Dear Reader:

Thank you for choosing my story. This one came about because I started getting a lot of advertisements for werewolf stories and I am easily sucked into a good storyline. However, the apps I had to download to finish the stories were very irritating, so I just decided to write my own and share it here on Wattpad. It's the first story I've written about (a) Earth and (b) the current (or nearly) time and (c) a place I'm familiar with. The story is mostly finished. I'm editing it as I post chapters. Hopefully I'll get one or two up each week.

I have a challenge for you. See if you can figure out (1) what state the story takes place in (2) what city and University and finally (3) what dorm. Good luck with that (he he). [And no telling sister of mine!]

Aiyana squeezed both brakes as hard as she could and braced herself so she wouldn't go flying over the handlebars. Her front tire stopped just shy of the door of the shiny black sports car that had suddenly rolled into her path.

It wasn't the first time she'd nearly been hit and it probably wouldn't be the last. It was one of the pitfalls of living in a college town with thousands of young drivers and very few bike lanes.

The driver, a spoiled frat boy no doubt, belatedly turned his head to check for on-coming traffic and looked momentarily surprised to find a girl on a red bike right next to his door. He grinned like she was absurdly lucky to be in his presence. She glared. According to her volleyball friends, her glare alone could block a spike. It could apparently deflate puffed-up males too. The boy quickly turned to look the other way, then drove across traffic right in front of a pick-up. The pick-up driver slammed on his brakes and turned the wheel, and for a moment, all Aiyana could see was a big silver grill coming right at her. To her belated relief, the truck's brakes worked like they were supposed to and the driver managed to stay on his side of the road.

Although she would heal quickly if she did get injured, she was still a little shaken when she reached the animal hospital. It wasn't her day to work - she only worked Friday nights and weekends - but it wasn't often they had a werewolf patient and one as seriously injured as the one in the back. To normal humans she was a pre-vet student, but in the werewolf world she was in training to be a pack doctor.

Doc Brown, her thirty-something mentor, whose name fit him well with his brown hair, brown eyes, medium-toned skin, and his tendency to wear brown shirts, was standing behind the girl manning the front desk, perusing a file. He glanced at Aiyana over the top of his reading glasses as she came in and shook his head. From his calm look she gathered the wolf was still sleeping, not that he'd died.

"Can I see him?"

He nodded. "I'm glad you're here. Talk to him. See if you can get a response. I haven't had much time today."

If the girl at the desk thought it was odd that Doc told her to talk to a wild wolf, she didn't show it. Aiyana and Doc were the only werewolves who currently worked at the hospital, so they had to be careful. Humans still hadn't figured out how to treat each other and they were all the same species. How would they treat people who technically weren't?

She pushed through the door that led to the hallway past all the examination rooms and surgery rooms to the wild animal recovery room at the very back of the hospital. To her surprise, Dr. Richardson was standing near the cage where the injured wolf lay. The humans thought Doc Brown took care of wild animals out of charity. Aiyana got the feeling his human partner, Dr. Richardson, went along with it because of the positive publicity it occasionally generated and the grants it meant they could apply for. She rarely saw him actually treating the wild animals.

"Good afternoon Dr. Richardson."

He turned his blond head and gave a brief nod before turning back to the wolf. She quickly moved across the room to stand by his side, wary that he might be applying some treatment that Doc was unaware of. "Is something wrong?"

He raised an eyebrow and indicated the bandaged wolf with his hand.

"I meant other than the obvious."

"It's a wolf. Not a wolf-dog, but an actual gray wolf, a big one, healthy too, except for his injuries, of course. There haven't been any wolves in this state for years. Why was it here?"

Dr. Richardson hadn't been a part of the practice long. He was dedicated to his patients and tended to prescribe the most aggressive medications and treatments. He was also smart - maybe too smart. That wasn't to say the human techs weren't smart, but Doc was the boss so they didn't tend to question his decisions.

"What do you mean?" Aiyana asked innocently, "I thought they sent it here because they didn't have a place for him at the wild wolf center."

It wasn't a real place. Well, it was, but they didn't actually send wolves to other vets for treatment. The wild wolf center was a cover for all the pack doctors, like Doc, in states without wild wolves who made a living by serving as veterinarians to the general public. If one of the werewolves in their pack needed treatment in a public facility, they claimed they were helping out the wild wolf center.

"No, he was found in a ditch just a few miles north of town," Dr. Richardson informed her.

There were wolves on the police force and they would have done their best to cover up the find, but they couldn't keep the person who'd found it from talking. News of the wolf must have made the local paper.

"Maybe he fell out of the back of the hunter's truck," she offered.

"Unlikely. A hunter wouldn't cart a living wolf hundreds of miles. It's more likely he would have skinned him at the site and left the carcass behind."

The image made her feel sick. Is that what had happened to her parents? They'd been killed by hunters when she was a baby. She'd known that most of her life, but she'd never envisioned them lacking their fur when they were found. How would anyone have recognized them?

"People are strange sometimes," she managed through the bile rising in the back of her throat.

"Yeah, I guess that would explain why Doc didn't just put this poor animal down. The chances of him recovering enough to be returned to the wild are virtually nonexistent and no one is going to want to adopt a brain-damaged wolf."

