Chapter 5
Marcia checked him carefully, finding innumerable bite marks, claw gashes, tears and rips. She was sure at least a few bones were broken, but those would have to wait, as she wasn't sure about the difference the forms made, and the cast certainly wouldn't hold between this one and his human form.
She stopped for a moment, reflecting upon the absurdity of it all—that she was treating what was essentially a werewolf on her operating table. The Labrador was strange enough, but this... this was too much.
She artfully stitched him up to the best of her ability, giving him a shot to numb the pain before doing so, ensuring that he wouldn't be awoken by her work. In truth, she intended to patch him up, then simply leave and stay with Cindy, figuring that he'd simply wake and return to the mountain. There was no reason for him to destroy the clinic or seek her out, she thought, so she worked as quickly as she could.
Samuel woke up halfway through the procedure, panting softly, the golden eyes staring up at her. Marcia averted her eyes, focusing hard on her work. She could hardly believe that the cocky, arrogant billionaire who stood inside her home unannounced and uninvited just yesterday was now laying on her operating table as a large, injured wolf. She questioned more than a few times if she was simply dreaming, or had taken some particularly bad bump on the head and was imagining all of this.
Each stitch was made carefully and with the utmost concern for his comfort, even if he had been rude and borderline terrifying. He defended her in the woods against whatever those... bear things were.
Before the job was finished, he was unconscious again. Marcia hovered over him for perhaps a bit longer than she intended to, and even found her hand on his shoulder in some comforting gesture. She wasn't entirely sure what she was doing or why, but she felt a certain amount of guilt for what had happened to him. More than likely, he was injured fending off the others when she was making her escape—or, at least, keeping them busy. For that, she was infinitely grateful, and was sure she wouldn't have made it back without his assistance.
She stared down at him, wishing he'd wake and change, but that didn't seem to be happening any time soon. Instead, she slipped quietly from the clinic to grab a few things from her home and at least try to prop the door up to keep more wild animals from just walking in whenever they pleased.
When she returned, as she'd feared, he was gone. A single bloody print near the table was all that remained.
There must have been something more she could have done for him. She knew that one of his legs was broken, and that much was obvious. She'd seen quadrupeds with broken legs before, and they didn't fare well—especially not when they were being hounded by predators. She turned on her heel, walking quickly back to her home to gather everything she thought she'd need for a trip up the mountain. If I'm quiet enough, she thought, they won't hear me coming up the mountain and I can check on him.
By this point, her instincts as a nurse and caretaker had taken over her logical fear of what slept on that mountain. All she knew was that Samuel was terribly hurt, and was going to be a lot worse off if he got too far up the mountain.
When she reached her door, she was only somewhat surprised to see that it had been pushed aside, and the padded paw print was placed almost purposely at the door. It seemed he was unable to return to his biped form when injured so severely, and likely thought her home the best place to hide until he was mended well enough to strike back against those who had harmed him. Marcia found him laying in the kitchen, panting, laid over on his side.
She moved to the pantry where the first aid kit was kept, and returned with wrappings and stints for his broken leg. At least this would allow him to get around without too much pain. She brought water and food, which he ate eagerly. Before day's end, he'd gotten up and walked around some, and in the morning, she woke to find him in his human form on the couch, covered by a blanket and nothing else. She couldn't help her eyes drifting to his muscles, the slender and sinewy nature of his physique, the way the light shone on him through the window off to the side. He was truly a masterpiece, and she figured he'd have to be to survive what he survived.
Her presence stirred him, and he sat up, leaving the blanket draped loosely over his lap as he looked over his shoulder to her. “...good morning. I appreciate all you've done for me. I... didn't get your name last time I was here.”
“Marcia. I'm sorry I was so... short with you.” A little giggle, at that. “You were kinda in my house, though. Saying threatening things. I... thought you were, anyway.”
“I understand. We need to talk about what happened on the mountain, though. I think there are some things that need clarification, and I don't know what those bastards would've told you. Please, come. Sit with me.” He seemed unashamed and unconcerned with his state of undress, the blanket still laying only loosely over his lap. Marcia sat beside him, turning to him and crossing her legs on the thick, plush couch.
