Granddad had sensed her sadness last night. He’d hugged her and reminded her she’d come back next year. This place would always be here for her. The trees would pass through another cycle of seasons, along with the birds and animals and cold, pure water. They would not change.
But Alex had been desperately afraid he wouldn’t be waiting for her when she returned.
Shadow.
Alex hugged her knees and closed her eyes. All day she’d walked and called, desperate to find him, searching out all the places they had explored together. Places that looked strange without him beside her, strange and scary and dark.
Dark. Soon it would be night, and she would have to go back whether she found Shadow or not. But she stayed where she was, where she’d begun, at the secret place.
Hoping. Trying not to be afraid that something was terribly wrong.
Shadow wouldn’t be afraid, she thought, picking up the red leaf at her feet. She imagined herself a wolf, as she’d so often done during the summer.
But pretending hadn’t made the summer last longer, and it wouldn’t bring Shadow to her now. Granddad would be looking for her. Father would be angry, but Mother would be worried. Alex could never tell them the real reason she’d run away.
Alex dropped the leaf, pushed herself to her feet, and brushed off her pants. The thought of Mother’s distress made her chest ache. Working her fingers against the late afternoon chill, Alex studied the fading light that filtered down through the canopy of trees above.
She had no choice. She’d have to leave without saying good-bye, though it felt like tearing herself in two.
I’ll look for you next year and every year after that, she promised Shadow silently. But the scared feeling in her stomach wouldn’t go away, no matter how much she tried to ignore it.
“Alexandra.”
She jerked her head toward the voice. It came from somewhere hidden, and she didn’t recognize it. Not deep enough to be Granddad’s or even Father’s. She hadn’t seen anyone else out in the woods today, not even the Indian children she and Shadow sometimes spotted at a distance.
“Alexandra,” the voice repeated. And a boy came out of the woods, a skinny boy in a T-shirt and cutoffs, tall and dark haired and pale eyed. Older than she was by a few years. His feet were bare, and yet he didn’t seem to be cold at all. Alex had never seen him before in her life.
“Who are you?” she blurted.
He blinked at her, and she stared at his eyes. Yellow. Like Shadow’s. The similarity made her shiver. She thought he wouldn’t answer her, and wondered what she should do.
“I… came to find you,” he said.
His voice was husky and low and he wouldn’t stop staring at her. Alexandra took an involuntary step back and caught herself. This was her place—hers and Shadow’s.
“How do you know my name?” she demanded.
He smiled. A strange, crooked smile, as if he wasn’t quite sure how to do it or hadn’t had much practice. “I’ve seen you many times,” he said.
Spying on her. Was that what he meant? Spying on her and Shadow. But he didn’t look like he could be from the reservation, and no other kids ever came here.
“I’ve never seen you,” she challenged. “You shouldn’t be here. This is my place, and I’m waiting for a friend—”
“I know.” The boy crouched down, dropping his hands between his knees. “You’re waiting for a black wolf named Shadow.”
Alex felt shock and then jealousy, one right after the other. This boy she’d never seen before knew Shadow. How could he? Was Shadow his friend too?
“You know Shadow?”
The boy stared at the ground between his feet, poking at the earth with a twig. “Yes. Very well.”
No. No one could know Shadow as well as she did. No one. He was her special friend, just as this was their special place.
“I don’t believe you,” she said, bailing her fists.
“You’ll scare Shadow away if you stay here. I have to see him. I’m leaving—”
“So am I.” He met her gaze again and held it, an open challenge. “Today. I came to say good-bye.”