Chapter 1
The night started out peaceful and quiet, but the creatures in the forest were restless and nervous. The scavengers of the air cawed with pleasure for they felt an oncoming battle. All of the deer in the forest had fled to their thickets to hide. Rodents became scarce as they hid in their nests in the trees and holes in the ground. Small songbirds sat nervously on branches. Suddenly, a scavenger bird swooped down and landed clumsily on the ground. The condor gave a loud screeching call. There was a low snarl and between two trees, a pair of wolfish yellow eyes appeared. The bird cawed in delight as an older looking she-wolf stepped out of the brush and into thee trees. She bore scars along her neck and muzzle that proved she had seen many battles. Torpora eyed the condor with a glint in her eyes.
"Ah, Arawok, what news do you have for me?" she asked. Arawok hopped around in a circle and cawed one more time before answering. "My dear mistress, I have very good news," he said, "With my help," Arawok lifted his head proudly, "The Scarred have found your sisters den." Torpora nodded her head in satisfaction. " The Scarred," Arawok continued, "tried to get closer but that fool Kipsin got in the way. The Scarred did not fight which surprised the gray fool." The condor screeched in delight. "Very good," said the she-wolf, "That should keep my sister and her dear Kipsin guessing for awhile." She stopped, smiled and then said, "At least until I am sure about the pup." "Come Arawok, we must know round up my precious Scarred."
A large black wolf sat on a boulder above a clearing. His paws were the only part of his body that was white. He sighed. The wolf got up and started walking towards the den that was hidden in the brush. It was almost invisible to eyes that were not as keen as the wolf's. The wolf started to walk faster, ignoring the greeting whines that came from three members of his pack. As the wolf neared the entrance to the den, a fierce snarl warned him away.
A gray she-wolf trotted out and said, "Kipsin, go-away, please. You are making Della angry!" "Costa," Kipsin whined, "Please, let me in." "I'll send Lek to come get you," Costa snarled. With that she walked back into the den. Kipsin sadly lumbered back to the boulder and laid down. On a normal day, he would have enjoyed the warm sun heating up his black coat. Kipsin finally fell into a restless sleep. After what seemed like hours of waiting, Kipsin was awoken by a loud and joyful yipping. Bounding happily towards him was a grayish red wolf.
"What's wrong Lek?" cried Kipsin. Lek kept on yipping and started running in circles. Kipsin rolled his eyes at the wolf. "In the name of Mila, Lek, stop acting like a cub and tell me what's wrong." "Come Kipsin. Della calls for you. Hurry." Lek then bounded of joyfully towards the den. Kipsin himself gave a yip and went streaming across the clearing. He passed the still yipping Lek and slid to a stop in front of the den. Slowly he lowered himself to the ground and crawled inside. When he was halfway through the entrance he stopped.
"Come Kipsin," said a soft voice that came from a light gray she-wolf. Kipsin sighed. He remembered when he had first met Della and fought off all of her other suitors and started courting her. He slowly started to crawl to her. Della laughed softly. "Get up and walk Kipsin." Kipsin did as he was told and walked closer to her. He gasped as his eyes slowly became adjusted to the darkness of the den. There! Laying huddled together were two small wolf cubs. "They're beautiful," he sighed a walked up to get a closer look. One was a male and the other a female. As Kipsin looked at them his breath was caught in his throat. A look-a-like son! "His name is Sesco," said Della as Kipsin's chest swelled with pride, "The female is named Fira." Suddenly the cubs started to whine and yip. Through closed eyes, the male cub started to crawl towards his father. Kipsin lowered his head and licked the tiny cub's face. Kipsin sighed happily and laid down next to Della and the cubs.