Claudette's Pup by DogDrawler (written from January 6th to May, 2023)

August 25th, 2013

Jasper Park... was subject to change. One day it had a beginning. Another day it will end. And during its existence, the beginnings and ends of other things occurred pursuant to the volatile dance that was life. Across the globe, animals competed with each other for dominance. Lopsided battles raged at every scale, and the winner of most was Man. As the most ruthless animal of all, Man projected extraordinary power. The land that would become Jasper was saved for conservation, but before it was a national park, its native wolves were wiped out. Atop eskers, a strip of blackness as smooth as a barn owl's eyes connected summer retreats, cabin-esque resorts for Man to vacation and party at the expense of the forest. As bottles of champagne popped so did rifles from contracted huntsmen who eradicated not just the land's primary check on grazers but the stories that had provided it with meaning. Memories passed down from wolf to wolf connected the future with the past, and so it was known as the Forgotten Era, a time before time, but it represented a fresh start to the wolves fleeing the ever-warring packs of Banff, which didn't share Jasper's level of extermination. They fled from war and hunger, and on one snowy day in 1981, a decade after Jasper's status as a nature preserve was affirmed, the two wolves named Canis and Keila (also known as Floran) mated. Jasper's first wolf pack in half a century was born.

Today, thirty-two years later, the Canisian lineage reached a milestone. As a result of the last mating season, the wolf population exceeded one thousand for the first time in Jasper's one-hundred-and-five-year history. Despite bloody wars, bleak winters, and brutal famines, decimation was usually restricted to certain age groups, allowing the overall population to continue growing and the affected groups to recover fast. At first, the mating season of 2013 was rocky. There was more difficulty in finding a partner than usual, including for wolves such as Claudette and Fleet, but to underestimate a canine's sex drive would be preposterous. The last mating season would go on to yield the most pups in over a decade, and to the packs of the Grand Valley, that was great news. For every hunter expected to retire or die this year, three were taking their place. More hunters meant more opportunities for food to be caught, and this increased sense of security gave the current hunters more time to teach their replacements. The huge potential of the newest generation provided comfort to Alphas as well as Omegas. In addition to not having to worry about what to eat the next day, Alphas suffered less fatigue from hunting, and that made them less likely to abuse the lower rank. The overall mood of the packs was healthier and why not? The future seemed prosperous. This was especially true for the largest pack of the Valley, the Grand Pack.

Then... like the flashing claws of a storm, tragedy struck.

A Northern she-wolf, named Alice, slit the throat of the Pack Leader during a heated argument. The loss of Claudette's older brother paralyzed the entire Valley since he was a respected centrist who rose above terrible divisions. The pack was on the brink of another civil war, and throughout the strife, wolves on both sides lambasted him, calling into question his ability to lead, but he regained their respect due to his ingenious compromise—the Grand Council. The bitter controversy was resolved. Wolves then expected the period of uncertainty to draw to a close, but his untimely death empowered its continuance.

The son of Claudette and Fleet was next in line for the Pack Leadership. As such, Pack Law required him to be an Alpha, regardless of his personality traits, but school for incoming Alphas wouldn't start until winter and wouldn't end until spring of next year. Only after Evander graduated Alpha School at the end of spring could he become Pack Leader which left a gap of more than eight months that had to be filled in with a regent. A wolf named Kyle fit the bill. Kyle had been the second-in-command at the time of Stinky's death, and after becoming Pack Leader himself, he gave his best friend, Austin, the position of second-in-command. Having the top two positions of the East and West not be related to Winston or Tony was definitely a drastic change, but citizens were pleased that it would only be temporary. They eagerly awaited the rise of Evander whom they saw was destined to become the idol of the next golden age.

Unfortunately, they fell victim to a mirage. Evander's father had viciously attacked Humphrey, Claudette's father. The beating was seen by a majority of the Council as attempted murder which usually called for capital punishment. Considering Claudette's pleas for leniency, Councilmembers secured a deal that was left undisclosed. In exchange for Stinky using his tiebreaking vote as presiding officer to save Fleet's life, they sanctioned another wolf to take Fleet's place as legal guardian. Fleet would be exiled to his home of the North instead while Evander was left at the mercy of his great-grandmother, Eve, whose resentment of the North proved harmful to the pup's mental health.

