Penn left the elders in the hidden mountain shrine and returned quickly to Cassidy and Jackson, who were stationed at the mouth of the first cave.  As she went, she heard many stomachs rumbling with hunger, but no one, old or young, was complaining. They all appeared too tired to eat despite the protest their vacant bellies were putting up. She and the older pups would have to fix that.

Going hungry for too long would drain more than their energy. It would sink their spirits too. And, in a situation like this, it was imperative that they all maintain hope and high spirits. Especially, when they were stuck in their furs and crowded together like this in a series of cold, uncomfortable caves not knowing when they could return to their cozy homes or if they'd even have homes to go back too.

She was relieved to observe that Cassidy and Jackson, while absorbed in keeping hidden as they watched the treeline, were aware of Penn's approach. Both turned their snouts in unison to greet her with a quiet yip. Penn was relieved they were attuned to their surroundings and not just hyper-focused on the task at hand. 

This would help keep them alive if the fight came to them - to the cave - which was a possibility Penn had to admit. She had discovered the caves quite by accident and it was entirely possible that Codax and his wolves, if they ventured this far hunting the children, would also stumble onto it. But, that wouldn't likely happen until they had exhausted all other possibilities. So, Penn put off thinking about the possibility for the time being.

Penn traded her fur for her skin and asked the two teens, "No howls mean nothing to report, correct?"

They transformed as well and nodded their heads.

Jackson's stomach chose just then to growl so loudly it might have been considered a starving man's howl. He blushed with embarrassment, but both Penn and Cassidy gave a little laugh.

"Go ahead and round up a few of the older ones," she told Jackson, "and we'll have a quick hunt."

"What will we hunt way up here?" Jackson asked curiously. He remembered that they never came across much wildlife above the treeline when they came through the pass. He had a hard time figuring out just how many pika they'd need to catch to feed so many mouths.

"We'll hunt the bighorns," she told him. "I'll do the killing because it's got to be quick and clean. We can't leave a bloody trail for Codax's trackers to sniff out."

Jackson nodded and took off for the inner caves. He was excited about the chance to do something for the pack, to provide for them. And, part of him really missed following Penn around in the wild, living on the edge, and following her every move in order to accomplish something of worth for everyone's benefit. Whether that be locating a safe resting spot, scouting out a good route for the little ones, or making a big kill so everyone could eat and feel satisfied come nightfall. And out here, everything he did or didn't do mattered to the well being and safety of the entire pack.

He quickly found Noah, followed by the twins Ace and Archer, and then finally Jacob and Liam. The boys were all thrilled at the prospect of hunting with Penn. They were eager to get out of the crowded caves and give their restless legs a good stretch.

Penn met them in her skin. "Don't bother shifting," she told them. "Just listen up."

The six teenagers, or nearly teenagers since Jacob and Liam were both still a few months shy of 13, sat down on their furry haunches and turned their snouts up toward Penn giving her their full attention.

"The Bighorns have a few spots they like to rest at during the night. We'll head to the closest one. I want to get in quick and make the kills before the sheep can run. If I can do that, we'll only need the one location and you wont have to drag the carcasses too far. But, to do this, you are going to have to be as quiet as a pika."

The boys snorted through their wet noses and jostled each other with their grey and tawny shoulders. Pika were notoriously quiet except when they were fighting with each other over the rare patches of tempting sweet green grasses that grew, on occasion, between the rocks and boulders that made up the mountain face. The boys could relate because they squabbled like pika over their dinner plates all the time. Each one of them was always in a race for seconds.

"You know what I mean," Penn said with feigned exasperation.

The boys nodded and settled down.

"Okay, lets head out then," Penn directed the happy little squad. To Cassidy she turned and advised, "Keep low, keep watch and howl the instant you think anything is off. Anything at all. I'll come."

Cassidy, who was in her fur, brushed up against Penn's leg and then gave a little yip indicating that she'd be fine and Penn should get going. Penn gave her a fond little pet on the head before shifting and leading the boys further up the mountain to the bighorn night encampments.

