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Black Wolf

Chapter 9 – Reunion

As spring gave way to summer Black began to spend every second or third day in the Druid den. He loved playing with the cubs, more so even than the other benefit of being among so many females in their prime.

Having become an accomplished hunter of small game, thanks mainly to leaving bait near the lightning web and the black trail, he was able to bring gifts of meat to help out. On several occasions one of the Druid males returning early from the hunt chased him back to the narrow strip of land on the far side of the trail that he still called home, but they were only half-hearted attempts to catch him.

Before the snows came again Black taught the pregnant females how to make the snow feet that had given him the advantage over the hunters last winter. He was not worried that they would use them against him because with his years of experience he could move sure and fast over the snow already whereas they would need a few years to get as good as him.

The contribution was greatly appreciated. It meant that the hunters could get ahead of the struggling herds and ambush them when they were tired and confused. In exchange Menace had the females give Black a water container made from the bladder of an elk so he would be able to have water when he was far from his source. He also allowed them to share the secret of making a paste with dried meat, berries, herbs and animal fat that would last for months in a pouch sealed with beeswax. Black was grateful, especially sine the females did most of the preparation of it for him while he was laying with one or another of the sisters.

Sun, Moon and Silver had their cubs in the summer. Fleet’s came as the leaves began to fall and Honey’s came with the first serious snow. By that time even trapper was staying in the den as her belly was so big she could hardly walk anymore.

“I’m either carrying two good sized cubs or one huge one.” She joked. Pregnancy had been good for her, but she could hardly wait to be out hunting again. Near the date when the day and the night were equally long she gave birth to three cubs, bringing the total to fifteen.

“No one has had three cubs for generations.” Flame commented.

“She’s more like the ancient wolves than any of us.” Honey noted.

The occasion of Honey’s confinement was the first time that Black had a chance to actually meet the reclusive Moon Gazer. Normally she stayed up at nights, acting as an unofficial watch while studying the moon, the stars and the creatures that came out at night, and slept through the day. When she was up and Black was visiting she took it on herself to go up to the hill top and stand watch for the hunters, even though it was no longer really necessary.

Black saw her enter the den when Trapper went into a difficult labour and it was she that emerged to announce the birth of triplets.

While the others celebrated Black sidled up to the small light-toned wolf as she washed the blood off her arms in the nearby creek.

“Hello, black wolf.” She said without looking around when he was still several paces away.

Black could have sworn that he had not made a sound as he approached but shrugged it off. “Hello, Moon Gazer. Do you mind if I speak with you?”

“Why should I?”

“Well, I was getting the impression that you were avoiding me because I had offended you somehow.”

She continued to wash without looking at him. “No. I just don’t like getting too familiar with someone who is likely to die suddenly, and soon.”

“You think that I’m risking my life by coming here?”

“No, you’re probably safer here than anywhere else. But outside this den you are just another lone wolf at the mercy of any gang of raiders, pack of coyotes or bear that crosses your path. That’s bad enough but I’ve also heard about your close calls crossing the black trail, and how close you come to being struck by the lightning web. Then you choose a den against a cliff where the rocks fall down regularly and drink water that runs close to the place of the goods.”

“I’ve been there over a year and no rocks have fallen on me, and what’s different about the water on that side?”

“Have you ever seen any sign of old dens, even coyote dens over there?” Black shook his head. “How about the herds, do they cross the trail to graze on that side?” Again he indicated no.

Moon Gazer shook her head as if trying to teach a slow cub how to count. “There is a reason that no animals of any size live on that side, even before the gods came back. The eagles’ that caught fish in those waters had hatchlings that were deformed. The herds got sick when they ate the grass near the place of the gods. Predators that ate them died young, wasting away when they should have been in their prime. Even this place is probably too close.” She sighed. “But Menace is convinced that it is our holy duty to protect the land around the place of the gods. At least the herds are smart enough to keep well away and they are our main source of food. But I won’t eat the stuff you drag in from the trail.”

“It doesn’t seem to have effected me.”

“The grandmothers said that it grows inside you, slowly, and by the time you know you are sick it is already too late.”

“Oh.” Black was at a loss for words. “What was that about the rocks though?”

“Take a close look at the cliff and the area around your den. The dark rock is old, weathered rock, and the light stuff is recently exposed.”

She stood up and walked away without saying goodbye to take up her station on the hill where she watched the skies, leaving Black shaking his head.

