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  Wolf Moon

  A Furred, Feathered, and Fanged novelette

  J. R. Burnett

  Published by J. R. Burnett at Smashwords

  Copyright 2014 J. R. Burnett

  Cover designed by Deranged Doctor Design

  Smashwords Edition, License Notes:

  This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  Chapter 1

  "Who in their right mind throws a baby jackalope in the garbage?" Alex muttered under his breath as he crawled around inside the dumpster. Something squished under foot and he was glad that the light from his flashlight didn't extend far enough to tell what it was. Grabbing ahold of the metal wall, he hauled himself up and out of the muck.

  Cold and bitter wind greeted him on the other side. He cradled the jackalope against his chest, the shivering baby small enough to fit in the palm of his hand, and rubbed the nubs on the top of the critter's head. They were the only thing that differentiated it from a commonplace rabbit at this stage. It wouldn't grow full antlers until it reached adulthood.

  Golden eyes flashed in the dark and a rangy dog with a grizzled grey coat slunk out of the shadows. The dog sniffed up and down his leg and Alex pushed it away with his foot. "Easy there, Mike. You're getting a little too personal for my taste." Wolf was the appropriate term, but people tended to judge Mike too harshly if the w-word came up, so he had to suffer the indignity of being called a dog. In public, at least.

  Another gust of wind blew down the alleyway and the baby jackalope snuggled up against his shirt. Alex zipped up his jacket, nestling the little one inside to protect it from the cold. No telling how long it had been out here and even a few minutes was too long for such a tiny critter. Seriously, there was something wrong with people that did stuff like this.

  "Hang in there, little buddy. We'll get you somewhere warm." Alex eyed the kennels built into his truck, then changed his mind. They were insulated against the cold and heated, but not warm enough for a half frozen jackalope. Not in this weather. Grabbing a cage out of the back, he settled the baby into it and set the entire thing in the front of the truck. Mike jumped up into his usual spot in the passenger seat, nosing at the cage.

  "Leave him alone," Alex said. "The last thing he needs is your big old teeth in his face. He's had a bad enough day as it is."

  Mike huffed and turned his head to look out the passenger window.

  Fog had rolled in while he had been chasing the frightened kit in the dumpster and a curtain of white dulled the details of the alley. Alex started the truck and flicked on the headlights, creating a glow around the vehicle as the light bounced back off the wall of cloud.

  The radio on his hip squawked and sputtered. "What ya' need, Daisy?" Alex asked.

  "That is not proper radio etiquette," Daisy said, her words garbled and broken but somehow still managing to sound judgmental.

  Alex rolled his eyes and tried to keep the majority of the sarcasm out of his voice. His tone had gotten him in trouble with the Captain on more than one occasion. "It's two in the morning--it's just you and me, dear. Even the enforcement officers have signed off this channel for the night."

  "Keep your 'dear' to yourself. I've got a call for you."

  "It better not be Mr. Dodson again. If he's caught another unicorn...."

  "Remains."

  "Call regular animal control." Alex adjusted the heater vents so that they blew directly on the jackalope.

  "Suspicious remains."

  "Fine. Where?" he asked, putting the truck in gear. So much for heading back home to his warm bed.

  "A park on the west side. I'm texting you the address."

  "I'm on my way."

  The roads were mostly deserted given the late hour and the fog thickening by the minute. Only a few other vehicles, most of them with flashing lights, passed by as he headed to the scene. The fog froze around the edges of his windshield, forming fractal patterns over the glass. "Rough night to be out and about," Alex said.

  Mike didn't acknowledge that he'd said anything. Wolves made sorry companions when it came to small talk.

  The gate to the park was chained shut and secured with a heavy padlock. Leaving the truck running, Alex went around to let Mike out the passenger door. The wolf jumped down from the truck and loped off into the night, his form quickly swallowed up by the fog. Alex shrugged, Mike never changed--always rushing headlong into whatever was ahead. Maybe if he'd been more cautious, things would have turned out differently two years ago. Alex heaved himself up over the bars of the gate to follow Mike into the darkness.

