Denver, Colorado, stretched out before me like a city of unknown possibilities. The pulsing of human life, the sounds, and the smells were overwhelming after the tranquility of the pack. It was my second foray into the world of humans, the first shared with Hunter when our souls intertwined in a night of love.

Walking as a human, in that fragile and clumsy form, was a wholly new experience for me. I felt vulnerable, not just because of my injured leg, but mainly because of the growing ...