Up ahead, sitting up against a stump in a clearing created by a clear-cut of the forest, was something red. For a moment Tora’s mind reeled in horror at the thought that the red she was seeing was the little girl’s blood, but thankfully that wasn’t it. It was the girl all right, but she was wearing a red snowsuit that stood out like a beacon against the gray of the forest and the snow blanketing the ground.

Harlan stopped sniffing the trail and began to run, but Argus nipped at his heels to slow him down. It was hard to fault Harlan for his excitement at finding the girl, since he’d been tracking her for hours, but they had to remember that they weren’t the only ones looking for her, and it might be wise to proceed with caution.

All three of them slowed their pace and began to scan the forest surrounding them. There were wolves here, hungry wolves that they had to be wary of, but there were also humans in the area searching for the very same thing the wolves were. The pack might be able to save Angelina, but one of the searchers would provide even more of a meal to a pack of hungry wolves.

The pack stopped less than twenty yards from the girl. As Tora watched, there was movement. They had found her alive! But the question remained: would she live?

Suddenly there were sounds coming from the forest to their right. All three of them turned their attention in that direction, and Harlan began to sniff at the air.

Tora altered her shape to allow speech. “What is it?” she asked.

Harlan changed his shape just enough to enable a reply. “Wolves. Three, maybe—”

Before Harlan was finished, a large, silver-gray wolf stepped cautiously into the clearing. It was a huge animal, as big or perhaps even bigger than Argus. The wolf stopped just a few steps into the clearing and lifted its snout toward the girl.

For the first time, Tora could hear her sobbing softly under her breath. It was a whimper of a cry, broken up by random sniffs and gasps of air.

The wolf took two steps toward the girl. Behind it, two other wolves emerged from the forest, each smaller than the first.

Three against three, Tora thought. At least things are even.

But then a fourth wolf appeared, bigger than the others, but not as big as the first.

The silver-gray wolf took another step forward, sniffing the air and looking around as if it knew this situation was something outside the norm. Angelina was dressed in red and totally defenseless. Most animals have some way of defending themselves from attack—such as agility and speed, or even camouflage—but this prey had nothing. An easy meal if ever there was one.

“They’re going to eat her,” Harlan said. “What do we do?”