Part 5

    All night I slept. Not even stirring.  I wake up still on the kitchen floor. I’m covered in blankets. I realize they wither did not want to move me, or they just could not get me to wake up. I am groggy and wait until someone else wakes up. It won’t be long now, the sky is bright and the birds are chirping.
    I’m fading in and out, until finally my familiars are awake. They  aren’t surprised to see me sitting there, it does seem however that they hoped over night that I would change back to human form, just as I had changed into a wolf overnight. It seems it’s not going to happen.
There’s a knock at the door.
    “ACO. I’ve received a report you may have a wild animal in your home. I need to investigate”.
    “No way.. You need to hide!” one of my familiars points to me. Dodging the front door they led me to the garage. We dug around for a secluded space. There’s an empty storage tote. I jump quickly in it and they cover me. They rush back to the door to let  the ACO in.
I can hear them very well. Showing him throughout the house, explaining that the wolf their friend saw yesterday did not belong to them, but to a distant friend who runs a rescue of some sort. Anything to get him off my trail. They tell him they returned it last night and that it’s long gone. He says he needs to see the garage. My heart stops.
    I get a good look at this man. He is in uniform also, just like the man from before. He has a very long pole with a loop at the end. If he finds me, who knows what he’ll do if he finds me. That pole has a negative aura to it. I know I do not want it near me. He is strolling around tapping and kicking boxes and totes, killing time. He’s hoping to find any type of clue to my location.
    In total it took almost an hour, I cannot believe he didn’t find me. He finally leaves and my familiars retrieve me.
    “I think I have a solution for at least part of this. You look scary, you know. We need to do what we can to make you more friendly looking”. My familiars decide.
    “That way if someone does see you, they wont be so quick to report you to animal control”. I agree with them silently. It’s pretty obvious I’m a wolf at this point, and that scares a lot of people.
“If we can make you look like a dog, or at least a wolf dog of some kind, people should leave you alone”. I nod my head in agreement. I’m willing to try anything to help. They went into the office for a while. I’m wondering what they could find in there to help me look more like a dog.
    A few minutes later they come back. They have a bandana at first, It’s a friendly pink gradient patterned material . They put it on me, and it does seem to help. If anything it does distract from the wolf features in my face. I wag my tail, it feels great to build my defense. I look to them with anticipation, ‘what else could they find’?
    “We did find a box of dog things in the back of the garage, so that’s good…”. I can sense hesitation in my familiar’s voice.
    “But we cannot have a repeat of last night. That was too much of a close call. So in the mean time you’ll need to wear this when you go out” she explains as she pulls out a collar and leash.
    “we’d feel much better about having you under control, so incase you do become a target we can pull you in. And dogs wear these anyways. It will help pull off a look of being a dog, and not being a wolf.” she finishes. It comes as a surprise to me. Looking at the old leather collar and leash. I’d never run I think to myself, I’m not a danger. However it makes sense. If it helps I have to at least try.
    I approach them and lower my head in compliance. As they attach the collar around my neck I can feel the familiar touch of  the human hands. It seems like such a distant memory to me now, as I become more accustomed to my life as a wolf in hiding. It’s on now. This will take some getting used too.
    There is more in the box, I can smell the items. My familiars tell me that that was enough for today. They didn’t want to rush me into anything
    “If there was any other way you know we wouldn’t do this”. I knew it, and before too long I would think nothing of it.
The day wore on and eventually it became time to go outside. They called me over, and attached the leash. I’m nervous. I haven’t been out since being chased by the rabid coyote. Nobody out side this house has seen me yet, what will people think?
    All three of us step outside and start walking down the dirt road. So far nobody has seen me. We are quiet, it’s a little awkward for everyone.
    “You doing ok?” one of my familiars ask. I give her a look of indifference, That’s how I truly feel at the moment. They start chatting lightly. I see somebody in the distance, and they have a dog. It turns out to be a woman and a medium sized brown dog. My familiars look to me, making sure that I’m ok with meeting the couple. I nod, it seems like a perfect test.  
    We meet the woman and dog. She’s of average height with medium length dark hair. She has a friendly disposition.
    “Your dog is gorgeous” she starts. “What breed is it?”
    “ A mix of some sort. Nobody really knows.” One of my familiars replies.
    “It’s beautiful anyway, what’s the name? Mine is Jack.”
    “…Sally. Her name is Sally.” One of my familiars responds.
    “Hey Sally nice to meet you. Well me and Jack better be going, see you guys around.”
    ‘Wow, it worked’ I think to myself. My familiars look to each other in relief. The woman had no idea I’m not a dog at all. I finally feel my guard let down, just slightly. We continue our walk. Many people are passing in their cars, some take a second look. Most don’t seem to notice any thing out of the ordinary. This guise may just work after all.