The wolf tapped the armrest of her throne with a claw impatiently, she had been waiting for a while for the scouts she sent out to return with news. A few days ago an earthquake toppled one of the jagged peaks surrounding the jungle, allowing the tribes to see what existed on the other side, and what they saw left them breathless. There was an entire world out there, with lush fields and fertile lands extending as far as the eye could see. The tribe's farseers spoke of stone monoliths with crystal walls and some even claimed to have seen birds of metal flying through the skies.

Caenis could feel her blood boiling in excitement. The thought that there was an entire world out there that she hadn't seen, that she hadn't conquered. It stoked the flames of a fire she thought had long burned out. Had it not been for her responsibilities as leader she'd have thrown caution to the wind and traveled to those lands herself, but for now the only thing she could do was wait.

Her claws dug deep grooves on her wooden throne as she trailed her paws down the wood in an effort to calm down. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity to her, one of the scouts she sent burst into the yurt, panting from exhaustion.

The scout's captain, a female wolf called Vulka spoke excitedly with her tail wagging behind her. "Caenis... it's true! Everything they say is true! I saw beasts of metal traversing rivers of solid tar, tribes we've never seen before living inside monoliths of stone, and... and even magic! I've seen them take glowing tablets from their clothes and perform strange gestures on its surface with their fingers, just like the sorcerers of legends were said to do."

Caenis gripped her throne so strongly it broke, snapping the armrest with a loud crack and crushing it into splinters with her claws. She threw her head back as she laughed loudly, feeling a joy she hadn't felt in years. "Hahahahaha! You've done well, Vulka! I knew the world couldn't be so small, that there must be more prey for us to conquer. Now it seems my intuition was right." She stood up and approached Vulka, giving the much smaller wolf-girl a pat on the shoulder. "Go rest, you've earned it. And as for your reward, I'll allow you to take the prettiest male of the tribe as your mate."

Vulka seemed to be really happy for the reward she was given, yet she quickly composed herself, still needing to report another matter. "There's another thing... we've captured one of them, a male. The girls have him tied outside, what should we do with him?"

"Bring him in, I want to see this male of the outer tribes." Caenis commanded, feeling a growing interest towards this unknown male and for the first time ever, her tail began wagging to and fro.

Two other females came into the chieftain's yurt, holding the captive from each arm as they pushed him forward until he was in front of Caenis. Then Vulka and the other wolves bowed politely before leaving, leaving the chieftain alone with the strange man.

"You, you're nothing like us. So different from our males, and your scent... it's like nothing I've smelled before, it's intoxicating." Caenis yanked his head upwards, grabbing him by the chin and forcing him to look at her eyes, as she cut his restraints with a swipe of her claws. "You piqued my interest." She remarked, before releasing her grasp and giving him some space. Then she looked him up and down and nodded her head approvingly. "All right, I've decided. You're my mate now."