It was a cold day on the ranch and 18 year old Calen Ortiz loved this time of year. School was let out for the Christmas holidays and he loved nothing more than to explore his family's ranch every chance he got. He considered himself lucky, living on a ranch was more than his home; it was his heaven.. While his other friends teased him about being a "country boy", he felt a sense of pride of who he was and where he came from. His best friend Natalie Velarde was like a sister to him. She was the only person who knew Calen inside and out. You could say their bond was soulful. She knew Calen's secret and because of that their bond was tighter than any blood sibling.
On her way to her family's winter home in Colorado, Natalie stopped by Calen's house to tell him bye and exchange gifts with each other. It was the their first time apart in a long time and both were sad.
"I can't believe we won't see each other for almost 2 weeks Nat!" Calen exclaimed.
"I know and I wish I could stay but since this is our senior year, my family wants me to spend one more holiday with them as their 'little girl'." Natalie replied.
Both of them chuckled as Calen coo'ed over at Natalie as if she were still a baby and attempted to pinch her cheek.
"Stop butthead!" Natalie said swatting Calen's hand from pinching her cheek. "We still can call each other every day at least and of course e-mail. And for sure we will see each other at New years eve!"
"Shit I can't wait for New Years Natalie- cause after that it's going to be a count down to our graduation and OUR FREEDOM!"
"I know what you mean Calen, then when we are in college we can do whatever the hell we want!"
Loud laughter came from the two as they both embraced and pinched each others butts- it was a thing they did to be silly with one another.
"OUCH...you pinched me with your nails...WHAT THE HELL?!" Calen said rubbing his butt and seeing Natalie trying to hold off a giggle.
"That's for trying to pinch my cheek douche bag; come on lets hug for real." They held each other tightly as if they were never going to see each other again. Two weeks in "teen years" was more like 2 years, but both were excited for a New Years and a new year of possibilities.
Seeing Natalie drive away, Calen decided to go take his usual walk around the ranch. He loved his walks. He was definitely the most outgoing out of his four siblings. While the others were busy going to malls and movies, Calen was outside in the woods. He simply loved the atmosphere. He loved helping his dad out on the ranch; whether it be fixing the fences or planting vegetables out back. He was in his element out in nature. Going on his walks helped keep him active along with it clearing his mind. He enjoyed the scenery as well. Every walk was like a new experience for him. He was always finding something new, whether it was an unusual rock, or arrowhead or flower. What Calen didn't know was that soon he would find something more unusual.
Walking on the dirt road back to his house, something caught his attention. In the distance he saw a dark figure walk out of the woods. At first glance Calen thought it was a stray dog or possibly a coyote. But as he got closer he saw what he realized was a wolf. Wolves are not common where Calen lives and figuring out where it came from was put to a stop when the wolf stared in Calen's direction. He froze right where he was hoping the wolf would leave.
"Shit please don't come this way," Calen said under his breath trying to stay perfectly still. But as he stood there the black wolf started walking towards Calen. Panicking, Calen looked side to side trying to find a big stick to defend himself with.. As his gaze went back on the wolf, he noticed the beast walking with its head down and walking as if it was dizzy. It was then the wolf collapsed on its left side to the ground. Calen's mind was saying RUN IN THE OTHER DIRECTION- but something inside told him he needed to see the wolf up close. As he got nearer, he could see the wolf panting heavily. He heard the wolf whimper when it would take in a deep breath. He figured the animal was injured but not sure where as he was still a good distance from full view. As he got within close viewing range, he saw long slash marks on the wolf's side, Calen thought that the wolf was going to need stitches and bandaging. Something in Calen told him to get closer. He stepped close, inch by inch, to the animal. The wolf eyeing the teen with piercing blue eyes.
