Secrets of the Wolves (20 page)

“You should watch who you threaten, human pup,” Jandru grumbled. But I could see he was trying not to laugh at how small and weak TaLi looked with her rock. If he’d seen how TaLi threw stones, I thought, he might not be so amused.

“It is safe, child,” NiaLi said. She reached out to the girl. TaLi stayed where she was, but she did lower the hand holding the rock.

“There is some trouble in the human homesite,” Trevegg said. TaLi, of course, could not understand him, but NiaLi looked sharply at the girl. I had almost forgotten why we had come to speak to the old woman in the first place.

“What is happening at the Lin village, TaLi?” NiaLi demanded.

TaLi spilled out her story. She was shaking when she told NiaLi that HuLin was going to insist that she not become krianan, and that he favored DavRian. I crossed the dwelling to press myself against her. She dropped her rock and clutched my fur.

“She must come to the wolves, Nia,” Jandru said to the old woman. “If she doesn’t, it will be one more reason for the council to mistrust the humans. It will allow Milsindra to say that Kaala has failed.”

“She will come,” the old woman said. “There have been those who wish to ignore the krianans’ teachings since I was a child. Lin tribe has been divided for at least that long.”

“It’s gotten worse,” Jandru said. “You know it has.”

“Yes,” NiaLi said, “I do. So we will find a new way. If the Lin tribe sees that the wolves do as TaLi asks them, and thus bring the tribe to more successful hunts, it will help. We will find a way to keep the krianans’ promise.”

She spoke with confidence, but with weariness, too. Tlitoo flew from beneath my chest to stand in front of the old woman and ran his beak through the furs she nested in. Frandra leaned over to nuzzle NiaLi’s cheek. I whuffed in surprise. I never thought I’d see a Greatwolf show affection for a human. Frandra saw me watching her.

“You will get your pack to accept the humans today,” she ordered.

“Today?” I choked. That would give us only a few hours to convince the pack to allow the humans in our gathering place.

“It should be today,” NiaLi agreed. “If HuLin is angry enough, he can keep TaLi from going off on her own, and she will not be able to come to me.”

“Then it will be today,” Trevegg said with a confidence I envied. “We will prepare the pack for your arrival, NiaLi.” The oldwolf used the krianan’s name shyly. “It may take some time. Where will you wait for us?”

“At the poplar grove where TaLi leaves food for me,” the old woman said. “Silvermoon knows where it is.”

“Good,” Frandra said with a sharp dip of her head. “We will await word of your success or failure at the Stone Circle, and then decide what is next. You
will
come to us and involve us in the decisions, Kaala. If we have to come find you again, I’ll help Jandru throw you off that cliff.”

Tlitoo hissed at her. Frandra ignored him. She nosed NiaLi gently once more, then she and Jandru stomped out of the shelter.

When Trevegg pressed gently against me, I realized I was trembling.

“Don’t worry about Frandra,” Trevegg said. “She won’t do anything to you if she thinks you’re valuable to her.”

But it wasn’t Frandra’s harsh words that made my legs weak. Her anger was almost a relief. When I’d told the Greatwolves of our plan, they had spoken to me as if I were a wolf worthy of respect, as if my ideas might be worthwhile. I had wanted to be taken seriously, to have the Greatwolves support me. Their confidence should have made me feel strong. Instead, it made me feel like I was stepping off a cliff with nothing but my own fur to keep me from falling to the ground below.

I
followed Trevegg out of NiaLi’s home and into the sun, stumbling behind him until he stopped to drink at a stream not far from the shelter. Too queasy to drink any myself, I just watched as the oldwolf lapped at the water. Tlitoo landed beside the oldwolf and began bathing in the stream. When Trevegg finished drinking, he sat back and looked at me.

“Shouldn’t we howl to assemble the pack?” I asked.

“We should,” he said.

I waited for him to do so. He just sat there, watching me.

“It’s your gathering, Kaala,” he said at last. “It’s your howl.”

