Wandering Wolf

Chapter one

The territory was wide and wild. The young aspens had sprouted shriveled bright green leaves along side the tall white pines and yellow birches. The fields were a gold, purple flowers popping up between the heather and bushes as the ground moved from bare expanse to thinly wooded forest.

An old tall oak was the marker for the family. Its round and thick trunk matched only by its monstrous roots that curved and dug into the soft earth around long forgotten stones and rocks. The very top of the tree already had leaves upon it, the vegetation stretching like fingers, trying to grab any sunlight that baked on the wooded area.

It was early afternoon, the sun just making its way to its highest point in the sky. The heavens were a hard blue, the sunlight drenching the territory in a hot golden glow. Where it fell on the yellow leaves of the birches, the tops of the trees seemed to flicker like a small flame. Before long, the heat of the day would force the elk to run slow and the wolves slower, pushing the small family into the cool shadows of the Oak Den.

The tiny sounds of young life sounded like the sweet calls of songbirds. Their little chirps, together with their small grunts, were only heard by their parents and two older siblings of a later litter. The pack was young, only two winters old at the most, the oldest pups of the mating pair living through their first snowfall last season, before spring graced the land. The pack's winter home was over the snaking stream and small waterfalls, and it was there that two of the pair's last litter rested forever under the sun and moon.

Nightrun stretched in the heat of the growing day. Her black pelt was vivid, so dark that she looked like midnight in the form of a wolf. Her eyes are a dark brown, melting into her coat color so that it appeared she didn't have any eyes. Her form was slim, with thin long legs and small paws. She was built for speed. On the field she would lead hunts, running of the territory faster than any in her pack. Her mate, Heno, was of a different build. He lacked his mate's speed but Heno was bulky and strong. When Nightrun ran to attack elk, she would slow them down for Heno to finish them off. But the carefree days of lazy hunting were far behind the alpha pair. Their recent litter had survived their first few terrors of the new world they had been born into, but life was only going to get harder.

Nightrun rested in the shade cast by the tall old oak. Her new litter moved about lazily, already feeling the heat on their small little backs. All of them had dusky coats and didn't share their father's light grey fur. The two pups of the later litter also carried their mother's looks, something Heno had never been upset about.

Sunny was the oldest daughter of the pair, and beside her, her brother Nightcry paid careful attention to the new litter as the pups began to explore just out of the den. It was harder for Nightrun the first time she had bred with Heno. Then, it had just been the two of them hunting and caring for the pups. All four have survived until winter.

"Careful now," Nightcry was saying, using his paw to gently move his little sister Moondust close to the den mouth. The tiny sibling was dark like her older brother, but her name came from her bright grey eyes that seemed to shimmer silver like the full moon.

Nightrun picked up her head as Sunny came to sit beside her mother. The den reached a lip in the ground, a decline over the edge, which could be followed out onto the field where Heno was now. He had said earlier that the scent of wolf had caught his nose, and he had followed it out there. His mate hadn't noticed another wolf's scent. But if another wolf was in the area, it could mean big trouble for the new pups.

Moondust's littermates yawned as they made their way to the shade with her mother and sister Sunny. Nightcry made sure that Moondust made her way safety with the other three.

As the pack settled down to rest, Nightrun kept her eyes locked on the lip a few tail-lengths away. She expected to see Heno's grey ears over the side soon. It was late for the male to still be out alone.

"What did father say it was, again?" Sunny asked. Her tone was of boredom and not worry as she cranked her head to scratch behind an ear.

"Another wolf," the she-wolf's mother answered drily.

"That's a problem," Nightcry chirped in. His eyes gave all of his worries away. But his mother was less concerned about another wolf than she was about her mate, who was still out as the sun reached its highest point in the day.

"Only if it's really out there," Sunny replied.

"We're near that other wolf territory, the one with the alpha male Hawk. He doesn't like other wolves."

"We have always been here," Nightrun said. "I raised you two here with your other siblings and we never had any issue with Hawk or the others." Silence stretched between the older wolves, and for a moment ice cold claws gripped their bellies as they thought about the huge brute called Hawk. He owned the territory north of the little pack's birthing den. His pack was large and every day it seemed like he was expanding his territory.