* * * * *

Meili was delighted with all the footage of the new cubs and was thrilled when she translated Moon Gazer’s announcement of triplets. It had indeed been generations sine a litter of three or four had been born; another indication that the wolves’ physiognomy was changing to become more human. With her newfound resources she hoped to be able to locate a female corpse soon and bring it back for an autopsy to see just how much similar they had become. She shuddered to think that in the old days they would have shot a wolf when they wanted to examine one. Thank the gods we’ve evolved since then, she thought, then she remembered the program’s problems with the Co-Chair, Roscoe Binks from the Colonies First party. Well, she added, most of us have evolved.

She was also happy to see and hear Moon Gazer close up through 302’s collar camera. Since Menace hardly ever talked to her she was still a mystery among the Druid wolves. It was a bit disturbing to hear her assessment of the land around EOS-1 though. The cafeteria offered a lot of locally sourced fish and game dishes and she began to wonder where the meat came from. She asked Chuck when he was on shift because Mitch’s replacement, Alice, was too new to know much about such things.

“Is the land around here safe?” He repeated. “Probably. One of the first tasks of the restoration was to clean up this dump first so people could live here. But I heard that it was pretty bad at first, with gigatons of biological waste products in plastic containers that could have lasted another fifty thousand years laying around, abandoned after the great exodus. A lot of them were leaking because rodents chewed through them or because of rock falls. Yeah, rock falls. This place sits on top of one of the most active hot spots in the earth’s crust, you know. When that stuff shifts around down there you get small eruptions and earthquakes. The result is rockfalls from the cliffs and new geysers on the plain. It was because the magma chamber being so close to the surface that they built the Bio-waste facility here in the first place.”

“Really?”

“Yep. You see, they would collect all the crap left over from the medical experiments and treatments that were curing cancer and AIDS and stuff back then from all over the world and bring it here. They wanted it all destroyed completely, down to the molecular level, but doing that in big batches was energy intense and they didn’t have the Phoenix engines yet. The idea was to relieve the pressure from the chamber and incinerate the goop at the same time by injecting right into the chamber.”

“Did it work?”

“When it was one right, yeah sure. But then the food crisis hit, and the plagues started spreading out of the slums. The Phoenix drives were discovered and then with enough energy they were able to create the artificial gravity fields and everyone sort of got distracted with the thought of leaving this place altogether. They closed the park but kept shipping the stuff here because no one else wanted it. They stopped processing it, though, at least they stopped processing it properly. So, yeah. Safe enough, but we do all our hunting up in the mountains where there never was any pollution.”

“I was wondering where the meat in the cafeteria came from.”

“A lot comes frozen in stasis on the shuttles. They were designed to haul huge cargoes of metals mined from the asteroids and the moons of the other planets out to the colonies, so they have plenty of space on the inward journey. But we get the fresh stuff from hunting. Whenever we go up to the mountains to work on the sensors we take rifles and try to get a goat or sheep. Sometimes the elk wander up that far. There are some nice trout in the mountain streams too, but we can’t linger on long because of the bears and the mountain lions.”

“Have you ever seen one, a mountain lion, I mean?”

“Oh yeah. We catch them on the drones occasionally and once when one of the helicopters crashed because of the tricky winds up there we found one going through the wreckage.”

“What are they like?”

“Like your wolves, but more solitary. I don’t know when they find the chance to reproduce but every mountain top has got at least one of them skulking around it.”

“Damn, but I’d like to start tracking them. But, no funds, oh well. Say, how’s you new partner working out?”

“Okay. She’s got a good background in the new tech.” Chuck paused and squinted at Meili and he could almost hear the question about Mitch forming on his tongue, but Chuck was a forty-year veteran of the company and knew when to keep his mouth shut. “Things going okay with you and the Council?” He asked instead.

“Well, you know, politics and science don’t always make the best bedfellows, but we’re surviving.”

“That’s the best you can hope for.”

“You can say that again.”

Chuck resisted the urge to do so.

* * * * *

“Okay, it’s coming any second now. Get ready for it, here it comes ... here ... it ... comes!”

Black gripped Flame by the ears as his shaft emptied itself into her warm, wet maw. He and the sisters had taken to using their mouths on each other a lot, at least for the final act, to keep the pregnancies down. Trapper, who had been ready for action from the time her three cubs were two cycles old still preferred tailhole mating and a couple of the other more daring females had tried that too.

With fifteen cubs in varying stages of infancy they had decided to wait until summer before starting in on making new ones, and that was fine with Black. Fifteen cubs were more than he ever imagined ever seeing together in one place, and they fairly overwhelmed him when he arrived in the den. He tried to play with them all equally, and to spend an equal amount of time with each of the sisters, except for Moon Gazer, who still shunned his company.

