CHAPTER 3

THUNDER'S RISKY MISSION

The next morning, a mist covered the entire kingdom. At the castle, Caeth's men were waiting for him to give the signal to leave. As the king walked out of the castle, he turned around and walked up to his family. He bent down in front of his daughter, Ryanne, who threw her arms around her father and cried "Don't leave Daddy!"

He hugged her and whispered to her, "I'll be back darling. I promise."

He then looked at Dahy and said "Be good son, take care of your sister." Dahy nodded as his father turned to Jarlath. He placed a hand on his son's shoulder and said "Son, you are in charge while I'm gone. Take good care of your mother, brother, and sister."

Jarlath nodded and replied "I will Father." He then turned to his wife and compassionately kissed her.

She whispered to him "be safe" and he whispered back "I will." He turned around, walked down the steps, mounted his horse and rode out of the gate with his men right behind him. Ryanne cried as she watched her father ride off. She didn't know why, but she had a feeling this was the last time she would ever see him.


Deep in the forest, a pack of wolves gathered to leave. The alpha male, Thunder, lead the pack. Before they left, he gave this warning: "Stay out of sight. Caeth and his men will not hesitate to attack us. They also have dogs. Do not let the dogs see or hear you."

With that, he turned around and started to walk away. Lightning ran up in front of him and said "Brother, remember, do not fight unless it is necessary. You are to watch them and report back here." The black wolf nodded and howled. He disappeared into the forest with his pack behind him.


Caeth and his men reached the camp. There were over a hundred tents scattered about and a huge fire was burning in a pit in the middle. Some men were standing around the fire. Others were sitting down, drinking and laughing.

The king dismounted his horse and walked up to the men. They stood up and saluted him as he and the rest of the platoon approached. He looked at Kothu, one of the generals and motioned for him to follow. The two walked in silence until they reached the king's tent. They walked inside and sat at a table, Caeth on one end, Kothu at the other.

"So Kothu."

"Yes sir?" the man replied.

"Have you scouted the forest?" the king asked as the man nodded.

"Good. Any signs of that fleabag?" The man shook his head and explained that several men scouted the area, but there were no signs of the wolf or any of his comrades. Little did they know that, hidden in the shrubs behind their tent, Thunder and his pack were spying on them.

Concealed in the bushes, a pack of wolves watched the men. Thunder whispered to the wolf next to him, "Remember, we are only here to spy on them. Do not attack unless they attack us first." The other wolf nodded. They lay down and watched as the men talked and drank. A few minutes later, other members of the pack walked up to them. One of them pulled Thunder aside.

"How many have you seen?" the alpha asked.

"At least a dozen." The wolf replied as Thunder sighed. "That makes over a thousand men, counting the ones we have seen." The wolf went on to explain that the men have brought dogs with them. When Thunder asked how many, the pack member said "not many, but they look very strong…"

Right at that moment, one of the dogs walked towards where Thunder and his pack were hiding. "Stay down and don't move." The wolf leader whispered as the animal crept closer. Thunder peeked through the bushes and saw that it was a Doberman. It sniffed the air, but because of all the other scents in the air, did not pick up Thunder and his pack. The wolves relaxed and as soon as the dog walked away, Thunder whispered, "Everyone, back to the cave. We must tell Lightning."

The wolves nodded and they headed back to the cave where Lightning was waiting for them.


Thunder and his pack reached the cave and saw Lightning lying in the mouth. The wolf stood up and walked over to them. "What did you see?" he asked. Thunder told him about the men and the dogs.

Lightning sighed, "How many dogs were there?" Thunder told him there were not many but they did look tough and mean. The brown wolf sighed again and looked up at Thunders' pack.

The wolves stood at attention as the leader spoke. "Brothers and sisters, your next assignment is to keep a very close watch on Caeth. As soon as you hear when he plans to attack Cavan, report back to me immediately." The wolves nodded and Lightning dismissed them. As they left, he turned to Thunder and said, "Brother, I want you to keep my cubs as far away from those dogs as possible, especially Star and Patch. We don't want a repeat of what happened to Logan and Blazes' littermates." Thunder nodded and replied, "I will do my best." As he turned to leave, Lightning called out, "Thunder, this mission is very important. The fate of Cavan's kingdom depends on us. We must not fail."

COMMENTS AND REVIEWS APPRECIATED!