AS THE SUN began to touch the edge of the distant mountain range, exhaustion finally forced Doom and Tracker to stop and rest. Taking shelter beneath the limbs of a weeping evergreen, they shared some jerked meat, lost in their own thoughts. Tracker looked at Doom as the gromek whispered, “Ti, why are you doing this?”

“Maybe had to,” Tracker offered, his words slow and measured.

“Had to?” Doom demanded with a scowl. “Why would she have to leave? Who would make her?” His hand tightened so much around his worn quarterstaff his green knuckles turned pale white. “Who? So I can kill them for hurting her!”

“Not who. What.” Tracker frowned, trying to find the human words. He thumped his chest over his heart. “Heart pain. So great Tracker feel echo when touched her. Not right. Not normal. Cat-Sister upset. Not understanding why feel empty when now free of master.”

Doom’s rage drained away, staring at the wolflen. “She told you about our past?” Tracker nodded. The scowl returned. “You believe our former master did this to her?”

“Tracker…not know. Maybe done to Cat-Sister. Maybe because what done. None like Cat-Sister. Shaman not even knowing truth of shape-shifters. Only story of one from days of fifth chieftain. Sire twentieth chieftain. Cat-Sister very alone.”

Doom opened his mouth to argue about being as alone as Tiwaz, then realized a painful truth. “She can’t remember anything about her own race. Alimar mutilated my body so I would never be accepted by my own people, but I remember them. He stole so much more when he took her memory.” He uttered an anguished sound. “Why didn’t I realize—?”

“Not your fault. Not fault of anyone. Cat-Sister hides hurts,” Tracker interrupted. “She believes protecting Doom-Not-Demon. Believes she is failure not understanding why not happy. Tracker think her pain made worse trying to hide from us because she feels shame not stronger.” He continued sadly, “Tracker seen this shame before. Lost brother to such shame and deep sadness.”

He put his hand on Doom’s shoulder. “Not lose Cat-Sister.” The wolflen’s words held as much promise as worried desperation to make it the truth.

“No,” Doom agreed. “No, we won’t lose her.” Yellow eyes gazed at the horizon through the delicate branches. His shoulders sagged. “The sun has set. She’ll be faster if she takes her panther form. Maybe impossible to catch.”

“Tracker knows Cat-Sister’s scent,” the wolflen stated as he stood straight. “Not lose. Not ever.” He inhaled deeply. “This way.”

Some distance from where they had paused, the distant sounds of distress alarmed them, one voice excruciatingly familiar. They started running. The scene they came upon was at once bewildering and daunting.

A gigantic two-legged man-bear, a distorted bipedal monster covered with patched and matted fur, towered over the snarling panther, dwarfing the feline by its shear massiveness. It dragged behind it a colossal stag bearing wounds that the smaller of the combatants had dealt.

Focused on her opponent, Tiwaz roared at the monstrosity and leapt at him. She clung to the arm it blocked itself with, kicking and lashing out with three of four paws. Her claws could barely get through its thick fur. Angrily, the man-bear tried shaking her off, finally flinging her loose. She landed hard against a tree, staggering back to her feet. Dazed, all she could do was cringe as it raised a crude club to strike a finishing blow.

Tracker dropped out of the tree above them, putting himself between the panther and the man-bear. He leapt out of reach, drawing its attention away. He jabbed it with his spear, taunting him. Behind him, Doom swung his quarterstaff as hard as he could across its back. The gromek stared, dumbfounded, as the wood splintered, the weapon shattering. The man-bear only staggered a step, turning rage-filled eyes on the third intruder.

Doom backed away as quickly as he could, but tripped and fell. Tracker jabbed his spear in the man-bear’s thigh hard; it screamed in pain and fury. It swung its arm, breaking the spear in half, leaving the head embedded. The wound hampered its pursuit of the wolflen, but did not stop it. Desperately, Doom felt around in the fallen leaves and found a solid shaft. He grabbed what felt like a long branch, and swung as hard as he could. The need to protect his companions stood in the forefront of his mind.

A deafening crack of thunder and shock wave stunned the trio. When they could focus again, the man-bear had fallen, a huge hole blown through its chest. Tracker dragged himself up to his knees, putting an arm around Tiwaz’s shoulder as she nuzzled him, her relief he was okay obvious. Doom looked at the staff in his hand blankly. “What the hells?”

“Good boom stick,” Tracker said as he got back to his feet. Doom looked askance at him, the wolflen simply grinning at him.

“Smartass,” the gromek grumbled good-naturedly. He looked down at Tiwaz, who dropped her head miserably, avoiding his eyes. He knelt in front of her, putting his hand under her jaw to turn her head towards him. “Ti, what happened? Did you leave because of me? You should have said something, I would have stayed—”

She looked up sharply, aghast at the idea. Contorting in pain, she shape-shifted back to human form, then collapsed in emotional exhaustion against the gromek. He caught her, holding her close. She barely noticed Tracker draping the cloak he had found with her belongings nearby. “Not because of you! Never because of you. Because of me.” She hid her face against his chest. “I am flawed. I diminish you because of my flaws. You could be more without me.”

