Chapter One #3
“I found it in my yard. My dog was about to eat it, but I saved it and brought it here.”
That could mean anything. Thomas still had no idea what he’d find in the box when he opened it, and the woman wasn’t sticking around to tell him. She was already out the door. Thomas wanted to go after her, but he couldn’t. He needed to see what was in the box.
He sucked in a breath and prepared himself. The woman had said her dog had almost eaten what was in the box, so it probably wouldn’t look great. That wasn’t going to stop Thomas, though.
“Come on. Let’s take whoever this is to the vet,” he said as he started walking. At the same time, he opened the box.
He gasped when he saw the tiny rabbit inside. Its fur was white, but it was streaked with bright red, and one of the rabbit’s legs was obviously broken. The rabbit was alive, though, and it cowered in a corner, clearly trying to put more space between itself and Thomas.
The rabbit reminded Thomas of himself. He wanted to reach inside the box to soothe it, but he knew better. He shouldn’t touch any of the animals before the vet had a chance to look them over. It could be dangerous, both for Thomas and the animal.
“Everything okay?” Rowan asked as he reached for the box. It was as if he expected Thomas to drop it, and Thomas didn’t like that.
He hugged the box closer and glared. “I’m fine,” he snapped. “There’s no need for you to help me.”
Rowan blinked and raised his hands. “Sorry about that. I wasn’t trying to say that you didn’t know how to do your job or anything like that. I just wanted to be sure you were okay.”
“Well, I am.”
Thomas was okay and slightly embarrassed.
Of course Rowan was just trying to help.
He wasn’t going to grab the rabbit and eat it or anything like that.
He might be a wolf shifter, but that meant he was also human.
He was here to help the animals, and he wanted to save the rabbit as much as Thomas did.
Thomas would apologize later. For now, he needed to focus on getting the rabbit help.
He moved quickly down the hallway, careful not to jostle the box too much.
The rabbit was already terrified and in pain.
The last thing Thomas wanted to do was make it worse.
Behind him, he could hear Rowan’s footsteps.
The wolf shifter wasn’t rushing him or crowding him, but he was staying close enough to help if needed.
Maybe Thomas had been too harsh. It wasn’t Rowan’s fault that Thomas’s instincts were going haywire, first because Rowan was a predator, and now because there was an injured rabbit in his hands.
An injured rabbit that looked so small and fragile that Thomas’s chest ached.
“Is the vet in today?” Rowan asked quietly.
Thomas nodded. “Dr. Reeves should be in the exam room. She’s usually here on Tuesdays.”
“Good. That’s good.” Rowan’s voice was soothing. “The little guy is going to be okay.”
Thomas wanted to believe him. He glanced down at the rabbit again. The blood on its white fur made Thomas’s stomach turn. How could someone let this happen? How could they not notice an injured rabbit in their yard until their dog nearly killed it?
They reached the exam room, and Thomas pushed through the door with his shoulder. Dr. Reeves looked up from her desk, her expression shifting from curiosity to concern the moment she saw the box in Thomas’s hands.
“What do we have?” she asked, already moving toward the examination table.
“Rabbit. Injured. Someone just dropped it off,” Thomas said, his words coming out clipped. He set the box on the table, stepping back to give Dr. Reeves room to work.
Dr. Reeves peered into the box, her lips pressing into a thin line. “Poor thing. Looks like a broken leg and some lacerations.”
Thomas nodded, but he couldn’t take his eyes off the rabbit. It was still trying to make itself smaller. Thomas knew that feeling.
“Thomas?” Dr. Reeves’s voice pulled him out of his thoughts. “I need you to step back now. I’m going to sedate it so I can examine the injuries.”
Thomas forced himself to take another step back. Dr. Reeves was the expert. She knew what she was doing, and he didn’t.
A hand touched his shoulder. Thomas flinched before realizing it was Rowan. The wolf shifter withdrew his hand immediately.
“Sorry,” Rowan murmured. “I just...” He trailed off.
Thomas swallowed. “It’s fine. I’m fine.” But his voice was shaky, and he knew Rowan could tell.