He had thought that after almost a year of visiting the den that Menace would ease up on him, but the sisters said that, despite the cubs and the extra meat, he still insisted on banning outsiders from joining the pack, including Black. But he continued to tolerate the intruder’s visits while the hunting party was out.

It would seem on the surface that life in the Druid pack was peaceful, but that was not the case. Some of Menace’s sons resented the extra work required to feed the influx of cubs, cubs that were only half Druid, in their opinion. Other’s felt that it was time for a new Alpha, and maybe the wolf that was responsible for the population explosion was a better choice. Had his snow feet not made the winter hunt much easier and productive? Those close to their sisters whispered advice that they hoped would reach the black wolf’s ears. Others waited for the day that Menace would show signs of weakness so they could challenge him and remove the blight of the black wolf from their pack forever.

Black knew that he should just move on. He could find another pack of lonely females and father more cubs there. Then he could move on again, and again, until he either got caught by an Alpha that was a little faster than him or his heart stopped from the strain and excitement of mating. But he felt a connection to his offspring and their mothers. He wanted to stay but he had no ambition to be the Alpha, so when Fleet and others suggested it he just pretended to take it into consideration and stayed noncommittal.

One day though, he knew that things would have to change, and that change might come rather suddenly.

* * * * *

It had been nine years since her arrival on EOS-1 and Meili was in a good mood. Her papers on the unusual circumstances of wolf number 302 were bringing her recognition and a degree of fame. Her time was sought after by the most advanced institutions studying zoology, biology and the new science of non-human anthropology, but she still managed to do the orientation sessions with lower-school children that the lack of funding had made redundant. In truth she enjoyed her time with the children and never ceased to feel refreshed after being exposed to their boundless curiosity and lack of candor.

There were a lot of aspects of 302’s life that she had to gloss over for the little ones, though. How could you explain to a ten-year-old that an unusually well-endowed wolf was reinventing the Kama Sutra?

It was different with the students from the universities though. She could be as explicit as she needed to be to explain how the black wolf had managed to keep his harem of females and keep the pregnancy rate of the Druid pack at a manageable rate.

Her students ranged from PhD candidates hoping to one day replace her at EOS-1 to freshmen just wetting their feet in the subject. One day she was pleasantly surprised to recognize a name on the roster of students that had logged in for one of her lectures.

“Rhiannon, there can’t be many people with that name. Is this the same Rhiannon that has been following the progress of wolf 302 since his days in Mist Valley?”

A pretty dark-skinned face filled the screen. “Yes, it is Doctor Cheng.” Rhiannon smiled from the monitor.

“Please, call me Mary. Are you enrolled in the Anthropology Honours course too, Rhiannon?”

The pretty young woman closed her eyes and bowed her head but kept smiling. No Doct- … Mary. I’m a Poly-Sci major but I took your class as my minor because I think that the development of the wolves is very important to our development as a society.”

“That raises some very interesting questions, Rhiannon. Let me put you on a private channel before I sign off from the university. There. Now, I’ve always felt that the stages of development of the wolves mirror those of our ancient ancestors, and I like to hear from other disciplines about how they view that.”

“I’m not exactly an expert, Mary ... not yet. But if I may ...”

The channel was suddenly interrupted by a priority call from the Science Counsel Chair. Normally Meili would ask Chuck or April to set up the call but they were out in the mountains repairing an antenna that mountain lions had torn down, so she accepted the call herself.

“Hello Robert. I didn’t expect a call from you today.”

The monitor changed from Rhiannon’s fresh, young face to an image entirely unexpected. Instead of the kindly, wrinkled dark face of the elderly Doctor Dupuis the screen was filled with the image of a bald Caucasian man in his forties. The face was formed into a scowl that looked to be permanently etched into the skin.

“Co-Chair Binks what a ... unexpected ... surprise.”

“Cut the false pleasantries.” Binks snarled. “You don’t like me, and I don’t like you. So cut the crap.”

“Ohhhh-kay. To what do I owe this honour of you calling, Co-Chair Binks? I thought that only the Science Chair could speak with project personnel?”

Binks smirked. “For the time being I am the Science Chair ... now don’t blow an artery ... It’s an, ah, ‘temporary’ situation.”

Meili didn’t like the tone he had said that in. “What happened to Doctor Dupuis? Is he ... is he okay?”

