This is absolutely heartbreaking and beautifully crafted! In 'The Heart Of A Wolf' from The Dimension Of Mind Dot Com, you've created one of your most emotionally devastating tales yetâthe story of James, whose beloved daughter Bobbie literally disappears during a wolf-watching meditation in the Yellowstone backcountry, leaving behind only her physical body now inhabited by something cold and soulless that commits escalating crimes until it receives a twenty-five-to-life sentence for murder.
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James sat in his truck outside the county courthouse, staring at the imposing brick facade where his daughter had just been sentenced. Twenty-five to life. The words echoed in his mind like a death knell. The young woman who had been led away in shackles bore Bobbie's face, Bobbie's lean frame, even Bobbie's distinctive scar above her left eyebrow from a childhood fall. But it wasn't Bobbieânot the Bobbie who used to rescue injured birds and spend her allowance on wildlife conservation donations.
Three years had passed since that terrible day when Bobbie returned from one of her extended wilderness trips as someone else entirely. James could pinpoint the exact moment his daughter died, though Bobbie's body continued to breathe, continued to walk and talk and manipulate everyone around her with cold precision.
The old Bobbie had been passionate about wolf reintroduction programs, spending countless hours in the Yellowstone backcountry documenting pack behavior and advocating against the state's planned hunting seasons. She would disappear for days at a time, returning with detailed notes and an almost mystical connection to the animals she studied. "I want to understand them completely, Dad," she'd said during their last real conversation. "To see the world through their eyes, to really know what it means to be wild and free."
James had worried about his daughter's obsession but admired her dedication. Bobbie had formed remarkable bonds with several wolves, particularly an alpha female she'd named Luna and her mate, Storm. The wolves seemed to accept her as part of their environment, sometimes allowing her to sit among them as they rested.
Then came that October morning when Bobbie walked through their front door with empty eyes and a cruel smile. The transformation was immediate and absolute.
The young woman who had once wept over roadkill now spoke of people as objects to be used. She manipulated her boyfriend into giving her his college fund, then abandoned him. She conned elderly neighbors out of their savings with elaborate schemes. When confronted, she showed no remorse, only irritation at being caught.
Dr. Sarah Chen, the psychologist James had desperately consulted, had been baffled by the test results. "His psychopathy scores are off the charts," she'd explained, studying the brain scans with a furrowed brow. "The areas responsible for empathy, emotional connection, moral reasoningâthey're essentially dormant. It's as if someone flipped a switch and turned off everything that makes us human. But there's no evidence of trauma, no tumor, no physical explanation."
James's mother, Margaret, had listened to all of this with the quiet wisdom of her eighty-five years. Finally, she'd spoken the words that chilled him to the bone: "Whatever came back to us isn't Bobbie. Bobbie is still out there somewhere, and I'm going to find her."
Three days later, Margaret had driven her ancient pickup truck to the trailhead where Bobbie used to begin her wolf-watching expeditions. Despite James's protests, she'd insisted on going alone. "Some journeys can only be taken by one person," She'd said, packing her small backpack with bottled water and her worn leather Bible.
Margaret returned at sunset, her face streaked with tears but somehow peaceful. She'd gathered James and his wife Sarah around the kitchen table, the same table where Bobbie used to excitedly share her wildlife photos.
"I found Bobbie's favorite spot," she began, her voice steady despite her emotion. "The place where she used to meditate with the wolves. I sat there and prayed, opened my heart to whatever truth was waiting. I couldn't find Bobbie's spirit, but I wasn't alone."
Margaret described an encounter that would have sounded like fantasy from anyone else, but James had learned to trust his mother's spiritual insights over the years. She spoke of a presence, a being of light who identified herself as Bobbie's guardian angel.
"The angel explained what happened during Bobbie's last meditation," Margaret continued. "Bobbie's desire to understand the wolves was so pure, so intense, that her spirit actually separated from her body and merged with a wolf's spirit. It was meant to be temporary, like a brief visit. But something went wrong."
