Hidden by the Mountain

Chapter 6, Traces of Existence

Chapter 6, Traces of Existence

Kamatz awoke and stretched early the next morning and found himself alone in the den. He assumed Salena had taken them for a walk around the mountain to explore. With one last stretch he left the den and discovered that the elk was gone as well. They must have eaten it and discarded the bones.

            He went over to the cliff edge and saw all of the wolves sitting there looking around at the lightened world.

            “There are my favorite wolves!” Kamatz said.

            Immediately all of the pups charged towards him and all tried to bring him to the ground, eventually succeeding.

            “I was just telling them that they might be able to watch you hunt in a little while,” Salena said. “If that’s fine by you?” she added.

            “Of course,” Kamatz said as all of the pups cheered.

            He looked around and saw that they seemed pretty hungry and not quite as full as they should be. Kamatz Flicked his tail in a signal that they should follow him, and was glad that they did.

            Soon enough they came across a fresh prey scent. Kamatz sniffed to be able to see which direction it was leading to.

            “Why don’t you give the pups a chance to find the herd?” Salena suggested as she came up behind them.

            “Good idea.” Kamatz looked at the pups for a moment before adding, “Sniff the air and see if you can’t find the herd of deer.

            Ryker, of all the other pups, seemed to be the only one to distinguish the scent. “This way!” he howled as he raced off in the direction of the scent. The others quickly followed.

            “There!” Brayan pointed with his nose.  The pups stared in awe at a large herd of bison.

            Kamatz never hunted bison before, he was eager to try it. Then he thought about what should be done with the pups.

            Salena noticed his gaze and said, “They’re old enough to stay put when they need to. Can we try a hunting technique that wolf packs usually use?”

            “Not if it makes us travel into another pack’s territory, costs too much time, or leaves our pups to be trampled,” Kamatz said, soon seeing her head slump in disappointment.

            Kamatz licked her muzzle affectionately before saying, “You have an equally important job, taking care of the pups. I’ll kill the biggest buffalo I can find to feed us.”

            With that, Kamatz went out to hunt. He left the others behind as he walked up to the herd, still hidden enough behind trees and bushes that they didn’t notice him. He looked over the heard for the biggest and most filling buffalo. He saw dozens of calves and their mothers. He saw a decent number of bulls and finally saw one that was huge. A little less than twice his size!

            Kamatz took his chance and leaped into the heard, sending all of the buffalo fleeing. He jumped onto the giant bull’s back and tore its spinal cord, killing it instantly. Then he saw a flicker of black and saw the alpha male from the Moonlight Shadows pack run by, apparently not seeing Kamatz.

            Kamatz watched the alpha as he chased after a tiny little calf, too small to feed more that a few wolves. The white wolf laughed and dragged his own kill back to his mate and pups. Together they silently ate while they watched the other wolves struggle against the mother to kill the calf. For a fraction of a second, he locked eyes with one of the wolves, even though all they would be able to see were probably his eyes. But the wolf glanced away as the other alpha called to her.