Gail’s heartbeat hastened. A part of her assumed Zane would’ve joined the Alphas in their hunting, but that would’ve been foolish to leave the cave without a Beta, one who wasn’t unconscious. Zane certainly wished that Gail would’ve stayed that way.

“You’ve got guts wanting to challenge me for my rank,” said Zane, an edge to his voice. “I would’ve loved to rip you to shreds for even thinking of taking it from me, but you just had to pass out.”

“Father . . .” Sierra warned, but he paid no mind to her.

“There should only be one Beta! It’s been agreed upon since the pack’s formation, way before your lump of flesh and fur had existed.”

“Would you like to challenge the Alphas’ decision to overrule that?” Gail provoked. “I’m sure they wouldn’t mind mangling you.”

Zane snorted his disgust. “You’re such a privileged mutt. If only you weren’t their daughter, they would’ve left you buried six feet under snow.”

“Why you—!” Gail flexed her claws. “I’ll prove to you right now that I can be a Beta!”

Zane scoffed. “You’re worth nothing more than a Theta. What makes you think you can challenge me now, so soon after your long nap, and expect to dominate me?” He snarled, both out of resentment and amusement.

A chilly air of silence separated the two. Gail’s heart was on the verge of bursting out, much like how she was debating whether or not to pounce for Zane's neck. He must've been feeling the same. His muscles were tense, his legs bunching up in preparation of a leap. Gail wondered what was restraining him from attacking.

Then something else was thumping. Sierra clung onto Gail’s arm. Her chest was pressed against her, her heart pounding as fast or even heavier than Gail’s heart. Never could she bring herself to hurt her father in front of her, in spite of the indignation building up inside her. Zane probably felt the same—hurting Sierra’s closest friend. Or it could’ve been something else entirely unknown to Gail.

The tension clung to the air. Everyone was still, save for their heaving chests. It wasn’t until a commanding howl diverted all their attentions. They all turned to see Terra glaring at them.

“What is this commotion about? I recognized your squabbling from the other side of the cave.”

Zane huffed. He clearly couldn’t find the courage to voice against Terra, as he said, “Nothing. I was simply telling Gail how a Beta should act.” With a hand, he gestured at Gail and Sierra. “These two were acting like cubs playing

Liar. Gail’s muscles bunched, but she didn’t act on her fury. She didn’t want to escalate this any further than it should.

“Right,” Terra said. She faced Gail, “Well, now that you’re up and you’ve managed to walk more than a meter on your feet, it’s time you head out.”

“Head out?” Gail repeated, perking her brow.

Terra’s voice had a little edge as she said, “Yes. You’re clearly incompetent as a Beta if you need this mutt to lecture you how to do your job.” She paid no mind to Zane’s indignant flare as she grabbed Gail by the arm and dragged her away.

Gail cast her eyes back at Sierra as her legs grudgingly followed Terra. Her frown voiced the sadness she couldn’t utter with Terra in daughter-smacking distance.

Sierra put her hands on her maw’s sides and called after, “We’ll just go later! I’ll wait for you in my den!”

Somehow Gail doubted she would get the chance to do so. Without much choice, she solemnly waved her goodbye as she put more effort into matching Terra’s pace.

Looking up at the sky and the pale sun’s position, Gail could see that it was past noon. She had to resist the urge to admire the outside world when she had to match Terra’s swift pace. Still, she was able to take in the fresh scent of pine in the open air. Out here, it felt like she could breathe more. She hadn’t thought much of it, having been in the cave for most of her life, but she no longer felt suffocated. However, she was starting to lose her breath as she tried to not lag behind Terra too much.

In front of her, Terra prowled across the calf-high snow on all fours with her spear strapped onto her back. Gail had only seen her run like that when entering the cave before standing up on two legs. Even then, she’d never seen her body look this . . . feral. Her ribs were more compact, her legs—hind legs now—had proper haunches that gave her a digitigrade look, and she moved swifter than Gail could ever run on two legs. Thankfully, she slowed her pace every now and then for Gail to keep up.

