Zara the Wolf Read Free Page A

raiding one of the other tribes or
villages lower in the foothills. It took me all night and most of the next day
to locate a cave large enough to moderate the outside temperatures. The rest of
the day I spent examining the ground for animal tracks to determine what I
might be able to catch for food and clothing. At dusk I located a small series
of pools make by runoff from melting snow during the day. After rubbing myself
with snow, leaves, and dirt to minimize my scent, I found myself a perch in a
nearby tree and waited. It was fortunate the trial started and ended with a
full moon, because otherwise I wouldn't have had enough light to target my
prey. It was early morning when a small ground animal approached the pond. As
it drank, I quieted my mind and shot. The arrow entered through its side and
pinned it to the icy ground—an impossible shot if not for learning how to
quiet my mind years ago: I was shivering from the cold and exhausted, having
been up for two days.
    My belly ached from hunger, and I wanted to run down there,
snatch up my food, and return to the cave to eat and rest. But I didn't. The
first few days would determine if I would live or die, so I watched as
scavengers began eating my food. Birds were the first to arrive, then lizards,
then what I had hoped for—wolves. Resisting the urge to shoot, I quieted
my mind and took careful aim at the largest one while waiting for a shot to the
heart. There were three of them, and their fighting kept them moving.
Eventually, the largest one backed the other two off and stood staring at them.
I shot just as he moved. The arrow entered the chest but missed where I thought
the heart would be. He screamed, whirring as he looked for his attacker. I
nocked another arrow and shot one of the other wolves, which I hit in the neck.
He stumbled only a few feet and dropped, although not dead. The third took
advantage of the situation and grabbed the animal I had shot, ripped it loose,
and ran off with the large male chasing him.
    I slowly lowered myself and almost collapsed when my leg
cramped as I touched the ground. My head spun and my arm felt too heavy to
lift. I forced myself to move toward the fallen wolf. He snarled as I
approached.
    "You understand," I said to the wolf. "We do
what we must to survive. At least you won't suffer." My sword slashed
through his neck. I captured the blood pouring out his severed neck and drank.
I gagged on the warm blood and felt like vomiting except I knew I needed food
or I'd freeze to death. I still had much to do. I draped the young wolf around
my neck and felt a wave of pleasure as the warmth of its body and blood seeped
into my neck and shoulders. After a minute, I shook my head to clear it and
began following the drops of blood. When dawn came, the tracks showed he was
walking slowly, and it wouldn't be long. An hour later, I saw the birds
circling overhead and knew I had finally caught up. When I arrived, the
scavengers were picking at the body. There was no way I was going to be able to
carry these two back to my cave so I began gathering twigs and started a fire.
When I had the fire going, I cut off some meat from the young wolf’s thigh and
cooked it. I don't remember ever having tasted anything so delicious. I craved
sleep, but that would have to wait. I spent the next several hours separating
the hides from the two wolves and cleaning them. When I finished, I wrapped the
larger one's hide around me and sat close to the fire, feeling warm for the
first time in days.
    I woke to a searing pain in my shoulder. When I opened my
eyes, Nibi stood thirty paces away, notching an arrow, and I had one in my
shoulder. I had been lucky. The wolf-robe had been draped over my head, and
Nibi either misjudged where my heart was, or was as exhausted as me, or too
excited to shoot straight. I rolled off to the side when he shot again, and the
arrow sailed harmlessly by. He drew his sword and came running toward me,
laughing as he came. I drew my