It took no time at all to locate and kill four bighorn sheep, but it took a couple of hours for the boys, with Penn's help, to drag the carcasses back to the caves. And when they arrived back, exhausted from their efforts, they found that most of the Orthos pack, was either sleeping or too disgusted by the prospect of eating a fresh kill to even give it a try. The boys might have complained, but the pack's reaction mirrored their own when Penn first dropped bloodied kills at their feet and told them to eat up - fur, hide, bones and all.

"What do we do?" Jackson asked Penn.

"They wont starve. Their instincts will kick in sooner than later. Just like yours did," she said with half a smile. "For now, you boys and the others from Griffin can eat your fill. It might be days before we get a chance to do this again," Penn explained quietly.

The boys, despite their eager appetites, looked out over the crowds and crowds of wolves, and felt to restrain themselves. There were so many mouths to feed. If they gorged themselves, what would be left for the hungry faces that would greet them in the morning?

Their selflessness and self-control was truly admirable. Penn was genuinely proud of these young wolves. She couldn't help but think how pleased their deceased parents would be if they could see them now.

"I'll relieve Cassidy," she told Jackson. "You eat, sleep for a few hours, and about dawn, come and relieve me for a few hours."

He nodded. "Should I wake the elders so they can eat?" he inquired with concern.

"No, no, let them sleep. I'm sure they are communing with the goddess right now. They definitely wouldn't want to be woken up," she reasoned.

"Understood," Jackson replied before shifting into his fur and tackling some of the kill right there at his feet.

Four hours later, Jackson came to the mouth of the cave. It wasn't quite dawn. Cassidy was curled up near Penn sound asleep while Penn was intently watching the treeline. He trotted up to the two she wolves and Cassidy stirred from her peaceful slumber. They exchanged nose bumps and a few happy licks in greeting. But, once this little ritual was out of the way, Jackson traded his fur for his skin, even on that cold bluff, to indicate that he wanted to talk. Both Cassidy and Penn followed suit.

"Anything wrong?" Penn asked straight away not concealing her concern.

"The elders haven't woken," Jackson explained. "I think it's been almost twelve hours since they fell asleep in the shrine. Should we be worried? Should we wake them?" he asked hopefully.

"No," Penn replied with a confident smile. "They are safe with the goddess," she reassured him when he looked doubtful.

But Jackson didn't like the sound of that. Only wolves who died went to be with the goddess. He couldn't really understand what Penn meant.

Cassidy, picking up on his anxiety asked, "What does it mean to be 'safe with the goddess'?"

Cassidy could understand Jackson's concern. It wasn't normal for anyone to sleep that long unless they were sick. And maybe, the trek up the mountain had just been too much for them. They were, after all, exceedingly old wolves. She'd heard some the village children saying they were more than an hundred and fifty years old. Cassidy could hardly believe it because they seemed so quick witted and spry. Still, their escape up the mountain had been hard on everyone.

"I don't know how to explain it, "Penn began softly. "You sort of have to experience it for yourself to know what I mean," Penn offered. "But, it's like she either enters your dreams, or she takes you places in your dreams. Sometimes, you don't even need to be dreaming. You can be sort of awake," Penn expounded.

She smiled reassuringly at both pups. "It's good to be with her. They wont regret the experience. And they'll feel better afterwards - stronger," she tagged on. "So, we'll let them sleep until they naturally wake up. The goddess wont let anything bad happen to them," she assured the two.

They nodded and exchanged hopeful glances with each other. It sounded good. They would try not to worry.

"I'll go and camp out at the mouth of the shrine while you are here with Penn," Cassidy offered as a way to encourage her brother to relax and just concentrate on his watch duties.

He nodded gratefully and was about to change into his fur when the sound of bleating and rushing hooves on stone could be heard just below the cave entrance. The three stepped closer to the edge of the entrance and peered down the mountain. Under the bright moonlight of a cloudless sky they saw the first sign that something was amiss below the treeline. An unexpected rush of mountain goats were leaping up the granite slope and running right past the cave.

