Midnight Clear

He was exhausted. A lot had happened since he’d left to explore, found Marina’s bloody trail, and he didn’t want to think of everything that had happened in the north. He’d tracked the scents of the male and two females as far as Faller’s Fjord, and had turned back after a week or so.

The male would meet his end eventually, but Regulus had a pack to run and patrol in the meantime. He’d been gone far too long. He would have liked to go straight to his alcove to sleep, but young Paladin met him in the ravine, informing him of a trespasser that had come a week past. He’d been rather frustrated to hear that none of the rest of the pack had come to back up the fellow at the call of alarm about an intruder.

He'd sent the young male back to sleep, and now, he shook his head slowly as he padded across the cold black marble to his alcove. The moss was a bit stale, but he was grateful to flop into the bedding and curl up, mulling things over in his head. He had much to think over. The stones didn’t seem to be doing their job of keeping intruders out.

He couldn’t help the niggling suspicion. A wolf as old as Paladin had described should know perfectly well about borders and what they meant, blind or not. He huffed softly, breath fogging in the cold air. Well, they’d just have to build it up. Like the wall up north. Tall enough that even a wolf taller than himself would have difficulty jumping over, that would border the entire territory, save for a few openings for larger prey animals.

He gave a satisfied smile. That would take a while to accomplish, but perhaps by next autumn, they would have a solid structure in place, and even if it wasn’t completed, it would still be there to dissuade outsiders, or interest possible new members. A thoughtful hum left him as he added to the benefits, the fact that pups would be less likely to cross the borders and be hurt or lost. And gods knew they had a new litter. Marina had birthed her litter, and had difficulty.

He was glad Paladin had returned home. The boy had done very well in keeping her and her pup alive.