  Grass crunching under foot, Alex made his way across the playground. The beam from his flashlight swept back and forth, failing to penetrate more than a couple feet into the cloud soup that pressed in around him. Something moved off to his right and Alex hesitated, his heart racing. A familiar woof, the sound dampened by the fog, announced Mike's return and the wolf pranced into the light, head up and eyes bright. Mike might not be much of a conversationalist, but he had one hell of a nose on him.

  Jogging to keep up, Alex followed Mike deeper into the park. The wind had died down and the closest main road was far enough away to prevent the sound of traffic from penetrating into the park. Even the nocturnal critters had bedded down for the night against the cold and damp. Mike's pace slowed and the wolf dropped back to Alex's side, pressing up against his leg. Alex let his free hand drop to Mike's shoulder and he could feel the wolf tremble through his heavy leather gloves.

  "What's gotten into you tonight?"

  Mike fell a few more steps behind in reply.

  The fog shifted and a pile of grey fur materialized out of the darkness. Ice crystals had started to form in the blood that surrounded the body. Alex knelt and pushed the animal over to see exactly what it was. He glanced back at Mike, no more than a shadow in the dark.

  It was a wolf.

  No wonder Mike was anxious. Wolves didn't naturally roam in Oklahoma, let alone Tulsa proper. A wolf here meant trouble. Again.

  The light from his flashlight reflected against silver and Alex brushed the bloodied fur aside to reveal a delicate dream catcher spun of silver wire and tiny pieces of turquoise. The pendant had been tied around the wolf's neck with a leather cord.

  Mike whined from somewhere out in the darkness.

  "I know," Alex said, glancing up towards the hidden night sky. The full moon wasn’t until tomorrow night. "Shifters."

  Chapter 2

  "Look what the cat finally drug in."

  Alex flashed his best smile to the blonde behind the reception desk. "I’m only half an hour late and I've been up all night on call." She didn't look impressed.

  He dropped the large black contractor bag he was carrying on the floor and reached for a pen to sign in for the day. The girl eyed the bag. "What’s that?" she asked.

  "You really don't want to know."

  The girl's face scrunched in disgust. "You left that in your car all night?"

  "I left it in a kennel on the truck. It was only half the night and it’s colder outside than it is in the freezer." He looked over his shoulder at Mike. "Want me to sign you in?"

  Mike barked once and the girl at the desk jumped.

  "Why do you bring your dog to work with you?" the blonde asked.

  Alex stared at her a second, trying to count back how long she'd worked here. What was her name? Karli? Brandi? It definitely ended with an 'i.' "He's not my dog
." Alex grabbed at the edge of the counter as Mike shoved past him, knocking him off balance. "And he's not in a very good mood," Alex apologized. "Didn't get enough sleep last night."

  "Whatever."

  "What's gotten into you?" Alex asked as he entered the animal control office. Mike ignored him, not moving from where he was sprawled out on his dog bed.

  Two desks had been shoved into the center of the cramped room to make space for a bank of cages against one wall. Precarious stacks of paper covered one of the desks, some of them escaping their confines and starting to colonize the second.

  Alex lugged the bag through the office and out a side door, settling it into a large chest freezer that already had several frost covered black bags nestled inside. The sound of the lid slamming shut echoed down the alleyway. Alex slipped his hand into his pocket, fingering the necklace that he'd taken off the wolf's body. Trouble was brewing and someone out there knew what was going on.

  He shivered as a blast of artic wind cut through his coat, chilling him down to his bones. It carried with it the slightly metallic smell of snow. He'd bet a hundred bucks that there'd be white stuff on the ground before the day was through. Sometimes he envied Mike's built in fur coat.

