Three Wild Werewolf Tales by Calandra Hunter Read Free Book Online Page B

blue striped pyjama bottoms and the faded black shirt with a band Alex had never heard of told him the vet hadn’t been awake long. The breaking sound had come from a mug of coffee, a pool of black fluid at the bare feet of the other man, along with remains of the mug.
    The Dachshund started barking, and in a reflex, the vet made some shushing noises at it as he stood in the doorway. “What the – who – what –– how – what?” the vet eventually managed, after some incomprehensible sounds.
    “You’re the one who put me in here!” Alex was crouching now in the back of his crate. The wolf inside of him wanted to run or attack, and he could do neither. He resisted the urge to bare his teeth.
    The vet stepped forward, realised he was standing in coffee, then stepped back, wincing. “You’re not a wolf. I would’ve remembered hitting a –– a not a wolf last night.”
    Alex remained quiet. The other man smelled scared and panicked, much like he had last night when he had got out of the car to check on Alex. And while Alex hadn’t wanted to be bundled into the backseat of a car, it was a rational response considering the situation. When you’re a vet, you take care of wounded animals. So no matter how panicked this guy was, he was able to think under pressure. “Last night I was a wolf.”
    The guy stared at him, running a hand through his hair. “This isn’t real, this isn’t fucking happening...” He took a big step across the puddle of coffee and the shards from the mug, coming closer towards Alex. “What the fuck do I do now?” He took another step closer, staring at Alex.
    Alex moved back, reacting on instinct and feeling threatened, even though the human side of him shouted at him to stop acting like a wolf.
    The other man crouched down about three feet away from the crate. “Can’t exactly call the police and tell ‘em there’s a naked guy in my office, can I?”
    “You could let me out,” Alex said, watching him closely. “Maybe you can give me trousers or something and I’ll be out of your hair.”
    “If it’s a prank, it’s a ridiculous one,” the other man muttered to himself. “And too elaborate. Too much that could go wrong. Who’d put a wolf or a dog at risk of serious injury?”
    He slammed his fist against the side of the crate, wincing at the pain and the noise. Two of the cats were hissing now. “Let me out.”
    The man started, and moved back. “Look, I don’t know who you are, how you got into this crate and –”
    “My name is Alex, and you put me here last night.” The other man was thinking rationally, but in completely the wrong direction. “I’m fine now, my leg’s healed.”
    “You really were the wolf I hit with my car?”
    “Yes.”
    The other man shifted closer. “Right, okay, what happened last night?”
    Alex stared at him with some surprise. “You hit me with your car, I passed out, you dragged me into your backseat and drove here.”
    The man still looked sceptical. “What song was playing on the radio last night?”
    Seriously, he was supposed to have been paying attention to that? “I don’t know, Aerosmith? Springsteen? It was some classic rock channel.”
    “Close enough.”
    “Thanks,” Alex snapped. “Now will you let me out?”
    “Oh, yeah, sure.”
    Alex waited, staying away from the door. He didn’t want to scare the other man off, nor did he trust himself enough not to snarl or bite at him. His wolf side wasn’t happy. When the other man stood up after opening the door, Alex crawled out, sighing with relief when he stood up. “Much better, thanks.” He turned to the other man, his wolf side pacified by the fact that he was about a head shorter than Alex. The other man posed no threat anymore, and now that Alex got a good look at him, he realised the guy was rather cute with his dark brown eyes and full lips. He wondered what the other man would look like out of that band t-shirt. He wanted food, yes, but he was also hungry