Knave rocked wearily on his haunches. Never before had he ever stayed up a full night but the care Phelan needed was crucial. The wolf had slipped in and out of consciousness throughout the night and Knave’s worry deepened. The sun colored the sky a light orange, showing the setter that the long night was finally over. He walked back over to Phelan and noticed his flank barely rose and fell through each breath. He realized now something he hadn’t at first. The wolf was dying. What pained Knave more was that he was also suffering. A crunch of dead leaves and sticks snapped him out of his thoughts and to the source where the noise had come from. He lowered himself behind the boulder and peered around it. His heart seemed to stop at what he saw. John, the boy he had abandoned, shuffled along a few yards away. Knave was equally surprised when he saw a bouncing chocolate lab at his side.

“C’mon Bear” he called, excitingly. “I haven‘t been in this part of the forest before.” The setter hoped the pup wouldn’t sense him as he dragged his nose along the ground as he walked, obviously smelling something different. Knave didn’t want to reveal himself but it seemed the new pup would do it for him as he inched closer without even looking up.

“What’d you smell Bear?” John asked, curiously and walked over. He carried what seemed to be a sack on his back. The setter sighed and stood protectively in front of Phelan. He bared his teeth and growled as John stared wide-eyed at him. The boy grabbed the excited pup and backed away but his expression changed soon. Knave knew he had recognized his long, lost pup.

“Knave?”

He didn’t look up, not even to acknowledge his name. The setter didn’t want to go back-not now-not when he was just learning how to live freely. A thought suddenly crossed his mind. If Phelan died, he would have no one to teach him. It was unlikely the pup would ever find a wolf as Phelan again. They would kill him without hesitation. An idea struck him and the setter was suddenly transformed. He wagged his tail and bounded up to John. The boy laughed and picked him up, keeping a wary eye on Phelan, who was now wide awake. Knave jumped from his arms and walked over to the wolf.

“He won’t hurt you, I’m going to see if he can help you”

“I don’t know Knave” Phelan said, doubtfully.

“Just trust me” he replied and wagged his tail as John approached.

“So, this is who you’ve been running with” he beamed down at the wolf and kneeled down beside him. He suddenly noticed the bullet lodged in his shoulder and winced as if he could feel his pain. Knave whined softly and looked up at John in a pleading way.

“I’ll get it out of him” he said, looking at him. “Don’t worry”

John stroked the wolf’s side and smiled when Phelan didn’t show any sign of aggression.

“He’s going to take the bullet out” the setter muttered to the wolf. “You can’t bite though” he warned.

“I won’t” he replied, weakly. The boy tore off a strip of cloth from the bottom of his shirt and grabbed a water canteen that was slung over his shoulder. He soaked the cloth and cleaned the area around the wound. Then, took out a pocket knife that he carried around almost everywhere and looked unsurely at the wolf.

“Ready?” Knave asked Phelan.

“Yeah” he nodded and closed his eyes tightly. Knave wagged his tail at John and then looked back down at the wound. The boy blew into his cheeks and slid the knife into the wound and under the bullet. Phelan whined as silently as possible and with a quick push, the bullet was out. John dabbed gently at the wound and opened up the sack that he had pitched further away. He took out a small bottle of peroxide and Knave winced, remembering how it had stung badly when he’d suffered a thorn in his paw.

“This is going to hurt but it will kill the germs.”

“How bad does it hurt?” Phelan asked, nervously.

“You’ll beg for another knife.” the setter replied truthfully.

“Great”

John quickly poured some onto the wound and Phelan yelped out but didn’t threaten to lash out. Cloudy bubbles sizzled up in the wound, indicating a good amount of germs had already seeped into the wound. Knave remembered the new pup and looked around for him. He had flopped down under a birch tree and was contently gnawing on a dead branch. The pup was clearly a good deal younger then him and definitely more lively. John stood up and slung his sack over his shoulder after bandaging Phelan’s shoulder. Knave wondered how the boy had been so prepared but shrugged it off. The wolf sat up and looked brighter then he had in awhile. The boy patted his leg and Bear dropped the branch and bounded up to him. He then turned to Knave and bit his lip.

“Let’s go home, Knave” he said, unsurely. The setter hesitated and looked back at Phelan who smiled. The truth was, Knave didn’t want to go back to a life with humans. Now that John had Bear, he felt even more encouraged to stay with the wolf. He backed up and stood beside Phelan with his ears slightly lowered.

“It’s alright boy.”

John turned and walked back towards town with Bear following at his heels. The setter smiled and looked towards the wolf.

“You could have gone back”

“I know, but I didn’t want to”

Phelan laughed and nodded.

“You may be a dog but you have the courage of the wolf” he said. Knave smiled broadly.