Chapter 38

So preoccupied was Netya with her newfound sense of self among the pack that she spared little thought for the future in the weeks that followed. It had been a long, exhilarating summer, full of discovery and the kind of adventure she had never truly believed she would experience back home in the village. Even the word home seemed strange to her now.

When she was out in the wilderness she thought of home as the tent she shared with Fern. It was the warmth and safety of the outcrop, and the strong pack who lived there.

She did not worry herself over the things that might happen months or years from now, instead enjoying the freedom of her youth as she blossomed into the woman she felt she had always been destined to be.

The more she learned of the Moon People’s language the closer she became with them, and before long she considered the small group she had spent the night of the summer fires with her friends.

Erech in particular seemed very fond of her, and de