animal, I'm never queasy or nervous or disturbed by the blood. I'm usually unaffected. But this, this pained me to watch. Once I finished, I snipped the excess thread and ripped off some bandages before carefully wrapping it around the wolf's leg.

"You'll be okay," I sighed out, before standing up. I pick up my equipment and move to go back inside even though my every being is begging me to stay. Why am I so attached to this wolf?

The wolf whimpers, and rubs it's snout up against my leg. I kneel beside him, running my fingers through his fur one last time. I have to leave. When I went to get back up, his teeth bite into my sweater, tugging it. He wanted me to stay too. And so, like a crazy person, I did.

I sit beside him, continuing to pet the wolf. Never have I thought that I'd be doing this yet here I am.

"You know, you're certainly the most beautiful wolf I've ever seen," I whisper, "I've never seen a wolf quite like you."

The wolf began to purr, and I continued to sit beside him as the night became morning, not wanting to get up. Before I know it, a small yawn escapes my lips, and I find myself falling into a deep sleep.

-A/N-

Here's the first chapter! This will start off slow but get faster and more interesting as the story continues. I try to be totally unique and new with my ideas, so I hope you like it.

Thanks for reading also If you haven't check out my other work.

Anyways, love all you lovely people.

Please, Vote and comment it would mean the world!

~TJ