Secrets of the Wolves Read online

  Reluctantly, I stayed where I was. Once Ruuqo made up his mind about something he was immovable. I hoped he wouldn’t die for it. If the Greatwolves had indeed come to kill, we wouldn’t stand a chance against them, even with all five of us in the fight. I was glad that Yllin, Minn, and Werrna had stayed with the snow deer. They, and perhaps Ázzuen and Marra, might still live if they could flee the valley before the Greatwolves found them.

  Trevegg whispered to Ruuqo as the crashing sounds closed in on us, and both of them looked back at me. Then all three adult wolves went completely still as Jandru and Frandra burst into the clearing, glaring at me with such fury that my legs almost gave out beneath me. An instant later, five more Greatwolves stormed into Wood’s Edge behind them, trampling the thick juniper bushes that made it such a secure gathering place. These wolves were strangers to me and were breathing hard, as if they had run a long distance very quickly. They looked as big as rock bears. Greatwolves are only half again as large as ordinary wolves, but these seemed so much bigger. They all had their ruffs puffed out and their backfur raised.

  “As if they needed to do anything to look intimidating.” Ázzuen sidled up beside me, breathing hard. I could’ve bitten his ears off. He should have been safely away, not here where he could be killed. His appearance made me realize afresh what I had done—endangered those I cared most about by acting so rashly. I glowered at him, trying to push him away from danger with my gaze.

  “The humans are safe. Your girl and the raven made them leave,” he said, deliberately misinterpreting my expression, “and Marra is watching to make sure they don’t come back.”

  “Get out of here!” I hissed at him. But it was too late. The Greatwolves were advancing on us, growling. Three pulled their lips back over long, sharp teeth. One of them laughed.

  Ruuqo rumbled deep in his throat, striding forward to answer the threat, Trevegg and Rissa immediately at his side. Ázzuen, Unnan, and I stood just behind them. I felt my own backfur lift and my throat tighten around a growl. Ruuqo and Trevegg took two more steps forward. Rissa, less able to fight because of her sore ribs, stayed one pace behind them. All three of them lowered their heads and raised their hindquarters. It was the best strategy for a wolf faced with a much larger opponent, to attack from below. There was a time when it would be unthinkable for a smallwolf to attack a Greatwolf. But that was before they had lied to us. That was before they came to our homesite prepared to kill us.

  For a long, tense moment, we stood facing them. Then Rissa pushed past Ruuqo and Trevegg, hiding the soreness in her ribs with a stiff-legged gait.

  “What is it you wish of us, Lordwolves?” she asked formally. I could see the quivering of her white-furred flanks and the tension in her tail, kept low in deference to the Greatwolves. I could see what a struggle it was for her to keep it from tucking completely between her legs, which was where mine certainly was.

  Jandru and Frandra stalked forward to stand just paws-widths from Rissa, Ruuqo, and Trevegg.

  “Idiot pup,” Jandru snarled, looking past the adult wolves to me.

  “We should let them chew a piece out of your hide,” Frandra hissed.

  I couldn’t even swallow. I tried to fill my lungs and found I couldn’t. All I could do was stand there, waiting for Frandra and Jandru to lead the attack against us. Instead, after sending one more disgusted look in my direction, they turned to face the other Greatwolves, standing with us against them.

  Rissa whuffed in surprise, and Trevegg and Ruuqo stopped growling for an instant before beginning again.

  Jandru spoke to a female wolf who stood just in front of the others. “What do you want with a wolf under our protection, Milsindra?” he demanded. “You know that Swift River belongs to us.”

  The wolf called Milsindra was a tall, lean, light brown Greatwolf with dark flecks in her pale eyes. “If they belong to you,” she said, “you should keep better control over them. Your inability to do so threatens every wolf in the valley.” Her eyes flicked from us to Frandra and Jandru and back again, measuring our strength. She dipped her head to the male wolf who stood closest to her, and they, along with the three Greatwolves behind them, began to stalk forward, their lips pulled so far back I could see every tooth in their mouths. I felt the wolves around me tense, readying themselves for the attack.

  Then Milsindra froze. Her ears twitched and her nose quivered as she looked toward the eastern entrance of Wood’s Edge. Greatwolves have a better sense of smell than we do. I followed her gaze.

