Logan took a quick shower and went to dinner. After they got back from swimming, he had taken the collar off of Wolf and the pup had gone off to his room. He hadnt seen him since.

He glanced around the dining hall and didnt see him.

"Pyro?"

"What? I didnt do anything!" Pyro turned and looked at him wide-eyed.

Logan blinked and rolled his eyes. "Sure. I'll figure out what you did later. Have you seen Wolf?"

"Um, not since this morning," he answered, "Is he still sick?"

"He shouldn't be. I'll go check in his room." Logan went to go look for him. He was slightly worried that going swimming earlier had bothered Wolf more than he let on.

He opened the door to Wolf's bedroom. "Pup, you in here?"

Wolf was laying on his bed and quickly hid something. "Yeah."

Logan paused. Well, it didn't smell like he had been up to anything suspicious He walked over. "You ok? You're missing dinner."

"I'm fine. I was just thinking. I'll be there in a little while."

Logan ruffled his hair. "Is something wrong?"

Wolf looked conflicted about something, then sighed. He held out his hand to show him what he was hiding: an old pocketknife, military dogtags, and a diamond ring. "Remember how I told you before that I almost drowned? Well, that's not where it ended."

"Come on, wolf," Master called.

Wolf wagged his tail and followed the older man out the door. He had been trapped in his wolf-form for about six years, and barely remembered being human, only the feeling of helplessness.

Master opened the door to the truck and let Wolf hop in. "Too bad we can't go duck hunting, but I know you don't like water. Can't say I blame you, you were almost dead when I found you by the river. I still don't know how you got there, you couldn't have been more than three months old." He shook his head, "Doesn't matter though. We'll find ourselves some nice turkeys to shoot down, right?"

Wolf wagged his tail and gave a short nod in agreement.

Master chuckled and scratched his ears fondly. "Sometimes I swear you can understand me! You're a lot smarter than the other hunting dogs I've had."

Wolf wagged harder and licked his hand. He wished he could tell him that he did understand him, but he couldn't make noises like the other dogs. He had picked up the language when he was two or three years old.

Master lived away from the nearby town, so they didn't have far to drive to reach the New Hampshire woods. They hunted all day and returned in the evening with three fat turkeys for their efforts.

Master pulled into the driveway and let Wolf out, then carried the turkeys to the shed. He quickly cleaned them to be frozen while giving Wolf the scraps. When he was done, Master took some of the meat and walked to the house to cook it.

Wolf followed him to the kitchen. He strutted proudly when he saw the other dogs glaring in jealousy from their crates. Master had four other hunting dogs. Two were pups that grew up alongside Wolf. One was their mother, who also nurtured Wolf after he had regained his strength when he was first brought to the house. The last was the oldest. He was the alpha male.

It was no secret that Master liked Wolf more than them. That might be why they didn't really like him much. He had to be crated separately from them, or they would fight. Then again, the other dogs didn't really seem to understand things the same way he did. They only seemed to remember things going on right then, not things in the past. They didn't realize he spent more time with Master than them. It could also be because he was different. Alpha was always saying, in so many growls and signals, that wolves couldn't be trusted. They always betrayed their masters.

Wolf laid on the floor as Master started cooking the turkey meat. After it was started, Master sat at the table and got a small piece of wood and his old pocketknife, then started whittling. He always did that when he had spare time. "Now, wolf, let me tell you a secret, but you promise not to tell anyone," he smiled as he carved, "You know that lady friend of mine who comes to visit? Well, when she comes for dinner in a few days, I'm going to ask her to marry me."

Wolf wagged his tail happily, then tilted his head as the man set aside his carving.

Master smiled and reached into his pocket, taking out a small box. "Now tell me, did I do a good job?" He opened it up to show off an engagement ring.

Wolf sniffed it and nudged it with his snout. Then he licked Master's hand to let him know he did good. He wasn't exactly sure what exactly is was, but it looked shiny.

Master laughed and scratched his ears as he put it back away. "Why thank you. Someday, you're going to find yourself a nice, pretty dog to call your own. Just remember to treat her right, understand? I mean, you should always treat a woman right, but when she's yours, you need to treat her special. Do that, and you'll both be happy."

Wolf smiled and nodded. He would be remembering that for a long time.

When the food was done, Master ate then fed the dogs, and then went to bed. Wolf curled up at his feet and fell asleep.

The next day Master had to go to town, so Wolf was put in his crate. He sighed and waited for him to return.

It only took an hour before he returned, but something was wrong. The fur on all the dogs' backs rose. Two strange men entered the house with Master, arguing. The voices became louder until-

BANG!

Wolf panicked when he heard a familiar gunshot and smelled blood. Master's blood. No! Anxiously he threw himself against the door to his crate. It didn't move. He tried a few more times before something strange happened. He changed. One second he had paws, the next second he looked down and saw hands. He didn't think about it, he used his new hands and fumbled with the lock, somehow managing to get it open. He tripped and stumbled on his new legs and shivered at the cold air on his hairless pelt. How was this happening? He closed his eyes and concentrated. He could feel how the changes happened, and reversed them.

When he was in his familiar wolf-form he charged into the kitchen. Two young men were looking through the drawers frantically. They froze when they saw him, fur puffed out and fangs bared. Wolf charged, intending to kill

Unfortunately for him, the men ran out before he was even close. He inwardly whimpered and sat by Master's side. He was already gone.

"I sat next to him for a while," Wolf sighed, "But I knew I had to move. I let the other dogs loose and took these. The knife and tags were for me to remember him. He always wore the tags and talked about the war. I wanted to give the ring to the woman he loved. When I showed up at her door and told her about it, though, she thought I killed him. I had to leave."

Logan put an arm around him. "I'm sorry Pup, that must have been hard. What happened after that?" He glanced at the name on the tag. Zachary Graham.

Wolf shrugged. "I'm over it by now. After I left, I tried to live with the humans. I snuck into a few schools where I learned to read. It didn't take too long for me to get noticed, though, and I always got kicked out. I traveled through a few towns trying, then I gave up. I decided to find a wolf pack to live in. Turns out they don't let strangers in either." He sighed. "I lived alone for a while, then I came here."

Logan rubbed his head. "You're always welcome here, Pup. Don't worry about wandering alone again."

Wolf smiled and rubbed against him. "Thanks," he said quietly.

"You're welcome. Now come on, let's eat."

Wolf smiled and put the items back in his carrying pouch. He only took them out when he had to think, or when something worried him. He probably wouldn't need them for a long time.