Chapter Nine

ELLA

I brought Mom under a tall kapok tree. As she sat among the tree's massive roots, she broke into a fit of coughing.

The first time she coughed like this, she said she had inhaled too much smoke; now I knew that wasn't the cause. She had only said so to keep me from worrying.

"I'm going to get you some water," I told Mom before running to a nearby river to fill a cylindrical container she had made from the bark of a birch tree.

She drank half of the water I fetched when I gave it to her.

"Mom, are you sick?" I asked, apprehensive.

I couldn't remember Mom ever being sick. I was the one who normally fell ill, and she would take care of me.

"I'm just catching a little flu, that's all," she said.

I started noticing how pale her face was. She didn't look as strong as I'd always seen her; she looked weak. And I didn't believe for a second that this was as minor as she claimed.

"I don't want you to die, Mom," I began to cry.

She playfully tapped a hand onto the bridge of my nose and smiled. "I'm not going to die from a little flu, my silly little pup. So stop worrying; I'll be fine. I just need a little rest now, and then we will continue straight to the Omnihex Pack."

I sat next to Mom, guarding her after she fell asleep, hoping what she had was truly nothing major.

A moment later, I leapt to my feet at a banging sound; I assumed it was coming from more than one wolf. It was so loud, I was surprised Mom was still fast asleep when I looked back at her. As I was about to stir her awake for us to flee, I stopped and listened carefully. I realized that the reverberating sound wasn't indicating a threat at all; instead, it sounded musical.

I was now hearing people merrily singing to the beat. I even heard several people laughing and chatting excitedly.

Having been hidden in the forest for my entire life, I was tempted to see new wolves and to find out how others' lives were different outside of the woods.

I looked back at my mom, still fast asleep, knowing that she would hate for me to go—especially into an open area with too many people, which she believed to be dangerous.

But I was not going to allow anyone to see me; I was just going to take a quick peek behind a tree, that's all.

So eager to see what was happening, I ended up running right into the midst of the crowd—not what I had planned. The hood covering my head fell off. I was scared at first, seeing so many wolves—young and old, for the first time, dressed in all colors—walking and dancing past me. But then I managed to stay calm, seeing that they were just going about their business, having a good time dancing to the music played by the wolves leading them.

It was odd to see a little boy and so many men for the first time. The men's bodies and physical appearances were far different from the females'. They had facial hair and a heavier, denser muscle structure and were also good-looking; I couldn't help noticing.

I caught sight of one of the men looking at me with his mouth open. A she-wolf walking next to him nudged him for doing so before quickly stepping off, upset. He quickly chased after her as she cursed him under her breath.

I placed a hand over my mouth and giggled at how funny they were.

"Excuse me, what is happening?" I then asked a little girl, curious to know what they were doing.

She stopped and answered.

"We're celebrating our new and second leader of the pack by walking around the wall twelve times. It's a tradition of our pack that has been done for generations," said the little girl.

As she mentioned the creepy, dark-green plant wall, my attention shifted to it, and I noticed a stem moving unnaturally.

"Did that stem just move like a snake?" I asked, backing away from it.

"Yes, the plants on the wall do that a lot," said the little girl, as if it were a normal thing for a plant.

She then placed something strange in my hand.

"What is this?" I looked down at a rectangular piece of white fabric with a design of a green plant affixed to a stick.

"It's a flag for you to wave," she said, waving another one in the air.

As I took it, she went away.

A wide smile appeared on my face as I looked down at the flag in my hand, excited to wave it too. As I was about to, I felt someone grab me by the back of my hand from behind.

"I've finally found you."

The flag immediately fell from my hand.