*****
Tyler was getting tired. The exertion of the hike combined with the dreary day made him want to find a warm bed and go back to sleep. He didn’t sleep well sharing Grandpa’s tent last night. Not only was it uncomfortable, but he dreamed about Left Paw’s camp again. It left a distasteful and suspicions feeling that lingered in his mind.
The dream always ended with a flaming red wolf leaping out of the fire at him with its jaws wide open. Tyler glanced into the trees at his left. A big red wolf was speeding through the underbrush about a yard away. It disappeared into the forest up ahead. Left Paw was a red wolf. Or at least he turned into one.
It must mean something. Looking back, Left Paw had been inordinately interested in Tyler’s dream. Both times he visited the hunter, Left Paw questioned him intricately about the dream. The hunter speculated on the dream’s meaning, but he never once mentioned that he was also a wolf. Could Left Paw be the wolf in the fire? Why was he so interested in Tyler’s dream?
Tyler became less and less certain about Left Paw as time went on. It wasn’t just because he hadn’t told Tyler about the wolf part of the curse, but also because Tyler was becoming convinced the hunter had ulterior motives for befriending him. Tyler was beginning to regret asking him for help in the first place, but so far, the hunter was proving to be an invaluable asset in finding Benji.
Sarah and Grandpa were ahead of Tyler, huffing and puffing and trying to keep a brisk pace. They stopped for lunch about an hour ago. Conversation was next to nil. Except to determine direction and ask Left Paw how close Benji was, no one was in a speaking mood. That was fine with Tyler. This gray, sodden day was made for brooding, not talking.