Running Naked Under the Full Moon

"Actually, I do," she said. Trina whipped her head in the other's direction. "A friend of mine is the personal assistant of a Wilderness Protection Trust's founder. She is quitting to attend graduate school and he is looking for a replacement."

"I didn't study for that," Trina grumbled.

Kylie shrugged. "It's a part-time job. He doesn't need much upkeep."

She could definitely use another job but looking at the face of another socialite would drive her insane.

"He won't be home most of the time, or he will leave you to your own device according to what my friend said. You need to water his plants, make his schedule, pick up his dry cleaning. That sort of thing."

"Full-time job that has nothing to do with my major."

Kylie snorted. "Nope. It is two hours a day. And there is a lot of work related to animal conservation that you might enjoy. I don't have the details yet. I can ask her for it if you want."

"I will think about it if the pay is good."

Contrary to what people believed, fresher vets didn't get the beautiful six-figure numbers that statistics showed. Trina was more of an intern than anything, making peanuts and living in an apartment that took up one-third of her current salary. She was still not a permanent employee.

Capitalistic country!

"I'll take a fifteen minutes break if you don't mind," she said with a hint of exhaustion. Upon agreement, Trina smiled gratefully at her coworker before she went to the staff room and got cleaned up. She made her way towards the restaurant she usually had lunch at. Yet at the last moment, she decided to walk for a little while to clear her head. She started towards the huge theater where all the big premiers happened. Even though she was not interested in it, she watched the tourists snap pictures of themselves in front of the various plaques on the ground.

At the end of the road, she decided to stop and turn back.

As she whipped around, her mind wandering off, she bumped into a tall man in a black hooded sweatshirt. Her steps faltered and the stranger grabbed a hold of her arm to steady her. She looked up and felt like she was in some cheesy romantic movie. Her pulse hammered loudly, roaring behind her ears, and everything felt as if it was in slow motion as soon as her eyes met his shockingly black ones.

They held their gaze and no matter how loud her brain seemed to scream at her body to move, it just didn't want to cooperate.

He released his grip on her arm, slowly brushing his hands across her skin as he dropped them. His touch was like the burning sensation of ice on a sweltering day. She pulled away by instinct before recognizing the yearning for the coolness of it.

She shook herself out of the daze and cleared her throat. "Sorry," she murmured.

He nodded as he turned away. She never had the chance to see his face properly. She was too wrapped up in those piercing eyes of his.

- - - - -

When she got back inside the clinic ten minutes later, she shrugged on her white coat and went to check on the hell-hound of a husky she had handled before. He was doing just fine and his routine check-up had also turned out normal. The husky was in excellent health.

Kylie knocked on the door, capturing Trina's attention.

"His Dad is here," she said with a jerk of her head towards the dog. Trina nodded but was amused that the dog seemed to know immediately what that meant. He circled around and howled a few times before skipping around.

Trina handed the leash to Kylie before waving the dog off. When she peered out of the room, she saw Kylie hand over the dog to a man in a black hood. She couldn't see him still, but she was sure it was the same man from earlier.

He crouched down in front of his dog, his hand rubbing gentle circles on the dog's head. He didn't speak a word but the dog went on overdrive, yelping, and barking in delight as if telling his owner about his wonderful adventure at the vet's office.

The man's head jerked in her direction but before she could notice it, he looked back at the dog.

"Good boy, Dino," he said lowly under his breath. "Let's go home. It's going to be nightfall soon," he whispered.

Dino howled in agreement.

Trina shuddered from her perch, the howl disconcerting her. If she heard it in the dead of the night, she would have been concerned for her wellbeing. She still couldn't understand the appeal.

She slowly moved back into the room.

Dino had a skip in his step as he followed his master home.

Randall chuckled as Dino hopped around the living room as he prepared for the food.

"Did you like your doctor?" Randall asked casually as he chopped the chicken and veggies. Yes, he was the kind of dog parent who wanted to feed their dog nutritional and healthier raw foods. None of that commercial dry and wet food for his little Dino.

"Awooooo!" Dino annotated in enthusiasm.

"Well, you won't be scared of going to the vet then, right?" he asked. He listened carefully and then chuckled. "Indeed, a pretty doctor makes it all better…" He trailed off. "I wish I had a pretty doctor for a full-body check-up," he said with a longing sigh.

He slowly placed the bowl of Dino's food down and fixed a plate of cooked food for himself.

"Be quick!" he urged as he shoveled the food into his mouth. "It's going to be night soon!"

He had finished and cleaned everything. Finally, he saw the sun descend and the moon slowly rose in the sky.

Another full-moon. Another transformation.

As Randall's limbs slowly shifted, he felt the urge to run and roll around under the full moon sky. Just as the last shred of his human thoughts was about to give away, a startling memory came back to him.

He had left the door leading to the lake unlocked.

He groaned as he fully transformed.

All worries evaporated.

It was time to play.

He bolted to the back door on four paws. Dino followed, nudging and playing until he stopped short at the door.

The wolf scratched at the door with his dog companion watching with rapt fascination. Finally, he pried the back door open and sprinted into the bright moonlight.

On cue, Dino wagged his tail from inside the house and started to howl.

He saw his owner slowly disappear into the night.

With the coast clear, he curled up on the floor and decided to take a quick nap. His owner would be back soon enough.

Sweet.