Redpelts Pack (Great Plains wolves in Northern Minnesota, South-west of the Great Lakes)
Chapter two: Civil Unrest
Ash licked his grey fur as the sun slowly slinked behind the trees. The hunting party he had sent out should be returning soon, hopefully with prey this time. The only reason they weren't starving right now was because Ivy was such a good hunter. If only he could get her to listen to the hunt-leader. The animosity between Ivy and Isle was starting to distract them both from their job and less and less prey was being brought back. Ash sighed and laid his head down on his paws as he thought of the talk he was going to have to have with Ivy. Boy, she was a firecracker and Ash was not the best at getting her to listen. Ash closed his eyes as he remembered learning about the duties of an alpha from his father, the previous alpha. It seemed like everyone always listened to him without fail and Ash just awesome that would happen to him once he became alpha. Imagine the surprise on Ash's face when he became alpha and everyone still treated him the same.
Stone trotted up next to him and lay down. There fur was so similar that it seemed to blend together when they lay down next to each other. Ash's fur was gray with russet coloring along his spine; Stone was all gray with very faint red flecks along his sides and muzzle. Even with different colored eyes it was easy to tell that the two were brothers. Ash had their father's orange eyes while Stone had their mother's gray eyes. Ash looked at his other two siblings who were lying down on the other side of camp.
Their camp was a small clearing not too far from the river and south of the falls. There were six white spruce trees relatively close to each other and these trees provided excellent coverage for dens that the wolves had dug out. Ash shared a den with his brother and his beta, Stone. His other two siblings, Hawk and Briar shared a den with Fern. In the tree next to theirs was a den for Jet, Elm, and Sage. Those were all of his warriors. All very strong wolves; some he trusted and some he didn't. For instance, Jet's father, Bark, had killed Ash's father, Buffalo. Ash's father was a cruel leader so Ash didn't resent Bark, but he also didn't respect him. Only days after Bark killed Buffalo, Ash challenged Bark and killed him. Unlike Ash, Jet was very attached to his father and openly resented Ash for what happened. Ash was expecting a challenge from Jet one of these days, but didn't really worry about it too much. He was fairly confident he could defeat Jet in battle. If he couldn't, then he would lose his pack plain and simple. The fighting was the one part of pack life that Ash actually enjoyed. It was easy.
Besides his warriors, the only other wolf in camp was Fox, the pack omega. She was littermate with Jet, Isle, and Lake. Jet was openly resentful. Isle seemed to do what she was told but wasn't particularly loyal to Ash as far as Ash could tell. Lake was too lazy to care about pack drama. Fox, on the other hand, had openly disobeyed Ash and for this she had been deemed the omega. She was the smallest of all the wolves and on top of this she openly admitted to killing Cliff and Moon, who Ash had designated as the pack elders and therefore, strictly under his protection. It was an insult to him as leader and an atrocity that Fox would kill the parents of her pack mates. Ash clawed at the ground in irritation. He knew Fox hadn't killed the elders. She could be sarcastic and rude, but she wasn't a cold-blooded killer. She had to be taking the fall for someone, but Ash didn't know who and he couldn't let the murder of his elders go unpunished or else he risked alienating their pups. She had to be punished if she wouldn't tell the truth. Ash just didn't understand why she would go through this if she didn't have to. Who could she be so loyal to? At that moment the hunting party burst into camp buzzing with the excited energy of success. They would eat tonight. Still, he had to talk to Ivy about disrespecting Isle Ash sighed as Stone rose to his feet to go inspect the prey. No one would take a bite before Ash so he was in no rush. Honestly, he was so tired of dealing with all of the drama in his pack that he didn't even want to eat with them. That wasn't an option, though, so Ash got to his feet and trotted over to the caribou the three wolves had taken down. It was large and Ash was impressed. He sniffed the meat and let his hunger turn his stomach. Then, he took a bite. He flicked his tail and invited the rest of the pack to eat. Of course, they approached the meal in order.
Stone sat beside Ash and started tearing away at the caribou's stomach. Then, the warriors each squeezed in and tore off a piece. Sage and Elm drug their pieces over to their trees. Jet and Isle joined them Isle sauntered over to Elm and sat as close to him as she could manage. Isle was beautiful so it was no surprise that Elm liked her, but Elm wasn't as smart as most wolves. This worried Ash. He didn't put Isle above manipulating the gentle giant. Fern and Hawk were sharing a meal and Ash wondered if they would ever become mates. Hawk always insisted that they were just friends, but both wolves had offered to mate if the pack needed more pups. Of course, Ash would never ask them for that, no matter how empty the nursing den had been.
