Two days waxed and waned before they made it to the third pack’s den. Though Thalaea carried the injured wolf, it did not speed them up overmuch: the witch’s muscles were tired and she could not match her previous speed. Furthermore, the pregnant bitches, six to eight weeks along in their twenty-week pregnancies, each had a good waddle going.

Towards the end of the first day on the trail, Thalaea noticed her coat was covered with dried hounds’ blood. She’d noticed when she’d killed the dog, of course, but somehow after that she’d forgotten — it wasn’t as if she could take her coat off and shove it into her rucksack while the blood was wet. Once it dried, the fact that she was covered in blood had slipped her mind. None of the other wolves had made any comment about it.

She decided to keep the coat on for the time being. Under it she wore her sweater from Brinna, and those two items were the warmest clothes she owned at this point. She’d rather wear a bloodstained coat and protect the precious sweater beneath than take off the coat and risk staining the sweater.

The sweater still smelled vaguely of Brinna. Thalaea breathed in the scent deeply whenever she could. Her hearts ached in the absence of the gorgeous woman with the red hair. She hadn’t admitted it to herself before but she had fallen deeply for Brinna. Now she faced never seeing Scoas’ and Natai’s daughter again. Nor Scoas and Natai, or Alaev, or Enendoa.

It was a downside to having three hearts, she decided. She was sure unicardial beings did not suffer so much pain with a broken heart. She was dealing with three broken organs; the pain, surely, was three times as great.

She couldn’t allow herself to wallow in it. She had to focus on escape. She had to focus on the pack that was now her family. Once they made it to Thaen she’d have time to mourn the loss of her Minae loves.

She hoped no one would suffer because she had killed Kaz.

What’s on your mind, Witch? Ruk’s voice cut through her thoughts.

She and the alpha male had spent the day chatting, off and on, whenever Ruk chose to walk beside her. As pack leader, he had to make rounds during the extended walk, checking on his packmates, making sure all were well, deciding when to call breaks. When he could, he padded beside the biped in the group, and they got to know each other. Now he was calling her Witch, as Salia did, instead of Stranger. Witch had become her pack rank, unique to a wolf trapped in human form.

My last pack, she said honestly. She’d told Ruk she’d used to be a wolf, in a place far away from Min. She hadn’t said she had ever been a goddess. Only Laeanai believed her on that point but even with him, there was some kind of disconnect, as if he believed she had been the goddess of a different species that also happened to be called wolves but not the goddess of Minae wolves. The wolves here hadn’t had a deity in anyone’s memory; not even the Lorekeeper’s considerably long one.

I miss them a bit, she added.

Ruk grunted in understanding. It is always hard to leave those we love. Or to leave the lands in which we were born. It will not be easy for us to adjust to Thaen.

There was no censure in his words; merely observation. I wish Steelmint were safe for you. She wished it were safe for her, too.

If wishes were boar, we wouldn’t need to hunt so many damned rabbits.

Thalaea laughed. True.

When she had energy for wondering, she wondered about what they’d find in Thaen. Although no one had heard from Thaen in centuries, the Minae seemed to believe the Thaenites — the Elves — still lived, plotting the demise of Min every second. She’d observed enough in her time among the Minae to learn that Thaen and wolves were both feared, entwined in the minds of the Minae.

She hoped that if the Thaenites were still alive they were friendly to wolfkind. She didn’t dare to hope that there were other wolves in Thaen. There was only so much one could wish for before straining the wings of fate.

The night they spent on the trail was spent near another pond, fed by another underground spring. Or was it the same one? Perhaps one large spring existed under Steelmint Forest, feeding various pools throughout the woods. The water tasted the same.

Thalaea sensed that Salia had arranged for them to stop near water, for the witch’s sake, and she conveyed her deep gratitude to her pack leader before curling up for the night. Her sleeping arrangements also duplicated those of the previous night: she slept in a puppy pile consisting of several adolescent wolves, Laeanai included.

The next day they rose before dawn and headed out as the sky lightened in the east. The days were growing longer, little by little. She prayed that they’d reach the third pack soon, though she knew her carrying duties wouldn’t end then. The sooner they met the last pack of wolves, however, the sooner they would leave Steelmint and head out for Thaen. The faster they escaped Min, the safer she’d feel.

