Noro’s boots crunched against the forest floor as he hurried over to where one of his team members, Sarah, was calling him. Her voice had been laced with urgency, and Noro was prepared to find some injured animal—a fox, a raccoon, maybe even a stray dog. But when he reached her, crouched in the shade of a tree, what he saw made him freeze.

Curled up in a bed of leaves and dirt was a small boy, no older than six or seven. His clothes were ragged, hanging off his thin, malnourished frame, and his face was smudged with dirt. But that wasn’t the most striking thing.

Wolf ears poked through his tangled hair, twitching slightly even though he was asleep. A fluffy tail was curled protectively around his body, dirt matted into the fur.

“Noro, he’s a hybrid,” Sarah whispered, her voice barely audible, as if afraid to wake the boy. “What do we do?”

Noro knelt beside her, his heart sinking as he took in the boy’s condition. Hybrids were rare enough, but one this young, alone in the wilderness, was unheard of. Where were his parents? How long had he been out here?

“He’s so thin,” Noro murmured, reaching out carefully to brush some leaves from the boy’s hair. The boy stirred slightly but didn’t wake, his small frame trembling even in sleep.

“He looks like he’s been out here for days,” Sarah said.

Noro’s jaw tightened. “We’re taking him with us. He won’t survive another night out here.”

As gently as he could, Noro slid his arms under the boy, cradling him close to his chest. The wolf ears twitched again, and the tail uncurled slightly before wrapping back around Noro’s arm, as if the boy instinctively sought comfort even in his sleep.

“Let’s go,” Noro said firmly, standing up. “He’s coming with us.”

And as they walked back toward the rescue van, Noro couldn’t shake the feeling that this small, fragile hybrid had been waiting for someone to find him all along.