Table of Contents
Chapter One
Transformation
Chapter Two
The Search For Ituria
Chapter Three
The Rescue
Chapter Four
A Visitor In The Night
Chapter Five
A Meeting With Trent
Chapter Six
Legend Of The White Wolf
Chapter Seven
A Trip Through Middle Forest
Chapter Eight
The Hidden Path
Chapter Nine
Ranco’s Return
Chapter Ten
Trapped
Chapter Eleven
True Identities
Chapter Twelve
The Dragon Patrol
Chapter Thirteen
Time For A Swim
Chapter Fourteen
Snack Time
Chapter Fifteen
New Friends
Chapter Sixteen
Planning A Quest
Chapter Seventeen
Truth Revealed
Chapter Eighteen
Going Back
Chapter Nineteen
Eavesdropping
Chapter Twenty
Making Plans
Chapter Twenty-One
Plans In Motion
Chapter Twenty-Two
More Mischief
Chapter Twenty-Three
Consequences
Chapter Twenty-Four
Home Again
Note From The Author
About theAuthor
Book Club Questions
Jenna and the Legend of the White Wolf
Copyright © 2021 J.B. Moonstar. All rights reserved.
4 Horsemen Publications, Inc.
1497 Main St. Suite 169
Dunedin, FL 34698
4horsemenpublications.com
[email protected]
Cover & Illustration by Jenn Kotick. Contact for commssions at [email protected] .
Typesetting by Battle Goddess Productions
Editor Vanessa Valiente
All rights to the work within are reserved to the author and publisher. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 International Copyright Act, without prior written permission except in brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. Please contact either the Publisher or Author to gain permission.
This is book is meant as a reference guide. All characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. All brands, quotes, and cited work respectfully belongs to the original rights holders and bear no affiliation to the authors or publisher.
Library of Congress Control Number: 2021936527
Audio ISBN: 978-1-64450-221-1
Ebook ISBN: 978-1-64450-222-8
Print ISBN: 978-1-64450-223-5
Dedication
This book is dedicated to my wonderful and talented daughter, Jennifer, with thanks for all her love, support, and encouragement, and for her help in bringing Ituria’s world to life!
Dear Reader,
In my continuing compilation of interactions between Ituria’s realm and the human world, this story takes place as Ituria tries to resolve a territory border issue between competing wolf packs on Earth.
While on this mission, Ituria was trapped by human hunters, and the magic of his Earth forest home transforms Jenna into a wolf to help free him. Jenna and her new forest friends must first rescue Ituria, then trick the hunters into leaving the forest.
During her quest, Jenna learns how she fits into the Legend of the White Wolf and must decide if she is brave enough to see it through!
Sincerely,
Knocker
First Guard to Ituria
Chapter One
Transformation
“Jenna, get in here and clean your room!” her sister yelled.
Jenna pretended not to hear, instead she kept her head buried in her book. Since she was part of a military family, they tended to move around, a lot. Just before her dad was deployed a few months ago, they had moved into another new house; this one backed up to a large forest.
Her dad told her older sister, Sandy, to help mom take care of things, which Sandy took to heart, bossing Jenna around at every opportunity as soon as mom headed for work. To escape the constant nagging, Jenna would sit in the backyard and read, sometimes catching glimpses of wild creatures scurrying in the woods behind her house. These became her imaginary friends, her only friends in this new house. She liked to talk to them, imagining they understood and could respond.
A high-pitched screech caught her attention as it almost drowned her sister’s voice calling her name, yet again. Looking in the direction it came from, she saw a large hawk perched in a pine tree at the far edge of her backyard. She then followed its gaze to a squirrel crouched in the grass.
“Uh oh,” she said quietly to herself, still watching the squirrel.
Suddenly, the squirrel jumped up and ran in her direction, only getting about halfway before turning and dashing back into a nearby tree. It started chattering loudly, waving its tail, its shiny black eyes looking directly at her.
Worried the squirrel’s loud noises and movements would draw the hawk’s attention, Jenna turned and looked at the hawk. Surprisingly, it stared back at her. The squirrel had stopped chattering, and she turned, watching as it slowly crept toward her again, inch by inch.
Staying absolutely still, she shifted her gaze between the squirrel and hawk, waiting to see what would happen. What does the squirrel want from me? It made several more attempts to reach Jenna, making it only halfway, then scampering back into the tree.
Then, something else caught Jenna’s eye. At the edge of the forest was a fox, cautiously walking toward her, its black eyes focused only on her. Within a few feet of Jenna, it stopped, sat down, and barked at her for several seconds, still staring straight into Jenna’s dark brown eyes.
Jenna did not know how to react. Was it hungry? Was it looking for a place to sleep? And why were all the animals acting so strange today?
