Wolf Queen - Book 1 of The Nightfall Series

One

The earth beneath her feet was damp with the remnants of the day's rainfall. Moss and dirt sticking to the underneath of her feet as she walked the dense forest that surrounded her. Fog clung to the ground and tickled her bare legs as she walked. The cold unable to cause a shiver against her skin.

She let her fingertips brush over leaves and the bark of the surrounding trees as she continued walking. Marking her scent as she went. Staking her claim.

It wasn't long before the forest began to melt away and she found herself on her usual cliffside, overlooking the vastness of her territory. The rock beneath her feet felt rough against her bare soles as she couched down. Her knuckles resting against the natural surface as she used her other hand to trail along each crevice and curve of the stone.

She looked out at the lake as she did this, breathing in the view. Her mind at peace. Eyes wandering as her ears picked up every sound.

A herd of deer in the glen.

A red kite searching for prey as it soared over the forest.

A howl piercing the evening air.

Her ears perked up as she listened to it echo around the valley, bouncing off the mountains, as she blew out a breath.

She had been gone too long.

She stood to her full height and stretched out her limbs, relishing in the feeling of her muscles removing any stiffness from her body. The cool air caressing her skin as it blew softly against her.

She breathed in, picking up on the scents of her territory again. The scent of the pack was strong in the air. From her position she could see the heart of her territory, deeply set into the dense forest that carpeted the west side of the mountain below her. Smoke rose from in between the thick douglas fir trees and curled into the sky while the smell of cooking food drifted on the air.

Turning away from her view with a sigh she jumped from her perch. Earth exploded around her as she landed and rained down in her wake as she took off. Muscles pulling and stretching as she lunged over fallen trees and large roots. Dirt squelching between her toes as she let her body's natural instincts run free.

Her advanced agility allowed her to break through to her destination within minutes, slowing to a walk as her breathing evened out from its slight hitch. Heads lifted as she walked past, and she dipped her own in acknowledgement. Their pack was vast with hefty numbers, but the Highlands had been good to them, and they had kept to themselves for over twenty years.

They had lived off the land the goddess had provided for them.

Their homes were built from stone from the mountain, and they hunted the prey within the valley while growing their own food. No power of any sort, just as nature was intended. They had maintained and improved what had been originally built by her ancestors and had it had been a sanctuary since their retreat from the world.

It was a hard lifestyle but their fire and will stayed strong despite harsh environment

Her home was central to the pack, for protection, and built of both wood and stone. Stilts rose from the ground to support the wooden extension that guarded the stone caves carved into the mountain face. A fire flicked from where it sat outside like many others and a seat carved from the trunk of a white oak tree sat behind it, facing north. You could feel the power in the air from the communal space. They all gathered here to celebrate and mourn as one and the bond between them was only breakable by death.

A bond that was a blessing and a curse.

Her fingers drifted over the soft fur of a deer hide left to dry as she approached the fire and the man that tended it. Her mind drifting as she walked, the noise of the pack like white noise to her ears.