“Yes,” Tyson replied. “But it’s only agrouse.”
David chuffed and walked in a different direction, leaving Tyson. “A bird won’t feed the pack. Tryagain.”
Dejected, Tyson stalked back to his side. Out of all of us, he was the youngest alpha at twenty-two. Although he was an adult in every sense of the word, the hunting guild sometimes treated him like a kid. David did it the most - since he was the oldest at forty - but even I was guilty of it as well. But since meeting Casey, a paternal feeling awoke in me. I didn’t want to see Tyson look so sad - I would rather encourage him than put himdown.
I padded up tohim.
“Don’t take David’s words to heart,” I said. “He’s just grumpy because we haven’t found anythingyet.”
Tyson nodded. “Thanks,Flint.”
Jericho joined in with a shrug. “Hell, I’m so hungry right now even I’d eat a grouse. Don’t sweatit.”
We spread out a bit to search the area. Indigo Mountain was surrounded by thick, dense woodlands. It provided a natural barrier against the other packs. In the past it served as a defense to slow down would-be attackers, but nowadays it was just a hunting ground. Pack wars were a thing of the past - there hadn’t been one since before I was born. Only David was old enough to recall the last war thirty yearsago.
Good riddance, I thought. Wars were a waste of time and energy, and a source of needless bloodshed. I was glad Indigo Mountain was a peacefulpack.
“Heads up,” Jericho announced through the party’s telepathic connection. “I smellbuck.”
That perked us all up. A big buck was exactly what we needed right now, especially with winter coming up soon. That would feed quite a few families. The more meat in the pack, thebetter.
Especially with Charlie’s new baby on the way, I thought with a spark ofexcitement.
Although Jericho could be a wily trickster, he was the best tracker in the hunting guild. We all followed his lead. He told us the scent came from the river at the base of themountain.
The ground sloped down underneath my paws as I followed Jericho through the trees. The forest floor was littered with dead leaves. Autumn had gripped the forest. Above my head, cold leafless branches stretched through the canopy like dark fingers. It was almostspooky.
Jericho’s tail shot up, signalling us to stop. He scented the air again and I saw his hacklesraise.
“There it is ahead,” he toldus.
We followed his gaze to where the huge buck stood twenty feet below us. His head was lowered to drink from the river. He wasn’t paying attention; he had no clue we werehere.
“Fan out,”I toldthem.
As quietly as possible all of the hunting party spread out, weaving through the trees like a threaded needle. We took our positions, head lowered and muscles ready to spring. Jericho was leading, since he was the one to find the prey. We all awaited hissignal.
He slowly inched forward. Then his eyesflashed.
“Now!” hecalled.
Instantly we all exploded from our hiding places. The buck’s head shot up. His eyes were wide in bewilderment. He sprang up from the river, panicked, and made a break for it. But the wolves were too fast. Jericho was there first - he launched into the air and landed on the buck, pushing it off balance. As the deer flailed on the ground, the rest of us movedin.
I delivered a swift, decisive bite to its neck. The buck diedinstantly.
I sighed and momentarily leaned back from the buck’s body. “I thank the Moon for this prey and itssacrifice.”
Everyone was in higher spirits now that we’d made our first kill. I helped haul it onto Ken’s back. He was a big, strong wolf and could carry the enormous buck withease.
“Good work everyone,” I said. “And good find,Jericho.”
He grinned a big toothy grin. “Gee, thanks, dad,” he saidplayfully.
I rolled my eyes and muttered, “Just because I might become a dad soon doesn’t mean you can call methat.”
Everyone gasped and turned to me. Tyson was apparently so surprised that he instantly shifted back to humanform.
“What?” he cried, his face shocked and awed. “You’re gonna be adad?”
