Chapter 46

Rather than letting herself become upset, she resolved to prove the hunters wrong about her. The great hunt would come soon, once the preserved winter supplies had been finished and their scouts tracked down a suitable herd nearby.

It was the only time of year when all of the pack’s hunting groups joined together as one large party and set out to bring home a bounty of fresh kill. It was a time for apprentices to distinguish themselves, and many of the alliances forged in the great hunt would go on to shape the structure of the hunting groups that formed in the coming year.

That very morning, Netya began to practice. She could not take the form of a wolf like her companions, and she lacked the strength to carry hunting supplies with the bearers, but her own people had managed to hunt just as well without relying on teeth and claws.

She practiced throwing javelins first, but her aim was poor, and her lack of strength sent her first few throws flopping into the grass