Gail was tempted to try it herself. She arched her back, keeping her pace, and dropped on all fours. Unsurprisingly, she couldn’t maintain the fast pace. Her arms moved unnaturally, and haunches didn’t just magically pop out of her legs. She left like a mangled cub trying to keep up with her mother.

When her arm bent too far to one side too far, she skidded forward with a yelp, and her face churned up snow. She lay like that, disgruntled, until the pawsteps of Terra drew closer.

“I don’t get how you run like that,” Gail said, her voice muffled by the mound of snow. When she looked up, snow on her snout, Terra still stood as though she were a feral.

“It comes naturally to me,” Terra said, shrugging. “I don’t expect you to know it already, but you must learn it soon. It’d be embarrassing to be a Beta and not know how to tap into that side of yours, so expect the next training sessions to be around that.” She snorted.

Gail couldn’t help thinking she was laughing at her. Which was different. Weird. Normally Terra would be scrutinizing at her for eating snow or not knowing how to run like her or even trying to run like her. But she just snorted, in a laughing matter, and she shrugged and answered her straight without a slap on the wrist.

“Get up.” Terra prodded Gail’s forehead with a paw. “I’ll slow my pace just a little for your sorry legs, but we need to get there quickly. Treat this as a sort of training as a Beta.”

Okay, maybe her strictness wasn’t entirely gone, but Gail could tolerate this. With a grunt, she got up, and she followed Terra on two legs.

They were ways away from their cave by now. Everything looked new to Gail, having been heading the opposite direction of the ritual grounds and the Forest of Shadows. While it still snowed farther to the east (she found the courage to at least ask which direction they were heading), it was weak, and hints of green began breaking through the snow as they traveled. The land had sloped to form hills and flat stretches of land that was home to flora new to Gail. It felt more open than the tunnels of their and tightly packed pines and spruce of the forest near their cave.

Small bushes, willows, and poppies blossomed in the shallow snow. Their colors especially popped out to Gail. No more dull gray stone walls and floors of the cave, and no more teasing of the greenery she could only view from the cave mouth. It was wonderful.

Terra looked over her shoulder at Gail and said, “While I’m happy you stuck with the plan of being a Beta, I can’t help feeling disappointed.”

“Why?” Gail couldn’t resist asking.

“I would’ve preferred you to strip the role off of Zane, but this can still work out.” Terra tore her eyes away to look ahead. “I’m sure you can find a way.”

Those words clung to Gail’s mind. This felt like her Cubbing ritual all over again. She had a choice again, but now it wasn’t as easy as pointing at Zane and fainting. She had to devise a way to achieve it, but a new though ignited in her mind—why do I need to demote Zane?

Her mind shut that thought out when they crest a hill. On the other side, another pack stood waiting at a campsite. Gail’s eyes were as wide as the pale sun. The pack had a little over a dozen members, and it was consisted of different kinds of Ferians—foxes, dholes, deer, and a grizzly to name a few that stood out. Prey and enemies of Gail’s pack coalesced in wait for something.

She cast an uneasy glance at Terra. “Did we take a wrong turn?”

“No. These people are who we are looking for.” Terra traversed down the hill, and Gail could only follow with stomach-clenching apprehension.

Many tents were pitched to serve as shelter. Some Ferians resided in them currently, sitting by the entrances whose flaps were open for the day, while the others were sat in another spot where fallen logs served as seats. They all donned leather armor, some of them wearing bulky furred coats while others who were more comfortable in the cold wore cloaks.

There was a campfire set up with a covered pot dangling above the embers of a fire that was snuffed out. So other Ferians did prefer to cook their food, Gail thought. It was still a foreign concept to her, and these Ferians were also alien to her.

