Just before the alpha wolf came crashing down, Alex stealthy teleported into the farm. If not for his quick thinking, he would have been crushed by the carcass of alpha.
But that was not all, he teleported back into the real world just after that and played dead. He made it seem like the alpha fell on top of him and he lost consciousness.
Even though he tried to fake it. Dhairya saw through it in a second.
"Slap. Slap. Slap…" Three slaps came in quick succession forcing Alex to open his eyes.
"Bone fine, there are only flesh wounds. Most of the blood on his clothes is not his own. Why is not waking up?" After seeing Alex slowly open his eyes, Dhairya mumbled and began slapping again.
"Slap, slap." Dhairya felt like it was the best time to punish this crazy kid. Faking injury at this time. He was slightly angry.
"Ah!" Alex cupped his burning cheeks and stood up in a jiffy.
It was better to get up than to receive tough love from Dhairya. Alex could see that Dhairya was genuinely upset. He didn't want to anger him.
After looking around, all he could see were injured people and two corpses. They belong to two of the caravan members. And the headless corpse reminded him of the person that woke him up.
Seeing that, any sense of achievement he had vanished.
'Only if I was a little better, a little stronger.' He thought with a heavy heart. This is what Daya feared.
It was not fear for her life. She was strong and capable. In a one-on-one fight, she might have been able to defeat the alpha. But, she knew that she would be incapable of protecting the entire caravan against the wolf pack.
Like Alex, Daya stood nearby, dejected. Her eyes were tearing up slightly. Only Kan was calm and composed helping his fellow tribesman wrap bandages.
With the medicine they had, they could easily survive their journey. However, the dead people will not come back. It was a reality they had to face.
This was the first time that Alex felt his feeble mortality.
Seeing people with superhuman strength, he was mesmerised by their powers and skill. And it wouldn't be untrue to say that he felt invincible for a time.
Yet seeing the corpses before him. He realised how frail human life was.
'Humans are humans, not gods.'
Alex took a minute to adjust his mind. Everything that happened today was forever engraved in his mind. And he vowed to get stronger in the future.
"Can I help?" He asked. He was volunteering to help them bandage their wounds.
—--------
The mood was heavy, everyone was tired. After resting for a bit, they continued to travel.
They cannot go back empty-handed. The tribe was depending on them to survive.
Alex who killed many wolves and saved the caravan was treated well while they travelled. He was praised for his bravery and strength.
But he felt like an imposter hearing their words.
He was dragging one of the ownerless sleighs. In it were the carcasses of wolves and some pelt.
Even though two of his tribesmen died due to the wolf, the wolf pelt was considered valuable. They were taking them to the city to trade. It can be considered penance for them. Selling them to provide for the families of the dead was the best outcome.
After travelling for some time, Alex asked.
"Do wolves usually hunt people?"
"Sigh, Wolves hunt everything. People or not, they do not care. The weak will be hunted, it is the law of the wilderness." Dhairya replied.
"But this time, it was different." Kan who was nearby said.
"How so?"
"Older Alpha's usually select their prey carefully. They hunt the weakest and retreat if they think the prey is stronger than them."
"Ah! You mean the Alpha we saw was younger and rash. It didn't care about the pack or the death of the wolves."
"Yes, this could only mean one thing. It was a lone wolf that successfully evolved to use mysterious energy. It took over the pack and forced the other wolves to hunt. It was an outlier."
"We were unlucky to meat a ferocious beast like that."
Kan explained the details to Alex.
"Oh!" Alex nodded.
"Meru, don't dwell on the past. You can not change the past. Even if we had taken another course of action, the survival of our caravan was never assured. We can prepare for the future, but can't predict it." Dhairya said.
On his face, Alex could see the vicissitude of time. It had left behind scars that cannot be healed.
—---------
It took them a long time to cross lake Kurma. The vast expanse of barren snow was left behind and they finally saw signs of human inhabitation.
Alex saw a path leading from the lake towards a dense forest. In the far mountains, he could see tall trees standing proudly, battling against the weather.
'Somethings there.' He thought.
"That's the village of the woodland tribe. One of our allies. Let's go there and rest before travelling to the city." Dhairya said, pointing towards the dense forest.
Dhairya walked towards the village. Everyone else followed behind him.
When he reached closer, Alex could see a group of people waiting at the entrance of the village. They already realised the stone head tribe was coming and was waiting for them.
Behind them, was the entrance to the village.
Unlike the stone head tribe, they didn't build walls around their village with large tree trunks. Their wall was made out of living trees and vines.
It was the dense forest that Alex saw. Behind the covering of trees, the land was plane and wooden buildings were neatly arranged on either side. It had the aesthetics of a modern city.
'Whatever you say, the architect that built houses must be phenomenal.' Alex thought.
Delicate carpentry was used to create the houses. And wooden figurines were displayed outside the village hall. Attracting the eyes of everyone in the caravan.
Suddenly, a person came from behind the crowd near the entrance and said.
"We welcome the traders of the stone head tribe with open arms."
"It's nice to see you again, Mupan of the woodlands." Bowing his head, Dhairya said.
It was a long and arduous journey. Alex finally relaxed. It didn't matter what kind of people the woodland tribe was. He was sure that it was a safe zone.
'Please, god, let there be sleep.' He thought while walking behind Dhairya.