Moon, Fire, and Whispers

Chapter 2

Over the next few weeks, Hade and Conan travelled peacefully in and out of the long forest in the direction of the setting sun. They had continued to spot the other pack hunting in the meadows on their way, and Hade took advantage of that to get a good meal. On day two of his and Conan's travels, Hade finally took the time to push his bone back into place, and with the help of his companion, they were able to tie it together with cobwebs, as he'd seen Farren do. It didn't look as good as hers did, but it was better than leaving it open. The leg was feeling better, but Hade was still cautious not to put weight on it.

Now, the two had stopped at the end of the wood. In front of them were hills, zig-zagging with a small river. A branch of the one that had carried Hade here. Conan told the Lupus that the river was called Carnborough Creek. The buck seemed to be growing more comfortable day by day as they ranged further from the other pack.

Hade padded beyond their camp in the woods and sat beside the river beneath the moonlight, dark gray fur in stark contrast to the light grass and small purple and white flowers. He saw a minnow swim by and batted at the water. It shot off with a waggle of its tail. He wondered if he could hunt a fish. It couldn't be too hard, right?

Then, a voice broke his concentration.

The pup's neck straightened, and he looked around, trying to triangulate the location of the sound. Multiple voices spoke, and then there was a short, snorting laugh.

He stood and started padding toward the voices, then stopped and looked back into the trees, thinking once again of Conan's many warnings. The wolf shook his head. It'll be fine. I'll be careful.

Keeping his senses alert, Hade trotted past the hills, dodging around the hills. When the voices came again, much closer, he dropped onto his belly, green eyes wide. His pelt rippled with the breeze as it shifted directions.

While he started to creep forward again, he suddenly heard a small growl, then felt a weight drop on his shoulders like a tree. Hade failed to stifle a yelp as he felt his leg smack painfully into the ground. He tried to slip away, but his attacker dug its claws in deep. He felt breath tickle his fur tear and tried to pull away. "Be still," the voice snarled in his ear, "unless you want to lose some fur, loner."

"I'm not a loner." He puffed, but fell still as more paws came scrabbling around the corner. The attacker said nothing. When the clouds shifted to shed narrow moonlight down, Hade could see four wolves. They looked strong and healthy. The one in the front was a white and black wolf; behind him, a black-and-brown wolf. The other two were different patterns of gray, brown, and black.

They made a circle around him, then the white wolf barked. "You can let him go, Veya." The weight lifted off of him, and he turned around to see a light brown wolf slip into the line among her packmates. Hade's heard pounded with adrenaline and his muscles tensed in preparation to run. But he would never escape from them with his injury. Just don't be stupid and you might live to see another sunrise. "We've been following you, loner."

Hade pressed his ears back. These were the wolves he had been scavenging from. "More like we've been following each other." He said, embarrassed at how small his voice sounded. "And I'm not a loner."

The white wolf looked around coolly, then faced Hade again. "I don't see a pack with you."

I have Conan... but that wouldn't be wise to say right now. "We... got separated." Hade said defensively, hackles rising with nervous tension. "I'm trying to get back to them."

These wolves glanced at each other. "There are no packs near here. The Pack of the Pine Belt lives in this valley alone."

"My pack is far away." Hade snapped. "And I need to get back to them as soon as possible."