They held no hostility as Gail and Terra approached. Surprise was even absent in their welcoming smiles, as though they were expecting them. Though, they grew curious whenever they looked at Gail.

Terra stood erect on two legs now. Her feralesque haunches had straightened, and her broad shoulders and ribs returned as she rolled her shoulders. She stopped in front of a buck. He wore a set of bone charms around his neck. Despite that and his towering stature punctuated by his antlers, he emitted a gentle aura that somehow still managed to unnerve Gail.

“So this is your daughter, I presume?” the deer observed. “She has your looks. Probably the same attitude too with how she’s eyeing everyone suspiciously.”

Gail snapped her eyes to glare at him. He smiled, chuckling even.

“I didn’t come all the way here to sweet-talk about her, Shamere.” Terra scowled. “Let’s cut to the chase.”

“Right, I apologize.” Shamere bowed his head.

Terra looked at Gail and jerked her head to the side. “Go on, shake that fear off your fur. They’re our friends, if you will. Trust that they won’t hurt you.” She gave a sidelong glance at Shamere. “At least, I hope they won’t dare to think about hurting you.”

“We have known one another for years, Terra. You know I wouldn’t let myself or any of my squadmates lay a finger on your precious daughter.”

A restrained growl came from Terra. She and Shamere then entered one of the tents with two other Ferians, closing its flaps, and leaving Gail with unfamiliar faces. While the other Ferians made no attempt to approach her, their eyes bared down on her like the pale sun, burning with curiosity.

Gail stared all the same, except with a lot more wariness. The Ferians staring at her made her stomach churn uneasily, as though they were plotting on how to snatch her away with Terra gone. Even the uninterested ones minding their own businesses gave her a sense of dread. Being new to Ferians and packs of another kind, she didn’t know how to evaluate their aptitude except for potentially dangerous and lethal and can kill me in a heartbeat.

One of the Ferians caught her eyes in particular. A striped hyena was sitting by her lonesome under a pine tree, farther away from where everyone else was gathered. She had what looked to be a book propped on her raised legs, and she would take her eyes off it to steal anxious glances of Gail before darting back down and squinting at whatever she was reading.

Collectively, they all reminded her of the panther she met in the Forest of Shadows. She didn’t know whether to trust any of them and how she should feel. As her mind momentarily returned to plotting her vengeance against the panther, she thought that she could catch a whiff of his scent.

Then a familiar voice shouted, “The river’s running colder than usual this winter! We just have to suck it up if we want to drink out here!” A panther wearing similar leather armor and an obsidian midnight blue cloak came padding toward the campsite, taking a sip off a waterskin before sealing it. Specks of snow plastered onto his fur, and his ear twitched to send some flying off. There was no mistaking who this was.

With a scowl, Gail stomped toward him and hissed. “Don’t think I’ve forgotten who you are! I can’t believe that you just so happen to be from this pack!”

The panther looked at her, dazed for a moment at the accusation. He flared his nostrils to scent her, and with a flick of his ears, realization dawned on his stupid face. “Oh! It’s you, that wolf from the woods.”

“Don’t ‘Oh, it’s you’ me. You nearly chopped my head off!”

“Hey, hey, don’t go putting that against me.” The panther waved his hands defensively. “I wasn’t even aiming for your neck, and it’s pretty difficult to aim when I started seeing three copies of you. Besides, your head’s still intact, ain’t it? And you’re even bringing the dagger with you around,” he observed, pointing at Gail’s sheathed weapon.

Gail’s brow furrowed further as a growl rumbled in her throat. He was right, but she wasn’t going to give that point to him. “You don’t know if it’s the same one! I could’ve left the knife to rust in that tree for all you know.”

The panther raised a brow, unconvinced. Or maybe he was always just this smug with a clawable face.

Now in daylight without shadows for his dark fur to blend with, Gail could have a better look at him. He was about the same height as him, if not taller by just an inch, and probably close in age. No longer shrouded in the darkness of the forest, he looked way less menacing, and his tone wasn’t as slimy or devious.

