Wolf Brother: Chapters 10–17

by Michelle Paver
Twelve-year-old Torak and his wolf cub companion must defeat the demon-bear of the Forest to fulfill an oath to his father and to save his present world. Torak and Wolf face many dangers but also make friends that help them along the way.

Here are links to our lists for the book: Chapters 1–4, Chapters 5–9, Chapters 10–17, Chapters 18–23, Chapters 24–32
15 words 15 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. stilted
    stiff and strained; lacking natural ease
    To Wolf he said in a stilted voice, ‘Go away. Go away.’
  2. talon
    a sharp hooked claw especially on a bird of prey
    Torak watched her talon going round and round. He started to feel dizzy.
  3. captor
    a person who entraps and holds someone else
    He had to get out of here. In the first shock of being caught, he’d heard a scraping of stone, as if his captor were sealing the mound.
  4. squelch
    the noise of soft mud being walked on
    Torak heard the squelch of moss. His foot twitched - and in the darkness, something clinked. He winced.
  5. rankle
    make resentful or angry
    But her insult rankled.
    ‘I’m not a coward,’ he said...
  6. rummage
    search haphazardly
    Feeling a lot better, he rummaged in his pack for one of the rolls of dried roe buck that he’d prepared – what seemed like moons ago.
  7. aromatic
    having a strong pleasant odor
    He took it and bit off a small fragment. It tasted rich and salty, with an aromatic tang.
  8. lope
    a slow pace of running
    The crossing place was still many lopes ahead, but already Wolf could hear it roaring.
  9. utterly
    completely and without qualification
    The trees were utterly still waiting to see what would happen.
  10. teeming
    abundantly filled with especially living things
    He thought of the teeming prey; of the lakes and rivers full of fish; of all the different kinds of wood and bark and stone that were there for the taking if you knew where to look.
  11. downy
    soft and fluffy, like small feathers
    He felt Wolf’s breath on his face; then the downy brush of the cub’s whiskers on his eyelids, and the needle-fine grooming-nibbles on his cheeks and throat.
  12. haunch
    the upper thigh and back of the hip in human beings
    ‘Come on, Wolf,’ he said encouragingly. Then he said it in wolf talk, hunkering down on his haunches and making low, reassuring mewing noises.
  13. languid
    lacking spirit or liveliness
    He was languid and frozen past feeling.
  14. magpie
    long-tailed black-and-white crow that utters a raucous call
    A pair of inquisitive magpies followed them from tree to tree, bickering.
  15. shamble
    walk by dragging one's feet
    Just as Wolf was about to attack, it shook itself and shambled away.
Created on Wed Dec 31 20:01:43 EST 2025 (updated Mon Mar 02 12:42:58 EST 2026)

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