“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong,” he said. “It felt nice, and I’d love to stay out here all night…but my hands and feet are freezing. You think we could go back to the donut shop to get warmed up?”

Tora smiled, realizing that she and her brothers didn’t feel the cold the way other humans did. “Sure,” she said. “I could go for a hot chocolate and a sour cream glazed right about now.”

They got up off the bench and headed toward the donut shop, holding hands as they walked.

“So,” Michael said, “tell me about how different you all are.”

Tora paused a moment, then took a deep breath and told him all about the pack.

Chapter 27

Deep in the central British Columbia forest, on the banks of Alexis Creek, a large, silver-gray wolf lay on its side, bleeding.

The animal had struggled with its wounds for days following a fight with something that was more than a wolf. At times it looked as if the silver-gray might recover, then things would turn bad and it looked as if it might die.

The others wolves in the pack seemed lost without their leader. They tended to the fallen animal as best they could, bringing it what little meat they could spare, but it was only getting colder, and the time for them to move on would soon be upon them. If their alpha male wasn’t well enough to travel, a new wolf would take control of the pack, and they would have to leave their fallen leader behind.

A large gray male with silver-steel eyes had been maneuvering into position as the pack’s new leader over the past couple of days. It had been aggressive toward all the other males in the pack, letting it be known to them all that it intended to take over the leadership. So far none had challenged for the lead, as it was the biggest—after their fallen leader—and had already proven its dominance over the rest of the pack in small skirmishes fought during the course of the past several months.

The only thing standing in the gray male’s way was the pack’s wounded leader. Despite its injuries, the silver-gray wolf was still alpha male, and leadership of the pack would not change until it gave up the lead, or it was taken in a fight.

The silver-gray wolf remained on its side, breathing hard and growling in obvious pain. The wounds on its neck were still bleeding, and old blood had matted the rest of its fur, turning black in the light of day.

Considering the alpha male’s injuries, the change of the pack’s leadership was all but done. If the gray male made a challenge, the silver-gray would likely retreat, formally giving up its position as leader of the pack.