Anex, the Master at Arms for the Orthos pack, upon hearing the commotion behind him, turned to look back at the dirty, scrawny Griffin pack survivors. He was astonished to see them all transformed by genuine smiles on their faces when they had looked so fragile and fearful during his initial interaction with them. The rogue she-wolf was speaking to them and they all wanted to hug her, kiss her and cling to her afterwards. The sight would have been endearing if it wasn't so unsettling.
In his fifty three years he had never seen a rogue like her. She smelt wild as the deep woods, even under the cover of all that camp smoke, but her demeanour was anything but wild. In fact, she reminded him more of the royal wolves from the old country, which he'd encountered just a few times in his life. Like them, she was calm, even under pressure, and she gave nothing away. Her body and face were like stone. He couldn't tell from looking at her whether she was hot or cold, whether she was rough or soft, whether she was a threat or an ally.
However, like the royals he'd encountered, she gave off a powerfully strong presence when she wanted to. He didn't sense it when they first approached her and the pups. She might have been just any run-of-the-mill rogue she-wolf. Only, when he and his counterparts -Jenna and Drummond - subtly but with deadly intent encroached on her personal space just a few minutes ago, he had felt a commanding presence roll off of her. It electrified all the fine hairs on his body and took him quite by surprise.
If the pup, Cassidy, had not placed her hand on the rogue's arm, Anex was sure the rogue would have shifted from her skin to her fur to defend herself. It would not have been an unprovoked attack. He had, at that moment, every intention of taking her down now that the pups were safely in Orthos territory. It wasn't personal just standard procedure when confronted with a rogue. But, he hesitated when he felt the unexpected surge of power from her. It unsettled him. He hadn't realized what a potent force she kept so well hidden - something that could only be accomplished through strict self discipline and restraint. But, those were not the characteristics of a rogue.
Anex didn't know what to make of her. Especially knowing what great lengths she must have gone to, to bring these pups to safety – all 18 of them. Not a one lost to sickness, starvation, accident or animal attack. They had trekked hundreds of kilometers over the most dangerous terrain around and there wasn't even one broken bone between them or bruised bottom. At least, not that he or his subordinates could tell. The rogue displayed leadership, was committed to the pups' cause, and was faithful to fulfill her promise to a Luna that wasn't even her own. Again, not typical rogue behaviour. In fact, it was all quite remarkable - the journey and the rogue that made it possible.
The pack had been looking for the pups for several weeks. Special patrols had gone out initially to search for them along the regular and less regular routes through the mountain range. However, as the days turned into weeks those patrols stopped. The pack had almost given up hope of ever seeing the pups because they knew a rogue was in charge of them. It seemed a forgone conclusion that the pups would be abandoned or left for dead at some point. Rogues weren't known for being charitable, dependable or in any way trust-worthy. So, Anex was really shocked to encounter the pups on his rounds that afternoon. No one ever thought they'd come through the most treacherous pass of all.
Who'd ever heard of a rogue acting as a guardian for a bunch of orphaned pups with no promise of any kind of gain anyway. It was sheer fantasy. In all their searches, in all their plans, it had never occurred to the Orthos leadership that the rogue would take the children through Mourning Cross. Grown wolves would find the journey dangerous let alone one adult wolf with 18 pups to look after.
And yet Anex had to concede that all their previous calculations and expectations were wrong because here the pups all were. Exhausted, hungry and a few pounds lighter no doubt but very much alive in body and in spirit after six weeks of travelling through the worst kind of wilderness with no one but a rogue to trust. And to top it all off the pups really seemed invested in the rogue, which Anex was struggling to understand.
Tired of watching the pups happily crowd around the rogue, he left Jenna and Drummond and walked back over to the small group. The pups all turned together to watch him nervously. It seemed he hadn't done a very good job of winning them over just yet.