"Hey boy, I won't hurt you...just trying to see what's wrong," whispered the nervous teen to the wolf. The scent of the teen filled the wolf's nose. It tickled his senses. He could sense the teen was scared, but not as scared as any normal person would be. Still being an injured animal he was on his guard. He let it be known by the growl he let out. But alas, the growl caused him to whimper more. The growl itself was painful and nearly made the wolf lose conscious, but it was enough to make the teen step back.
"FUCK!"
"What the hell am I doing?"
"Ok, just bare with me boy, let me take a look at the cuts."
Calen placed a hand on the wolf's hip and the other hand on his neck. Feeling the touch comforted the wolf. But still he was on his guard with the teen.
"They look pretty bad boy, I need to get you home," said Calen. Taking off his coat he wrapped the wolf in it. It was an older coat so it didn't matter much if it got dirty. Smelling the scent of the teen from the coat, intoxicated the wolf. So much so that it made him even more dizzy than what he already was. He couldn't help himself and just went limp in the teen's arms. He thought to himself, "If I die now, what a way to go...in someone's arms."
Calen brought the wolf into the wash room that connected to the kitchen. He closed the door and made sure the windows were nice and shut. He opened the door into the kitchen and quickly turned on all four burners on the stove. He wanted the warmth to head straight to the wash room. Calen wanted the wolf to be nice and comfortable. He took a bowl from the pantry and filled it with warm milk. He slowly put it in front of the wolf and knelt down next to him.
"Come on boy, you need to drink something warm. Later I will give you something better to eat." Calen gently stroked the wolf's neck in hopes of getting him to drink. The soothing voice of the teen encouraged the wolf to take a few laps from the bowl. Any kind of movement caused the wolf pain, but it didn't matter much since for now he was safe and was hungry.
"That's it, drink up boy, I will be back in a bit to try to clean your cuts- don't move."
A chuckle escaped from the teen as he walked to the medicine cabinet in the bathroom. Getting what he needed he slowly came to the realization that he had a wolf in his house. How the heck was he going to explain this to his parents? Especially his dad who doesn't like coyotes and now there's a wolf in the house! Walking back to the washroom, Calen could see the wolf and another smile came upon his face. The thought of having a wolf for a pet would be something out of the ordinary and he couldn't wait to call Natalie. Placing the items down he again sat close to the wolf, preparing the clean the wounds with a cloth wet with alcohol.
"Ok boy this is going to sting a lil bit."
The wolf whimpered as the stinging of the alcohol shot throughout his body. The alcohol felt like knives stabbing at his cuts. He wanted to get up and run but something in him made him feel safe with the teen. He dealt with the pain.
"That's a good boy; yeah I know it hurts buddy but I don't want you getting any bad infections."
Realizing he forgot the bandaging, Calen got up and went back to the medicine cabinet. He fumbled through the drawers looking for the ACE bandage his dad had. When he found it, he closed the drawer and turned to find the wolf standing in the door way. A surge of panic filled the teen. He knew the wolf was weak but the fact he didn't hear the wolf walk towards the bathroom was a bit scary. The wolf sensed the panic and simply sat down and wagged his tail. He hoped this would somehow ease the teen down.
It did.
"Boy what are you doing here?" Calen said walking towards the beast.
"You shouldn't be walking right now. You need to rest and get your strength back." He slowly knelt down to the wolf and petted him on the head. This brought comfort to the wolf. Wolves aren't known for being gentle and yet here was this wolf big, and scary letting a human pet him as if he were a common house dog. But the beast felt he couldn't be away from the human for too long. After watching the teen get up, he followed him back to the wash room.
"There we go, just let me tie the bandage up a bit snug and we are good to go boy...boy...hmm I think I need to give you a name. I can't be calling you 'boy' all the time."
"Let's see...how about Fido?" chuckled Calen. The wolf gave a groan of displeasure as if to say YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!
"Ok Fido is out, how about Lex?"
The wolf wagged his tail for approval.
"Ok Lex it is then. So are you hungry Lex?"
The wolf gave a small yelp. "Yeah I bet you are- lets see what we have."
