Because while the wolves of the pack moved through the forest on four legs, their leader now walked on two.

He had fought a man-wolf, nearly to the death, but he had survived and grown stronger. Now he was one of them. He was still wolf—of that, there was no doubt—but he was also part man, and if he were man, then those things belonging to men should be his as well.

He would take what he needed.

And when he did, Mother Earth help the man who got in his way.

Chapter 1

Ernie Ilson pushed a fresh log into the potbellied stove in his living room, then turned the crank at the bottom of the stove to clear the ashes that had accumulated at the base of the fire. The last week had been bitterly cold up on the mountain, and the stove had been going pretty much around the clock. In the morning, he’d have to clean out the ashes and make a few trips to the woodpile by the shed to restock his supply of firewood. But that was work for tomorrow. Right now, it was Ernie’s job to relax. He’d had a fine supper—thanks to his good friend Captain High Liner—tomorrow’s lunch was in the bag, and breakfast was already laid out on the kitchen table. All that remained was for him to sit back in his favorite chair, read the evening paper awhile, then nap til it was time to go to bed. Then, in the morning, Ernie’s life cycle would begin all over again.

Satisfied the fire would be all right for the next hour, Ernie closed the door on the stove and trudged over to his well-worn La-Z-Boy. He picked up the copy of the Redstone Gazette that lay on the seat and read the big bold headline splashed across the front page—PROVINCE COMMENDS REDSTONE TEEN FOR FOREST RESCUE.

“Did you see that?” he asked.

No one answered Ernie’s question because there was no one else in the room. No one else except for Jaeger, his golden retriever. The two had been together eight years now, helping each other through some pretty tough times, including the death of Ernie’s wife six years ago to cancer. When she passed, it looked for a while like Ernie might join her, but Jaeger pulled him through the dark times by keeping him active and forcing him to go for walks at least three times a day. After a few months, the worst of the pain had passed and the two of them became constant companions.

Man, and man’s best friend.