A young plump fox came padding toward them. He asked, “Have you two met before, Reed? They look like Terra, except somehow more . . .”

Reed jabbed at the fox’s arm, breaking the awe and blush on his face. “Shut your trap, Lemmy! Brush off whatever’s on your mind, you just met her. And yeah, I saw her once. Her name’s Gail. It was some days ago, actually, when we all split up to do some scouting that I met her, though I couldn’t spend much time with her when I remembered we needed to rendezvous at that time.” He cast a quick glance at Gail.

Reed. So that’s his name.

Gail looked at the fox. She didn’t think that there would be another one in her Claw their faces off list this soon, but this young fox proved her wrong. When he extended an arm out for a handshake, she squinted at it. “Sorry,” she said, “I don’t want to make friends with people who invade our den and tries to steal our cubs.”

Lemmy shot her an indignant look. “Huh?! What do you mean?! I don’t steal— I haven’t even seen a wolf’s den, let alone tasted wolf!”

“Well, I for one don’t want to make friends with someone who accuses me of trying to murder them when I was trying to help them,” Reed harrumphed.

Gail scowled, though she couldn’t help grinning. “Then we have something in common, then.”

“I don’t hate your guts that much—yet.” Reed shot her a look, suggesting to Gail that he may have just been defending his friend who was now backing away awkwardly. Regardless, Gail didn’t care and would claw them both equally. Though, in actuality, Gail had only ever seen one feral fox who wandered into their cave years ago. She didn’t know why they intruded their cave; all she was told by the Gammas was that foxes were among the animals that wanted to steal and eat their cubs.

Reed went over to the campfire nearby to fill a wooden bowl with some sort of liquid with meaty chunks from the pot. Despite his disgruntled tone, he offered, “Hey, we still have some stew leftover from earlier. It’s still warm, and everyone else is pretty much famished.”

Gail raised a brow. She was more focused on Reed having seconds more than the fact that he was offering food to her. “You’re taking more food from your prey pile?”

“Yes . . . ? And what do you mean by prey pile? This is just stew, unless you meant the meat in it which I guess was prey.”

“But shouldn’t that go to your leader? And you haven’t even asked permission from someone higher than you before taking more food!”

“Hah, bold of you to assume that I’m not high ranking.” Reed sipped from the bowl despite holding a wooden spoon on one hand. “Which . . . I’m not—not yet, at least. Also, I’m starting to believe my first impression of you was spot on.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“That you have never met a Ferian like me, but I guess now it’s more of: you haven’t met any other Ferian.” He gestured at her with his spoon. “No offense, but you sound like one of those deranged old dogs who keep yapping about how his household rules are better than everyone else’s way of living.”

Gail continued to scowl at Reed, but silently a part of her agreed. He made it sound as though there was a ranking system in this pack of his, but it wasn’t evident with the way everyone acted. She glanced around to see them talking with one another like close friends, and the tents that served as shelter did not differ. There wasn’t even one huge tent for Shamere to reside in, much like an Alpha would if the Twinned Fangs were to ever survive out of their cave. She looked back at Reed to see him offering him a bowl of stew.

“Come on, I’m trying my hardest to be nice to you,” he said. “I swear you won’t get in trouble if that’s what you’re worried about.”

Gail stared at the bowl of cooked food for the longest time. This wasn’t even her pack and she was going to eat a portion of their food supply. But if Reed says it’s all right . . .

She sighed. “Fine. I still don’t forgive you for almost stabbing a dagger into my throat.” She accepted the bowl that was slightly warm to the touch. “But also . . . thanks, I guess.”

