snorted. “Two wolf-dogs instead of one. Two moving targets. Gosh, I feel safer already.”

          “Did we come out here to save some wolves or not?” he demanded.

          Remus studied him as she thought. For every minute they stood here, another life could be lost. “Fine,” she snapped, “C’mon.”

          Two wolf-dogs stood at the edge of the mountain trail known as Eagle Pass. The stone eagle head lay embedded in the hillside, seeming to watch through the hole that made its eye.

 The brown and black wolf-dog looked around. “Interesting. No wolves, no signs of battle, no nothing. Are you sure it was Eagle Pass?”

“Positive,” the black and white one said, “I told you I saw that stone eagle head over there, didn’t I? It…the battle just obviously hasn’t happened yet. That means we have time to warn them!”

Shade looked at her sideways. “And how are you going to do that? Waltz right in and yell, ‘I had a vision that you’re all going to die, so you better listen to me’? They’ll think you’re a crazy wolf, Remus.”

“What else can I do?” Remus snapped, “I am a Seer. I did have a vision. We’ll just have to try, Shade. Try, and hope they’ll believe us.”

“You! Strangers! Don’t move!” Eight wolves shifted from the darkness at the edges of the trail and circled them.

Remus raised her eyebrows. “You’re not exactly low on security up here, are you?”

“Remus.” Shade rolled his eyes.

“What are your names, pack, and mission?” a large gray wolf barked, “All unsatisfactory missions will be dealt with accordingly.”

“I’m a–” Remus began, but Shade nudged her hard.

“We’re from the Northern Lights pack,” he said, “We wish to speak with your pack leader.”

“On what business?”

“That’s for his ears alone.”

The gray wolf stared at them, considering. Then he turned and began padding away. “Follow me. You will have your audience with Everest.”

Remus kicked her brother none too gently. He smirked at her for a moment, but he became serious again as they followed the gray wolf, the other wolves boxing around them so they could not turn back.

Remus tried to think of what she was going to say, or more importantly how she was going to say it, but there really was no time. The wolf led them up the trail, and turned abruptly to enter the mouth of a cave hidden deep in the shadows. The darkness cloaked each of them completely. Remus stifled a startled gasp when the blackness seemed to blind her from her companions. The only clue she had that she was not alone were the soft footsteps around her and the musky scents that permeated the dark. They walked on, and just when Remus was convinced that the blackness would never end, they entered a cavern dimly lit by a large slice in the rocky ceiling where the morning sky and light shone through. The shadows invaded again only in the three tunnels leading off from the cavern, including the tunnel Remus and her escorts were standing in.

A white and rust colored wolf, whose authoritative demeanor could only label him as Everest, stood at the center of the cavern, conferring with a council of six other wolves. He seemed lost in an argument until his gaze flicked around the cave and rested on Remus. He seemed surprised, but not particularly interested. “And who is this?” His council turned to stare, too.

Remus’s heart punched against her chest, but fear would only get in her way. Who knew when the humans would come, with their guns and dogs and traps…?

She marched forward, pulling away from Shade’s reproachful grip. “I am Remus, daughter of Flint and Aleu of the Northern Lights pack. I am also a Seer, and I had a vision of your pack and others being brutally slaughtered by humans in the near future. The lives of your pack depend on what we do to prevent this massacre!”

Everest eyed her with faint curiosity and not-so-faint amusement. “A Seer?” he mused.

Remus nodded vigorously even as her stomach knotted with anger and fear. Was he laughing at her?

The uncomfortable silence continued, strained to capacity by the judgmental stares of the Eagle Pass wolves. Remus gritted her teeth, and waited.

Everest finally smirked, enjoying her torture. “I have heard of your mother,” he said slowly, “She led your pack from the Aleutian Islands to your residence near Nome, I believe. I had always wondered why.”

“The Ravens Wing pack she led with my father turned mutinous,” she told him, “But a vision of mine led us to the place near Nome where we now live.”

Everest studied her carefully. Then he quickly turned to one of the wolves. “Call an immediate council of all the alpha males of Alaska in the Grove.” The wolf appeared hesitant for a second, but a few months under Everest’s steely gaze and his mind was made up.