Once an heir learned how to walk, it was tradition for them to be given a tour around the territory. The earliest bond between the heir and his future subjects promoted a ceaseless trust that was essential for competent governance, but as a consequence of Eve's decision to confine Evander for so long, a gap formed between the pack's expectations of him and his own, and both were beginning to head straight for each other on a collision course.


It was the sixty-fifth day of summer. Two months had passed since Claudette and Fleet's royal wedding. The duration itself meant little to an adult, but to a pup such as Evander, or Little E as he was sometimes called, it was invaluable. Like most animals, wolves learned at a rapid pace during their premature stage. Within three weeks after birth, pups spoke their first intelligible words. A week later, they were often mobile enough to walk out of the den for the first time, and that was a milestone Eve had delayed considerably for Evander; thus, when he first stepped outside and felt the spiky tips of the grass and the wavy pounding of the rain, it was as if a tsunami of knowledge erupted from a crumbling beaver dam, washing away his old world to make way for the new.

At first, this new world was splendid. Much to Claudette and Fleet's relief, it didn't seem that Eve's influence had lasting effects. They watched, with heartfelt optimism, Mother Earth's majesty breathe life into their pup. She whisked him away to a world of enchantment where his curiosity drew him to many of nature's machinations, ranging from a squirrel restocking its cache to an ant crawling up a tree. Even the mundane crawl of cumulus clouds piqued his interest as they reflected life to a degree with their knobbly shapes. He then moved on to spurring machinations of his own. He dared to squash a mouse, catch the shadow of an owl, and claw at every fish in the creek that looked at him funny, but quickly, the pup realized the world didn't exist purely for him. The wilderness included others just as furry, just as four-legged, and just as carnivorous. There were also just as opinionated, and that, more than anything, bothered him.

"Tag! You're it!" shouted Lindsey. A pup of alternating bands of sandy hues poked Evander's flank with his snout. "Catch me if you can, loser!" His sprint left a trail of flying dust stretching into the darkness behind the den. Plump shadows of Douglas fir consumed the striped pup as boredom consumed Evander.

Are Tag and Hide-and-Seek all Alphas know? he wondered. He failed to subdue a long sigh. Oh, no! Someone touched me! Better go touch someone else! Evander mocked in his head. He considered Lindsey's family the worst. Followup visits seemed to confirm that they were Alphas down to the marrow. Playtime Restrictions? Honorific addresses? Submissive postures? he moaned. What's the point of these customs if not to make things as boring as possible?

The pup could barely entertain the thought of his parents dropping him off at Lindsey's place for the third time after the previous visits went so poorly. Claudette and Fleet had scheduled as many playdates as they could with Alpha families in hopes to make up for time lost. Evander's introduction to the wilderness was a much-needed boost to his development, but he was still lacking behind his peers, and it seemed additional playdates weren't producing the results they desired. To them, it was a total mystery why Evander lacked the enthusiasm to make friends.

It was potentially a serious problem. An Alpha without friends was not considered a successful Alpha, let alone Pack Leader. The mantle involved rapport. A Pack Leader's power derived from the faith of his subjects. Without their faith, there was no Pack Leader, and where the Pack Leader's authority dwindled, the authority of other Alphas flourished, including that of enemies. As a result, the pressure on Claudette and Fleet continued to build. It was their responsibility to turn things around, but what more could be done? The more they forced his paw the more he forced theirs.

They used to understand me… Now they don't, Evander concluded. They don't care about my opinion. I'm just the object of their egos, the pride they have to uphold because of some stupid old rules that say I'm supposed to lead the pack! It's like when I'm myself, I'm worthless!

