I FOUND WOLFIE IN THE darkened backyard sitting cross-legged atop a frozen picnic table. And even though my former alpha was in human form, I was pretty sure his ear twitched, wolf-like, as I approached.
Despite the gesture, he continued to stare out at the pinpricks of light peppering the sky while a screech owl called a tremulous whinny into the darkness. The bloodling’s stillness was contagious, and for a moment I paused and let the night cup me in quiet despite the party still going full steam no more than fifty feet away.
Then I took a deep breath and stepped up to the metaphorical plate. An hour earlier, my pack and the assembled community had cheered my approach. But I knew the true test of my alpha status was yet to come. Could I release the crutch I’d been clinging to and stand
