Page 3

I want Jouni to knock on my elbow.

I’m crying, and the tears blow back into my hair. I wipe one eye with my forearm, but it blurs again. There’s nobody here to ask which way to go.

Somebody has to help them.

The wolves could. They’re big, and they’ve got teeth, and there’s so many of them.

Father already asked them.

I stood beside him in the cold, with his hand between my shoulders. There were three of them at the door. I could hear more of them inside where it was warm.

Father asked if we could bring our people there.

One of them kept looking over our heads into the trees. Another stepped backward into the house while Father was still asking. I watched until he disappeared, waiting for him to bring somebody else.

The one at the door shook his head.

Father’s hand stayed on my back. I looked up at the one at the door, then the one watching the trees. Neither of them looked at me.

We walked home with my hands tucked under my arms, and I kept close to Father the whole way, waiting for him to tell me where we’d go instead. He didn’t say anything.

My foot slips in the leaves, and I catch a trunk with my claws. I shove off it and go.

The wolves won’t have sick legs tonight. I’ve known that since I was little. They’ll be wolves all night, and they’re strong enough to catch these men.

They could go back for Jouni. They could help Father.

I sniff for them. There’s only pine. I keep listening for paws while I run.

They aren’t coming.

They knew we needed help. Father stood right there and told them.

Perkele wolves.

Chapter 1

I clear the fallen birch ahead of Keer and kick dirt at him on the landing.

He could’ve passed me already, but he’s keeping level. Apparently we’re setting an example for the children. I bare my teeth at him, tongue hanging out, and run faster.

Eskan is already out front, putting his entire small body into staying there, and his back feet nearly overtake his front ones on the bend. I cut inside him, catching the damp-earth smell of last night’s rain where his claws tear through the needles.

Colm checks over his shoulder and drops back to my flank, where he can see his father, his brother, and whatever’s behind us all at once.

Birdie has found a root.

It’s still attached to the ground, which hasn’t discouraged her at all.

I wheel around and dart past her, brushing her side with my tail, and she lets go of the root long enough to snap at it. Much better.

Keer’s disapproval reaches me through the bond, familiar enough that I send amusement straight back. He’s been disapproving of me since I could walk.

Birdie catches the fur above my hock, and I slow until she can keep hold without being dragged, her feet scrambling through the needles. I limp extravagantly for three steps, then roll onto my side.

Eskan doubles back to help finish me off. Colm approaches my head and sniffs my ear, checking the damage.

There isn’t any, but I let my tongue flop onto the dirt.