My name is Electra and I'm an average black wolf living in the Moonlight Pack. I didn't have a mate and my mother had died due to a harsh winter. My father remained heartless after she died... he was cruel, he ignored those who tried to help him. I don't talk to him anymore. Besides, the pack concludes that he is an old wolf and shall die this winter as it is suspected to be harsh, since we have some early snow.

My friends are Ria, Colada, Cola, and Rain. They're all girls and most of them already have mates, but I didn't think too much about finding one. A mate meant leaving the pack you have now and making another one. That's too much pressure for me right now. Our Alpha, Lite, is an old white wolf with a scar across his left eye. He's very old, too, but he's the most experienced wolf out of all of us and knows when a kill will be easy, when it's too late for a wolf, and when a season will be fatal or good. We expect him to live much longer, too.

Colada and I were out in the fields hunting for elk. We were the hunters of the pack, followed by Shadow and Bone, the male hunters. Our pack's territory took part of the river and the Saddle Meadows. We had one den for the Alpha Family, and many leave-nests for the rest of the members. Leave-nests were sort of cushions made of sticks and dead leaves. They usually stood next to a tree with many branches to keep away rain and snow and keeping shade for hot days. They were actually quite comfortable but all of us wished we could have the Alpha Family's den. A den was like a mansion to us. The Alpha Family consisted of our alpha, Lite, and his son Gray.

Suddenly, we heard a howl from Lite. "I've gotta go." I said calmly to Colada. There were certain types of howls for each member. This howl meant me.

I ran quickly, charging my best to the cliff where Lite stood. "Yes, Alpha?" I asked. He turned to look at me. "Ah, Electra. Thank you for reporting quickly." Lite said with that deep voice of his. "It has come to my concern that something very... deadly... has gained entrance to our pack." Lite said. "What would that be?" I asked. "There's... a virus." Lite said with a sigh.

My blue eyes widened. "A virus? Is it spreading? Why am I of any concern to this matter?" I asked. "Hush, young one. This news is spreading from pack to pack. Apparently, a lone wolf freed itself from the land and made it to the territory of the two-legged creatures. It caught a virus along the way, but made it back to the land of the wolf. The wolf went mad. It attacked the Westlight Pack and injured five of it's members. The lone wolf was thought to be weak, but this virus made it powerful enough to kill that many wolves. Those five members went mad, too, and the Westlight Pack relocated away from the Mad Area. Those wolves are infecting and killing many of our packs." Lite said.

I began shaking with terror. "Why are you coming to me?" I asked wearily. "Because, Electra, I need to drop you from the pack." Lite said, closing his eyes with a depressed sigh.

"What?! Why me?" I screamed, tears falling down my furry face.

"Each pack has to make itself smaller and more exclusive to refrain from getting the disease. It needs to get tougher. Smaller means you know every one of the pack members well, and knowing each member very well is important to keep us locked away from that disease. We need to hide. But to make our pack smaller, we need to drop the weakest members. Your one of the weakest. I'm afraid you'll have to survive on your own." Lite continued with a sad face.

"Don't do this, Lite! I cannot live on my own! I'll get the disease for sure if I'm alone, and packs won't want to accept me with that kind of Rabies spreading!" I cried. "You will find a lone male wolf and make a pack together. I'm sure with a wolf like you it can happen. You'll be fine."

"Don't do this!" I shrieked, my black fur bristling and water pouring out of my electric blue eyes, which is how I got my name.

"Calm yourself, Electra. Please. Leave before I will send my hunters to... get rid of you." Lite said, avoiding to make eye contact.

My face was twisted with horror. But taking Lite's warning, I lowered my head and whimpered, and turned to slowly make my way out of my old pack's territory.

"Electra, what's wrong?" Colada asked. "Lite kicked me out of the pack for secret reasons. Bye." I said plainly. I saw her face twist in horror, too, and I avoided it and ran away in tears.

When the comfortable smell of my pack faded away, I howled a mournful howl. I heard Colada's familiar howl not too long after that. I flopped down and panted. I was cold and hungry. Lite had kicked me out before breakfast even started, and I was used to hunting with help from the other hunters.

Although it was morning, I fell asleep.

I woke up to rain. It was a freezing rain and it made my fur tie into knots. I shook myself to get dry but was only pelted with more pouring rain. I fast-walked through the rain, looking desperately for shelter. I must have wandered for hours, because soon I felt the smell of other packs and heard the yipping of puppies every direction I turned.

