The New Generation: Alex Trey Stella

Chapter Twenty

Jake, wondering how many more attempts Luna would make to get up to him, was starting to get worried for his younger sister. She had failed more than ten times, falling hard on the ground with each failed attempt. He spoke down to Luna, "You know, instead of going through all of this trouble, you could just give up!"

Luna, sliding to the ground, raised her head and blew the fur away from her eye again. "I'm not going to let that happen, Jake! I may not be an Alpha, but I know what you've learned in that school. 'Never give up,' and 'Do your best,' right?"

That's what he was worried about. His sister was right about that. Those were the very first things the Alphas had learned in Alpha school. They had learned it first so it would keep them going through the rest of their lessons throughout the Winter. Back then, he often wondered why they taught Alpha school in the Winter, but now that he was older, he understood why. It was to toughen them up. Sure the lessons didn't last long because of the snow getting some wolves ill, but it toughened them up to be in the snow. If there was ever a possibility that they had to hunt in the cold, they would know how.

Jake turned his attention back to Luna as she began another attempt. Taking a running start, Luna jumped onto the rock and took a second leap towards the wall of the cliff-side. Making a three-sixty with her body, she pushed off and successfully grabbed the tree branch with her jaws. Jake stood up, surprised that she finally made it that far. Luna swung herself forward, letting go when she was going back towards the wall. Going to the cliff-side, she looked up and saw her next target, the lower branch sticking out of the cliff's wall. When Luna's paws hit the rock of the wall, she pushed down to propel herself up. With that push, Luna reached for the branch with her jaws, snapping them shut when she got as close as she could. Missing it, Luna fell to the ground.

Jake winced, feeling the pain himself from Luna's fall when he heard the loud thud below him. I wish she would just give up, I really don't want her to get hurt any more than she already is. If she breaks a leg, or snaps her neck, I'm going to be held responsible for not stopping her. With that thought in his head, Jake made his decision. Jumping from the cliff's edge, Jake opened his jaws and grabbed the tree's branch on his way down to slow his fall. Then he let go and dropped to the ground, bending his legs to absorb the shock. He went over to his sister and said, "The deal is off, Luna."

This confused her, and she tilted her head. "Why? I'm so close to making it."

"Because, Luna... If you got hurt, I would be held responsible for not stopping you. Do you know how badly I would feel for letting my little sister injure herself like this?"

Luna thought about that for a second before smiling at the kindness her brother was providing for her. It was nice to have someone care about you. Jake turned in the direction there den was at, and nodded for Luna to follow as he started walking. Luna went up to his side, glad to have a caring brother. "You're going to make a lucky girl a great husband someday, Jake. I just know it."

"Oh— I— Uh..." Jake gave a nervous laugh. "Yeah, I guess so. I haven't thought about it much." He wondered why his sister brought up the subject, but quickly realized it was because he had just shown her the kind and caring side of him. The side of him that isn't usually shown as much as the brave and proud Alpha wolf that he is, taking after his father in not only looks, but personality as well. Jake decided to change the subject. "Hey, do you want to watch the Alphas hunt later? Maybe you can check out some of their techniques and maybe try it yourself someday, if an Alpha or Beta can't make it."

"Sure," Luna said. "It sounds like fun." Then her head snapped up when she remembered something. "That reminds me!" She looked to Jake and asked, "Where do you think Alex, Trey and Stella are? You think they're all safe?"

"I wish I knew," Jake sighed. "Wherever they are, though, I just hope that they're okay and will be back as soon as possible. Dad told me that if they aren't back tomorrow, he and mom are sending Alpha search parties to nearby packs. And I bet they're safe. Trey and Stella are both Alphas. They can handle anything that comes at them."

Luna looked to the ground, thinking about her three missing cousins. What happened to them? Were they okay? She could only continue living life as usual and pray that her cousins would get home safe and sound, just as Aunt Kate and Uncle Humphrey did when they were taken out of Jasper. Hopefully they would be back tomorrow. She didn't want to have to give the pack more work to do than what they already had by sending them to other packs.

"This is awesome!" Alex yelled out of excitement as he jumped from the cliff. If he hadn't been in mid-air, he would probably be able to tell if his tail was wagging out of excitement. The thrill of cliff-jumping satisfied him. After so long of being on the ground it was nice to be in mid-air, with the wind rushing through his fur. As he hit the water pond that was waiting below, the water formed a huge wave of water. Trey, Serah, Jet, Korosu and the others stepped back so they stood back so they wouldn't get hit. Stella, however, didn't even pay enough attention to hear Jet he Jet told her she was in the splash zone.

Then Stella was hit by the splash caused by her brother's fall. She may have had a smile on her face before, but it was quickly replaced with a look of annoyance. Alex came out of the water, laughing as he paddled his way to shore. He shook the water off his fur and came face-to-face with his sister. His laughter stopped when he saw his sister. Stella said, "You know I hate being wet, Alex. You did that on purpose!"

Jet rolled his eyes for the fact that he said she was too close. He smiled at Alex's response. "It's not my fault that you decided to be so close. At least the others were smart enough to—" He stopped when he heard growling. At first it seemed to be coming from Stella, but it sounded as if it came from a distance. The two looked over at Trey, Serah, Jet, Korosu and his group to see them looking around for the now multiple growls.

"Do you wolves know that you're trespassing?"

Once they heard the voice, they turned to see who said it. They were startled when they saw the large group of wolves standing together. There were eight in total, walking towards them. The one in the very front had grey fur on their back, with a white underbelly and blue eyes. Two wolves walked at either side of the leader. The one on the leader's left side had red fur covering their body, and the other had black fur. Almost all of them looked angry, except for a few that were hiding in the back the seemed to consist of a few girls. And, judging from the confidence most of the group had, they were most likely all Alphas or Betas.

