We were happy in our new home, doing as we pleased. And just like any other time Tank and Nurse disappeared I wasn't worried. Apparently they took Scar with them so once again I was truly alone.

But for once I didn't like it. Being around them now for so long I felt safe with them and we were more or less family and now they were just gone. I didn't know what to do with myself. I didn't want to hunt, I didn't want to run around. I just stayed where I was, hoping they would come back soon. They didn't. After a long time, hunger won out and I had to hunt all by myself. I missed the first few times because I had come to rely on the others for back up. Finally I got something to eat. It was only a rabbit but it was better than nothing. I ate my rabbit and then decided it was time to move on since it looked like they weren't coming back. I hung my head and tail and left our home.

My thoughts wandered to Nurse and when I had first caught her scent. At the lake I hadn't seen a wolf but a human. I shook my head. That couldn't be right. If she was a wolf then there was no way she could have been a human. Maybe she had been there before the human and that's how I got the scents mixed up. Again I shook my head. Stupid thoughts, that's all they were. Of course Nurse was a wolf and that was that.

I wasn't sure how far I walked but I was staring to get tired and hungry. I needed to look for somewhere to rest and hunt, when I thought I had found the perfect place I didn't hesitate about getting there... big mistake. As I ran towards a cave opening I stepped on something and it made a strange sound and then the pain, oh the pain in my right hind leg. Something had chomped down on my leg and wouldn't let go. I yelped and howled and tried to move but the more I did the harder it clamped down and the more it hurt. I was in trouble. The last thing I remember was my leg was a mess and most likely broken and my blood was soaking the ground under me. Then everything went dark.

When I woke, I was on something soft and warm. My eyes were open but it was hard to see. Everything was overly bright and smelt strange. I tried to move but found it difficult, my head felt fuzzy and I didn't like it one bit. I howled my displeasure and then all hell broke loose. The sounds that followed were loud and a mix of different things and it hurt my ears.

Soon it was silent again and I was glad, I looked behind me and saw my leg had been attacked with something white and it made it impossible for me to move it. I tried to sit up now that my head was finally starting to clear but I also found that to be impossible. I looked down at my paws and noticed a strange little stick in one and around the stick was a see through thing that stuck to my fur. I leaned down and got the stick between my teeth and tried to pull it out but it was no good, the more I nudged at it the more uncomfortable it became. I looked to the side of me and saw bars. I was in a cage.... I started to panic and in doing so I bumped the stick in my paw which made me whine.

Suddenly, before I could smell it, a human was in front of me. I froze. It spoke but I couldn't understand it, well, because I didn't speak human. I stayed as still as I could. The human moved a front paw towards me and I growled. That seemed to do it as the human backed away slowly. Before long another human arrived holding something long and shiny, the human pointed it at me and it made a funny sound. As I watched I saw something fly out the end, it was another stick thing with a red tail. It headed straight at me and before I could try and move it bit into my fur. Suddenly I was feeling fuzzy again and I growled but I couldn't keep my eyes open.

When I opened my eyes again I found I was outside, yet still in a cage—but this time a very large cage. I looked down at my paw and found the stick was gone; I looked behind me and found the white thing still held onto my leg. I reached around and nipped at it. When that didn't work I clawed at it but nothing worked. It was hard like stone and hurt my teeth and claws when I tried to remove it.

I didn't understand why I was here and I didn't like it. I wanted to get out but after getting up... after a few failed attempts I dragged my hind leg to the far end of the cage and could see trees and water and everything out there but still I was stuck behind a fence. There was no escape. I howled loud and long and after I hung my head, thoughts buzzed through my head. Why was I here? What did the humans want with me? Were they going to eat me? Would I become a human's pet? That last thought sent a shiver through me.

Days started to roll together and each day was the same. The humans would try to get close to me but I would growl and snap at them to keep them at bay, although this too strangely seem to excite them. They would try and feed me but the food they brought me stunk and was brown and covered in something that looked like bad river water. I tasted it once and it was horrible. I tried everything I could think of to get the taste out of my mouth but nothing helped, so I just had to wait until it was gone by itself. They tried other things that looked similar and smelt just as bad, so I refused to go near them.

Each day I would walk to the far fence and sit there all day long and watch for signs of life on the other side. I would howl each morning and each night in hopes my pack would finally find me and somehow get me out of this horrible place. But I never heard a reply.

One night while I was sleeping they attacked me with another stick and in the morning when I woke I stood and found that the white stone around my leg was gone. I was so happy. My leg still hurt a little but it was better then dragging that stupid stone thing around on my leg. That morning I went to the fence as usual and in a half felt way I let out a mournful howl, and that’s when I heard it.... a reply. I howled again and again I got a reply in the far distance. Oh how I had missed my pack and now they were coming, coming for me!

It took half the day but suddenly there they were, all of them running to me and yapping in such joy. My heart lifted and I jumped and down along the fence line and yapped with them, and finally our noses touched through the fence.

I noticed Tank and Nurse were the same but Scar, Scar had grown and was nearly as big as Tank. It was a wonderful sight. I whimpered at Nurse and she took off. Tank and Scar looked confused but soon Nurse had returned with a field mouse and placed it next to the fence with the tail facing me. I pawed through the fence until the mouse came through and I pounced on it and swallowed it without chewing. I was so happy to eat something normal again. Nurse looked at the other two and suddenly they all took off. Each of them would return with a mouse and I would repeat my actions until I was full. It felt great to have a full stomach again. That night I did not return to the soft place I had been sleeping but instead I remained with my pack next to the fence. I finally had a peaceful night as Tank and Scar would take turns watching over us all.

The humans seemed in a great mood the following morning and didn't come to bother me at all which was fine by me and I welcomed the time alone with my pack although I was still trapped in the large cage. I lay there thinking about how to get out and, as if reading my mind, Tank started to paw at the ground near the fence. Soon the other two joined in. This seemed to upset the humans as they came running out into my cage waving their fur-less paws and making the strangest, most horrible sound I had ever heard in my life. My pack stopped what they were doing and watched as the humans came closer. I stepped away, as I didn't want anything to do with humans. But Scar wasn't as understanding and pounced at the fence with his teeth bared and growl. Then Tank joined in and Nurse stood with me to the side. The boys seemed to be very angry that the humans had come near us and I guess I could understand their aggravation. I didn't want to be here any more than my pack did. Soon the humans got the the message and left.

That night as I slept with my pack, the humans came for me again. Scar growled a warning which woke us all but it was too late, I had felt the sting and was becoming unsteady on my feet and soon the world went dark once more. I heard my pack, they were going nuts at the fence and then blissful silence. My mind was foggy but I knew deep down I wasn't awake, I was dreaming. I was free and running with the others and then suddenly they were gone again. I got scared and no matter how much I ran or howled I couldn't find them. Even their scent was gone like they had never been with me. But I would never give up, I would search for my pack until the end of my days if I had to. I knew they were out there somewhere, and I would find them.