The fox barked twice, then slowly lifted its white paw at its shoulder level and reached out toward Jenna. What does it want me to do? It was trying to tell her something, but she didn’t know what.
Not getting a reaction from Jenna, the fox turned its head and looked at its raised paw, then back at her, then its paw, repeating the cycle. Does this fox want me to touch its paw? But why? It didn’t seem like it wanted to hurt her. Maybe it just needed a friend; she could relate to that.
Slowly, she raised her hand and touched the fox’s paw.
The instant she made contact, a giant wave of dizziness struck her, knocking her back into her chair, dazed and confused. She closed her eyes and shook her head several times, trying to clear her mind. After a few seconds, she opened her eyes and watched the fox run back into the forest. She tried to get up and run after it, but she couldn’t stand. Instead, she tumbled forward onto the ground. What is happening?
Looking down at her feet, they were covered in white fur, her hands had become paws, her whole body was that of a wolf—covered in thick, white fur from head to toe! The
fox had stopped to see why she wasn’t following him, and didn’t seem to notice the dramatic change in Jenna’s appearance as it called to her and said, “Come on, we don’t have much time!”
Jenna was trying to figure out this transformation, when she realized the fox was talking to her in growls and barks, exclaiming urgently, “We must hurry, before it’s too late!” I can understand him!
His voice sounded so worried and anxious that Jenna felt compelled to help her new animal friend, despite her drastic change in appearance. She got up and tried to stand on her new wolf legs. A little shaky at first, her balance soon returned, and she followed him into the woods. Within a few minutes, running as a wolf seemed so natural, she had no problem keeping up.
The fox remained silent as they entered a clearing in the forest. Among the ferns and flowers, there were two squirrels and two small deer talking to each other. As she entered the clearing, they immediately stopped talking and turned as one, staring at Jenna. The deer were visibly frightened by the white wolf, shaking and huddling together, but the fox was quick to say, “Don’t worry, this is Jenna, she has come to help us save Ituria!”
The fox turned back to Jenna. “I am Ralphie, one of the animals who live in this forest. Ituria is trapped and we only have a short time before Ranco finds him, so we must hurry!”
Jenna didn’t know who Ituria or Ranco were, and she had questions, lots of questions. Trying to respond, she found herself growling and barking, but she understood the wolf talk, and so did the animals in the clearing. She could talk with the animals!
“Wait a second,” she barked. “Who is Ituria and why do we need to rescue him?”
Chapter Two
The Search For Ituria
“Ituria,” Ralphie answered, “is the leader and protector of our forest. He has been caught in a hunter’s net, and we must get to him before Ranco does or Ranco will kill him. Ranco is a grey wolf from the North Forest who has invaded our home and has been killing residents.”
A squirrel quickly jumped onto a stump and started speaking in squirrel, with squeaks and clicks, now easily understood by Jenna. “I’m Sedric,” he said. “I saw Ituria trapped in the net and tried to talk to you earlier this evening, but you were human and so big, you scared me, so I ran away. Now you are much more beautiful in your wolfskin, and I see that you can help us. Legend has it a white wolf will come and help our leader when he is in need. We’ve seen you come to the edge of the forest and talk and sing to us, and sometimes the image of a white wolf would cover your human body. That’s how we knew you were the one to find!”
Jenna was amazed. She had seen the animals in the forest numerous times and talked to them, pretending they would answer. When she was lonely, she would sing to the trees and grass, imagining she helped them grow. Now she was in the forest in the form of a powerful white wolf, and she was talking to these animals, and they understood her!
Ralphie interrupted her thoughts and said, “Enough idle chatter! We must hurry or we will be too late!” Ralphie headed away from the group, looking back and calling, “Sedric, you know where to go, so you must show us.”
Without a moment’s hesitation, Jenna knew she must help these small brave animals, or they would not be able to save their leader. Her dad always told her it was the duty of the strong to help those in need. These small animals needed someone larger and stronger to help them, as they would be no match for an invading wolf. Quite large as a wolf, Jenna suggested, “Sedric, why don’t you and the other squirrel ride on my back, then you can direct me, and we can get there quicker.”
Nodding in agreement and waving to Fira, he called, “Come on, Fira!” Once on Jenna’s back, he said to the deer, “Evan and Frieda, you follow close, so we don’t lose you, okay?”
The two deer nodded hesitantly before moving closer to Jenna. Up until now, they had stayed near the edge of the clearing, cautiously listening.
The group set off at once after Ralphie, Sedric and Fira on Jenna’s back, the two young deer following. There was not much of a path, so they had to weave around the thick tree trunks and underbrush. The sun had set, so only the faint light of dusk lit their way. Soon it would be dark.
They ran through the forest for several minutes when they came to a small clearing with a stream. Once they crossed the stream, Ralphie stopped the group and sniffed, his tail twitching nervously. He said, “The grey wolf has been here, he is ahead of us. We must hurry!”