  An eighth huge wolf was making his way to Wood’s Edge, more slowly than the others, his steps heavy and deliberate. Every wolf in the clearing, Greatwolf and smallwolf alike, fell silent, watching as an old, gaunt Greatwolf emerged from the junipers just to the right of Milsindra and her followers. Zorin dru, the ancientwolf who led the Greatwolves of the Wide Valley, walked calmly into Wood’s Edge, as if he had come to our gathering place for a visit. He looked curiously at the moist, soft dirt, the smooth rocks, at the thick junipers and tall pines and, at last, at the five Greatwolves who threatened us. He cocked his head, as if surprised to find them there.

  “Milsindra,” the ancientwolf said in a voice that sounded like twigs breaking underfoot, “did I not ask you to wait for me?”

  Milsindra took two quick steps back. I don’t know how Zorindru did it. He was old, older than Trevegg, who had lived nine winters. Zorindru had been old when Trevegg’s father led the Swift River pack. Milsindra and her followers were all wolves in their prime. But just a lift of his grizzled lip made the other Greatwolves cower like scolded pups. I could hear my packmates’ muscles loosening: Rissa’s shoulder blades releasing down her back, Ruuqo’s chest relaxing. Next to me, Ázzuen let out a whuff of air that ruffled the fur on my muzzle. My throat slackened, and I sucked in a great gulp of air.

  Milsindra shook herself once. Then, as if to make up for cringing away from Zorindru, she growled at him.

  “It’s our right to be here,” she said. “We were promised that we could see for ourselves.”

  “See what?” a voice croaked from above. Tlitoo peered down at us from a low branch of a pine tree, directly above Milsindra. In one foot he held a good-size stone. In a bend between two branches, he had stacked several others. “Have you not seen wolves before? They are everywhere in the valley.”

  “To see this pup,” Milsindra snapped, keeping a wary eye on Tlitoo. “This arrogant pup who breaks all the rules and is rewarded for it.”

  “So see her,” Zorindru said. His eyes found me just behind Trevegg’s rump. “Come forward, youngwolf.”

  Even as I trembled in fear, I found myself pleased to be addressed as a youngwolf rather than a pup. Ázzuen pressed against me and quickly touched his nose to my face. Ruuqo dipped his head to me and moved slightly to the side, allowing me to step past him.

  “That’s her?” Milsindra said with unflattering disbelief. She turned her tawny head to Zorindru. “You want us to entrust our future to that scrap of wolf?”

  “That scrap of wolf stopped a battle you said couldn’t be stopped,” Zorindru said. “And the council has agreed to give her a year to find a way for the humans and wolves of the valley to live peacefully together. You know that, Milsindra.”

  “I didn’t agree. I would never agree to let an aberrant, mixed-blood wolf take on the task that belongs to the Greatwolves. She’ll destroy everything we’ve worked for!” She lowered her head and pulled back her lips. Three of the four wolves who stood with her growled. I could sense Ruuqo, Rissa, and Trevegg tensing up behind me.

  “Enough!” Zorindru said. “You are part of the council, Milsindra, and thus bound by its rules. Unless you wish to challenge me? Here and now?”

  Milsindra shifted from paw to paw. For a moment it looked like she might actually attack him. Then the Greatwolf standing next to her, the one who had not growled with the others, shoved Milsindra with his hip, glaring at her out of the corner of his eye. He was as tall as Milsindra and stockier, with
fur almost as light as Rissa’s.

  “We only want what’s best for wolfkind,” he said, his voice conciliatory, his tail held low. “It’s too risky to entrust the humans to smallwolves. Especially to one half grown.” He paused. “And especially to one that is known to be unlucky. This pup is dangerous.”

  A stone fell from above, landing just to the right of the Greatwolf’s head. He jumped, then looked up at Tlitoo, who held another stone ready in his foot. Tlitoo raised his wings enough that I could just glimpse the white crescent on the underside of his left wing and quorked at the Greatwolf.

  “Every raven knows

  Gruntwolves talk more than they think

  Fine. Their heads are hard.”

  Someone behind me laughed. I looked quickly at Zorindru. He was watching the male Greatwolf steadily.

