Returning to the den, Arzhen saw the two little wolves look at her with curiosity. She dropped the hyenas in front of them before laying down and waiting for them to eat. She had consumed a lot of energy today and wanted to take a rest.
Lida and Sedraa noticed the black wolf's sluggishness. Seeing that she was just tired, they started to eat. They remembered that she had eaten less yesterday, so they divided out a large portion of the meat, saving it for the sleepy black wolf.
Reports came to the chieftain very quickly about the sighting of the monster. As usual he didn't think much of it, but he had heard the commotion of the hyena tribe and sent some scouts to find out the situation.
The hyenas have been encroaching on the wolf tribes territory for the last few months and the chieftain has become increasingly annoyed by their constant harassment. Unfortunately he doesn't have the manpower spare to play this back and forth game with the hyenas, so he can only swallow this loss.
The scouts came back with shocking news. Almost the entire hyena tribe was eradicated. The only survivors were visiting other tribes or simply away at the time, but it can be seen that the hyenas are finished.
The chieftain didn't feel so happy with this development. He paid special attention to the movements of the stronger tribes. Knowing that none of them had moved any warriors for the time being made him remember that night months ago. A huge wolf that under the full attacking force of her own kin managed to not only turn the tide, but left them with a horrific loss.
The chieftain remembered that the scout had reported the monster was covered in blood. It wasn't difficult for him to put two and two together. What made him anxious was the report itself. None of the tribe there was spared, even babies. The wars between the tribes may be brutal, but outright slaughter is not what many of them can stomach. Letting the defeated tribes become a vassal is usually the cruellest act they use, yet that monster can easily do such a terrifying thing. What would stop her from killing the rest of the wolf tribe?
His worries made him want to put the idea his wife and him had made. Send Lida's daughter over to see the situation and report back. He had already talked to her father, Riso and after some bargaining they came to an agreement. The chieftain has to admit that Riso was truly a selfish man. He readily pushed the blame of the monsters birth on his wife, after she took care of him for so long, and now he was selling off his daughter for his own benefit. The chieftain had to sigh that their family was really one trouble after another.
Riso had received the promised benefits from the chieftain and without much trouble ordered his daughter to head to the valley to find out the situation of the chieftains daughter.
Rin didn't expect her father to make her do this. Although she knew her father was selfish. She only assumed that it was towards her mother. She was his blood, but thinking of the stories about that monster. Wasn't she his blood too?
Rin saw her father's anger welling up and knew that arguing would only lead to a beating for her. She had no intention of facing more pain than she had to. She had already started to see how much her mother had suffered with a family like them. She looked at her lazy brother and greedy father and her thoughts funnily enough coincided with her mother's.
"Why stay here to suffer with them?", she thought to herself.
Although she had made up her mind to leave that unsatisfactory pair. As she got closer to the valley near the tribe, she started to feel a chill running down her spine. She had always been well taken care of by her mother. Even if they weren't very highly regarded in the tribe, her mother made sure she rarely had to do any work. This made her not know some truths that she should have learnt. Seeing the entrance to the valley, like a huge mouth waiting to swallow her whole. She couldn't help but want to turn back. Unfortunately she didn't have that option. Gathering the little courage she could muster, she stepped into the valley.
Arzhen woke up to the unfamiliar scent heading towards the den. She had started to feel annoyed by the wolves that kept coming into her valley so often. She could take care of her mother, and the little white wolf, but more just kept on appearing which was eating up her already limited patience.
It wasn't until the new wolf that almost came into sight that Lida seemed to have felt her presence. Seeing that the little white wolf still hadn't noticed, Arzhen felt a little gloating. Her mother had been hunting with her for a while, and it can be seen that it had some effect.
However when Arzhen saw Lida's complicated expression, she guessed that the identity of this wolf must be special. She looked at her mother's expression and inquired.
"Who is it?"
Lida wasn't surprised by her child's question. If she could sense another wolf, there's no way that her child hadn't. It was the answer to the question that made it difficult to respond, but she still had to reply.
"It's your sister".
Sedraa didn't understand what the two were talking about, until she felt a strange breath coming closer. Knowing from Lida's mouth that it was her other daughter, Sedraa wanted to know what the tribe was doing?
Arzhen was thoughtful when hearing her mother's answer.
"Could they think that I wouldn't kill my own relatives?" Arzhen snickered at the thought.
She stood up under the worried gaze of her mother. She didn't really want to kill the new wolf, but her mother's hesitant expression still made her a little angry. When she left the den she saw the trembling little sister.
"This is the one they sent to monitor me?" she thought smugly, "It would be lucky if she didn't die of fright before she even made it back".
Arzhen was quite ruthless with her thoughts, but her face remained cold and expressionless. The black wolf terrified the already frightened Rin.