Wolf Moon (private rp)

Letting the information sink in, Melody gripped his hand tightly and nodded. "I'll do what Naya says without complaint if it means you can leave here without worrying about me too much. But for now, it's your turn to sleep."

If he had been in his wolf form she knew he would have that wolfish grin of his and he kissed her cheek gently. "I want to stay up a little longer." He said lightly, smiling when a cub yawned in its sleep and stretched out over another. "After I spend some time here I will. Promise."

***

The next morning Melody was the first to wake up. It was a bit strange to her since Valshar would usually be the one waking her up, but the sun showed that it was roughly around 10 a.m and he was still sleeping. When a sudden thought hit her, she all but panicked and snapped to look over the nest.

"Oh thank goodness....no wonder I didn't hear them." Melody sighed in relief when she saw Jenna was curled up with the cubs. The wolf looked up at her curiously.

"I'm sorry for not waking you sooner, Ney'sara." The wolf admitted sheepishly. "Alpha was awake when I came by earlier and asked that I allow you some more sleep. Though it seems he was the one needing it."

"Yes, my husband is a stubborn one." Melody replied, smiling lightly before leaning back in the bed. She would have to remember to scold Valshar for staying awake so long.

"When you get a moment, Jenna, could you please let someone know that I intend to keep Valshar here for the day?"

Jenna smiled and nodded, “I will. The cubs are nearly full so I will take the message back with me when I go.”

Melody nodded, “Thank you.”

She snuggled back up against Valshar, and only barely heard the young she wolf putting the cubs back in their nest and slipping out of the cabin a few minutes later.

Valshar stirred slightly in his sleep, putting one paw over her side and pulling her against his chest before settling back into a deep peaceful sleep. She smiled as she ran her fingers through the thick fur, feeling the powerful muscles underneath.

Suddenly she shivered as unwelcome memories came back to her, memories of the absolute most horrible night of her life. Melody gently stroked the soft black fur, and the memory of seeing the strong, proud wolf in chains made her heart ache. The memory of his howled scream as the vampire had done whatever it was he did to Valshar was even worse and she buried her face against his furry neck and chest.  

Valshar had never spoken about what had really happened to him that night, nor had any of the other wolves who rescued him. Remembering the agony as she felt his pain through their bond and then feeling that bond fade brought her to tears and she sobbed into his fur. The thought of losing him terrified her.

He woke as his ears tilted toward the sound of her sobbing. “Melody? What’s wrong?”

She looked up at him, rubbing the tears off one cheek. “I’m sorry. I just got to remembering that horrible night…”

He nodded and nuzzled her. She inwardly winced when she saw the nerves along his jaw twitch and knew she’d just made him remember as well. She suddenly felt his warmth along their bond and he flooded her mind with happy thoughts, the last of which was an image of their cubs seen through his eyes.

She blinked. “I never really thought about how differently wolves see things. Is that only while you’re in wolf form, or do you see like that even in human form?”

“Only in wolf form, in human form I see things as you do.”

“How do you shift between the two so quickly? I’d end up getting disoriented and falling over.”

He laughed, “Some do the first few times they shift. It is something that must be learned, which is why it will be so important that I am here for the cubs, as you are unable to change forms, and could not teach them.”

She rolled onto her back, wincing again as muscles protested the motion. “When do they start trying to shift?”

“Oh, not for a long time. Wolves rarely start trying before they’re fifteen, and some don’t start until closer to twenty. There are also those who choose never to shift, but those few tend to go feral in time and leave the pack.”

She nodded, “I suppose that makes sense, because any younger their bodies are still changing too much as they grow right?”

“Exactly. The first few shifts are quite uncomfortable and that’s why cubs need to be taught, so they learn to do it properly and not end up hurting themselves doing it.”

"I can't wait to see what our cubs look like in their human form." Melody said with a smile as she mulled over the thought. "And in a month we will get to see what their actual coats look like. This is so exciting."

"And the Recognition should be around that time. If we're lucky, they will shed before then. I remember when a cub waited until their ceremony and dropped their fur." Valshar told her with a chuckle. "Her parents were less than pleased."

"Oh, right!" Melody realized, leaning up with a wince. Her body still ached and she couldn't wait until she was able to at least get out of the bed for a while. "Has Miriam had her cubs yet? I would like to go visit her soon and ask her a few things about the Recognition. Her cubs will be going the same time as ours, right?"

Valshar smiled, “She hasn’t had hers yet, but if she has them in time, then yes, they would be Recognized together.”

“In a week or two their eyes will start to open, but their eye color won’t truly settle until around three months. Their ears start to open around the same time as their eyes so they’ll start being able to respond to sight and sounds.”

Melody grinned, “Can hardly wait. I wonder what colors their eyes will turn out. I hope one gets your eyes, I’m rather fond of them.”

He chuckled, “Probably at least near in shade, though maybe not as reactive as mine are. During that encounter with Morlach, I was really struggling to keep my eyes from tipping him off as to what I was feeling.”

“Oh, I think I see your point, that could be bad at times.”

“Yes, with him trying his damnedest to bait me, trying to make me angry enough to do something stupid, I had to keep my emotions under control. With a wolf like that, you don’t ever want to give them any kind of reaction when they’re trying so hard to get one because it just makes them that much stronger.”

He sighed, eyes darkening as he remembered something painful. Melody reached out and touched his arm.

“What’s wrong?”

Valshar looked over at her. “I was remembering my sister.”

She blinked at him. “I didn’t know you had a sister.”

He nodded, “I had two, they both died around the time of the great war. It’s painful to remember them, two more reasons why I hated Morlach so deeply.” He exhaled sharply, “But my youngest sister, Eslaira had eyes like mine, changeable according to her emotions, but in shades of grey and blue. She was also the lightest of us in fur color as well, being pale grey with black brown trim.”

He glanced over at her, and she gently squeezed his arm.

“Neshalla was caught by Morlach himself, in her den. She died trying to defend her cubs which he also killed. Eslaira was caught by three of his wolves, and though they left her physically alive, it was only barely. She never recovered from what they did to her. She took her life two months later.”

She hugged him tightly, “I’m so sorry.”

He shook his head, “But anyway, it is part of why I was suspecting you’d have more than two, since four cubs tends to be a rather common litter size in my family.”

He pulled her into his arms and nuzzled her. “Has Naya warned you about coming into heat again?”

Melody’s eyes widened. “No…”

“She wolves tend to have a post birth heat, usually within two or three days of giving birth. It’s a shorter heat but a lot more intense. Apparently it seems to be true of humans as well. From the way your scent is starting to change, you’ll likely be in full heat by tomorrow. Just as well I’ll be gone most of the day.”

She frowned at that. “Why are you going to be gone?”

“I have to make my round of the borders again, and I’ll be leaving early in the morning, and likely won’t be back until late at night.” He grinned at her, “The other reason is that I want to make sure I’m not too close to you when your heat peaks. I do my best to maintain self control but if ever there was a time you could drive me into a primal frenzy of uncontrollable passion, that would be it.”

She blushed, “But I’m not strong enough to manage without someone to give me a hand.”

“You won’t be alone. Jenna will be around to help with the cubs, and Naya will be by to check on you. I’ll make sure to leave word that you need to be fed so someone will get the hunting seen to.”

He kissed her, “I love you too much, Na’cy’rana. The last thing I want to do is risk your health and well being by forcing you into another pregnancy when you’re not even recovered from this one. And there is too much of a chance that it could happen if I’m around you too much during this heat. I won’t risk harming you if I lose control of myself.”

