Chapter 75


    “Mommy, look at Susie!”


    Further down the line, Susie had be something of a spectacle, engaging with her wolf far better


    than she ever had with humans. And the wolf seemed to adore her, bouncing yfully. Even other girls‘


    wolves hade closer to her, curious.


    I watched her for a while as she gently spoke with the wolves, then pet them as they let her.


    Susie eventually noticed me looking and waved.


    During a break, Susie excused herself from her pack and came over to us. “How is it going?”


    I gave her a sad kind of smile. “Okay, considering.” I nced at my wolf, whozed in the grass, then


    back to Susie. “Susie, can you ask my wolf their name?”


    Her eyes lit up with excitement. “Of course!” She approached my wolf calmly, who raised its head. She


    didn’t say much. Mostly she just closed her eyes, like she was speaking inside of her mind, or maybe


    her


    heart.


    I remembered what it felt like to have a wolf. That strong inner presence had given me confidence and


    courage on many asions. I did my best to mimic what I had once been, but I felt the hole inside of


    me


    as vividly as if a physical piece of me had been carved away.


    “She said that you can call her Silver,” Susie said, stepping back from the wolf.


    Silver, a beautiful name for therge gray wolf with vibrant blue eyes.


    Rosie leaned closer to me. “Give her some time. She’s not unsympathetic to your situation, just


    disappointed. She wanted to be able to bond with you like the others…”


    “I understand.” I looked down at Silver. “I would have liked to bond, too.”


    Across the field, the three princes greeted their own wolves. They wererger than all the rest, and


    seemed to have adopted their paired princes‘ personalities.


    Joyce’s sat near his side, tipping his head against Joyce’s leg. Julian’s dipped into a yful pose, its


    tongue lolling out. Nichs’s stood regally at his right side, moving as he moved, though neither ahead


    nor behind. An equal.


    Nichs and his wolf came toward us then, Elva tugged at my hand.


    I cave Nichs an uncertain look.


    “It’s safe,” he assured me.


    I released Elva’s hand and she bound forward. She was shorter than the wolf, and had to look up at it.


    “Hi, Mister Wolf!” she said excitedly. She paused a moment. “Oh. I’m sorry. Hi, Mister Night.”


    Mister… Night?


    Concerned, I turned to Nichs, but he was watching the pair, a hint of awe in his eyes.


    “Your daughter is talking to the wolf,” Nichs said “Such promising abilities in one so young.”


    Dread curled in the pit of my stomach. “You mean.. the wolf’s name is Night?”


    “Yes.”


    A fitting name for a wolf with a pitch ck coat.


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    Elva giggled, like the wolf had told a joke. The wolf stepped forward and licked Elva’s cheek. She


    giggled


    harder.


    Nichs smiled a little. “Night is fond of her.”


    That pleased me as well. Of course, I was proud of my little girl and her immense talent.


    But with that pride also came fear.


    Julian had warned me of this. For a girl her age to show such talent, she would surely be a target


    of the underground market, just as I had. No, worse than me.


    They had snared me when I was almost an adult. Elva was just a child, barely older than a baby. She


    wouldn’t stand a chance against them.


    Nichs faced me and the good humor disappeared from his face. “You’re pale.”


    How could 1 exin to him the potential dangers, when he didn’t even know my secrets? Would the


    same people that came for my inner wolfe for Elva’s as well?