His inner grumbling was soon cut short when he caught sight of something he hadn't seen since the last time he visited Lindsey. Could it be...? Why, yes... It was a nose-twitcher! After hopping over to the same patch where it grazed, Evander relaxed on his elbows and knees to appear friendly. If previous encounters had taught him anything, it was that nose-twitchers were easily frightened. It was common for them to lapse into a trembling stare, and if you came within a few yards, they bolted to the nearest hole. Evander couldn't blame them. Even as a pup, he had the fangs to give any creature a miserable death; however, he had no intention of eating a nose-twitcher. He wanted to study them. They were like the mice he chased except smarter which made them more fun! The previous nose-twitcher liked to hop inside the ampleton shrubs to shake the nuts loose. The memory of the bushes' awkward dance caused him to backstroke in a sea of laughter, exposing his white underside to the amiable rays. Next, an amazing thing happened. The dainty creature stepped closer, albeit cautiously, and rubbed its face against the part of Evander's flank that Lindsey had touched only moments ago, but the amazement didn't stop there.

"Good wolf!" it commented. It spoke! It actually spoke!

The nose-twitchers can speak!

He gasped. After hastily standing up, a toothy grin was impossible to conceal. "You can talk!" he exclaimed.

"Of course, I can! I can also make a clicking noise with my tongue, but my dear Winnie finds it annoying."

"Wow! Well, I think it's cool!" the pup said excitedly. His wagging tail produced a cyclone that prevented the creature's leaf-like ears from staying upright.

"Well, not nearly as cool as talkin' to a dang wolf!" it replied. "She ain't ever gonna believe me when I tell her!"

"Ooo! Can I ask you a question?! Please! Please! Please!" Evander beseeched with his butt raised.

"Sure thing, wolffie."

"I just wanna know. Is it true you eat your own poop?"

The nose-twitcher blinked.

"Uhh... yes, but we have to."

"Why?"

"Food has to go through us twice to get all the nutrients."

"Why?"

"Our guts ain't very efficient I guess."

"Why?"

"I dunno. For some reason, nature made us that way."

"Ohhhhh... Why?"

"Ha, ha! You're certainly filled with questions. What's your name, kiddo?"

"Oh! My name is—"

"EVANDER!" a deep voice bellowed. Before he even swung around, he could already picture Lindsey's mother and father marching toward him with vertical tails. Between their toned physiques was Lindsey who sniffled most dramatically.

"I told you! He doesn't want to play with me!" he asserted, pointing a paw at his desired playmate.

What a crybaby, thought Evander. He always runs to his parents whenever he doesn't get his way. Evander turned back to apologize for the interruption, but the nose-twitcher had disappeared, its goodbye in the form of tiny pellets where it once stood.

"Evander! Come hither!" the Alpha named Travis ordered.

"Yes, sir." The pup dragged himself closer with his own tail between his legs which was the formal way to approach a superior.

"Now, it's my understanding that your parents left you with us so that you can play with Lindsey. Three times you've done this audacious act, and we won't tolerate it any longer. Why won't you play with our son?"

"I... I don't know... sir."

"See, Evander," Travis's mate replied, "we may have accepted that for the first two occasions, but it's time we get answers. You're almost three months old, right? You're a late-springer, but an Alpha pup—especially a descendent of Winston—would never be this shy by the second month. There must be a better explanation, so please, just tell us why you won't play. Lindsey deserves the truth more than anyone."

He doesn't even deserve a lie, Evander thought. He then tossed out a half-truth. "I... just don't wanna play Tag."

"Why not?"

"I just don't." Evander stared at the ground. He couldn't face the Alphas' condemnatory gazes. He drew circles in the dirt as a means of coping with his embarrassment, but that only baffled the Alphas further.

"Why not Hide-and-Seek?"

"Umm... I don't want to play that either, Mrs. Braelyn."

"So you don't want to play at all?" said Travis.

"I know what it is," Lindsey declared. "He doesn't want to play with his kind! He wants to play with the other animals! He's no Alpha... He's an Omega!"

The mention of the lower rank brought Evander's head up instantly. He shot Lindsay a glare. The striped pup always looked for an excuse to make him feel worthless. He wasn't the first pup to call Evander an Omega, but he was, no doubt, the most unrelenting. During the first visit, his parents were quick to correct him, but by the third one, they nearly stopped altogether. Perhaps they were beginning to believe Lindsey.

