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I do my best to comfort everyone, and I take the remaining preserved meat that I have left and throw it to the pack.
“Are you just going to give them all the meat you’ve worked so hard to collect?” Kian comes up behind me, and there is disbelief in his voice.
I shrug, and when I speak, I know my voice is dismal.
“It’s not like I can stay here. Those wolves might come back and if those orcs have any friends who want to avenge them, they know where to find me. I’ll have to start over somewhere new. And I really cannot carry all this meat with me.”
Kian pulls me towards him and tips my chin up with his large hand so that we are looking one another directly in the eye.
“You should come with me,” he tells me, and his voice is completely serious. “Come with me. Join the Risen Ash clan. We have homes and food and all the resources we need. You won’t have to start over at all.”
The thought is tempting, and I want to give in to it. I want to give in to him.
“I can’t.” I shake my head, and Kian lowers his head for a second. “I can’t leave the wolves. Not now. Not after everything they’ve been through.”
Kian’s face stretches into a smile, and I swear, his blue eyes have never sparkled brighter.
“You just bring them along,” he exclaims. “You can bring the entire pack with you. We would never turn your family away.”
I look at him in sheer disbelief, even though something inside me dares to hope.
“I can’t just march into your camp with a pack of wolves,” I splutter. “Will the rest of your clan, the rest of the orcs, even accept them? And besides, they’re wild animals. They won’t want to become clan pets!”
Kian is still smiling, and my heart skips a beat. The hope inside me burns so strong that it threatens to knock me off my feet.
“We have so much space, you wouldn’t believe it,” he tells me excitedly. He runs a hand through his hair and pulls away from me. He starts pacing up and down enthusiastically as he espouses the benefits of us moving to live with the Risen Ash clan.
“And the Risen Ash clan is peaceful under my brother’s command. And I cannot believe I am saying this, but I am glad for it. I lived as a warrior all my life, and I wanted the whole clan to be that way. But now I see the benefits of Uli’s way of life.”
“Are you sure about this?” I am still doubtful. I want to go with Kian, but I cannot put my pack in danger.
“I am sure! We have an abundance of space. There is enough hunting to go around. You can even start a garden – we have a vegetable garden and keep livestock. But I don’t think we have an herbal garden. The pack can come and go as they please, and no one will hurt them.”
I am more than tempted. If I could, I would say yes right now and be done with it.
But this is not my decision alone, and I tell Kian as much.
“I need to discuss this with Alfa and Safira first,” I tell Kian. Alfa is my best friend, and Safira is the leader of the pack when I am not around. The pack will listen to their influence. And if the two of them don’t want to go, then I won’t be leaving, either.
“I am sure you know, but living the way we do is a group effort. You have lived in a clan your entire life. I am sure it is pretty similar to being part of a pack. Let me talk to them, and I’ll let you know.”
Kian’s smile fades slightly, but the fiery hope in his eyes does not dim.
He is determined to get me to go with him. And as much as I want to, as much as I love him and never want to live without him, I will never abandon the pack.
Memories of the way the pack saved my life over and over again flood my mind as I find Alfa and Safira, who are huddled up with Kira and her pups.
Hot tears prickle in my eyes as I remember how my adoptive mother, who has been dead for some time now, looked after me.
Safira took over the duty of looking after me after her death, even though I was more than capable of looking after myself by then.
I kneel next to the huddle of wolves, and Alfa shifts to nudge her nose against my thigh.
She lets out a series of soft growls and whines, and I reply to her. Safira’s ears prick up as she listens to our conversation.
I feel Kian standing over us, and I know he is listening intently.
Alfa’s eyes are wet as she whimpers and whines. I whine right back and then I lift the entire wolf into my lap.
