He forced himself to hold still, unwilling to spook it into violence. For a moment, predator and man stood locked in a silent standoff. Then, as if satisfied, the wolf turned its head back toward the ground. Adrian exhaled slowly, aware he had been granted a reprieve.
Later, heavy rain turned the river into a churning sheet of brown water. Adrian half-expected the wolf to vanish, driven by instinct to seek shelter. Yet it remained, fur plastered to its body, unmoved even as the water licked higher against the stones beneath its paws.