Chapter
* TWO *

Lauren’s jaw dropped and she gaped at the tiny puppy in complete astonishment. Was she imagining things?

She rubbed her eyes and looked again, but the puppy still stood there. It was gazing up at her with the biggest, brightest midnight-blue eyes she had ever seen.

“Where . . . where did you come from? How did you get in here?” Lauren asked, puzzled.

“I used my magic to come here from far away. My name is Storm, of the Moon-claw pack. What is yours?” the puppy yapped softly.

Lauren did a double take. “Whoa! You really can talk! I thought I’d imagined that, too!” She swallowed. “I’m Lauren. Lauren Medley. I live here with my mom and dad.”

Storm bowed his little head. “I am honored to meet you, Lauren.”

“Um . . . me too,” Lauren said, still having trouble taking this all in. As she bent down to make herself seem less big and frightening to this amazing puppy, she remembered something he had said. “Why do you need my help?”

Storm laid back his ears, and his little muzzle wrinkled nervously. “An evil lone wolf called Shadow is looking for me. He attacked our Moon-claw pack and killed my father and brothers, and wounded my mother, so that he might lead the wolves. But it is my destiny.”

Lauren frowned. “How can you lead a wolf pack? You’re just a tiny pu—”

“Stand back, please,” Storm ordered. As Lauren stood up and backed slowly into her bedroom, there was another dazzling flash of golden light and the tiny black puppy disappeared. In its place, almost filling the entire hallway, stood an impressive young wolf with silver-gray fur and a thick neck ruff that twinkled with thousands of lights, like glittering yellow fireflies.

“Storm?” Lauren eyed the powerful wolf’s big teeth nervously.

“Yes, it is me. Do not be afraid,” Storm rumbled in a soft velvety growl.

Before Lauren had time to get used to seeing Storm as his true self, there was a final, even brighter flash of light, and a fountain of sparks sprinkled down all around Lauren, crackling harmlessly to the carpet.

When Lauren’s sight cleared, she saw that Storm was a tiny, cute, helpless puppy once more. “Wow! That’s a great disguise,” she breathed. “No one would know that you’re not really a cute little Scottie dog.”

“Shadow will know it is me, if he finds me. I need to hide now,” Storm whined.

Lauren saw that the tiny puppy was beginning to tremble all over. She felt a surge of protectiveness and gently picked him up. Storm snuggled into her arms as she stroked his fluffy black fur.

“You can live here with me in

my bedro—” Lauren paused as she realized that there was no way her mom and dad were going to let her have a puppy. They’d just think it was another one of her impulsive, half-baked ideas, especially after the figure-skating discussion. “Oh, I don’t think you can stay here after all,” she said sadly.

Storm nodded. “I understand. Thank you for your kindness. I will find someone else to help me.”

But Lauren wasn’t ready to lose her magical new friend so quickly. She thought hard. “Maybe I can hide you in my bedroom. I could make you a bed inside my closet, but you’d need to stay really quiet and not run around or anything when Mom and Dad are in the house. It might be really boring for you, though.”

Storm tipped up his intelligent little face and blinked at her. “I would like to stay here in your room. It is a safe place. And I will use my magic, so that only you will be able to see and hear me.”

“You can make yourself invisible? Cool! There’s no problem then!” Lauren said eagerly.

She opened her closet and began throwing out old pairs of sneakers and a box of old dolls and teddy bears to make room for a bed for Storm.

“Lauren? I hope you’re not too upset about . . . Hello, what are you up to?” asked a surprised voice from the open door.

Lauren whipped around to see her mom standing there. In all the excitement of finding Storm, she hadn’t heard anyone coming up the stairs. “I thought I’d . . . um . . . clean out . . . um, some old clothes and toys and . . . um, stuff,” she said hastily.

Mrs. Medley took a step forward. She put the back of her hand to her forehead and pretended to feel faint. “You’re cleaning your room without being asked to? Wonders will never cease, Lauren Medley!”

Lauren flashed an anxious grin. She tensed as her mom seemed to look straight at the tiny black puppy who sat on the floor beside her. But when her mom took no notice of Storm, Lauren felt herself relax, as she realized that he must have already made himself invisible.

A secret smile crossed Lauren’s face. Perhaps she wouldn’t be all by herself while everyone else was ice skating at the academy, after all.