Haunted Wood My teeth and ambitions are bared

He missed his children, Wildfire and what he had already come to think of as the neverborns. Of course, he and Fox could (and would) try again as soon as nature dictated. This hope did nothing to stop him from sinking into a depression in the meantime, however. It didn't help that the days were getting shorter, darker and colder. He could feel the deep cold coming, way down in his bones. The snows would arrive, food would become scarce and the easy pace of summer would give way to the difficulties of a northwestern winter.

Peregrine didn't feel like doing much of anything today, though there was much to be done. He spent a few hours patrolling, then several more hunting. It was an altogether productive morning. Then noon came around and he grabbed some lunch, then seated himself on a low outcropping to survey the caldera's foot as he ate. When he finished, he realized he had nothing to do all afternoon. He felt a gloomy black cloud forming over his head.

His single good eye shifted toward the sparse treetops of Haunted Wood. The Alpha wolf suddenly bared his teeth, his hackles prickling. He swept down the mountainside and marched into the dreary forest, emptying his bladder and bowels once he reached his destination. He wasn't sure the unwelcome wolves were still here—hopefully, the had grown some brains and left—but if they were, he was suddenly spoiling for a fight.