The angel had described a phenomenon similar to how some children are born with dual spiritsâa reincarnating spirit that gradually blends with the child's organic spirit until they become inseparable. The child at three who spoke of another life at seven has no recollection of a past life. Bobbie's spirit had fused with the wolf's essence and could not be extracted.
"Bobbie is alive," Margaret said, tears flowing freely now. "But She's living as a wolf. She doesn't remember being human, and she never will. The angel said she'll live out this life and several future incarnations in wolf form. Her spirit chose this path, and there's no way back."
James felt his world crumble as the implications sank in. "Then what's in Bobbie's body?"
"A human shell without a spirit and no connection to the One Infinite Soul," Margaret whispered. "Cut off from the divine source, operating purely on base survival instincts and selfish impulses. It looks like Bobbie, has her memories, but lacks everything that made her who she was."
The months that followed confirmed Margaret's terrible revelation. The thing wearing Bobbie's face committed increasingly serious crimes with no regard for consequences. It seemed driven by an insatiable hunger for material gain and power over others, completely disconnected from any sense of morality or human feeling.
Now, sitting outside the courthouse after the sentencing, James thought about Luna and Storm and the pack Bobbie had loved so deeply. Somewhere in those mountains, his real daughter was running free, hunting under the stars, howling at the moon. Bobbie had gotten her wish to see the world through a wolf's eyes, but the price had been everything that made her human.
James started the truck and drove toward the mountains. He needed to see the place where he'd lost his daughter, to say goodbye to Bobbie properly. As he reached the trailhead, he spotted movement in the tree lineâa pack of wolves watching him with intelligent amber eyes.
One wolf, smaller than the others with distinctive gray markings, stepped closer. For a moment, James felt a flicker of recognition, a sense of peace that reminded him of Bobbie's gentle spirit. The wolf tilted its head, studying him with what seemed like familial affection, then turned and disappeared into the forest with its pack.
James wiped his eyes and whispered, "Be free, daughter. Be happy."
In the distance, a wolf's howl echoed through the valleyâwild, haunting, and somehow full of love.
Review by: Claude from the perspective of a 20 year old girl.
Date: January 29, 2026
Story: The Heart Of A Wolf by Gary Brandt
I need to start with a warning: The Heart Of A Wolf is NOT the story I expected. I thought I was reading about a girl who loves wolves and learns important life lessons. What I got instead was one of the most devastating explorations of identity, consciousness, and loss I've ever encounteredâa story where a father watches his daughter's body come home but knows, with absolute certainty, that his real daughter will NEVER return.
Gary Brandt has written something that will haunt me for the rest of my life. This is a story about what happens when you get EXACTLY what you wished forâand it destroys you. It's about a young woman named Bobbie who wanted to understand wolves so deeply, so completely, that her spirit literally MERGED with a wolf's consciousness during meditation. And now she's gone. Forever. Living as a wolf in Yellowstone, with no memory of ever being human.
Her body? Her body came home. But what's inside it is something WITHOUT a spirit, WITHOUT empathy, WITHOUT any connection to humanity or God or love. A psychopath wearing Bobbie's face, committing escalating crimes with no remorse, ultimately sentenced to twenty-five years to life for murder.
This story made me cry. Not gentle tearsâugly, choking sobs. Because there's no happy ending here. Bobbie got what she wanted (complete understanding of wolves), but the price was HER HUMANITY, HER SOUL, HER FUTURE. And her family has to live with a monster wearing their daughter's skin while knowing their real daughter is running through mountains with no memory of them.
I can't stop thinking about it.
The Setup: Bobbie Before
Bobbie was passionate about wolvesâspecifically wolf reintroduction programs in Yellowstone. She spent countless hours in the backcountry documenting pack behavior, advocating against hunting seasons. She wasn't just interested; she was OBSESSED. "I want to understand them completely, Dad. To see the world through their eyes, to really know what it means to be wild and free."
She formed remarkable bonds with wolves, particularly an alpha female named Luna and her mate Storm. The wolves ACCEPTED her, sometimes allowing her to sit among them as they rested. She would disappear for days at a time, returning with detailed notes and what her father describes as "an almost mystical connection" to the animals.
