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= Wolfsong =

Wolfsong is a 2016 LGBTQ paranormal fiction novel written by TJ Klune. The book is narrated by Ox Matheson, a young man in the fictional small town of Green Creek, Oregon. When a family of werewolves moves to the house nearby, Ox forms an immediate connection with the youngest son, Joe, that continues as they both grow into adulthood and is tested as they are separated by a series of tragic events.

This is the first novel of Klune's Green Creek series. It was published by Dreamspinner Press in 2016, originally as an ebook. A sequel, Ravensong, was released in 2018.

Publisher's Summary
Ox was twelve when his daddy taught him a very valuable lesson. He said that Ox wasn't worth anything and people would never understand him. Then he left.

Ox was sixteen when he met the boy on the road, the boy who talked and talked and talked. Ox found out later the boy hadn't spoken in almost two years before that day, and that the boy belonged to a family who had moved into the house at the end of the lane.

Ox was seventeen when he found out the boy's secret, and it painted the world around him in colors of red and orange and violet, of Alpha and Beta and Omega.

Ox was twenty-three when murder came to town and tore a hole in his head and heart. The boy chased after the monster with revenge in his bloodred eyes, leaving Ox behind to pick up the pieces.

It's been three years since that fateful day - and the boy is back. Except now he's a man, and Ox can no longer ignore the song that howls between them.

Characters

 * Oxnard "Ox" Matheson - The human narrator and protagonist of the story. He is physically imposing even as an adolescent, but is regarded as slow and unassuming by most of the residents of Green Creek. Because of this and his father's abandonment, Ox grows up believing that he is unimportant. However Gordo, and later the Bennetts, recognize that there is something special about him. Ox is the first person Joe speaks to after his trauma-induced muteness. He serves as the emotional tether to both Gordo and Joe, and becomes the first human pack Alpha in recorded history. He is fiercely loyal to and extremely protective of those he views as his family.
 * Joe Bennett - A werewolf, the youngest son of Thomas and Elizabeth, destined to become alpha of the Bennett pack. He was kidnapped at a young age by Richard Collins, a wolf who had fallen into rage and despair at the loss of his pack and blamed Thomas Bennett for the deaths. While in captivity, Joe was tortured (implied to have been sexual as well as physical and psychological) to the point of a mental break. As a result, he is mute until he meets a teenage Ox, and immediately (though somewhat unwittingly) claims him as his mate.
 * Gordo Livingstone - The cantankerous witch of the Bennett pack. Gordo runs the town's auto repair shop. He apparently serves as the pack witch under duress; he makes no secret of his dislike for the Bennetts and warns Ox not to trust them. However he is a dependable ally and a powerful asset to the pack. He gives Ox a job at the auto shop after Ox's father abandons them so that Ox and his mother will not lose their house. At various times Gordo fills the role of Ox's father, brother, and friend. His father Robert is a witch who turned evil, and the wolves of North America distrust Gordo because of this.
 * Carter Bennett - The oldest Bennett son. He is Ox's age and one of his best friends. Carter also serves as Joe's enforcer.
 * Kelly Bennett - The second Bennett son.
 * Elizabeth Bennett - Thomas's wife, and the mother of Carter, Kelly, and Joe. She is very artistic, regularly painting and playing music in the Bennett house over the record player.
 * Thomas Bennett - Alpha of the Bennett pack. Married to Elizabeth and father of Carter, Kelly, and Joe.
 * Mark Bennett - Thomas's younger brother and enforcer (Beta). Mark and Gordo have a past romantic history.
 * Chris, Rico, and Tanner - Gordo's three best friends and employees at the garage. They generally appear as a unit throughout the book. Chris's mother dies and he gains custody of his sister Jessie after that. Though Gordo does not tell them about his powers or the werewolves, Ox decides to tell them the truth and the three become pack members.
 * Jessie - Chris's little sister. Ox's high school girlfriend.
 * Maggie Callaway - Ox's mother. Maggie works as a waitress at the diner in Green Creek. She and Ox have a close, loving relationship, and she approves of his relationship with Joe. Initially nervous around the Bennetts, she becomes a part of the family. She and Ox's father Curtis had a turbulent marriage. Curtis drank often and Ox suspects that he was physically abusive.
 * Robbie - A wolf sent by high Alpha Michelle Hughes to liaison between her and Green Creek following the attack by Richard Collins. He is distrusted at first, but the pack warms up to him. He attempts to work at the garage but is not very good.