He slipped past Remus and trotted down the tunnel. His footsteps died away down the long passage, and there was a pause.

A howl echoed dimly down the tunnel to the cave, calling all alpha males to assemble in the Grove and for nearby packs to pass on the message to more distant clans. There were a few answering howls, all bewildered or fearful, but affirmative.

Everest looked at Remus. “We were considering holding a council, anyhow. The humans have started to worry us.” He turned to the remainder of his council and Remus and Shade’s escorts. “You may go.” They left, and the cave felt emptier than ever, enough to accommodate the truckload of tension building up between Remus and Everest.

Shade stepped forward. “Sir, I’m Shade, Remus’s brother. Thank you for your swift action in–”

“Your sister is a curiosity, Shade,” Everest said, cutting Shade off. He stared at Remus, and she could feel the fire in her blood. She wasn’t that much of a freak, was she?

“So you say you are a Seer, able to see visions of the future. This is a curious title you bear, Remus. I have only known of one other Seer in my lifetime.”

Remus stood tall. “And who would that be?”

“Aniu.”

Flint stumbled out into the late morning light at the sound of a warning howl. He listened closely, ears perked, and then groaned. Aleu padded out quickly to join him, blinking away sleep. “What is it?”

Flint avoided her eyes. “Eagle Pass. They’re calling a council for all the alpha males of Alaska.”

Aleu closed her eyes, the events of last night slowly coming back to her. She moaned. “Remus…” Suddenly her eyes snapped open. She threw herself back into the cave and searched every corner and crevice frantically, and reappeared with dirt smudging her nose. “Shade! Shade isn’t here!”

Flint’s eyes widened. “You don’t think…They wouldn’t…” He couldn’t even finish his sentence, he was so astonished and proud and angry and afraid.

Aleu pounded her head against the cave. “How could they…? I just didn’t think…! Oh!” She slammed a paw into the ground. “How could they do this to me? They’re going to get themselves killed!”

“Aleu,” Flint tried, but Linder was padding out of the cave. She looked back and forth between them.

“She’s gone?”

Aleu nodded wordlessly, thunderclouds over her head.

“With Shade,” Flint forced out.

Linder chuckled, a knowing smile tugging at her mouth.

Aleu whirled on her in a fury. “This is not a laughing matter, Linder! Have you lost your mind?”

Linder’s grin was small, but her golden eyes still laughed. “Your children are too much like you for their own good, Aleu. They know they should do what they think is right, and if someone objects they will try to prove them wrong. Sound like anyone you know?”

Aleu moaned and looked to the high heavens. “Now I know what I did to my father when I ran away. But Re’s dream…” She turned to Flint. “It was just a dream, wasn’t it?”

Quicksilver stepped out of the cave with Shaila at his side. “This has proved what I suspected all along,” he told Flint, “Remus is a Seer. She can use her visions of the future to help protect wolves from extinction by man’s guns.”

“Now, you know we’re not that far gone,” Linder scolded.

Flint looked around at them all. His face showed uncertainty and fear. He closed his eyes, and took a deep breath, and let it out.

They waited.

He opened his eyes and addressed them as their leader. “There’s no time to argue now. The Eagle Pass pack is calling for a council of Alaska’s alpha males. When I go, I’ll bring Remus and Shade back.”

“We should all go,” Shaila said quietly, “They might not listen to only you.”

Ruska scowled at them from the cave’s shadows. “Idiots. You’re all morons. Why should we risk our necks trying to get Remus and Shade when they don’t even want to come back? Let them do what they want. If they get killed it’s their own fault.”

“Ruska!” Aleu gaped at her daughter in disbelief.

Ruska shrugged, but her golden eyes shifted uneasily. “What?”

Flint sighed in frustration. Since when did his daughter have a heart of stone? “Listen, I have to go. It’ll be safer with only me traveling. I’ll meet with this council, I’ll talk with Shade and Remus, and I’ll either send you word or come back. With Shade and Re.”

Quicksilver lifted his head. “No. Her place is