Chapter 196 Mother And Luna

Chapter 196 Mother And Luna
Maddie Pov 

I walked down the kitchen path with the baby tucked into a thick linen sling against my rib cage, her small head resting steady right below my collarbone. A few gold and white hair strands peeked out from the wool border, catching the light as she breathed. Five young female wolves stood by the well post with their wooden practice spears, their linen shirts already dark from the midday running drills.

"Keep your shoulders completely level when you pivot on the grass tracks, girls," I instructed and I shifted my weight to demonstrate the defensive turn. My heels planted deep into the packed dirt, and the baby did not even wake up from the movement. "The mountain guards will try to slip their short-knives under your leather belt laces if you lift your right elbow too high during the swing."

"The cedar shafts are feeling much lighter today, Maddie," Cara noted and she lowered her practice stick to wipe her wet forehead with a square of grey cloth. Her small frame looked solid now that the three moons of rationing had passed, and her cheeks carried a healthy red color. "Rex says the northern border guards are not seeing any fresh tracks near the salt boundary trail this week. Do we still need to practice the spear line every morning?"

"The peace stays because the spear line stays."

"Will the white wolf baby train with us when she grows taller?"

"She will train with everyone," I replied.

"I want to teach her the low stance first," Cara shared.

"Teach your own feet the balance point first," I corrected.

The young girls laughed together and lifted their cedar sticks back to their shoulders, their movements completely synchronized as they began the next defensive sequence. I watched them for ten minutes, keeping my spine straight against the stone wall of the kitchen building to keep the strain off my lower back muscles. The pack was thriving under the new distribution log, and the steady sound of woodcutting from the south pasture made the entire clearing feel secure.

"Take the water buckets to the laundry benches now," I called out across the path.

"Thank you, Luna," Cara shouted back.

They ran toward the well line, their boots kicking up small puffs of dry grey dust as they raced to grab the cedar handles. I turned away from the training field and walked toward our cabin trail, my palm resting flat over the linen sling to keep the baby's frame from bouncing against my chest. The quietness of the woods felt deep and permanent, with no scent of Vespera's ink or old blood contracts lingering in the bushes.

"You are working the young ones hard today, Maddie," Calix muttered and he stepped out from the tool shed path, carrying a bundle of fresh willow bark for the basket weavers.

He did not walk past my shoulder; he stopped right in front of my boots, his gray eyes looking down at the sleeping baby with that same slow, gentle expression he had worn since the birth night. He reached out his thick index finger and tapped the baby's pink chin, making her mouth twitch into a tiny, silent yawn.

"They need to hold the line before the first ice touches the creek bed, Calix," I explained and I leaned my arm against his leather vest.

"Mark finished stacking the salt blocks in the dry ridge house."

"The elder omegas approved the covered path?"

"They are already laying the flat stones," he assured.

"The baby smiled at the window light this morning," I revealed.

"She is growing faster than the timber pups," he murmured.

He placed his big hand over my shoulder blade, his thumb pressing into the tight muscle until the stiffness from the morning walk dissolved completely. We stood together on the dirt path for a long moment, just listening to the distant birds in the hazel brush and the rhythmic throb of the axes from the timber line. The love between us felt solid, like the heavy oak logs that held our cabin roof together against the winter storms.

"I need to drop this bark at Mara's porch before the noon meal," Calix said and he lifted the willow bundle higher against his ribs.

"Go help the old female," I encouraged.

He squeezed my fingers once and walked down the elder trail, his heavy boots making a slow, steady throb on the hard ground. I walked up our three porch steps and pushed the oak door open, entering the cool shade of the kitchen space where the smell of dried lavender was still thick. I unlaced the linen sling very carefully and laid the baby down on the center of the green bed quilt, letting her arms stretch out wide on the fabric.

A shadow fell across the small bedroom window block, followed by three sharp, rhythmic knocks against the outside logs.

"Maddie, there is a runner from the western gap waiting by the central fire pit," Rex reported through the open panel, his voice completely flat but loud enough to clear the room.

"Who is the wolf, Rex?" I asked.

"It is Thomas," the old tracker stated.

I tightened my leather belt and walked out onto the porch steps, my eyes locking onto the tall, thin figure standing near the roasting pit. Thomas was covered in thick grey road dust, and his traveling moccasins were torn open at the toes from months of walking the rocky mountain paths outside our territory. He had not been seen in the valley since the great famine began, but his eyes looked steady as he held a cracked leather scroll bag in his left hand.

"The WolfTrail borders are looking very secure, Luna," Thomas recognized and he lowered his chin in a respectful greeting as my boots hit the gravel path.

"You have been on the trail for a long time, Thomas," I noted.

"I have been crossing the salt ridges since the last season ended," he explained.

"Did you find the western packs?"

"The western packs are completely gone," he shared.

"The famine took them?"

"The silver shields took the territory," he corrected.

Calix walked back into the clearing from the elder path, his frame moving fast as he took his position right next to my shoulder. The seventeen wolves began coming out from their cabins, their boots making a heavy collective sound as they formed a loose line behind Rex to hear the news. Thomas waited until the circle was completely still before he pulled a small piece of dried birch bark from his leather bag.

"There is something else in the distant lands, Alpha," Thomas revealed, looking directly at Calix.

"Speak plainly to the council, Thomas," Calix commanded.

"I found the tracks of three large white wolves in the deep northern pine valleys," Thomas announced.