She tried to not stare too dumbly at the spoon. She had an idea of how it was used to eat the food, but she first watched how Reed used it before mimicking what he did. Scooping a spoonful with a small chunk of meat and a slice of carrot, she put it into her mouth. Her taste buds were assaulted with an exotic flavor. Unbeknownst to her, her tail wagged furiously as she savored the taste of this so-called stew. Is this what we’ve been missing? Why haven’t we been cooking our food like this?

Reed stifled his laughter as much as he could, but it still came out as a snort. He shook his head a little before walking off and rolling a shoulder, gesturing for Gail to follow. He headed toward the lone pine tree where the isolated hyena resided. A chill suddenly went up Gail’s spine.

The Prowling Salvagers. This pack couldn’t have been that; they weren’t primarily composed of hyenas unlike the infamous savages, and Terra certainly wouldn’t have been allied with them. Still, Gail felt uneasy about being near this striped hyena.

Much like everyone, she wore leather armor that’s layered with a fluffy furred coat, yet she didn’t look as menacing as some of the others with her bashful demeanor. She had golden-brown fur with streaks of black and occasional splotches of white. Judging by appearance again, she looked to also be around the same age as Gail and Reed.

When the hyena spotted them approaching, she let out a yelp and drew her head closer to her book, her eyes darting about the page of whatever she was reading. While Gail grew more suspicious of her, Reed chuckled. “You’re a lot jumpier than usual today, Yvette.”

“Ah, a-am I?” the hyena pulled her legs closer. “S-sorry if I’m weirding your friend out. I’m still not comfortable with meeting new people, especially someone that looks . . .” She pressed her snout against her book, her eyes peeking through small gaps in her white bangs and over her knees.

“That’s fair, but you gotta get used to meeting strangers; not only to potentially make new friends to gush over books and stories with, but so you can tell between friend and foe.” Reed gestured at Gail with a hand. “Let’s say you met this person alone in the woods. Are they an enemy?”

“Um . . . n-no? She looks friendly and nice.”

Reed and Gail both cocked their heads at her response. “Really?” Reed questioned. “Even when she’s wearing that terrifying skull,” he turned to face Gail, “which, by the way, it’s cool and all, but also pretty unnerving to look at.”

“Hey! Not as unnerving as when you were just hanging around in that forest, acting all menacing and stuff with you perched on the tree.”

“Ah, so you admit that I frightened you when you first saw me? Is that what you’re saying?” Before Gail could protest, Reed looked at Yvette and triumphantly said, “Hah! I told you my stalking technique and guise can scare people.”

“I still don’t think it’s at all scary.” Yvette smiled shyly. Only now did Gail notice her snaggle tooth. “But at least you’re happy knowing you managed to spook someone.”

Reed grinned, then happily took a spoonful of stew, while Gail contemplated on spoiling his pride. She was not terrified of him when she saw him in the Forest of Shadows; just surprised, that was all. Though, she couldn’t help saying, “You know, the more I think about it, the more forced I recall your voice being back then, and you did break your guise when you made me slip down and fall.”

“That’s because I didn’t want to end up killing someone, and stop blaming everything on me when you couldn’t see the obvious ditch!” Reed shook his head. “Whatever. Anyway, Yvette.” He looked at the hyena and gestured at Gail once more. “Here’s someone that’s a stranger to you. What do you do?”

“U-um . . .” Yvette pursed her lips, then she perked up. “Oh! W-what’s your name, kind stranger?”

“That’s . . . not exactly what I would say to someone who looks like her, but sure, modesty.” Reed turned to Gail. “What say you, stranger?”

The wolf glared at him. Her gaze then softened when she looked at Yvette. “I’m Gail.” When Reed gestured her to continue, she questioned, “What? I already know her name, I don’t need to ask her.”

“Wow, eavesdropping on other people’s conversations to gain information, I see?” Reed leaned down and shielded one side of his mouth with a hand, as though to be quiet from Gail despite his audible volume. “I would advise befriending people who’s as devious as her. Who knows what else she could know about you?”

