Zilar first came upon the pack as a young adolescent after his half-sister Lark was captured by humans. Starved and struggling to fend for himself, he had resorted to scavenging from other packs — stealing kills, eating scraps, whatever it took to survive. 

It was Nightshade who eventually caught the male red-handed, digging up prey she'd buried for the hard months to come. But even she couldn't bear chasing him off. Instead, she offered him to stay — something Zilar reluctantly accepted.