2

If anyone had asked Emily Carter whether she believed in fate, she would have laughed.

Life wasn't written by destiny.

It was shaped by choices.

Study hard.

Be kind.

Work for what you wanted.

That's what her parents had taught her.

It was enough.

Or at least...

She thought it was.

---

Emily's senior year of high school passed in a blur of football games, college applications, youth group retreats, and late-night study sessions with Olivia and Sophie spread across her bedroom floor.

"Boston College," Olivia announced proudly one afternoon, waving her acceptance letter.

Sophie squealed.

Grace tackled Olivia into a hug.

Emily smiled as she opened her own envelope.

University of Vermont

Accepted.

Her mother cried.

Her father insisted on taking the family out for steak that night.

"You earned this," Michael said as he raised his glass.

Sarah reached across the table and squeezed Emily's hand.

"We're so proud of you."

Emily smiled.

She believed every word.

---

College became everything she'd hoped it would be.

New friends.

New professors.

Freedom.

Her roommate, Jessica Monroe, couldn't have been more different.

Jess was loud.

Fearless.

She dyed her hair a different color every semester and believed coffee qualified as a food group.

"You seriously don't like horror movies?" Jess asked one night.

Emily made a face.

"I don't like watching people make stupid decisions."

Jess laughed.

"Fair point."

Their friendship became instant.

By sophomore year they were inseparable.

Road trips.

Tailgates.

Spring break in Florida.

Weekend hikes through the Green Mountains.

Emily loved every minute of it.

She dated occasionally.

Nothing serious.

There had been Ethan.

Then Luke.

A graduate student named Ben.

Nice guys.

Funny guys.

None of them ever made her heart race the way romance novels insisted they should.

Something always felt...

Missing.

---

There were still the dreams.

Only now they had changed.

The white wolf no longer stood alone.

Now there was someone beside it.

A man.

Tall.

Broad shoulders.

Dark hair blowing in the wind.

She never saw his face.

Every time she tried...

She woke up.

Always with tears she couldn't explain.

---

The first strange thing happened during finals week.

Emily and Jess had stayed in the library until nearly midnight.

Snow covered everything outside.

"It's freezing," Jess complained.

Emily shrugged off her coat.

"I'm actually kind of warm."

Jess stared.

"You've got to be kidding."

Emily wasn't.

She was wearing only a light sweater while everyone else bundled themselves in heavy winter jackets.

Her skin barely felt the cold.

She chalked it up to good circulation.

---

The second strange thing happened a month later.

She was driving home for Christmas.

A deer burst onto the highway.

Emily slammed on her brakes.

The car spun across black ice.

Everything slowed.

She remembered seeing the guardrail rushing toward her.

The terrified expression on another driver's face.

Glass exploding.

Metal twisting.

Then...

Nothing.

When she opened her eyes, she was sitting in the driver's seat.

The airbag had deployed.

The windshield was shattered.

The front of her car was destroyed.

Paramedics arrived minutes later.

"Ma'am..."

One firefighter looked her over twice.

"Are you hurt?"

Emily blinked.

"I don't think so."

Not a bruise.

Not a scratch.

The emergency room physician ordered X-rays anyway.

Hours later he returned looking completely baffled.

"I've never seen anything like this."

Emily frowned.

"What?"

"Based on the accident..."

He shook his head.

"You should've had multiple broken bones."

He pointed to the scans.

"You're perfectly healthy."

Her parents called it a miracle.

Father Donnelly thanked God during Sunday Mass.

Emily accepted everyone's explanation.

But late that night...

Standing in front of her bathroom mirror...

She noticed something.

The deep cut she'd received from shattered glass on her forearm...

Was gone.

Completely.

Not even a scar remained.

---

By the time Emily graduated college at twenty-two, she'd stopped telling anyone about the odd things that happened around her.

She never got sick.

Never broke a bone.

Rarely caught a cold.

Even when she did get injured, she healed unbelievably fast.

Doctors always shrugged.

"You've got excellent genetics."

Emily laughed along with them.

If only she knew how true those words really were.

---

At twenty-four, she accepted a position as an environmental consultant with a company specializing in forest conservation.

The work suited her perfectly.

She loved being outdoors.

Researching wildlife.

Protecting old-growth forests.

Traveling across New England to survey protected land.

Her parents were thrilled.

"It fits you," Sarah said.

"You've always belonged outside."

Emily smiled.

"I guess I do."

She had no idea just how literal that statement was.

---

On a cool September afternoon, her supervisor stopped by her office carrying a thick file.

"I've got something a little different."

Emily looked up from her computer.

"What is it?"

He dropped the folder onto her desk.

Inside were maps.

Satellite photos.

Environmental reports.

At the top was a single location.

Black Hollow National Forest

Montana

Emily raised an eyebrow.

"Montana?"

"It's a six-month conservation project."

Her supervisor smiled.

"They specifically requested someone with your wildlife experience."

"I've never been west."

"Then it's about time."

Emily laughed.

"When do I leave?"

He checked his watch.

"Three weeks."

---

That evening she called her parents.

"Montana?" Michael repeated.

"That's a long way."

"I know."

Sarah forced a smile.

"It sounds exciting."

But after hanging up...

Neither parent spoke for several minutes.

Michael walked to the kitchen window.

His hands trembled.

"They found her."

Sarah closed her eyes.

"No."

"They've been waiting."

Tears filled her eyes.

"We promised we'd never let this happen."

Michael looked toward the old cedar chest tucked away in the corner of the attic.

Inside...

Hidden beneath faded blankets...

Lay a leather journal.

Its first page contained only seven handwritten words.

If she ever returns, tell her everything.

He whispered the sentence aloud.

"I think that time has finally come."

Outside...

Far away beneath another rising moon...

A silver wolf stood atop a cliff overlooking the forests surrounding Black Hollow.

The wind carried a scent he'd searched for across half the continent.

After twenty-five years...

She was finally coming home.