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the carcass into the woods. We didn’t stop to help them but kept running, as Ruuqo had ordered, until the pine trees concealed us. Once I was well hidden, I did stop, unable to resist looking back at the humans. I watched as they loped across the plain, stopping every ten paces or so to make sure they were safe. I watched as they came upon the pile of good, rich meat. And I watched as HuLin looked from the meat to the woods where we hid, and as he smiled the bared-tooth human smile at the bounty left to him by the wolves of the Swift River pack.

4
     
    T he instant we were all safely hidden in the woods, Ruuqo grabbed Ázzuen by his neck fur and slammed him to the ground. Ázzuen’s breath left his lungs with a whoosh that made me wince.
    “What in the name of the moon were you thinking?” Ruuqo bared his teeth just above Ázzuen’s throat and pressed his front paws into Ázzuen’s ribs. “How dare you disobey? How dare you risk the safety of your pack? This isn’t a game. It’s far more important than whether or not you get to play with your humans!”
    Ázzuen, lying flat on his back, tucked his tail between his legs, curled all four paws flat against his belly, and licked Ruuqo’s muzzle in apology.
    “It wasn’t working,” he gasped, when he regained his breath. “Trevegg and Kaala were trying, but the humans were still afraid. The young male wanted to fight, and the leader was going to refuse Trevegg’s meat.” He gulped another breath and licked Ruuqo’s muzzle again. “I knew we had to find a way to make the humans more comfortable with us. I know how important it is. That’s why I didn’t ask you first, there wasn’t time.”
    “He could have ruined everything,” Unnan said. “He knew what he was doing.”
    I held my breath. Unnan was right. Ázzuen hadn’t asked Ruuqo because Ruuqo would’ve said no. Ruuqo knew that as well as anyone. I had to think of something to say to help Ázzuen. I turned to Marra for help, but she was scowling at Ázzuen.
    I looked to Trevegg, but his face was stern; he was still angry. Looking around at the rest of the pack, I caught Yllin’s eye. She dipped her head to me and stepped forward to speak to Ruuqo. She was almost as tall as he was, though not as broad through the chest. It was easy to see her lean muscles, even through her winter-thick fur, and she stood with confidence. I felt my chest loosen. If Yllin spoke up for Ázzuen, Ruuqo might listen.
    “He acted recklessly, leaderwolf,” she said, lowering her ears deferentially, “but the human leader accepted a gift from him and seems to like him. There isn’t any way to predict which wolf a human might like. And Ázzuen is smart enough to help us influence the humans.” She lowered her head and pressed her ears even farther back, so that there was no way Ruuqo could think she was challenging his authority. “I think we should allow him to go to the humans.”
    Rissa looked at Yllin, amusement in her gaze. She knew as well as anyone that Yllin was no more submissive than she was. She nudged Ruuqo gently with her nose.
    “We need all the help we can get, Lifemate,” she said. “It could mean the difference between failure and success. We don’t have enough time to ignore anything that gives us an advantage.”
    “I realize that,” Ruuqo snapped. “I’m not a fool.” He bit down on Ázzuen’s neck, not hard enough to draw blood, but hard enough to make Ázzuen whimper. “You are lucky, youngwolf,” he said, still glaring down at Ázzuen, “that it turned out well. I have no choice but to allow you to accompany Kaala and Trevegg to the humans. But you defied me and you threatened the safety of my pack. Do so again, I will leave you to Milsindra and her friends. And you are not in my favor.”
    Ázzuen flattened his ears and gave a small whine. A leaderwolf’s favor is everything in a pack. It means the difference between feeding at a kill and not, between pack acceptance and rejection, and