“Oh, he’s fine. Just a little pissed off at the moment. He was so complacent about out maneuvering me in the administrative department that he forgot to check his own ass and now he has found himself unexpectedly retired.”

“Retired? I don’t understand.”

Binks roared with laughter. “Neither did he! Doctor Dupuis forgot to check the fine print on his contract. The term of the Science Counsel Chair is set by the Minister for Science, me. While he was gloating about keeping your wolf project going I was rewriting the terms of the position. Doctor Dupuis reached mandatory retirement age rather unexpectedly yesterday. As of midnight Universal Time he lost all privileges and access as Science Chair.”

“You Bastard!”

“Ah, that’s better. Now you’re getting it.”

“Who’s going to replace him?”

“It’s more a matter of when, than who. While I was rewriting the terms of service I also adjusted the wording of the appointment policy to remove any firm timelines for a replacement to be named. Theoretically I could continue fulfilling both roles indefinitely, or until the government changes. But since the C-F has picked up a number of seats in the recent elections that is an unlikely prospect. No, Miss Cheng, I’m afraid that you’ll have to deal with me for a very long time.”

“It’s Doctor Cheng to you, and just why do you hate the wolf project so?”

“It’s not the project, my dear but what it represents - spending on science that has nothing to do with the welfare and wellbeing of our species, the human species. Whether it is searching for aliens or fostering the development of substandard species, if it takes away from the advancement of the descendants of the Great Exodus it is useless, pointless science. When the C-F wins a majority in the interplanetary parliament, and it will, young lady, it will, we’ll order the extermination of your oversexed, half-bred upstarts.”

“But they are feeling, thinking, beings. They carry as much of the human genome as us, probably more in your case.”

“Ah, I do like a feisty opponent. You and Dupuis may have managed to blackmail the company into supporting your research, Doctor, but one day I’ll find the lever you’re using on them and break it off from under you. Until then, remember, I’ve got my eye on you.”

The monitor went black as Binks closed the connection. Meili was fuming, hardly able to breath as she went over the conversation in her head.

The C-f toady had tied to goad her into saying giving something away, but in doing so he had revealed his lack of knowledge about the scandal they had averted with the website and the theft of the project video. But he had more details than anyone but her or Robert knew about the case, or did he? Was he just guessing, or did he really have a spy on EOS-1? Meili would have to tread very carefully until she could find out which.

She took a deep breath as her mother had taught her to rebalance her inner core and clarify her mind. Binks and his kind with their ‘hard’ sciences might think that they were the be all and end all of evolution, but ancient Chinese practices were way ahead of them when it came to focus and concentration.

She opened her eyes and reached out to shut off the monitor that the communication channel had been displayed on. Just as her finger was about to touch the icon to do so she noticed that a third party was still on the channel. It was the private line she had initiated with Rhiannon before Binks broke into her conversation with the student.

Had Rhiannon heard all that. She wondered? Best not to ask. Her finger crossed the last centimetre to the screen and closed all the connections.

* * * * *

Another winter had come and gone and Black was still visiting the pack two or three times in every quarter cycle. And he was still engaging in the same activities when he visited.

“Okay, it’s coming any second now. Get ready for it, here it comes ... here ... it ... comes!”

Black rolled the pinecone towards the cubs that were crouched anxiously twenty paces away. It made an erratic path as it rolled and bounced across the dirt between the dens, just like a live rodent would. The cubs scrabbled after it and Black noted which ones just chased it and which anticipated its path and tried to intercept it. Although the oldest were barely two years old he could already spot which would make good hunters and which would be better off herding the game into the killing zones.

With all the males and most of the females out hunting for food and the rest taking care of the younger cubs there was no one else to play with the older cubs and teach them the hunting games that Black had learned from his mother and her second mate. Indeed, Black found that he was spending more time with the cubs than with their mothers, much to the females’ disappointment.

On this occasion he spent so much time playing the pinecone game with the cubs that he lost track of time altogether. It was already growing dark before he noticed and realized that he should have been gone several spans of the sun ago.

He jumped up and made an apologetic gesture to Honey, whose turn it had been to lay with him, before heading for the southern exit to the den. He hurried along, head down, thinking about what game he should play with the cubs next visit when he suddenly found his way blocked by someone as large as him.

Black looked up into the dull yellow eyes of Menace and Menace stared back. Suddenly Menace’s right arm shot around. Instinctively Black retaliated with his own massive arm. Menace’s hand clasped Black’s arm just below the elbow. Black’s did the same to Menace. Arm in arm, eye to eye, they stared at each other until Menace spoke.

