Watch Wolf

am?” Toby began to whine, sounding once again like an immature cub.
    Edme put her muzzle right in front of Toby’s brown eyes. “Faolan has a large, generous heart. He can be a good friend to many. Now, let’s end this nonsense and figure out how to get you back with your mum and stop this disastrous war!” Edme turned to Gwynneth. “Gwynneth, will you fly back to the Fengo and tell him we have the cub? The word must be spread as fast as possible.”
    The two wolves felt the brush of a soft wind gust and the next thing they knew, Gwynneth was soaring above them.
    As the owl flew in and was seen to perch on Grizz’s massive shoulder, the drumming seemed to pause. Grizz was the grizzly elder known also as the Bear of Bears of the Beyond. Although the social organization of the bears was not nearly as structured as that of the wolves, the Bear of Bears was a kind of chieftain. He settled territorial disputes between bears and dealt with all business transactedbetween the wolves and the bears of the Beyond. Grizz was very old at this point and, despite his size, he was weak. Palsied, blind in one eye, with only dim vision in the other, and with many of his teeth missing, Grizz was clearly not long for this earth. His paw shook uncontrollably as the owl whispered in his ear.
    “You say Toby’s been found?” he rasped. “My great-grandson’s been found!”
    “Yes,” Gwynneth replied. “He comes now with anescort assigned by the Fengo.”
    “Bring him forth and we shall parley with the wolves.”
    “What? Impossible!” Dunbar MacHeath stared at his scout. “You’re sure, Fretta?”
    “I’m sure. The cub has been rescued.”
    “Who? Who rescued him?”
    “Edme and the wolf Faolan.”
    Dunbar MacHeath’s scar quivered like a boiling river running down his clenched face. “This … this …” His voice was ragged.
    The MacHeath lieutenants regarded Dunbar nervously. They’d never seen him like this before.
    “Why are you looking at me so stupidly?” Dunbar snarled. “You idiots. This will be our undoing. With the cub rescued, there’s no chance for a war with the bears. We’re finished.” He paused and his eyes rolled up until only the barest crescent of green showed against the whites. “Unless …” he began slowly.
    “Unless what, Lord Chieftain?” Malan asked.
    Dunbar MacHeath wheeled around to Fretta. “Where is the cub now? Where’s Grizz?”
    “Top lieutenants from the Watch have met up with Edme and Faolan. They’re escorting the cub to the center of the Black Glass Desert, to the Twisted Four-four.”
    “You mean the four
yondos
in the middle of thedesert?”
    “Yes. Grizz is making his way now to the Fengo for a parley at those
yondos,
not far from where the bears have assembled for their rally. The cub is to be delivered directly to Grizz.”
    “Grizz is old and unsteady!” Dunbar MacHeath said, his ears shoved forward and his hackles raised. “He’s a perfect target for a
slink melf!”
    “Aaaah!” An exhalation of relief and hope reverberated through the cave.
    “There will be a war yet with the bears. Malan, Fretta,Blyden, Andreen, Aila, Donaidh! We go now. Attack speed! By my marrow, the Sacred Ring shall be ours!”
    A savage howling erupted from the gathered wolves as the largest
slink melf
ever assembled tore out of the cave and streaked toward the four
yondos
on the darkling plains of the Black Glass Desert.
    With the exception of the MacHeaths, there had been much rejoicing among the clans of the Beyond when Toby returned unharmed. What had initially begun as a march to the opening front of a terrible war was now a joyous journey to celebrate the return of a cub. There were two wolves, however, whose relief was tinged with anxiety.
    “You know what this means?” Katria said in a low voice to Airmead.
    The white wolf nodded. “Yes, of course. Dunbar MacHeath will not go silently into oblivion.”
    The two wolves stopped as the rest of the MacNamaras flowed by them.
    “He’ll still want his war,” Katria said. “They’ll be up to something.”
    Without saying another word, Katria and Airmead peeled off from the expeditionary force and headed towardthe rondos in the Black Glass Desert, intent on stopping any wolves who wanted to turn the celebration into a bloodbath.
    Airmead marveled that soon Katria, hackles raised and nose to the ground, began picking up not just scents but tracks — tracks that, to another wolf, might seem anonymous. But Katria