"Who in their right mind throws a baby jackalope in the garbage?" Alex muttered under his breath as he crawled around inside the dumpster. Something squished under foot and he was glad that the light from his flashlight didn't extend far enough to tell what it was. Grabbing ahold of the metal wall, he hauled himself up and out of the muck.
Cold and bitter wind greeted him on the other side. He cradled the jackalope against his chest, the shivering baby small enough to fit in the palm of his hand, and rubbed the nubs on the top of the critter's head. They were the only thing that differentiated it from a commonplace rabbit at this stage. It wouldn't grow full antlers until it reached adulthood.
Golden eyes flashed in the dark and a rangy dog with a grizzled grey coat slunk out of the shadows. The dog sniffed up and down his leg and Alex pushed it away with his foot. "Easy there, Mike. You're getting a little too personal for my taste." Wolf was the appropriate term, but people tended to judge Mike too harshly if the w-word came up, so he had to suffer the indignity of being called a dog. In public, at least.
Another gust of wind blew down the alleyway and the baby jackalope snuggled up against his shirt. Alex zipped up his jacket, nestling the little one inside to protect it from the cold. No telling how long it had been out here and even a few minutes was too long for such a tiny critter. Seriously, there was something wrong with people that did stuff like this.
"Hang in there, little buddy. We'll get you somewhere warm." Alex eyed the kennels built into his truck, then changed his mind. They were insulated against the cold and heated, but not warm enough for a half frozen jackalope. Not in this weather. Grabbing a cage out of the back, he settled the baby into it and set the entire thing in the front of the truck. Mike jumped up into his usual spot in the passenger seat, nosing at the cage.
"Leave him alone," Alex said. "The last thing he needs is your big old teeth in his face. He's had a bad enough day as it is."
Mike huffed and turned his head to look out the passenger window.
Fog had rolled in while he had been chasing the frightened kit in the dumpster and a curtain of white dulled the details of the alley. Alex started the truck and flicked on the headlights, creating a glow around the vehicle as the light bounced back off the wall of cloud.
The radio on his hip squawked and sputtered. "What ya' need, Daisy?" Alex asked.
"That is not proper radio etiquette," Daisy said, her words garbled and broken but somehow still managing to sound judgmental.
Alex rolled his eyes and tried to keep the majority of the sarcasm out of his voice. His tone had gotten him in trouble with the Captain on more than one occasion. "It's two in the morning--it's just you and me, dear. Even the enforcement officers have signed off this channel for the night."
"Keep your 'dear' to yourself. I've got a call for you."
"It better not be Mr. Dodson again. If he's caught another unicorn...."
"Remains."
"Call regular animal control." Alex adjusted the heater vents so that they blew directly on the jackalope.
"Suspicious remains."
"Fine. Where?" he asked, putting the truck in gear. So much for heading back home to his warm bed.
"A park on the west side. I'm texting you the address."
"I'm on my way."
The roads were mostly deserted given the late hour and the fog thickening by the minute. Only a few other vehicles, most of them with flashing lights, passed by as he headed to the scene. The fog froze around the edges of his windshield, forming fractal patterns over the glass. "Rough night to be out and about," Alex said.
Mike didn't acknowledge that he'd said anything. Wolves made sorry companions when it came to small talk.
The gate to the park was chained shut and secured with a heavy padlock. Leaving the truck running, Alex went around to let Mike out the passenger door. The wolf jumped down from the truck and loped off into the night, his form quickly swallowed up by the fog. Alex shrugged, Mike never changed--always rushing headlong into whatever was ahead. Maybe if he'd been more cautious, things would have turned out differently two years ago. Alex heaved himself up over the bars of the gate to follow Mike into the darkness.
Grass crunching under foot, Alex made his way across the playground. The beam from his flashlight swept back and forth, failing to penetrate more than a couple feet into the cloud soup that pressed in around him. Something moved off to his right and Alex hesitated, his heart racing. A familiar woof, the sound dampened by the fog, announced Mike's return and the wolf pranced into the light, head up and eyes bright. Mike might not be much of a conversationalist, but he had one hell of a nose on him.
Jogging to keep up, Alex followed Mike deeper into the park. The wind had died down and the closest main road was far enough away to prevent the sound of traffic from penetrating into the park. Even the nocturnal critters had bedded down for the night against the cold and damp. Mike's pace slowed and the wolf dropped back to Alex's side, pressing up against his leg. Alex let his free hand drop to Mike's shoulder and he could feel the wolf tremble through his heavy leather gloves.
"What's gotten into you tonight?"
Mike fell a few more steps behind in reply.
The fog shifted and a pile of grey fur materialized out of the darkness. Ice crystals had started to form in the blood that surrounded the body. Alex knelt and pushed the animal over to see exactly what it was. He glanced back at Mike, no more than a shadow in the dark.
It was a wolf.
No wonder Mike was anxious. Wolves didn't naturally roam in Oklahoma, let alone Tulsa proper. A wolf here meant trouble. Again.
The light from his flashlight reflected against silver and Alex brushed the bloodied fur aside to reveal a delicate dream catcher spun of silver wire and tiny pieces of turquoise. The pendant had been tied around the wolf's neck with a leather cord.
Mike whined from somewhere out in the darkness.
"I know," Alex said, glancing up towards the hidden night sky. The full moon wasn’t until tomorrow night. "Shifters."