“My family has lived on this mountain for a long, long time. Our line stretches back to the first European immigration to the area. Ah... you may have noticed my 'condition' as well. It's common to every member of my family—or, was. We foolishly moved onto this mountain with the expectation that we would be safe from the world at large. It was inhospitable for us in the Old World, but was doubly so here in the New. Thankfully, our longevity allowed us to make some key investments, support some important people, make sure we stayed safe and secret. The house atop the mountain is our ancestral home, and most of the kin have lived there at one point or another.”
Marcia listened closely, finding herself leaning in bit by bit as he spoke.
“I've been living on this mountain for hundreds of years—in total, anyway. We never really interacted with the town, and none of the residents seemed too keen on coming up. I moved back in a decade or so ago after 'retiring' from my position as head of the Gray company. I made plenty to keep our family going, but... when I returned, I found we had some new neighbors. People like us. I thought that we might start a larger community, integrate, support each other... but they wanted nothing less than to collectively hold total dominion over the area.”
Samuel placed a hand at his chest, giving a soft cough. “Water, please.”
Marcia rose from the couch, filling a glass quickly to bring it back to him. He drank it down greedily, then continuing. “So... I don't really know what happened to my family, but one by one, they started disappearing. Soon, I was the only one left, because I was the only one fast enough to outrun them. They didn't come for me until everyone else had already gone. I'm not sure if they took them, killed them, if they ran away... I've never heard from anyone. I've been alone up there for so long, now.”
She nodded, giving a little frown. “I'm so sorry to hear that, Samuel. I can't imagine what it's been like to live up there all alone for so many years.”
He gave a soft, unexpected chuckle then. “It's not so bad. Not as if I was hurting for money or entertainment or anything. I ran my father's company for a great many years, until it started looking like I was too young to be 50. Ah... that happens every so often, with us. People start getting suspicious because of our longevity, and we have to either move on or simply withdraw from the public. That's why we founded this place, in truth. We needed a place to go where we wouldn't be bothered, where we could lay low for a few decades and re-emerge to live some other life, you know? It gives us time and the place to study whatever skills we'll need for our new lives, too. I didn't know the first thing about mining or running a business like that until my father taught me, here on this mountain. Ah... I think you should know, my mother was a human, and each human that binds to... someone like us, they become quite the same. We're largely immortal, but by far not invincible, as...” He gave a little cough. “As you can tell.”
Marcia nodded firmly. “I didn't know what I was going to do when you came to the clinic. When I saw your face, I really thought you were just... there to berate me more, or hurt me, or tell me that I had to go or what happened to you would happen to me—though I guess that last one is probably true, isn't it...?”
He nodded firmly. “They would've forced you to bind to one of their people, making you into one of them, making you work toward their aims. Make no mistake though—those ursine bastards are the interlopers, not us. I don't know where they came from or how they found out about our home, but they did not want cooperation and co-existence. They wanted to take over, and they've almost succeeded.”
He seemed to be getting more and more perturbed and angry as he went on, so Marcia placed a hand softly at his chest. “Samuel... maybe you should sleep, for now. I'm sure you're still in no small amount of pain. If you rest up, you may well feel better tomorrow. You seem comfortable enough here—is it alright?”
He gave a firm nod, then taking her hand and kissing it softly. “Marcia, I can't... I can't begin to thank you for the generosity you've shown me. I'll make it up to you, somehow.” As he laid back, she saw how exhausted he truly was, as he drifted off to sleep almost immediately.
Marcia moved back to her room then, turning everything off as she went, settling in for a long night of sleep. She didn't feel unsafe in the slightest—instead, she felt protected by his presence, far different to how she would have felt with him in her home only a day ago.
During the course of the night, the blanket had slid from his lap and to the floor. In the morning, coming to rouse him, she found herself unconsciously licking her lips as she looked him over. Her eyes finally settled on the thick cock laid bare for her, giving a soft gasp at its size. She leaned in, teasing along his length with her fingertips, looking up to him. This roused him, and he looked down to her.
“A... aha... I didn't think you were up for all that, now.”
She hiked a brow. “Oh, honey. You deserve all the lovin' you can get. Let me take care of you.”