"I wish you didn't have to go...." Melody muttered, snuggling herself against him. "But I understand why you have to. Just be safe, alright? And come home as soon as your done. It feels like it's been a while since we've gotten to spend time together like this."

She could feel him take in a deep breath before sighing. "I can't come back immediately. It will have to wait until your-"

It was melody's turn to sigh. "I know you want to wait, but I know you've been able to control yourself before, haven't you?"

"You have only ever been in heat once around me, and look at what he have."

Valshar let out a laugh when Melody slapped a hand onto his chest and could imagine the blush on her face. He was thankful that the cubs were fast asleep and he nuzzled her hair. He remembered how awkward it had been for her in the first place and knew it was a subject she would have wanted to avoid.

"And even then that is something we planned. But even before I married you, you were able to be the gentleman you were and keep your hands to yourself." Melody replied, resisting the urge to hit him again when he laughed.

It wasn't until Jenna peeked in through the door did he stop.

"I've sent the message as you requested, Ney'sara." She announced, making Valshar blink curiously. "What message?" He asked her.

Melody smiled a bit. "I had asked her to let Kynar know that I was going to keep you here today..."

Valshar smiled, “Hello Jenna.”

The she wolf nodded, “Greetings Alpha. Am I interrupting anything?” She said with a slight grin.

“No, it just seems my schedule has been cleared for the day. I wonder what devious plans my beloved mate has for me.”

Melody laughed and swatted him. “I am going to make you be my pillow all day.”

“Hm, do you think you feel like trying to get out of bed for a little bit?”

“I’m still very sore, but I am also getting tired of being stuck in bed all the time. But I’m not sure how far I’d get.”

He nodded, “Maybe if you can manage it, you can get on my back and we can go outside for a little bit. We wouldn’t go far, but there’s something I’d like to show you if you’re up for trying.”

She smiled, “A bit of fresh air does sound lovely. I’ll try, just need a hand to steady myself.”

He moved to stand beside her, and she gripped the scruff of his neck to keep her balance as her legs and back protested. She took a few shaky steps and then nodded.

“Alright, let me see if I can get up on your back.”

He crouched down to make himself lower, “Here, does that make it easier?”

“Oh yes, thank you.” She wiggled herself onto his back and quickly figured out that a half sitting, half laying position worked best for comfort right now. She settled herself with her arms around his neck, and her chest against his furry shoulders, and then tucked her feet against his flanks.

He carefully rose back up under her once she’d gotten still and slowly walked into the main room. “We’ll walk around the room a couple times and see how you do with that. If you’re still alright for doing more, we’ll try going outside.”

She nodded, actually enjoying the feel of his warm thick fur. He made three circles around the main room and looked over his shoulder at her.

“I’m alright, you’re pretty comfy as long as you go slow.”

He smiled, “Alright. I’ll go slow. We’ll be back in a bit, Jenna.”

Jenna smiled, “I’ll be here, the cubs are hungry so will be a while feeding.”

He headed outside, the wolves all offering greetings to Melody when they saw her on his back. Gently padding toward the waterfall, he kept his ears angled back toward her.

“You remember how you once said you thought the river was warmer than the water coming down from the fall?”

“Yes, I do.”

“I figured out why.” He ducked behind the waterfall, making sure she held on to him, “Duck down.” He told her as they passed through a small passage. She pressed herself against him and then looked around when he said it was clear again.

“How did we miss a cave behind the fall?”

“The entrance was too small to notice before. I discovered it a while back because I lost my footing and leaned against the rocks, and felt the warm water, so made the entrance a little bigger when I had spare time to work on it.”

The cave was dimly lit by two holes in the ceiling above them. Near the center were two steaming, bubbling pools of water, and another deeper pool a bit further from them that was steaming but not bubbling.

“Hot springs. I decided to improve them a bit for us to use. The pool there,” he nodded at the one further out that wasn’t bubbling, “I dug that one out and diverted some of the flow from the main springs. It gives it a chance to cool down enough, but it still stays pleasantly warm.”

He waded into the pool and crouched down. She gasped at first when the water touched her, because it was quite warm, but after a few minutes, the warmth became extremely enjoyable. She slid off his back, leaning against him while bracing herself on the other side against the smooth rock.

“Oh this feels heavenly.” She could already feel the soreness being pulled out of her body and muscles.

He smiled, “I thought it might help with your recovery, but didn’t want to try it too soon.” He nibbled playfully at her hair, “And since it seems I’m not busy, I have an excuse to enjoy a good soaking as well.”

She smiled and shifted enough so she could kiss him, “Do you really need to go out all day tomorrow?”

He nodded, “Unfortunately yes, it’s been four days since my last border patrol, have to keep the markers up or boundaries don’t do much good.” He curled around her making himself a more comfortable pillow as she rested her head against him, sighing as the heat soothed her aches.

“Besides, as I said, with you coming into a post birth heat, I’ll need to be around less, just to be safe. This heat will be a lot more intense than a normal heat. I might be able to behave during a normal one but I can’t guarantee myself during this one, and I’d rather not take chances.”

She frowned, “So what are you going to do?”

“I can stay in the den, unless I’m needed, for anything but that.” He smirked, “Jenna can bring her cub and stay with you, and Naya will likely be around more to make sure you’re doing alright. I can hunt for you; just have to keep my distance until the heat is past. It’s usually short which won’t be too bad, two or three days at most, normally.”

****

He gently put Melody back in the bed and pulled the blankets up around her. The soak in the hot springs had ended up soothing and relaxing her so much, she ended up falling asleep and had to be carried back to the cabin. She barely stirred as he brushed a damp strand of hair back from her face.

He nodded to Jenna who took her leave for the day, and Valshar lay down beside her. He didn’t sleep, there were too many things on his mind, but he was glad of the chance to relax.

****

Melody woke the next morning feeling more refreshed than she had in weeks. She rolled lazily and then her eyes opened as she felt Valshar’s absence. She sighed and rolled over to the other side to check on the cubs, and smiled as she spotted Kynar laying beside the nest.

“Good morning, Ney’sara.” He smiled. “Valshar had to head out early for his patrol, but asked me to come keep an eye on you. Which worked out well since Miriam was ready to chew my ears off for getting in her way. She had the cubs last night, and I guess she got tired of me hovering because she told me to go do something useful.”

Melody grinned, “How are they?”

“She’s fine, had three girls.” He beamed proudly. “I’m sure Valshar will tease me about that, but I’m happy. I’m not Alpha so not having a son doesn’t mean as much to me.”

She smiled, “I’m sure they’re all lovely, and I can’t wait to see them.”

****

It was just after mid day; Jenna was relaxing with the cubs. Melody was trying to take a nap but was having a hard time falling asleep. Kynar was relaxing on the floor near Jenna, watching the cubs.

A sudden rapid knock at the door followed by a young wolf peeking his head in brought Kynar up to full alert.

“What is it?”

The young wolf panted and said “Alpha. There’s a strange wolf on the western border, Alpha said it’s Oberon. Told me to come tell you so you’d know in case there’s trouble. He said he doesn’t know why Oberon would be coming here.”

Kynar growled, “Damn, are you positive he said it’s Oberon?”

The messenger nodded.

“Alright, thank you.” After the young wolf left, Kynar started pacing. “Blood of the First Wolf, what’s Oberon even doing out of his pack lands?”