If his parents start thinking I'm an Omega, they'll think I'm worthless too! Evander thought. I'll prove to these fools who I really am!

"Son, the heir can't be an Omega. That's impossible," Travis contended.

"But he is, Dad! You're just in denial! First, he was playing with the birds! Next, it was the squirrels! Now rabbits! He should just leave the pack and become a rabbit himself!"

"Well, you're a crybaby!" Evander snapped.

"And you're just a rabbit-loving Omega!" Lindsey shot back.

Evander plunged into Lindsey and pinned him down. Travis and Braelyn watched in utter shock as both pups bared their teeth.

"TAKE IT BACK!" Evander demanded.

"Make me!" Lindsay challenged with a smirk.

Later...

High on Mt. Victory, Claudette and Fleet witnessed the fiery claws of the Rockies pull the night closer. Excluding Moonlight Howl Rock, sunsets on Mt. Victory were unparalleled. The couple especially thought so as it reminded them of hope, that the blazing eye of the sky watched over someplace if not the Valley. As if it wagged, the tail of day had become a symbol of optimism keeping them together through some of the worst things a couple could face. When distance tested them, both found solace in the lukewarm glow of twilight. It rendered their desires for each other elastic. Even when its dissolution seemed the most right, the promise of tomorrow carried them forward.

It resulted in the creation of Evander whose unexpected arrival at the den made them trade faces of guilt. As the sun's departure left the horizon inflamed, likewise did Travis's tight grip leave the pup's nape once he was allowed to hit the ground harshly. The pup grimaced, rolling his shoulders in pain, but the Alpha refused to let him take refuge in his relief. He yelled with rancor.

"Sorry... We can't keep doing this! I've had enough!"

"Oh, my gosh! What did he do?!" Claudette inquired as her mate rubbed his head against her stomach, comforting her in advance of what they knew was going to be news of the troubling type.

"Your son embedded several teeth into Lindsey's chest! He's currently with the pack healers..."

Claudette shot a look of exasperation to Evander. Her son responded with a wide bashful smile, which revealed gaps where some of his milk teeth had been.

"Little E!" Claudette exclaimed. "What were you thinking?! That's no way to act!"

"It's his fault!" the pup retorted. His F sound produced a small whistle.

"I don't care! You need to apologize!"

"Save it," said Travis. "This pup... or whatever he is... will not be permitted to see my son again! He's a disgrace! I mean, what is going on here?! I've heard what other families say, and I'm starting to think he'll never be fit for the Pack Leadership!"

"Give him time," Fleet suggested. "Pups fight. It's not like that's unheard of."

"Like I'm going to take a lecture on aggression from you, Northerner," Travis scorned. "Yes, pups fight, but that doesn't mean they should." He squinted his eyes at the tan she-wolf. "Should I believe that Omega blood is making you soft? I take it you're not showing him discipline. Look, I get it. He's your little puppy, but this wolf is going to lead us one day!"

"We appreciate the concern. We're trying our best," said Fleet.

"Yes, we're incredibly sorry," Claudette added.

"Sorry starts with action!" The couple then watched him march down the winding trail. Evander took the opportunity to sneak into his room, which would've been spacious if not for the mountains of small objects leaning against the walls. He tiptoed to the farthest nook and curled into a ball between two of the piles.

"Please don't," Evander urged as his parents entered. "I don't want to hear it."

"Well, you're going to because this is getting out of paw," said Claudette.

"Can't you just leave me alone? I'm actually trying to be nice."

"So why weren't you to Lindsey? You beat him up!"

"Yeah, and I'll do it again!" he yelled, peeling his lips.

"Don't raise your voice at me, young wolf! Come here!"

"No!"

"I said come here!"

"And I said no!"

"Evander, just do it," his father calmly urged.

The pup sighed, then stomped his way toward them with a tight-lipped scowl. It prepared the couple for what would become their son's greatest insult yet.

