Back in her childhood years, Shreya's innocent look had been useful to her parents. They exploited it. Those had been the days before they had their community meals, when food was so hard to come by that it was every wolf for themself. Not having a treaty meant that they could hunt wherever and whatever they wanted.

All through her puppyhood and her early adolescence, the Elders turned a blind eye to what their community members did. They kept their blind eyes even now. Telling stories of pride and resilience, they reworked their history in their favor. Sometimes, she wondered if she could even trust her memories of the past—that was how strong their propaganda spinning was. Hammering them into the public over and over again, they structured new truths out of their lies.

Shreya was a child of the Starvation Era, born into a time when their conditions were much worse than now. It was a time when bringing back a bear would've earned her a clay doll of herself. A few years into her life, the Elders signed a treaty with Stockbrunn, much like the one they were currently under, that ensured the wolves and humans would be at peace with one another.

It was easier to believe that the humans had done something to break the treaty, that they had been the ones to start attacking first. That's right. The humans were the ones in the wrong. They drove the wolves out of what was once their territory. They reduced the supplies they were giving them to a share so pathetic that the wolves didn't have a choice but to do what they did.

The Elders emphasized that the wolves struck second, because they had to. Their actions had been in response to the unfair conditions imposed on them. That wasn't quite the way Shreya and so many others remembered it.

Movement behind her pulled her out of her thoughts. Shreya reached for her knife. Or rather, she patted the spot where it would've been. She stayed frozen, listening out for anything watching her. 

Nothing. No more movement.

Shreya relaxed. She heaved a sigh, then left the riverside for her shelter. The sticks had fallen down yet again. Security issue. Better it fall now than later when she was sleeping under it, she supposed. Shreya tried assembling the sticks another way, making them lean together in an A-like formation. She retied the long grass she used for twine. The knots weren't holding.

Time was going by faster than she realized. How was the fire plan going? It wasn't. The shelter? Getting better. Shreya crouched down as she worked. She leaned her weight off of her bad foot. It was smarting. Every little movement made her cringe.

Another noise drew her focus away. As soon as her head turned, parts of her shelter slid away. The foundation too shakey, it tumbled down once more. No more shelter. Shreya scrunched her hair in her hands.

Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.

"Why is this so hard? This shouldn't be so hard." Shreya whined. She fell over onto her side. She needed a break.

Her eyes closed, her mind taking her somewhere else, back to a time in another part of the woods and back to a face. A young girl's laughter. Red hair. Green eyes. Shreya had gotten the laughter out of her with a joke that didn't make sense. Something about the shape of a leaf.

Shreya had always been the talker of their group. Cute face and a soft voice, the role fit her the best. Talking hadn't been a job that any of the others were suited for, especially not Shanti. Shanti always made it too obvious that their family was waiting in the wings, listening out for the best time to get their prey.

She'd followed the script she was given. Acted like she was lost, like she didn't know where her home was. Wore a scarf to hide her ears from view. Shreya got the girl to let her guard down. She made her lay down her weapons, by acting like her bow and arrow made her nervous. The girl had been smart to take that with her, but she'd put her trust in the wrong child.

And then... Her mother took care of the rest, while her father led her away and back to where her four other siblings were hiding.

Their family slept with full stomachs that night.

She snapped out of the memory, awoken by the sound of wood hitting wood. Shreya rubbed her eyes. Someone must've had it out for her.

She got back to work on fixing it.

-------------------

A/N: Chapter 20 is out now on the main site. Voting for Chapter 20 will end on Tuesday at 11:59 PM EST.

The next update to RRL will be Chapter 12: Kindling.