Free Secrets of the Wolves by Dorothy Hearst Page B

the determination in Rissa’s eyes and dipped his head in agreement. He did insist that he and Rissa accompany Trevegg, Ázzuen, and me to the human homesite. The humans lived in the heart of Stone Peak territory.
    Five packs of wolves shared the Wide Valley, and the Stone Peak pack had been our rivals for as long as any wolf could remember. Like the humans of TaLi’s tribe, they lived across the river from our territory. Wolves don’t encroach on one another’s lands unless they’re looking for a fight. The Greatwolves had decreed that all wolves had safe passage to human homesites so that we could observe them when we needed to, but the Stone Peaks weren’t known for following rules. Two half-grown pups and an oldwolf would be no match for them if they decided to fight. Sure enough, when we waded into the river just before dawn, each carrying a piece of snow deer, we saw three Stone Peaks waiting for us on the other side.
    Stone Peaks are large wolves; the smallest wolf in their pack was larger than Ruuqo. It was common knowledge that Stone Peaks only let their strongest pups feed, allowing the smaller, weaker ones to die. They alone among all the wolves in the valley hunted the aurochs—huge, aggressive beasts that roamed the westernmost plains of the valley. Of all the prey in the valley, the aurochs were most likely to kill wolves. The Stone Peaks took great pride in hunting them.
    Torell and Ceela, the leaderwolves of the Stone Peak pack, waited on the flat, muddy stretch of riverbank, glaring at Ruuqo and Rissa as we made our way across the river. The third Stone Peak, a younger wolf who held his left rear paw up, as if it hurt him, watched me. I hadn’t expected to find him there. The last time I’d seen him, he was lying injured on the Tall Grass plain, abandoned by his packmates after the battle; the Stone Peaks didn’t believe in weakness. I surprised myself by being glad he hadn’t died from his injuries.
    His name was Pell, and he was a tall, sleek wolf who smelled of wind-sage and willow trees. His fur was the color of dry summer grass, and I could see the play of muscles under it as he placed his paw back on the ground and stretched, keeping his gaze on me. I wasn’t tall enough to make it across the river without swimming, and I felt stupid and awkward as he watched me paddling with the meat in my jaws.
    Ruuqo and Rissa were first across the river. As soon as they emerged, they shook themselves and set down the meat they carried. The rest of us were not far behind. We set down our own pieces of snow deer and stood, ready to confront the Stone Peaks.
    As the four leaderwolves glowered at each other, Pell kept trying to meet my eyes. I ignored him. Our packs were enemies. He shouldn’t be trying to be friendly to me.
    “Hello, Kaala,” he said softly when I refused to look at him. I felt my spine go warm and my eyes trying to lift up to meet his. I wouldn’t let them, though. Next to me, Ázzuen rumbled a growl.
    It was up to Ruuqo and Rissa, as the wolves entering another pack’s territory, to greet the Stone Peaks first. They inclined their heads the tiniest bit.
    “Hello, Torell. Ceela,” Rissa said. “We claim safe passage to the human homesite.”
    Torell didn’t even bother to acknowledge her greeting, as a well-mannered wolf would. He sneered at the five of us like we were hyenas. His face, like Werrna’s, was scarred from a battle long ago. But while Werrna’s scars covered only one side of her face, Torell’s entire face seemed to be one large scar. It made him seem even more intimidating than did his great size.
    “Is it true?” he demanded. “Can what I hear be true?”
    “I don’t know, Torell,” Rissa said, shaking more water from her white coat. I realized I’d been too nervous to shake when I climbed from the river. Suddenly, the water in my fur was intolerable, and I shook hard. Water sprayed all over Ceela, who glowered at me.
    Rissa stifled a laugh. So did