But he did wonder if there was another surprise planted by Hamilton out there somewhere, just waiting for him to discover. He made a mental note to pay his own visit to the Yellow Door.?
It was twilight by the time Cody and Amelie reached the forest that bordered the Nez Perce reservation in far-western Idaho.
The wolves were showing signs of increasing agitation, knocking their heads against the sides of the cage.
“Will it hold?” Amelie said, a worried look on her face.
Cody laughed. “They’re okay,” he said. “They’re just excited to be home.”
The dirt road they’d been traveling for the past twenty minutes seemed to taper into nothingness as it reached a wide clearing in the tall pines.
Amelie remained in the front seat, her head turned to watch Cody open the back doors, and the cage.
With yaps of excitement, the two wolves leaped onto the ground and sprinted toward the far side of the clearing.
Amelie opened her door, then Charley’s, and stood with Cody watching the sleek animals bound across the meadow.
“Be fruitful, and multiply,” Cody called after them.
The alpha male and his consort reached the far tree line, where they were greeted with howls and yips of welcome as they reentered the wilderness that was their home.
Then, just as Cody and Amelie were turning back to the van, the alpha male reappeared at the edge of the clearing under the full moon-and looked toward Cody in gratitude.
Charley gruffly barked his approval.