The ranger looked around. “Where’s Argus?”

Noble felt trapped. There were two options, neither of which he was happy with. He could either lie and tell the ranger that Argus wanted to run some more and had stayed out late to do it, or he could tell the truth and break the man’s heart.

Tora and Harlan appeared in the doorway to the kitchen.

“It’s okay,” Noble told them. “You two go on to bed. I’ll let the ranger know what happened.”

“What? What happened?” Ranger Brock asked.

Noble took a seat at the kitchen table. “I know Willie’s been talking about angry spirits and it all sounds kind of silly, but the land the company wants to harvest actually does have a special creature living on it.”

“What kind of special creature?”

Noble sighed. “One of us,” he said. “One of our kind.”

The ranger’s face went white. He swallowed as if his throat had suddenly gone dry. “Another member of your pack?”

Noble shook his head. “Yes and no. He’s a full-grown male. His name is Phelan.”

The ranger took a deep breath and finished his drink in a single gulp. He put the mug down on the table, nodding. “I suspected there were others. I mean, if you were out there how could there not be more?”

“He is like us, but not like us. He’s big, strong, and wild. And he’s spent all of his life in the woods, living off the land and doing his best to avoid contact with humans.”

“So he let you find him?”

“Y-yes,” Noble stammered. “I guess so. He said he knew our parents. He told us stories about them that made us proud.”

The ranger was silent for a long, long time, struggling to keep his emotions in check. Finally, he took a deep breath and said, “Argus has gone to join him?”

“How did you know?”

“I knew it would come one day.”

“You did?”

“Of course. You four are between worlds.” He glanced in the direction of the master bedroom where Phyllis lay sleeping. “We’ve raised you as humans, but there are two parts to each of you, and it was only a matter of time before you would have to choose between them.” The ranger shrugged and a tear leaked from the corner of his eye. “I just didn’t think it would come so soon…or hurt so much.”

Noble hated to see the ranger in so much pain. “Well, I don’t want to go anywhere,” he said.

The ranger smiled weakly. “You say that now, but give it time.”

“Do you think Argus will be coming back?” The question came from Tora.

“I don’t know,” said the ranger. “I hope so, but it’s his decision to make and he needs to make it on his own. The best we can do for him is support whatever it is he decides.”