A thrill of excitement lifted the fur along my spine. I’d never howled to assemble the pack. Pups were not permitted to do so unless they needed help or were warning the pack of some danger. Howling to call together the pack was a privilege allowed only to adults and to youngwolves favored by the leaderwolves. My throat went as dry as if I had been running for miles in the hot summer sun. I gulped a huge mouthful of water from the stream, getting as much up my nose as down my throat, and had to sneeze several times before I could take a breath. Then I sat on the damp ground and closed my eyes. I took a deep breath. Then released it. Then opened my eyes. Trevegg and Tlitoo were still staring at me.

“Just howl, wolf,” Tlitoo grumbled. “You don’t have any trouble making noise other times.”

I took another breath and thought about what I wanted to share with my pack. I had to communicate that the gathering was urgent, without sounding disrespectful to my leaderwolves and without letting the other packs in the valley—or the Greatwolf council—know what we were doing.

I thought of TaLi and NiaLi and of my pack. I thought of wolves and humans coming together, of peace in the valley, and of the threats Milsindra had made. I closed my eyes and held the scents of my pack and of my humans in my mind and took one more breath. I bent back my head, opened my throat, and howled.

I was surprised at the resonance in my own voice. When I howled with the pack, my voice mixed with the voices of the Swift River wolves; I had not realized how resounding my own howl could be. After a few moments, Trevegg added his voice to mine, reinforcing my request to come together. Ruuqo answered almost immediately that the pack was at Fallen Tree and would wait for us there. Yllin howled to hurry up because she had something to tell us, and Ázzuen answered that he was on his way. Just like that I had called my first pack gathering.

When I opened my eyes and stood, I found I was no longer shaking and my stomach no longer roiled with tension. I met Trevegg’s eyes.

“Nicely done,” was all the oldwolf said, then set off in the direction of Fallen Tree.

“Finally,” Tlitoo quorked. He jabbed the ground in front of my feet. “I am going now,” he said.

“Wait,” I said. I wanted to know what had happened since I’d last seen him, why he was no longer so afraid.

“No,” he said, and took flight, leaving me to follow Trevegg back to Fallen Tree.

Yllin awaited us in a spruce grove not far from Fallen Tree. She greeted us both.

“I’m glad you’re here, elderwolf, Kaala,” she said. Her ears were pricked, her tail high. She gave off a scent of excitement mixed with apprehension.

“You’re leaving?” Trevegg asked.

“I’m leaving,” she said, with barely suppressed eagerness. “Demmen goes from the valley tonight and said he’d take me with him.”

“What? Where are you going?” I asked. I depended on Yllin, even more than I depended on Trevegg. I had counted on her to help me with the humans and the Greatwolves. She always said she wanted to be Swift River’s leaderwolf someday. I couldn’t believe she’d just leave.

“It’s nearly the Brightening Moon, furbrain,” she said good-naturedly, as if that should explain it. When she saw my baffled expression, she laughed. “Spring is coming, littlewolf, and Ruuqo and Rissa will be mating soon.”

“So?” I said. I knew that there would be new Swift River pups in a few more moons. It seemed to me that a strong youngwolf like Yllin would be invaluable to the pack when they arrived.

“So Yllin is too old to be here when Ruuqo and Rissa are mating,” Trevegg said. “She’s a strong female in her own right, and Rissa won’t want her here.”

“Even though she’s her daughter?” I asked.

“Yes,” Trevegg said. “It’s time. Male youngwolves leave as well. I wouldn’t be surprised if Minn left soon, too.”

That I didn’t mind. Minn was a bully. “What about Werr na?” I asked. “She stayed.” Too much was changing already. I didn’t want Yllin to leave.

“Werrna has chosen not to have pups and has agreed never to challenge Rissa’s leadership,” Trevegg answered. “That’s a promise Yllin can’t make. She’s too dominant, and if she stayed she would try to start a pack nearby and cause trouble. It’s wise of you to leave before Rissa has to send you away,” he said to Yllin. “She would hate that.”

“I do want my own pack,” Yllin said, “and the Greatwolves told me I could try to find an acceptable mate outside the valley. They said they want me to have pups and that they might allow me a mixed-blood litter.” Her voice was filled with pride. Wide Valley wolves were usually not allowed to mate outside the valley, because the Greatwolves wanted us to keep our bloodlines pure. But if we never mixed our blood with other wolves, our bloodlines weakened and we bore sickly pups. The Greatwolves chose only a few wolves to mate outside the valley. It didn’t surprise me they’d chosen Yllin. She was strong and would be a good leaderwolf.