“You’re only giving me more reasons to avoid meeting new people, Reed,” muttered Yvette, then quickly added, “B-but I do want to get to know you better, Gail! You seem nice and chill and pretty, um . . . pretty . . . Ah, have a seat beside me! We can read this book together!” Her perked ears flattened as she suddenly looked more flushed. “Do you like books?”

Gail almost felt bad by how bashful Yvette was, but at the same time she found her coy nature to be quite adorable. “I do like books,” she replied with a smile. “But . . . I haven’t really read much, or at least I haven’t read a book that wasn’t old and faded.”

“Ah, that’s a shame to hear, but maybe you can enjoy this book with me?” She patted the ground beside her.

“Sure,” Gail accepted and sat down, eating a spoonful of stew. “What kinda book is it?”

“It’s um, nerdy, as Reed would say—natural history, cultural history. Since we were going to be traveling a lot, I thought I’d learn more about the different civilizations of Piones. It’s no Kish Avelly or Daffodil Butters book, but I’m still enjoying myself with it. Though, I’m not sure if it’s quite your taste . . .” She glanced at Reed who shrugged. “Hm, lemme see if I can find something interesting for you.”

Gail honestly didn’t mind the “nerdy” stuff. She didn’t even know what her taste in books was, but she let Yvette flip through the pages as she mumbled to herself.

“Origin of Ferians, the Hiveling Queens, the Crimson Desert . . . Ah! Maybe this will interest you?” She passed the book to Gail to hold with one hand. When the wolf read the title of the section break that was written in magnificent calligraphy. “It’s one of my favorite parts of this book, and any other book that talks about this. Are you familiar with them?”

In an almost hushed voice, Gail replied, “Yeah, I’m very familiar with Spirivants.”

She flipped to the next page and she was greeted by a two-paged inked illustration. Ventay was among the three figures who stood. She looked just as awe-inspiring in this book, although Gail noticed something off. Counting them, there were more tails in this illustration than when she’d met her in the Forest of Shadows. Another incorrect depiction.

Below the illustration was a caption naming the figures. From left to right: Ventay, the hunter among the stars; Fate, the reader of destiny; and Purrah, the watcher of the afterlife.

Fate was a massive deer with majestic antlers that branched for several feet, splitting off in several directions and emitting what looked to be glimmers of light; looking at its entirety, it resembled a thorny crown atop the deer’s head as she stood proudly with blank silver eyes.

The other Spirivant, Purrah, looked to be a panther, however the curving horns she possessed threw Gail off. Her slender tail was akin to that of Reed’s, so she must at least have been a feline despite the eccentric horns. The jewelry and ornaments that adorned her curvy body accentuated her sensuous pose.

Yvette’s eyes glittered and she couldn’t hide her gleeful smile. Gail was just as eager as she was as she turned the page that detailed the origin of Spirivants.

However, before she could read on or talk to Yvette, the voice of Terra addressed her. “Gail, it’s time we head back. I’ve finished my business here for today.”

Gail’s heart sank as did her ears. She was about to plead to Terra if she could stay for just a bit longer, just like a cub would to her mother to beg for more playtime, but the stern demeanor of Terra made her think better of it. She gave a crestfallen look at Yvette and Reed before getting up. She returned the book to Yvette as well as handing over her half-empty bowl of cold stew. “You can have it,” she said. Terra’s eyes grew curious for a second but said nothing more.

Waving the two of them goodbye, Gail followed Terra, whose pace eventually hastened as though she was in a hurry. Gail tried to match her as best she could even if she couldn’t go on all fours as Terra had just done. Her mind flirted with the idea of spending more time with Reed and Yvette in the future and if she even could, but she grew concerned as to why Terra’s paws crashed against the ground so aggressively with each hasty step.

She asked, “Did something happen? Why are you in such a hurry?”

“It’s that time of the year again,” Terra huffed. “Our territory has become much more perilous now. The Prowling Salvagers are here.”