In mid-run a gray furred hand suddenly darted out from the thick woods and pulled the wounded deer off the game trail. Tumbling backwards from the force, the doe fell to her rump in startled horror, half-expecting to see the awful hunter.
What she saw was even scarier.
A six foot tall male wolf morph with long shaggy gray hair stared down at her with wide deep blue eyes.
Laura's breath stopped in her throat as she saw her natural predator's white fangs, and she began to tremble in delayed shock as her adrenaline boiled and fear set in.
"Hey! Hey!" The wolf whispered. "It's okay, I'm a friend."
The doe merely nodded, her eyes wide with horror, and gulped. "I-I'm hurt." She whispered back. "Can you help me?" Everything was screaming at her to run away, but there was something soothing and almost noble about the wolf.
"Maybe." The wolf kneeled down and inched closer. "Let me see."
Reluctantly, Laura pulled her blood soaked hand away from her shoulder and her face fell as she saw the extent of her injury. Her bone was showing and ragged strips of mangled flesh hung in shards. There might even have been some buckshot buried in her meat.
The wolf quickly grabbed the deer's muzzle and turned it towards his own. "Look at my face. You're going to be okay, but you have to stay calm, okay?"
The doe blinked, shivering, and tried to pull her head away for a second look at her wound. The wolf gripped her slender face tighter and held her gaze to his. "No, look at me. Not that. Okay?"
Laura nodded meekly.
"Good. Now stay calm. I've got something to help, okay?"
The wolf had been wearing a leather satchel this entire time, and reached into the open flap to withdraw some cotton gauze and a sling.
"This is going to keep you from bleeding out, and we need to keep that arm still, all right?"
Laura nodded, and closed her eyes. "Okay."
"Good girl. Just let me fix you up." The sound of footsteps crunching on the leaves in the distance spooked the both of them.
"We need to hurry!" Laura whispered, cringing.
"You don't worry about him, okay? I'll protect you. Let's just get your arm dealt with and then we can get to shelter and safety."