How long would their journey take? Woods, she didn’t know. All she knew was that the Eronenian Mountains, and Thaen beyond them, lay to the north. One could see them in the distance while standing on the road to Heartpin Village. They were ancient and massive, the highest peaks covered in snow and wreathed in clouds.

Brinna had told her there was a pass through the mountains, though she herself had never seen it. It was simply marked on the maps she’d studied in school. The farmlands of Min ended far before the mountains began. Between farmlands and peaks lay a deserted landscape.

Thalaea had no idea what this journey held in store for her or the wolves. Was she terrified? She was too tired to feel scared.

On this leg of the journey, the wolf she carried on her shoulders took to speaking with her. He was awake now, most of the time. Thalaea had packed his wound with more bloodwort and Dittany the night before and she’d checked it in the morning light. It was healing up nicely; the skin was already starting to knit back together, and there was no sign of infection. She was immensely grateful for that, for if there had been infection despite the Dittany, she honestly had no idea what she would have done. Infection was a bigger killer than wounds themselves.

His name was Anandes, she learned. Laeanai had been right about his age; the Lorekeeper was sixty-nine years old. He had been the Lorekeeper for twenty-two of those years, when the previous Lorekeeper had named him as such.

Perhaps I have waited too long to name a successor, he said. I am old, by Steelmint wolf standards, though not an elder yet. But now that we face such hardships…perhaps I was foolish.

You seem anything but foolish, wise one, Thalaea said.

That’s flattering, young pup, but even old dogs can be foolish. I think, once I am able to walk again, I will start to decide who will be the next Lorekeeper. Our traditions disappear with each pack that dies out. I would be a failure if I let myself expire without passing on my knowledge.

Thalaea agreed with Anandes, that this was a good idea. He spent the rest of the day telling her tidbits of knowledge about the pack’s history and customs, to help her to fit in better.

The customs of Minae wolves were not so different from Terran or Cetian wolves. She found there was little for her to learn: the hierarchy was the same; the only real difference came from the wolves’ extended lives and ability to change form to humans. One difference that hadn’t been made clear to her was a rule that no wolves were to challenge each other or play fight during the new moon, nor were they to go hunting. Human forms were fragile compared to wolf forms, and this rule was to keep young or foolish wolves from gaining life-threatening injuries because they got into a small tussle with another wolf. It was too easy to grab a rock or a stick to use as a weapon when one fought in human form — this Thalaea knew only too well.

How history had changed the pack’s culture was what interested her most. According to Anandes, the Minae had come to this island about seven centuries ago. About that time the packs had stopped holding Howls, a tragic event to Thalaea, but necessary, as many packs had disappeared once the Minae started their campaign against wolves because the Howls made them easy to find. Silence had saved the wolves…for a while. Eventually even silence had not been enough: they had become quarry. Prey. Trophies.

As had the elk, the deer and the moose. In seven centuries, the big game of the forest had all but disappeared, and the wolves had learned to live lean. They ate boar, rabbits, birds, mice, even snakes — whatever they could find. Where once they’d been careful about how many deer or elk they’d hunt, only thinning the herds, mindful of their role as stewards of the food supply, now, if they were lucky enough to find a deer, they took it down at once. There were no herds left; only single deer wandered into the forest these days. If the wolves didn’t take them when they had the chance, then the Minae surely would.

What Thalaea learned from Anandes made her incontrovertibly sad. The wolves of Steelmint had been without help for so long. They suffered. In their suffering, they had lost faith and thus they had lost her.

Not that I was all that helpful to my cubs on Terra, she thought, angry with herself. There was so much she had not done and the excuses she’d made to herself about other gods and the expansions of human lands and the strictures of the Council no longer held water. She’d been weak. She’d failed.

Was this, then, her punishment? She’d never believed in a power higher than herself. Was there something greater than gods? Something even they couldn’t see? Something that had decided it was time she paid the price of cowardice?

You’ve gone quiet, Anandes said softly, quizzically.

Thalaea sighed, searching for something she could say. At length she replied, do you believe we’re punished for our wrongdoings, and rewarded for the good we bring?

Anandes let out a gusty sigh through his nostrils. When I was a pup, I did. How could I not? That is how it is done in the Pack.

But, he continued shrewdly, I think you are asking me if I believe in gods; if I believe some higher power directs what fate befalls us.

Something like that, yes, Thalaea replied, smiling.

