BrightBlueMoon by Ranae Rose

them while they were trying to get into the garbage cans.”
    Michael couldn’t repress a growl of irritation. The mangy dog had been ready to maul her, and she felt sorry for it?
    “I’m gonna call in some back-up.” Ronnie took a step backward, toward his vehicle, pulling the shepherd along. “I’ve only got one pole and no way to transport these guys to a shelter.” He raised his voice as he reached for a radio. “Jack, don’t let those two get away.”
    Jack gave an answering nod, his head bobbing as he towered over the other two dogs. Michael glared at the defeated animals, noting for the first time that Noah’s muzzle was bleeding a little. He, Jack and Daniel must have had a scuffle of their own with the other dogs as Michael and Ronnie had rescued Kimberly.
    It was nothing a little moonlight wouldn’t heal. No one had been seriously hurt. Still, Michael’s heart hammered against his ribs. To think that after all they’d just been through, Kimberly had been endangered by a stray dog…
    “I can’t believe that little one has survived out here,” Kimberly said, her voice steadier than it had been a few minutes ago. “Just look at it!”
    Michael suppressed a groan as he eyed the grimy little furball Kimberly was staring at – the one whose paw prints he’d mistaken for those of a pup. It was an adult, but it was small – much smaller than the shepherd and the other dog, which appeared to be some sort of lab mix. Long-haired and pointy-nosed, he’d guess it was terrier mixed with maybe half a dozen other things. Probably weighed fifteen pounds soaking wet.
    “Don’t approach it,” Ronnie warned, his voice sober. “No matter how cute it is, it may still be dangerous. And we don’t know what kind of diseases it could be carrying.”
    A sigh came from one of the three wolves keeping watch over the dogs – Daniel, surely. At least someone shared Michael’s sentiments. Cute ? The thing looked like an oversized rat wearing a dirty mop head.
    Tensions simmered as everyone was left with no choice but to wait for the animal control assistance Ronnie had called in.
    “What were you doing up here anyway?” Kimberly eventually asked Ronnie, whose canine charge had finally stopped growling and begun sulking and whimpering instead.
    “I knew Jack would be out keeping an eye on that film crew tonight, so I stopped by his and Mandy’s place to check on her. Figured I’d swing by here too and make sure you were doing all right, then head further up the mountain and see if Clarissa and Violet needed anything.” A slight pause ensued, and he cleared his throat. “Guess it’s a good thing I swung by.”
    Kimberly sighed. “You can say that again.”
    The sound of a rumbling engine alleviated the near-silence, drowning out the noise of canine discontent as a vehicle climbed up the mountain.  
    “You guys had better shift, unless you want to end up in the animal shelter,” Ronnie said.
    Jack gave a mock growl, but shifted into his human form. “Michael, you got any clothes inside I could borrow?”
    Michael nodded and trotted into the cabin, shifting once he reached the inside. After he and Jack pulled on jeans and shirts, they went outside to keep an eye on the two unsecured dogs.
    “I reckon we can handle these two without any help,” Jack said, looking down at the two animals, which were plainly scared out of their wits, then nodding toward Noah and Daniel, who were still in their wolf forms. “But you two had better hang back and make sure they won’t be tempted to make a run for it.”
    Daniel and Noah faded into the shadows at the edge of the woods, where they could lurk unseen, blocking the dogs’ only real escape route.
    The truck that pulled into the driveway minutes later was equipped with metal kennels that occupied the entire bed, and two animal control officers stepped out.
    “Thanks for hurrying,” Ronnie said, nodding to them as they neared the scene. “I’ve got this one, but