Page 40 of Lion Conquers All
Callum’s face scrunched up. “SAR?”
“Search and Rescue. There will be teams of people. Helicopters in the sky. It’s going to get crowded out here. You should probably come down to the Tribe’s cabins for a couple of days until it calms.”
“Rhal. Lex.” Callum called out.
The other two wolves stopped eating, shifted, and walked over to join them. They also had grown up over the past year.
“You all look healthy and well. I’m proud of you. You’ve done the Tribe proud by staying hidden and keeping peace on the mountain.”
Hesitant smiles flashed across all three of their faces.
Callum was the oldest and would be twenty this year. Rhal and Lex would both be nineteen. Their shoulders and chests were bare of pack tattoos. They wouldn’t have been considered warriors until their twentieth birthdays. Callum would’ve gotten his first set of tattoos this year.
“Ryder is looking for a pair of campers. Young. Boy and girl.”
“Few days ago I saw a couple. They were camping up on Whiteback Ridge. At least, that’s the closest trailhead sign to where they came onto the mountain.” Rhal glanced to Callum, deferring to his authority. Within the small trio, Callum had assumed an alpha-like role.
Callum tipped his chin, urging him to continue.
“They seemed to know what they were doing. Had a lot of gear. Plenty of food.”
“Good. Can you tell me if they looked like this?” Ryder pulled his phone from his pocket. Col had texted him pictures of both missing kids.
Rhal took the phone and studied the picture. “I don’t think so. The female had curly red hair. Not shiny and brown like this one. The male I don’t remember as much.”
Lex took the phone from Rhal. “I saw campers several days ago too. One set was a family, though, they had kids with them. The others were a male and female and young.” He nodded his head. “Yes, this was them. I’m quite sure of it. I got a good look at both of them. They were arguing and I wanted to make sure he was not mistreating the female.”
“Was he? We were told they were a couple.”
“No. They kissed afterward and seemed fine so I left. But they both yelled at each other a few times before packing up the campsite.”
“Where were they, Lex? Do you remember?”
I don’t know what the place is called, but I could take you back there. The trail will be ruined after this storm.” He brushed snow from his shoulder. “It’s likely already gone.”
“If you looked at a map, could you give me a general location? Maybe one of the hikers would know the area and know where they might have been headed next.”
“I think so. We’ve been trying to practice with the maps on the mountain signs. Learning to read better and recognize landmarks on the paper. It’s slow. But I feel like if we wanted to live with people, we are better prepared for it now.”
“Is that why you wouldn’t stay?” Ryder’s chest tightened. He felt guilty for not pushing Knox harder and spending more time with them himself.
“No. Well, maybe part of it.” Callum jumped back into the conversation. “But mostly it was so different. Being a wolf was all we’d known.
“Then the pack was gone.” Rhal spoke this time. “Everything about this world was foreign. It was too much too fast. Being a wolf was safer. But now—”
Lex picked up the sentence his brother dropped. “Now we’ve met people who live in Mystery. They aren’t so bad. We even like some of them. We’ve learned more about the world. We see how integrated you are. How you’ve found yoursoul callmates among their people.”
“Being alone was good for us, but we are ready to try being a part of the Tribe.” Rhal glanced at Callum. “You know we’ve talked about it.”
“I know.” Callum said, his face drawn tight.
“Callum hates change, but Lex and I have been working on him.” Rhal grinned and Lex patted Callum on the back.
“Come eat with us. We will not waste a meal. Then we will go back with you and I will find the campers on your map. We will help the humans find their children, yes?”
“Yes, I think they will need a great deal of help, but we must be very careful.” Ryder stared at the bear lying only a few yards away. His wolf was starving. He hadn’t had a chance to hunt in nearly two weeks.
“Hungry?” Callum asked, a knowing grin stretched across his face.
