“Mommy,” Angelina said, the word slipping past her lips like water through fingers. “It was Maria’s fault, she said the cat would like the water.”

Tora, Harlan, and Argus all looked at each other.

“She’s delirious,” Tora said.

“What was your first clue?” asked Argus.

Harlan pointed to the deep wound on her forehead that was still bleeding. “She must have hit her head when she got that gash.”

Then Harlan placed his hands on Angelina, starting from the head and gently patting his way down the length of her body, checking his hands each time he moved them.

“What are you doing?” Argus wanted to know.

“Checking to see if she’s bleeding from anywhere else,” Harlan answered, without stopping what he was doing. “Or if anything’s broken.”

The other two waited until Harlan was done.

Finally, Tora said, “Well?”

“She seems to be okay,” Harlan said. “She’s probably just cold and a bit dazed from the bang on the head and the loss of some blood. But, I still think we need to get her to the hospital as soon as we can.”

“Okay, we will,” Argus said.

“Really?” Harlan smiled. “And how do you suppose we do that?”

“Why?” Argus said. “What’s the problem?”

Tora knew what the problem was, but she wasn’t about to stop Harlan from explaining it to Argus.

“Well, we traveled here in werewolf form. We’ve got no radio to tell the others where we are. We’ve just scared off the only searchers who were close to finding her. The girl is only half-conscious…and we’ve got no clothes on.”

“Oh, right,” was all that Argus could say.

“We’ll have to carry her back,” Tora said. That much was obvious.

“I can do that,” Argus said, proudly.

There was no question Argus was up to the task, even after his fight with the wolf. Argus was huge in his werewolf form and Angelina couldn’t have weighed more than fifty or sixty pounds. But physically getting the girl to the hospital wasn’t the biggest obstacle they had to overcome. The forest was full of searchers and they were all looking for something out of the ordinary.

“So what are you going to do?” Harlan asked. “Just walk into the hospital—a seven-foot werewolf carrying an unconscious girl in your arms—and say, ‘Here you go! Sorry it took so long. No need to thank me…I’ll be on my way now’?”

Tora and Argus looked at each other as a smile began to creep over both of their faces. And then they both laughed.

“Yeah, that would be really funny,” said Harlan. “Right up to the point where all the nurses start screaming in terror, and the search party that was looking for the girl turns into a posse that’s gunning for your hide.”

“We don’t have to hand the girl over to a doctor or nurse,” Argus said. “We just have to get her to the hospital.”

“Like what, lay her down on the front steps, ring the doorbell, and leave?”