“Well met, black wolf.”

“Hum, yes. Well met, Menace.”

Black wondered what would come next. After all, Menace had sworn to kill him if he ever got his hands on him.

“Heading back to your den on the other side, are you?”

“Yes. I suppose so.” Black was a little disconcerted. “Have a good hunt today?”

“Not bad, not bad at all.”

They stood there, clasping arms and staring at each other for a few heartbeats more.

“I’m going up the mountain.” Menace suddenly blurted out.

Black was taken aback. He knew that Menace was showing signs of age but did not think that he was close to death.

“I’m sorry to hear that. You have been a great leader and will be missed.”

“Oh, I’m not dying yet. But I am getting weaker and I don’t relish the inevitable challenge for pack leadership like I used too. No, I’ve decided to go up the mountain for real. I want to see if the legends are true, about the mountain cat guardians and the gods at the summit and all. And if I die on the way, well at least there will be no shame in it. Do you understand, black wolf?”

“Yes. I think I do. What happens to your pack? Who will be the new Alpha?”

“Ha! That is for those left behind to decide, especially you, black wolf. And while we have this opportunity to talk so candidly. Do you not have a real name that I may call you by?”

“No, I’m afraid not. When I left my pack they had still not decided what I should go by.”

“Well, if it were my choice, I would call you ... eh? Who’s that?”

Another wolf had come upon them as they talked. It was the small pale female, Menace’s youngest.

“It is me, Menace. Moon Gazer.”

“Well met, daughter.”

She stared at him unabashedly. “That’s the first time you have acknowledged me as such.”

Menace looked down at his feet. “I’m sorry for that. When your mother died ...”

“I understand … father.”

“I’m going to be leaving soon, and I’d like ...”

Moon Gazer shook her head. “It’s too late to undo years of neglect. But I will remember you as a great leader, and a father who cared, at the end. Go in peace, father. Go in peace.”

Menace bit his lip and his eyes moistened, but he just nodded his head and shook Black’s arm before taking his leave. “One day when you return, it could be to different circumstances. Best be prepared for the worst at all times.”

“What would that be?”

“Here,” Moon Gazer injected, “let me tell you what may be in store.”

She held out her hands and Black was compelled to reach out with his own and take hers as Menace backed away.

Moon Gazer’s eyes rolled back in her head as she gripped Blacks hands. He could feel a tingling similar to the one he felt near the lightning web in his arms as she tilted her head back and began to moan. He was not sure how much time had passed before her eyes opened in a blank stare and she spoke again, but it was already dark, and Menace was no longer there.

“You will not be the Alpha of the Druid Pack.” Moon Gazer said in a hollow voice.

“I never intended to be ...”

“I will be offered, but trouble from your past will take it away.”

“From my past? You mean my future. Nothing in my past can touch me here.”

Moon Gazer’s eyes cleared. She blinked twice and then looked into Black’s eyes. “Your fate is following you, black wolf, not waiting for you. And your journey is not yet done.”

* * * * *

Meili was beginning to feel isolated at EOS-1. The thought of unknown eyes watching her every move haunted her and she lay awake nights wondering who, if anyone, was reporting back to Binks.

At first it was not so bad. She trusted Chuck, who had access to everything but never said anything to anyone else about Meili’s project. And she had Lijun, who she had grown closer to since discovering he was innocent in the wolf porn affair. She was not sure of anyone else here at EOS-1 though, including the new technician, Alice.

Working for Binks was not too difficult though, there was nothing more he could cut from the funding and nothing he could do to get her off earth short of a disciplinary breach on her part. Still, she had to watch her step. Anything even hinting at criticism of Binks or the C-F could be blown out of context and require her to leave the planet to face the Council, never to return to Earth.

One small blessing was that Binks never bothered to call her like Doctor Dupuis used to, but her next of kin could, and for free, once a month. Since her parents had all but disowned her for not getting married and producing grandchildren it was easy for her to get them to cede their time to Robert who, despite being forcibly retired, still had quite a few contacts on the Science Council.

“It’s terrible what the C-F is doing to them.” He complained to Meili. “The Intergalactic Probe Project is at a standstill and anyone that refuses to endorse their theories that Humans are the only intelligent species in the universe gets their funding streams choked to death.”

“Well, you can take heart that the Wolf Project is still going strong, thanks to you.”

“I just hope it is enough to see you through until the voters come to their senses and show these troglodytes the door. Speaking of cave dwellers, how is your black wolf doing?”

