Aranea only nodded as she charged forward, feeling how the stones began to crack under her feet. Once again, they were late. A caravan of free traders was already under attack. One small, rusty-looking metal truck and buggy, eight people in total, ran into twelve green creatures on the wide-open plains of sand. Only a small hill was nearby. These were the same as the ones that were involved in the attack on the convoy of the Reclamation Army a month ago. These creatures have started to appear in recent days, always attacking neutral traders. State doctors performed an autopsy on these creatures and discovered that they were nearly devoid of brains. There was certain confusion right now about how exactly these creatures moved around or how they communicated with each other, but one thing was undeniable. They were capable of planning. The wolfkins named these enemies "greenies."

Unknown factors could wait. The wolf hag saw how one of the greenies raised its clawed hand to kill one of the injured traders. Aranea charged from the location, closing the gap between herself and the enemy in a matter of seconds. The claws were unleashed from her paws, as she sliced the foe before her. Her arms tore into enemy flesh, following wounds left by her claws. Her paws tore through muscles and broke bones as they enlarged the wounds left by her claws. Her claws sliced through more flesh and bone as they went deeper, and in just a moment, greenie was cut into four pieces. The new physical abilities and speed granted to Aranea after the events of that night were intoxicating. Before, Aranea had to struggle to keep up with these creatures, but now they were too slow for her. Her body was filled with adrenaline. Something inside her demanded that she release the hold on her power, accept more, and become something more.

She ignored the call as usual, moving forward. The buggy was destroyed, and all four people in the vehicle were killed. They tried to fight back, she could see that some of the greenies bore wounds on their bodies, but the attack was too sudden. Some people from the truck were still alive. One was near her, he escaped from the truck through the front window. His companion was less lucky, his torso lay in front of the truck. Aranea could hear screams from people in the back of the truck as greenies tried to break through the metal door. Enemies have already noticed her.

"Surrender or perish." Aranea simply said to them. Just as she expected, they ignored her. Some of them still tried to break the door and get to the people inside, while others charged at her. Yet she had to do it.

Ever since she snapped and mauled Kate, she has tried to hold herself to higher standards. She will never allow herself to fail once again. Neither in the presence of friends, nor in the presence of enemies.

She charged past her attackers, grabbing two of them by the throats. Her claws ripped through the flesh and muscle. Aranea found no bones inside, so she simply sliced off the heads of enemies, before moving forward and carrying the carnage further. It was a bit strange. Some greenies had bones within them, others had thick muscles that filled the role of bones.

Aranea caught herself at the thought that she finally understood what made the Ice Fang order and some members of the Wolf Tribe be attracted toward melee weapons. It was just easier to tear apart foes with her bare paws now. To her eyes, greenies moved like they were in slow motion, against her claws, their bodies were like sheets of paper, their flesh existed only to be torn by her. She killed and tore the foes apart, leaving a bloody trail behind her as she reached the back of the truck. With a single swing, Aranea sliced away the hand of the greenie that tried to open the door, and then she pushed the right paw through its chest.

So simple. The thought scared her. Humans should not think such thoughts when they kill anyone. She shook her head and looked at the last greenie. The creature turned and ran.

Is it capable to feel fear? Aranea wondered as she walked after the creature. Even by simply walking, she was shortening the distance between them. Greenie was running toward the hill. No. There are always at least two reasons to run. Either you are trying to escape or you’re leading me into a trap. She sensed a new smell, and her ears heard a soft "click" sound and the sound of movements. Clever beastie. But! A smile crossed her lips as a red laser beam shot from the wastelands and struck someone on the hill. The greenie stopped, as if confused, before turning and spitting at the wolf hag. She sidestepped acid spit and charged at the foe, slicing off its head.

"I have a very reliable ally." Aranea said with a smile.

"Target eliminated, wolf hag," Kate reported via the terminal built into the power armor. An apology could be heard in her voice, "I failed to take the target alive. He had you in his aim and was ready to…"

"No apologies necessary, Kate. Wonderful job as usual." Aranea tried to cheer her up as she was returning to the truck.

After Aranea became a wolf hag, she kept Kate in her position, appointed Sonya to the position of a scout, and forced Yuki to accept the same rank role as well. For at least a few more weeks, Sonya will remain in the hospital. The former wolf hag was angry and bitter that she was still alive, but at the very least she gave Aranea all possible advice. Aranea forced Sonya to read books about anger management and gave her orders to lead her new, smaller, pack without the use of any physical violence. The wolf hag was unsure if the books would change Sonya in any way, but the new scout was loyal enough to follow orders to the letter.