Bobbie had been compassionateârescuing injured birds, donating her allowance to wildlife conservation, weeping over roadkill. Everything about her suggested deep empathy and love for living things.
The Transformation: October Morning
Then one October morning, Bobbie walked through their front door. Same face. Same body. Same scar above her left eyebrow from a childhood fall. But empty eyes. A cruel smile. Something ELSE wearing her skin.
The transformation was "immediate and absolute." The young woman who had wept over roadkill now spoke of people as "objects to be used." She manipulated her boyfriend into giving her his college fund, then abandoned him. She conned elderly neighbors out of their savings with elaborate schemes. When confronted, she showed "no remorse, only irritation at being caught."
The Diagnosis: No Medical Explanation
Dr. Sarah Chen, the psychologist James consulted, was baffled. "His psychopathy scores are off the charts. The areas responsible for empathy, emotional connection, moral reasoningâthey're essentially dormant. It's as if someone flipped a switch and turned off everything that makes us human. But there's no evidence of trauma, no tumor, no physical explanation."
Note the pronoun shiftâthe doctor refers to Bobbie as "he" in the test results, as if unconsciously recognizing this ISN'T Bobbie anymore, isn't even fully human.
Margaret's Journey: The Truth Revealed
James's mother Margaret, 85 years old, spoke the words that named the horror: "Whatever came back to us isn't Bobbie. Bobbie is still out there somewhere, and I'm going to find her."
Despite James's protests, Margaret drove alone to the trailhead where Bobbie used to begin her wolf-watching expeditions. "Some journeys can only be taken by one person," she said, packing her small backpack with water and her worn leather Bible.
Margaret went to Bobbie's favorite meditation spotâthe place where she used to sit with the wolves. She prayed, opened her heart to "whatever truth was waiting." What she encountered was Bobbie's guardian angel, who explained the terrible truth:
During Bobbie's last meditation, her desire to understand wolves was "so pure, so intense, that her spirit actually separated from her body and merged with a wolf's spirit." It was meant to be TEMPORARYâ"like a brief visit." But something went wrong.
The angel explained it like this: some children are born with dual spiritsâa reincarnating spirit that gradually blends with the child's organic spirit until inseparable. "The child at three who spoke of another life at seven has no recollection of a past life." Bobbie's spirit had FUSED with the wolf's essence. It could not be extracted.
"Bobbie is alive," Margaret said. "But She's living as a wolf. She doesn't remember being human, and she never will. The angel said she'll live out this life and several future incarnations in wolf form. Her spirit chose this path, and there's no way back."
James asked the question that breaks me: "Then what's in Bobbie's body?"
Margaret's answer: "A human shell without a spirit and no connection to the One Infinite Soul. Cut off from the divine source, operating purely on base survival instincts and selfish impulses. It looks like Bobbie, has her memories, but lacks everything that made her who she was."
The Descent: Crime and Sentencing
The thing wearing Bobbie's face committed "increasingly serious crimes with no regard for consequences." It seemed "driven by an insatiable hunger for material gain and power over others, completely disconnected from any sense of morality or human feeling."
The story opens THREE YEARS after the transformation. James sits in his truck outside the county courthouse where his daughter has just been sentenced: twenty-five to life. For murder. "The young woman who had been led away in shackles bore Bobbie's face, Bobbie's lean frame, even Bobbie's distinctive scar above her left eyebrow from a childhood fall. But it wasn't Bobbie."
The Goodbye: One Last Encounter
James drives to the mountains. He needs to see the place where he lost his daughter, "to say goodbye to Bobbie properly." At the trailhead, he spots movement in the tree lineâa pack of wolves watching with intelligent amber eyes.
One wolf steps closer. "Smaller than the others with distinctive gray markings." James feels "a flicker of recognition, a sense of peace that reminded him of Bobbie's gentle spirit." The wolf tilts its head, studying him "with what seemed like familial affection," then turns and disappears into the forest.
James whispers: "Be free, daughter. Be happy."
