CHAPTER EIGHT:
A WOLF?

ELAINE SAT ON THE METAL table, regretting this work shift at the clinic. Of course, she had gotten there before her brother seeing as Lydia had been kind enough to drop her off. She looked up however when Scott entered.

"Sorry, sorry." He apologized.

"You're all of two minutes late." Dr. Deaton replied to him, the man looking through a box of stuff.

"I just don't want you to think I'm slacking." Scott told the man.

"Scott, I guarantee you, you're one of the least slacking kids in this town." Dr. Deaton spoke. The door opened again and Elaine was quick to jump down upon noticing Sheriff Stilinski. She smiled at the man whilst Scott's eyes widened slightly.

"Hey, I see somebody's ready to get their stitches out." Dr. Deaton spoke whilst Elaine gently placed the dog on the table, rubbing its fur with a small smile.

"Hey there Scott, Laine, you two staying out of trouble?" The sheriff questioned.

"Always." Elaine smiled whilst Scott responded with a simple "yeah".

"El?" Dr. Deaton questioned. Immediately Elaine smiled before going around the other side of the table and getting what she needed in order to take the stitches out from the animal.

"Hey, listen, while I'm here, you mind taking a look at those pictures I was telling you about? Sacramento still can't determine an animal." Sheriff Stilinski handed the doctor a set of pictures, whilst Elaine gently unwrapped the bandage from the dogs ankle.

"I'm not exactly an expert." Deaton responded before looking at the pictures. "This is the guy who was attacked in the bus?"

"Yeah." He answered. Elaine glanced towards Scott who seemed alarmed at this, making her swallow thickly before focusing back on the dog. "And we found wolf hairs on Laura Hale's body."

"A wolf?" Scott questioned, grabbing the two adults attention as well as Elaine. She saw the slight fear that ran in his eyes, and she realized why he was so panicked. Or at least, she thought she realized. "I mean, I think I read somewhere that wolves haven't been in California for, like, 60 years."

"True enough, but wolves are highly migratory. They could have wandered in from another state driven by impulse or strong enough memory." Deaton told the boy as he walked to stand beside the sheriff and doctor.

"Wolves have memories?" Scott questioned.

"Longer-term memory, yes." Deaton nodded. "If associated with a primal drive. See this one here?"

"Yeah." The sheriff nodded.

"Those are claw marks. A wolf would have gone for the throat or the spinal cord with its teeth." Deaton explained.

"So what do you think, it's a mountain lion?"

"I don't know." Deaton answered the older man honestly. "A wolf could chase down its prey, hobbling it by tearing at the ankles."

Elaine finished with the stitches, patting the dog before smiling at the sheriff. "All fixed up."

"Thanks, Laine."

"Of course." She looked towards Deaton. "I have to go. I have a shift at the hospital."

"Go. Good job on taking those out." Deaton told the female. She smiled at this.

"Thank you."

"Hey, Laine, I can drop you if you need me to." The sheriff asked.

"That would actually be great, thanks sheriff." She smiled before grabbing her bag and walking out of the clinic, the sheriff following her.

━︎━︎━︎━︎━︎

Elaine walked into the patients room, smiling kindly at the old woman that laid in the bed before walking over to check and make sure her vitals were okay. She knew a lot more about being a nurse than she'd like to admit. "How do we feel today, Mrs. Cane?"

"Please, call me Linda." The woman requested. Elaine smiled at this. "I feel perfectly alright. Still an ache in my chest."

"I see that cough has gotten better." Elaine commented, crossing her arms over her chest as she smiled.

"Yes, it has. Do you by any chance know when I can leave here?" Linda questioned. Elaine gave the woman a sad smile, shaking her head.

"I'm sorry, Linda. But we have to keep an eye on you to make sure the infection doesn't come back, and that your cough doesn't get any worse. I will talk to your doctor and see what he can do, but for now, you must stay here and get some rest." Elaine gave the woman one last smile before turning and walking out of the room. She made her way down the hall, stopping in front of Linda's doctor and recalling the information she had just been given before she walked off and found her mother.

"Hey, mom." Elaine smiled.

"I thought I told you not to volunteer during the week." Her mother spoke, turning her attention towards her child.

Elaine shrugged her shoulders. "Well, I'm caught up in all of my classes, and I thought I'd stop by and help. I'm working tomorrow too."

"When did you get here?"

"Right after I left from the clinic." She answered. "I was only there for about thirty minutes or so, nothing too big came in today. Oh! But I did successfully take out a dogs stitches."

"Well look at you! The girl with multiple talents." Her mother smiled. "You planning on being in the medical field when you get out of high school?"

"Well, I mean, I might as well, right? I'm working in two places that involve medical supplies to which I know almost all the names of. I'm treating patients here and animals at the clinic. So, I mean, I've already had practice. It seems like the clear choice." Elaine answered, shrugging again. Elaine looked up just in time to see her brother walk in with two bags of food in his hands.

Elaine nudged her mother, making her glance up, smiling at Scott. "Is my beautiful, talented, and wonderful son actually bringing me dinner?"

"Thought you wouldn't mind skipping the cafeteria tonight. . ." He glanced towards Elaine before saying, "Both of you."

"You are the most thoughtful, loving, most conniving little con-artist ever. You are so not getting the car tomorrow night." Melissa told him, earning an amused snicker from Elaine whilst Scott looked at her in disbelief.

"Mom."

"What? There's a curfew―︎no car. But, I will take this." She took one bag from his hand before walking away, turning around to say, "Love you!" Elaine chuckled in amusement before turning her attention back towards her brother.

"Love you too." The boy mumbled before glancing towards his sister. He hadn't talked to her in almost two weeks. She had been staying with Lydia every night, occasionally going to Allison's when Jackson came over the strawberry blonde's house. He looked at her, noticing her arms that were crossed over one another, and the way that she still avoided direct eye contact. "Hey. . ."

"Hey." She simply responded. He motioned the food towards her before the girl took it, offering him the smallest of smiles. "Thanks."

"You're welcome." Elaine turned on her heel and started to walk away, but Scott quickly followed after her. "El, wait." She stopped, glancing down towards the warm food in her hands before waiting for him to talk. "Can we talk?"

"No." She answered, shaking her head. "Not tonight. I'm working. I'm working tomorrow night too, so not then either. Saturday as well."

"Well then, when?" He asked. Elaine glanced up at him, a frown on his face. "I miss talking to you. You haven't spoken to me in two weeks."

"Well, you almost killed me." Elaine answered, keeping her voice down so that others wouldn't hear her. "How do I know, that when we are alone in a room together, or alone in the house together, you won't do that again?"

"You don't." He answered her. "But you have to trust that I didn't purposely try to hurt you." Elaine didn't answer. "Just. . . just take the day off Saturday. Or-or go in during the day and come back before dinner so that I can explain to you what happened."

Elaine bit her lip, looking at him before swallowing thickly. "You'll explain everything? And you'll stay at least ten feet away from me."

"I promise."

She looked at him for a moment before nodding her head. "Fine. Saturday night, we'll talk." With that, she turned on her heel and walked away.