Even though Penn was their guardian, she was still just a rogue and had no ranking at all in Anex's eyes. He could not bring himself to address her or acknowledge her. It just went against the grain of all he'd been taught, and all he'd know about rogues his entire life. So he ignored the rogue and directed his news to Cassidy instead.
"We have a hunting lodge some miles from here," he told her. "We will head there now, make camp there tonight and go from there tomorrow. It's a days hard trek to the hub of the pack from here. So, it's just too late to travel there now," he explained half expecting the pups to be visibly disappointed. The children didn't seem concerned about the delay. But then, they'd been on the run for so long, what was one more day. As far as he could tell they were taking the news in stride.
Anex, kept half an eye on the rogue though. If he thought demeaning her by talking shop with Cassidy, a mere pup, was going to rattle the her chain, prompting her to reveal her true colours, he was sorely disappointed. He was well aware that the she-wolf barely looked at him while he talked - as if she wasn't the least bit interested in anything he had to say. That irked him a little.
He saw that her attention was drawn to his two companions - Jenna and Drummond. Her eyes kept drifting around to a place ahead of them on the trail too. Anex wondered if she'd already caught the scent of their third companion - Raine. Well, if she had he'd have to give it to her because Raine was his best tracker and she was as stealthy as they came.
He stopped watching the rogue long enough to take charge of the group and bark out a few commands to Cassidy and Jackson. "Jenna and Drummond will lead the way," he indicated the other two wolves who had already transformed into their fur again. "You and your pack-mates will follow them and I'll take up the rear. It's going to be a long and gruelling walk but it's almost all downhill," he said with a reassuring smile.
With a quick motion of his hand he directed everyone to move out, but was astonished when not a single pup moved an inch. What was the problem? He looked around at them feeling slightly irritated. And then he saw it. The children looked to the rogue and waited for her approval of the plan. It wasn't until she gave a subtle nod of her head that they moved to gather up their meagre belongings and head out after Jenna and Drummond.
Anex wasn't sure whether he was insulted or just baffled. It seemed, in their eyes she was the Alpha of their pack. They followed her lead and no one else. He laughed to himself thinking how simple children were but not too smart. If they knew anything about rogues they would know they couldn't trust her and that they should steer clear of her. Especially, now that they had reached the safety of the Orthos pack's territory.
Yet, even as he thought it he realized that she must be different. She had brought them all this way after all. He gave his head a shake and fell in behind them. He watched her put on a backpack and then scoop up one the littlest pups. That child wound her arms around the rogues neck and was very content to stay in her arms as they marched down a barely visible path to the lodge ahead. Either the rogue had bewitched the children or she really was nothing like the rogues he'd encountered all his life.
Still, the children were not good judges of these things. What did they know about the true dangers of rogues. Anex had more than 30 years experience fighting and killing rogues. He knew them. He knew them all too well. This one might be able to deceive the children under such unusual circumstances. However, she'd likely slip up in the presence of other adult wolves. Anex planned on watching her like a hawk the entire long walk to the lodge. One wrong step and he was ready to rip her throat out no matter what.
The long trek was uneventful though. Despite it being arduous, the children never complained once and even when it began to drizzle they stayed quiet – tight lipped really. Anex had the distinct feeling they were modelling their behaviour after the rogue. She walked as if nothing bothered her, not the cold, not the damp, not the extra weight she carried in her arms or the strange wolves around her that were ready to pounce on her if she made one false move.
She never did make any false steps. Anex wasn't sure if he was relieved or disappointed. All she did was watch the children ahead and behind her with a sharp eye like any mother-wolf would. She kept them from slipping and tripping and yet she never spoke to them or acted silly with them or tried to engage them in any real way. This surprised Anex. If she'd tried to win them over with charm, story telling, a goofy persona, well, that might explain their devotion and obvious love for her. However, he saw none of that.
In fact, she rarely spoke and her face was always expressionless. A child would not know, looking at her, if she were happy or sad, if she was pleased with them or amused. A child could tell nothing at all from that face. He marvelled at it as he watched her. Yet, the children looked up at her with adoring eyes and trusted her every move. They were clearly at ease with her despite her rather cool and distant personality.
