Chapter 1: The Crossing
Nierrah
A gentle spring breeze lazily tickles my nose with the fresh scent of the pines wakes me from slumber. The familiar sight of exposed roots from the trees and grass outside brings warmth to my heart as I watch them dangle like chimes in the dirt ceiling above. Another winter and another year has gone by that I have called this forest my home for nearly one hundred years. A century is a lifetime to a human. In my eyes however, a century is nothing but a year's time. For our kind live long.
I set foot outside leaving behind my beloved home to seek a drink in the river. The rainy season renews the forest with blessings of greenery bringing fourth life to naked branches. Filtered rays from the sun seep through the canopy of dense evergreens like halos. The sounds of rushing water are not far off as I make way through the thickets. I touch ground to the waters edge leaving behind soft tracks in the soggy earth. Alas, my thirst quenches as I lap at the river's cool water watching it ripple continuously in its glassy surface. With a satisfied bellyful, the water stills and clearer a face begins to form. Fur colored warmly like amber, a reflection so well recognized stares back with emerald eyes; green eyes of which remain a mystery.
The pack I belong to consist of wolves living in the foot of Northern Mountains. These are not your average grey wolves but, larger and mightier hunters of old. Much like normal wolves however, our pack is governed by a dominant hierarchy where the highest-ranking male and female serves as the pack leaders. By birth, I was destined to one day become the next alpha female in line. However, unlike my pure-blooded ancestors, I was instantly denied of my birthright.
My mother, Lea, is the daughter of the previous alpha Jaakal who fathered the pack and was the eldest wolf that ever lived. As his daughter, it was expected of Lea to become the next female alpha after his reign. Upon Jaakal's end, my mother was betrothed to Gaeth, one of her many brothers.
