White Wolf Rising [Completed]

Part 7

He dreamt of her last night. Dreamed of her lips against his, dreamt of their skin sweaty and hot, pressed against one another. Dreamt of her moaning his name. A dream that made his insides growl like a beast. A deep dark, primal, inner roar. It was the growling that eventually woke him up. Caleb wasn't sure if it was coming from him or if it was all in his head. But he woke up missing her, as if she were ever there.

Despite the loneliness and his raging erection he woke up feeling well rested, his fever was gone. No irritating voices. His shoulder and arm still itched like crazy. Everywhere the beast had bitten him. But he tried not to pick at the bandages or scratch.

His hunger was immense. He had finished off all of the tv dinners and snacks in his kitchen, the fridge was empty and his cabinets had been picked clean. His belly grumbled in protest. He made a proclamation at that moment, he was going to learn how to cook more than Ramen Noodles and burnt grilled cheese. Tv dinner did nothing for his hunger and now he was forced to go out into the world and scavenge for some food.

The bulldog puppy pawed at his foot, begging for him to play. He swooped her up and giggled as she licked his nose. The sweet smell of puppy breath filling his nose. His stomach ached. Immediately he grabbed his keys and headed out the door, his puppy still in hand.

His jeep found it's way to the Big Bee's Burgers. He ordered the biggest, greasiest burger they had and chicken tenders for his puppy. This was just what he needed, meat. He didn't sit around long, he needed to stop by the station and prep for his hopeful date tonight. The sheriff had called twice this morning and once while he was in the shower and he wasn't the kind of guy you just leave hanging.

He slowly drove over to the station, suddenly feeling anxious. He wondered what the sheriff was going to say, he hadn't spoken to him since the accident. Pulling in to the small parking lot, he stared at the red brick building not wanting to go inside and the bronze plaque of remembrance that hung outside.

Avoiding stress seemed like a good idea but facing the music was the more responsible thing to do. The Sheriff was all about safety, he didn't want anyone taking unnecessary risks. One of his favorite things to say. And Caleb defied that by going into that barn, alone.

10 years ago the Sheriff's department had caught fire and burned to the ground taking 11 men with it, 8 Deputies and three men they had in the holding area. They had been trapped inside when the roof collapsed.

Only three people made it out of that blaze and the Sheriff has been all about keeping his men safe since then. Survivors guilt had taken him down a dark road for 5 years, he was doing much better these days but the trauma of the ordeal still effected the way he ran the department. Which was understandable Honeybee was a small town. It had a population of only 6,500. That fire devastated the town, everyone knew someone that died that night. The cause of the fire was undetermined, but it was believed it was an electrical fire to travel thought the walls rapidly causing them to burst into flames from the inside out and cause an explosion in the evidence room. Caleb had only been 15 when it happened. But it felt like it was just yesterday.

His mind drifted off to Stan Morris. He had been a Deputy in a different county for 6 years and was training Caleb. They had become friends over time and he felt like he had let him down at Mrs. Burns farm. His first month out of training and he almost got himself killed. Though he tried to shake all these negative thoughts from his mind, he knew it was his subconscious prepping him for a first class lecture he had coming from the Sheriff.

Caleb walked inside across the room he saw Sheriff Daniels looking over reports in his office; door wide open, a stick of beef jerky hanging out of his mouth like cigar. Four years prior he had stopped smoking cigars and he supplemented his cravings with beef jerky.