Free Cry of the Wolf by Juliet Chastain Page B

his heartbeat, strong and regular. “I’ll try to get the vet,” she said. “I’m going to cover you to keep you warm.” She stood and pulled off her robe and nightgown. She planned to put them over the animal to try to keep him warm while she called the vet. She’d bring out blankets after that.
    She looked down at the wolf at her feet and cried out in shock. Stunned, she gasped for breath. She could not believe her eyes. The fur was disappearing from his face and body, his shape was changing, his hind legs were growing longer. The wolf was no longer a wolf. He was changing into a man.
     
     
    Chapter Three
     

     
    A bitter cold crept into him and the pain was excruciating, yet the woman, the beautiful sweet-faced woman whom he had been watching for months, the woman whom he had been longing for, caressed and murmured to him, comforting him with her soft, soothing words. Her deep blue eyes looked at him with tenderness and pity while he was a wolf. As a man, women paid him lots of attention and as a wolf, female wolves looked on him with favor, but this had never happened. Not in all his life had a human being acted kindly to him when he was a wolf.
    He suppressed an anguished howl. Was he close to her at last, the woman of his dreams, only to die miserably in the snow at her feet? She stood above him now, removing her clothing. She’d said something about covering him to keep him warm. He whined softly. She was even more beautiful up close than he had imagined she would be. The sight of her opulent naked body above him in the moonlight overwhelmed him with desire and shook his very being. He felt himself suddenly ablaze with passion—the passion of a man. He felt himself begin to transform and, in the grip of his all too human emotions, he couldn’t stop himself.
    He heard her cry out in surprise. She had seen him change from an animal to a man. Now she would know him for the monster he was and would run screaming from him. No way she’d ever want him the way he wanted her. His dreams of human happiness were just dreams and nothing more. He closed his eyes, hoping he would die soon.
    “I don’t understand, I—I—this is impossible,” she stuttered. “It’s like out of a book! I…I must be dreaming. I have to be dreaming. This cannot be happening…”
    Then she spoke in a firmer voice. “No, as insane as this is, it’s real—at least I think so. Even if I am dreaming, I’m not going to let you die. I don’t know what you are, but I’m going to do everything I can to help you.” She gently touched his forehead. “You are so cold.” Her warm breasts brushed against his chest as she leaned over him, trying to position something—her robe—under him, between him and the snow. “Covering you with my nightgown won’t be enough; the cold will kill you…
    “I have to warm you up really fast,” she said softly. “It’ll take me too long to run to the house and get blankets to cover you. I’ll have to give you my own body heat. You’re unconscious, so you’ll never know.” He realized that although she was addressing him, she was really talking to herself. “Once I’ve warmed you up a little, I’ll get blankets. I’ll be careful to not to touch you where you’re wounded.” He felt the whole length of her warm, naked body press against him. Her hands cupped his face, warming his cheeks. “There,” she murmured, “let’s get a little warmth into you. When you’re warm enough, I’ll cover you with my nightgown before I go inside and call the ambulance.”
    “No ambulance,” he said, opening his eyes and looking at her. “Let me die happy.”
    “Oh.” She pulled away slightly, a blush creeping up her cheeks. “You need to go to the hospital—you’ve been badly injured. I thought you were unconscious.” She paused before adding, “I’m…well, I’m just trying to warm you up. You were so cold. Are you warm enough now?”
    “No, please stay, it really helps.” That was