Snowfear broke through the brush and appeared in the clearing, his eyes fixed on me. Ronav, Galaxy, and Sythenil followed. I flattened my ears, suppressing a low growl. Sythenil had a smug smirk creeping up her face as she saw me. Galaxy and Ronav looked furious.
"Where is he?" Snowfear demanded, his ears pricked forward, nostrils twitching. "I can smell him, Silver. There's a male here." I backed up until my hind reached the thorns of the bushes. "You can't hide it, Silver. Tell me," his voice boomed in anger. I raised my lips into a snarl.
"I chased him off, Dad," I said through clenched teeth. "He's gone." Sythenil stepped forward and took a sniff of the air.
"I don't believe you," she whispered in my ear. "She's lying," Sythenil said louder, "The male—whoever he is—is still here." Snowfear looked at me sternly, his eyes blazing. I bottled up a whimper as he came closer. I can't tell them. I can't tell them, I hammered into myself. Then I noticed Ronav looking around. She gazed up towards the tree branches. My eyes widened in fear. Ronav trotted over to Snowfear and whispered something. Snowfear glanced up at the trees. His muzzle crisscrossed with wrinkles as he leapt toward the branch that the Wolf was on. He barked a warning to Snowfear. Wrong move, I thought quietly. Snowfear scrambled onto the branch, his ears pinned against his head. The male leaped down and sprinted off before Ronav, Galaxy, or Sythenil could react. I let out a quiet sigh of relief.
"Don't think you're not going to get a punishment," Snowfear growled gravely as he leapt down. I felt my legs give a slight tremble. Angst crept into the center of my heart.
"I—" I paused, my heart hammering in my chest. Sythenil snuck up on my rear and Galaxy and Ronav stood next to me. I was trapped, and I wasn't going anywhere anytime soon. I pinned my ears down and let out a snarl before they nudged me to get me to start walking.
Galaxy and Ronav slowly dropped back as Sythenil came forward. My muscles tensed, my eyes dilated. I was ready to fight if need be.
"You will never see Phantom—I mean, that Wolf ever again," Sythenil said, her lips drawn into a smirk. Phantom? So that's his name…. I snorted to Sythenil and picked up to a trot, settling into a position next to Snowfear so Sythenil couldn't be a bother anymore. I could hear Snowfear's heavy breathing, the feeling of annoyance lingering in the air. He was angry. This wasn't going to be good. I had no idea how to get away from the Alzaar Pack and to Phantom. I didn't even know him, which was the strangest part about this situation. Just great.
I got thrown into a small, deep ditch-like burrow for the night, with about three Wolves guarding me. The chances of escaping the Pack or even getting out of the ditch was zero. The dirt clung to my fur and paw pads. My head swirled in thoughts. I pawed at the ground, anger boiling within me. I flung my head up and let out a deep, sorrowful howl. It radiated off of the Bindodo Mountains, and hearing what my howl had sounded like scared me deep down. I had to get out and get to Phantom. Now.