The Lone Wolf

Chapter 26: Peeta

I wake up as I feel the soft black pelt of Katniss' wolf, Taylor, move away from me. I look up to see her stretch, give herself a thorough shake and walk out of the den. Its almost painful to see her, knowing Katniss isn't really there in the truest sense. That its the part of her that isn't my mate but Troyal's. He keeps trying to fight me for control, wanting to be with her. But if I'm ever going to get Katniss back, I can't let that happen.

I'm interrupted from my thoughts when I hear paw stepsister across the stone floor and look behind me to see Darkstorm, Taylor's Beta. He carries the entire leg from some kind deer or elk in his jaws and lays it in front of me. He pushes it forward with his paw and dips his head to me.

"The hunters just brought in a kill," he says. "I thought we could share, maybe get to know each other." I stand and limp over to the leg and sit down. Darkstorm looks at me expectantly, as though he senses my rank and won't dare eat before me. After I tear off a chunk of the leg, he settles down to eat.

"So what's the deal with the leg?" he asks, not even trying to talk around it. I look up to see nothing but genuine curiosity in his green eyes.

"It's a long story," I say.

"I've got time," he replies.

"Do you know about what your alpha is?" I ask him, wondering how much Taylor has told him about how she came to be in the situation we are in.

"Yes," he says. "She told me about Katniss and about you. You are the human, right?"

"Yes," I say. "Although Troyal keeps growling in my ear to let him in control."

"It must be weird," he says. "A paw in each world."

"I cope," I say. "It's normal for me."

"I guess," he says. "But you were saying."

"The night I met Katniss was the first night she shifted into a wolf, so long story short, we went for a run to burn off her new found energy," I say. "And that's when a gang of rouges attacked us. Two males, two females. The females went after Katniss and while one of the males pinned me down, the other one tore my leg to shreds. We were lucky a border patrol came when it did or we would have been dead meat."

"Did you get rid of them?" he asks. "Or do you let rouges go around and do that in your territory?" I look at him and he bows his head. I guess I can't be mad at him for being curious.

"All but one are dead," I say. "The last was Cato. It was later we learned his connection to Katniss and that he was only following the orders of an evil one who had his pregnant mate hostage."

"That's quite the story," Darkstorm says as I finish.

"I guess it's something to tell Rain when she gets older," I say.

"Who is Rain?" he asks.

"Katniss and my daughter," I say. "She'd be nearly three months old now."

"I know how it would be to be separated from Owleyes and our pups," he says. "It must be hard for you. For both of you."

"You and Owleyes have pups?" I ask. He nods proudly.

"Willowpad and Treepad," he says. "They became apprentices about two moons ago."

"I've met Treepad," I say. "He's Hollyberry's apprentice, right?" He nods.

"And our daughter is being trained by one of the senior warriors, Fallowgrass," he says. "A medicine wolf and a warrior out of the same litter. We are very proud."

"Your way of life is very different than ours," I say. "But I must say, it is quite organized and admirable."

"It is how we live," he says. "I wouldn't have it any other way." I nod and he stands. "I'm sorry but I'm due to lead a border patrol."

"That's fine, I understand," I say. "It was nice talking with you Darkstorm."

"And you too Peeta," he says. "I hope out differences don't change us and that in time, we can be friends."

"I hope that too," I say as he dips his head to me as he walks away. After a moment, I walk out of the den and blink at the sunlight. In the daylight, the ruins of the Miner's Seam that these wolves have turned into their camp is breath taking. There are apprentices and warriors milling around as Darkstorm organizes patrols and a couple of elders stretched out to enjoy the morning sun. I hear tiny little barks and turn my head as I see three little pups crawl out of a dug out den followed by their snow white mother who trots over to share some of the fresh kill with a male that is most likely her mate. The three pups tumble around the clearing, fighting little play battles. As the get closer to the foot of the rocks that form Taylor's den, I can hear their chatter clearly.

"Feel my teeth you coyote scum!" the middle sized pup says as he leaps after his tiny silver sister.

"Deerpup, stop!" she squeals. "I don't want to play like that." Deerpup doesn't listen, crouching down to fling himself after her when the largest of the three, a grey black female, pins his brown haunches to the ground with her forepaws.

"Leave Shiningpup alone," she says. "She doesn't want to play so roughly. If you want to pick on someone, pick on me." Deerpup growls and turns on his larger sister.

"Why do you think you are the boss Starlingpup?" he asks. "I'm just as big as you." As the fluffy little pups continue to argue, Taylor walks up and sits next to me.

"It's fun to watch them isn't it," she says. "I swear, that little she-wolf has more sense than some of the full grown warriors sometimes. She'll be quite the warrior when the time comes. If we are still around when it's time, I think I'll give her Darkstorm as a mentor. She could be leader one day and the wisdom he could teacher will come in handy." Her words give me unease. She's almost saying that we won't be going home.

"Has she stirred at all," I ask and she sighs.

"A little," she says. "She's slowly getting stronger. But as I said, slowly. I don't know how long it will take for her to be strong enough to take control. We could be here for many moons."

"We can't be gone for too long," I say. "Gale can't hold down the fort forever."

"I don't know how long," she admits. "I just know it takes a long time." I watch as she lays her head on her paws, releasing a silent sigh as she looks at the pack below us. As I watch her, I become uneased again and it's not just because of Katniss' slow recovery. Instead another question runs through my mind.

How could we ever go home if Taylor is already so attached to the pack?