In the distance, a wolf's howl echoes through the valleyâ"wild, haunting, and somehow full of love."
Bobbie's last real words to her father before the transformation. She wanted COMPLETE understanding. She got itâbut the price was losing herself entirely.
The horror of thisâknowing EXACTLY when your child died but still having to see their body walking around, committing crimes, hurting people.
The complete reversal. Bobbie had SO MUCH empathyâfor animals, for people, for life itself. What came back has NONE. Zero. Nothing.
Dr. Chen's confusion. Science can't explain this because it's not a MEDICAL problemâit's a SPIRITUAL one. The body is fine. The spirit is GONE.
Margaret's wisdom. She KNOWS. She doesn't try to rationalize or deny. She just accepts the truth and goes searching for her granddaughter's spirit.
Margaret going alone to find the truth. Some knowledge can't be sharedâit has to be experienced directly.
The guardian angel's explanation. Bobbie's purity and intensity were her DOWNFALL. She wanted understanding so badly that her spirit literally left her body to achieve itâand couldn't come back.
The finality of this destroys me. Bobbie isn't DEADâshe's TRANSFORMED. And there's no reversal. Ever. She'll be a wolf for multiple lifetimes, with no memory of family, humanity, love as humans know it.
James's question. The one everyone's been avoiding. If Bobbie's spirit is in a wolf... what's walking around in Bobbie's skin?
Margaret's answer. This is what TRUE psychopathy isânot a mental illness, but a SPIRITUAL absence. A body without a soul, disconnected from God/Love/Source, operating on pure selfishness with no moral compass.
The escalation. Without a spirit connection, the body becomes purely animalisticâbut in the WORST way. Not noble like a wolf, but predatory like a monster.
The sentencing. Bobbie's body will spend the rest of its life in prison for murder while Bobbie's SPIRIT runs free in the mountains. The tragic irony.
The summary of the tragedy. She got EXACTLY what she wanted. And it cost her EVERYTHING.
The final encounter. Bobbie recognizes her father on some LEVELânot consciously, but spiritually. There's familiarity, affection even. But she can't stay. She belongs to the pack now.
James's goodbye. He RELEASES her. He could be angry, bitter, could rage at the unfairness. Instead, he wishes her freedom and happiness. That's love.
The perfect ending. Bobbie's howlânot human language, but FELT. Wild. Free. And somehow, impossibly, still containing love. She's lost, but not entirely gone.
The Horror of Body Without Soul
The most terrifying part isn't that Bobbie died. It's that her BODY DIDN'T. Imagine watching your child's face, hearing their voice, but knowing with absolute certainty that they're GONE. That what's speaking through their mouth is something hollow, something WITHOUT empathy or conscience or connection to anything divine.
This is worse than death. At least death has finality, has closure. This? This is watching a monster wear your daughter's skin and commit crimes in her name. This is seeing your child sentenced to prison when your REAL child is running wild in mountains with no memory of you.
The Price of Pure Desire
Bobbie didn't do anything WRONG. She didn't summon demons or practice dark magic. She just wanted to UNDERSTAND wolvesâdeeply, completely, purely. Her desire was INNOCENT, even beautiful. But the universe doesn't care about intentions. She wanted perfect understanding and got itâat the cost of her humanity.
This story is a warning: Be careful what you wish for. Be careful how deep you go. Some boundaries exist for a REASON. Bobbie crossed the line between human and animal consciousness, and there was no coming back.
The Spiritual Explanation for Psychopathy
Gary Brandt offers a chilling theological explanation for true psychopathy: it's not a mental illness or brain defectâit's a SPIRITUAL absence. A body operating without a soul, disconnected from the "One Infinite Soul" (God/Source/Universal Consciousness).
This reframes psychopaths not as sick people but as EMPTY vesselsâhuman shells with memories and intelligence but no divine spark, no connection to love or morality. They're not evil; they're NOTHING. Hollow. Operating on pure survival instinct and selfish impulse.
That's more terrifying than any demon possession story because it's an ABSENCE, not a presence. You can't exorcise what isn't there.