Perhaps it was the trauma of the last six weeks that blinded the children to the threat she posed to them and to any pack wolf. Still, it was a bit of a revelation watching them interact with her and her with them. Anex wasn't sure what to think of this makeshift pack with their Alpha rogue.
The lodge, to Penn's genuine surprise was not some small cramped cabin with a dirt floor and a large hearth. It was a very modern facility with several rooms, a full bathroom, washer and dryer, a complete kitchen and even electric floor board heaters. The drinking water, as well as the water for the showers and washer, was supplied by an artisan well and everything was powered by a generator. It was a great set-up for anyone who didn't want to rough it and she knew the poor pups would think they'd died and gone to heaven.
The Master at Arms had let them into the lodge, which was not locked, and gave them a quick tour before stepping out and letting the pups settle in. Penn appreciated that they were all left alone for the time being. It was an exciting time for the children and she was glad it wasn't going to be overshadowed for them by the presence of strange wolves. The children still hadn't warmed up to the Orthos wolves but then, Anex and his crew hadn't given them much reason to as yet. Penn was a bit surprised by the cool welcome, but she had a no doubt it had more to do with her presence than with the pups themselves.
The pups were quiet at first as they looked around, but once Anex and his two companions left the lodge, they perked up. They became positively wild though when they found out that they would be warm, could sleep in a bed, could have a quick shower, and were going to eat something out of a box or a can that night! The lodge exploded with joy as the pups ran about the lodge like a bunch of dogs at a puppy fair. Penn laughed as Cassidy tried to catch the children, scold them, and get them to behave. After a few minutes Penn gave a sharp whistle and all the noise and clatter came to an abrupt halt.
"That's enough of that," she said to them in a stern voice that had them settling down immediately. They all dutifully came into the main living room of the lodge and stood quietly in front of Penn awaiting their orders for the evening.
"We'll need volunteers," Penn began. "Someone has got to do the cooking and it can't be me since I haven't cooked a meal in a real kitchen in a decade!" The children gasped and Penn laughed out loud, which caused the pups to laugh. Penn knew they thought she was only playing with them. It would come as quite a shock to them to realize she wasn't joking. But, the consequences of being a rogue in the wilds of the mountain range was a bit too complicated to explain right then and there. Penn said no more on the subject and just asked, "Now, who among you can cook?"
Both the twins, Ace and Archer who were fourteen, put their hands up but the rest of the children groaned. Clearly, they didn't trust the twins in the kitchen. Penn thought that was funny but kept it to herself.
"Who else? How about we make it a team effort? Who will work with the twins?"
Emma, who was thirteen, and Olivia, who was just about to turn thirteen, both put up their hands. Penn was satisfied with the young teens who'd volunteered. She was sure they could find something in the cupboards for everyone to chow down on.
"Good. We have our volunteers," Penn said with a pleased look on her face.
She sent those four off to the kitchen and then addressed the rest.
"We need volunteers to make beds. The bedding for the bunks is in the closets in each room."
There were two bedrooms with two sets of bunk beds in each room. Penn figured two volunteers for each room would do. She picked Jackson, one of two fifteen year olds in the group, and Jacob, one of three twelve year olds in their little pack, for one room. For the second room she picked Noah, another fifteen year old, and partnered him with the another twelve year old boy among the orphans, Liam. They went off directly, without complaint, to get their assignment for the night done.
Then turning to Cassidy she said, "Lets get the little ones in the bath while the food and beds are getting made."
Cassidy smiled her agreement and the two of them rounded up the youngest pack members. There were nine of them who were ten and under. Penn and Cassidy herded them off to the bathroom without delay.
The Master at Arms had given Cassidy permission to make full use of the lodge, including the showers and washer/dryer. So, that's just what Penn intended on doing. Penn got the hot water running and filled up the tub while Cassidy stripped the children of their dirt-caked clothes and left the clothes in a pile to be washed.
