Free Howl by Annalise Grey

the
rocky cliff, mere feet from where the cougar once stood.
    It was no match for us. But it put up a
valiant fight. I walked away with a gash several inches long and
half an inch deep across my right shoulder and into my chest.
Tristan’s hind leg had two, fairly superficial puncture wounds from
the cougar’s canines. To show our respect, we gave it a good death,
a quick snap of the neck. Neat and honest. I refused to play with
my food as many of my kind do.
    The meat was unbelievably satisfying. After
going months on a vegetarian diet, fresh meat hit the spot. The
blood was warm and coppery as each bite slid over my tongue and
down my throat. It was heavy in my gut. I was just a hair slower
after polishing off my kill. Tristan and I, tummies contented,
started for home.
    Upon to returning to my clothing pile, I
shifted back to human form. The gash burned terribly in a way that
had been more bearable in my wolf form. As a human though, it took
plenty of concentration to not focus solely on the pain. Before
dressing, I headed to the creek to wash off the cougar’s blood from
my face. Not that it would matter really because my wound bled
quite profusely. Still, I didn’t want blood all over my face and
neck as well.
    Pulling my bra on with only one strap to hold
it up, I carefully avoided touching my gash. I flicked a spider off
my panties and shimmied them up my thighs. When it came to putting
my jeans back on, it was harder. The slash was stinging so bad that
I called to Tristan who helped me to pull them up by the band, as
an adult would help a child.
    “You're bleeding everywhere, you know.” He
said as I buttoned the jeans.
    “Thanks for that update. I had no idea.” I
said, dripping sarcasm and crimson.
    “I wouldn't put your shirt back on. You'll
ruin it.”
    “Aren't you Captain Obvious tonight?” I
glared at him. My irritation was compounded by the intensity of the
pain. “I wasn’t going to put it back on. It would hurt too
badly.”
    “Fine then, miss pissy-pants.” He rolled his
eyes at me and pointed at my chest, grinning. “On a happier note,
that’s going to be an amazing scar with one hell of a story behind
it!”
    A scar, a tale to tell…Something in my
expression must have tipped Tristan off to my reluctance to laugh.
He jerked his head toward home and smiled. “Come on Fifi. We have a
brother to piss off with a late night phone call.”
    Tristan’s assumption was spot on. Mom
panicked at the sight of so much blood pouring down over my bra,
soaking the waistband of my jeans that she dialed Thomas’ number
repeatedly until he answered. While she waited for him to pick up
the phone, she chewed us out for cornering a cougar.
    “I know I’ve taught you better! You are not
pups anymore! You got what you asked for, going after a cougar.
They get nasty when confronted! What on earth were you thinking?!”
On and on it went until Thomas answered the phone and cut her
off.
    Thomas walked in the door not fifteen minutes
later carrying an attitude darker than his black medical bag.
    “Just to let you two know, one of us has an
intelligent and sexy woman lying naked but alone because of your
stupidity.” He grumbled as he gave me a shot to numb my cut. Behind
his hand, Tristan snickered. “If you don’t want to die from an
infection, you might want to shut the hell up.” He pointed the
syringe at Tristan.
    “So the Terrible Two strike again. Why is it
always you two?” Gavin’s voice carried over Thomas’. His expression
was less irritated but still not pleased.
    After stitching up my gash and giving both me
and Tristan an immediate dose of antibiotics, he handed Gavin a
prescription and made an appointment for us to be seen at his
office in two days.
    With my wound still numbed, I lumbered up the
steps to my room hoping I'd be able to fall asleep quickly. In the
morning I would have to think of a really good excuse for my new
and very permanent mark.
    *
    The office of Dr. Matthews was