I do not know if I believe in gods, Witch. I only know that sometimes what feels like a punishment is merely a chance to redeem yourself. Whether that’s brought by a higher power or not does not matter. All that matters is what you do with the time that’s been given.

Thalaea felt hot wet tears stream down her face. She whispered her gratitude to the Lorekeeper and they spent the rest of their journey in comfortable silence.

They reached the third pack’s den before nightfall. Thalaea sat with Anandes while Salia and Ruk talked with the leader of this pack, a bitch named Isuena. Laeanai went out with the hunters and brought back a few rabbits himself. He reserved one for Anandes and brought it over to the Lorekeeper with an air of submission. Thalaea found that curious, since Laeanai was more alpha than Anandes. She could smell it. Laeanai hadn’t shown much deference to the Lorekeeper earlier but now something had changed. Was it the Lorekeeper’s injury? Or had Laeanai overheard the conversation between Thalaea and the elder wolf and now wanted to be considered for the position of Anandes’ apprentice?

She resolved to ask her friend about it at some point, once she wasn’t carrying the elder wolf anymore.

They sat and ate the meat; Anandes elected to share some of his rabbit with Thalaea and Laeanai, and the younger wolves gratefully accepted. It would no doubt make her stomach hurt again, but she was hungry, dammit. It was not as if she could make a fire to cook the meat; neither safety nor skill permitted her. Building a fire was something she had not learned in her time with the Minae.

What would she do for food on their long journey?

I suppose I’ll just continue to share the raw meat and deal with the consequences. She tried not to sigh. This body was so difficult.

However, they would be traversing across farmland. Perhaps she could filch cooked food from the farmhouses.

Whenever she felt like getting shot. Scoas owned a crossbow; she was sure other farmers did, too. Even if they didn’t, farmwives were generally fairly handy with a cast-iron frying pan. Natai had been.

The wolves might have to hunt domesticated animals, though, at least for a while. There wouldn’t be many wild game options while they walked through farm country.

Perhaps raw mutton would make her less sick than raw rabbit. It was probably a vain hope. She was looking at a few weeks of constantly feeling sick.

She looked at Laeanai and Anandes in the dimming light. They sat and ate together in silence, crunching down on the rabbit’s bones to get at the marrow, eating every bit of the animal they could. Her gaze scanned the rest of the den: wolves rested, talked, laughed. The younger ones had some energy for tussling, and they played dominance games with each other, working at establishing a pecking order. Salia, Ruk, and Isuena sat in conference in the cave. Like the past two dens, this one was situated near a cave, but there were no rocks forming a natural amphitheatre. The cave opened up to a soft dirt clearing, which was much easier on Thalaea’s rump. She would sleep better tonight.

These wolves were her life now. She’d found her destiny on this strange new planet: save the wolves of Min.

She wasn’t so foolish as to believe that she could stay with them afterwards or that she knew them better than they knew themselves. She knew only that they needed to go somewhere safer and that helping them to safety was her way of making up for not saving enough of her Terran cubs. So many wolf species had gone extinct! She’d never felt so guilty about this before but her new mortal form seemed to bring new mortal emotions. Her current lack of power served only to remind her that she’d not done enough when she’d had actual power. That knowledge weighed heavily on her mind. She couldn’t help but feel that she should have done more for her children.

Now was her chance to make up for that. She would lead the wolves to Thaen, to safety, to a new life. She would help the packs survive.

And then?

She shook her head. Whatever happened to her afterwards didn’t matter. Whatever she was about to endure now, whether a few weeks’ illness or worse, would be worth it if she could bring the three packs to Thaen.

These wolves had gone so long without a champion. Had Thalaea the Forsworn been their champion before? She’d signed off her grimmerie as the Lady of the True Woods. Perhaps she’d been Silva’s counterpart, long ago.

Another god gone mortal in Min, on the planet Osecou. What was it about this place? Perhaps this was where gods went when they died. Perhaps a mortal life was a god’s afterlife, and it was here.

Did the Twins know about it, she wondered. Was that why they’d seemed so unconcerned?

Her head spun in circles. So many questions unanswered. Thinking about them would drive her mad.

Exhaustion took her suddenly, and she resolved not to think anymore. She’d find answers in Thaen.

She hoped.