A light wind had begun to stir around the wood. As it traveled over the lip, Nightrun caught the distance scent of elk and water, and fresh green things growing over the plains. As the wind died down, a pair of grey ears suddenly appeared over the lip, bouncing along as their carrier padded over the edge.

Heno's tongue was lopping from his mouth, the rim of skin around his mouth stained red. His belly was round and plump with fresh meat, enough to feed the whole new litter of pups.

The father walked up to his family with a high tail, and Nightrun greeted him first. She whined and licked his chops, waging her tail like a hunter's dog that found a wolf trail. Her excitement roused the pups from their dozing, and one by one the new litter crowded around their father's lowered face to lick and urge the brute to regurgitate his meal. Heno's stomach lurched and the ungraceful sound of retching brought with it a heap of partly digested meat for the new litter.

Heno lifted his head as the pups drove in, ripping and tearing the sloppy mess from the pile, fighting one another to get the most. Some backed away and waited the way an omega might, slowing their family their growing personality.

Sunny and Nightcry waited their turn to be noticed. When their father came near, they cried and rolled onto their sides to show their respect for the strong alpha. Heno's kind nature gave his older pups loveable licks and calls that excited the whole pack, even the feeding younger littler.

Finally, the events calmed down. Clouds had begun to push on the light wind, bringing some white and fluffy and other dark and hard. Nightrun was glad for the break in the sunshine from time to time to cool her heated back.

"So?" Nightcry pressed Heno after the pups had finished their meal and settled inside the den to rest. "Did you find another wolf?" The idea had first scared the young brute, but suddenly he was hoping his father had found one, a female, unattached and wandering. But Heno shook his head.

"No, guess I was wrong. Better safe to follow it though. I finished off a sick calf for the pups for the meal. It was roaming around just outside of Hawk's land, but his packs' scents were stale." That had been surprising. Hawk was crazy about keeping his pack lands. The only way to take over the pack would be from the inside out because there was no way in.

Nightcry nodded, crestfallen. He lowered his head to rest it on his paws. He knew he and his father would be remarking the territory come evening, and his sister might even come if Nightrun wishes her too, but Sunny was usually left behind to watch the new litter. The idea of following his father around brought unnatural hated feelings toward Heno. For a moment, the tainted words confused Nightcry. His father had always been kind to him. He and Sunny were even allowed to feed the pups and mark the territory, but it didn't seem like Nightcry's place.

As evening fell, the older son and his father slipped away from the den as his sister and mother stayed behind with the pups that were now sleeping below ground. The night was warm, but the stars were scattered as clouds pushed over them, covering them from view. Pack life seemed easy in Nightcry's position. He could do what he wanted so long as it was in his parents' boundaries, and only his mother was particularly strict with him and his siblings. But the idea of watching his sisters and brothers like a pup keeper bothered him.

The pair padded at the edge of the territory, where the land started to merge with the plains and the trees became less and less. Heno stopped, sniffing around the bushes and small roots of the saplings for any other wolves that might have dared to mark over him. When the alpha seemed content, he lifted a leg and sprayed a landmark he had chosen. The scent was strong and bitter, and Nightcry followed his father, breaking away to travel up the north side while his father worked on the south side. The idea was that they would meet up behind the den and walk back together. But for a moment, as Nightcry lifted his leg to spray a stone or bush, he thought about leaving. Running free without having to watch pups or answer to his mother and hunt only for himself sounded like a better life. It could only be matched by finding a receptive female and breeding with her.

The idea made the young male's mouth water with excitement and legs tremble with the urge to get moving, but it was quickly washed away. He had a family here, one that would keep him forever. But leaving would be risky. If he wanted to get back into the pack after leaving, his father would have to decide it he wanted him to join again or not. Birth meant you were in, and as a pup you were freed from responsibility.

Nightcry moved on, bending to spray again. He would be far behind his father now. His daydreaming had slowed his down. Suddenly, though, the wolf's nostrils flared. Paw prints in the soft earth caught his dark eyes. His gaze followed them, their trail leaded out of the territory and into the dangerous wilderness beyond. The scent that lingered over them was stale and old, but from them Nightcry could tell their master was a young female. But she was gone now; he doubted he would ever see her.