“302? Quite nicely. Menace is letting him stay longer and longer in the Druid den and is even discussing pack affairs with him. I think he is grooming him to take over when Menace gets to old; he’s made several mentions of ‘going up the mountain’. I just hope that 302 won’t have to fight for the position of Alpha. Not that I think he couldn’t win, He’s as big as any of the Druid boys now and twice as fast, it’s just that the risk of being injured is so great.”

“You’ve grow attached to him, haven’t you?”

“I suppose I have.”

“If I were still your boss I would begin the lecture on the need for scientific impartiality, but who gives a shit anymore? You have been there ten years and you will have to stay at least ten more if you want to get beyond Binks and his party’s mandate. You’re bound to like some of your subjects and dislike others. Just remember not to interfere or interact with them directly or the scientific community will be forced to demand your removal.”

He paused and checked the time. Meili’s contract only accounted for a certain amount of time for free personal calls.

“Have you been getting the parts I shipped to you?”

“Yes. They just started coming in.” Because the interstellar flights took a year or more from even the closest populated system the parts to repair the collars he had mailed before being forced out were only now arriving. Since leaving the Science Council parts were more difficult to come by and he had to rely on used ones purchased on the galactic net. Fortunately, his pension was large enough to live on and leave enough left over to support Meili’s efforts.

“I have to sign off now. You be careful though. Word is that Binks already knows about the shipments and is as mad as a hippo in heat.”

“But how could …” The signal was abruptly cut off as the time for the call expired, leaving Meili felling lonely again.

She shut down the tachyon transmitter herself. She had used it so many times Chuck trusted her to work it when he and Alice were away from EOS-1. It was almost midnight here and all the wolves that had collars were asleep so she left the monitoring station and returned to her room.

How could Binks know about the parts, she wondered? Robert had them shipped as personal parcels, labeled as hobby materials. Many of the workers at the remote stations like EOS-1 had hobby material shipped in. Chuck painted metallic figurines. Alice did jigsaw puzzles, the more difficult the better. Even Lijun had a hobby, he painted landscapes with ink in the ancient Chinese style, and had paper, brushes and ink blocks shipped in at regular intervals to ensure he would not run out. Alice may be able to do a puzzle twice but if Lijun ran out of ink he was screwed for the year it would take to get more to him.

When she opened her room she caught a whiff of his smell. Lijun had a distinct odour, partially due to his diet which was heavy in pork and garlic, whereas she preferred lightly seasoned seafood, and partially because of the sandalwood soap he preferred over the generic brand the station supplied. Together they made Lijun smell like a freshly cleaned barbeque. He must have come there looking for her earlier.

Out of habit her eyes scanned the room. Her computer was still off, just as she had left it, and her tablet was still face down on the bed; not that it would take James Bond to set those things right, she thought. Even the box of parts that she had opened the other day was still on her desk where she had left it, clearly marked ‘Personal - Craft Supplies’.

Because it was a personal package the box had been delivered to her room rather than the lab where she repaired the collars. She had opened the box here and had only taken out the parts she needed right away, leaving the rest for later. She did not want anyone sneaking into her lab and discovering a fully stocked parts department where there was none before.

So how did Binks know that the parts had arrived? Could there be a hidden camera in her lab? Or here in her room?

She looked around anxiously, but with the miniature technology these days one would be impossible to spot. She would have to ask Chuck to sweep her room for bugs, if he would agree to do it off the record, that was.

She picked up the half-empty box and rattled the parts around inside. She wondered if Binks would go as far as to have someone tamper with the parts while she was working. Sabotage seemed right up his alley. She picked out one of the more complicated ones and brought it up close to eyes to examine it.

The part looked fine. But there was some sticky foreign material that she was sure was not there when she opened the box and laid them out the day they arrived. She brought it up to her nose and sniffed it, thinking that some grease from another part might have gotten on it.

It didn’t smell like grease though, it smelled like garlic and sandalwood.

* * * * *

Several cycles after his first chance meeting with Menace Black arrived at the Druid den to find it in a state of chaos. Females were crying, males were yelling and shoving each other around, cubs were cowering between their mothers’ legs. Only Moon Gazer seemed unaffected as she stood and watched from her hillside.

Black avoided the pandemonium in the den and joined her.

“What is going on down there?”

“Menace has gone up the mountain.”

“Was he killed on the hunt or did he die in his sleep?”

“Oh, he’s not dead. He announced at yesterday’s meal that he was leaving the pack to go up the mountain. Then he left, without a word of guidance on who he thought should be the new Alpha.”

