She moves away from the valley, back to the only home she knew. The grotto had always been sheltering to her, and she slipped into the hole in the wall that made the entrance to her den. The black fur still lined her hovel, a present from her ghost, now only a rug to give birth on. Jaidah would not remember her old love when a new suitor had presented himself. The white demon is different than the last time she lay in this den, her scars are better seen, her body is harder. There is muscle beneath the cashmere of her fur, beauty beneath the missing eye and halved ear, the closing wound on her chest. It is by battle that she has hardened herself, making herself swifter, smarter and stronger than her enemies. She got to know them by their fights, teaching any daughter that would listen the ways of the current leaders.

Jaidah watches now for the male who would be the provider of blood this season, his genes obviously strong. The purity of him was wonderful, white blending with strawberry on his face, the colors simply striking to behold. It was interesting how large he was, how bright his lavender eyes were. It was a rare beast to make her want to forget the ghost she had two litters with the previous years, but one year was long enough to be away from him. She would simply not pine over him any more. "Are you hungry, beast?" She asks from inside her den, knowing the massive wolf cannot get into the small hole she squeezed her own body through.