I told the two-footed ones that it would be quickest if I scouted out where the wolves had their den. This was the third year the village had lost a lot of livestock at the end of winter. The losses were always worse now than any other time. That suggested they had a wolf family establish a den two years ago. The flocks were a safe and easy protein source for a growing wolf family. The facts all fit.

Though a pack has its own territory, it is always on the move to chase enough prey to survive. Wolf packs are nomadic except at denning time in the early spring. Wolves prefer to return to the same den every year to give birth to their cubs safely at the beginning of warmer weather. I estimated that the wolves hadn't left the area yet because they had taken down a cow just a few days ago.

If the village wanted the wolves to go away, we needed to attack the den before the cubs were old enough for the pack to start their hunting pattern for the rest of the year. Once the cubs could keep up with the rest of the family, then the pack would become nomadic until the end of the next winter when they returned. The time to remove the pack was now before the cubs could travel.

Wolves prefer weaker targets, like the young, the elderly, the injured, and the sick. They won't chase the young strong buck when there's an old doe that's an easier target. Livestock like sheep in a confined pasture might as well be on the menu for the dinner special for wolves. Again, the pack will target to weaker of the flock but that's not what the sheepherders will see. They will view it as a valuable fleece and future source of mutton destroyed. I had already determined the cow they lost recently was a mother who had a difficult delivery and lost the calf and a lot of blood, so she was an obvious target.

"What about other livestock kills during the good weather?" Petel asked me while I was quizzing the goblins about the patterns they observed when they lost sheep.

* Those are probably killed by other wolves traveling through the area. Unless you can find a way to protect the herds at night, you should expect some losses in warmer weather to traveling wolves because you can't predict when they will pass through your pastures. The elves use spells to turn wolves away from their livestock. Do you not have mages that can help you protect your flocks? *

That's when I found out that goblins don't use magic as the elves do. Goblin magic only works on non-living things, like dirt and rock and pigments in paint.

I spent the next three days exploring the area around the village to find where the wolves have their den. I did it on my own since none of the two-footed could keep up with me, not even Wren or Owl.

On the third day, I found the den and was ambushed for my efforts. Wolves are inferior to cougars. Their strength is their intelligence and ability to work with one another. I found their den but they found me. I heard my attacker just before he or she struck. That tiny slice of warning kept me from having my hindquarters shredded, which was the classic move for a hunting wolf.

I was lucky there were only two of them chasing me instead of the whole family group. There were likely one or two mothers with pups in the den they had dug out under a rocky overhang. I didn't get a chance to case the den area or count how many were in the pack.

A pack of wolves is nothing more than an extended family descended from a single breeding pair. For ruminants like deer, wolves are most effective with two to four hunters, and for larger animals like moose, bison, or water buffalo, six or more. That's for cooperative hunts in the winter. In the summer, you will sometimes find many young wolves hunting by themselves or in newly-made young pairs breaking off a pack to start their own family in a new territory.

As it was, I got bit but not too badly. Comparing wolves to cougars, we're about the same in terms of speed. Wolves have staying power too. They can keep the speed up for long distances. Then again, so can I. I'm bigger so I am a bit faster. The problem was that bite was bleeding. Running full out opened the wound. With about a third of a league left to the gate of the palisade around the village, I started getting light-headed. That's when I realized I was losing too much blood. I cast the spell for mind talking, even though I knew it was a great distance, and put my all into throwing my "voice" as far and as wide as I could.

* HELP! WOUNDED! WOLVES! *

It was good that the scattered limber pines and cedars were spaced out. I knew I was getting near the edge of my endurance because I started stepping on the bunches of burr grass instead of avoiding them. So now I had burrs working their way between the pads on my paws. I was going to be in a world of hurt if I managed to survive this.

But I had to survive this. How would my boy survive without me? Or maybe, I realized, I needed my boy for me to survive? Did Andray really need me? He could walk with the help of the false leg. He had good friends to help him. He had growing power and expertise as a mage. He didn't really need me anymore. I was the one who needed him.

I heard and felt the snap of wolf jaws just hairs behind my heel. I needed to stop being distracted and put more effort into running. My sides hurt, and my trachea began to feel like someone was dragging sandpaper down it with each breath. My feet stung as the burrs dug in deeper.

I would pick a tree in the distance and tell myself that I had to give it my all until that tree. Then I would pass it and pick another tree. After I did that seven or eight times --- I was counting and then I lost track --- I was losing the ability to keep my eyes on the tree I picked.

A branch struck me in the face. I opened my eyes and realized that I had closed them. This was bad. I was losing it. I decided to yell for help again with mind talk but I couldn't remember the end of the spell. Then there was a terrible pain as I lost my footing and something struck my side. I remembered nothing after that.