Chapter 4

Mrs. Parker shooed Paul and Kim off to bed.

“Would it help you sleep if I left the light on, Gruff?” she asked.

At least that’s what I thought she said. But how could anyone sleep better in the light? Dark was for sleeping. It wasn’t night I was afraid of, but flesh-eating monsters.

As soon as everyone was gone I got into bed. But it wasn’t like sleeping on the floor of my wolf pack’s den. The bed surface was soft. I kept feeling like I was falling.

And it was lonely, curling up by myself. I was used to having all the warm wolf bodies tucked in around me. I missed Wolfmother and Thornclaw, my wolffather. And I missed my brother Sharpfang and especially the cuddly cubs.

I wondered where the wolves were now. The hunters from the town had chased them off and they could never go back to our old den. I wondered if they had found a new one yet.

Finally I got down off the bed and stretched out on the floor, pulling the blanket over my head. It wasn’t the cozy wolf den but it was a little better.

I almost fell asleep. Then just as I started to nod off, something whispered and rustled outside under my window.

The werewolves were back!

I jumped up and went to the window. But there was nothing there. Nothing I could see, anyway.

After a while I gave up looking. I crawled under the bed with my blanket. The little space felt more like a den, and if the werewolves came through the window, maybe they wouldn’t find me.