The pack turned to leave, but before they took a step, Phelan asked a question.

“How is brother Noble?”

“Better,” she said. “He’s not back to normal, but he’s better.”

“Then he will live.”

Tora couldn’t help but feel relieved. She had thought Noble was on the road to recovery, but there had still been some doubt. Phelan had been right about the poison being silver, so there was no reason he wouldn’t be right on this count, too.

Harlan and Argus looked just as relieved.

Tora was about to thank Phelan for the good news when a scream cut through the forest. It was a shrill cry, edged with terror and fear.

Tora leaped in the direction of the sound, followed by her two brothers. After just two strides they were both past her, Argus leading the way and Harlan no more than a half-step behind. She looked behind her to see if Phelan was with them, but he was nowhere to be seen. Vanished into the wild, she thought, where he belongs.

Just then another scream split the night, this time mixed with the growls of hungry wolves.

They were close now, no doubt. But the question was: would they be in time to save her from being eaten alive?

* * *

Once plans had been finalized and it was obvious that there were more than enough people to conduct the search, Phyllis decided to return home to check on Noble. He’d been doing better, but he wasn’t out of the woods yet. Funny, she thought. That phrase, out of the woods. Noble and the others are all healthiest and happiest when they’re in the woods. So, instead of out of the woods the phrase should be: Noble’s doing better, but he’s not in the woods yet. The thought of it made Phyllis smile. The pack’s world is so different, even some of the simplest things in the human world don’t apply to them.

“Noble,” she called as she stepped through the kitchen.

“Yeah,” came the reply.

She opened the door to the bedroom. “How are you doing?”

He was sitting on the edge of his bed wearing a pair of jeans. One foot, with a sock on it, was resting on the floor, and he was trying to slip the second sock over his other, still swollen and hairy foot.

“What are you doing?” Phyllis asked.

“I’m feeling much better,” he said. “I can help with the search.”