"You're just like Grandma Eve now! No, you're WORSE!"

Claudette closed her eyes and shook her head. Containing her frustration was nauseating. She could tolerate disrespect if it was in good faith, but comparing her to Eve required all the strength of her will to ignore it. Instinctively, her mate filled the vacuum.

"Son, please just listen. We're just trying to understand what's on your mind."

"No, you don't! You don't care about me!"

"That's obviously not true," his father asserted.

"Caribou scat! You wanna know what's on my mind?! I DON'T WANT TO BE PACK LEADER!"

"You don't have a choice!" Claudette blurted. "So let's end that debate because it's pointless!" Tears began falling down the she-wolf's face. "Your uncle is dead... You're the only eligible member of the royal family... This wasn't some pre-made plan to make you suffer! We were slammed with this! We understand that it's not fair, but it's your duty."

"Because of Pack Law..."

"Yes, Pack Law."

"What's so special about Pack Law that it needs to ruin my life?!"

"It doesn't ruin your life! It is your life now! And as the wolves who gave you your life in the first place, it's about dang time you do as we say! We're your parents!"

"You're not my parents! I HATE YOU!"

"Evander, stop it!"

"I HATE YOU! I HATE YOU! I HATE YOU!" he screamed.

"I SAID STOP IT!" The she-wolf reached to strike him, the first time she had ever felt the need to do so, but her son's foresight presented an opportunity to get his point across. "Ouch!" she yelled. Fleet gasped, and in the second thereafter, sent Evander flying across the room with a powerful swat. The pup landed on one of his piles which destroyed it instantly. The force was enough to knock down most of the adjacent ones, making an enormous mess, but nothing in Fleet's eyes spoiled the floor more than Claudette's blood, the pup's naked enmity dripping from her paw. If the message couldn't get through to them by conventional means, Evander figured a puncture wound had to do.

"Are you okay?!" Fleet asked with bated breath.

"It's nothing. I'm fine," she answered, brushing it off as if a scratch. Pup teeth were notorious for being particularly sharp, but the injury was nowhere near the worst her son could inflict. Nonetheless, she received her son's message. He was willing to put teeth and claw behind his defiance, but what truly astounded her was his lack of hesitation. Both she and Fleet wondered how far his resolve actually was. How was this discord going to end?

As the couple pondered, Evander's breath deepened. Before him, a month's worth of work lay in ruins. His room was filled with thousands of small objects he collected. Most were rocks and crystals he dubbed "ground-stars," but some were litter from human tourists, balls of aluminum foil and fragments of styrofoam cups he called "man-stuff." Hardly any two items in a pile looked the same. Every heap appeared as a miscellaneous grouping, but in fact, the opposite couldn't be more true. Evander had spent days and nights, often without sleep, studying his items in order to categorize them in the most meticulous fashion. His peculiar endeavors were some of many things the pup believed his parents didn't understand. He regarded it as important as any work, and it was his parents' failure to share the same view that gave rise to an island of feelings inside the den, and like an island of volcanic origin, his feelings erupted. The pup wept.

"Oh, no... I… I shouldn't have done that," said Fleet. He began fighting shivers. The Northerner shrunk down into a nook behind him as the dreadful guilt rekindled. He glanced down at his paws. The memory of them disfiguring Claudette's father came back. Fleet tended to avoid disciplinary action. The fear of losing his mind again impelled Claudette to be the dominant parent, so he relegated himself to merely being her support. Although the pup didn't suffer more than the wind being knocked out of him, his cries were reminiscent of Humphrey's. "No… What's wrong with me?" he asked painfully as he placed his forepaws over his face. The pup then took off bawling.

"Evander, wait!" yelled Claudette.

Later...

"Ha, ha, ha! Stop it, Runt! Stop it! I'm gonna pee! Ha, ha!" laughed a she-wolf with fawn steaks.

"Oh, yeah? Well, you better hold your legs tightly together 'cause I'm goin' for the ears!"

