Without Reservations

the last potato, turned toward the refrigerator and stopped dead in her tracks. “Chayton Montgomery Winston. What did I say about sharing with the animals?”
    Chay’s eyes sparkled up at her. He glanced at the family cat that had cake batter all over her whiskers, then back to his mother. “You said not to share with Roscoe, Mommy. You didn’t say anything about Fluffy.”
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    J.L. Langley

Chapter One
    “Doctor Winston?”
    Chay finished the stitch on Bitsy, Mrs. Preston’s cat. Only then did he look up at his receptionist. “Yes, Cheryl?”
    “The game warden is here. He brought a wolf in and he wants to speak to you. He says it’s urgent.”
    What in the world did Frank Red Hawk want? He normally dropped the wounded animal off and left. “Okay, I’ll be right there.” He smiled over at his veterinary assistant Tina. “Can you finish up here?”
    Tina’s brown eyes twinkled over her surgical mask. “Sure thing, boss.”
    Chay chuckled at her exuberance and stepped aside. Tina loved her job. She’d have done the entire surgery by herself if he’d let her.
    He washed up and went into the reception area.
    The game warden paced on the other side of the counter, worrying his bottom lip.
    Crap. Something must be really wrong. Chay walked around the counter.
    Frank practically ran to him. He grabbed Chay’s shoulders and leaned in, whispering so only Chay could hear. “Chay, I brought you a wolf. One of your assistants put it in a room. But I need to talk to you.”
    He raised his eyebrow meaningfully and looked around. When his gaze landed on Cheryl, he cleared his throat. “Can we go into your office?”
    8 www.samhainpublishing.com

    Without Reservations
    “Sure. Right this way.” Chay led the older man into his office and shut the door. He crossed to his desk, propping his butt against the front of the big mahogany surface. “What happened, Frank?”
    “The wolf is one of us, Chay. I was out this morning looking into a call about poachers. I found several shell casings before I heard a whine.
    There was a wolf lying in the shallow ravine just north of the packs’
    marked territory. So, I ran back and got my tranq gun. I shot it before I realized it was a werewolf. But the thing is, Chay, the wolf isn’t pack. The wolf is white. I mean the fur…it has white fur and is really small…maybe a teenager.”
    Chay pinched his bottom lip between his thumb and index finger.
    “Why didn’t the poachers take the body?”
    Frank shrugged. “I don’t know. Probably got scared off would be my guess.”
    “What condition is the wolf in now?”
    “It’s a head wound, but doesn’t appear too serious. I didn’t see a bullet. It looks like a nick. You know how bad they bleed, but it doesn’t look to have gone very deep. I’m pretty sure it didn’t penetrate the skull, but I suspect there’s enough blood loss to make it difficult to shift back.”
    Chay nodded. That made sense. It could also be disorientation though. Changing to human form would heal the wounds, but a blow to the head would cause confusion and one needed focus in order to shift back.
    Frank leaned on the black leather chair in front of Chay’s desk, gripping the upholstery so tight his knuckles turned white. “I’m going straight to the rez police from here. Afterwards I’ll go report it to John Carter.”
    Chay nodded. John Carter was their pack leader. He had to be told of such things. “Yeah, you do that. I don’t like the sounds of this. We damned sure don’t need poachers on pack land. The fact that last night was the full moon makes it even more disturbing.”
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    J.L. Langley
    “Yeah, that was my reaction too.”
    “All right. I better go check on my new patient.” Chay pushed away from his desk and offered his hand to the warden.
    Frank shook it. “Thanks a lot, Doc. Let me know how our little patient fares.”
    “Will do, Frank.” Chay opened the door, showing Frank out. He stopped at the reception counter. “Cheryl, where is the wolf the warden brought in?”
    “Exam room four, Dr. Winston. Tommy put a muzzle on it, but it’s pretty out of it, so I doubt it needed it.”
    “Good. I’m going to check it out.”
    “Dr. Winston?”
    Chay turned around. “Yes?”
    “Bob McIntyre called and wants you to go out to the rez and check on his new mare. He says he thinks she might be pregnant.”
    He nodded and glanced at his watch. It was almost noon. Today