Cover

Title Page

Copyright

Lone Wolf

Published as an ebook in 2022 by Jabberwocky Literary Agency, Inc.

Originally published in 2005 by Tundra Books in Canada and Tundra Books of Northern New York in the United States.

ISBN 978-1-625675-64-4

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places and events are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

Dedication

To Dr. Sheldon Katz, family physician and friend.

Chapter 1

The morning mist hung heavily in the air like smoke. As the pack ran through the forest, their fur netted the moisture, wetting them, but never soaking them to the skin. The ground was soft and damp, smelling of nature and new life, as if the earth itself were a living thing.

As the pack ran, Tora led the way for her three brothers, never venturing far from the trail. Harlan followed her closely, struggling only slightly to keep up. He’d always been the runt of the litter, but he’d been enjoying a growth spurt the past few months and now was just an inch shorter than Tora in human form and only a few pounds lighter as a wolf. By spring he’d be bigger than her, and stronger too, or at least that was his hope. Behind Harlan, Noble kept a comfortable pace, nipping at Harlan’s heels every so often to ensure his smaller brother kept up with the others. Noble could easily have been out front, the lead being his usual position among the pack, but he was happy to follow every so often, relieving himself of the burden of responsibility for his three siblings.

Bringing up the rear was Argus, by far the largest and strongest member of the pack. Argus too, could have been up front if he’d wanted, and even Noble knew enough not to challenge such a thing if Argus had his mind set on it. But today Argus was content to be last. He’d been similarly content with the position all week, and it didn’t look like his feelings would be changing any time soon.

The truth was that Argus had seen this part of the forest many times before, and he’d become bored with it. For weeks he’d been wondering what lay beyond the pack’s usual hangouts, beyond the familiar part of the forest. What, for example, was the ground like farther up the mountains? And at the top, or perhaps even over them? What was there for him to discover? He was nearly sixteen years old, and he’d yet to see the ocean in anything other than pictures or on TV.