“I’m sorry to hear that. I didn’t think that he was really going to do it and I was hoping he wasn’t. We were starting to get along well the last few cycles.”

“That is part of problem. Most of my sisters think that you should be the Alpha because you’re the only wolf around her that can breed with them in any event. Some of the males agree and some don’t. No one knows what to do about it though.”

“What do you think I should do?”

“I think you should go down there and take charge.”

“Who should I support as Alpha?”

“Yourself.”

“But you predicted that I would never be Alpha of the Druid pack.”

“Yes, I did.” Moon Gazer turned to face him for the first time since he had joined her on the hill. “But that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t try.”

More confused than ever, Black descended the hill and entered the den.

“There he is.” A male named Thrasher growled as Black stepped into the thick of the shoving match.

“Let’s hear what he has to say.” Another shouted from the back of the pack.

“Why should we listen to him? He’s not Alpha. He’s not even Druid.”

Trapper stepped forward, shoving several of her smaller brothers aside in the process. She stood by Black and said in a loud voice “You should listen because over half the Druid pack now consists of his cubs, and because he is chosen.”

By their expressions the males were generally unhappy with the situation, but they did not object, not out loud.

Trapper turned to black and said “Speak, black wolf.”

“Thrasher is right, I am not Druid, not yet. But other packs accept worthy wolves that wander, and sometimes take them as Alpha, without a fight to the death.” He looked pointedly at Thrasher as he said the last. The wolf was the largest of Menace’s sons and most likely to challenge him or anyone else that claimed the position of Alpha.

“Your father choose not to accept wanderers into his pack, and that was his right, but you all know how it was a few short years ago, when the pack could not grow anything but older. Eventually you would have all had to leave or wait for a stronger pack to come along and take your territory. But the Druid pack has grown, thanks to me, and prospered. Have I not contributed my share of meat to the pack?”

Reluctant grumbles of agreement came from the assembled males.

“And has the winter hunt not improved now that you know the secret of making snow feet?”

There was less grumbling and a few more respectful nods at that.

“Will you be changing the mating rules if you become Alpha?” Snubby called over Thrasher’s shoulder.

“I could,” Black began, “but it would not help any of you here. The only breeding females are your own sisters or nieces, and that is a taboo that even I cannot alter.”

The rumble of several discussions broke out. There was less shouting and no shoving now, but there was no consensus yet either. Thrasher turned back to Black.

“You may well be invited to join the pack but, as you said, you are not Druid yet. You have had your say, and now it is time for the pack members to discuss and decide. go back to your place by the home of the gods, black wolf, and wait until you see a marker on the ridge. On that day you can safely come into Druid territory again to hear our decision. If it goes against you, you will have free passage off our lands for the last time.”

“And if it goes in my favour?”

“There could be conditions on your acceptance. You may have your own decision to make then. Meet us on the plain north of the den when you come.”

Black dipped his head respectfully and left.

Three days passed before the marker appeared on the ridge. Black packed up all his possessions and brought them with him onto Druid territory. If they agreed to let him join the pack, even with conditions, he would move into a chamber in the den. If not, he was determined to become a wanderer again, and travel far from the family that he was forbidden to see.

Almost all the adult Druids were assembled on the plain. the only one missing was Moon gazer, who must have stayed at the den to watch over the cubs. Black noticed that there were a dozen packs on the ground among the wolves. Was someone leaving, he wondered?

Thrasher greeted him as an equal.

“Have the wolves of the Druid pack come to a decision, Thrasher?”

“In a manner of speaking, yes. Those that are still members of the pack, that is.”

Black glanced at the packs. He could see weapons and tools sticking out of them and smell the meat paste they made for long hunts. A couple even had snow feet tied to them. He wondered if dissenters of whatever decision had been made were being exiled. If it was the females he had mated with he would take them with him and start a new pack somewhere else. Maybe further south along the god trail where other wolves feared to live.

“What has been decided?”

“There being no way around the mating taboos the males of the Druid pack have decided to leave and become wanderers.”

“What? All of you?”

“Yes, all of us. There is safety in numbers, and we’ll need that to get across the plain without being attacked by our jealous neighbours. Once we are in the foothills we’ll split up into singles or pairs and seek out homes and mates in the packs you spoke of to Menace before he went up the mountain. Meanwhile, we have ceased to be members of the Druid pack and those remaining, our sisters and two old aunts beyond breeding age, have decided to invite to join.”

Thrasher bent and picked up a heavy pack. He shouldered it and turned to leave as the rest of the males picked up their packs and did the same. Black stopped him with a hand on his arm.

