Prologue
The wolf wanted out.
Heavy clouds obscured the moon and
washed the night with icy rain. The cold, damp air brought a myriad
of intriguing scents. The man slunk along the sidewalk, his limbs
tingling as his body instinctively drew energy from the
earth.
The wolf wanted out now.
Full of hunger and rage, the wolf
writhed under the man’s skin in anticipation as he turned into a
familiar alley behind the town hall. It was dark there, overgrown
with trees and bushes, flanked with leaning fences, sagging
garages, and numberless garbage cans. There was a spot where no
light reached, a perfect spot to—
The wolf snarled its impatience and the
man cursed back. He was trying to hurry,
dammit, but his body refused to cooperate. To human eyes, he was
just an old drunk, sixty going on eighty. In reality, he was far
older than even those like him could guess. When his wolf wanted
out, he could no longer keep it leashed for long. And truth be
told, he didn’t want to. Because once he took on his lupine form,
all his aches and pains would disappear, and he’d be strong and
powerful again.
The wolf within whispered: Tonight we will hunt. And become even
stronger.