“Careful, cub. There are things afoot.” The voice was low and male, and not anyone Jervis recognized from his work on the station.

  Hagel responded with a soft whine, and the voice spoke, again.

  “Stay behind the seat, and we’ll talk,” it said, and Hagel slid forward, belly to the earth, his hindquarters and tail disappearing in another wolf-to-human shift.

  As soon as he wasn’t looking, any more, Jervis and Keelie crept forward, bellies flat to the earth and paws as silent as the breeze. Any sound they might have made was covered by the soft sound of the human’s voice.

  “Did you tell your parents?”

  “No time.”

  The voice sighed.

  “We launch, tonight. Do you think you could get them to come?”

  “When?” Hagel asked, and Jervis almost fell over in surprise.

  When had his son learned to be this cautious?

  “I was hoping you could bring them, now.” the man said, “The port’s getting busy, and we’d have a good chance of sneaking them past customs. That might not be possible in another hour.”

  “Why?”

  “The wolf-haters are stirring up a crowd. They heard about what’s been happening in school, so your family is on their list.”

  “But we haven’t packed.” Hagel’s voice was close to a whimper.

  The man sighed again.

  “What did I tell you, son? There might not be time to pack. We’ve got enough to spare.”

  “But my Teddy…”

  “I’ll see what I can do about Teddy, but I might not be able to bring him until next trip, okay?” There was quiet exasperation in the tone, but Jervis could tell he was trying to be patient. “Now, why don’t you go and get your mum and dad, so they can get you out of here, before it’s too la…” He stopped.

  When he spoke again, his voice held an admiring tone.

  “Why you little devil!” he said. “You brought them, and you never said a word.”

  Jervis and Keelie waited, listening as the man stood up, and moved into the bushes. He glanced at them as he went past, and nodded, stopping in front of a tree and turning so his back was to them and the path, before hooking his thumbs in his trouser pockets. From the back, it would look like he was relieving himself, and most people would avoid making comment.

  “I can get you aboard Charlotte’s Doll,” he said, quietly. “Captain and most of the crew are sympathetic. Has anyone seen you in wolf form?”

  “No,” Hagel said, coming to crouch between his parents, a small boy in school uniform, out of sight of passers-by.

  “Would you…” The man paused, ran one hand through his hair, remembered to keep the other hand in that suggestive position near his hips. “Ah, this is embarrassing.”

  Jervis made a whining growl of enquiry.

  “Fine! Howdyou feel about wearing a leash?” The spacer turned away from the tree, pretending to tuck his shirt into his trousers.

  Jervis felt a growl rumbling in his throat, and then Hagel’s hand came to rest, softly and gently, on his muzzle.

  “He said he was embarrassed,” the boy told him, then turned expectantly to the man. “Did you bring any?”

  Jervis watched as the man blushed deep red, and pulled three collars and leashes out of his pocket.

  “How’d you know we’d come?” Hagel asked, voicing the question in Jervis’s head.

  The man crouched down in front of them, and laid the leashes on the ground.

  “I didn’t,” he said. “I… I’ve been carrying them with me ever since you stole my sandwich, just in case you had to escape and I had to pretend you were a real wolf. They’ve seen me with one or two in my time. Another couple won’t be a surprise. Most can’t tell you apart when you’re in wolf form, so I use the pretense to walk as many of you aboard as I can.”

  The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

  “Luna?” Hagel asked, his voice hopeful, and Jervis suddenly knew why his son had been so out of sorts.

  Two days ago, Luna, and her family, had said they were thinking of making the trip to Morrow’s World, and then they’d been gone. Even Jervis had been surprised at the suddenness of their departure—and their secrecy about it. He’d been trying to find out which ship they’d left on, ever since. He hadn’t realized just how badly Hagel would react to her leaving.

  The man smiled.

  “Waiting aboard, with every finger and toe crossed that I could find you in time.” He hesitated, the smile fading. “So, do you mind wearing a leash, until I can get you aboard?”

  Jervis took a risk, and shifted back to human form.

  “Prove I can trust you,” he said, and the man reached into his shirt pocket, pulling out a small piece of paper. “Luna’s dad… Rory, he said you’d have to see this.”

  Jervis took the paper, opened it, and took in the exquisitely drawn symbol on the paper—the mark he and Rory had agreed on if they needed to meet and couldn’t ask.

  “You know this only works for me?” he said, and the man nodded, pushing it back when Jervis tried to return it.

  “You keep it,” he said, and looked nervously back toward the path. “We have to go. Are you willing?”