  “Thank you, Kivdru,” he said to the Greatwolf who had spoken. “I’m glad you’re considering the risks of your actions.”

  Kivdru lowered his eyes.

  The Greatwolf Jandru, who had been silent since Zorindru entered the clearing, stepped forward. I held my breath. He and Frandra, as the Greatwolves responsible for the Swift River pack, were accountable for our actions. They had stood with us against the other Greatwolves. But that didn’t mean they wouldn’t turn against us, as they had at autumn’s end.

  “You know we have to do something, Kivdru,” he said. “I don’t like using this pup any more than you do. She’s reckless and disrespectful. But the humans no longer listen to our ambassadors, and we must find another way to remind them that they are part of the natural world and not creatures apart from all others.”

  “As we have discussed all winter!” Zorindru snapped. “It may be the only way to protect the Balance. If Kaala can succeed, we will have made some progress with the humans. If she fails, we are no worse off than before. We have nothing to lose by trying.”

  “We have everything to lose!” Milsindra snapped back. I was glad that Zorindru stood between me and her teeth. “You know that it is the Greatwolves who are supposed to watch over the humans! You know that, Zorindru.” There was a challenge in her gaze when she stared at the ancient Greatwolf, as if she was daring him to say or do something. This time, it was Zorindru who shifted uncomfortably. When he said nothing, Milsindra gave a small, satisfied grunt. Something had been communicated between the two of them, and I didn’t know what. Behind me, Ázzuen whuffed impatiently, as he did when he wanted to ask a question about something and couldn’t.

  “We are the ones to guard the humans,” Milsindra continued. “It is unacceptable to let weak-willed smallwolves take the task. As for this pup, for all we know she is the one come to destroy us all, and we anger the Ancients by letting her live, much less giving her power.”

  I cringed. From the time of my birth, many wolves believed I might be a wolf of legend, born to either save or destroy wolfkind. It was because of my mixed blood. For generations, the Greatwolves had forbidden Wide Valley wolves from mating with wolves from outside the valley. They wanted us to keep our bloodlines pure because they were trying to breed smallwolves that were not drawn to the humans. Every few years they would allow a Wide Valley wolf to mate outside the valley so that our bloodlines would remain strong and we would not have deformed pups, but no wolf could do so without their permission. My father was an Outsider wolf, and my mother did not have permission to have pups with him. It was why Ruuqo had killed my littermates and banished my mother. The legends tell us that someday a mixed-blood wolf will be born to be wolfkind’s savior or its destroyer, and that the mixed-blood wolf will have the mark of the crescent moon upon it. I have just such a mark, with the bottom of the moon beginning near the top of my forelegs and the top opening up to my face. It’s not an unusual mark for a wolf, but all wolves with such a mark are carefully watched. That mark, along with my mixed blood, was why Frandra and Jandru had saved me—and why some Greatwolves still wanted me dead.

  Milsindra glared at the ancientwolf and pawed the dirt.

  “It’s stupid, Zorindru, and much too risky.”

  I looked at her in amazement. I couldn’t believe she had just called her leaderwolf stupid.

  “I have heard your concerns, Milsindra, and yours, Kivdru,” Zorindru said. “Which is why the council has agreed to your conditions. But the decision stands. You have seen this young-wolf. I’ve respected your wishes in this. Now return to your territories, or else challenge my leadership and accept the consequences.”

  Milsindra averted her gaze from Zorindru’s and glared at me. “I think you’re trouble, youngwolf,” she said. “I think we should kill you now and save ourselves the trouble of doing so later and cleaning up the mess you leave behind.”

  She raised her chin to Zorindru. “She must meet all of the conditions, Zorindru, or you will have your challenge.” Her gaze, when it returned to me, was sly. “We will see how things work when you really spend time with your humans.”

  She shook her head hard, then turned and strode out of the clearing, followed by the four Greatwolves who had stood with her against Zorindru. I was watching Zorindru’s face when I heard an angry yelp and turned to see a stone bounce off Milsindra’s rump. She snarled up into the trees where Tlitoo stood preening his wings. He cocked his head at Milsindra. She growled, but when Tlitoo picked up another stone, she stalked off into the woods.

  It seemed that even the trees breathed a sigh of relief when the angry Greatwolves left the clearing. My legs decided they’d held me up long enough. I sat down hard.