Dr. Reeves worked quickly but gently. She carefully lifted the rabbit from the box, speaking to it in a soft, soothing voice as she prepared the sedative. The rabbit struggled, but it was too injured and exhausted to put up much of a fight.
“There we go,” Dr. Reeves whispered as the rabbit finally went still. “That’s better. You’re safe now, baby.”
Thomas’s throat tightened. He wanted to believe that the rabbit would be okay, but he’d seen too many animals come through these doors. He knew that not all of them made it.
“I can stay,” he found himself saying. “If you need help.”
Dr. Reeves looked up at him, her expression kind. “I appreciate the offer, Thomas, but I’ve got this. Why don’t you finish your rounds? I’ll update you as soon as I know more.”
Thomas wanted to argue, but Dr. Reeves was right. There was nothing he could do here. He’d just be in the way.
“Come on,” Rowan said quietly, already moving toward the door. “Let’s give her space to work.”
Thomas followed reluctantly, casting one last glance at the small white form on the examination table. The rabbit looked so vulnerable lying there. Thomas hoped that it would pull through.
As they stepped back into the hallway, Thomas took a breath. He felt Rowan watching him, probably wondering what was wrong with him. Most people could handle seeing injured animals. It was part of the job.
“You okay?” Rowan asked after a moment.
Thomas nodded, even though it was a lie. “Yeah. I just hate seeing them hurt.”
“Me, too,” Rowan said, and there was something in his voice that made Thomas look at him. The wolf shifter’s expression was gentle. “But that’s why we’re here, right? To help them.”
Thomas managed a small smile. “Right. To help them.”
And maybe, just maybe, Rowan wasn’t so bad after all.
* * * *
ROWAN COULDN’T STOP himself from sneaking glances in Thomas’s direction.
The man was doing paperwork while Rowan cleaned, or rather, while Rowan was distracted.
It was the end of their shift, so Rowan would be going home soon, and he wasn’t sure what to tell Thomas.
He wasn’t sure there was anything to say.
He’d shadowed him for the entire day, and he was a little overwhelmed because of the new job, but Thomas had been nice.
He clearly didn’t trust Rowan, but Rowan didn’t mind.
He was new to town and the job, and Thomas didn’t know him.
Rowan was sure that, in time, that would change.
As long as they were able to work together, he was pretty sure things would be okay.
But he was intrigued. He didn’t want to make a mess of things because it would be way too easy for him to get fired, but he wanted to know why Thomas was so wary of him.
Was it just because he was a wolf shifter?
It would make sense. Thomas was a rabbit shifter, so maybe he wanted to keep his distance.
But as a shifter, he had to understand that Rowan wasn’t his animal.
Neither of them were. Thomas probably hadn’t meant to show Rowan he was freaking out, but Rowan had seen it, and he wanted to change that.
He wanted Thomas to feel comfortable with him, especially if they were going to work together.
Rowan liked Thomas. He was a little prickly and kept his distance, but he was also professional and competent, and he clearly cared about the animals. The way he’d treated that rabbit had touched Rowan, especially with how shaken Thomas had been.
The two of them were coworkers. Rowan wasn’t sure if he’d continue working with Thomas like he had today or if Shane had something else in mind for him, but either way, he’d see a lot of Thomas in the future. He wanted them to start on the right foot.
He cleared his throat. Thomas looked up from the document he was filling in, a frown on his face. Now that Rowan had his attention, he needed to keep it.
“I was thinking about getting dinner at the diner.”
Thomas stared at Rowan as if waiting for him to continue. Rowan felt like an idiot, but he did. “I was just wondering if maybe you’d want to have dinner with me. We can get to know each other since we’re going to work together.”
Rowan already knew how this would end, but he’d still felt the need to offer. He wasn’t surprised when Thomas shook his head.
“I’m sorry, but I can’t.”
“Of course.”
“It’s nothing against you. I already have plans.”
Rowan wanted to ask if Thomas would have said yes if he didn’t, but he didn’t dare. One rejection was enough.
It was fine. Rowan wanted to get to know Thomas, but he wasn’t going to push. He was sure they could get to know each other on the job. He’d hoped to get Thomas to relax in his presence so that he’d be more comfortable, but that could wait.
