After that, we saved our breath for the effort of clambering through the scrub. Once it thinned out, it did indeed get grosser, the damp ground turning to gray muck filled with decaying foliage. It reeked of rotting vegetation and threatened to pull my cute little strappy sandals right off my feet. Thank God at least they were flats. Dead or dying trees rose out of the muck, and clouds of mosquitoes hovered whining over puddles of stagnant water.

“Hang on.” I halted, panting, and took the opportunity to bend over and tug the heel straps of my sandals in place. “Lost him again.”

“You’re not exactly dressed for this, are you?” Jen commented, pushing her dark hair back.

“Didn’t exactly plan on it.” Straightening, I scanned the bleak landscape for a glimpse of the wolf.

“Oh, my God!” She gave me a smack on the shoulder. “Daisy Johanssen, is this a walk-of-shame morning? Is this about that ghoul you mentioned?”

I shook my head, which wasn’t a particularly good idea, as it set off a wave of dizziness. “I wish.” Oh, I did, did I? Huh. That had certainly come out of my mouth without any conscious thought on my part. “No, I spent the night at Lurine’s.”

“Well, how very fabulous of you.” There was a slight note of envy in Jen’s voice. “Was there champagne and caviar?”

“No,” I said. “Beer and pretzels. Hold on; be quiet a moment. I think I hear something.”

She fell silent.

Both of us strained our ears until we heard it in the distance: a sound like the screech of tree limbs rubbing together. If you’d never heard it before, you might think that was all it was. But it was a still morning, not a breath of a breeze stirring over the marshy wood. And Jen and I had heard it before.

We exchanged a glance.

“Oh, crap,” I said.

Jen swallowed. “It’s her.”

We set out at a run across the gray muck, splashing and slipping and floundering. I lost one sandal and then the other, abandoned both of them, and hoped there weren’t any nasty, splintery bits of wood underfoot.

On the verge of a scummy pond covered with bright green algae and choked with weeds, I caught sight of the wolf hunkered down beneath a deadfall and skidded to a halt, my bare feet plowing through the mud, Jen stumbling into me from behind. The wolf-Cody glanced up at me, that inhuman intelligence in its eyes.

Beyond it . . .