  Back in the office, Alex picked up the phone and dialed the number for dispatch. Someone had called in the wolf's body, hopefully Daisy had remembered to log their name.

  "Has Daisy left for the day?" he asked the girl that picked up on the other end.

  "A couple hours ago. What do you need, Alex?"

  "She took a call last night about some suspicious remains out on the west side. I need the info on the caller."

  "No problem. Give me a minute to pull up the file."

  Alex could hear the click of a keyboard as the girl worked on her computer. Her voice sounded familiar and she'd recognized his, why couldn’t he remember her name? Alex scribbled geometric designs in the margin of the nearest piece of paper to pass the time.

  "Here it is," the girl said finally. "Looks like it was called in anonymously."

  "Of course it was."

  "I can get you the general area from the towers the call bounced off of."

  "That would be great. I'll swing by and pick up a printout on my way to talk to the Captain."

  Alex nudged Mike with his toe. "Get up, you lazy dog, we have work to do."

  * * *

  The Captain's office was dark and stuffy. An antique wooden desk sat in the center of the room, empty except for several pencils neatly lined up in a row on top. Two uncomfortable wooden chairs exactly twelve inches apart faced the desk. The Captain had his cellphone cradled between his cheek and shoulder, scribbling frantically in a notebook. Wire rimmed spectacles slipped down the man's hooked nose and he shoved them back in place with a willowy finger.

  Alex paced the perimeter of the room, studying the pictures that hung on the walls. Many of them were starting to yellow with age. He stopped at a black and white photo depicting several men in long dark robes. One of them had a wand in his hand. ‘Demonology Department, 1944’ was written in a scribble of cursive at the bottom of the picture. Alex reached up and straightened the frame on the wall.

  The enforcement agencies had grown out of an agreement among the major occult practitioners long before the United States had formally existed and the alliance would probably last long after the country ceased to be. The Agency had been given a dual role--to keep the peace between the different practitioners and to ensure the continued secrecy of the arcane arts. The departments had adapted over the years as they responded to the ever evolving world around them, but their role had not changed.

  The first occult animal control department had been formed at the Agency based in Chicago in 1871 when a need had been discovered for those specializing in the furred, feathered, and fanged aspects of the occult. An enforcement team had failed to contain a rogue dragon…leading to disastrous consequences. Now nearly every outpost had an animal welfare division.

  "What ya' need, Alex?" the Captain asked as he hung up the phone.

  "I think we might have a situation on our hands. I found the body of a wolf last night and it had this around its neck." Alex slid the necklace across the desk.

  The Captain eyed the necklace from a distance but made no move to touch it. "Lycans?"

  "Looks like it."

  "Damn. Thought we'd run those bastards out of town two years ago."

  Mike growled, raising his hackles at the words.

  "Sorry, Mike," the Captain said. "I didn't mean...."

  "I think he's agreeing with you, sir," Alex offered.

  "What do you need?" the Captain asked.

  "I'm going to try to track down the person that made the call." Alex handed the Captain the piece of paper that he'd picked up from dispatch. They'd provided him a convenient map with the approximate location of the original call.

  "What's your cover?"

  "Rabid dog. It's always worked before."

  "You'll need some help."

  Alex glanced at Mike. He couldn't exactly take his partner along on a canvas. People tended not to open their doors when they saw a wolf on their porch. "I'll be fine."

  "You'll take back up. The department's dog food bill is already plenty big."

  "Fine," Alex said though he wasn't sure that having a two legged partner would decrease his risk of being attacked. It hadn't last time.

  Two years ago, Mike and him had been tracking down the members of a were-gang that had moved into the city on a recruiting spree. Changing was hard on the human body and, even if they didn't die a violent death, most werebeasts didn't live past their thirties. The packs needed to replenish their stock on a regular basis.

  It had been a lycan that had attacked Mike. Alex had blamed himself at first, he should have been carrying live ammunition instead of a tranq gun, but since he'd realized that it wouldn't have made any difference. The wolf had been on Mike in a split second and one bite had been enough.

