A canine laid under a layer of snow, the biting cold not reaching his skin. A warm orange light shone from the windows of his master's den of wood. But he didn't wish for this warmth. His ice blue eyes watched the forest line, hearing the howls of wolves carried gently by the wind. A thin tether tied him to a wooden peg hammered into the ground, hidden under thick snow. He was among twenty other huskies tied to their own pegs around the forest clearing, all here to pull the master’s sled. Each dog was the same to the master, identified only by skill and name. He was given “Lorcan”, a name that didn’t feel like his. It was nothing but a tag to give a fake sense of individuality in his job. His ear twitched every time he heard it. As for his skill, he had none. He was always in the middle of the order they ran in, following the other dogs and trying not to mess up. He somehow always managed to, not keeping pace or making the wrong turns.

Just last month, the master's offspring had strayed onto the frozen lake. The ice had been too thin. Lorcan ripped his tether from the ground and rushed after the child. But his weight on the ice was all it needed to crack. He'd been isolated since. No dog wanted to associated with him, not anymore than they did before. But now even his brother didn't stay by his side. Lorcan was a hare in a fox’s den; he wasn't a sled dog.

Instead Lorcan longed for the forest. For the freedom in it to run, for the wolves he heard howl each night. He saw one a few times. A wolf who always strayed too close, as close as she could before the other dogs raised their barking alarm. He watched the pine trees, branches drooping under the weight of the snow. A shadow moved, his ears perked. That was her, the wolf he always saw. His eyes strained to see her against the dark gray tone of the shadowed over snow. But she looked right back. Lorcan laid down, white belly against snow as he held the wolf's gaze. He felt settled by her, her calm gaze and curious nature. One day he'd run with her, not his fellow dogs.