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should be a good thing, Ren knew it wasn’t. He didn’t belong. He’d been caught betwixt and between, unable to return to the world but equally unable to move past it.
    This wasn’t how things were supposed to be. Wolves hated to be caged.
    Maybe being a ghost wolf wouldn’t have been so tedious if there were also ghost deer or ghost rabbits, but besides the shades of creatures from other realms, Ren only encountered living beings. Having no substance, Ren couldn’t hunt the woodland fauna that populated the mountain slopes outside Vail. Occasionally he had the pleasure of spooking an animal that sensed his presence, even if it couldn’t see or smell him, but he was denied the joy of the chase and the kill.
    It wasn’t all bad. Though he knew he was a ghost, Ren felt much as he always had. He could shift from his wolf to human form at will, but he never grew tired or hungry. His heightened Guardian senses remained intact, plus he’d gained surprising extrasensory perceptions. In addition to his new connection to realms beyond the earth, Ren found that he could locate people from his past simply by reaching out with his mind.
    He’d discovered that he could travel anywhere he wanted at will, instantly. Well, not quite anywhere. His teleporting ability seemed to be tethered to his life. He could only go places he’d been before he died, which made him doubly glad he’d gone over to the Searchers at the end of the war. When Vail became too painful, Ren slipped off to the Mexican jungle or the coast of New Zealand.
    Of course, each place wasn’t entirely without bad memories. It all reminded him of what was lost.
    But none of it compared to how Ren had felt when he’d encountered the pack outside Haldis Cavern.
    He hadn’t been looking for them. At least Ren told himself he hadn’t been. He’d simply been following the patterns of his old life, roaming the mountain slopes in his wolf form.
    When Ren realized how close he’d ranged to the cave, he couldn’t resist taking a look. He’d even wondered if the carcass of Logan’s giant spider pet was still rotting in the cavern depths.
    Ren never had the chance to find out. He came to a startled halt a few yards shy of the cave’s opening. A place of the dead Haldis was not. Ren had reached the mountain heights just before sunset and the pack was gathering for a hunt.
    With yips and playful barks, the wolves dashed in and out of the trees. Nev, Mason, and Ansel tussled, jumping over each other and battling for lead of the group. Bryn stood a short distance apart, wagging her tail as she watched them roughhouse.
    Instinctively, Ren rushed forward, barking to announce his arrival. But the wolves continued their play as though he’d made no sound at all. Ren halted and barked again. Then he noticed the movement of the pine trees and realized he was upwind of the pack. They should have caught his scent.
    I am a ghost, Ren reminded himself, though accepting that made him feel like he’d died all over again.
    That was when they emerged from the cave. A white wolf with golden eyes and a brown wolf with green eyes. Calla and Shay.
    The pack rushed to greet their alphas, showing deference by staying low to the ground, licking at their muzzles. It was a scene of pure joy.
    And Ren knew he would never be a part of it again. Lifting his muzzle, Ren let out a howl of rage. A howl that no one heard.
    What had he done to deserve this kind of punishment? Trapped between worlds, he was alone. It made him furious.
    Ren had avoided Haldis after that day. At first he’d stalked through the forests under the moonlight, trying to menace game and restore some sense of his former self. But like his packmates, the beasts of the forests paid Ren no attention.
    So instead, he’d turned to shadowing his sister. Ren had thought seeing Adne, even if he couldn’t truly be in her life, would give him something of a chance to know her. He’d expected to find her happy. After all, she’d