Chapter Five
There was pain and warmth. A fire. Caleb only knew because of the crackling pops. He couldn't open his eyes. Couldn't move.
"Don't shift, boy," a gruff voice commanded. The words sounded stilted and odd.
Despite his pain, Caleb's body responded to that voice. He found that he wanted to open his eyes, if only to see the face that belonged to those raspy words.
"You need to be in your animal or you may die," the voice said. Again, it was as if English wasn't his first language, not because of any accent, but because of how unusual the words sounded, like he hadn't spoken them in a long time. Odder still, the voice sounded too invested. Like the thought of Caleb dying was important.
Did he know this voice?
There was a shuffle of movement and Caleb felt someone touch his fur, his body warmed wherever those fingers fell. Whatever the man did, it helped ease Caleb. Some of the pain faded, though he was no less tired.
The voice made a noise Caleb didn't think was English. Somehow, it still felt like a command, especially when an animal yipped like it was in response.
Caleb heard more movement, felt a cold breeze and then the breeze was cut off. Moments later, something furry laid beside him and Caleb passed out again.
***
Caleb woke up on a sigh. There had been a deep voice, it was rough and felt like sandpaper on his skin. Or a tongue. Now that he thought about it, it had definitely felt like a tongue, licking his body all over.
His body. Caleb was in his human form for the first time in what felt like years. That thought had him panicking, what had he missed? Where were the kids? It couldn't have been years or else you would be dead by now, he thought, to calm himself.
He didn't remember shifting, but figured he must have done so in his sleep. That on its own wasn't unusual. Often--especially when he was young and very sick--he would go to sleep in his wolf form because he would heal faster and sometime in the middle of sleep, when he was well enough, he would shift back.
It wasn't weird that he was in his human form, but it was weird that he was laying on a pile of hay in a small, dusty, dark cabin.
The cabin consisted of a single room that smelled like the forest. Caleb got the idea that no one had been in this cabin for a long time. There was a small door open a crack on the other side. Wind whistled through the narrow crevice and he shivered despite not having felt cold before that moment.
He wiggled and then wished he hadn't. Pain exploded all over his body in a deep, blooming force. He didn't want to look down for fear of what gaping, probably putrefying injuries he would find. Lucky enough not to die from the initial wounds, he was going to die from infection if he didn't get to a hospital.
He took a deep breath, closed his eyes tightly and steeled himself against the pain. He pushed up quickly, hoping that getting to his feet would be like tearing off a band aid.
It wasn't.
The moment he put weight on his right leg a wave of nausea coursed through him and he crumpled down to the dirt floor, expelling everything he hadn't eaten. The racking heaves only made his body hurt worse so that by the time his stomach contracted for the last time, he was sobbing through the pain. Worst of all was his leg. The lower half, beneath the knee had been splinted. It felt like a swollen, useless appendage. He was unable to put weight on it as he cried against the ground, drool dripping from his mouth and mixing with the dirt below.
The door opened, bringing in fresh, warm air and a sharp noise of disapproval. Callused hands grabbed him with a firm grasp, pulling him away from his sickness and back to the straw bed.
The moment Caleb's head touched the surprisingly soft straw he felt better. His head stopped spinning and his stomach settled. Though, maybe it was the man touching him.
The man let his fingers graze freely over Caleb's skin. Everywhere his sure fingers were felt better, as if his very touch was healing. Caleb took a clearer look at the man, making a high pitch noise when he realized the man was completely naked.
Over six feet of virile, nude man, stood bent over as he examined Caleb's smaller body. The man dipped his scowling, ruggedly handsome face down against Caleb's chest. He inhaled like an animal catching a scent. He moved around Caleb's body sniffing and touching him in a way that could only be described as animalistic. Worse, Caleb didn't feel humiliated or offended as he should have. It wasn't until the man's face went between his legs that Caleb thought to jerk away. He squeaked in pain when the motion jostled his most likely broken leg. The man pulled back abruptly and swept Caleb's body with a scrutinizing gaze. Caleb would blame his body's response on the pain. That was why when the man cupped his cheek as if in apology, Caleb nestled into the man's palm and sighed contentedly.
The man stilled and made a rumbling sound of approval, not quite a growl or a purr, but something in between. Despite his pain and worry, Caleb felt his cock harden. He closed his eyes and turned his face away, hoping the man wouldn't notice.
There was silence for a long time, with his eyes squeezed shut, Caleb didn't know what the man was doing. Hopefully not noticing his erection. Finally, the man cleared his throat.
"You, stay," he said more clearly than he had before.
Caleb bristled. He was not a dog. He was just about to open his mouth and say as much when the man opened the door wide, letting a large amount of light in. Caleb saw three other bodies in the room. Furry and small, the one closest to him looked at him and growled. Wolves?
Caleb jerked back and the growling wolf got to her feet, stepping to the doorway. She plopped down, a clear message. Caleb was not getting out of that cabin.