Yuki had to be repeatedly pushed in the right direction. Never before had Aranea met any wolfkin of the Wolf Tribe who actively refused promotion based on the simple fact that it would require more work. Yuki was strong enough to become a scout, but by the Spirits, she was just so lazy!

Yuki always found a way to complete her tasks with the minimum amount of effort required. When Aranea sent her after greenies, Yuki simply deduced the next possible location of attack, and she, along with her pack, placed their camp right next to the possible target instead of looking for enemies. And then Yuki and her group spent all day playing cards until the greenies arrived. When Aranea assigned the transfer of equipment to her, Yuki tricked the engineering team into doing this while she herself wasted the entire day relaxing in a bar. Aranea had no idea just how exactly Yuki was motivating her pack, yet they were consistently seen training all day long, even when Yuki was not around.

Tasks were done, Yuki used no physical violence, and nobody even saw her screaming at her pack, thus Aranea had no real reason to complain. She just wondered how the scout managed to get things done. Yuki came to Aranea one day and asked to be demoted because her new job was taking up too much of her free time. Aranea refused, of course, but this fact bothered her. Yuki had all the potential to become a wolf hag one day, so why did she insist on not trying?

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This left only Kate. Now here Aranea had actual troubles. She tried to find a way to make amends for her behavior, but Kate simply took on any task that kept her away from Aranea. The scout still refused to tell her how much these damned beads cost and refused to accept any compensation. Kate’s birthday happened a week ago, the scout usually invited the pack to celebrate at one of the bars in previous years. Normally a pack is expected to pay for such things, but Kate was always a weirdo and refused to accept help or tokens from anyone, even at her birthday party, she always paid for everyone herself. This time, however, Kate was missing, even though Aranea gave her leave for a day and asked for the help of Olesya in preparing a party for the scout. Lastly, Kate insisted on calling Aranea by her title. This bothered Aranea far more than it had any right to, especially considering that this was her fault. Aranea was so used to Kate’s bickering that the current situation kept her on edge. She needed to find a way to make peace and make amends. If Aranea can’t even heal this wound, how is she going to change the Tribe? Therefore, she only took Kate on today’s mission.

Step one, find a place where you both feel comfortable. Step two, ask for forgiveness. Aranea quickly remembered the summary of the advice as she came to the iron doors. The man, whom she had saved before, could be seen sitting near the truck in deep shock. Aranea knocked on the door.

"Everything clear. You can come out, no one will hurt you anymore." The wolf hag tried to sound as soothing as she could.

"Are they gone?" A voice from inside asked, "What about…" There was a murmur inside.

"Yes, enemies are disposed of." Aranea waited patiently. She could have easily ripped doors open, but poor people were probably scared enough as it is. In a few minutes, the doors opened, and three people came from inside.

"Regulators told us that this area was safe," A young-looking woman pulled the hood of her anti-heat suit and looked around in shock, "Reclamation Army confirmed it… and look at this." As she saw bodies in the buggy, she put her hand to her mouth in shock.

"My deepest condolences for your loss," Aranea bowed. In truth, she barely felt any emotions toward the dead, but she was worried about living. Olesya was doing her best trying to help her fellow wolf hag be more human, but something was wrong with Aranea herself. Something needed to be fixed. "I and my partner," She said, pointing to a hill where Kate was seen checking on the dead body, "Have already summoned help. Vehicles will be here in half an hour."

"You will stay with us until help arrives, right?" asked one of the men.

"Of course, sir. Please ask for any help that you need from us." Aranea nodded.

She was waiting by the truck when Kate arrived. Over her armor, the scout was dressed in a camouflage cloak of sandy color. Behind her back were a shardgun and a folded laser rifle. Normally, the third army receives only scraps in comparison to the other armies. The third army was stationed in half-ruined regions, and its ranks were swollen with barbaric tribes such as the Wolf Tribe, so the Dynast saw little need to equip them with the best equipment. When Ravager was in charge, such a situation was fine with her. The former commander used her overwhelming power to change the flow of battle in her favor. She cared little for planning, gear, or equipment.

