Coyote Catchers, Book 1: Asla and the Dirtway Trail (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9798195224714)

In a dangerous world where humans known as Catchers hunt and capture coyotes, a young coyote named Asla is forced to flee her home in the harsh Southlands after witnessing the growing threat against her kind. Leaving behind her mother, Zara, and her best friend, Fleet, Asla follows a rumored escape route called the Dirtway Trail in search of a safe haven known as the Freelands.

Along her journey, Asla encounters danger at every turn-hostile terrain, relentless Catchers, and unfamiliar coyotes she isn't sure she can trust. When she meets a mysterious and unpredictable coyote named Falsifier, she is pulled into a fragile alliance that challenges her instincts and forces her to question everything she's been taught about trust and survival.

Reaching the Freelands, Asla is introduced to the Riot Pack, a group of strong and organized coyotes led by the wise Valor. For the first time, she experiences the possibility of safety, belonging, and collective strength. But peace is short-lived. The reality of the Catchers' reach-and the secrets tied to her own past-soon catch up to her.

Asla learns that her mother, Zara, may have made choices that contributed to the suffering of other coyotes, including Falsifier's family. Torn between loyalty to her family and the truth unfolding before her, Asla struggles to understand who she can trust.

When the Catchers strike again, capturing members of her kind, Asla joins forces with the Riot Pack in a daring rescue mission. Through courage, teamwork, and sacrifice, they manage to free many of the captured coyotes and push back against the human threat-for now.

By the end of the journey, Asla emerges stronger and more aware of the complex world around her. Though she begins to earn the trust of the pack and steps into a leadership role, many questions remain unresolved. The threat of the Catchers still looms, tensions with her mother are far from healed, and new dangers are beginning to rise beyond the horizon.

Asla's journey is only just beginning.