“Who’s Oberon?” Melody hadn’t been able to sleep anyway, and hearing the messenger, was starting to worry.

He padded over beside her and sat down, “Oberon is the Alpha, or was, of the western pack. The pack in generally dislike humans greatly, and rarely leave their pack lands, and are not friendly to outsiders moving into their territory.”

“Why would he come here?”

He shrugged, “If he’s alone, I have no clue. If he were coming to challenge, I’d expect him to have at least a part of his own council as witnesses. He’s old, very old, but dangerous nonetheless. I don’t remember hearing about him leaving his territory since the war though.”

"Maybe he is looking for sanctuary?" Melody asked curiously, but the uneasy feeling grew when Kynar shook his head, mumbling 'I doubt it' returning to pace at the edge of the bed.. This earned a look of disapproval from Jenna as she nudged one of the cubs.

"I know you're worried, Beta." Jenna started with a huff and motioning to the cubs. "But your unease will disturb Ney'sara's and my cubs."

He stopped mid-step, as if he had just realized what he had been doing before letting out a laugh. "Oh sorry." He said and turned to Melody. "I shouldn't have worried you with this. You should try to get some sleep." Kynar added thoughtfully before making his way to the door. After the door shut, Melody propped herself up onto the mass of pillows on the bed and sighed.

Jenna also sighed. "Getting you worked up over something and then saying you shouldn't worry? If I were his mate I'd take a chunk of his ear." She mumbled, making Melody laugh.

***

Out on the porch, Kynar paced for a few moments before turning to one of the wolves sitting at the bottom of the stairs.

"Go take a few wolves and escort Oberon to one of the borders to wait for Valshar. I don't want him wandering our lands in the middle of the night."

Howls echoed through the forest around the cabin, and Melody instinctively huddled down in the bed. Jenna quickly put the cubs in the nest, including her own that she’d brought with her. She lay down in front of them protectively. The door opened and two older she wolves and a male came in. The male stayed by the door, and the two she wolves bowed their heads and positioned themselves by the door of the bedroom.

“Kynar sent us to keep you safe.”

“What’s happening?”  Melody asked, nodding at the statement.

“Oberon slipped his escort, wounded one of them badly. He’s loose in the territory and they’re trying to find him.”

****

Valshar heard the relayed howls and growled. “I knew that damned old wolf couldn’t be trusted.”

He took off heading for the cabin, knowing it would likely be Oberon’s eventual target, and he hoped Kynar could hold things until he got there.

****

Kynar paced in front of the cabin, six other wolves were positioned by the door in a wall of furry bodies.

“Ah Kynar wasn’t it?” The oily voice murmured from the shadows. “I’m surprised you’ve not ended up dead yet.”

“Well, what can I say? I’m just lucky that way.” Kynar narrowed his eyes and searched for the trespasser. “Why are you here Oberon?”

“Is that any way to greet a guest?” The old wolf slunk into view, his pale tan and white coat reflecting in the moonlight.

“You’re no guest.”

“I am here to claim my prize, and then I shall return to my pack and prove to those ungrateful sons of mine that I am not as weak as they thought.” He looked toward the cabin with a lascivious grin, “In heat too by the scent of her. That will make it even more enjoyable to destroy that pathetic human lover you call Alpha.”

“You’re not destroying anything, Oberon.” Valshar said as he sprang on the older wolf.

****

Melody whimpered and huddled down even more as she heard Valshar’s voice and the vicious snarls and growls that soon followed. She winced as she heard cries of pain as the sound of the fight grew even more heated. She hoped Valshar wouldn’t end up too badly hurt.

Soon things grew disturbingly quiet and she risked a glance over at Jenna who looked back at her, just as worried. They waited, fearing what might have happened. But then the door of the cabin opened and the two she wolves by the bedroom door nodded, and sat down, which told her it was Valshar entering.

She managed to get up, though still shaky, and one of the she wolves moved to support her. “You should stay in bed, Ney’Sara.”

“I need to go see him.”

Valshar lay near the fire, and Kynar was cleaning blood from his wounds. “I sent for Naya, just stay still lad, he got you pretty badly in a couple places.”

He wiped his hands on a clean towel and offered one to Melody so she could steady herself as she knelt down by Valshar’s head.

“Sometimes I think you do this just to get my attention.” She gently rubbed one ear trying not to focus too much on the jagged bloody rake across his muzzle where he’d been clawed.

He groaned and then sighed at the touch. “Wasn’t really planning on it. I’m supposed to be staying away from you for a couple days, remember?”

“Will you stop worrying about that, you’re hurt. Silly wolf.”

He closed his eyes and relaxed as her gentle fingers found the sensitive spot behind his ear. “It’s not that bad.”

Kynar chuckled and shook his head, “I bet you’d have told her the same thing after the fight with Morlach.”

“I won, and survived, that’s all that counts.”

"You surviving is all that ever counts." Melody said approvingly with a smile. With whatever threat Oberon posed now gone, she felt she could relax and moved her hand from the spot behind Valshar's ear , through the fur down his back where the less damage was. "I don't want to sound like I'm rushing you..." She added quickly. "But we need to move the pack sooner rather than later."

She could feel the intense stare that Kynar was giving her and Valshar's head nearly snapped in her direction. "You and the cubs aren't fit for traveling. None of the cubs in the pack are. I have already made plans with the pack to move after the-"

"I don't feel safe here." Melody cut him off quietly.

"Don't you see? It's only a matter of time before something happens again."

"If something were to happen I would protect you." Valshar said in a firm tone, and Melody sighed, reaching out a hand for someone to help her up.

"Valshar, it's only a matter of time before something happens and you can't be there to...to stop someone from coming in and tearing everything apart. The sooner we move the pack the better."

Naya arrived and Valshar just muttered, “We’ll discuss it later.”

She gave him a look and Melody huffed and went back to the bedroom, with Jenna helping to support her. Since she had her own cub with her, Jenna just decided to spend the night to help out with the cubs.

Melody frowned as she got back into the bed and winced at sore muscles that complained at her. “Why does he have to be so stubborn?” She asked, glancing over at Jenna.

The young wolf shrugged, “He has a lot on his mind, maybe there are reasons he hasn’t discussed with you yet?”

“Maybe. I’m just really not feeling comfortable here anymore, with what’s happened recently, it’s just bothering me a lot.”

Jenna nodded, “I’m sure he knows, and he’s likely been doing his best to get things ready.”
She sighed and tried to relax enough to sleep.

****

Melody woke to the happy burbling squeaks of the cubs as they nursed and Jenna smiled up at her. “Good morning.”

She smiled, “Good morning, Jenna. I’ll try to help you with them in a little bit. I just need to talk to Valshar, is he still in?”

Jenna nodded and Melody slowly, carefully managed to get up and walk into the main room. He was sitting by the fire working with a few pieces of leather. He looked up up as he heard her come into the room, and he gave her a stern look.

“What are you doing? You need to rest.”

She accepted his hand as he stood and reached out for her, and she moved closer and rested her head against his chest.

“I’m tired of resting all the time and we need to talk.” She felt him stiffen and looked up at him. “What’s wrong?”

He chuckled and shook his head, wincing as he did so. She reached up to the bandage over his left eye, “How bad is it?”

“The eye is fine, Naya just put the bandage on to remind me to let the rest heal. Oberon wasn’t able to get a good hold on me, so I got off rather well all things considered.”

