I awoke to a wet, rough sensation against my left ear. I shifted in response as the leaves and twigs of the forest floor crunched and snapped beneath me. A small, delicate voice spoke.
"It's time to get up. It's morning." What? I thought to myself. How could I- I rose groggily, fumbling over my own snow-white paws, and turned to face the owner of the voice.
"How long was I out?" I grumbled, wiping my eyes with my right fore-paw and flicked my ears, trying to wake myself up.
"All night and then some. You even missed the morning hunt, not that we got much of anything." Her gaze shifted towards the ground. She seemed disturbed, but noticed me staring and quickly recovered. "You looked so peaceful I didn't want to wake you."
As my vision became clearer I could make out a familiar face; another wolf. She had bright blue eyes and a delicate, light-gold coat tipped with specks of white, as if covered in a thin layer of snow. She smiled a bright smile and tilted her head to one side, then let out a small chuckle.
"What are you laughing at?" I moaned.
She chuckled a little more and replied, "It looks like you've been eating fermented apples from the orchard again, that's all."
"So, you're basically telling me I look drunk, then?" I frowned, and shoved her gently with my paw. "You sure can make me feel bad about myself at times."
"Well, that's what I'm here for." She licked at my muzzle and I blushed a little, stunned at her action.
"What, never been kissed by a girl before?" She teased.
A howl came from the distance, our large, pointed ears perked as we listened.
"Laura! Come on, we're leaving soon! And bring Cloud along if he's awake!"
"Okay! We'll be there in a second!" Laura howled in reply. She must've seen my questioning expression, as she said to me, "What's the matter?"
"Are we leaving today?" I asked. "I could've sworn we weren't leaving for another week." She sighed.
"That was the plan, but the cold traveled quicker than we predicted. It's caused the other forest animals-including our prey-to move farther south. There's almost nothing left here, and some of the older females need to feed their pups. The pack came to an agreement that we'd leave in the morning."
This was unusual; the change in temperature. I hadn't realized how cold it had gotten until now. I shivered a little, and a small flake of snow landed on the tip of my nose, melting at the warm touch of my body. I sneezed.
"Gesundheit, mister." With that Laura turned and began heading east. I followed close behind. Her walk was that of an angel; a graceful trot with a slight bounce to every step. Her hips swayed gently from side to side, along with her golden, bushy tail.
"So", she caught me off guard, "have any dreams last night?"
In fact, I did, but I didn't want to tell her what about. I'd be too embarrassed, and she'd probably make fun of me. I couldn't let her know about my fantasies.
"No", I lied. "Why do you ask?"
"You sure? I would've thought different, seeing how excited you were getting. I wouldn't know anything about it, though. I'm not a boy." She glanced at me, and I immediately knew what she meant, causing me to blush a deep red and look away. "Either way, seems like you had a good time." She continued. I was ashamed that she had seen me. I hope it wasn't too graphic; maybe I just had a small boner. "You were thrusting and all…"
She burst out laughing and I felt like I would die then and there, then I realized, "Hey, what were you doing watching me sleep?" She immediately shut up and looked forward, but I could tell by her rosy cheeks she too was embarrassed. "Who's the creep now, eh?" I teased, but she did not reply.
The rest of the walk we both stayed silent.
We finally arrived at a clearing, where 10-20 other wolves stood gathered together, discussing our up-coming journey.
"You weren't kidding, huh?" I told her. "The whole pack's here."
An older wolf, larger than either of us, approached. His coat was a dark grey, with patches of brown and black scattered all over. The fur around his eyes was a light brown, and his muzzle was tipped with white.
His low voice seemed to erupt from his mouth like a volcano, although it was as calm and gentle as could be. "Hello, daughter." He nuzzled Laura and licked at her ears.
"Dad, I'm not a little girl." she said, slightly annoyed, but she still smiled and nuzzled him back.
He turned to me as well. "And to you son." He nodded and I bowed my head respectfully. He was the Alpha, after all. Not only that, but if it wasn't for his kindness, I wouldn't be here today.
About two winters have passed since he had found me; a lone pup straggling through the woods. They were out on a hunt, and he separated from the pack to follow an old buck. He knew he was out of ear-shot, so he figured he'd have to quickly take it down himself and drag it back to the den. Within a few minutes of tracking, he had only the scent of the deer left to trace, as the deer was far off from himself. Even that too disappeared, as another scent began to overcome it; the scent of another wolf- no, wolves.
He headed through the shrubs and bushes silently, being careful not to alert them. But what he found when he had gotten to the source was not at all what he had expected. There were bodies- wolf bodies- everywhere. Blood pooled on the floor around the mutilated wolves. He felt sick to his stomach, but immediately started searching.
Not a single survivor could be found, and he was about to give up his search, when he heard a small whimper from inside a nearby den. He crawled inside, disgusted and saddened by the dead pups that lie on the ground around him. They seemed starved and thin, practically skeletons. Who could've allowed these pups to suffer like this? He thought to himself. That's when he came across a small, blood covered pup. He was almost as skinny as his deceased den-mates. It was a miracle he was still alive. When the pup saw him it wobbled over to him clumsily on its thin legs. It went under the Alpha's belly, trying to find something to suckle on, but found nothing. It cried out helplessly; lost and scared without its pack. The Alpha grabbed it gently by the stretchy skin around his neck and carried him outside, away from the horrible sight.
He placed him gently inside a small stream and licked him clean, washing the blood from him. The Alpha could see the young pup's fur, no longer covered in red stains, was a beautiful snow-white. After cleaning the pup, he journeyed back to his own den in haste, where his mate and own new-born pups resided. There, he told of his experience, and his mate gladly welcomed the white pup, allowing him to feed, no doubt his first in a long while. After drinking his fill, the pup cuddled with the other pups; his new den-mates. When he awoke, he opened his eyes for the first time- a glimmering brown- and spoke his first word: "Papa."
From then-on, he's raised as me as he would his own sons. He taught me how to howl, bark, growl, and hunt. To this day, I thank his kind soul for rescuing someone as in distress as me. But that still doesn't stop me from thinking about what had happened to my own pack…