Arzhen was engrossed by the sight in front of her. She didn't want to shatter this beautiful moment, so she laid down and watched the little wolves greedily. She couldn't stop the smile that adorned her face.

Lida, Sedraa and Rin's senses had all become sharper after Arzhen fell unconscious, as they needed to go out to hunt for food. So they quickly felt a gaze upon them, although it wasn't a malicious gaze, they became vigilant, staring towards the entrance of the valley. However they found nothing, until a casual glance toward the den they saw a large mass by the entrance. A piercing eye that they were all too familiar with.

They quickly jumped up with excitement, which frightened the little wolf cubs, wondering why the big wolves were so excited.

Arzhen knew she had been found, and was both in awe of, and saddened by how sharp the three little wolves' senses were. She knew that it was her fault they were forced to get stronger, and was very proud of the results, but she knew it would never be a painless process.

She stood up and stepped into the sun, her body full of scars still made the three little wolves feel sad, but they quickly covered it up and threw themselves at the large black wolf.

Arzhen felt their excitement and happily rolled around with them, giving a painless nip here, or a loving lick there.

The six little cubs seemed scared of the new addition. Although they had seen the black wolf lying in the den, but it had never moved,so even if the mama wolves led them to the big black pile, they never really understood what they were trying to convey.

Now seeing the wolf that was countless times larger than the biggest wolves they had ever seen, they were quickly frightened by the scary wolf. They yelped in fright and ran around trying to get as far away from her as possible. Unfortunately with their poor sense of direction, they kept running in circles, and seeing her after they had run for so long, they became more and more frightened.

Arzhen watched helplessly as the cubs let out their milky screams and continued to try and run. Their small bodies couldn't get very far, so in just a couple steps, she had already reached the cowardly little cubs.

The cubs felt as if a mountain had appeared next to them, although they were frightened at first, they saw that the scary wolf didn't try to eat them. In fact, she laid down beside them, still as she was when the mama wolves took them to see her every night.

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The bravest of the group saw that the black wolf didn't intend to harm them, and she decided to go over and see this new wolf. As if the previous timidity had never existed, she raised her tiny head up, and puffed out her chest, walking with a swaggering confidence up to the black wolf.

Arzhen watched leisurely as the brave little girl cub came up to her. She thought it was funny, how quickly she could change her face after running around so scared only a moment before. So she decided to play with the little brave wolf. She let out a low growl, revealing her razor sharp teeth.

The brave little cub saw the teeth that were as big as her, and the confidence she had, wilted instantly. She reached out a trembling paw and touched the black wolf, trying to show submissiveness.

Arzhen couldn't help but laugh, she happily licked the little cub, proving that she wouldn't hurt her.

The little cub enjoyed the grooming, and sprawled herself out, as if she was boneless. The other cubs saw that their older sister wasn't eaten by the scary black wolf, so they all decided to come over too.

Arzhen accepted them all, these were her children after all. She wouldn't leave a single one out. Within just one morning, the cubs knew they didn't need to fear the black wolf. They with boundless confidence found a very fun game. They climbed all over her, treating her as a hill they could play on.

When midday had come, the cubs had grown tired. Arzhen gently set them down in the den, before deciding to go out. She told the three little wolves she wanted to see how far her skills have regressed, and although the three were a little nervous. They knew that even now, she was more than strong enough to protect herself, so they sent her out.

Arzhen hadn't been able to stretch out her muscles for months and now she felt the wind flowing through her fur, it was pure bliss. She quickly ran out of the valley which alerted the scouts once again.

They had seen that the ones that came out hunting for months were the women that lived in the valley. They had guessed that the monster had probably suffered very severe injuries which she probably wouldn't survive. At the time there were too few wolves left unscathed, and they had to preserve their strength, so they couldn't deal with the monster.

The report came back to the chieftain and he felt complicated. He knew that if the black wolf had come out, her injuries were probably healed. He knew they had no chance of getting rid of her, but he also wondered if it was necessary. Although she had slaughtered many wolves, she had also been integral in saving the rest of the tribe. He wasn't without a conscience, and he knew they owed her, so he wondered if it was the right choice to continue being at odds with her.

It was this hesitation that allowed him to choose to let fate take its course. He chose to prevaricate the few wolves that wanted to take advantage of her injuries, saying that the smaller tribes would soon begin to attack them,and they needed as many wolves to be uninjured and healthy, as possible.

Thankfully his words would soon come true, and a few of the smaller tribes, such as the fox and coyotes had sent small attacks, which were quickly resolved with merciless means, terrifying those small tribes, so as not to test them.