Buck didn't return that evening, and neither did the following ones. On the contrary, he continued his journey to north, following the traces left by his old pack.

When Sobek had let himself be captured by humans, the tyrannosaurs weren't too far from their refuge: it would take half a day to reach them. But the pack had moved over the months, making the road much longer.

Buck, however, had on his side the nose and the instinct of a hunter; with these two weapons that nature had provided him he could track down an ant from many kilometers away. Even if it was a journey lasting several days he could still reach the pack.

It went on for two days and two nights without ever stopping. Only on the third day did he allow himself a few hours of rest before sunrise. He did not even hunt: he ate a few bites from an old carcass and then continued on his way.

For a wild animal, order from a pack leader was everything. And if you were talking about a respected pack leader like Sobek with whom Buck shared a strong bond, then the desire to complete the task assigned to him became even stronger. Buck was unwilling to take a break until he brought the tyrannosaurs to his new pack.

On the morning of the fifth day he finally found them. They had made a crack in the rocks their new refuge on another side of the lake.

As soon as he saw them Buck ruffled his feathers and roared. His cry shook the branches of the trees and the t-rex woke up with a start. Buck was high above them, so it was impossible not to notice him; the other tyrannosaurs wasted no time and bared their teeth, especially the old pack leader, a n extraordinary large male, who immediately thought he was a rival.

It was not unusual for a lone tyrannosaurus to decide to take control of an entire pack; after all, it was enough to defeat the old leader to command all the other specimens. It was the same principle as the lions. It was only natural, then, that the old pack leader should leave biased to see Buck appear.

But as has already been demonstrated several times, animals did not rely only on sight to recognize other individuals; they exploited their nose in a special way. And tyrannosaurs had one of the largest nasal passages in the animal world. It didn't take them long to realize that the newcomer smelled familiar.

The pack leader decided to take the initiative and approached. When he was less than a dozen meters away he was able to establish with certainty who he was. "You!" he exclaimed surprised. "Are you alive?"

When a tyrannosaurus didn't return from a hunt for more than three days, the other specimens assumed it was dead. It was easy to die from the triceratops' horns or the stegosaurs' spear tail, or from a fight with another carnivore. Despite they were the absolute pinnacle of evolution, the tyrannosaurs were far from invincible.

Buck nodded: "It's me. And my name is Buck now"

"Name?". Wild animals didn't have a name. They didn't need it. They identified with each other through smells and sensations. "Where is your brother?"

"He's dead" Buck felt a chill in his spine at those words. "We were reckless and we faced an enemy more dangerous than us"

"I understand". It was a normal situation, especially for youngs: after all, the opponent's appearance didn't always reflect his danger. If they acted recklessly in the forest, they ended up being someone else's preys. The fundamental rule was: 'Never attack a prey unless you are sure it is a prey'. "At least you survived. Where have you been all this time? Have you been hurt?"

It wasn't unusual for a tyrannosaurus to escape after a fight with an enemy stronger than itself, but returned to the pack alive wasn't nearly so common. In nature, where there were no antibiotics or medical assistance, even a cut that was too deep could become infected and be fatal. Furthermore, the creatures the t-rex had to deal with (ankylosaurs, triceratops, etc.) were all capable of breaking bones as if they were twigs. A tyrannosaurus could survive after a battle, but in all likelihood it would at least lose the use of its legs, condemning it to a slow and painful death. Even if his wounds weren't fatal, he would have starved to death before they healed.

Buck shook his head at the pack leader's question. "No. But I found a new pack leader to entrust my life to"

The pack shook and the nervousness began to be palpable. The old pack leader took an aggressive stance. If Buck had returned to be with the pack, then no one would have objected; but since he declared that he was now part of another pack, that automatically made him an enemy. "If you now belong to someone else, why are you here?"

"Because I want you to join the pack too. My new leader has sent me to offer you to be part of it" Buck replied without batting an eye at the clear anger of the pack leader.

"Well, you can tell him we're not willing to do that. Leave now". If the pack leader didn't want a thing, then the tyrannosaurs would follow his will. And the old pack leader wasn't going to give up control over the pack that easily.

Buck knew this. He wasn't like Sobek, who knew how to use words to convince others. He was a supporter of the law of the jungle. He knew that if he wanted the tyrannosaurs to follow him then he would have to defeat the old leader first. "I am afraid that the offer is not negotiable. I was sent here to bring you into the pack and I will, by one way or another"

"Pay attention to your actions. I've never lost a duel" the pack leader warned him ruffling his feathers.

"Then I'll be proud to be the first to accept your surrender" Buck replied, putting himself in an attack position too.

The other tyrannosaurs began to move away leaving them space. None of them wanted to be involved in the fight. Buck and the old leader began to stare at each other like two hungry sharks.

The old pack leader was at least 13 meters long and the scars on his body testified to his experience as a winner of a thousand battles. If circumstances had been normal, anyone would have bet on him: Buck, despite being an adult tyrannosaurus, was still young and inexperienced.

But the cards on the table had changed. With the support of [Reinforced skin] and [Powerful bite], Buck could have won in a few seconds. But the old pack leader didn't know this.

The old leader attacked first. Seeing an eight-ton dinosaur running towards you would have made anyone run away. Buck, on the other hand, charged as well, quite oblivious to the danger.

The two collided and bit each other's shoulder. But as Buck escaped unscathed, the leader received a very deep and painful wound.

If he had used [Powerful bite] at full power, Buck could have easily killed the old pack leader by breaking his neck. But that wasn't his intent.

Buck wanted all tyrannosaurs to submit to Sobek. He had sensed that he was preparing something big, and that he needed every fang, claw or paw available. For this Buck did not want to kill the leader: his aim was to make him surrender.

Through his jaws, Buck threw the pack leader away, who fell to the ground not far away. The tyrannosaurus quickly got to its feet, but it was clear that it was suffering from the wound it had sustained. He could barely keep his head up.

Before he could act, however, Buck threw him back to the ground. Then she got on top of him and pinned him to the ground with her weight.

The leader began to fidget and in all likelihood would have been able to free himself, but Buck was unwilling to give him the chance; with his forelegs he grabbed him at the base of the neck and lifted his head upwards. A t-rex's forelegs might have looked small and fragile, but they were actually very strong and resilient. Buck held the leader's head up and put his mouth around his neck.

He didn't bite him, but a movement was enough to do it. His teeth were already tickling the old pack leader's skin. The latter seemed to have understood the situation because he had stopped fighting. "Give up" Buck growled. "Or die. The choice is yours"

The old leader breathed heavily, then gave in. "Sgrunt! So be it! I give up! I shouldn't have challenged you. You are worthy to be the pack leader and I am not"

Things like honor and pride were silly human constructs. To the animals they had no value. The only thing that mattered was survival. Living another day meant everything to the animals. Everything else didn't matter.

Buck allowed him to get up, then said. "I'm not your pack leader. It is my pack leader, the great Sobek, who commands us all now. He is much stronger than me; I'm not even worthy to face it". Buck wasn't belittling himself for no reason: he knew everything he was saying was true.

Buck was immediately passing the scepter to Sobek for a reason: in that way, the tyrannosaurs would have to challenge the spinosaurus to become the new pack leader. So none of them would try to attack him until they return to the pack. Buck was not afraid of any of them challenging him, but he preferred to avoid trouble on the journey. "Follow me now. I'll take you to our new pack leader!"