She gently ran her fingers over his chest and he groaned, “Oh by the First Wolf, do you even realize what you’re doing to me?”

Melody looked at him, and then caught a look in his eye and blushed bright red. “I’m sorry.” She moved to sit down in a chair. “But we really do need to talk.”

He nodded, remembering how to breathe, and sat down in the other chair. “I can manage a reasonable attention span for about fifteen more minutes, and then I will need to go find a cold river to soak in for about three days.”

Her blush deepened, and then she scowled at him, “Valshar, I’m serious.”

“So am I.” He told her. “You’re in full post birth heat and the only thing keeping me in human form right now is that I’m in too much pain to shift and its distracting me enough, but that won’t last for too much longer before I need to leave the cabin.”

“As for what you said last night, my plans have not changed. The pack will be moving, but there is no way we can move yet. You’re not ready for me to be gone for two weeks while I go scout things out. We have at my last count 18 females in various stages of pregnancy, 30 cubs under the age of six months, 47 under the age of one year, and another 37 that are under two years. I don’t think any wolf under two years old is going to be able to keep up with the pack on the move unless we want to be stopping frequently. We’ve got over 600 wolves in the pack and that isn’t counting the cubs I mentioned. You cannot move that many people on short notice. I am trying to get things planned and ready, but I think we need to at least wait until after the Recognition before we even begin to think about starting the process of preparations.”

He stood up, “Kynar had to go home to Miriam and their cubs. I’ll ask one of the she wolves that are staying outside if they would be willing to hunt for you and Jenna this morning.”

“Where are you going?”

He walked over, leaned down and kissed her, opening himself to her through their bond, letting her feel what he was feeling. Breaking the kiss he smiled, “I will be in the lair, or the river. Probably the river. Please try not to overdo things, love. You need to rest even if you don’t want to.”

She looked up at him, breathless and nodded as he headed out of the cabin.

"Ney'sara, what are you doing?" Jenna's voice called out through the room.

Melody's attention snapped from the cup in front of her and she nearly fell off of the chair from being startled. It had been nearly an hour since Valshar had left the cabin, and instead of returning to bed she had seated herself in the kitchen to tend to her own thoughts.

"It's hard to sleep when I have so many things on my mind and didn't want to bother you or the cubs with my complaints." she told the shewolf as she padded her way into the room, a frown visible on her muzzel.

"Alpha said you should be resting. Come on." Jenna replied, shifting and offering a hand to help her. But she pulled her hand back when Melody gave her a sharp look.

"The Alpha isn't here right now and I don't want to rest, Jenna. The events from last night are bothering me and I just want some time to myself. Is that okay?"

The shewolf seemed torn, unsure of what to say as she thought over the words. After a few moments she shifted again and bowed her head. "He explained why he couldn't move the pack so soon, didn't he?"

A short nod followed by an annoyed huff was the response.

"Alpha has to worry for every wolf in his pack, Ney'sara. Please try to understand. He knows it bothers you to be here, and he knows it could still be dangerous for you and the cubs but if we were to move now we would lose many innocent wolves."

"And how many innocent wolves have already died protecting me?"

"Those were experienced warriors. We're talking about innocent cubs."

Melody tapped the table repeatedly, trying not to let the irritation overcome her. "I know, Jenna."

"Then you know that it will have to wait."

"I know."

The shewolf let out a sigh, moving to sit next to Melody and nosed her hand, stopping the insistent tapping. "Ney'sara, at least come sit with the pups. They grow anxious without you nearby."

"I want to leave here as soon as possible." Melody replied, her anger gone and replaced with the familiar worry and unease as she eased herself carefully out of the chair, letting Jenna guide her back to the room.

"In time, we will."

The next two days passed tensely. Melody’s mood teetered between wanting to break down and cry, to wanting to beat Valshar’s ears off for being stubborn, to just snapping at anyone who was close enough when she grew frustrated. Her short temper and irritability annoyed her even more because she felt bad after snapping at those who she knew were only trying to help.

She looked up at Naya as the old wolf checked her over. She had felt a little less stressed this morning and hoped it was a sign that things were improving.

“You’re doing well, my dear, and yes, your heat is over.”

Melody sighed gratefully. “Good maybe now my head will start behaving, and I won’t be so moody. I know I probably owe half the pack apologies for being so snappish lately.”

Naya just chuckled, “Wolves are used to such things.”

“Maybe so, but I still feel awful, especially poor Jenna, I know I’ve snapped at her several times and I shouldn’t, especially when she’s been so kind helping me with my cubs.”

“Jenna understands, as would any she wolf who’s born a litter. She’s been through that heat, and knows what it can do to you.”

Melody nodded, “How is he?”

“Valshar is healing, he’s too stubborn not to.”

Melody grinned, “True. Has he really been soaking in the river?”

Naya laughed, “Yes, he has, but not entirely for that reason. The cool water soothes his hurts as well.” She hugged Melody. “I will let him know it’s safe for him to come back in.”

****

Valshar poked his head around the corner of the bedroom door at her. “Is it safe or are you going to take my ears off?”

“Hm, they are very nice ears, especially your fluffy wolf ears.” She grinned at him.

He smiled, “Well maybe if I stay in human form, my fluffy wolf ears will be safe.” He walked over and sat down beside her, and she hugged him tightly.

“I really am glad you’re alright, love.” She was glad to see the bandage was no longer over his eye, but there were still two deep scratches near his eye, crossing over his nose.

“I told you it was nothing.”

She rolled her eyes at him, “You’re not a very good liar, you know.”

He shrugged. “Anyways, I know it’s not the answer you want to hear, but we’re not moving anything until after the Recognition. By then maybe you’ll be better able to manage things while I’m gone.”

“Don’t you have scouts that could go look things over?”

“I do have scouts, but they don’t know what I need to look for, so it is something I have to do myself. If I’m going to know how best to plan a move of this scale, I need to know every little detail and I can’t rely on my scouts for that information, no matter how good they are.”

She frowned, “How long would you need to be gone?”

He moved to lay down beside her, and she shifted to put her head on his chest while he thought. “My best guess is at the least a week, though more likely at least two, worst case would be three if I get caught by bad weather along the way.”

Valshar knew Melody hadn't liked the news by the long and frustrated sigh she let out. "I know you don't like it but my decision has been made."

"What am I supposed to do until then?"

"Tend to the cubs, rest and relax, boss me around..."

He laughed lightly when Melody swatted his chest and grabbed her hand. "Jenna." He called out when Melody then started to fuss when he wouldn't release her hand. The shewolve's ears perked up as she nosed through the pups.

"Yes Alpha?"

"Could Melody and I have some privacy?"

Jenna nodded, smiling a little as she moved from the nest and towards the door. "If the cubs need anything I will return."

"No, Jenna don't leave me here with him!" She heard Melody whine out before her voice was cut off by a Valshar's laugh, followed by Melody's surprised squeak of 'Hey!' and Jenna quickly closed the door to give them the time alone that they needed.

She decided it would be a good time for her to stretch her legs and take a strolls around the woods.

***

Naya trotted up to the cabin, tilting her head curiously when she saw Naya sprawled out at the foot of the porch with another shewolf who's older cubs were fighting each other nearby in the grass. They seemed to be talking about something before they both burst into laughter. When Naya approached, the other she bowed to her politely. "Good afternoon, Healer."

