The next time, Adrian stopped a good twenty paces from the wolf. He bent, selected a pebble, and tossed it lightly so it landed with a plunk in the water. The wolf’s ears twitched, but its body remained eerily still, as though carved from stone.
He tried again, this time flicking a larger rock toward the riverbank. It skittered across the stones, coming to rest barely two feet from the animal. A low rumble escaped the wolf’s chest, deep and guttural, vibrating through the ground. Adrian froze, pulse hammering. Still, the beast didn’t lunge.