Les

Les leads a drove of were-hares whose practical assistance turns Duncan’s refuge into part of a larger resistance effort. He is introduced through a tense encounter over territory, but his defining role emerges in the contrast between the drove’s formidable reputation and the specific obligations that bind its members: winter shelter, mutual security, and a promise to keep searching for Cade.

Identity and First Appearance

During Ava’s group’s passage across Duncan’s land, the were-hares surround them. One of the men examines the grapefruit-sized fireball Ava has raised, studying it rather than immediately attacking; he is broad-built, bearded, and marked by fine scars climbing his neck. The group treats him as the person in charge, and he warns the trespassers that they must establish who they are before the drove decides what to do with them. The encounter makes clear that this is not an unguarded wilderness: the were-hares patrol it as a community with authority over its territory.

Les’s later appearances give that physical impression a more personal detail. When he rubs his chin, his fingers trace the fine webbing of scar tissue at his neck. The scars prompt Ava’s curiosity because she has seen other were-hares heal without a mark, but the evidence does not explain how Les acquired them. They remain a visible sign of a body that does not fit the easy assumptions outsiders make about shapeshifters.

The Drove and Its Agreement with Duncan

Les describes the were-hares’ arrangement with Duncan as a practical exchange, not a military alliance. They needed a place to winter, and Duncan offered them one; in return, they provide extra security. Les stresses that they are not an army and that their role is security, not participation in a broader campaign. That distinction matters to Ava, who is trying to determine whether the group has taken Cade or is concealing something from her. Les directly denies that the drove took him.

His explanation also answers the assumptions the group faces from other weres. Sid objects to the idea that hares must be gentle because they resemble rabbits, distinguishing wild hares from domesticated rabbits. Les adds that outsiders overlook the were-hares’ human side, and points to humanity itself as a source of violence. Their account complicates the threat presented by the armed patrol: the drove can be dangerous, but it is also a group that has been stereotyped and has sought shelter rather than conquest.

The drove’s presence is visible around Duncan’s coastal cabin. Motorcycles stand beneath the carport beside Duncan’s old four-by-four and black van, while the small number of bikes suggests that many of the were-hares are camped elsewhere on the grounds. Les’s people are not simply guests gathered indoors; they are distributed across the property, where their presence can serve the protective purpose of the agreement.

Assistance to Ava and the Search for Cade

Les’s commitment to Ava becomes concrete when she prepares to leave. He promises that the search for Cade will continue and offers a specific method: someone will pass by the cabin repeatedly, and the drove will look for Cade within a fifty-mile radius. The promise does not resolve Ava’s uncertainty about where Cade is, but it gives the search a continuing structure and makes the were-hares’ support extend beyond their immediate hospitality.

That offer carries particular weight because Ava recognizes that the were-hares have known her for less than a day and questions why they are so eager to help. Les’s assistance is situated within Duncan’s sanctuary and the drove’s agreement with him, rather than explained as a personal history with Ava. The distinction preserves the limits of what the text establishes: Les is dependable in action, but his motives are presented through his obligations to the group and its host, not through a disclosed private bond with her.

Leadership Under Pressure

When the party waits for Venus to call, Les listens as Ava recounts what has happened since the group left. The patrols are active outside, but the immediate uncertainty leaves the gathered people waiting rather than advancing a plan. Les rubs the scar tissue on his neck and considers the situation. When he speaks, the room stills: the were-hares’ chatter and movement stop as they wait for their leader’s assessment. His conclusion is that there is little to do until Venus calls, a restrained judgment that acknowledges the group cannot plan around information it does not yet have.

The scene places authority in a quiet gesture of collective attention rather than a display of force. Les does not turn anxiety into a false promise of control. The drove waits because its next move depends on the call, and his leadership consists, in part, of naming that limit. Ava’s own impatience and fear remain palpable, but Les keeps the group oriented toward the decision that will actually determine what can happen next.

Preparing the Drove for the Confrontation

As the group prepares for a night operation, Les leads one of several small units. Roughly thirty members of the drove stand behind Ava’s party; although they are a motley crew, their silent uniformity shows that they are accustomed to working together. Les, Duncan, Alistair, and Parkin each lead smaller groups, placing the drove within a combined force rather than presenting Les as its sole commander in the larger effort.

The contrast with Les’s insistence that the were-hares are not an army is pointed but not contradictory. They have not become a standing military force in the account; instead, their existing habits of coordination make them capable allies when danger demands it. Les’s arc in the available scenes is therefore less a change of allegiance than an expansion of responsibility: a leader protecting a winter refuge also commits his people to the search for Cade and helps direct them toward a confrontation whose cost Ava already fears. The book leaves the outcome of that preparation beyond these scenes, but establishes Les as a measured, scarred, and operationally capable leader whose community chooses to stand with Duncan’s allies.