""Come to check on Alpha?" Jenna asked, giving the shewolf next to her a wolfish grin and burst into another bout of laughs. "He and Ney'sara are busy at the moment." She said before the other shewolf let out a bark of laughter.

"Alpha carried her off to their new bathing spot after they had some...'time' together and I don't think they have stopped since they returned an hour or so ago."

It was Jenna's turn to let out laugh, remembering Valshar carrying Melody through the clearing over his shoulder as she protested and hit his back, the dark red blush on her face almost looked like she had been experiencing a severe case of sunburn. It had also been something the other wolves had chuckled at, only daring to laugh when Valshar had already closed the door to the cabin.

"I bet Beta would get a kick out of this. Poor Ney'sara was unable to get away from Alpha. It was a sight to see."

The wolves out front looked up as Valshar stepped out. He had a very smug and satisfied expression on his face. He was not wearing a shirt and there were faint but fresh scratches along his shoulders and down his sides that didn’t seem to bother him at all.

He nodded to Jenna. “The cubs have started fussing and Melody was wondering if you would mind helping her out with them.”

Jenna smiled and nodded, “Of course I’ll go help her.”

Naya frowned and fixed him with a stern look. “Valshar Nas’Falwyn you should be ashamed of yourself.”

He tilted his head, raising one eyebrow which disappeared under the unruly lock of hair that had fallen forward. “Why is that?”

“You know perfectly well why. Have you completely exhausted the poor girl?”

He smirked, “Not yet.”

She smacked his shoulder, and pushed past him. “I better go make sure she’s alright.”

“She’s fine. But would you mind letting her know I need to head to the rock? There are some things I need to check on.”

She tilted her head at him, “You mean you’re actually going to work?”

He shrugged, “Unfortunately things don’t do themselves, so I can’t stand around just looking pretty all day.”

She snorted and went into the cabin; the other wolves on the porch laughed and went back to what they had been doing.

He shifted to wolf form and headed off, still grinning.

****

Kynar sighed, “I forgot how much work little ones could be.”

Valshar chuckled, “I wish I could forget what a hassle this move is going to be. Every time I think I’ve planned everything, I think of a dozen more things that need to be checked off.”

The old wolf nodded, “Well, it has been over a thousand years since this pack has moved anywhere, it’s not going to be an easy thing to accomplish. When are you planning to start?”

“I think we’ll need to start getting things in motion after the next Recognition. With the way things are looking, and considering recent events over the last couple months, it would be dangerous to relax too much. I do not want to be pushed into having to get the pack to flee, we’d lose half our cubs at least. No, if we move, I want to have things planned so we can move on our terms and get everyone there safely.”

Kynar nodded. “Just the number of young cubs alone is staggering, thinking of what will be needed to move them since they won’t be able to run with the pack.”

“Exactly, nevermind the other things like Keeper’s records that would be lost in a forced flight if we wait too long. I’ve sent a message to Sani, hopefully she’ll be able to give me a reasonable estimate on the horses and wagons that would be available after the Recognition.”

“Well, I’ll do what I can to help. When Miriam isn’t chewing my ears off that is.” He laughed.

“You’ll need to keep things together when I go scouting, Melody’s unhappy about that enough as it is, and I’m sure some of the pack will be as well if I’m gone for a couple weeks.”

Kynar shrugged, “I’ll do my best, just try to hurry back.”

Valshar nodded, “I don’t plan on being gone any longer than I have to be to do what needs to be done. If it weren’t so important I would just send scouts, but there are things I need to see for myself if I’m going to plan a full exodus of the pack.”

"We also had more wolves from the Northern Pack move here." Kynar added while he followed Valshar through the groups of cubs a shewolves around the rock. "I've asked any available male to help us with scouting the borders. Not even a squirrel will be able to get through without us knowing."

"What about the hunters?" Valshar asked thoughtfully, stopping just short of the treeline near the edge of the clearing.

"The Southern pack wolves have been more than happy to hunt." Kynar replied proudly. Despite the small amount of time he haad spent with Miriam and his new cubs, he had kept himself busy with trying to keep the pack organized while Valshar was away. If he could help Valshar by giving him time to spend with his family, the extra work was worth it. "So long as the new Alpha's of the Western pack follow their traditions and keep to themselves, we won't have anything to worry about."

"How many wolves came in from the Northern pack?"

He paused for a moment, tallying the numbers in his head. "Only 43. Zyran had mentioned that once we've moved our new location that some of them might return back to the Northern lands once we are settled."

Melody sat on the bed watching the cubs roll around with each other along with Jenna’s cub. They had finished nursing and were now interested in playing. She found it hard to believe how much they had grown. Once their eyes and ears opened, they seemed to grow right before her eyes, getting bigger every day. Each one weighed about five pounds now, with the boy being slightly bigger than his sisters, although they gave him no slack during play time in spite of the size difference.

They’d started to get their tiny incisor teeth already which made it necessary to nurse them in more frequent but shorter sessions, at least for Melody. Jenna didn’t seem to mind the teeth yet. She smiled as the male cub waddled over to her, his little tail waving proudly. She picked him up and cuddled him as he play growled and chewed on her hair.

The cubs had shed their birth coats, and were getting their first real coat. His was the most complete of the four, and from the look of it, he was going to have Valshar’s dark fur, except for a thin circle of silver around his neck. One of the girls had medium brown looking fur coming in, and the other two were shades of slate and dark grey with brown highlights. Valshar had told her it would likely be a few more days until their first coats were in properly, but he had seemed pleased already.

The moon would be full tonight, which meant it would be time for their Recognition, when the whole pack would get to see their Alpha’s cubs for the first time. Melody chuckled and rubbed the little male’s ears and he blinked sleepily at her and yawned.

“I hope they’ll behave tonight.”

Jenna looked up at her and grinned, “They will behave, like cubs.” She laughed. “Are you nervous about the Recognition, Ney’sara?”

Melody took a deep breath. “Maybe a little. Mostly I’m just excited about it.”

Jenna nodded, “There will be a lot of cubs to be Recognized tonight, a good sign for the pack.”

****

Melody was grateful Valshar was helping her to carry the cubs to the Rock for the ceremony. As big and as wiggly as they had gotten there was no way she could have managed all four. Just holding on to two of the girls was enough of a challenge.  When they reached the circle of wolves by the rock, he sat the two cubs he carried down by her feet.

He hugged her tightly. “I love you.” He smiled and shifted to wolf form to take his place in the center of the circle. She smiled and watched, trying not to feel nervous as she looked around the gathered wolves and cubs.

“Tonight we come together as a pack to celebrate. We celebrate the prosperity of our pack, and the good fortune that has kept us strong. Tonight we celebrate our cubs as they take their first steps as full members of our pack. Tonight we gather to Recognize them, that they shall be known to all, that they truly are part of us as they are our future.”

Melody couldn’t help but notice the extra hint of pride in Valshar’s voice as he spoke. She watched as pairs brought their cubs into the circle to be recognized by the pack. She knew her and Valshar’s cubs would be the last ones since he was Alpha.

When it came to their turn, he nodded to Melody, motioning her forward to the circle before moving to help her with carrying the cubs. Once she and all four cubs stood in the circle beside him, he bowed to the pack.

“Tonight is also very special for me. Tonight I present my own cubs to you, the pack. I ask that you will Recognize them and welcome them into the pack.”

The pack howled happily, and the cubs were granted their pack names that the pack would know them by. Keshala, Telani, and Misha for the girls, and the little male was named Vythrin.

