I never anticipated it, never expected an attack to come so suddenly. I remember us howling in response to the other wolf. I remember basking in the comforting feel, thinking, nothing bad could possibly happen now.

That proved that I didn't learn anything. Things changed rather quickly.

We had hit upon what we believed to be a stroke of luck that evening. What more could be asked for than a half-eaten carcass that was light enough to drag all the way back to camp? Dragging it back was a mistake. I wondered how we could have done that.

One moment we were howling, a snarl was all that warned us of what happened next. I could see the bundle of fur charging at us. Instinct took over before I had even registered what was happening.

I yelped as it barreled past me, and for a fleeting moment, I saw Pale Moon getting knocked aside. I could hear the soft 'thud' of body against ground.

The creature apparently heard it too, because it suddenly halted. In a split second, it had turned its attention from the carcass to Pale Moon.

Shit… I thought, damn mad bear…

It was hopeless…I couldn't do more than to snarl at the bear. Pale Moon would die; I could recognize that glint on the bear's eyes anywhere: the anticipation of a kill.

XXXXX

I smelled fear in the air. Hell, there was enough to let me touch it, let alone smell it. Apart from that, I could smell bear too.

Any sensible wolf would have hesitated for a moment: a bear was nothing to mess with. I didn't.

My possible future pack was probably just ahead, I was not going to stop for a random dumb bear.

Now, if they had some chocolate, that would will certainly provide some motivation…

XXXXX

Unfortunately, there was no time to ask for chocolate, as if anyone would have noticed me.

Quick, think! I thought to myself as I quickly approached the black bear. In a brief moment, my mind analyzed the situation. I ignored the distressed wolf snapping at the bear, she was in no immediate danger, however the source of distress… I spotted the fellow canine unconscious, and the big predator looming over him. That was the spot to intervene.

No time for thought, just action. Five hundred meters quickly became a hundred. I was under it, and in the great shadow cast by its big figure. It was a risky position to be in, I had to act fast.

I set my front right leg down – support. Lean down left, head down, there was not a moment to lose. A firm grip on his scruff. There. Without a break in my footfalls, I was off again, straight out of the shadow.

Even though I had been ready, the sudden increase of weight was still startling. It was impossible to keep the pace, and only my previous momentum kept me moving. I stumbled in my steps and broke into a roll along with the other wolf.

Crack! Snap! I crashed into a rather prickly bush, breaking plenty of twigs. Breathing heavily, a subconscious part of me decided on staying in that position and wait for something to happen.

I was proud of myself having pulled it off successfully, happy too. I have proved myself, and they, cannot have any doubt of my capabilities now…

XXXXX

I stared at the place Pale Moon vanished into, the bear did not. It appeared that the bear was quite dim and was completely freaked out when a full sized wolf disappeared under its snout. I saw my advantage in its confusion and pressed on with more threats, while at the same time boldly advancing.

The bear snorted at me, slightly bothered at the least. It gave a last feeble growl and lumbered towards the carcass that caused all the trouble at the first place. I didn't care the tiniest flea sized bit about that, it could eat that carcass for all I care. Good riddance, I say.

Now to find Pale Moon, and thank the wolf that came darting into our lives.

XXXXX

"I'm sitting here in the boring room, It's just another Sunday rainy afternoon, I'm wasting my time, I've got nothing to do," I muttered under my breath, hummed a little, and continued, "I wonder how, I wonder why, yesterday you told me 'bout the blue, blue sky, and all that I can see is just a yellow lemon tree…"

I vaguely felt somebody poking me. "How dare you disturb me from my evil slumber..."I growled. A cheesy phrase, but I couldn't resist the urge. I opened my eyes to see Marco Jackson Loop grinning at me.

He opened his mouth to say something, but his voice was drowned out by the song. "What?"

Marco rolled his eyes and yanked the earphone off my head. "I said 'that was lame'," he answered.

I shrugged, "it was from a movie."

"Yeah, what are you? A dragon that has been hibernating for centuries?" he said sarcastically.

I pretended to be amazed, "How did you know?" I exclaimed.

Marco smiled and shook his head, "now, I would love to exchange nonsense with you, but the 'captain' requests your audience."

"Now who's lamer? You're sounding so official." As annoyed as I was with being interrupted in the middle of a song, I started walking.

Marco fell in step with me. "You would be the first to have an actual conversation with him. Him being new and all that, you know? I wonder how he got to be 'captain' so quickly.

We walked past the other doors as Marco chattered along – offices. Some volunteers spent hours working in those rooms, though the concept of paperwork and how they managed to obtain so much of them never appealed to me. We were a small institute based on wolf research, not getting much attention from anyone or anything. The only major thing that we had worth noting at the moment was an agreement with the bigger institutes to tag any wolves that came by.

"Hey!" I felt his hand touch my shoulder. I brought my attention back to my surroundings, and stopped myself from colliding into the end of the hallway. I turned towards the door and stared. A song came briefly into my mind – 'Stop and stare…'

I had seen the same door couple of days ago. It was the same door alright; there was the crack in the wood at the bottom. Whoever the painter was, the crack didn't bother him, having beautifully merged it with the painting – a crack at the bottom of a cliff. The doorknob was cleverly disguised as the moon, in fact, so well camouflaged that it took a minute to find it.

Beyond the rocky terrain of the cliff, right at the edge of the tree line, was a seated wolf. Its golden-yellow eyes gazed out at us, captivating me for a second - it seemed to be filled with so much peace. Its brown body barely showed up against the dark shadows of the forest, but for some reason, there was no trouble in spotting it.

"Come in," said a voice from behind the door, but for a moment I thought, with a mix of fear and excitement, that the wolf had spoken. Like a drunk, I fumbled around the painted surface for some time before finding the doorknob. I pulled the door open, expecting to find much more.

XXXXX

Silverpond lay curled protectively around the pups, ears alert to signs of the pack's return. She was getting more worried. A moment ago, she could have sworn that she heard a devilish scream of pain.

The pups had immediately shot to her side, shivering in fright. Even Luger had decided to scoot closer. She comforted them to the best of her abilities, but she was scared too. The scream had sounded horribly like the pack leader.

She licked at a cream colored pup's forehead, trying to calm the frightened pup. Then she beckoned to Luger to come closer. Luger had been the only survivor from the previous litter, making him a year older than the others. Silverpond didn't know what happened to Luger's littermates, only that the event had thrown their guardian into depression.

Suddenly, she could hear plenty of footfalls and greenery being pushed aside. And to her horror - snarls.

She quickly got to her feet and hissed at the pups to hide. She noticed Luger standing beside her, the one year old taking on a defensive posture.

"Go with them," Silverpond growled.

"No, I'm not going to back down!" Brave words, but she knew his opinion will change when faced with death. But by then, it would be too late.

She turned to him and forced herself to speak calmly, "Luger, the little ones need you, protect them."

They were coming closer, Luger had to leave now! Silverpond looked into his eyes, "Go." The determination in his eyes faltered, to her relief. She turned back to the attack.