The Cursed Luna and Her Fated Mate

Chapter 5: Homesteading

“Everyone, grab some water, and then we have work to do,” said Celeste, leading the group back.

The wolves lapped the water directly from the clear lake. It was the best water Celeste had ever tasted, fresh and cool. After feeling rejuvenated, Celeste gathered her pack.

“Rhiannon, Seth, and all the pups, I want you to go to the cave and set up our tents. When you are done, go through the duffle bags and organize our supplies, become familiar with what all we have, take stock of all our canned foods. Make some order out of it, it’s all just kind of thrown in a bag right now. Astrid and Trevor, I need you to collect firewood. Check the bags and see if we have an axe. If you could get us some larger pieces to keep our fire going, that would be wonderful. I am going to try to catch some dinner to supplement any canned foods we may have tonight,” said Celeste and she removed one of the fishing poles from a bag.

Celeste dug into a patch of mud several feet from the lake and dug up a few worms. She got it on the hook and cast it out into the large, clear lake. She started out and waited. She heard some noise, looked back toward the cave and watched as Astrid and Trevor emerged, carrying an axe. It’s awful that he had to, but dad really did think of everything. Celeste turned back to her fishing, and allowed herself to really cry for the first time that day. Tears flowing down her face, she thought of how much she missed her home already, missed her parents, missed the life she was living and the hope she had for the future. Like a switch flipping, she suddenly was only able to focus on survival.

Finally, a bite! Celeste reeled in her first fish, and it was a huge salmon. Easily 10 lbs. She hung the fish up on a nearby tree branch before casting out again. This time, she focused on remaining calm. She could do this, she could lead her pack. They were going to be okay. Before she knew it, she got a second bite and reeled it in. Another massive fish, a bit larger than the first. She smiled at her success, and carried both fish over to a flat rock. Using the knife she took earlier for defense, she butchered up the fish , cutting them into smaller steaks. The sun was almost down now, and the fall air was getting cooler. She turned back and nearly squealed with excitement when she saw light flickering from the cave. She gathered all the meat and headed inside to find a nice fire flickering in the middle of the cave.

The pups were huddled around the fire, warming their hands and giggling. The older wolves were organizing and stacking cans of food against a wall. Kitchen supplies were stacked up near the bonfire. The tents were set up with sleeping bags already rolled out and ready for the pack to have a well-deserved night of rest.

“Keep at it guys, I’ll start dinner,” Celeste directed. She gathered a campfire stovetop and placed it on top of the already burning fire. She found a large pan and put it on above the fire, and added a bit of cooking oil she found near the cans. Celeste placed the salmon steaks into the pan, a wonderful sizzling and delightful scent filled the cave. She added two cans of corn into a saucepan and held it over an area of the fire not covered by the stove. Celeste gathered metal bowls from the pile of kitchen supplies and made up plates for each wolf.

“Alright everyone, dinner is served,” Celeste said loudly. The pack was starving, and everyone was over to grab their bowl within seconds. The pack all sat in a circle around the fire, quickly eating their food.

“This is wonderful Celeste! Honestly, better than anything we had at the pack house. I mean it, this is great,” said Seth, smiling at Celeste.

“Yeah, I really like this Celly. Are mommy and daddy going to come eat with us?”, asked Rachelle, a pup who had been silent all day.

“No Rachelle, I’m sorry but mommy and daddy aren’t coming,” said Celeste, sadly. There was an awkward silence, and Celeste waited until the whole pack was finished eating to speak.

“Alright, we need to have a talk, all of us,” said Celeste.