Moving even faster, Sedric directed the way from Jenna’s back. Continuing through the forest for a few more minutes, Jenna smelled something burning and glanced at the fox near her side.
“Smoke from the human’s campfire! We must pass around it quickly and quietly,” whispered Ralphie.
They silently passed the camp and continued to the spot where Sedric had seen Ituria, only Ituria was not there!
Ralphie shouted to Sedric, “What happened, where has he gone? Could he have gotten out by himself?”
Sedric shook his head. “No, it was too tight, too much net, he would never have gotten out by himself. I don’t see any signs of fighting or blood, so I don’t think Ranco got him. What could have happened?”
“What about the camp we passed?” Jenna said with a deep growl. “Let’s go look to see if they were hunting and caught him.”
Ralphie nodded in agreement. It would be better for the humans to catch Ituria than for the grey wolf to get him, so they circled back to the camp.
Looking through the bushes at the edge of camp, Jenna and the others saw a large metal cage set back from the fire, barely visible in the dark.
Creeping around the camp and reaching the cage, they looked inside. In the shadows of the flickering fire, she saw Ituria for the first time. He was a majestic white unicorn with a long golden horn on his forehead. Wait, a unicorn? She had to look again, to make sure she was seeing clearly.
Even trapped, she had never seen anything so magnificent. He was in a cage that was not big enough to hold him standing. Instead, his head was stuck in a permanent bent position, resting against the hard metal cage bars. His eyes were closed. This was so wrong! She had to help save him from the hunters and Ranco, but how?
Even though Jenna had a wolf body, she still had the mind and memory of a human. She could see a lock on the cage door. Somewhere was a key to the lock, and if they could find it, they could use it to free Ituria.
She surveyed the hunters gathered around the fire in their bedrolls fast asleep. There was one who looked a little older than the rest; he was likely the leader. If so, he would have the key.
Softly, she said to Sedric, “Go sneak over by the human on the right. Check his pockets for any small pieces of metal that look like a stick. Be careful not to wake him.”
They all watched anxiously as Sedric nimbly jumped over to the hunter.
The man laid on his side, and there was something in his front shirt pocket. Sedric tried to pull it out, but the hunter turned over, causing Sedric to scramble backward.
Jenna whispered, “Gently now, tickle him on his hand to try and get him to turn over again!”
Sedric cautiously went back and used his tiny paws to touch the man’s hand, his little nails touching the open palm. The hunter made a small grunting sound and rolled back over so the pocket was again visible. Sedric started to work again, slowly wiggling out the small object from the pocket.
He had it! A small stick-like metal object Jenna knew was a key. She hoped it was the one that would open the cage. Quietly they went around the outside of camp to the door of the cage.
Ituria had opened his eyes and appeared more alert but didn’t speak. He looked exhausted, his head and body leaning on the side of the cage. Jenna was concerned for him and wondered if he would be able to get away once they opened the cage.
Jenna tried to hold the key, but her wolf paw would not allow her to pick it up.
“Ralphie,” she said softly. “You must try to open the cage. Take the pointed side of the key and put it into the lock. Then, turn it until you feel it click. We must be quiet!”
Ralphie nodded. However, he could not lift the key either. They decided Sedric would have to stand on Jenna’s back while he tried to open the lock, as Sedric’s paws would allow him to grip the key.
Jenna whispered to the two young deer, “You must watch the humans carefully while we free Ituria. If they start to move, let us know.”
The deer nodded their heads and turned toward the hunters. Within a few seconds, they backed into Jenna, shaking with fear. Evan backed up even further, until he was beside Jenna’s ear and whispered in a trembling voice, “We must hurry. Ranco has found us!”
Chapter Three
The Rescue
Turning around to view the camp, Jenna noticed the hunters were still sleeping. Then she saw a large grey wolf, barely distinguishable from the shadows, his glowing eyes reflecting the firelight, watching closely everything they were doing.
They would have to plan this carefully so they wouldn’t wake the hunters. Ranco must know this also, as the hunters had guns and could kill them all.
Jenna looked back at Ituria; he had lifted his head as best he could despite the cramped cage, trying to appear strong and brave. But his eyes betrayed him. He won’t be able to outrun the grey wolf in his current condition. What could they do?
Suddenly, something flew down and landed on Jenna’s back, looking like the large hawk she had seen earlier. Without making a sound, it looked intently into Jenna’s eyes and Jenna knew it did not want to speak for fear of waking up the hunters. She felt it was telling her it would help any way it could, and she nodded her head, glad for the assistance.
She whispered to the others, “Let’s get Ituria free, then we can protect him against Ranco and the hunters. Be prepared to run when we get the cage open. Sedric, is there anywhere safe around here we can take Ituria so we can protect him?”
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