Chapter 3

Early the next morning, I was dragged into the middle of a crowd, and Violet ordered me to fetch a glove she'd thrown, as entertainment.

In Silver Moon Valley, my dad could hardly bear to let me walk on ice when it snowed. At the Black Pine lodge, Violet had metal clasps nailed to a wooden platform and chained me there with silver. She tossed the glove to the far end of the stage and gave the chain the slightest tug. It felt like a red-hot iron band clamped around my neck, the burn sinking into my bones.

"Go on," she said, smiling at the watching guests. "It puts on that pitiful act to get sympathy."

I forced myself forward two steps, and the metal edge sliced open my paw pads. Blood dripped onto the stage. The audience burst into applause. Someone praised Violet Grant for being so good at training animals, and one guest even made an offer to buy this rare white fox.

Dylan set up a big screen and played the video of me killing the hound the day before. On the screen, blood covered my mouth as I stumbled and struggled, and the jeering laughter around me drowned out everything.

One guest asked quietly, "Doesn't that little thing look kind of like a wolf?"

"If that's a wolf, then I'm the highest-ranking Alpha in the Rockies," Dylan said, then burst out laughing at his own joke.

Lucy pushed her way over with a first-aid kit, trying to bandage my bleeding paw. Dylan stepped in to stop her and whispered something in her ear. Lucy went white and backed silently into the corner.

I turned to look at her. She was gripping the first-aid kit tightly. Her lips parted several times, but no sound came out.

Not long after, a woman in work clothes walked up to me. She didn't reach out to touch me. Her eyes landed first on the burns the silver had left on my neck.

"Who put a silver collar on it?" she asked.

Violet jerked her chin carelessly toward Nolan. "What's wrong, Joanna?"

"I'm the lodge's vet. Silver doesn't leave burns like this on an ordinary dog." Joanna crouched down and looked closely at my ears, then brushed aside the fluff on my forehead. "Look here. There's even a faint crescent-shaped marking. You should take that collar off right now and contact the nearby packs to find out who it is."

My heart started pounding.

Finally, someone wants to find out who I really am!

I nodded hard and touched the back of her hand with my good paw. Joanna's expression grew even more serious, and she stood to reach for her phone.

Violet snatched her work badge.

"So you're saying I can't tell a dog from a wolf?" The smile disappeared from her face completely. "Look at the size of it. It's not even as big as one leg of a grown wolf, and it doesn't show any sign of a wolf spirit. You'd make up a lie like that just to cause trouble?"

"I'm only suggesting we confirm who it is." Joanna reached out to take her badge back. "What if this is a child who just hasn't been able to shift yet—"

"Shut up."

Nolan stepped forward and signaled for security to take Joanna away. Unlike Violet, he didn't shout. His face just darkened. "We have a room full of important guests tonight. Don't let rumors like that get around."

As security dragged Joanna out, she turned back and shouted, "Don't let silver touch it again! At least treat its wounds first!"

Not a single person there listened to her.

I tried to go after her, but the silver chain yanked tight and dragged me right back. Violet crouched down, pinched my mouth shut, and smiled coldly. "Trying to find yourself some help, huh? Naughty girl."

She had someone bring her a pair of silver pliers, then clamped them around my sharpest canine tooth. The piercing pain brought tears to my eyes, but I still bit down hard on her outstretched finger. Violet shrieked and raised her hand to strike me.

Dylan quickly grabbed her. "It still has to go on stage tonight. Too much blood won't look good. Wait until all the guests are here, then you can deal with it properly."

"Then let me take a little souvenir first."

She snipped off a long tuft of fur from my tail and told someone to make it into brooches for the VIP guests to wear. The white fur scattered across the floor was ground into the dust under people's shoes. I couldn't help thinking of how my dad used to brush my fur. Whenever he found a knot, he'd carefully work it loose bit by bit. He never once yanked.

I used to think he fussed too much. Now I wished more than anything that he'd fuss over me a little more.

Lucy took me back to the isolation room, her hands shaking as she closed the door. Only when I pressed my head against the bars did she bend down, her voice barely a breath.

"Little one..." she whispered. "I don't know if they really think you're a dog, but I can tell you understand what people are saying."

I looked up at her.

"My little brother, Finn, has never been able to shift either. The pack says he's a useless little wolf, so they use him to train the hounds." She bit her lip, and her tears fell onto her apron. "Last night he bit one of the dog trainers, and they locked him in the storage building out back. They're sending him away tomorrow."

I froze.

So in this lodge full of mounted animals, not being able to shift didn't just mean getting laughed at. It meant anyone could treat you like prey.

Lucy gripped the bars tight. "Please, if you really have a family, could you... find a way to save Finn too?"

I couldn't even get myself out.

But looking at Lucy's battered face, I still leaned forward and gently rubbed my forehead against her palm.

This time, I wanted my family to come for more than just me.