****

By the time they got back to the cabin with the cubs, Melody was nearly asleep on her feet. She settled down on the floor by the nest with the cubs, and winced at the feel of their teeth as they latched on to her wanting to nurse again. Valshar slipped outside for a moment, and then when he came back in he settled down beside her with a bowl of fresh goat’s milk.

“Here, let me help.” He offered as he scooped two cubs into his lap and began feeding them the goat’s milk.

She smiled gratefully. “I’m starting to dread them getting sharper teeth. These are bad enough.”

He chuckled, “We can probably find another she wolf to help out when they get their canines.”

Melody sighed, “I feel bad that I can’t take care of my cubs properly without help, but I would be grateful for it.”

He smiled softly, “Melody, it is not uncommon for she wolves to gather in small groups, sometimes with their mates, sometimes just the females together. They share the work of tending several cubs, which insures that all cubs are properly looked after, but helps to balance the burden any single female is having to cope with. No one is going to think less of you for asking for an extra bit of help looking after four cubs. It is a rather large litter for your first time so it is to be expected you would need help, even if you were a she wolf, it would be the same.”

“Alright then, I would certainly welcome the help. I think they’re getting to be a handful for just Jenna to help me manage.”

He nodded, “I’ll ask Naya to check with the other females. She’s better at keeping track of who has how many cubs than I am, though I do try.”

The cubs finally started yawning sleepily and losing interest in eating so they put them in the nest and she sighed, leaning against the side of the bed. Then she looked over at him, frowning slightly.

“What is it Valshar?”

He blinked and tilted his head. “What?”

“I get the feeling you’re keeping something from me. What is it?”

He shrugged, and shook his head. “I’m not keeping anything from you; I simply don’t feel like talking about it. It can wait until morning.”

She reached over and swatted his shoulder, “Tell me.”

He chuckled and pulled her over to him, and kissed her. “Not right now.”

Melody squirmed as he held her, “Valshar you promised you wouldn’t keep things from me.”
Valshar scooped her up in his arms, picking her up as he stood, reminding her just how agile he could be when he wanted to. He lay her down on the bed and grinned.

“I am not keeping things from you. We will discuss it in the morning.”

She started to protest again but it was lost as Valshar kissed her again, more passionately this time.

****

Melody rolled over as she woke up and then sat up when she noticed Valshar’s side of the bed was empty. She frowned and then glanced over at the nest to find it empty as well. She got up and pulled on her robe and headed into the main room. Jenna had the cubs all nursing and she smiled at the young she wolf.

“Good morning Jenna.”

“Good morning, Ney’sara.”

Melody’s smile changed to a frown when she noticed the leather pack on the table, and met Valshar’s eyes as he added a few more things to it.

“What are you doing?”

“Packing for the scouting trip.”

“Were you just going to leave without saying anything? I thought you said we’d talk this morning.”

He shook his head, “Of course I wasn’t going to leave without saying anything. However, you needed the rest, and I decided I could spend the time packing while waiting for you to wake up.” He walked over to the hearth and took up a plate of food. “I also made you breakfast.”

He motioned for her to sit down, which she did, though still frowning at him. The plate he sat in front of her held freshly cooked eggs and savory sausages and a slice of buttered warm bread. “Thank you.”

He nodded with a smile. “Myron and Bael have said they would see to the hunting for you, Jenna, and the cubs while I’m gone.”

Jenna spoke up quietly, not really wanting to interrupt them. “Alpha, my mate was wondering if you would permit him to come here, since I’m spending more time with Ney’sara and the cubs. He could also help with hunting.”

“Of course, Jenna, he’s welcome to come here. All the better, it’ll be another wolf to help protect the two of you and the cubs.”

Jenna nodded, satisfied. Melody however was still obviously unhappy with the situation.

“So you’re going to leave, just like that?

Valshar sighed, “We talked about this. I told you that after the Recognition I would be trying to get things in order so that we could start moving the pack. Nothing can happen for that until I get done scouting the new territory and the way to it. The sooner I’m gone, the sooner I’ll be back.”

She fumed, but took time to finish the food in front of her, because she truly was hungry. Then pushing the plate aside, she looked up at him. “I didn’t think you meant to leave right after our cubs were recognized.”

“I’m worried that I’ve already put this off too long. I don’t want to risk us getting caught by something that takes events out of our control. I need to do this, and now.” He held up a hand to stop her protest, “No I am not going alone. I’m taking four scouts with me, all capable fighters if it comes to that, but I don’t expect to run into any trouble.”

She folded her arms over her chest and sighed, “I still don’t like it. “

He walked over and leaned down to kiss her. “Two weeks, three at the absolute most if we run into difficulties, and then I’ll be back here to pester you endlessly until you get tired of me.”

"It would have been easier for you to have done the scouting beforehand. Then the pack would have been able to move after the recognition." Melody mumbled when he pulled away. She could hear the bustle of activity outside and knew that the wolves had arrived to meet up with him to leave. Valshar opened the door, looking over her with a smile despite the frown that was fixed on her face. "Don't worry, love. I'll be back before you know it. Just behave yourself, alright?"

He ducked outside when an apple flew in his direction, hitting the doorframe. Melody resisted the urge to growl when she heard him laughing. "Valshar Nas’Falwyn, when you get home you're going to get it!" She called after him. This time she heard the other wolves laughing loudly.

She looked down at her feet when she heard a light whimper and saw Vythrin sitting at her feet, his fluffy tail wagging hard enough to almost knock over his round body.

Jenna smiled. "Your son seems to be sensitive to your mood." She cooed, watching as Melody leaned over to pick up the wriggling cub and set him on her lap

"While Valshar is away, you will be the one to have all of my love. And when he gets home, we will scold him together." Melody told him in a form tone, making him tilt his head curiously.

"There is no need to scold Alpha. He means well." She heard Jenna say.

"He knows how unsafe I feel in my own home despite how many Watchers there are around us." Melody said idly, squishing Vythrin's fur around his face as he stared at her before letting out an annoyed yip. "I wish he had done it sooner, but he didn't. I know he wanted to make sure I was alright but I could have handled myself until the Recognition."

The shewolf let out a thoughtful hum, adjusting herself when Misha found it necessary to try and crawl on top of her to attack a bit of fur on her shoulder. "Everything will be fine, Ney'sara. These are peaceful times. Try to enjoy them."

Melody huffed before pulling the now-squirming cub on her lap into a hug.

"I'll try."

Valshar and his scouts stopped to rest, four days of steady running had taken them further from the pack lands than any of them had ever been. He was following that tiny little pull that kept tugging him in the right direction. He slipped his pack off as they sat down on a patch of thick grass near a stream. Handing each of the scouts a piece of cured meat, he settled down to eat his own.

“Any idea how much further, Alpha?”

“Not really, Vree, but I’m hoping to find it either today or tomorrow if we keep a good pace.”

Daryn yawned, “Do you think we could spare the time for a quick nap? This area seems quiet enough; we should be able to all rest for a couple hours.”

Loith nodded, “I could use the rest, and there are five of us, and I don’t think too many things would challenge five wolves.”

“Alright, we’ll rest. But stay close together, and don’t sleep too soundly.”

The wolves rested in close formation, each one close enough to the next that they could feel each other. Valshar felt his mind drift as he again asked the First Wolf for guidance. Flashes of images came to him, land marks and a renewed sense that they were in fact going the right way.

“Caaaw, Caaww!”

