The journey back to the encampment took longer than Haizea would have liked. They had to travel as humans and were slowed down further by the old woman and injured girl who accompanied them. Haizea had considered, for a moment, how Danel frequently travelled on the back of other wolves. But Danel did not share their level of respect, having no wolf of his own, and Haizea could not bring herself to stoop to his level of impropriety. Perhaps Itzal would not have minded carrying Lile, being her mate and all, but the Deargish girl now avoided him a though he was diseased. She seemed to have resigned herself to the marriage, but she was not friendly toward the wolf any longer. Regardless, Lile's wounded body probably wouldn't have coped with such a rough ride.
Instead, she had ridden on the h
