Once There Were Wolves

Once, Inti killed a wolf in Alaska. It was an accident, a tranquilizer dart that pierced the wolf’s lung. Aggie and Gus took her on a hike to Mount Denali to cheer her up, but there they met two hunters who bragged about killing wolves for sport. Later, Gus confessed to Inti that he killed a woman during one of his surgeries. He said he will never tell Aggie because a woman should not know that about her husband.

Two months have passed since Stuart’s death, and Inti continues to watch the development of the wolves. Two have mated, and the pups in the Tanar Pack have matured; they too will soon find mates. Unexpectedly, Inti picks up Number Ten’s signal and realizes that she has returned to the Glenshee Pack to protect her sister, Number Eight, who will soon give birth. Two wolves kill each other over territory, and Eight has been injured. Inti must find out if her pups have survived and if Six can be treated.

It is summer, and Inti hopes that the townspeople will give up on finding Stuart. Inti has stopped seeing Duncan, and she avoids thinking about her pregnancy. She is still suspects Duncan of Stuart’s murder and has taken to following him when he leaves work. One night, he goes into the woods, searching for Stuart’s body. Inti accosts him and asks if he is the killer, but Duncan does not answer.

At home, Inti finds Aggie is cowering on the floor; she believes Gus is stalking her outside. Inti lies, saying that she killed Gus, which eases Aggie’s anxiety. The next morning, Inti finds Aggie outside riding their horse, Gall.

Still not convinced of Duncan’s innocence, Inti calls her mother to ask what to do after someone has been murdered. Her mother tells her to create a timeline and assume everyone is lying to discover what can and cannot be proven true. When Inti asks her mother why she does this work, her mother reveals that she had an abusive stepfather.

Inti begins her investigation by speaking with Red McRae, who tells her that Duncan locked Stuart in jail the night of their argument. The timeline does not make sense with her finding Stuart’s body in the middle of the night, nor with finding Duncan gone from his house at 3 AM. Inti does not understand why Duncan would kill Stuart and leave his body to be found. She admits to herself that a wolf attack is more likely.

Inti wants Duncan to appreciate the wolves, and after many months apart, she invites him to the team’s hide in the forest. Duncan tells her that his limp is from his father breaking his leg with a cricket bat when he was thirteen. His mother did not want to anger the father by taking Duncan to the hospital, so she set it herself and it healed badly. He tells her that he has not been involved with Lainey for a long time. Lainey would not date him after he killed his father because she was afraid of him.

Inti tells Duncan that to spot a wolf, you must track its prey. They find deer and watch in awe as Number Six, whom the team has named “Ash,” wades into the river to kill a doe. The trip brings Inti and Duncan closer, but Inti still does entirely trust him.

Chapter 20 is a flashback to the sisters’ time in Alaska. Five years into the marriage, Aggie and Gus’s relationship has become volatile, and Inti witnesses her sister’s deteriorating emotional state. One night, Aggie goes to a party at the home of one of her fellow language teachers and gets drunk. Gus and Inti arrive to pick her up, and Gus is rough with Aggie as he tries to put her into the car. Inti confronts him and warns him that she will not let him hurt her sister. The next day, Aggie tries to convince Inti to move out, and Inti realizes that Aggie is trying to protect her from Gus.