She stepped out into the night. The snow had stopped falling hours ago. The only sound was the crunching of the snow beneath her boots and her shaky breathing. She stood for a moment, surrounded by the calm. She saw the slightest movement to her left. She turned and there he was. The wolf slowly paced toward her. She noticed that he was limping. Swallowing the lump in her throat, along with the temptation to run, she moved toward him cautiously. She saw the dark blood that tainted the snow every step he took. "You poor thing," she whispered. As if the wolf understood her, he whimpered. She hesitantly placed her hand on his giant head, petting him gently. His snow white fur was so soft. The wolf leaned his head into her hand. Her mind was racing. She'd finally made up her mind. "Come here, boy," she said gently and somewhat awkwardly. The wolf (as though he'd understood her) limped after her as she led him back to the cabin.
Once she had ushered the wolf inside, she was at loss for what to do. The wolf turned and stared at her with those soulful eyes. She became immobilized under that dark gaze. She attempted unsuccessfully to swallow the large lump in throat. Then she remembered he was hurt. She rushed to the bathroom and retrieved the tin tub from underneath the sink. She filled it with warm water and one of her various bubble-bath mixtures. When she returned back to the den, she found the wolf lying on his side whimpering. She sat the tub down next to him and ran back to get a towel and the first-aid kit she'd never used. At least it'll be good for something other than collecting dust, she thought. She returned to the wolf and began cleansing his blood-soaked white fur. Underneath the blood, she found multiple deep claw marks. "What did this to you?" she asked aloud. She winced and so did the wolf as she poured the antiseptic over the wound. The wolf growled deeply as she patched up the wound while trying her best to apply only the slightest bit of pressure.
Tara let out a shaky breath. She'd never dressed a wound before. She sat back to admire her work. Not too bad. She stood (after vigorously scrubbing at the dark blood stains on the floor with the old rag) and carried the tub back to the bathroom. She was aware of the wolf's eyes on her the entire time, choosing not to meet those dark eyes for fear she might become even more unnerved. Emptying and then storing the tub back under the sink, Tara heaved a sigh and massaged her lower back, for the tub was not very light in weight when filled with water. When she turned around, there was the wolf in the doorway. He watched her with those dark, intelligent eyes. She audibly gulped. What now? She dropped to her knees in front of the wolf and reached to pet him. The wolf closed his eyes as her hand stroked the soft fur around its neck. Tara smiled. He's like a giant puppy. He opened his eyes again. In the light of the bathroom, she could see that his eyes were lighter than she'd first thought. She gasped, "Those eyes..." They were odd, almost a violet color. Tara had never heard of wolves with eyes that color. She thought of the word amethyst while staring into those eyes. Amethyst...Ameth for short. Yes. That's what I'll name you, she thought. "Ameth..." The wolf licked her palm and she giggled. She then let out a jaw-splitting yawn.
She went to the linen closet and grabbed some comforters. She laid out a pallet on the floor of her bedroom. Ameth followed her there, his nose bumping the small of her back. She chuckled as she couldn't get over how out-of-place he looked in her tiny cabin. He plopped down on the pallet and watched her as she snuggled down into the warm of her bed. "Goodnight, Ameth," She murmured sleepily. She heard a faint growl in return before finally sleep took her.