“But ... all of you? There are over twenty cubs in the den that need food and half the sisters are pregnant again. Who will hunt for the meat they all need?”

“You will.” Thrasher said with a cruel smile. “Didn’t think of that when you decided to take on nine mates did you, black wolf?” Then he turned and walked away with the rest of the males, laughing.

Black stood among the females watching silently until the ten brothers and their two surviving uncles disappeared over the next ridge. Black would have liked to call them back, but he could not think of anything he could say or offer that would persuade them to stay. They were becoming wanderers for the same reasons that all males did - they were just doing it all at once.

“Don’t worry.” Trapper said beside him as the last of her brothers disappeared from sight. “We have a good stock of meat and with you hunting with us I’m sure that we will have enough .... probably.”

She did not need to add that one bad winter could wipe out even a strong pack.

Black turned to face the sisters. “So, I’m a Druid now?”

“Yes!” Daisy squealed.

“And Alpha, I assume?”

“Not quite yet.” Flame stepped forward and twirled Black’s chest hairs with one claw. “We may decide to have a female Alpha, like in your Mother’s pack.”

“Not you, though.” Trapper snorted.

“Not anyone yet.” Daisy interceded. “Gods, you two sound like our brothers.

“Of course,” Flame continued as she walked her fingers up Black’s chest and tapped him on the snout, “If we have a male Alpha he will have to pick a female to be his official mate, a female Alpha, if you will.”

“But you will still get to mate with any female not directly related to you.” Daisy hastened to add.

Flame frowned at her younger sister. “For now.”

“Now wait a breath here …” Thrasher had warned that there might be conditions to his acceptance, but Black was not expecting this. He loved all the sisters equally, and all his cubs, but to chose one? He could foresee the problems just from the hopeful look on their faces.

Both Flame and Trapper expected to be named his official mate, although for different reasons. Naming either one would create a division in the pack. Naming anyone else would just get the devious Flame plotting against that one while Trapper challenged her authority on the hunt. That could result in the worst thing that could happen: the breakdown of the pack. None of the others were as strong willed or as talented as the two eldest, and none were as respected … except …

“I’ve made a decision.” Black announced. “I will …” He was about to say that he would accept the role as Alpha and name Moon Gazer as his official mate. She was the only one that the older sisters showed any respect for, the only one that was sought out for advice on when to hunt, how much to put away for the coming winter, and other valuable knowledge that the grandmothers would have passed down had there been any left in the Druid pack. None of the sisters could deny her value to the pack, and it didn’t matter if she was mating with Black or not, the pack was not about to run out of cubs.

It was, he felt, the perfect solution, but he never got to express it, for just then Frost called out. “Look! There is a wolf returning!”

They all turned to see. There, on the horizon north and west of them was the silhouette of a single large wolf. It was not coming from the same spot as the brothers had disappeared, but one could have easily slipped away and circled around to come back from a different direction.

From this distance they could not make out which one it was.

“He’s as big as Thrasher.” Daisy said. “But Thrasher would never sneak back, would he?”

“No. Besides, he’s too dark.”

“None of our brothers are as dark or as big as that.” Moon, who had the keenest vision, commented.

“The other packs cannot have heard about Menace yet,” Fleet pointed out, “so it can’t have come to challenge for Alpha.”

“Could it be just a wanderer then?” Sun asked.

“Yes.” Black said in voice so full of unhappiness that the rest turned to stare at him. “It is.”

Black’s teeth were clenched and his lips were a hard, straight line. It looked like he had just decided to take on a fully-grown bison … alone. The sisters turned back to see what it was that had gotten under his kin so.

They watched as the new wolf approached without fear. Full of confidence in his prowess, he never faltered or slowed his pace. He was easily as large as Menace had been, but he was much younger, more Black’s age. He wore nothing except for a loin cloth, and he carried nothing more than a club similar to the one Black had and a small sack for provisions. Its expression, evident from fifty strides away, was one of bemusement.

Black started walking to meet the wolf at that point. He stopped twenty-five paces away from the group of confused females, just within their hearing.

The other wolf continued to walk at the same steady pace until it was a mere reach away from Black, well within striking range of the club it carried. The females tensed, realizing that Black was unarmed, but Black held his ground.

The big wolf stopped and smiled in a manner that sent chills down more than one spine.

“Hello brother.”

“Hello Bruiser. How is mother and our sisters doing?”

Based on The rise of Black Wolf

Produced by National Geographic Television, © 2010 NGHT LLC