Spirit of the Wolves Read Online Free PDF Page B

heart, each steady breath it took, relaxed her and at the same time gave her strength. She didn’t know when she fell asleep, but when she awoke the wolf was gone and her face was wet and sticky. She smiled. Silvermoon—Kaala—always licked her when she left. TaLi stood, kissed her sleeping grandmother on the cheek, and slipped out into the cool morning air.

    â€œWake up, wolflet,” Tlitoo rasped. “Daylight comes.”
    I blinked up into Tlitoo’s beady gaze and forced myself the rest of the way awake. Going into the mind of another creature always made me tired, but I wanted to howl with exhilaration.I had learned something important from my journey into TaLi’s memory: our tasks were one and the same.
    I should have known as much, for the krianans were responsible for keeping other humans in touch with the Balance. The Balance was what kept the world whole. Every creature strove to live, and to have as much food and territory as it possibly could. But if one creature grew too strong or took too much, the Balance would collapse and many creatures would die. The humans upset the Balance, which is why the Promise came to be. The human krianans reminded their people of their place in the world.
    I remembered that day in NiaLi’s shelter. I’d arrived weary from a failed hunt and had paid no attention to what the old woman said to the girl. Now that I had, it made my heart race. I already knew that both wolves and krianans were sworn to keep the humans in touch with the natural world, and I knew that TaLi had to leave the valley. Now I knew that her task and mine were the same and that the krianans she was looking for might be able to help us achieve it.
    I also saw something TaLi had not. She had not understood the expression on the old woman’s face, but I did. The humans relied so much on their words that they were not as skilled at reading expressions as we were, even among their own kind. The old woman’s face when she looked at us was full of fear and worry. But there was more. There was hope. The old woman was not naive. If she had hope, then so did I.
    I licked TaLi’s face until she awoke. She wiped her face with the back of her hand.
    â€œThat’s disgusting, Silvermoon,” she said. “Grandmother said your name is Kaala.”
    I licked her again, from chin to forehead. Then I stood and went to the opening of the shelter to let TaLi know it was time to go. When she blinked sleepily at me, I leaned toward her, tongue out.
    â€œAll right!” She held up her hands in front of her face. “I’m awake.”
    She got to her feet and pushed her way out of the preyskin shelter. MikLan had fallen asleep, but my packmates were still on guard. I followed TaLi as she disappeared behind a rock. The scent of slightly bitter spruce made my nose twitch.
    â€œYou don’t have to watch me, Kaala,” she said as she squatted behind the rock. Yes, I did. I couldn’t lose track of her again.
    Leaves crackled behind me and I turned, expecting to see Ázzuen or Marra. Instead I saw a flash of gray fur disappearing through the bush.
    â€œDid you see that?” Ázzuen asked, his eyes wide as he leapt down from his watch spot above me.
    I lowered my nose to the ground, following the scent of spruce, dry and sharp with a bitter undertone.
    Ãzzuen was the one who found the paw print, clearly defined in the mud. Just one, but so distinct I couldn’t believe it hadn’t been left deliberately. I placed my own paw next to it. It was half the size.
    â€œGreatwolf,” Ázzuen said.
    Not just any Greatwolf, I realized, burying my nose in the print. It was Milsindra. She hadn’t even tried to hide her scentas the Greatwolves could. She was following us and she wanted me to know it.
    The fur on my back prickled. I didn’t know what Milsindra was up to, but I knew her well enough to know that it wouldn’t be good. She’d been