They spent an extra day at the third pack’s den. Isuena was not so ready to declare a state of emergency as Ruk and Salia had been and she wished to call council with her pack first. Thalaea’s whole body twitched with urgency. Every moment they delayed was another moment given to the hunters to find them.

Laeanai felt the same. While Isuena spoke with her pack, Thalaea and her friend took off for some hunting and to find some water for the parched witch.

They found a pond, fed by an underground spring as the others had been, a bit closer to the edge of the forest than made Thalaea comfortable. While Laeanai drank, she kept watch through the trees for any human movement and while she drank he did the same.

If they were this skittish close to the edge of the forest, she shuddered to think how skittish they’d be out in the open. They’d have to travel at night, she realized. It would be safest.

She needed something that would work as a waterskin, right now, before they left the forest’s abundance. If the snow disappeared on this trip she could well run out of water.

Illness from raw meat, she could handle. But too long without hydration and she’d die, much faster than would the wolves.

While Laeanai practiced the Perpendicular Bounce and the One Paw Thwap on various rodents, gulping them wholesale, Thalea hunted through the underbrush in search of a suitable plant. Perhaps leaves that she could weave together to form a watertight bag. A plant that produced a natural gourd would be ideal; if she could find something else to make into rope she could then lash it to herself and keep her hands free.

She wished she’d learned more survival tips while living with Enendoa. She wished she’d lived with Enendoa longer. With the benefit of a full witch’s apprenticeship, surely she could easily survive in the wild for quite a long time. Enendoa could probably do it, no problem. The woman knew everything about Minae plants.

She could try speaking to the plants. She hadn’t done much of that since leaving the witch’s cottage. Hadn’t thought to. Sticking to what she knew was simplest; exploration required too much time and energy.

Now she did have time and energy, certainly more than a few days ago. Thalaea sat in the dirt and steadied her breathing, timing it to the pulse of the earth. She reached herself out to the plants around her and began to listen to their secrets.

They were not so open with her as Enendoa’s plants had been, or the herbs in the forest near the witch’s house. These plants had not seen a witch in far too long. They were not trusting.

Thalaea opened herself up to the plants, letting them see all her secrets. She let them know they had nothing to fear from her; that she was of the wild as much as they were.

Stalks quivered; blossoms twitched. The plants warmed to her.

Thalaea didn’t know how long she waited there in the dirt, waiting for a plant spirit to share what she needed to know. Laeanai didn’t disturb her, sensing this was witch’s magic and he should sit and wait patiently.

A tendril uncurled itself, stretching into her inner landscape, as a plant said hello.

I’m Thalaea, she whispered to the plant, trying not to let her excitement show. She didn’t want to scare the spirit away.

I’m Ill’ll, the plant said shyly. I can help you.

A picture formed in her mind. A flowering plant about knee-high, with a spray of purple flowers in bell-shapes. It reminded her of the Terran foxglove — digitalis. Poisonous, but beautiful.

Ill’ll was not poisonous, she could sense. The picture in her mind changed and the plant got up and out of the dirt. The roots had giant, bulbous pods growing out of them.

She could use one of those pods to carry water, once whatever was inside had been drained.

Are you sure, Ill’ll? she asked. I’ll have to dig up your roots.

I have many roots. Ill’ll laughed; it was a child’s giggle. You can take four pods if you want; I don’t mind. Plant one when you get to where you’re going. I’ve never seen the land beyond the mountains. The plant’s voice turned wistful at this. Thalaea readily agreed and Ill’ll gave her instructions on how to find the nearest copse and how to harvest the roots.

They didn’t have too far to walk; the nearest copse of Ill’ll was only fifty feet away. One of the plants leaned towards Thalaea as she approached, waving its leaves up at the witch. It was clear which one she was meant to harvest.

She knelt and dug up the plant’s roots with the utmost care. The ground was cold and hard and she had to enlist Laeanai’s help, as her humanoid fingers were not as good at digging as a wolf’s paws and she’d foolishly left her shovel at Isuena’s den. Eventually they reached the main root. Thalaea pulled it up through the dirt slowly, brushing dirt off the pods.

The plant’s spirit had instructed her to cut into the root itself, so the pods remained intact when she removed them. She did this now, using her bootknife, mercifully made of copper. So much thought Alaev had put into his gift! Her hearts twisted in pain as she thought of her Minae family, even as she set the pods aside before placing the root back in the ground.

