Healing the Fox by Michelle Houston Page A

the fox home with him. It was frowned upon to take recently admitted animals home so soon, but with the cages quickly filling, the nature center relied on home rehabbers on more and more to juggle the overflow. Given that the fox sustained no internal injuries, and simply suffered dehydration, some bumps and bruises, and a broken leg, he was a lower priority for constant care.
    Which was actually more of a blessing than normal. Not only was he not too badly injured, but the sooner Scott could get the other shifter to his place and settled in, the better all around. With space, and the comfort of another of his kind, the fox should heal quickly and be able to shift back within a few days.
    With Scott being a staff member and a frequent rehabber, there really wasn't a big issue made over his taking the poor guy home with him. It also helped that Scott didn't have to be back in for another four days, thanks to the cutback in funds.
    * * * *
    The next few days passed in a blur. Scott fed and cared for the birds in his flight pen and took care of the fox, in addition to his day-off catching up on chores. It never failed to amaze him how much laundry one man could accumulate in just ten days. Although, it probably didn't help that he had work-out clothes, work clothes, and then around the house clothes for every day.
    As he was tossing another load of towels in the dryer, he couldn't help but reflect on his newest guest. The injured fox's leg was healing fairly quickly, and he had started to show some signs of spirit by the end of the second day. He even yipped a few times when Scott came into the room and didn't spend several minutes stroking his fur. It was definitely an encouraging sign that he craved the contact. Only time would tell if the human inside would remain trapped, or if he would be able to transform.
    Having been there once himself, which had caused him to seek out the opportunity to volunteer at the nature center, he had a fairly good idea of what the other man must be going through. Being trapped in his animal form, unable to allow the animal free reign of the body, had to be complete hell. Injured, possibly frightened, and feeling isolated from anyone and everyone he knew, the man inside the fox had to be going stir crazy.
    Only the fact that the fox didn't attack him, and responded to his voice and touch gave Scott any hope of the man's recovery. By now, he should have been up and moving around, testing the limits of his body. Instead he lay still on the bed, almost listless. Scott hoped it was simply boredom, as the man waited on the animal's leg to heal.
    Grabbing the freshly laundered sheets, he headed down the hall to change out the bedding on the guest bed. Scott entered his guest room to find a naked man lying on the bed. Curled up on his side, he had his feet tucked against the backs of his legs, his hands folded between his knees. Piercing, golden eyes followed Scott's movements as he crossed the room with the laundry.
    Carefully balancing himself, he knelt down beside the bed and met the shifter's gaze head-on.
    "Do you remember how you got here?"
    With the slightest of movements, the other man nodded. His red hair fell into his eyes with the motion, and very slowly Scott raised his hand and tucked the errant strands behind his ear. Cautious at first, he grabbed hold of the top sheet and tugged it up and over the other shifter, covering him. Although he rather enjoyed the sight of the man's body, it just seemed wrong to ogle him when he was still obviously out of it.
    As near as they had been able to tell, he had been lying on the side of the road for two days, unable to get water, and unable to move out of the heat of the summer sun. Just one more day would have done him in.
    "I need to take a look at your right leg. Can you extend it?"
    In answer, the other shifter slid his leg out from under the sheet and held it still while Scott examined it to make sure it had healed properly. Thankfully, despite the