Again Harlan nodded. Back in his wolfen form once more, he jerked his head, indicating a path through the trees heading into the forest. Obviously she’d taken it. Harlan started down the path, his nose touching the ground every few steps to make sure he was on the right track. The rest of the pack followed, Tora keeping her distance behind Harlan to give him as much room as he needed, and Argus pushing up behind her as if Harlan weren’t moving fast enough.

And on they went.

Step, step, sniff. Step, step, sniff.

The trail curved to the south, then north, always turning, turning, until Harlan came to an abrupt halt. Tora and Argus stopped behind him, almost running him over.

“What is it?” Tora asked.

“Look!” Harlan said, gesturing at the ground.

Tora looked at the snow and saw Angelina’s bootprints, and their own tracks beside them. What was it she was supposed to be seeing?

“She doubled back,” Argus said.

Tora looked more closely at the trail and saw that the path they had been following had intersected with a similar path, which meant that Angelina had been walking around in circles. But for how long? And was this a fresh track, or an older one?

“We might have to split up,” Harlan said.

Argus shook his head. “I can’t track as well as you, even with your cold.”

“The moon’s giving us some light,” Harlan replied. “So you can see her tracks in the snow.”

That made sense, thought Tora. There weren’t any people in this part of the forest at this time of year, so there was a good chance that any footprints in the snow belonged to the lost girl. And, if Angelina was walking around in circles, having all three of them follow the tracks seemed like the best way to cover the most ground.

“Let’s do it, then,” said Tora.

Argus only nodded.

The three pack members retook their wolfen form and headed out. Harlan continued on the original track, careful this time not to go off on any paths he’d already covered. After a couple of minutes they found another intersecting path in the snow. Harlan stopped and looked behind him.

Tora stepped forward and headed off along the new path, sniffing at the ground every once in a while to see if she could recognize Angelina’s scent. Oddly enough, she could, and for a moment she readied herself for the possibility of coming upon the girl lying half frozen to death in the snow.

But there was nothing but footprints.

And they were getting longer.

It was obvious that these were more recent footprints because the girl was now dragging her feet, making long skid marks with each step, and drawing out two long lines in the snow.