The crew had been following Nico’s “expert directions” for hours.

  Hours of turning left, then right, then left again, then doing a full circle because “the waves felt wrong.”

  The Chief was one frayed nerve away from throwing himself overboard.

  “Boy,” he growled, gripping the railing so hard it creaked, “are you sure you memorized that map?”

  Nico puffed out his tiny chest. “Of course! I have a photographic memory.”

  Kael muttered under his breath, “You can’t even remember where you put your shoes.”

  “I CAN TOO!” Nico snapped. “I just… forget sometimes.”

  The crew was starving. Another was crying because he swore the clouds looked like fish and he couldn’t eat them.

  The Chief rubbed his temples. “Nico, if you lead us in one more circle, I swear—”

  “LAND!” someone screamed.

  The entire pack rushed to the edge of the ship.

  And there it was.

  A massive city.

  Lights everywhere.

  Buildings taller than mountains.

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  Noise, chaos, humans everywhere.

  The Chief blinked. “This… this is the human world.”

  Kael squinted. “Wait. How did we get here? We were going the wrong way.”

  Nico beamed proudly. “Nope! I read the map right!”

  The Chief stared at him. “You were reading it upside down.”

  “Exactly!” Nico chirped. “It was meant to be read upside down. The symbols were inverted. Obviously.”

  Kael’s jaw dropped. “You’re telling me… you actually led us correctly?”

  Nico nodded, smug. “Yep!”

  The Chief opened his mouth — probably to yell — but nothing came out. He looked like he was experiencing all five stages of grief at once.

  Then something changed.

  His ears twitched.

  His nose lifted.

  His eyes widened.

  “Micah…” he whispered.

  Kael blinked. “Chief?”

  “I can smell him,” the Chief said, voice trembling with something between relief and fury. “My son is here. And he’s not alone.”

  The crew froze.

  “Not alone?” Kael repeated. “As in… with a human?”

  The Chief didn’t answer. His expression said enough.

  He turned to the pack. “Only three of us will go ashore. The rest stay hidden. We cannot risk exposing ourselves.”

  Kael nodded. “Who’s going?”

  “Me,” the Chief said. “Kael… and Nico.”

  “ME?!” Nico squeaked. “I’m a child!”

  “You stowed away on my ship,” the Chief snapped. “You’re coming.”

  Nico shrank. “Okay…”

  The three of them climbed into a small boat and paddled toward the glowing city.

  The closer they got, the louder the world became — honking cars, shouting humans, flashing lights, strange smells.

  Kael clutched the side of the boat. “Chief… how do we blend in?”

  The Chief stared at the towering skyline, ears flattening. “We don’t. We improvise.”

  Nico gasped dramatically. “We’re gonna DIE.”

  Kael sighed. “Probably.”

  The Chief growled. “Quiet. We find Micah. We bring him home. No matter what.”

  They stepped onto the pavement — three wolves in a world that had no idea what was coming.

  To be continued…