“Lucas here has created a little mess in the deer park and pinned it on our Wolven friend. I’m afraid the local police force has been alerted, but of course, we have more power than them.”

“Why can’t we go now?” asked Scale, keen to get his paws on the prize.

“Because,” said Gruber curtly, impatience making a knobbly rope of vein throb at his temple, “this way, we take back what is ours, legally, with no fuss, and more important, with no violence. Nothing that can be traced back to Proteus.”

“But what if the boy, Nathaniel Carver, has removed him?” Angelo asked quickly.

Gabriel’s noble brow creased slightly. “Don’t you worry your furry head about that,” he drawled condescendingly. “Nat Carver is a little boy. He has no idea about the Wolven’s powers. I don’t think we need to trouble ourselves about him.”

“But Angelo’s right,” protested Vincent. “The boy could —”

“We are merely taking back what is ours,” interrupted Gabriel sharply. “Trust me. It’ll be like taking candy from a baby.”

CHAPTER 19
ONE FOR SORROW …

“Right! Ready? Go!” shouted Nat.

Woody, his eyes tightly shut in concentration, fur quivering stiffly, puuuushed with all his being. Nat held his breath as the outline of Woody’s body blurred in the strong sunlight, the lines rippling as though underwater. Seconds later, Woody stood before him in human form, his bare chest maroon with dried blood.

“Come on.” Nat grinned. “Time to go home and intro —”

There was a soft rushing noise, like air being sucked out of a container. Nat stared in horror. There was something terribly wrong: Woody was disappearing! His facial features looked as though they were made of wax; it was as if he were collapsing into himself.

“Woody!” Nat panicked. “What’s happening to you?”

Woody’s body morphed into a long, thin shape; maybe it was trying to halt the collapse by stretching itself. Nat watched helplessly until the molecules of air became visible again, pushing Woody’s body back into Wolven form.

“Thank goodness!” cried Nat, trembling in relief. “I don’t know what happened then, but I thought you were a goner!”

Woody stood still, his topaz eyes blinking in the sunlight.

“Never mind,” said Nat, still shaken. “I was hoping if you came back with me in human form it would prove our story. We’re going to have to go back home, and I’m going to have to rely on you to show me if anything, anything at all, is wrong.”

Woody stared right back at him, ears pricked, tail held high: the body language of an alpha wolf.

“I’ll take that as a yes.” Nat grinned again. “I’m going to tell them everything. They won’t believe me, but we’ve got no choice.”