To his surprise Briar and Ivy were sharing a meal. Briar almost always ate with Jet and Isle and Ivy had never seemed fond of the large, brown and red she-wolf. Ash was about to go over to them to see what they were discussing over dinner when Lake caught his eye. She nodded respectfully at him before trotting over to her sister, Fox. Ash took in Fox's small form: her coat was completely red and her orange eyes were despite. Ash thought she was attractive, but at the moment she was very skinny and looked like she hadn't eaten well for a while. Lake was carrying over a small piece of meat, but it wouldn't be enough to properly feed both of the she-wolves. Before really deciding to, Ash changed direction and took his dinner over to Fox and Lake. As he walked up to the two of them, they glanced at him in an uninterested manner. Ash awkwardly sat down next to Fox, putting her between him and Lake. He dropped his food down in front of her and nodded at her to eat some. He saw some hesitation in her eyes but she was starving; she wouldn't turn down extra food. Ash watched sadly as she devoured both his and Lake's dinner. She left just a little of his so that he could eat as well.
"No, you have it." Ash pushed the scraps toward her with his nose. Fox's orange eyes bore into his own and she seemed to be looking for some kind of evil intent. Realizing there was none, she scarfed down the last of the food. Ash watched her, patiently waiting for her to finish. Lake, who looked like a very small version of Stone, licked her paws clean of all the blood. Ash imagined that Fox would eat just often enough to keep up her strength and would give Fox her share of the food whenever she could. That was a loyal sister and Ash respected that about Lake. Fox finished her meal and the three sat in an awkward silence until Ash finally thought of something to say.
"Winter is coming soon and by its end I hope to have news of a new litter of pups. Who do you think it will be this season?" He asked casually. Lake merely shrugged but Fox spoke up and Ash was surprised to hear such a strong voice coming from such a small wolf.
"Honestly, I'm not sure we will have one. Elm likes Isle, but she doesn't take him seriously as a mate. Briar likes Jet but they are in the same situation. Ivy and Lake are both unattached. The only way we would have pups come February is if you ask Hawk and Fern to have them, but you won't do that." Ash silently took in everything she had said. It appeared that he wasn't the only one to pay so much attention to pack dynamics. "How do you know I wont ask them?" He asked her curiously. She was right, but Ash wanted to know what made her so sure of herself. "You won't." That didn't answer his question, but Ash let it go. She was right, he wouldn't ask his brother to do that. However, that created a problem. The pack was supposed to produce a new litter each season and it appeared that it wouldn't happen this time. They were already short on hunters, so they couldn't afford to not have pups. "Well, if what you say is true then our pack is in danger. How do you suggest I prevent that?" Ash asked the tiny wolf and she barked a laugh. "That, my leader, is up to you." She said teasingly and Ash smiled. She was right again. It was up to him to find a solution. Ash sighed, worn out by all of the problems in his pack and rested his chin on his paws. Fox stiffened as their fur brushed and he wondered why she felt so on-guard around him. "Relax" He breathed as he hummed in contentedness. Fox slowly let her body relax and fall into place besides his. Ash opened his eyes and glanced at her. Her eyes were closed and she was resting her tiny head on her tiny paws. Ash didn't know why, but he found her size fascinating. She looked more like a coyote than a wolf. No, she looked like a fox, which must be how she got her name. Then, Ash glanced at Lake. Lake was already fast asleep, comfortably lying next to her sister, unbothered by her alpha's presence. Finally, Ash risked a glance at the rest of his camp. He knew what he would see, but it still set his fur on end when he looked up and saw all of his pack mates staring at him in distress. Ivy and Briar had separated and they weren't the only ones. It looked like his pack was split in half, right down the middle of the camp. On one side were Stone, Hawk, Fern, and Ivy. Sage was also on that side but he was worriedly staring at his brother Elm who was on the other side of camp lying next to Isle. Elm seemed oblivious to the tension; just content to lie next to the she-wolf he cared about. Jet and Briar were also lying next to Isle and Elm. All of his wolves were staring at him. Some looked disgusted and others looked worried. The scene bothered Ash, but in his heart he felt like he was right where he belonged so he never moved. He just stayed next to Fox and Lake until the other wolves crawled into their dens and went. Soon after that, Fox got to her feet and Ash wondered if she had been as aware of the tension as he had been. Had she also waited it out?
At the movement, Lake finally woke up and the two of them started towards their den. Ash got to his feet and nodded at them both. "Goodnight Lake. Fox." He held her gaze as he said her name and hoped she understood what he was trying to say. He was sorry that she was omega, and more sorry that she was starving. As far as Ash was concerned, she was still his charge and none of his wolves were going to starve on his watch. Things were going to change, starting tomorrow. The she-wolf nodded and then continued walking to her den. Ash got to his feet and made his way to his own den, happy to settle in next to Stone's warm body. To his surprise, he started to wonder what it would be like to lie next to Fox. Would such a small body provide any warmth on a cold winter's night?