Determined, he tried again to circle the wolf, keeping a wider distance this time. From the trees, he lowered to one knee and pressed his ear to the sodden ground. At first, it was silence. Then he heard, faint and desperate, a sound like a whine, muffled, struggling against earth’s weight.
He jolted upright, pulse racing. The wolf had shifted slightly, catching him in its gaze. No growl came this time, only a chilling stillness. Adrian had heard it. There was life buried beneath the surface. Yet approaching again would test the thin tether of trust between man and beast.