Accompanied by ten large wolves, Baro returned to Zarkus, who was sitting at Kashar’s side. Zarkus nodded his head
in her direction. “This is Alpha Kashar and our daughter Silandi. These are my last remaining guards Kull, Reinor,
and Asoth. And over there is Melari, our nursemaid with our two surviving pups, Tween and Marslo. We have endured
a lot of hardships and suffered much loss to get here. We are grateful to Bailey for extending its graces upon us.”
Then he laid down and rested his head upon his forepaws. Baro and his men did the same, and he said, “I saw the small
deer you managed to pick off. Tomorrow we will bring a meal worthy of our guests, and once we feast, we will go to
the base of the Elshod River where you can drink and bathe.”
In the morning, Zarkus awoke to find the rest of his family still asleep. Baro and all but two of his soldiers,
who stood guard at the cave’s entrance, had already gone out to hunt. Normally his keen ears would have twitched
at the slightest sound, but Baro and his soldiers were trained in stealth and silence, as he knows from experience
with his own guard. He stood and stretched. Yawning, he walked over to the guards, amazed at the beauty of the
woods in the early morning’s glow. As he stepped once again onto its foreign soil, he heard a friendly voice, “Ah,
Alpha Zarkus! And right on time. We have just finished our hunt; you and the rest of your clan have fresh meat and
water awaiting you. Come, come.” Baro walked up beside him, seemingly out of thin air, smiled, and bowed down on
his forelegs. “My thanks cannot begin to express our gratitude.” Zarkus said, slightly nodding his head in acknowledgement,
“Let us wake the others.”
As if on cue, Kashar came up beside him, rubbing her cheeks against him. “Good morning, dear. I have awakened the
others. Am I to assume that they are waiting on us?” “Right as usual, my sweet. They have prepared a fresh kill,
Baro claims it will be enough to fill our starving bellies.” Zarkus said with a wink and a sly grin.
“I don’t think there will be enough food in the world to make my tummy full! I’m so hungry Mama Kashar,” groaned
Marslo as he and Reinor emerged from the cave. With a low growl, Reinor corrected him, “Alpha Kashar. She is still
your alpha.”
“It’s alright,” Kashar said softly, “It gives him comfort to know he still has a mother, even if his true mother
can no longer be with us.” She chuckled as the small pup ran around her front legs, rubbing affectionately against
them.
Once they were all awake and outside, they followed Baro to the base of the Elshad. Though they were in a strange
wood, their allies gave them comfort and security as they traveled. More than once along the way, they had to
discipline Tween and Marslo for running off from the group. The pups were still too young to understand how grave
their actions could be, especially in a foreign land. The Seldamund woods were not too different than Lashier, their
homeland. Tall, sturdy trees reached up into the skies, their leaves colored with vibrant reds and yellows from the
changing weather. Birds sang their morning melody, squirrels raced acrobatically through the trees, and creatures
all over awakened from their slumber to embrace another day as the world became alive. At last they reached the river.
They smelled the fresh water in the air and heard it trickle over the rocks. As their thirst overcame their hunger,
the pups rushed in splashing through the clear water. When the adults came up to drink, Marslo chased a frog back into
its den, a hole in the mud under the water.
After they had quenched their thirst, they followed Baro to the meal he and the others had prepared. To their surprise
and delight, they were presented a large bull moose. “Please, eat your fill. My men will take what’s left over back to
the den.” The pups wasted no time, as usual, diving in and eating. As the other members of the pack stood back to let
their alphas eat, Zarkus turned to them and said, “There is plenty for everyone, there’s no need to wait.” Asoth lowered
his head and said, “But Alpha, it is custom that you-” “There is no need for customs. We have all endured much these past
few months. I could not have made it this far without you and your loyalty. You have earned the right to dine beside me,
all of you. Please, come now and eat.”
Asoth and the others, with heads hung low and tails tucked under, walked cautiously towards the carcass. They ate in
silence, with no growling or fighting over who got what choice of meat; they could have cared less, they were just glad
to be safe.
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