  Jervis shifted back into wolf form, and sniffed the collars and leashes. They were simple, and smelled of wolf, of many wolves, in fact, Rory amongst them. He nudged the bundle, whining, the message clear. Beside him, Hagel took his cue, and became a wolf cub, once more.

  The man slipped the leashes over their heads.

  “Gotcha!” he exclaimed, straightening up, and Jervis stiffened, preparing to fight. “Been looking for you for an hour. You’re not supposed to run off like that!”

  What was he playing at? Jervis wondered, but then another voice made the answer very clear.

  “Those yours, mister?”

  Glancing up, Jervis saw their new acquaintance look out to the path.

  “Course they’re mine!” he said. “Been looking for them for an hour. Thought I’d take ‘em for a quick walk while the patrol was eating its pizza. Ungrateful mutts ran off on me!”

  Jervis thought he sounded sufficiently sulky and angry that any domesticated wolf might be apologetic—especially if they considered him their master. He gave a nervous whine and nuzzled the man’s fingers, relieved when the man snatched his hand away.

  “Oh no, you don’t! You’re in disgrace, mister!”

  The people on the path laughed.

  “You’d better get ’em back aboard, then,” one called out. “It’s time for the next shift.”

  “Oh. Thank you,” their acquaintance called, and then pulled on their leashes.

  “Act sulky,” he said. “I’ve just cut your walk short. Except for you, pup. You’re a puppy. Nothing gets you down, okay?”

  Hagel gave a boisterous yip, and Jervis snarled at him, but their new ‘keeper’ jerked on the leash, and he pretended to obey, pointedly ignoring the cub as they were led back to the footpath. From there, the man took them through a door marked ‘Crews Only,’ and into a corridor leading to the loading bay.

  “There you are, Joss! Thought we’d have to leave you behind.” The woman who greeted them caught sight of Jervis, Keelie and Hagel, and sighed. “You and your dogs. They’re going to get you killed one day.”

  “They’re wolves,” the man protested, and the woman rolled her eyes.

  “I don’t care what they are! You’re needed in the loading bay, and I don’t want them underfoot. Get them aboard, and get back to work, before I mark you late!”

  “Sure thing, boss,” the man called back, and hurried the three wolves onto the shuttle.

  “Almost there,” he said. “Just stay like that until we dock with the Doll. A couple of hours, okay?”

  He loosened their collars so they could get out of them if they needed to.

  “Just in case,” he said, and then took a small key ring from his pocket.

  Placing it in front of Jervis’s muzzle, he explained, “There are blasters in the lock box up back, if you need ’em. Just don’t shoot me by mistake.”

  That, if nothing else, made Jervis relax. No sane man told prisoners where the blasters were, or gave them the keys—and no captor made sure his prisoners could escape. He curled up under one of the flight couches, Keelie by his side. Hagel nestled between them, and they waited.

  Joss spared them a quick glance, as he turned back to the shuttle door.

  “Be good,” he said, and Jervis was sure that was for the benefit for anyone who could hear, and not an instruction directed at them. “I’ll be back as soon as the loading’s done.”

  The man was as good as his word, and they made it to Charlotte’s Doll two hours later. Joss settled in the seat above them, but turned to them just before the shuttle docked.

  “You’d better change back, now,” he said. “You’re coming on board as refugees. That way the captain can protect you, if he needs to. Got it?”

  And he slipped the leashes from around their necks, and stepped back. Jervis changed first, and was rewarded by a nod from Joss’s female counterpart. When Keelie stood up beside him, and Hagel changed to take her hand, the woman smiled.

  “Good work, Joss,” she said. “That’s another family for Morrow.”

  She stopped, looking suddenly worried.

  “Morrow is all right, isn’t it?” she asked, and Jervis made himself smile; it was brief and sad, but it was all he could manage He stepped forward and held out his hand.

  “Thank you,” he said. “From the bottom of our hearts. Thank you.”

  “Always a pleasure,” the woman replied, but from the almost haunted look in her eyes, Jervis knew she was wishing she could do more.

  He laid a hand on her shoulder as he passed by her to the door.

  “You can only do what you can,” he said, “And we will always be grateful that someone tried.”

  There was no time for more, and Jervis hoped it would be enough to ease her worry, as he, Keelie and Hagel followed Joss out into the Charlotte’s shuttle bay. Joss led them to the ship’s observation deck to wait, while the crew sorted out where they would be staying.

  When he’d left, the three of them watched the moon gradually vanish into the distant night, and they mourned what they had lost—a planet, a moon, and the right to say goodbye.

  Together, he, Keelie and Hagel made wolf song echo through the Charlotte’s decks—and they were not alone. Lucy’s family raised their voices to greet it, as they arrived to welcome them aboard…and to reassure them they truly were on the way home.