"Ha, ha, ha! Nooo! Runt, you're the worst! Ha, Ha! Please! I can't breathe!" Magril pleaded.

"Anything for my sunflower… Whatever you say I do."

"I say my honeyboy should stop teasing me and give this sunflower a kiss."

"Aw, come on, make it a challenge for me," Runt replied with a chuckle.

"Alright, give her the best kiss you've ever given. Right now. Let's do it."

"That's still easy, but I'll take it." Runt lowered his head.

They engaged in a passionate French kiss, moaning back and forth as a chorus of stars began to sing overhead. They separated after three minutes. The impressive twirls of Runt's tongue pushed Magril into heat.

"Oh, gosh, that was amazeballs…"

The two wolves cohabited on the southwestern outskirts of the Grand Pack territory, specifically at a place with stunning rolling fields of flowers. Between two huge patches of fermberry bushes was their den, but a quarter mile northeast, they lounged on a bed of white lilies. The Alpha allowed the Omega to lie his head down on her bulging stomach which he soon caressed with his right forepaw. So dedicated the honeyboy was to his queen that he found pride in fattening her. Magril had grown an addiction to food over the course of their relationship as she loved the way Runt pampered her after every meal. The Omega taught himself how to hunt. He brought to the den anything that Magril had the slightest craving for, and at the height of each food coma, the Omega never passed on the chance for a tickle assault.

"Buzz, buzz, hee, hee!" Runt nibbled the inside of her left ear.

"Ha! Ha! Stop it! Hey…" The she-wolf nudged him back. It caught Runt by surprise.

"Is something wrong?"

"Nothing. Nothing at all. Everything is perfect... I'm just thinking. How about we stroll back to the den and… well… do some pollination."

Tinged with confusion, Magril's companion blushed. His tousled mane appeared to stiffen.

"Pollination…? I don't follow…" Magril dropped one eyebrow while raising the other. Runt gulped in silence.

"Oh, come on, silly. I hate it when you remind me of my old self."

"Umm… Isn't spring over?"

"It doesn't have to be," the Alpha suggested with a smirk. "Not for us." She bit her bottom lip.

"But we're not mates yet."

"Says who?"

"Well… shouldn't we get our families' blessing first?"

"Since when does the most nonconforming wolf in the whole pack care about tradition?" She licked his forehead. "Hello! Is Runt in there? I want pups!" Runt's frown then spread to her own face. "I figured you'd be happy…"

"I am happy!" he assured. "It's just… you're not the only one who's been thinking."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

Suddenly, Runt's ears flickered. He heard panting behind him. He swung his head to see an out-of-breath pup entering the flower fields.

"Hold on, Magril. Someone's here."

"Who?" she replied. The Omega squinted his eyes.

"It looks like Little E. And he's crying!"

The news of Runt's nephew in distress prompted Magril to roll back to her feet, albeit at a sluggish pace. Before she managed to lift her butt off the ground though, the pup ran headfirst into her stomach.

"Oof!" Magril exclaimed. Evander quickly buried himself under her. His ramming hurt, but Magril realized the pup was hurting fundamentally worse. It was obvious he came to them for consolation, so the Alpha sought to provide it. "Aww, Little E… What's the matter? Just tell Aunt Magril. She'll listen." The pup continued mewling. "So will Uncle Runt," she added as her companion got closer. Runt nudged him gently in order to elicit a response.

"I don't belong here," Evander sobbed. "Put me out of my misery... I'm sure Mom and Dad want it that way…"

"Don't say things like that," Magril replied, holding back to urge to shed her own tears. She, more than anyone, could empathize with Evander. Her father, Nars, had abused her as a pup physically and emotionally. While Fleet managed to satisfy Nars at times, Magril was regarded as a disappointment for being female. Her father had not wanted any daughters. The constant fear of his father's wrath eventually led to the loss of most of her voice. She became practically mute, only speaking to wolves she trusted in the softest of whispers. She knew what Evander was feeling, but she couldn't imagine her brother and his mate being nowhere near on the same level as Nars. "I know abusive parents when I see them. Your mom and dad love you."

