I scratched my head as I held Milly's lead rope. "Where are we?"

The mule shook her head and nibbled a nearby bush, ignoring my subtle request for her to lead us back. She had exhibited far more energy than I had ever given her credit for, but in all of her zigzagging, I had completely lost my bearings.

The low cloud cover didn't reveal the sun's position, nor had we crossed the road. In the past, various guides had told me moss grew on the north side of trees, but if that was the case, this forest was convinced every direction was north.

In essence, we were lost.

I wasn't going to mention this part of my journey to my father.

I sighed and shook my head. There was still light, so Shane wasn't going to put in an appearance for a couple of hours, and even then, he'd have to locate us. I didn't doubt his ability to track a sweaty mule through the forest – even I could see her hoofprints in the softer sections of dirt – but it'd take him time. And other predators might also pick up the scent of the lathered mule in the meantime.

If you got lost, rule number one was to not stray far from where you ended up, but I could hear a stream nearby, and I needed to find a semi-straight stick in case another predator came calling.

"Okay, Milly," I said, talking more to calm my nerves than anything else, "let's see if we can find some suitable branches on our way to the creek, and by the time we get there, you should have cooled off enough for a small drink."

Milly lifted her head and looked at me as if this grand adventure was entirely my idea. Rolling my eyes, I led her through the bushes.

Since straight branches seemed to be an extinct species, I used my dagger to chop down a sapling and stripped the branches away. Milly nibbled on various plants while I trimmed the end into a sharp spear tip. It wasn't as good as my first spear, but having the improvised weapon in my hands still made me feel better.

I followed the burbling of the water to the small stream and let Milly drink while I gazed at the forest around us. Alas, I was just as lost as before, and there were no handy signs to show me the way.

I eyed up the ground and debated trying to follow Milly's tracks back, but I discarded that idea almost immediately. There was a good chance predators would be sniffing out her trail, and I didn't feel like blundering into them. There were bound to be places where she hadn't left visible tracks, such as in the rockier areas. I was a trader who was usually responsible for several wagons in a trading caravan. I knew more about broken harnesses and cracked wheels than tracking.

Reluctantly, I decided that remaining here was my wisest course of action until Shane found me or trouble forced me to move on. I began munching on the watercress growing along the bank, and Milly contentedly grazed alongside me.

As the world around me got darker, a long howl interrupted the crickets' orchestra. I judged the light and guessed this call was Shane looking for me and not him warning me to hide. And if I was wrong, what was one more wild ride through an endless forest?

Cupping my hands around my mouth, I shouted as loudly as I could, "I'm over here!"

I wasn't sure if he was close enough to hear me or not. I debated whacking my new spear against a tree, or banging rocks together to create more noise, but eventually decided Shane would have to prove his tracking skills, just in case the forest had other ears.

Minutes ticked by. Then more minutes followed. I sat down to wait. Eventually, another long howl rose into the night, much closer than before, but still not nearby. Milly snorted and danced to the side as I tightly held onto the remains of her tether.

"Over here!" I called back.

Not long after, crackling in the underbrush had me standing up. My heart pounded as I recalled the dire wolf, even though I was sure it was just Shane. A large werewolf bounded through the shrubs, and I sighed in relief.

When Shane saw me, he reared onto his hind legs and quickly looped a necklace around his neck. His muscles spasmed as dark orange light with glimmers of green shimmered across his body.

Once again, there wasn't really time to analyze it before the shift was complete.

"Olivia, are you alright?" he asked as he skipped over the moss-covered rocks and logs. Milly eyed up the man, but since he was no longer a wolf, she shook herself off and went back to grazing.

"Yeah. I wasn't sure how to get back to the camp, so I remained here. Milly decided she really didn't like that dire wolf, so she went for a long run."

He ran his hand through his hair. "I'll say. You're quite some distance from the camp. I almost had a heart attack when I smelled all the blood." He exhaled gustily, his worry visibly fading now that he knew I was unharmed.

