Part I
Iona's POV
My paws ached and my mouth was dry despite the damp air that surrounded me. My fur was matted and wet from my constant pacing on the dew covered grass. I stolea glance at my skinny pups who were staring back at me with worried eyes. The rest of my pack was looming over them, their eyes filled with hunger and faint, fading hope.
We needed food. Everyone knew that. The only thing keeping us alive was the full moon that barely filtered through the blanket of leaves and branches above us. But itwouldn't be enough for long and we absolutely needed to find a safe place to call home where the full moon's white-blue light could fully reach our frail hides. I was the alpha. I should be able to fix this, shouldn't I? No, the humans were to blame and a broken pack of outcasts like ourselves would never be able to stop a whole town of greedy humans.
Suddenly, my pacing was interrupted when I realized I was an inch away from running into my second in command, and best friend, Akota. Startled, I jumped back and looked at him. He stared into my anxious blue eyes while his shone with grim determination. He spoke slowly so his words would actually take root in my brain and not just bounce off my skull like they usually did.
"Iona, you need to calm down," he said, his voice as rough as the rest of him. He was covered in brown fur. The only part of him that wasn't a dark tree bark brown was a tan stripe that covered his muzzle and followed the bridge of his nose up until it tapered off at his forehead, just above his golden, black rimmed eyes. His fur was matted much like mine and his paws were muddy, showing he had worked just as hard as I had to find food, and still we had none.
I stared back at him for a while, then back at my pack, then back at him. I lowered my head, which I would only do with him—he would know it wasn't a sign of weakness, but a sign of trust—and sighed. I stretched out my nose to point out a clump of trees to my right, signaling for him to follow me, as I slowly made my way over to the trees where I could talk to Akota without worrying about the rest of the pack hearing.
As we walked, we both made sure our heads were held high to appear more confident than we really were. We needed the rest of them to stay hopeful. If they gave up now none of us would have a chance. Unfortunately, hope alone wouldn't be nearly enough to get us through.
When we were finally out of sight and away from the others, we looked at each other and I sighed. "I really don't know how we're going to get through this, Akota," I said to the ground. "We can't survive on twigs and plants much longer and I'm afraid we might have to find shelter in another forest, or even," I paused, "near one of the towns." Waiting for his response was like waiting for an execution. I stood there waiting for my head to be lopped off.
Akota stared back at me with an expression that started with bewilderment then slowly shifted into fury. His eyes hardened and his lips curled up into a snarl and he growled, "You are by far the weakest alpha I have ever met."
I was shocked at first, then I raised my head up high, puffed out my chest and looked him right in the face with a fierceness I rarely showed with my pack. I hated being called weak, even if it was true at that moment. For a second we just stood there, glaring at each other. I thought about snapping back at him then thought better of it; a fight was the last thing we needed. So, I just turned and walked away from him and back to the rest of the pack.
Part II
Iona's POV
"We're going to split up and keep hunting," I said, standing in front of the rest of my family They replied with a unanimous groan which I chose to ignore to save time. "Anto and Kanti, you search the the hills and rivers. Kilo and Akota, you search the outskirts of the woods and the valleys." They all nodded and sprinted off on their mission, happy to have one again. But Akota stayed. He seemed to be the only one who noticed or the only one who cared that I didn't assign myself an area to search in.
"Alright, and where will you be hunting?" he asked in his "you-can't-fool-me" tone of voice. "I'll see if I can find anything near the towns." Usually, he would argue with me about something as risky as this, but my eyes told him I really wasn't in the mood for another argument. So he just nodded and ran to catch up with Kilo.
Hey Reader!
Please Review! This is my first fanfiction and I NEED to know what you guys think about it (just please don't be a hater...no one likes haters) other than that all I have to say is THANK YOU FOR READING! I *heart* U!