Greg felt a little nervous, as Eyal’s camp came into sight, while Thoko at his side lengthened her steps. Greg followed her less enthusiastically, wishing he wasn’t about to face the Morgulon alone. It wasn’t that he was scared of her. There was just something about her – maybe it was all the legends he had heard from other hunters.

“Greg? Thoko? What on earth are you doing here?” Isaac greeted them, as soon as they entered the circle of workmen having their diner.

“David didn’t tell you?” Greg asked. “Morgulon wanted me.”

“Whatever for?” Isaac asked, hugging him before Greg could shy away.

“Apparently, I was chosen to go into the mountains to find other elders.”

“Oh,” Isaac said. “So you’re not staying?”

“Afraid not,” Greg said.

Thoko hugged Isaac, too, smiling brightly. “I’m going with him,” she said.

“What?” Greg snapped. “No way! You can’t!”

“Why not?”

“Because there are no cages, no camps – nothing for full moon!”

“So I’ll climb a tree. It’s just one night, I’ll be fine.”

Greg just gaped at her, lost for words. Maybe he should have seen this coming, but he had really thought Thoko just wanted to go with him to get back to Isaac and the rest of the old crew.

“It’s too dangerous,” Greg tried again. “You heard what David and Lane said, I’m a werewolf, and the Morgulon still wasn’t sure that these werewolves won’t attack me.”

“They also said you need to convince them to help us, and I bet it’ll help if they need to see someone human for that, too.”

“I bet Thoko is right,” Isaac said. “What better way to show them that things are changing than a werewolf who is friends with humans?”

Greg threw his hands into the air. “At least talk to Eyal first,” he said, hoping against reason that he would be able to talk her out of it. “I need to find the Morgulon, see where exactly we need to go.”

When he said it, he knew that he had lost, and Thoko grinned at him.

The Morgulon wouldn’t turn human to talk to him. Greg stood there feeling stupid, face to face with that huge she-wolf.

“How are you going to tell me where to go then?” he asked.

The Morgulon flicked her ears, staring at him, and suddenly, a strange feeling came over him. He hadn’t even tried to find the tightrope in his mind, but he was up there, and someone was pushing him.

“Wait,” he managed to press out. “Wait. Let me –”

He quickly kneeled down to take off his shoes and clothes, and as soon as he was finished, Morgulon pushed him over the edge, off the tightrope, into his other body. There was nothing he could do to resist. He found himself flat on the ground, grovelling in front of her. The Morgulon huffed in annoyance and turned away.

She hadn’t said anything – hadn’t given him a sign, and yet he knew, down to his bones, that she was showing him what he might face if he went to find the other elders. They would have power, and they wouldn’t hesitate to use it.

Greg didn’t dare complain.

Morgulon growled softly, and he hurried to follow her, just a few steps into the trees. He knew they were moving away from the river, and he knew that he would have to go in this exact direction for many miles. If he could stay the course, he would find another elder’s territory. He was only about twice as old as Bernadette – by no means the oldest one in the mountains. But the one least likely to rip his throat out if he walked into his territory with a human at his side.

Wait, Greg wanted to say. How did you know?

He thought Morgulon laughed at him at that.

How she knew, Greg had no idea, but there was no doubt in her that Thoko would go with him.

Had she heard them? Or could Morgulon see the future?

This time, he was sure that Morgulon was laughing, wolf-tongue lolling out of her mouth.

Humans are easy to read.

Greg decided to take her word for it.

Morgulon approved of that. She stared into the shadows between the trees for about a minute, until Greg knew which directions he could go if the first elder didn’t want to go with him – and he survived.

How he knew, he had no idea, and before he could ask, he was turning human again.

The next morning, when Greg climbed out of the tent he had been allowed to borrow, Isaac and Thoko were already busy packing her rucksack.

“I hope you don’t mind,” she said, looking at him quizzically.

“Morgulon said you would come.”

Isaac frowned. “How did she know?”

“I have no idea. Maybe she heard us when Thoko announced her plans.”

Thoko nodded. “When are we leaving?”

“First, I need breakfast,” Greg grumbled. He still wasn’t sure about this.

“It’s still three days till full moon,” Isaac jibed. “You can’t be that hungry yet.”

Greg ignored him and went to find some food. He had packed his bag back at First Camp. He reckoned he wouldn’t need much, anyway, as he was going to spend most of the time as a wolf. David had restrung his crossbow for him, and otherwise declared it good to go, and he had a full quiver to hunt for game.

