how to tuck the little wolf under her T-shirt and her anorak so the pup could snuggle against her. He tied the sleeves of her flannel shirt like a belt around the bottom of the anorak, to keep the pup from slipping out. âThe little pouch will do the trick,â he said, surveying their work.
Like a mama kangaroo,
Nika thought. Unbelievable. The scratchy warmth and the cold nose bumping her bare belly was one of the best feelings she had ever experienced. As she cradled the shivering bulge with her hands, it quieted.
Nika moved with new purpose now. It was strange how alive she felt with this woolly bundle against her. Something flowed between her and the pup as it swayed with her motion. She fell into the rhythm of Ianâs footsteps. Stepping over logs and around rocks, her feet began to feel more agile and certain as they retraced their trail to the beach.
When they reached the beach and were waiting for Maki, Nika asked, âWho would do this?â
âThereâs a guy from Red Pine whoâs been known to sell pups illegally. People buy them as pets. He breeds wolves with dogs, too. He once bred foxes for fur, but they all died. It could be him. The authorities shut him down from time to time, but he always gets more animals. Heâs got problems, hates the government, rants and raves at people on the street.â Ian passed a water bottle to Nika. She shifted one hand under the pup, using the other to tip the bottle for a long drink.
âWhat about the other pups?â she asked.
âIâm sure he wouldnât keep them long. Wouldnât want someone to trace the pups to him. Heâs been in jail before.â
âWhat about the male? The dad wolf? I thought you said mates stayed together.â
âHe could have been shot, too. Since he wasnât collared, weâll never know.â
Nika glanced down at the lump under her shirt. âHow old is he?â
âIâd say less than two weeks. The eyes usually open at about twelve to fourteen days, and his arenât open yet. Which is perfect, really, because we have him before he starts a stage called fear avoidance, something that will happen about the time he opens his eyes. They use their senses, mostly their sense of smell, to recognize the members of their pack. They call it bonding. In humans, itâs bonding when a newborn baby attaches to his mom.â
They were silent for a moment. Off in the distance they heard the growl of a plane. Ian said, âLetâs get ready.â
When they were loaded up and pushed out, before Maki started the engines again, Ian said, âMuffle the sound for the pup by holding this jacket over him. Heâs probably okay since his ears havenât opened yet.â
Â
Somehow the pup survived the flight without panic. Ian radioed the vet, Dr. Dave, and arranged for a house call.
Back at Pearlâs, when she hatched him out of her shirt bundle, the pup squealed for a few minutes, then became silent again. Nika held him close while Ian set about renovating the screen porch into a pup nursery. âThis isnât the first time Pearlâs porch has housed a wild orphan,â he said.
âBabies are work, no matter how much fun they are,â he muttered as he cleared boxes and empty clay pots from the porch. He stuffed a layer of straw into an old wooden box heâd found in the shed. Then he came back with a dog crate with a carrying handle. âWeâll let him get used to this, too.â
Nika sat on an old sleeping bag on the porchâs painted wooden floor. Reality blurred as the pup curled with his nose against her skin. She peeked down through the opening of her shirt. He was just a little loaf, a squirming handful. Ian said he probably weighed only a couple of pounds. When Ian finished the porch, they tried to feed the pup, filling a basting syringe from the kitchen with reconstituted dried milk, but the pup turned his head away and
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