Free Spirit of the Wolves by Dorothy Hearst Page B

“No other wolf would stand against Greatwolves.”
    â€œI heard she is not a true wolf,” another Greatwolf murmured. “That she is part human.”
    â€œLeave us!” Navdru ordered, glaring around the clearing. “I cannot speak to the youngwolves with all of you panting at the backs of our necks.”
    One by one, Greatwolf and smallwolf alike began to leave the copse. About ten Greatwolves stayed, including Yildra andMilsindra. At the very edge of the woods, Lallna paused, looking back at Navdru, her face pinched in anxiety. He followed my gaze and watched her for a moment, then trotted across the copse. He took her muzzle in his jaws.
    â€œYou have done well, youngwolf,” he said. “Thank you for bringing the drelwolf to us.”
    Lallna lowered her ears to Navdru, but her tail wagged. Her status in the pack would almost certainly rise considerably. When Navdru released her, she grinned at me and bounded into the woods.
    The copse was almost silent. I could hear Tlitoo’s low quorking and the heavy breathing of my mother and my packmates. I tried to loosen the muscles in my chest.
    â€œI cannot fault a mother for wishing to protect her pup,” Navdru said, inclining his head to Neesa. “As for you, youngwolves, I admire your willingness to fight for yourselves.” He nodded to me and my packmates. His manner had changed and he spoke to me kindly but firmly, with the assurance of a leaderwolf addressing a member of his pack.
    â€œI did not begin well. We have been waiting a long time for the drelwolf.” He softened his muzzle. “We waited for you because if we cannot fulfill the Promise now, we may have no other chance.” He let that sink in. “There is a human village twenty minutes’ lope from here, and what happens there may very well determine whether we succeed or fail.”
    His mate, Yildra, spoke for the first time, her voice deep and rumbling. “The humans of Kaar are making a choice between two ways of being, youngwolves. Some think that humans are one creature among many. Others believe that humans are different, that the Ancients have given them thetask of ruling every creature, every forest, every plain. They believe that the larger their village grows, the more power they have. And they have taken over many villages as proof.”
    â€œIt was starting to be that way at home, too,” I said. The humans were so arrogant. A wolf feels responsible for her territory. She must ensure that prey is not hunted so much that entire herds flee, and has the right to fight any wolves who try to invade the pack’s territory. But she does not stray beyond the confines of her own land, and if she does, she does so with deference to the wolves who guard that territory. To think oneself the leaderwolf of all creatures seemed like the ravings of a mad wolf.
    â€œThe decisions are being made everywhere humans live,” Navdru said. “But Kaar holds great influence. It’s the most powerful village for as far as any wolf has run or raven has flown. As goes Kaar, so will go the other humans. And if the humans choose to be rulers of all creatures, we will lose our chance to sway them, for they will see no wisdom outside their own thoughts and beliefs. They will see other creatures only as either enemies or tools.”
    â€œWhich is why you should not have run away like a skittering mouse, youngwolf.” The harsh, rasping voice came from above. The old human krianan, RalZun, was perched on the pine branch next to Tlitoo. A rustling drew my gaze to the higher branches of the trees, where several more ravens stood, warbling softly.
    RalZun jumped down and gave Navdru a jerky bow. The Greatwolf dipped his head to the old human. The human krianans and the Greatwolves of the Wide Valley had onceworked together toward the Promise. The ones in Sentinel lands evidently still did.
    â€œI would have brought her to you, Navdru, but she