I was in Slough Creek, where all puppies are born first. "Shush, Demon! You'll awaken your sister." I heard a motherly voice say. I realized that these packs had dens for everybody. The Alpha Family had a den, but so did all the other members. Why did my pack make us sleep next to trees? Did this mean that our pack was less fair, that our pack gave the Alpha Family more than they deserved?

Yes, I realized. Lite was lying to us. He made us believe that it was fair.

Anger and hatred boiled in my blood for Lite. For the first time, I felt a sense of relief that I was not in that pack anymore.

I didn't want to bother this lovely family. I turned to walk away. "Mother, who's that wolf?" I heard a voice say. I turned around to look at the puppy wagging it's tail and eagerly looking at me. It's mother, a white wolf with grey marks, cocked her head at my presence with curiosity. "Why, I don't know, Ellie. Excuse me! Are you part of the Rainfall Pack?" I heard her ask me.

I opened my mouth to answer, but I decided not to. I shook my head and tried to continue trotting away. "Wait! Are you a lone wolf, then?" She asked. "Yes." I said meekly, embarrassed. "You poor thing. You look so hungry. Please, come in." She invited. I looked at her with suspicion. Why would she be so kind to me? I was just a weak lone wolf. Lone wolves were like the homeless in our world.

"We don't bite." She laughed. Ellie, her pup, gleefully added, "Not hard, anyway!" I laughed a little at Ellie. Ellie was a well-built pup. She had glistening white fur and warm, chocolate brown eyes. She was a very attractive wolf and was sure to get a mate when she got older, especially with her spunky and funny personality.

"No thank you. I- I can manage." I said fairly. "Oh, you must be freezing out there. It's the middle of the icy season and it's raining. Don't tell me you can manage. There's not even enough elk for you to hunt for. Most packs around here take up lots of the hunting grounds." The wolf explained. I glanced at the direction I was intending to go. It was deep in the forest but it looked cozy enough.

I glanced back at the even friendlier wolf family and there cozy den. I sighed and began walking in the family's direction. "Here, eat some left-over hare my mate hunted last night." She said kindly, nudging the hare carcass at me. It smelled delicious. My old pack only fed me half-frozen bits of coyote. Only the alpha family got to eat any elk or hares. I was boiling with hatred for Lite. He was disgustingly cruel. A liar. I hated him with all my heart and didn't bother continuing with him.

"We're the Rainfall Pack. We welcome wolves as long as they are well-equipped to the cold winters and have white fur. You see, our ancestors are the Arctic Wolf. I guess one of the Arctic Wolves was transported to this land and mated with a brown wolf, and we were given the small coloring of grey, black, and brown. We're very rare wolves, you see." The white wolf said, panting lightly.

Ellie jumped up and down. "I love being a half arctic wolf! I love the word arctic! It sounds really yummy!" Ellie said. Her brother, which I guess was Demon, yawned and walked out of the dark den. He didn't seem at all surprised to see me, he just sniffed me lightly and said a very friendly hi and then tried to wrestle with Ellie.

"I met my mate, Ricardo, up in Amethyst Mountain. You'll find plenty of mates there if your a lone wolf looking to create a pack. I was just like you, trust me." She said. I frowned slightly. "Does this mean I'm not welcome to your pack? I mean, you only allow white wolves and I'm a black wolf." I said shyly. That white wolf stared at me with a grin on her face. "Child, is it really us you're looking to find comfort in? Look up at the sky." She said meekly.

I looked up. "What do you see?" She asked. I studied the sky for a long time. "Stars." I said plainly. "Millions of them, isn't there?" She asked with a giggle. I nodded slowly. "Think of those stars as opportunities. So many of them. Don't get stuck in the first one you find, because there will be many more. Besides, that first oppertunity might not be suitable for you. We have adjustments here, like cold winters. You wouldn't work so well for that."

I smiled gratefully at the stranger wolf. Ellie licked my paws and barked happily. Demon snuggled with my tail. "Find your meaning." She said lightly, her children racing to nuzzle her.

I howled a long howl. Ellie stopped what she was doing and howled back.

I turned and ran off into the wind. I didn't stop until I was nearly dry and the sun barely came up slightly. I hadn't slept all that night.