Blackfeather Woods wildcards, men from mars

The kindness of strangers would never cease to amaze her. When a pitch black she-wolf with mercurial eyes approached and offered her aid in the space of a single breath, Meerkat could only exhale on a twinge of pain. Before she could formulate a reply, the woman called for someone else to come assist.

She hadn't moved, mostly because she couldn't. "I think I might've sprained my ankle," she admitted, "and then I aggravated it—a lot—by climbing mountains." Meerkat let out a dry laugh. Almost home, though, she thought before admitting, "I didn't realize there was a pack living here. I'm Meerkat."