The last two stragglers were growling around Maniitok, darting in to slash at him with their claws. Lusa could tell the old bear was growing tired. His courage never faltered, but he couldn’t fight both of them at once. With a last desperate effort Lusa lunged at one of the wolves, gripping its shoulder in her jaws as she tried to throw it to the ground.

While they struggled together, Maniitok drove the other wolf up the shaft and turned to help Lusa. As if it realized it was the last of its pack, her wolf tore itself free from the fight. Lusa hurled herself after it as it leaped for the shaft.

“Now, Izusa!”

Above her head Lusa heard the rattle of sticks, then a rumble like thunder. The whole mountain seemed to shake, and Lusa lost her footing. Snow from the shaft poured down around her as she struggled to get to her paws.

“Lusa!” Maniitok roared.

Lusa felt teeth meet in her scruff. A moment later she was hauled out of the way as the rest of the avalanche plunged down the shaft, filling it from top to bottom. When the crashing had died down and the snow and debris pouring out of the shaft had slowed and then stopped, Lusa found herself standing beside Maniitok, with snow up to her chest. Aiyanna and Makya were trudging toward them.

“That was terrifying!” Makya said. “Are you okay?”

“Fine,” Lusa replied, though her near miss with the avalanche had made her head spin and her ears buzz.

Maniitok pushed her from behind, while Aiyanna and Makya waded into the snow and cleared a path for her. Lusa staggered to the edge of the snowfall and flopped to the ground.

Kallik limped up, her eyes shining. “The wolves have gone!” she breathed.

From up above, Lusa could hear the sound of howling. A moment later Izusa looked down from the top of the cliff. “Did it work?” she called.

“It worked fine!” Lusa replied. “Are you and the cubs safe?”

Izusa snorted with amusement. “Perfectly. The wolves went right past us, limping off down the ridge as if all the bears in the forest were still after them.”

“Great!” Lusa said. “Thanks for everything.”

“Thank you, Izusa!” Kallik called hoarsely.

“Glad to help! Good luck on your journey!” With that, Izusa vanished.

Lusa turned back to the other bears. “We did it!” she cheered.

“We sure did,” said Aiyanna. “The forest belongs to the bears again.”

She and Makya both pressed close to Lusa, their eyes glowing. “Thank you,” Makya said warmly, nodding to Kallik. “We could never have done it without you and your friends.”

“We all did it,” Lusa responded, and glanced back at the old bear. “You were great, Maniitok.”

Maniitok ducked his head. “My pleasure,” he mumbled.

“There’s one thing that puzzles me,” Aiyanna said. “Who was that brown bear who burst out of the trees when the wolves broke away? I’ve never seen him around here before, have you, Makya?”