Rogier had imagined his return to the Space Wolves countless times.
Beneath Fenris's endless night, bonfires blazed on the frozen wastes. Racks laden with the flesh of Fenrisian sea monsters stood before the warming flames, amid the aromas of Kolan wine (anaesthetic) and Fenrisian mead (neurotoxin).
Kuroser would be wrestling a real wolf, while Ans told the other brothers how Rogier had forcibly dragged him aboard. The Pack Leader would drink and boast with him, recounting the enemies the Space Wolves had hunted in his absence. And, well, a White Scars Big Boss who couldn't hold his drink might be lying in the snow nearby.
As time passed, he realized that this was impossible.
He had been gone too long. A hundred years ago, his return might have earned him acclaim as the last warrior of the Wild Wolf, the gravekeeper of the Wild Grand Company, a veteran Lone Wolf.
But now, returning alone would make him a deserter, a wolf who had abandoned his post.
Returning with a company would make them unclean wolves, an ill-fated pack, false Wolf Brothers.
Returning with a Grand Company would make the Space Wolves acknowledge Rogier's standing and declare his force a legitimate successor Chapter.
But if I bring this Grand Company home aboard the Wolf of Fenris, then I'll be a true hero.
The Wild Wolf had never stopped pursuing its enemies, replenishing and expanding its ranks throughout the hunt. The Space Wolves' Wild Grand Company had not been annihilated. That shameful history should be erased entirely. A hero had returned to his pack with new Wolf Brothers.
At that thought, Rogier's strength surged as though divinely blessed. Not one traitor aboard the ship could match him. The renegade wolves were few, and when they encountered that gleaming golden Adamantium Armor, their