“What are you talking about?” He caressed her hair tenderly, trying to catch her eyes. “I would be nothing without you, Ti. I’ve told you this since the beginning. Why do you keep thinking otherwise?” He paused, pulling her tighter against him to warm her. “Come on, get dressed. You’re freezing. Tracker found your gear.”

She didn’t move from his embrace, forcing him to remain kneeling with her. “You worry about me because I cannot change to fit in anywhere. You have to take care of me because I cannot do it alone. A friend is not a constant burden. I’ve become your shackles and you should be free! You deserve to be free and I trap you with my failings.”

“No, you don’t,” he stated with more sharpness than he intended, something about her demeanor upsetting him more than anything ever had before. “Stop it! Stop talking like that. There is nothing wrong with needing time or help acclimating to our new life. You don’t need to learn everything right this minute. Alimar is not here. He won’t punish you. No one will punish you.”

“How much time do you need, Doom? How much time before you see I am hopeless?” she begged. “It hurts so much. Even you and Tracker cannot keep it at bay anymore. How long do I have to suffer being alone before the pain ends?”

Doom drew back, blinking down at her then meeting Tracker’s worried, puzzled eyes. “'Alone?’” he echoed, the quality of the word hinting at something deeper.

“Maybe priest healer can help,” Tracker suggested. “Knowing more than Shaman about such torments. Helped others before.”

“No!” she snarled, eyes flashing with vehemence. “Priests are liars. I will not talk to deceivers. I will kill them if they touch me!”

“Shhh, relax, Ti,” Doom crooned soothingly as he held her tight. “You do not have to talk to anyone you don’t want to. But we want you to come home. Everyone is worried about you. Everyone in Bralden.” He tilted her chin up. “Pack Leader had come to the forge looking for you because he is worried. Even Shaman is worried. Please. I won’t go hunting anymore until we can figure this out. You are too important to me to risk losing you again.” She sighed and nodded wearily, relenting.

“Doom-Not-Demon,” Tracker called as the pair stood, Doom helping Tiwaz to stand so she could dress. He waved to the stag. “Cat-Sister caught…legend.” With a grunt, he turned the deer’s head so Doom could see the antlers. The gromek understood the wolflen’s awe at once. “Gift of ancestors!”

Now that the danger was past, he finally saw what he ignored before. “Fifty points? I thought it was just a larger breed from the Northern Territories!” He looked at Tiwaz. “How in the world did you land this?”

She did not look up as she wrapped her feet before sliding them into her boots and lacing them snugly. “I had become a panther and was going to run as fast as I could for as long as I could.” The males said nothing, nor did she elaborate. “Then I smelled him and I could not help but think about the children of both tribes of Bralden. I wanted to make sure they were okay.”

Her cold-tinted cheeks turned redder. “I did not think about how to get it back. It is too big for me to move alone. And I ignored the fact that I’m lost and don’t know the way back now.” She glared at the dead man-bear. “But it was my kill. I worked hard to bring it down. It tried to take it from me!”

Doom could not help but chuckle. “You and your pride, Ti.”

Tracker went to her, touching his brow to hers. “Next time, hunt with pack. Not alone.” She nodded, unable to speak against the knot in her throat. He looked to the gromek. “Need find shelter. Night too cold, dark. All need rest.”

She pointed to a large mound in the distance. “It was heading there. I guessed it lived there and I did not want to have to try fighting it in close quarters.” She rubbed her head. “It was hard enough out here in the open.”

“You did good, Ti. The whole village will eat well because of you. But let’s see about getting everything secure before we end up drawing scavengers.” They dragged both the monster stag and the dead man-bear to a large tree and hoisted them up to hang from heavy branches. The trio turned their attention to the giant mound.

Tiwaz drew back in disgust when they pulled back the raw, rotting pelt that served as a door. Tracker yanked it down and threw it far from the half-natural, half-constructed dwelling. The smell barely improved. She stopped short, barely far enough inside for the two larger males to enter. Doom put his hand on her shoulder in concern, then followed her stare.

In the darkness at the back was a massive stack of bones, skulls, and various personal items. She picked up a wolflen knife near her foot, staring at it, then held it out to Tracker. “This is Daymark’s, isn’t it?”

Tracker took the knife, growling deep in his chest. “Daymark lost last moon. None know what happened.” He looked at the pile, then away in grief. “Tracker see weapons of many lost. Humans’ weapons, too.”

“Seems we know what had been causing the herds to avoid this area and what happened to Bralden’s missing hunters now,” Doom said grimly. “We can hope with that thing gone, the herds and other animals will return.” Noticing the forlorn expression on Tiwaz’s face, he took her hand in his. “Ti. We’ll figure out what Alimar did to you and fix it, I promise. Together. I need you.”

“Why do you need me? You can do everything,” she asked dismally.

“I need you because…” He paused, fumbling for something meaningful. He held up one massive hand. “Because I can’t skin rabbits.” She blinked at him, then burst out laughing so hard and so long, she started crying. He just held her close, nodding to Tracker as the wolflen began to set up camp in the cleanest part of the dingy dwelling.