Chapter six

7 o'clock seemed to be teasing me. It came very slowly. Waking up at four and doing all the chores, it felt too slow. Taunting almost. But after breakfast, it was time for me to hit the road if I wanted to make it on time. I jumped into my uniform and threw my hair into a ponytail. Just like the time this morning, the drive was dreadfully slow. But I wouldn't let the time kill my mood. I was excited. More than I had been in a while. I was working at a zoo! How cool is that? Finally, I pulled into the parking lot and walked into the office. I clocked in and found Kari.

"All right new girl, we're just starting breakfast," She handed me two buckets. "This one is Teddy's and that one that one is for Cuddles." What odd names. They must be red pandas or otters or something. But when she pushed me toward the tigers, I looked at her in confusion.

"What? We didn't name these two. They were transported from Georgia." I nodded. She instructed me how to get the two tigers into their feeding pens and she explained to me how to feed them without losing fingers. We did the same with the cougars and bears and I soon got the hang of it. Then a couple of more staff joined us, two others to be exact. We each had two buckets and we made our way to the wolf enclosure. The females were waiting and the pups were still running around. Some of the others went off the feed the pups and females.

"We might as well start you on big boy over here. Make sure you aren't scared of him," I gulped anyways. We walked over to an empty feeding den, this one significantly bigger than the rest. "Hell, what am I saying, we're all scared of him." I chuckled in disbelief while she poured chunks of meat onto the feeding plate. She then slid the door open and backed up.

"We have this big boy on some medications. It's like a Xanax. It helps him to stay calm and not potentially injure one of us." I could feel the goosebumps crawling up my arms, but they only intensified when the huge black wolf ducked under the already tall door. His eyes were on me. The only thing between me and the beast was a thin sheet of fencing. He didn't eat, he just watched me. My every movement he reacted. Each breath I took his ears would move. I shuffled and he jumped a little bit.

"This is odd, I've never seen him act like this. He usually tears his meat apart in seconds." He didn't even acknowledge her voice. I was frozen in terror. What if this wolf could get out? Is there a possibility? Kari grabbed my arm he let out a deep growl and stared at her for the first time. The sound that came from his throat sent chills to my bones. She even froze this time. The growl was continuous until she let go of me. I guess she got curious and grabbed me again. Just like the first time, he growled. She shoved me slightly, he jumped to his feet with his eyes on me. When he saw me stable myself, he growled louder at her. His muzzle scrunched up.

"Weird, he seems to have some sort of fascination with you." I was speechless. Finally, Kari dismissed me to go feed the flamingos up top. I was glad to be away from...whatever that was. I grabbed the bucket for the pink birds and climbed up the stairs. I threw in their food and continued on with my day. I avoided the wolf enclosure like it was the plague.

"James?" Someone called. I turned toward one of my coworkers.

"We need a couple of hands to clean out the bear enclosure!" I nodded and followed him downstairs. The bears were being held in a holding cell while we went in to scoop the poop and get any scraps of food. Once it was cleared, the couple was returned.

"Hey, Dan!?" I heard Kari call for me farther down the hall. I excused myself from the bears and walked toward her. She was there, in front of Alastor. She looked up at my arrival, and so did he. He jumped to his feet and his tail wagged from side to side. Kari looked back at the wolf in amazement.

"Hey, he won't eat or leave his feeding pen. He wouldn't even get up till now. Maybe you could get him to eat?" I looked at her as if she had grown a second head.

"Why would he eat because of me?" I quirked in disbelief.

"He looks attached. His tail is wagging, Dan. That's not regular." I looked at Alastor, and she was right, his tail was still wagging.

"Hill?! We need a hand down here with Buddy! He's doing it again!" Someone called from farther down the hall. She rolled her eyes but then went running off.

"You don't leave here until he eats." She orders before disappearing. I looked over at Alastor. He looked satisfied. I took a deep breath before sliding down onto my butt on the wall.

"All right..." I spoke calmly. His ears moved at the sound of my voice. He sat down then thudded to his stomach. I swallowed thickly. Isn't it bad to look a wolf right in the eye? I think I heard that somewhere. My thoughts were cut off by a soft bark. I look up from my lap. He was barking under his breath, a gruff noise.

"Hi, I'm Danny," I introduced myself, then facepalmed. I just introduced myself to a wolf. As if he was confused, he cocked his head.

"Um, can you eat? Please? I'd like to continue with my job." He stared at me for a moment. I was talking to a wolf-like he could understand me. I laughed like I was stupid, but then he started eating. I started astonishingly. He used his paws to hold the chunks of meat down while he ripped into them. But all the while, he stared at me. He quickly finished, only leaving a few chunks left. He licked his lips and sat up. He then turned and trotted back into his cage. I quickly closed the feeding pen. He was staring at the glass again as if he could see through it. But I knew he couldn't. Why was he so attached to me? I picked up the chunks of meat he decided to disregard. It was what we were supposed to do, to assure he actually ate his medication. Picking up a piece of meat, a powered substance fell to the ground.

Crap.

"Kari?" I called for her. She came around the corner not a second later.

"Good job rookie!" She patted me on the back.

"He didn't eat his meds." She took the chunk of meat from the hand and opened it, finding the medicine. She cursed under her breath.

"He's getting smart. But he's got to take it." She re-opened his feeding cell and coaxed him in with some more meat. He happily trotted in. She placed the meat in front of him, but he looked the other way. At me of course.

"Please eat it," I whisper, hoping it would work a second time. She looked at me like I was crazy, just like I had felt the first time I had done it. He stared at me for a second before scooping the piece of meat into his mouth and walking out.

"Huh..." She said, almost as if she couldn't believe what she had seen. "Maybe we're giving him to much of that stuff...he's a different wolf." I shrugged while we walked out. I was put on tour duty for the rest of the day. We went around the park and I said interesting facts about each species and let them take their photos. Every time I got to the wolf's den, Alastor was out. Sitting. Waiting. This was abnormal behavior for wolfs right? I clocked out and climbed into my car. There, I took a break. I was exhausted. I started my car and took off. My phone started ringing from an unknown number. I usually don't answer those types of calls, but I decided against it.

"Hello?"

"Aye stranger!" I chuckled when I heard Lucas's voice.

"What can I do for ya, stalker." He scoffed.

"I am not a stalker. Intuition, remember?" My eyes rolled on their own. "What are you doing tomorrow?"

"Working." He was silent for a moment.

"You've got a job?"

"Uh, yeah. Rude." He was quick to correct himself.

"I meant I didn't know!" I giggled. "Well, when's your next day off?" I reached into my bag at a red light and grabbed my schedule.

"Saturday," I answer.

"Do you wanna do something? I was thinking of maybe a movie?" My brow raised.

"Which one?" I quirked.

"Your choice?" He questioned his words.

"I'll consider it. Now if you don't mind, I'm driving." We said our goodbyes and I quickly saved his number in my phone. I finally pulled into the driveway, just in time for dinner. Eliza was eager to hear about my first day, and boy did I have a lot to tell.

"So this wolf is just like...obsessed with you?" I chuckled.

"It's weird when you say it like that." We ate dinner and Eliza and I crawled into bed. My body hurt. Daisy wasn't helping that by laying directly on top of me. But I did manage to fall asleep.