What can I give you as offering? she asked the plant. She couldn’t just bury the root again and leave it.

Some of your blood would be appreciated. It smells beautiful, like my cousins the trees.

Thalaea smiled at this description. Still a wolf’s blood.

She wiped her knife’s blade clean on her pants, then made a nick in the side of her left hand, letting a few drops spill into the hole in the ground. The root of the plant soaked up the blood eagerly, and the whole plant shuddered a little bit, as if sighing contentedly.

Thalaea covered the root with dirt again with her right hand; unexpectedly, a warm wolf tongue started licking the wound on her left hand.

She looked over at Laeanai and smiled. Thank you. His saliva would help the skin knit faster, which was good, because she had no bandages.

Anytime, he said, and then Thalaea gathered up the pods and they headed back to the spring-fed pool.

It took her a while to drain and rinse out two of the pods. Ill’ll had told her to make sure she did so, for the effects of the liquid in the pods could be…quite strong to Minae. The plant spirit had also suggested that Thalaea keep one pod filled with the liquid, in case she ever wanted to try drinking some of the pod’s liquid when they were in a safer place.

The witch decided she’d do just that. The fourth pod, of course, remained unmolested until she reached Thaen, where she’d fulfill Ill’ll’s wish and plant it.

The part of the pod where it had joined to the root formed a natural plug that could be taken out and put back in. If she set the pod upright in her rucksack and didn’t do any somersaults, it probably wouldn’t spill. That certainly made things much easier.

On their way back, Laeanai made sure to catch a few rabbits so they wouldn’t arrive empty-jawed. Thalaea had left her rucksack at the den and so had her arms full of the four pods.

By the time they rejoined the packs it was late afternoon and the council was over. Laeanai dropped the rabbits off with Anandes while Thalaea placed her pods into her bag. Then they both looked for Salia, to find out what the decision of Isuena’s pack had been.

Ah, good, you’re back, Salia said when she saw them. I wish you’d been here earlier, Witch. Council might have been faster.

Apologies, pack leader.

Salia shook, as if she’d just gone swimming and wished to shake the excess water from her coat, an alpha’s exasperation with a pup’s submission in the entire gesture. It doesn’t matter. They decided to come with us. I’ve suggested we leave tonight, but I think Ruk and Isuena need a little convincing on that matter. They’d rather travel by day. Witch? Salia raised her eyebrows and gestured with her head to where the other two pack leaders stood, talking. This is your area of expertise.

Laeanai stretched and yawned, said something about going to check on Anandes, and padded away, leaving Thalaea alone with his mother. The gleam of his teeth taunted her like the teasing of a snotty younger brother.

Were this any other time, she would have tussled with him right there and then to reestablish her dominance. As it was, she followed after the grinning Salia.

Ruk smiled at Thalaea as the witch approached; Isuena’s greeting was decidedly cooler, though still formal.

Pack Leaders, she said, angling her head down and away in a pose of submission. My alpha tells me you wish to leave tomorrow?

Wolves see better during the day, Isuena said. It was clear by her tone that she thought Thalaea needed reminding of that fact.

With due respect, so do Minae. Thalaea managed to quell an errant spark of rebellion, so as to let no note of challenge into her tone.

Isuena narrowed her eyes at the witch. Ruk laughed.

The witch has a point, Isuena, he said diplomatically. Isuena directed a baleful look his way.

At least until we’re clear of the farmlands, Thalaea said in a conciliatory tone. Three packs going across country will be noticed, no matter when we travel. But if we stick to night time until we leave the more populated areas, we have a better chance of making it unscathed.

Hmph. Isuena sniffed, then got up and walked away.

Don’t worry, Witch, Ruk said when he saw the look on Thalaea’s face. Her apprehension must have shone through clearly. Isuena and her pack will come with us tonight. She just doesn’t like you.

Or me, grumbled Salia, so softly Thalaea wasn’t sure she caught it.

Ruk laughed again and walked off. Thalaea could see he was talking to his pack, and Isuena seemed to be doing the same.

She looked back to Salia to find her pack leader staring at her.

Well. You’ve saved the Steelmint wolves. Are you happy?

Thalaea sighed. I won’t be happy until I see every one of you safe in Thaen.

Salia nodded. Good.

The alpha bitch padded away, then, pausing briefly to throw over her shoulder, welcome to the pack, bitch.

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