But the footsteps stopped. Reversed and then came back.
Tommy held his breath.
The dresser scraped. Something heavy, very heavy, shifted off the top of the toy box with a sound like stone grinding against stone. The latch clicked. Light flooded in, blinding and golden, and Tommy blinked up at the silhouette that filled the doorway like a wall of dark scales and patient, amber eyes.
Voss looked down at him. The wolf's massive frame blocked the light, casting Tommy in shadow, and for a moment neither of them moved. Then Voss's mouth curved just slightly, just at the corner, and he reached into the box with both hands.
"Up."
Tommy reached for him. The wolf pulled, and Tommy came out of the box in a cascade of stuffed animals, wooden blocks, and approximately three litres of accumulated water that splashed across the hardwood floor.
