Blacktail Deer Plateau silent night

The male was pleased when there were no signs of hesitation on Pema's face. He'd expected some kind of worry or contemplation, but it seemed as though Pema was completely up for the task.

"I know you won't," Grayday said sincerely, his tail wagging. "Dawn will be stepping up beside you. She's going to handle organizing hunts and making sure people are pulling their weight. I want you to help her with that, but also with keeping up morale."

He shared a conspiratorial smile with the younger wolf. "We both know that Dawn is an amazing wolf with many valuable skills - but I'm putting you in charge of making sure everyone is healthy and eating enough. Some wolves won't want to eat too much in order to fly under the radar and not seem greedy. But skinny wolves don't make it through the winter. You'll need to keep a close eye on everyone, but our newer members especially," Grayday explained. Obviously, he wouldn't be the best wolf to keep eyes on anyone.

In fact, the male was beginning to wonder if he had a role in this pack at all. Perhaps he had outlived his usefulness - outlived his body. But the pack needed every wolf it could get, and Grayday wasn't about to write himself off just yet. There was more he could do - he just needed to figure it out.