Page 52 of The Pack

I gestured to the edges of the track, where the soil was still damp. “The ground here hasn’t dried yet. And the imprint’s sharp; if it were older, it’d be more worn.”

She nodded slowly, her skepticism fading just enough for curiosity to take its place. The lanky boy remained quiet, just observing the whole thing.

As we moved through the woods, I pointed out more signs: broken branches, tufts of fur caught on bark, faint trails where moss had been disturbed. The younger boy followed my every word, his steps careful as he mimicked my movements.

Lina stayed close, her eyes darting between me and the ground, while the blond boy hung back, his arms crossed, but his gazeless defiant than before. The lanky boy followed along too, sticking closer to Magnus as we moved through the woods.

“You’re doing well,” I said, nodding to the younger boy as he crouched to examine a set of tracks leading toward a small stream.

His face lit up, a smile breaking through his wariness. “Really?”

“Really,” I said, clapping a hand on his shoulder. “You’ve got a good eye. Keep at it, and you’ll be leading hunts in no time.”

Lina shot me a glance, her expression unreadable. “Why are you really doing this? Why are you being so nice?” she asked quietly.

“Because we’ve been where you are,” I said simply. “And because if we don’t help you now, you won’t survive long enough to figure it out on your own.”

She studied me for a moment, her expression softening just slightly. “You’re a strange pack.”

I grinned. “You don’t know the half of it.”

Her lips twitched, the faintest hint of a smile breaking through as we continued deeper into the woods.

A short while later, we found ourselves near a clearing. It was quiet except for the faint rustling of the breeze through the trees. A small herd of deer grazed in the open space ahead, their sleek bodies blending into the dappled light. Magnus crouched low, motioning for everyone to stop.

“This is where patience matters,” he whispered. “No sudden movements, no noise.”

The group of young wolves froze behind me and the rest of the pack, their bodies tense, their eyes darting between the deerand Magnus. I could tell they were ravenous with hunger, but Magnus’s presence seemed to steady them.

I crept forward on silent feet, pointing out a faint break in the underbrush.

“Look here,” I murmured, motioning to the smallest of the deer, its movements slower than the rest. “That one. It’s limping. It’s the easiest target.”

The blond boy narrowed his eyes at the doe. His lips pulled back in a slight snarl, but he didn’t lunge. “How do we get close without scaring them off?”

“You don’t,” Magnus said, his silver eyes glinting. “You’ll never get close enough to catch one like this. You need to separate it. Drive it toward you.”

Lina growled softly, her hands clenching at her sides. “And how do we do that?”

“With control,” Tobias said, his voice low and firm. “You split up. Two of you push it away from the herd, keep it moving toward the others lying in wait.”

The youngest boy shifted nervously on his feet. “What if it runs the wrong way?”

“Then you try again,” I said, keeping my tone gentle. “The trick is to stay calm. The moment you lose control, you lose the hunt.”

We spread out, positioning the younger wolves along the edges of the clearing. Magnus and I crouched behind a thick patch of brush with the girl and the blond boy. I motioned for them to wait as I pointed to the youngest boy and his lanky companion on the opposite side.

“Give them the signal when you’re ready,” I whispered to Magnus.

He nodded, his attention locked on the herd. “When the doe moves, don’t chase it, drive it. Keep it from rejoining the others.”

The blond boy growled low in his throat, but Magnus silenced him with a look.

“Patience,” Magnus said quietly. “You don’t have the energy to waste on a mistake.”

The youngest boy crept forward, his movements shaky, but quiet. He stepped on a twig, the snap making the doe’s head jerk up. Its ears swiveled, its body tense as it scanned the clearing.

“Now,” Magnus murmured.

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