It was so hard to not ask questions. He clearly hadn't heard my shout or noticed Milly's rushed departure. He must have only discovered our absence after sundown.

"Well, I'm glad you found me. Which way is the ca-"

The trumpeting of a distant horn made me pause midsentence.

Shane frowned in the direction of the sound. "Let's get going. The war party brought in reinforcements, and I didn't realize it until after the first howl, so they know we're around."

"What are the odds of them blaming the howl on a dire wolf?"

"Considering the one you injured stumbled into their camp with the blade still lodged in its side and an empty stomach, slim to none."

I groaned. Why did that blasted wolf have to visit the war party after I'd injured it? If it had been out for revenge, it had succeeded far past its wildest dreams.

"We should get going," he said.

I somehow suspected he didn't intend to return to the camp, so I quickly said, "I'm going to need my gear. You might be able to sleep without a bedroll, but I can't."

He pinched the bridge of his nose and thought hard. "Stay here for a few minutes while I check the trails. Once I know it's safe, you can start guiding Milly and I'll go back for your gear. This isn't quite the direction I wanted to go, but you certainly covered a lot of ground and there's no point in forfeiting that."

He took a step away, then hesitated. With a heavy sigh, he turned back to me. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a necklace and held it out to me. The simple silver chain and teardrop pendant were different from, yet also similar to, the necklace Shane currently wore.

"Stick this in your pocket or something," he said gruffly. "It's enchanted, and I can locate it as easily as a compass needle locates north. Just in case that mule of yours decides to pretend it's a racehorse again."

"Okay..." I took the necklace somewhat gingerly and tucked it into a pocket on the front of my shirt. "Thanks. I'll wait here until you return."

He briskly nodded and headed into the shrubs. Through the greenery, I vaguely saw him pull off his necklace, which made the orange and green lights reappear. Moments later, a brown werewolf bounded deeper into the forest like a deer.

Once I was sure he was gone, I pulled the necklace out for a closer inspection. The pendant was actually connected to the finger-wide chain, and now I could see a small diamond-shaped green gem in the center of the tear-drop pendant.

The silver was the same shade as Shane's was, although the chain on his was thicker, and his pendant was an angled, jagged rectangle with three small orange gems. The gems on his matched the one on mine, only being a different color.

I stuck it back in my pocket and shook my head to dispel my misgivings. I decided to do something useful and encouraged Milly to have a big drink while I gathered watercress to eat later.

It wasn't long before Shane returned. To my surprise, he approached in his werewolf form. On all fours, his head was easily level with my chest. He wasn't as big as the biggest bears I'd seen, but he was larger than most.

"Is it safe to keep going?" I asked, my voice calmer than I'd expected. I paused as I realized I wasn't nearly as scared of him as I thought I'd be, but even though he wore fur, I still considered him to be Shane instead of a creature far more dangerous than the dire wolf that had previously sent my heart flying.

Milly wasn't as convinced and tossed her head as she pulled against her lead rope. With a glance at her, Shane stopped where he was.

"Yes," he said, his voice distorted by his jaws, but it was still similar enough to his human one that I immediately recognized it. "Follow that trail-" He pointed to a deer trail to the side – his hands were far more human than wolf, with nails that tapered down to rather sharp-looking tips – "and I'll go retrieve your saddle and gear. I'll howl by the camp to lure any listeners that way, so don't call out."

"I'll keep that in mind. Anything else?"

"Not that I can think of. The war party split into small groups, but they're still on the main roads and side trails. I didn't notice any predators apart from a couple of foxes, and I'm pretty sure you don't consider them a threat."

"Not particularly. Stay safe."

He regarded me for a long moment, giving me time to notice his wolf eyes were the exact same shade of dark brown as his human ones.

"Thanks."

He turned and trotted into the undergrowth, so I led Milly toward the deer trail. With the werewolf now out of sight, she cautiously plodded forward.