Greg didn’t really like to be reminded of the moon phase. Thoko had made it sound easy, last night, spending a night up in a tree. But he was still worried.

Eyal sat down across from him, while he filled his bowl with egg and bacon.

“I hope you are okay with Thoko accompanying you?” he asked. “She really wants to go. But if you think it’s too dangerous...”

He looked uneasy, and Greg wondered if he would really try to stop Thoko if he asked him to.

“Morgulon knew she would go,” Greg said, mouth full. “I have no idea how Morgulon knew that, but she seemed to be fine with it. So I guess it’ll be all right? I hope so, at least,” he added. “It’s three days till full moon, so... I’d rather she stayed here, but if the Morgulon could somehow predict that she would want to come, and reckons it’ll be fine, then who am I to disagree?”

“Maybe she’ll be able to help you convince other werewolves,” Eyal said, looking relieved.

“Guess we’ll see.”

Greg transformed before they left the camp, and crouched onto the ground. Thoko hugged Eyal and Isaac good-bye, and climbed onto his back.

“Take care,” Eyal said, and Isaac patted Greg’s shoulder before he stepped back. Most of the camp waved after them when Greg took off in an easy trot. News about their mission had gotten around. Ideally, they would find someone to take Morgulon’s place before she gave birth, and since nobody had any idea when that might be, he better be swift.

It was quiet underneath the trees, and the summer heat was barely diminished by their shade. The air was stagnant as water in a puddle. They paused a little before noon, when they reached the bridge across the Savre, and Greg drank greedily from the water Thoko got from the roadhouse there.

“You know, we could wait till it gets dark,” Thoko said. “Maybe it’ll be less warm then?”

Greg considered that, but then shook his head and crouched down so that she could climb onto his back again. They had no time to hang around.

They rested again for a while at dusk, but he kept going until midnight, when even the werewolf started to flag.

“I wonder how far we made it tonight,” Thoko said quietly, while she built a small campfire.

Greg guessed that they had covered at least thirty miles, perhaps even a little more. He wasn’t sure if he would be able to run this much once the moon waned again, so he had to make the most of it. With a little luck, they would make it into the foothills of the Crucible Ridge tomorrow.

“Will you turn human, the first night of full moon?” Thoko asked when he didn’t move.

Greg nodded. There was no point in putting Thoko at risk more than he had to, and as a wolf, he’d probably just get turned around, anyway, and then he’d have to spend a day to find back to her.

“I’m glad,” Thoko muttered. “This is weird.”

It was slightly less weird for Greg, who had gained a little more experience spending days at a time as the wolf with Bernadette and pack. He still didn’t particularly enjoy it, but he was starting to accept that this was part of his life now. Living like an animal.

Thoko offered him a piece of bread. “You going to go hunting? On full moon, I mean? I don’t think our food will last much longer than that.”

Greg nodded again.

Thoko woke him the next morning. The sun was already up, and Greg growled softly. They should have been up with the birds. He drank some more from the creek, and ate some more of the bread they had brought. The wolf didn’t like it much, and Greg felt grumpy by the time Thoko climbed onto his back and they were off again.

The running helped a little. At least, it improved the wolf’s mood. Greg couldn’t shake the worry about what they were about to do. Who they were about to face.

Some of the werewolves out there, in the mountains, had to be older than Morgulon, hadn’t they? He had never even entertained the thought before, but surely – if a werewolf actually forsook a life with human civilisation, what was there to hinder them to live to a hundred?

Okay, maybe not a hundred. Still, from what Bernadette had told him, it was possible for werewolves to live out in the wilderness for years. As far as Greg understood it, they never had to come into lands where humans lived. Many did it anyway, Bernadette had said, even if just to rob some clothes for new moon.

But surely, somewhere out there were some who didn’t? Some who were too old to be bothered by the Rot. Older than Morgulon, even.

Greg shuddered at the thought of what she had done to him. It hadn’t hurt. Still, it was extremely disturbing to know that she could force him into changing shape at will. Probably could force him to do other things, too.

At least the forest around them was already lighter than he had expected, with very little undergrowth, and not even a hint of the Rot. If he hadn’t known better, he would have thought he was back in the heartlands somewhere.

One good rainfall was probably all it would take to change the picture, but for now, he could rest his head on his paws and go to sleep.