Ladies and gentlemen, here's the 7th chapter of my first opera...

1) I'm pretty excited, because I achieved my first follower... thanks Valckross, you make my day!

2) Don't worry, Alpha and Omega characters will appear, but not really soon...

So, READ, ENJOY and REVIEW if you like... and if you don't

Chapter 7: Tragic memories

Grin's P.O.V.

He woke up alone in a unknown den, remembering what happened yesterday, and his sudden faint.

Sun rays barely filtered into den, supposing that day had just begun. A gentle breeze flowed into the den, gently stroking his fur, and he really liked that feeling. He closed his eyes, trying to savor every single moment of that pleasant caress. After half a minute,he opened his eyes, heard his stomach growling, and he couldn't help but admit to himself.
"Well, i don't have a decent meal since yesterday, I'm not surprised i'm starving!" He thought, and then he decided to take a look at the den.

He noticed that this was a rather large den, too big for one person.

"So he should have a family…Maybe i'm gonna ask him, when he's gonna come back, if he could introduce me his family members!" His tail began to wag. Continuing den's tour, he noticed a small spring in the inner portion of it. Water was seeping from a small crack in the ceiling, gathering in a upper surface that resembled a bowl, then falling on two other flat surfaces directed downwards, and ending into a small pool carved into den's ground.

He decided to relish that water, for drinking and refreshing his parched throat, and, man, it tasted great!

After having lapped several times, his attention turned to a figure standing into den's entrance with something into its mouth. It seemed a sort of animal's haunch, with some blood dripping from it.

"Early riser,huh?... I'm not surprised at all, you just slept for, uhm, about eighteen straight hours!"

Said the figure in his scratchy, old voice.

"Guess you're hungry, right? Here's something you could eat… do not do compliments, dig in!"

After Valen told this, he dropped the fleshy thigh on the ground before Grin, and he started devouring it with a frightful voracity. Surprised, he said:
"Whoa, calm down, son… Don't eat too speedily, or you're gonna choke with food pieces!"

Grin stopped eating, and laid back his ears. "I'm sorry, i didn't want to, it's just i was starving and…"

Then Valen said: "Don't worry, i'm not mad at you, it's just you have to be careful… even the slightest distraction could be fatal, especially when you do everything in a rush…"

Grin understood what he meant, and began to eat again, but this time he savoured every single bite slowly.

"Yeah, I meant exactly like that" Valen said with a smile.

After Grin finished his lavish meal, when nothing remained but bones and scraps, he wanted to ask him some questions about his life, to get know each other better.

"Thank you for this good meal, sir,it was very good!" Grin said, licking his bloodstained lips to clean them off
"It was my pleasure, son…" Valen said with a chuckle.

But suddenly a burst of violent coughing struck him, leaving him almost out of breath.

Grin was beginning to worry: "Sir, are you okay?"

"Yeah *pant* yeah, i'm fine… now… this cough is really making my life a living hell…"

Valen's coughing fit subsided slowly, and Grin thought this was the perfect moment to ask him something about him.

"Uhm…sir…can I ask you a question?" Grin said shyly.

"Of course you can, but first of all, i don't like to be called "Sir", I don't wanna look older than i already am, just call me Valen, ok?"

"Uh, okay… Valen" Grin said, hinting a smile. "Well, i just thought… this is a rather big large den for just a single wolf, so, i was thinking…you surely have a family that lives with you, don't you? Because, if so, i'd really love to meet them… They should be very lucky to have such a strong but caring wolf in their lifes, and i'm sure they're just like you"
He asked with a tipical children's innocent curiosity, with his tail wagging the entire time of the question, anxious to know an answer.

Valen was astonished by that pup's wit… His intelligence was greatly above that of his peers for giving birth to such a concept.

But he cannot let him know his injurious past, his great mistakes, hear his whole story was too much for an adult wolf, let alone a newborn puppy like him.

He didn't squeeze his brain too much to find a story to tell him… wasn't the first time that he had been lying to someone.

But he remembered like it was yesterday painful events that lead him to solitude…

FLASHBACK

Three years ago

He woke up suddenly in the main den. He heard a soft snoring coming from his right side, so he turned his head right and couldn't help but smile at the view: the love of his life was lying there sleeping, her head set on her paws. Her name was Oya, she was regarded as one of the most daring and brawny fighters of the entire pack. She had a soft, reddish fur with a white underbelly and white ear tips, and a pair of gray-black eyes that conveyed seriousness, but also passion and desire to live. He thought he was lucky to have married such a unique she-wolf.

They had almost everything that a wolf could ever desire, unless for a particular exception, that demolished them: They couldn't have pups. They tried to carry on with their lifes, but the lack of a offspring weighed heavily into their hearts.

It was an early summer morning. A warm wind floated gently through den's entrance, letting some dust dancing in the air. Night's humidity was still present in aria, but it was definitely time to get up and start the day… But little he knew on that day he would have lost everything he loved… Everything he cared for.

Oya had just returned home the previous afternoon from training Alpha recruits, he really missed her, but, as both Alpha leaders, they have to share and divide their tasks: while he focused primarily to observance of boundaries, to compose patrols to guard the borders, and internal security of the pack, she was in charge of training new recruits, to make them strong and proud Alphas.