Valshar woke and looked up at the large crow in the tree above them as it cawed at them again, louder this time.

“Damn bird.” He growled at it. Nudging the others awake, he shook himself and stretched. “Let’s get moving.”

****

Mid morning on the fifth day since leaving the pack lands, Valshar stood on a ledge looking down into the most beautiful valley he’d ever seen. This was it. He was sure of it. The surprised murmurs from the scouts made him smile.

“Well? Shall we give it a quick once over to make sure it’ll suit our needs?”

They nodded and he led the way into the valley.

“Alpha! There are lairs already dug, but I smell no wolf or anything else.”

He smiled looking around. “I guess the First Wolf wasn’t joking about providing a new home for us. This is it, our new home. Space enough for the entire pack as it is, with lots of room to grow, and no threats nearby.”

He was happy, this was perfect. Forests for game, plenty of space for pack members to spread out, streams and a lake for water.

“Let’s get a good night’s sleep, we’re safe here, and we can head back in the morning, and then start the real work of planning the move.”

The tension was rising as Melody sat in the stool, Naya standing in front of her with a stern frown stuck onto her face. "You're still losing weight." She said in a scolding tone.

It had been the 8th day after Valshar had left. Melody had been irritable but kept it to herself and tended to the cubs as best as she could, but she could stop from feeling uneasy despite the additional wolves she had asked for to keep an eye on the cabin. Each day that had passed would leaving her feeling more nervous or anxious.

And then Naya had visited to make sure that she was still able to care for the cubs properly and noticed she had been losing weight.

"It's normal to lose the baby weight." Melody defended easily.

"Don't try and pull that on me." Naya scolded even more harshly. "You've already lost the weight, my grandson helped make sure of that."

"She ignored the bright blush on Melody's face and turned to go into the kitchen. "You need to eat more. If you don't then I'll force-feed you."

"But I'm already eating more than enough. I can't possibly eat anymore." Came the annoyed complaint, and Naya tsk'ed at her. "Jenna said you barely touched your breakfast. You're only straining yourself and you don't need to."

With an annoyed huff, Melody resisted the urge to glare at the bowl of fruit Naya had set in front of her.

"You're being childish."

"I don't feel safe when he isn't here." She countered quickly, grabbing a handful of berries and started to eat them.

The argument went on for nearly 2 more hours until Naya had to leave. She made sure that Melody ate everything in front of her and gave Jenna a nod of approval. "I'll be back in a few days to check on her again. Make sure that she gets another serving...of everything."

This nearly made Melody gag. Another serving of raw meat to force down was not something she looked forward to.

***

When Naya returned as promised, Valshar still hadn't returned from the scouting.

Jenna's mate, a large gray wolf with darker gray paws was wrestling with the cubs outside of the cabin. Jenna was cleaning a rabbit and Melody had chick in her hands from a nest that had hatched a few days ago.

"I dislike you right now." Melody said, making Naya only grin at her. "At least you're eating. If Valshar had come back to skin and bones as a mate he would have done worse than making you eat more."

Before Melody could reply, there was a loud howl echoing over the area. The wolves all stopped what they were doing, watching as Kynar ran into the clearing looking out of breath. When he spotted Naya he ran to her side.

"You're needed at the rock. It's urgent." He said before turning to Jenna. "Gather the cubs and Ney'sara inside."

"What happened?" Melody asked fearfully.

"One of the scouts returned." He told her. "Valshar's been injured."

Melody looked at them and then snapped, “I am not staying here. If he’s hurt I’m going with Naya to be with him.”

“I’ll watch the cubs, Ney’sara, go to your mate.”

Naya sighed, “Alright, but it may not be pleasant.”

Melody leveled a serious look at her, “Neither was losing him once, I don’t intend to do it again.”

Naya nodded, and they hurried to the Rock.

By the time they got there, the other scouts had gotten Valshar there and he lay on a blanket someone had put down for them to lay him on. It was already nearly soaked with blood. There were two nasty looking wounds, one near his shoulder, the other further down his side.

“What happened?” Naya asked as the gathered wolves parted to let her and Melody through.

“Human hunter.” Bael replied as he stepped back from Valshar. “Alpha was in the lead, and the human shot him.”

Naya frowned. “Go get Tess and Saphya, I’m going to need help with this.”

“Is there anything I can do?” Melody said, trying not to sound as worried as she felt.

“Give me a moment.”

Naya slipped a soft leather strap from her pocket and showing remarkable speed and agility for her age, managed to slip past Valshar’s teeth as he growled and snapped at her. She quickly wrapped the strap around his muzzle, locking the jaws closed. His golden eyes were rimmed in crimson out of anger and pain, and she suspected he was half delirious from blood loss.

“Kynar.”

“Yes.” The old wolf moved forward, looking as worried as everyone else was.

“I need you to hold onto his front paws, keep him still.” She looked up at Melody. “Come over by his head, do what you can to help calm him. What I have to do is not going to be easy, and unfortunately it is going to hurt him a lot and he’s going to fight it.”

Melody knelt down by his head, and felt her heart ache as she tried not to remember the last time she’d seen him muzzled. She gently rubbed the fur by his ear and focused on sending soothing thoughts along their bond.

Naya directed the other two healers as they arrived to help her hold the rest of him still. She worked quickly as she could to get the bullets out. Still it caused him enough pain that he struggled to snap at them all and to get to his feet. It took all of them to keep him down and still enough for her to work on him.

“Valshar, you promised. You promised me that you would never ever leave me like that again. You can’t die, you hear me? I will beat your hears off your head if you die on me.” She thought to him.

Weakly, she caught the flicker of his mind voice reaching out to her. “Hold me, need you to be my anchor. Don’t let me get lost.”

His breathing had grown shallow and ragged, and Melody tried not to notice the blood now showing along his muzzle when he coughed. She wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face against his fur. She focused on the warmth in the back of her mind that was his presence, and wrapped herself around that, holding to it tightly, and slowly reached along their bond, strengthening that.

“I’m right here, Valshar, I’m not going to let go of you. Don’t leave me.” She thought along the bond.

****

Naya finally sat back, wiping the sweat from her eyes with the back of one hand. “I’ve done everything I can do for him. The one bullet was in dangerously deep. As much blood as he lost, and with night coming, he’s going to need to be kept warm.”

An old male spoke up, “Healer. My lair is very near here, I think it’s the closest one for Alpha to be moved to. I can stay with my daughter for a while and you can use my lair for Alpha.”

Naya nodded, “Thank you, that’ll work just fine.”

Kynar came up with a clean, thick blanket. “Naya, if we can get him over onto this new blanket, we can sort of drag him to the lair since it isn’t far. That way we wouldn’t need to jostle him too much trying to get him up and moved.”

“Brilliant idea Kynar.”

The old wolf grinned, “Shhhh, don’t let him hear I had one of those, he’ll start expecting them.”

She laughed and looked over to Melody who stood finally as they needed the space to work on moving him.

“You should go back to the cabin, and the cubs, they need you.”

Melody shook her head. “Jenna is with them, and right now I think Valshar needs me more.”

"Valshar will be fine for now. If we need you here for him we will say so." Naya replied firmly as the other wolves got to work on moving Valshar to the lair.

Melody returned Naya's frown with her own and they both stared at each other.

****
By the time the healers had gotten Valshar sewn up and stable, the sun had already set, and was starting to rise on the other side of the forest. Melody had been unable to sleep and stayed up most of the night fussing over the cubs that she had asked Jenna to bring.