  “What was that about?” Rissa asked, staring after the Greatwolves. “Even Milsindra is not usually as bad-tempered as that.”

  Frandra stretched and stalked over to a pine stump we used as a lookout spot and leapt upon it. “It’s about your youngwolf not knowing when to follow orders,” the Greatwolf said. “I thought you taught your pups better, Rissa.”

  Zorindru spoke before Rissa could respond to Frandra’s insult. “Milsindra and Kivdru would have caused trouble sooner or later. Still, you should have waited for us, Kaala. Had I not been nearby, Milsindra could have caused your pack real harm. She could have killed your packmates.”

  “I heard that you’d changed your minds,” I said.

  Unexpectedly, Zorindru opened his jaws in a huge smile. “Yes,” he said, “the ravens will have told you that. You would think that I would have learned by now to look in the trees before I discuss anything I wish to keep secret.”

  Tlitoo left his perch and glided down to land in front of me. He stood facing Zorindru, his head just below my chin. It was where he stood when he thought I needed defending.

  “It is what you said,” he quorked.

  “Yes, it is,” the Greatwolf answered. “You did not, however, wait to hear all that we said. Your flight was too hasty.”

  Tlitoo croaked an insult. Zorindru shot him the same quelling glance that had so intimidated Milsindra. Tlitoo blinked back at him, unimpressed. The old Greatwolf laughed.

  “Very well,” he said. “I will tell you what you would have learned if Kaala had come to us this morning as she should have.”

  Zorindru stretched, and I heard his old joints pop. Ruuqo and Rissa quickly stepped forward to guide him to the best resting spot in our gathering place, a soft mound of earth next to the pine stump Frandra had claimed. Frandra quickly jumped down from the stump so that she would not be standing above her leaderwolf. She sat to one side of Zorindru, and Jandru stood on the other, as if protecting the ancient Greatwolf. Tlitoo took over Frandra’s perch on the stump. When the rest of us had settled uneasily around them, Zorindru watched me for a long moment, and then spoke.

  “What I did not know at autumn’s end, Kaala, was the effect your actions would have on the Greatwolf council. When you stopped the battle at Tall Grass, and when I convinced the council to give you a year to keep the peace, it helped Milsindra win more wolves over to her side.”

  When he hesitated, Jandru spoke up. I couldn’t miss the resentment in hi
s voice.

  “Most on the council already believed you smallwolves incapable of taking on responsibility for the humans. They believe that you are certain to fail, and that when you do, it will be disastrous for wolfkind.”

  “You promised!” Tlitoo said, interrupting the Greatwolf. “You promised you would give the smallwolves one year. Now you renege. Now you change your minds. It is not fair.

  “What Gruntwolves say and

  What they do are not the same

  Always, they tell lies!”

  Jandru and Frandra growled up at the raven. He picked up a twig in his beak and spat it at them.

  “The Greatwolf council is twenty wolves strong, plus myself, raven,” Zorindru said tiredly. “I do not rule over them completely, and Milsindra and Kivdru have coveted my position as leader since my mate died eight winters past.” The sadness that flitted across the oldwolf’s face made me lower my eyes. When I looked up again, Zorindru’s face was impassive. Jandru and Frandra eyed Tlitoo with contempt.

  “Milsindra has spent the winter feeding the council’s fear,” Zorindru said so calmly I thought I must have imagined his distress. “She has convinced many of them that my mind is weakening, and that I can no longer be trusted with the responsibility for the Wide Valley wolves and their role in the fate of wolfkind.”

  “I do not find your mind to be weak,” Tlitoo said. He hopped down from the stump to stand next to the Greatwolves, hesitated for a moment, then reached up to draw his beak through the fur on Zorindru’s chest. I’d never heard a raven apologize to anyone. I thought that this might be the closest I’d ever get.

  “Thank you, my friend,” Zorindru said gravely. Rissa coughed a laugh. Tlitoo flipped back his wings and leapt back up on the watch-stump. From there, he hissed at Frandra and Jandru and glared around the gathering place.

  Zorindru continued. “Milsindra’s followers are neither strong enough nor certain enough to challenge me at this time, nor can they force me to deny the promise the council has made.”