“Will you come back?” I asked.

She drooped a little.

“That’s up to the Greatwolves. If they approve of the wolf I choose to have pups with they might let me return. I won’t know until then.” She shook herself. “But I’m not staying here doing nothing for the rest of my life, and there’s no wolf in the valley I want for my Lifemate. The only interesting one likes you, anyway, Kaala.”

“Oh, really?” Trevegg said, his ears pricking in interest.

“Pell of Stone Peak,” Yllin replied. “I don’t want Torell’s bloodline for my pups, so don’t worry, Kaala, I won’t compete with you for him.”

“I don’t want him,” I said, embarrassed. I didn’t know how I felt about Pell, but I certainly didn’t want to discuss it in front of old Trevegg.

Yllin gave me a skeptical look. “Anyway,” she said, “Demmen will show me the way and help me once we’re outside the valley. He says there is plenty of open territory and prey enough to support a new pack.” She couldn’t keep the excitement from her voice as she looked toward the mountains. Then she returned her gaze to us.

“I’d like to talk to Kaala for a moment, elderwolf, if it’s all right with you.”

“It is,” Trevegg said. Then he bent his grizzled muzzle to touch Yllin’s face. “I won’t see you again, Yllin, whether or not you return to the valley.”

Yllin blinked at him a few times and started to contradict him.

“It’s true, youngwolf,” Trevegg said softly. “It is the way of things.”

Yllin lowered herself all the way to the ground and lay at the oldwolf’s feet, looking up at him.

“You are Swift River wolf,” the oldwolf said, “and always will be. Carry with you into the world the values of Swift River.”

“I will,” she said, her voice barely a whisper. Trevegg licked her face and took her muzzle in his mouth. Then he trotted off toward Fallen Tree. Yllin watched his retreating form, stood, shook herself once, then spoke.

“I’ll try to find out about your mother for you, Kaala. If the Greatwolves let me back in the valley, I’ll come to you here. If not, I’ll look for you outside the valley.”

“I’ll be at the hill-rock Demmen told me about,” I said. “Ask him about it. He’ll know what I mean. I’ll get there by halfway through the Denning Moon.” I told her of our plan to succeed in spite of Milsindra’s determination that we fail.

“I knew you’d think of something,” she said with a smile, but her gaze returned to the distant mountains. “Either way, Kaala, I’ll try to find you. Of all of this year’s pups, I hope our trails cross again.”

“Thank you,” I said, feeling it was insufficient. She had given me confidence and strength when I was weak, she had stood up for me, time and time again.
I don’t think I would have made it through my first moons without you
, I wanted to say
.
But Marra and Ázzuen were the ones who were good with words. “I always wanted to be like you,” I managed.

She ducked her head. “You’ll find your own way,” she said. “You’ve already shown that. Your instincts are good, and other wolves follow you. Marra and Ázzuen are good allies, so don’t try to do everything alone.” She hesitated. “And don’t trust the Greatwolves, Kaala, even Jandru and Frandra, even Zorindru.” She looked over her shoulder and bent down to whisper to me. “Even Ruuqo and Rissa. They want what they think is best for Swift River, and that may not be best for you, or your humans. They’re your leaderwolves and you’ll want to believe in them. But be careful. Even if you don’t get romma. Even if you are an outcast, do what is best for you and those who follow you.”

Shocked, I just stared at her for several breaths. There are two kinds of wolves in the world. Those who have been granted romma, and those who have not. Romma is a scent mark given to a pup or youngwolf by her leaderwolves to prove that she has been accepted by her pack and granted full status as a grown wolf. A wolf who has been granted romma, even if she is a curl-tail, will get at least some food and protection from her pack. More than that, she gets a sense of belonging to a pack, of being part of a family. Even a wolf who runs without a pack is better off if she has been given romma. It’s a sign that her birthpack has found her acceptable, that she is a true wolf. A wolf without romma is an outcast, forever apart, forever alone. I had almost lost my chance to gain romma once; I wouldn’t risk it again.