An hour later the littlest ones were clean, dry and wrapped in blankets while their clothes were put through a wash in the laundry room. They sat and ate while the bigger kids divided up the bathroom time and reminded each other not to use up all the hot water.
Penn was so unaccustomed to boxed and canned food that she felt her stomach turn when she looked at the mac & cheese and the vegetable soup on the stove. She wouldn't be able to get it down. So, she opted for starting the clean-up in the kitchen while everyone filled their stomachs.
By 9 pm that night everyone was clean, had a full belly and were just waiting on clothes to dry. Many of the children crawled into a bunk wrapped up in their blankets and fell asleep before their clothes were ready. Penn didn't blame them. She was feeling exhausted right along with them. It had been an eventful day to say the least. She felt she was lucky that half the pups hadn't fallen asleep right in their bowls of soup.
By midnight Penn had finished washing and drying all their things along with the towels and face clothes they'd used earlier that night. Cassidy had to show her how things worked. The washers and dryers were all digital now instead of mechanical like they were when she lived in a pack all those years ago. Luckily, the system was user friendly and pretty intuitive.
When the last piece of laundry was folded and set in the rooms Penn went into the bathroom and cleaned it from floor to ceiling. The children had made a mess because they were a mess. Penn felt exhausted when 1 am rolled around, but she climbed into the shower anyway and used up the last of the hot water for her own quick shower. It had been so long since she'd had a hot shower that she'd forgotten how great they felt and how relaxed she always felt afterwards. It was one of the few things she truly missed about her old life.
At this late hour all Penn wanted to do was go to sleep. She would prefer to sleep in wolf form but, knowing how that might set of the Orthos wolves – Anex, Jenna, Drummond and the other wolf who kept hidden from sight – she slipped on her now clean pants and t-shirt and opted to sleep in her skin on the couch in the living space.
If anyone came through the door she'd be the first to know and they wouldn't get anywhere near the pups. With this in mind she drifted off to sleep while curled up on her side. A few hours later she woke and did the rounds inside the lodge making sure everyone was there and everyone was sleeping. When she was sure all was well she went back to her couch and felt her body and mind relax as soon as she sank into the soft cushions. It was so nice to sleep on a soft surface. There was certainly nothing in the harsh mountain environment she lived in that was comparable.
It was amazing what a person - a wolf - could learn to live without. Penn had learned to live without all these luxuries, which the pups in her care took for granted (or use to until they were driven from their pack's territory). But, worst of all, she'd learned to live without a pack. Ten years was a long time to go packless.
Most wolves didn't live this long on their own. Lone, shape-shifting wolves were vulnerable and often went feral before too long. They needed pack life to keep them functioning. Without the structure of pack life and the familial bonds provided in a pack, exiled wolves tended to drift aimlessly and become mentally unstable. It was the result of isolation.
Shape-shifters came from pack-centric gene pools and didn't do well when cut off from the pack. Penn wasn't sure why she was still alive after ten years of wild living. She couldn't explain how she hadn't gone feral like so many other exiled wolves did. Despite being a bit of a loner and an oddball all her life, she never once imagined life outside the pack. She had never desired to go it alone. It had never occurred to her no matter how she chaffed at the restraints and traditions imposed on her through pack-living. If only she'd been smarter and hadn't rubbed the new alpha the wrong way all those years ago.
But, what was done was done. There was no going back and re-writing her history. And soon, maybe before the end of the next day, she'd be on her own again for the next decade. If she lived that long. It was a disquieting thought. She'd become attached to the pups and, if she was honest with herself, really enjoyed being a useful member of a pack again. Even a little one thrown together by disaster and desperation.
Penn sighed deeply. She would be sad to part ways with the pups the next day. There was no getting around it. No sooner had she accepted this truth then her eyes fluttered shut and she found sleep again that night.