first on the agenda

There was something decidedly unnatural about the wolves who approached him, though Viggo could not quite figure out what it was. He stared a moment longer, even after the adult female spoke, still trying to decipher what made them different than the hundreds of other wolves he had met during his time on this earth. "Meeting the locals," he called out from below. He figured there was an easier way to get up to where she was than right here, though he made no attempt to do so.

Viggo glanced at the smaller wolf. From here, he could not determine whether the pup was a boy or a girl. Not that it mattered, anyhow. He or she was still much too young to be trusted around strangers. Although he had not been around for the first years of his own children, he had been around plenty of others. Not until they were closer to full grown were they allowed to meander on their own, getting into trouble and mingling with those outside their pack.

"My brother—Mordecai—he's settling down in Lost Creek Hollow." Viggo gestured toward the forest that was now his home, assuming she would not know the name of it. "I'm joining him there. My name's Viggo Ostrega."