The same voice asked again in a more stern voice. "Do you know that you are trespassing?" The voice was that of a female's; coming from the one at the front, who was leading the group of eight.

Stella went back to the group and stood next to Trey as Alex walked toward the strangers, smiling. Hearing Trey clear his throat to get Alex back to them, Alex said to the others, "I've got this, guys. Don't worry." Stella looked around Serah, then Jet, and then at the others, wondering if they were thinking the same thing that she was. Alex walked up to the girl and the two wolves at her side growled when Alex put his arm around the girl as he said, "I doubt you're really as mean as you make yourself seem. Being such a beautiful girl and all, I bet that you're really a kind, caring—"

Before Alex was able to finish, the girl shrugged his leg off of her before quickly pushing him onto his back and pinning him down. Stella was about to go help him, but Trey held her back by the tail. The girl that had Alex pinned said. "That's nice of you to say, but I clearly remember asking a question. And I would like to hear an answer."

Alex's eyes were wide at how fast he ended up on his back, with her pinning him down. He quickly answered her question so as not to get murdered. "No, we didn't know there was territory here, so we didn't know we were trespassing. We just got here."

The girl glared at Alex for a second before speaking. "I don't know if it's because of the kindness in my heart, or just because of the comment you gave me, but I'm deciding to trust you." She got off of Alex, letting him get back up to his feet. The other wolves that were with the girl looked at her confused. She added, "You have until nightfall to leave. If you all are still here after nightfall, though, we're killing you and replacing our caribou with you as our dinner."

Everybody stayed quiet for a while, surprised by the statement from such an innocent-looking girl. Stella explained, "Well, we were actually waiting for night before leaving. You see, we sort of got taken from home, and we're trying to get back. But we need the stars as a map to know which direction to go."

The girl responded, "Very well. Then you have until sunrise."

"You wouldn't happen to have a place we could stay for the day, would you?" Alex asked.

Stella suddenly grabbed Alex's tail and pulled him back as quick as she could, making him almost yelp at the instant pain, and she spoke through gritted teeth so the strangers couldn't read her lips. "I don't know about you, but the rest of us would prefer to not get murdered."

"And I would prefer to not be bored all day," Alex retorted. He turned back to the pack and said, "So what do you say?"

She gave Alex a glare and thought about it for a second before coming up with what to say. Her glare dissipated and she said, "As much as I want to keep strangers out of our territory... I suppose we could let you stay for the night. You can hunt if you'd like, we've already caught enough food for the pack today and I'm sure they're back at the hunting grounds by now."

Alex's stomach rumbled at the mention of food. He, Stella, and Trey hadn't eaten since before the Moonlight Howl the night before. "Sounds good to me." He looked at his siblings and said, "You two up for some hunting? I'm starving, and you already know that I'm no hunter."

The girl and the other wolves turned around and started walking away, most likely toward the territory. The red wolf at the leader's side whispered, "What are you thinking, Angel? We can't let these strangers in our territory."

She glared at the red male and replied, "First of all, don't call me Angel. My name is Angie now. Second, I'll keep an eye on them. They won't hurt anyone. If they get too near to someone, I'll come up to them and start a conversation that will eventually lead them away."

Alex jogged after them, going up to Angie's side, who was now walking in the back of the group. Angie told the others to go ahead without her, and they reluctantly left her behind as Alex came up to her side. Going to her side, Alex said, "Hey, thanks for letting us stay for the day."

"Yea, whatever. I don't know why I'm allowing you to stay though." Alex could hear his siblings and the others start following them, reluctant to walk too close. Then Angie stopped, to which Alex stopped as well. The rest of the Alphas from the pack continued walking, letting Angie stay behind. Angie looked at Alex and said, "Just remember one thing, kid: If you or your friends do anything against pack law, even by accident, you're all dead. Got it?"

"Okay, okay," Alex replied. "I've got it. I would never break a pack's law."

"So, what you said about me being beautiful..." Angie said, changing the subject. "Did you mean it?" Alex, surprised at the question, looked away, hoping to avoid eye contact with her. He was stammering for the right words to say. Then, when he was about to speak, Angie stopped him by putting her paw on his right shoulder. "Never mind. The look on your face says it all, kid. I can tell that you meant what you said."

With that, she continued walking, leaving Alex where he was, looking at the shoulder Angie had just touched. He wondered why his heart skipped a beat at the touch, then looked from his shoulder over to Angie. He went up to her side, walking next to her. He said, "Hey, uh... Can you please stop calling me 'kid'? My name is Alex."

"Right. Well, thanks for the information, but I'd rather not learn your names. It might make me your friend, and I definitely do not want to make friends with you guys if you're leaving. I've been disappointed before, by being too attached to someone. I don't want to go through that again."

"Oh..." Alex said, looking at the ground. He understood what she meant. But there was still one thing he needed to know, at least for the time being. He looked back at her and asked, "Well, can I at least know what your name is?" She told him her name was Angie, then Alex decided to test it out when he spoke again. "Well, Angie, I guess you're right. I'd hate to have a new friend for a day and never see them again. But still, you can't pass up a friendship. Even if it is just for a day, a friend is nice to have."

Angie thought about this for a moment, looking at the dirt beneath her paws. Her paws leaving their prints in the Earth under her weight. Even though she still felt the pain from the last time she lost a friend, Angie knew that Alex was right. She said, "Yea, I guess you're right."

"So... How about we spend the day together?" Alex suggested.

Angie said, "What'd you have in mind, kid?" Alex made her a playful glare to which she smiled. "Oh, right. No calling you kid. Got it. So, what kind of fun did you have in mind?"