“You can go, by the way,” Thomas said as he checked his phone. “Since you’re hungry.”
“I can keep you company.” Rowan was done cleaning, but he wasn’t quite ready to leave Thomas. He wasn’t sure why, and he wasn’t about to examine that too closely.
“There’s no reason for you to. You’re done with the cleaning, but it’s going to take me a little longer to finish the paperwork. You’ve already done a good job today. Go and get some food, then rest. You’ll need it if you’re going to work with animals.”
Today had been frantic, but Rowan had enjoyed it. He couldn’t say if he wanted to do this for the rest of his life, but he enjoyed the job and the people he worked with. He could see himself staying here for a while, so he didn’t want to make things complicated for anyone.
He placed the last mug he’d been drying on the counter by the sink. There was no dishwasher in the break room, but Rowan hadn’t minded washing the mugs and silverware by hand. It had given him something to do.
That was over now.
He gave Thomas a light smile. “If you’re sure.”
“I’m sure. Or you can go and find Shane if that makes you more comfortable. He is the boss, after all.”
“I’ll do that, if only because he asked me to talk to him before I leave. You don’t need me anymore?”
“I don’t,” Thomas promised.
For a moment, he and Rowan stared at each other. Rowan wanted to come up with an excuse to stick around, but he could see that nothing would work, and that was okay.
“See you tomorrow, then,” he said.
“Tomorrow,” Thomas confirmed.
There was nothing more for Rowan to do in the break room, so he headed to the tiny office where he’d sat with Shane this morning.
The door was open, and Rowan peeked in, relieved to find Shane behind his desk.
The computer was on, and Shane was typing, but he stopped as soon as he saw Rowan and gestured at him to come in.
“How was your first day?” he asked.
“A lot, but I like it.”
Shane smiled. “Working with animals can be a lot. I already told you that this morning, but you need to be prepared. I heard about the rabbit that arrived earlier.”
“We took it to the vet.”
“The rabbit will be fine. Other animals might not be, though.”
Rowan nodded. Shane had warned him about that earlier, and he’d told the man he’d be okay, but he wouldn’t know until he actually lived through that. “I’m sure I’ll be fine. I’m not saying it’ll be easy, but I can do this.”
Shane grinned. “Good. Did you need anything?”
“No. Thomas said I could go home, but I wanted to check in with you first.”
“Well, if he says you can go, then you should go. Is he still working?”
“He’s in the break room, but yes. He’s doing some paperwork.”
Shane grinned. “There’s a reason I hired that man. He does the paperwork for me.”
That sounded a bit like Shane was taking advantage of Thomas, but Rowan was sure he was wrong. It was his first day here. As far as he knew, Thomas enjoyed doing paperwork. He wasn’t going to ask, and he certainly wasn’t going to accuse his new boss of taking advantage of Thomas.
Rowan quickly left the building after that.
He took a deep breath once he was outside, allowing the warm summer air to soothe his nervousness.
He’d done it. He’d had his first day of work, and he’d survived it.
It had gone better than he could’ve expected, and tomorrow would go just as well.
He wasn’t excited about having to eat dinner on his own, but he’d known he would have to.
He’d known he would have to spend a lot of time alone after he left his pack, and he was ready for it.
Or at least, he hoped so.
He’d known this new life would be incredibly different from what he was used to, and he was fine with that. It was the reason he’d left the pack, after all. He’d had enough of the rigid rules and having to follow the pack’s stupid traditions. He wanted to be free, and he was.
He was also a bit lonely.
He’d never spent as much time alone before as he had since he left the pack.
He knew he just had to get used to it, but sometimes, he wondered if he could.
Was he going to be lonely for the rest of his life?
That sounded stupid even to think, but it was a possibility.
Maybe he wouldn’t be able to make friends outside of people who were basically forced to be friendly to him.
Maybe he’d regret leaving the pack and would go back with his tail between his legs.
Or maybe he’d thrive. Overthinking wasn’t going to help him. He’d made his decision, and he’d taken the steps he’d needed to take. He’d left the pack and was living on his own. He couldn’t give up already. It had only been a few days. He was sure things would be okay.
There was no reason for them not to be.