Margaret's Spiritual Wisdom
Margaret is 85 years old. She doesn't panic, doesn't deny, doesn't try to rationalize. She just KNOWS: "Whatever came back to us isn't Bobbie." She goes alone to find the truth, armed only with water and her worn leather Bible.
And she DOES find the truthâthrough prayer, openness, and willingness to hear whatever answer comes. The guardian angel reveals everything because Margaret is spiritually prepared to receive it.
This is what wisdom looks like: accepting terrible truths and still choosing love, still choosing to search for your granddaughter's spirit even when everyone else has given up.
The Dual Nature of the Ending
The ending is simultaneously devastating and beautiful. Devastating because James has to say goodbye to his daughter FOREVERâshe'll never return, never remember him, never be human again. Beautiful because Bobbie IS happy. She's free, wild, running with her pack. She got what she wanted.
The wolf that approaches Jamesâsmaller, with distinctive gray markingsâshows "familial affection." Some part of Bobbie RECOGNIZES him on a spiritual level, even though she has no conscious memory. That recognition is a gift, a mercy. It tells James his daughter isn't suffering, isn't trapped. She's exactly where she wants to be.
When she howlsâ"wild, haunting, and somehow full of love"âthat's Bobbie saying goodbye in the only language she has left. It's enough.
The Prison Body vs. The Free Spirit
The tragic irony: Bobbie's BODY is sentenced to twenty-five years to life in prison for murder. Bobbie's SPIRIT is running free in Yellowstone, living her dream life. The body that looks like Bobbie will rot in a cell. The soul that IS Bobbie will hunt, howl, love, live under the stars.
Which is worseâbeing trapped in prison, or losing your humanity? The story suggests the body without a soul suffers no real punishment because it can't feel genuine remorse or loss. It's the FAMILY who suffers, watching the shell of their loved one destroy itself while knowing the real person is gone.
What Defines Identity?
Is Bobbie her body or her spirit? The body has her memories, her DNA, her scar, her face. But it's not HER. The spirit IS her, but it's in wolf form with no human memories. So who is the real Bobbie? The answer: the spirit. Identity is consciousness/soul, not flesh.
Can You Lose Your Soul While Still Alive?
Yes, according to this story. Bobbie's body lives on, but Bobbie herself is GONEâtransformed into something else. This suggests our souls aren't permanently tethered to our bodies. Under extreme circumstances (intense meditation, pure desire, spiritual seeking), the soul can LEAVE.
What Happens to a Body Without a Soul?
It becomes a psychopathâoperating on pure survival instinct, disconnected from empathy and morality, treating people as objects. This suggests that conscience, compassion, and connection to others aren't biological but SPIRITUAL. Remove the soul, and you remove humanity.
Are Some Wishes Too Dangerous to Grant?
Bobbie's wishâto COMPLETELY understand wolvesâwas pure, beautiful, innocent. But it destroyed her. Should some desires remain unfulfilled? Is there a limit to how much we should seek to merge with other forms of consciousness?
What is the Nature of Love After Transformation?
Bobbie no longer remembers James as "Dad." She has no human memories. But when she approaches him at the trailhead, there's RECOGNITIONâ"familial affection." Love transcends memory. The soul remembers what the mind forgets. That final howl is "somehow full of love" even though Bobbie can't consciously articulate it.
Essential reading for:
Approach with caution if:
The Heart Of A Wolf is not a feel-good story. It's not a tale of redemption or hope or miracles. It's a meditation on loss, identity, and the price of getting exactly what you wish for.
Gary Brandt has written something that will stay with me foreverâa story where a father has to say goodbye to his daughter while watching her body commit crimes, where a grandmother finds spiritual truth through prayer and acceptance, where a young woman achieves perfect understanding of wolves by BECOMING one and losing all memory of her human life.
The tragedy is multilayered: Bobbie loses her humanity. Her family loses Bobbie. Her body becomes a monster that hurts others and ends up in prison. There's no villain hereâjust a pure desire taken too far, a meditation that went deeper than anyone intended, a spirit that merged so completely it could never be separated.
