THE HIDE

rest that had brought the pack up in their times immemorial. All villagers, old and young, participated in the ritual. Women wove garlands of white

rbs. His eyes blazed with feeling as he watched, fatherly, the taking of his life

d, his booming voi

early tripping over his

They have to be smashed and dumped in the pyramidal

avender for peace, sage for p

ident. "Good. Go, then. An

ther." He

iora made her way up to Orion, her blonde hair

elf off as a good child," she sa

y," Orion replied. "But not ye

, Zayne pugnosed the herbs as he crushed them. To him, Orion was everything he aspired to be-strong, wise, and re

ared and knelt beside him, an

we do this, Zayne

ed, his little fingers busy. And as a token of appr

art of the pack mentality is to defend the pack and the forest. An Alpha's

ords sinking in. "L

One day, you'll understand the weight of that responsibility.

the beat of the drums, they threw dancing shadows which themselves seemed to have a beat in common with the drum's heart pulsation. Th

ised his arms, his voice resonating with authority. Tonight we celebrate the connection w

he low resonance of his deep voice and the chants of the villagers, resonating in the vill

through the clearing, up to feeling chillingly otherworldly even as the wind seemed to repeat the sound. The villagers exchanged uneasy glances, their movements stilled as i

whispered to Liora,

t beat fast. She forced herself to smile at Zayne, hiding the growing unease that coiled in her chest. It was her duty to remain calm, to shield her s

, and sensors Awoke. However, after a pause, he went

ut a feeling of unease hung over proceedings. Zayne was n

ed, Orion pulled Liora a

er expression grave.

interrupted. "But we n

is window at the moon. Its silvery gleam filled the forest in an eerie light, but

me, but tonight it seemed to murmu

and stretched in the moonlight and produced shapes that immediately disappeared after creation. He seemed to have heard the tearing of a twig, altho