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humans’ fires, and a mouthful of it was as satisfying as twice as much ordinary meat. Ázzuen and Marra were no better than I was. They watched the humans and their food unblinkingly. TaLi smiled and gave me a chunk of her firemeat and handed some to Ázzuen. MikLan did the same for Marra. Guiltily, I gulped down my share.
    â€œWe’ll have to get more food soon,” TaLi said, as she watched their supplies go down our throats.
    That, at least, was something we could help with. The two young humans talked for a while, then lay down to sleep, curled up on a preyskin they had spread upon the ground.
    We waited until they were deep within their dreams, thenÁzzuen, Marra, and I crawled from the shelter. The rain had stopped, leaving behind a night lit by a sliver of moon.
    When Pell saw us, he bent his forelegs and lifted his rump high.
    â€œI’m hungry,” he said.
    We had been running—eating what bits of food we could find and bolting what scraps the humans could spare for us—ever since we’d left Fallen Tree three nights before. A hunt was just what we all needed. I looked back to where the humans were sleeping.
    â€œWe can’t leave them alone,” I said.
    â€œWe will watch your humans.” Tlitoo bobbed in front of the shelter. Jlela perched atop it. “And we have found their Crossed Pines. They are just beyond the place where the spruce trees give way to pine.”
    â€œYou can’t watch the humans. You have to sleep,” I said. Ravens, like humans, slept during the night.
    â€œWe will wake if anything comes near,” Jlela said, settling her wings and hunching her head down between them.
    â€œIt is very hard to sneak up on a raven,” Tlitoo added, “and neither the Grumpwolf nor the human male are near.” Grumpwolf was one of his many names for the Greatwolves. When I still hesitated, he spat a berry at my head.
    â€œThe fur-brained wolflet
    Thinks it knows more than ravens.
    That will not end well.”
    I couldn’t help laughing. I dipped my head to the ravens.
    â€œLet’s find some prey,” I said to my packmates.
    Marra yipped in excitement and took the lead. She had an excellent nose, which was especially important in unknown lands. We would have to not only find prey but also stay alert in case we crossed into any wolf territories. In the Wide Valley, we knew where every pack’s domain began and ended. Here we would need to be careful.
    Marra snuffled her nose low to the ground, then lifted it in the air.
    â€œPrey!” she woofed, her tail wagging. “Nothing I recognize, but definitely prey.”
    She stepped aside, and without thinking about it, I took the lead. I realized I was acting like a leaderwolf, and looked back at the others, embarrassed. Ázzuen crouched low just to my left, his nose twitching, while Pell and Marra stood a little behind me, waiting for me to decide what to do next. My heart filled with the exhilaration of leading a hunt. I gave a deep, low bark like Ruuqo did at the beginning of a chase.
    I took a step down the hill and managed to get my paws tangled in tree roots and slip in the mud. I splayed my legs to catch myself before I tumbled down the hill but landed hard on my chest. I got to my feet, mud sticky on my chest and face.
    Marra raced past me.
    â€œWait!” I said. I wanted to make sure there were no other wolves around to claim the prey. But Marra didn’t worry about things like that. By the time Ázzuen and I reached her, she was atop a small hill, looking down at a meadow where a herd of what looked like some kind of elk grazed in the cool, clear night. Pell followed more slowly, checking behind us for threats. It was something I should have thought to do.
    I looked more closely at the prey. They looked something like elk and a bit like snow deer. Their legs were long and gangly and their bodies lighter than most of the prey in the valley.
    My mouth