When Wyrm Lord took command, everything changed dramatically. The commander of the 3rd army petitioned the Dynast for the newest equipment for his troops and forced the Wolf Tribe to learn how to use new weapons. Ironjaw was fine with this change and forced her scouts to train with new gear. Sly, meanwhile, promised something really special for Aranea, so she gave him permission to choose a weapon for her.

"Wolf hag, I checked on the dead body. This is one of silver masked. At first glance just a normie, but the intel will find out the rest." Kate saluted, the helmet of her armor moved down from her head.

"Excellent work, Kate," Aranea smiled to her encouragingly, "While we are waiting, I give you permission to act and speak freely." She noticed that the hand of the scout moved toward the inner pocket of her armor, then stopped. Aranea knew that the scout had obtained a new set of beads, these were simple looking things, but each time Kate noticed Aranea nearby, she hid them in fear.

"Kate, I swear by all Spirits, that you can use your beads, and I won’t take them away, nor will I break them again," Aranea tried to speak in a calm and assured voice, as her therapist taught her, "I am very sorry about what happened, I should have never harmed you or your things on that day. If you want to, you can beat the shit out of me right now, I will not resist." The last part was something the therapist didn't advise her to do, yet Aranea felt like it would be fitting.

“Wolf hag, please… This is not about physical pain. I am sturdy enough to endure any punishment you deem necessary to impose on me. You were fully within your rights to punish me for my actions, it is I who should be apologizing.” The scout calmly replied, sitting down on the ground and taking out her beads, moving them hastily in her arm.

Small, but progress. Aranea decided, before continuing: "Listen, the entire pack worries about you. Kostya hasn’t heard an insult from you in weeks, Yuki said that you no longer go drinking with her, Sly said that you no longer order him to teach you anything about mechanical jobs and Kaleb…" She noticed how a shiver ran through Kate’s body "…Told me that you avoid him all together. You no longer take him to trainings, you no longer talk with him…"

"Serves him right," Finally, a hint of emotion appeared in Kate’s words, hint of her usual anger was showing in her words, "He had no right to reveal this secret. It just shows that you can’t trust anyone. Everyone will betray you eventually. This was my fucking problem. Not his. Not anyone else's. Mine."

"Kate, the pack can't act as a team if you refuse to speak with us."

"I will give my life for any..."

"It's not about life, Kate."

"What, gonna throw me out, then?" The scout looked at her warily.

"Gonna get through to you and fix things. We are here, Kate, and ready to listen and help. Any time you feel like it, come out of your shell."

"Thank you for the trouble," Kate said, shaking her head, "Wolf hag, this was unworthy of me. I apologize for causing any concerns for the pack."

"What is happening with you?" Aranea asked with a genuine concern, sitting on the ground near the scout. "Was it because you killed humans on that night?" Kate only let out a laugh at this suggestion, they both knew it was not her first kill. Kate was slightly older than Aranea and saw combat way before the wolf hag.

"Was it because I crushed your beads? I already told you that if you describe the ones you lost to me, I will get you replacements that look exactly like the ones you lost. We can even put Sly to this task, Spirits know we need something to keep him away from tinkering with energy weapons. Please, just tell me, Kate, what is going on? What can I do to set things right?" She knew that she was getting pushy in her questions, the therapist had recommended that she not do this, but this situation was genuinely freaking her out. Kate was always that indomitable pillar in the pack. No matter what problems happened, she simply shrugged them off and continued being herself, insulting everyone she could. Seeing her sulk like this was scary for Aranea.

"I am no cub and have no need for coddling, wolf hag," The scout replied stubbornly, "I simply grew up as a person, like you commanded. I swear that I will not be a burden for the pack, so please let me be."

Aranea felt the urge to grab Kate by the shoulder and demand explanations. She hated this whole situation. She hated the feeling of guilt, she hated the fact that the unity of her former pack was broken, she hated this sense of helplessness. Aranea was strong now, she was no longer the weakling she once was. And yet her new powers caused scars on her pack.

If I can't even make peace with Kate, then how am I supposed to fix the Tribe? Aranea asked herself, feeling fear running down her skin below her fur once again. She always thought that it will be easy, that she will somehow rise to the rank of a warlord and then simply banish all stupid traditions, that other warlords will follow her lead… And look at her right now, barely done anything, and this has already caused harm to her friend. So much for my way. I need to be better. I must be better.