Freya

The snap of a twig has my ears twitching, and I turn my nose to the scent. ‘Due east,’ I announce to my hunting party in the mind-link.

‘Got it,’ Hendron, one of our younger warriors, answers.

‘I’ll flank,’ I say. Even the Beta, Alfred, who probably should be the one giving the orders, doesn’t argue with me.

But moving into position without the deer sensing me will be tricky. With the flooding, the herds have moved uphill, compressing their territory. No one is comfortable in a new place with strangers around.

I make sure my paws alight on the forest floor gently, finding my footing in the moist...