She knew he didn't know any better, but it disturbed her how nonchalantly he considered killing the beautiful wolf before them, and he was beautiful. His gray and white fur was long and soft and shined with health. His eyes, although they still weren't responding to light, were a lovely bright blue. She prayed he'd open those eyes one day by himself.

"Dr. Richardson, you have a patient," the vet tech announced from the doorway.

"I'll be right there."

He left without another word which made Aiyana wonder why he'd been there in the first place.

The wolf was lying in the same position he had been the last time she'd seen him. She didn't like seeing him in a cage, but the humans would feel unsafe if he wasn't. She unlocked the door so she could more easily touch his foreleg and paw while she talked. In the wolf's current condition, unconscious from a shot to the head that should have killed a normal wolf, no one would complain as long as she was nearby.

Had he seen the hunter coming? Doc thought the first shot had been to the hip. Had the wolf tried to run or had he been so stunned after the first hit that he hadn't been able to move before the hunter squeezed the trigger again? Was that how here parents had been brought down? Ugh. Why was she being so dismal? That wouldn't help either one of them.

"Hello mystery wolf, I'm back. I will call you Edward today since you've been here five days and E is the fifth letter of the alphabet." She pulled the organic textbook from her backpack and sat on the stool beside him. "Today's exciting read is on the synthesis of aldehydes. As always, if you wish me to read something else, you are welcome to make a request."

No part of him moved. She ran her hand up and down the soft fur of his leg. Who was he and why had he been traveling alone? She doubted he was normally alone - he looked too healthy to be a rogue. She started reading, stopping occasionally to make a flashcard. Organic chemistry was definitely not her favorite class, but that wasn't going to stop her from doing her best to get an A.

Thirty minutes before she needed to be at the court for an intramural volleyball game, she shut her book with a bang then rubbed his forearm again. "I need to go. It's Friday tomorrow. Maybe I'll bring something a little more interesting. I'm guessing you wouldn't like romance. How about some science-fiction or fantasy?"

She felt the slightest of twitches under her hand. She lifted his paw so she could rub the pads underneath. "Which do you prefer? One twitch for science-fiction and two for fantasy."

His paw didn't move. The twitch was probably just random. She put his paw down gently, then did something for which Dr. Richardson would have no doubt been aghast. She wrapped her arms around the wolf's big head, being careful not to touch his bandages, and gave him a hug. "Get better."

His head moved. She was certain this time. She released his neck and took his paw again. "Hey, can you hear me? Are you awake?"

His head lifted just enough for the wolf to shift his nose closer to her. She moved her hand so he could smell her. He wouldn't recognize her, of course, but he'd know she was a werewolf like him and that he wasn't alone. He sniffed the back of her fingers, than gave them a lick.

"Hey!" She jerked her hand away in surprise. Werewolves were much like their wild cousins in that they liked contact and running and playing, but they usually didn't lick strangers.

The wolf let out a small whine. Poor thing. He was probably disoriented and didn't realize what he was doing. She rubbed the part of his head that wasn't covered in bandages. "I'm sorry. You startled me. I'm Aiyana. I'm helping Doc Brown care for you."

The wolf lifted his nose toward her, so she put her hand out again. He didn't lick her this time, but he did rub the side of his nose against the back of her hand rather lovingly. Somewhere inside her chest, something stirred. Wouldn't that be amazing if he were her mate? Too bad she'd already found hers. She opened her hand and rubbed his long nose. "I'm going to get you some water. I'll be right back."

She placed the dish in front of his nose. After she'd made sure he could find it, she pushed the com button and called for Doc. The wolf eagerly slurped up the water, but sniffed the air and growled when Doc stepped into the room.

She tapped his forehead - probably not the safest thing to do with a growling wolf, but it felt right. "Stop that. Why are you growling? He's your doctor."

The wolf lowered his nose and whimpered.

She immediately felt bad and touched his forehead again, this time in the form of a rub. "It's all right. This is probably really confusing for you. Can you see anything at all?"

He made a sad little noise that made her want to hug him again. Doc flashed a light at the wolf's eyes. "His pupils still aren't responding. I don't think it's hopeless though. There was some improvement on his last scan."

"How much?"

"Not as much as there should be. His were-gland is basically gone. There have been a few cases like this before, where the were-gland was damaged or removed. Without it the wolves couldn't phase and they couldn't heal, not like they should."

The wolf pushed his head further into her hand. Was he enjoying the rub that much or was he seeking comfort? Had he caught what Doc said about being stuck in wolf form?

"Is there a way to fix the gland?"

"In one case, part of the gland remained and it eventually regenerated."

"And the other cases?"

Doc shook his head. They probably shouldn't be talking about it in front of the wolf, but she doubted he was even listening considering the way he was now rubbing his cheek against her palm. He seemed to be able to hear and understand her, but he was acting more like a wolf than a human. She couldn't imagine being stuck in wolf form. She enjoyed it occasionally, but she preferred all the advantages such as books and opposable thumbs that came with being a human.

"What if someone donated part of their gland? Would that work?"

"I don't know. No one has ever tried, at least not that I know of. I'll need to do more research. He seems to like you. See if you can figure out his name. I'm still waiting to hear if Alpha Miguel has found any packs who are missing a member."

What do you think? Don't forget to vote!