Naya hadn't been happy, and Melody found it necessary. She wanted everyone to be there when Valshar woke up again. Misha, the smallest of the girls, had managed to waddle away from her side on several occasions while trying to get closer to her Father, only to be scruffed by a passing healer or Jenna and dropped back onto Melody's lap.

"Hush, now." Melody scolded in a quiet voice as Misha whined against her. The other cubs had fallen asleep long ago but Misha refused to even lay down for longer than a few minutes.

"Your father will be awake soon. You have to be patient."

Melody had finally fallen asleep on a makeshift bed the healers had made for her and the cubs. The cubs snuggled against her, occasionally squeaking or twitching in their sleep. Misha wiggled out from under her siblings and waddled over to where Valshar lay. She pawed at his front paw, which was bigger than her own head.

Valshar didn’t move. The little cub waddled up to his head, pawing and nipping at his muzzle. She whined at him, and nosed his muzzle again. He stirred in his sleep but only enough to move his nose away from her. With a determined huff, Misha began to climb up his head, her round little belly sliding against his cheek, and her little back paws kicking at his muzzle as she reached up. Almost. There! She grabbed his ear and growled for all she was worth, shaking it.

He stirred again, half shaking his head but he didn’t wake up. Misha lost her grip on the ear and slid down his head and rolled. She righted herself, shook and waddled back up to her father’s nose. She latched on and bit his nose as hard as her tiny teeth allowed. She growled and whined at him. Finally, Valshar’s eyes fluttered open. He blinked a couple times and then found himself staring into the bright baby blue eyes of his smallest daughter. He smiled. Her soft brown fur was nearly a perfect reflection of her mother’s hair color.

“Ah Misha, I am awake little one.”

At hearing her father’s voice, Misha let go of his nose and wagged her little tail happily and began licking his face and muzzle. Valshar nuzzled her, rolling her off her feet. She squirmed and squeaked as he licked her in return.

Melody woke up and blinked sleepily. “Valshar!” Then she noticed the cub, “Oh, Misha. Did she wake you?”

He smiled, “It’s alright.” He raised his head to look at her, and Misha scooted over and wiggled herself in against his furry neck and curled up, falling asleep.

Melody chuckled, “Someone’s a daddy’s girl.”  She moved over to kneel by his head and leaned down to kiss him. “I’m just glad you’re awake.”

He nuzzled her, “How bad was it?”

“Bad. Do you remember what happened?”

He nodded, “Hunter, yes. How long have I been out?”

“Hm, not sure how long I was asleep myself, but about a day or so.”

Valshar sighed, “So much work to be done…”

“Well you can do it when you’re healed. Right now Kynar’s working on getting things sorted out. He and the scouts that were with you have been working on your plan.”

“Ah, good. The presence of that hunter so close to our territory just emphasized to me how much we need to move. Still won’t be fast though, maybe a month and a half to two months to get everyone moved.”

She nodded, “Just focus on getting well, love.” She rubbed the furry ear, and smiled, “I’ll go find Naya, I’m sure she’ll want to check on you, and we’ll get some food for you.”

It wasn't long before one of the pack's shewolves was walking into the lair with bowls of food. She smiled and laughed when she saw Valshar with Misha under his chin, who was growling as best as she could at her sisters who wanted to do nothing but crawl all over Valshar's muzzle playfully.

Melody had busied herself with nursing Vythrin, sitting on the makeshift bed and yawning every few minutes. She looked exhausted but couldn't stop smiling at her cubs.

Valshar nodded thankfully as the shewolf set a bowl in front of Melody and the others closer to him.

"Naya will be in soon. She is busy checking on a litter that was born earlier than expected." She said and Melody nodded. After she dismissed the shewolf she adjusted herself, reaching over to grab an apple from the bowl.

"We all missed you." She said after a few minutes.

"Most of you." Came the tired but happy reply, followed by a startled squeak from Keshala when Telani knocked her from her perch on Valshar's paw. "I'm sure Vythrin missed you. But he has an appetite that rivals yours." She replied with a laugh.

When Misha let out another growl when Keshala tried to join her, Melody could hear Valshar make a strained chuckle before moving to lay on his side and squishing Misha underneath the fur of his neck. It make his wound burn at the movement but the little cub's sudden indignant yips and growls as she struggled to get away were well worth it.

Melody watched them lovingly for another few moments before speaking up, knowing Valshar could hear her as he pretended to be sleeping on the struggling cub.

"While you're healing, I will be heading to the ranch." She said. "I decided to sell the land if we are going to keep the horses for the pack. But I need to go into town and get the legal matters done for it since Mathias can't. It might take a few days...depending if I can find a buyer or not."

Valshar looked at her, and forced himself into a sitting position, ignoring the searing pain from his wounds.

“No, absolutely not. You are not going. You can sell the land to Sani, she’s been looking after the place since Mathias’ death in any case.”

He tried to move more but howled in pain as the stitches pulled open on his side, and his fur showed a trickle of blood. One of the healers rushed off to find Naya, while the other helped Melody gather up the cubs and keep them near her.

Naya came in, frowning when she saw Valshar. “What happened?” She glanced over at Melody and then began examining him.

Melody looked down, “I fear I may have said something that upset him. I didn’t expect him to react so strongly.” She hugged the cubs closely. “Will he be alright?”

Naya sighed. “Not if he keeps doing this. He hasn’t got enough blood to spare. He’s losing it faster than his body can recover and enough to replace it.”

Melody frowned, and grew silent as the old healer worked on repairing the damage again. She was grateful when Jenna slipped in and moved to sit beside her. The cubs tumbled over to her and began happily nursing from their babysitter. Melody gave the she wolf a weak smile and Jenna just nodded.

“Alpha is strong, I’m sure he’ll pull through just fine.”

Valshar stirred, and Naya shifted her position to sit on him, pinning his shoulders down. He groaned and tried to raise his head. “Be still, blast you, I’m trying to keep you from losing the last of your blood.”

Melody moved over to him, knowing he was likely trying to see her. “I’m here, Valshar.”

He looked up at her, his amber eyes hazed with pain. “Promise.” His mind voice echoed the single word. *Please, Na’cy’rana, promise you won’t go.*

"Valshar, it's not that simple." Melody said, her heart almost breaking from the worry she was starting to feel over the bond. "Sani can't just buy the land. It's still under Mathias's name and I need to change it."

She had started to say something else but Naya cut her off with a sharp scolding tsk'ing sound, and she immediately stopped herself from speaking farther. Knowing that Valshar had already injured himself further because of what she wanted to do, she felt torn.

Melody could still hear him weakly begging her to promise him, and then the extent of his wounds caught up with him and he started to let out a weakened whine when Melody still hadn't responded to him. She continued to rub his ear in an attempt to distract him from the pain as Naya worked on the wound.

"I will forbid you from going." He said. Despite the exhaustion in his voice there was a finality in his tone that had Melody shake her head.

"We will speak about this when you're better."

"No. I will send a messenger to Sani and she will take care of everything. You need to stay here."

"Human matters don't work like that Valshar. This has to get done before we move the pack." Melody replied. "I'll take a few wolves with me and everything will be-"

"No. No one will take you and I won't either. You're staying here."

She bit her lip to stop the argument from going further. It was easy to let him know just how unhappy she was with her decision as she moved away from him and back to where the cubs were sitting.

"We'll talk about this when you're better."