"But they don't understand you, don't they?" said Runt, cutting in to emphasize that he and his Magril could be trusted.

"No…" he answered.

Runt and Magril were aware he was struggling to fit in. Prior to his parents being more strict, he often came by their den on a weekly basis to pick up ground-stars. Runt often visited a place in the West called Shadow Forest where odd things were always found. (Runt held the title of "King of the Forest" given to him by his grandfather Winston which him the governor of shadow forest made as a Omega-ruled district) The Omega had agreed to give the pup anything of interest, and such were usually rock-like objects that sparkled through the shallow water of creeks.

"We love you, you know that," Runt added. "You'll never be alone."

"Why do they make me feel so worthless…? It's like Pack Leader is all I'm supposed to be…"

"There's nothing worthless about being Pack Leader," said Magril. "It's the opposite of worthless. It's the most important position in the pack! Other pups would kill to be you."

"But it's not me! Don't you get it? They don't care about who I actually am!"

"Runt, look." Magril pointed her paw to the northeast where Claudette and Fleet were approaching fast.

"Hey!" Runt called. "He's over here!"

"I told you he went this way!" Claudette scolded Fleet. She soon gave her brother a hug. "Thank you for watching him."

"It was nothin'. He ran straight toward us."

"He did?"

"Probably missed us. We haven't seen him I think in a moon cycle."

"Well, this is not a visit I scheduled. I need back him home."

Claudette then attempted to move around her brother, but he blocked her with his arm.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. What are you doin'?"

"What's it look like? I'm retrieving my son."

"Wait, let's not be hasty."

"Hasty! I'm giving him all the time he deserves! Look at what he did to my paw!" The tan she-wolf lifted her swollen toes.

"Ouch! He really did that?"

"Yeah, and if he doesn't learn, you're next." She turned to Fleet who was beside her. "Travis is right. We need to discipline him more."

"Hold on. I still think you should leave him be right now."

"Fine. I'll leave him be at home."

"That's not what I'm saying. Maybe it's not the best idea for him to go back to your den."

"Are you crazy?! And I suppose you have a den for him?!"

"Well, obviously. Why not he stay with us?"

Claudette chuckled nervously.

"You're kidding."

"Just for a few days. I'll whip him into shape for ya."

"Is that what you're doing with Magril?" she retorted.

"Hmph! How rude, Claudette!" rebuked Magirl who crossed her arms and pointed her snout away.

"Claudette… I've grown really sick of your contempt," Runt replied. "You always throw me under the stampede and for what? Because I was born late? Because I'm an Omega? It's time you start telling wolves what they can be instead of what they can't. You used to make a big stink about how nobody could accept you for who you truly are, that it was impossible for you to change. Here we have Little E being himself, and you want him to change."

Claudette was taken aback. She didn't think her brother was capable of making a statement so mature.

"To be fair, I didn't have the whole pack on my shoulders back then. Also didn't you literally just say you'll whip him into shape?"

"Yeah, by shape I mean his true self, not your interpretation of it, sis. Can't you see you're making him have an identity crisis? How is that helping him become Pack Leader?"

"Okay, but explain to me how his supposed true self is any better?"

"I haven't spent enough time with your son to answer that question. Let me get to know him, and I'll tell you."

"I don't know… Don't get me wrong. I love his art, but it's not a path forward."

"Staying here could be good for him," Fleet opined. "Claudette, honey, let's give Evander a break." The she-wolf looked back and forth between her mate and brother. She sighed.

"Hmmmm… Oh, alright. Runt... you have a few days to surprise me."

"When have I not?" Runt remarked.

Later…

"I'm sure it was nothing. It was your instinct to protect me."

"you don't understand. Because my dad was hard on me, I'm not a believer in spanking. I would never want to hit our son, but I just did! I swear it was just like what i did to Humphrey."

"Alright... if you feel it was a relapse, it's better to be safe than sorry. You know where to find him."

fleet meets Humphrey who is meditating with his friends

Fleet says, "Funny. Now we have matching bites."

Evander wakes up early thinking that its a requirement