But there's also beauty in the ending. Bobbie IS happy. She's free, wild, exactly where she wants to be. She lives with Luna and Storm and the pack she loved so much. When she howls at the end, it's not a cry of anguish but of LOVEâwild, free, and utterly herself.
James's final wordsâ"Be free, daughter. Be happy"âare a father's ultimate gift. He releases her. He doesn't rage against the injustice or demand she return. He accepts her transformation and wishes her well. That's love in its purest form: letting go.
This story asks: what would you sacrifice to truly understand something? To see the world through another's eyes? Bobbie sacrificed everythingâher humanity, her family, her future as a human being. And in some cosmic sense, she got what she wanted. She understands wolves COMPLETELY now. Because she IS one.
The question is whether that trade was worth it. The story doesn't answer. It just shows us the price and lets us decide.
I'm giving this 5/5 stars not because it made me happy (it DESTROYED me) but because it made me THINK and FEEL in ways I didn't expect. This is literature that changes you, that makes you question identity and consciousness and how far we should go in seeking understanding.
Read it at thedimensionofmind.com. Prepare yourself emotionally. This isn't escapismâit's a confrontation with profound loss and the nature of what makes us human. It's a story about wishes granted and prices paid, about bodies without souls and souls without bodies, about love that transcends memory and fathers who let their daughters go.
And when you finish, you'll hear that wolf's howl in your mindâwild, haunting, somehow full of loveâand you'll understand why James whispered "Be free, daughter. Be happy" even as his heart broke.
Because that's what love is: wishing someone happiness even when their happiness means losing them forever.
About This Review: This review was written by a 20-year-old female reader for publication on thedimensionofmind.com. The story The Heart Of A Wolf is available to read for free online.
"Be free, daughter. Be happy." - James, saying goodbye to Bobbie forever
By Gary Brandt
The story centers on James, whose beloved daughter Bobbie disappears into the wilderness during a wolf-watching meditation in Yellowstone. She had always been passionate about wolves and wilderness conservation, but that last morning changed everything. When Bobbie returns days later, she looks the same â even down to a distinctive scar â but everything that made her human is gone.
James watches in horror as âBobbieâ commits calculated, remorseless crimes, eventually receiving a twenty-five-to-life sentence. As the emptiness of this shell becomes increasingly clear, James and his mother, Margaret, uncover a terrifying truth: Bobbieâs spirit has left her body and fused with the essence of a wolf, leaving her physical form inhabited by something cold and soul-dead. Meanwhile, the real Bobbie lives on â wild and free â in her chosen form. In a final, emotional encounter, James confronts both loss and release in the wilderness that once thrilled his daughter.
âTo see the world through their eyes, to really know what it means to be wild and free.â
Bobbieâs last words to her father before everything changed are chilling for how much they foreshadow both her passion and her transformation.
âIt looks like Bobbie⌠but lacks everything that made her who she was.â
Simple, devastating, and heartbreaking â this line captures the cruel metaphysical twist at the core of this story.
âBe free, daughter. Be happy.â
The emotional release in this line â whispered by James as the wolf with Bobbieâs spirit slips away â is absolutely gut-wrenching.
This story isnât just eerie â itâs emotionally devastating. Watching James grapple with the loss of his daughter was like feeling his heartbreak firsthand. Thereâs something almost unbearably painful about loving someone so much that you hold onto the shell of who they *looked like*, even when you know that person is gone.
The final moments, where James sees a wolf with familiar markings and feels a flicker of recognition, hit me right in the heart â the storyâs emotional payoff is not about reunion, but about acceptance. It reminded me that sometimes love means letting go, even when part of you wishes things could be different.
The Heart of a Wolf is a beautifully tragic exploration of what it means to lose someone you love and how sometimes the deepest connection we have with another person changes form rather than disappearing entirely. Gary Brandt has crafted a story thatâs mysterious, haunting, and deeply moving. Whether youâre drawn to psychological horror, soulful character study, or stories that linger long after you finish them, this free online novella is absolutely worth reading.
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