While he was dreamily looking at her, she rapidly got on her feet and jumped outside the den, looking for a nearby bush. He then heard her throw up.

Worriedly, he approached her, saying "Honey, everything ok?"

She, after other few sessions of vomiting, was able to speak: "Yeah, dear, I think now i'm okay…"
Then she fainted due to her effort, and for such an high amount of dispersed liquid.

Valen's concern grew strongly: instantly he began to look for any vital signs… Her breath was irregular, but heart beat was still audibile. He decided to take her to their pack healer, Iko… although he had indeed a strange personality, he was one of the most capable people in medical and alchemic subjects.

So he didn't waste time, he loaded her on his back, and began to run in direction of Iko's burrow. Distance was percurred into a few minutes, but those minutes seemed an eternity to him. He could feel contractions and expansion of her rib cage applying some pressure on his back.

Finally Iko's den was in view, and Valen shouted: "Iko, we need your help, please!"

Then, a rather calm voice answered back to him, and said " Hush, please, there are wolves here trying to rest, don't alarm them uselessly!"

Valen entered into his den, and noticed there were other two probably sick wolves resting.

Iko was preparing a sort of concotion, mumbling words to himself, like a singsong…

Then he turned his attention to Valen, and said "Laid her here, i'll be there in a moment, just let me finish prepairing this medicament, because it needs some time to… ferment."
Then he put down the bowl and covered it with lots of leaves, not letting air to get into the bowl.

"So…" Iko started saying, getting closer to her, "What happened to her?"

"I don't know… she was sleeping, and a moment next, she passed after vomiting a lot…"
While Valen explained what happened, he began to check her vital signs, and began to touch her in some spots, to verify if there was something wrong, even in some… private portions of her body.

This annoyed a lot Valen, who was getting upset by doctor's behavior, and asked with an angered tone:
"What the hell are you doing to her?!"

But Iko didn't bother to answer to him in a first moment, maybe zoned out due his discovering activity. After a while, he seemed to return in this world, and answered to him, with an always calm and thoughtful tone:
"Sir, i'm only trying to do my job, i'm only trying to guess what is happening to her… if what i did disturbed you, i think you wanna wait out of there, because i just wanna see if my conclusions are correct, and i'm gonna verify them with a rather unorthodox method".

Valen, although not totally convinced, decided that it was better to wait outside healer's response.

After what seemed a long period of time, in which Valen waited outside and paced back and forth for nervousness, seriously concerned about her healt, Iko come out with a big fleer.

"She's okay now. She was a bit dehydrated due her intense throwing-up session, but the worst is over… But there's a quite interesting news that I have to tell you…"

He seemed slightly incredulous.

"…I don't know how to say it.

Although it seemed pratically impossible due to…uhm… your… "condition"…

well...congratulations,

you're gonna be a FATHER,

she is PREGNANT!"

…

END OF THE FLASHBACK

Valen turned slighty his head to shook off that horrible memory. He didn't want to continue to remember anymore, so he focused again on the present.

Valen started speaking, trying to not let him notice his sudden change of mood: " Oh, i don't see them for a very long time… I was alpha leader of my pack, the southern pack of Banff, here in Canada… i have to fulfill my duty to protect my territory even at the cost of my life, and this is one of our primary tasks, in which a leader can never escape. Without a territory, a pack could not exist. Then they left for a very important mission time ago, and i'm awaiting their return here, keeping the area safe. Luckily, wolves around here are not bright enough to counter and expose my little…tricks" He chuckled a bit "As you've observed before, they all run away after knowing mental sicknesses of my fake comrades… " This seemed like a perfect opportunity to change the subject on him.

" But now i'm wondering why these wolves have gone so far into my territory…"

Grin saddened a bit, and said: "They…they were chasing me, they said they wanted to kill me…but i don't know why! I didn't hurt anyone there… I was even befriending some wolves almost like me!"

"Hey, hey, look at me" Valen said, lifting up Grin's lowered muzzle, almost on the verge of tears, in order to make him look into his deep blue eyes.

"You have my word, son, if they even dare to lay a look on you, they won't be able to see anything else for the rest of their short and miserable lives"

Grin was a bit shocked, but he definitely felt protected: Valen ispired him in safety, something he had found exclusively with his mother…

"Okay, lil' buddy, what do you think to have a nice walk, so I can show you places around here,huh?" Valen said, but he didn't have to wait an answer to see Grin almost standing out den, looking at him with a huge wide smile and saying "What are we waiting for? Come on, let's move!"

Valen couldn't help but chuckle to himself in front of hyperactivity of pups, and followed him.

Grin stopped to look at Valen approaching him. Valen then playfully put a paw on Grin's head and started shaking his head fur rapidly, then he started jogging while saying "Try to catch me if you can, messy head!"

"Yeah, you can bet that i'm gonna catch you!" Grin shouted back, and started to chase him.

Hmmm, did you get it? Valen has finally got his chance to be a parent. Flashback isn't over yet