The Silver Wolf

Chapter 1

I tried very hard, in small snatches of time here and there, to decipher the writing in the book.

I discovered that the two-footer's gimwa, or name, was Damere, possibly spoken as Duh-meer.

Damere was a skilled hunter, and a long honored pelt-taker.

I growled as I read that.

Pelt-takers, the evil two-footers who had long ago caught and killed many of our clan members, including one of my cubs, Rurha.

Barely a year old, my beloved moilen, my child, was one of the few cubs who went out beyond the boundaries of the pack camp. I did not worry much, for he always came back at sun-fall. But one day, he did not come back.

My Rurha, along with Bruhlo and Sutme, the 1st tier chief's sons, were among the few that disappeared that day.

Only after three pairs of trackers set out to find them, did we find what fate they had met.

All three cubs, having disappeared not more than 20 minutes before they would have come home, were snared, skinned and taken away, leaving only corpses behind.

Many a night's, wailing could be heard, coming from the direction of Katona's cave, where the chief and his mate were grieving.

I also grieved, but I did not do so openly. Instead of taking precious time to shed tears for something that could not be helped, I only increased my usefulness to the clan, taking on twice the workload, and stepping up where the clan was lacking in helpers.

Make no mistake, I loved my Rurha dearly, he was my only son, the sister of my daughter Kitsu, but I could not help him, for he had already moved on, into the Beyond. Never shall any of my offspring enter into the Void. As long as I am there to stop it, I will.

On my life.