Wolfsong

Jessie tells Ox that she thinks they should break up. Ox agrees, which upsets her: She wanted him to fight for her. Ox is sad, and when he speaks with Joe later, Joe promises, “I won’t ever leave you” (108). Soon, Ox turns 18, but he and Thomas don’t talk about the bite. Ox and Carter graduate, and the cheer that goes up when they call Ox’s name is so loud that his happiness is painful.

One day in the summer, Carter comes to the shop and tells Ox that the Alpha wants him. On the way to the Bennett house, Ox confesses to Carter that he thinks he is attracted to men. Carter kisses him “hard…with a loud smack” and says now Ox has kissed a guy (111). Carter says it will make things easier in the future, though Ox doesn’t know what he means.

Thomas takes Joe and Ox into the woods, where he imparts a lesson about an Alpha’s duty to their pack. Then, they sit there in silence for hours. After that, Ox often goes on Joe and Thomas’s walks. Sometimes Thomas sends Joe and Ox on walks alone. Ox is glad to learn more about pack life, but he thinks they’re still keeping things from him.