Penn traded her skin for her fur and trotted out into the moonlight. She kept low and hidden from sight, mindful that the rush of wildlife might be a trap to lure her and children out. Once in a good spot to see and hear what was going on below she froze with confusion.

Grey smoke, like a dense summer fog, was escaping slowly from the treeline and advancing upwards. Penn guessed it was the acrid fumes that were driving the wildlife out of the woods. She could see more animals appearing through the heavy smoke. But, she strained to see the source of the smoke. Somewhere below the forest or the village or both had to be in flames. The trouble was, she could not spot an orange glow. Neither the village or the eastern road appeared to be burning. 

What could that mean? Was Codax trying to smoke the children out? Penn knew it would take no time for a hunter like him to figure out the children weren't in the village anymore. And, it would be quite natural for him to suspect they were hiding in the surrounding woods. However, was he so determined to kill the Griffin orphans that he'd burn a whole forest to the ground just for the possibility of smoking them out? 

A burning flame of indignation and righteous fury ignited in Penn at the very thought.

When Codax had attacked the Griffin pack nearly six months ago it hadn't meant anything to Penn. It was just one reckless alpha wolf and his dumb pack trying to destroy another testosterone filled alpha male and his warriors. In her mind all alpha's were cruel and all pack wolves got what they deserved. If they weren't strong enough to fight for themselves that was their problem. Pack wars had nothing to do with her. 

She did coming running that day, regardless of the fleeing and fighting wolves all around, but that was because she came for Lara. She hadn't given a single thought to the other members of the pack. Least of all the pups. Penn had charged into the pack house on a mission to find and to save Lara, her one friend in the whole world. If Codax had slaughtered the Griffin pups before Lara had entrusted them to her, she would not have shed a single tear over their deaths. She would have likely told herself that it had nothing to do with her, and washed her hands of the whole gruesome affair.

Now though it was entirely different situation. Penn had changed dramatically. She could see it and feel it in herself. This time around, the idea that some lunatic wolf, who dared to call himself an alpha, had come into Orthos territory and was hunting the Griffin orphans down like they were vermin, burned her up in side and raised her hackles to the sky. 

She was going to kill him.

Angry and with her temper rising steadily, Penn shook out her fur and trotted back to the mouth of the cave where two anxious teenagers waited for her. She growled low and long the whole way. The more she thought about Codax and his plan to wipe the pups off the face the of the planet the more she wanted to rip his throat out and watch him bleed to death. 

He was going to die.

"What's wrong with her?" Cassidy asked Jackson as the two of them shifted into their skins and backed  away from her. 

They had never seen Penn's hackles up once in all the time they had known her. She had to be furious, which shocked them because she was always so careful to control her temper.

"I don't know," Jackson whispered back as he pulled her further into the cave and farther away from this alpha wolf they didn't really recognize.

Even as Penn strode toward them they could see strange things happening to her. Her body was shifting under its fur but not in the usual way. And, on top of that, her growls were sounding more and more like bitter curses. But, that was impossible because wolves didn't have human speech when they were in their furs.

"I'm going to kill that filthy dog," they clearly heard her mutter while she was still very much a wolf.

Their eyes grew wide as pancakes in a frying pan.

Before she reached them, both Cassidy and Jackson were trembling with a mixture of fear and disbelief. Their mouths gaped open and neither could utter a word. Finally, they stumbled on some rubble and fell to their bare bottoms on the cold granite. That's when Penn stopped and appeared to finally notice them.

"What on earth has you two so spooked?" she asked irritably. 

Penn frowned when the teens couldn't seem to answer her. They simply raised shaking fingers and pointed at her. She turned around to see if anything was behind her, but there was nothing there to frighten Cassidy and Jackson this much.

"Just spit it out," she barked at them feeling agitated and a little out of control. Her rising anger was making her hotter than Hades under her fur and that had her temper flaring over nothing  -  even the pups weren't spared. She gritted her teeth with frustration.

An unexpected voice, coming from the tiny slip of an entrance that lead from the first open cave to the many smaller caves within the mountain, called out in response to Penn's demand. It was Elder Ruuni.

"By the goddess," she exclaimed, "What's happened? You are one of them!"