(Spoilers Main) DAMMIT GEORGE!

Same here! Right from the moment Bran named him -- I thought that they were the only ones ever meant to see the summer again. But now I'm pretty much convinced that the sole role of EVERY direwolf (past, present, and future) is to be sacrificed so that his/her master can fulfill their true purpose.

We've seen it with each wolf so far: Lady, so that Sansa could see the world for what it truly is. Grey Wind, so that Robb could provide the North with the need to Remember. Shaggydog, so that Rickon could be the catalyst to unite the North. Summer, so that Bran could carry the burden of the entire world's secrets. (Shoutout to The Giver, which I'm often reminded of during Bran's chapters.)

And so we shall see it once more: Nymeria, so that Arya can remember her name, and bring vengeance for the Starks at last? Ghost, so that Jon can discover his true identity, and be the one true Song of Ice and Fire?

Which leads me to think about Starks and direwolves in general... A grey direwolf on a white field. A stone likeness at the foot of every Stark beneath Winterfell. The dreams that allow wolf and Stark to become one. A tireless servant, a constant guardian, a fierce protector. "Your children were meant to have these pups, my lord." We've always gotten the sense that direwolves mean more to Starks than what is felt by other houses toward their sigils. I hardly think that Pipers have "dancing maiden dreams, that a Striding Huntsman is given a place of honor on a Tarly's tombstone, or that every Blount dreams of their very own pair of pet porcupines. Perhaps the direwolves' very existence is to to ensure House Stark's very existence.

"The past is already written. The ink is dry." Direwolves appear when Starks are in need of them. (Sometimes when they are all too conveniently in need of them, which begs the question... HOW do they appear? A delightfully tinfoilly topic to contemplate, but I better quit this comment novel while I'm ahead.)

TLDR: I want a direwolf.

/r/asoiaf Thread Parent