  The curse transmitted by the bite of a werebeast doesn't affect the body alone--it changes the mind. The creature takes over and the person that once was is lost forever. Shooting Mike right then and there would have been the merciful thing to do, but Alex hadn't had it in him. Instead he'd rushed his partner to the Healers, hoping against hope that they'd be able to help.

  The Healers had sealed the bite wound, but could do nothing for the curse. A young Mage had offered a solution--the curse couldn't be stopped, but maybe it could be bound. The Mages had worked together all night and by morning they had succeeded. Mostly. Mike's mind would stay intact...unfortunately it was trapped in the body of a wolf.

  The Captain picked up the phone again. "Send someone over to animal control to help out Alex," he told whoever answered on the other end. Alex could hear a mumbled reply but couldn't make out any of the words. The Captain set the phone down and turned to him. "There, fixed. Now get back to work. I don't want a repeat of last time."

  * * *

  Alex was engrossed in paperwork and Mike sound asleep when she stepped through the door. The pen in Alex's hand slipped from his fingers and clattered against the top of the desk. Mike lifted his head at the noise, his eyes intent on the woman

  She was a head taller than he was and at least a hundred pounds lighter. Dirty blonde hair fell down her back in a neat ponytail, not a single hair out of place. She smiled at him, the expression extending all the way to her eyes.

  "I'm looking for Alex," she said.

  He stared at her, trying not to focus on how her uniform somehow managed to flatter her figure. Why in the world was she looking for him? All Alex could manage was a grunt, his mouth hanging halfway open as words failed him. Was he Alex? He wasn't sure he remembered his name anymore.

  "I'm Jamie," the woman said. “The Captain sent me to help out….”

  That answered that question. "You're in the right place," Alex said, his voice cracking a little. He felt heat start to rise in his checks and he ducked his head, shuffling the p
apers on the desk looking for something...anything. "Here." He grabbed the map from dispatch. "How do you feel about canvassing?"

  "Love it," Jamie beamed.

  "Seriously?"

  Her smile faltered for a second and Alex felt guilty. "Why not?" she asked.

  "It's monotonous grunt work?" he offered.

  "I like talking to people."

  Alex stood up, sucking in his gut as he came around the desk. "You can do the talking then. Hold down the fort would you, Mike?"

  Chapter 3

  "Thanks for your time," Alex said. At least this one had waited long enough to find out what they wanted before slamming the door in their faces. "Still like canvassing?" he asked Jamie as they moved on to the next house. Minuscule flakes of white drifted down from a steel grey sky.

  "Not so much."

  "How long have you been on the force?"

  Jamie hesitated a second, her head nodding slightly as if she was counting. "Eleven days."

  Alex stopped. "You're kidding, right?"

  Jamie kept walking. "Nope."

  "They sent me a rookie?" As soon as the words left his mouth he regretted them. Jamie glanced over her shoulder, the sparkle gone from her eyes. Alex jogged a few steps to catch up. "I didn't mean it that way," he said.

  Jamie shrugged and knocked on the door to the next house. "I volunteered."

  Alex started to stay something in reply when the door opened to reveal a middle aged woman in jeans and a sweat shirt. "Sorry to bother you," Alex said, flashing his badge quickly so the woman didn't have a chance to realize it wasn't the standard Tulsa police shield. "We're with animal control and we're going door to door to ask if anyone's seen a large stray dog wandering the neighborhood. We think it may be rabid."

  The woman’s eyes narrowed but she didn't show any other sign that she'd even understood what he'd said. "Espanol?" Alex asked. The woman still didn't answer. One of her hands rose to the base of her neck, trembling fingers touching a silver chain. Alex caught a glimpse of a dream catcher partially hidden under the collar of her sweatshirt. The woman's eyes widened in fear as she realized what he was looking at and she turned, fleeing into the house.