My name is Soto.
I was the leader of my pack—strong and respected. I had a mate whom I loved deeply and four little pups who filled our days with joy.
We were happy, a united family in harmony with nature.
Until the humans arrived.
At first, they began taking our prey, reducing our chances to hunt. But the worst wasn't the hunger; the worst came later.
The humans started hunting us. They didn't care about our families, our young, or our lives.
To them, we were nothing but trophies.
Despite the chaos, my pack managed to escape unscathed in our first encounter with humans.
However, it wasn't a complete victory.
My mate was gravely injured, and my little pups... they didn't survive.
I tried to stay strong, even as the pain and agony consumed me from within.
I didn't want to cry—not in front of the others. My mate, though still alive,
was too weak. Her body fought, but her wounds were deep, preventing her from recovering.
I clung to hope, but even she knew the end was near.
One night, when she was barely hanging on, she looked at me with those eyes that once radiated life and love.
With her final breath, she made me promise something.
"Soto, if I don't survive, I want you to bring a human child. Make them understand what it's like to lose everything. Make them feel our pain."
Her request chilled me, but I couldn't refuse. I promised her I would do it. Despite my efforts to save her, my mate succumbed to her wounds.
In my solitude, I couldn't hold back anymore. I cried. I cried until I felt the weight of my loss crushing me.
I shared my pain only with Lenny, the most sensible member of my pack.
I knew that if the others found out, they would mock my grief, and there was no time for pointless disputes.
The priority was clear: to find the human baby that would fulfill my beloved's last wish.
I entrusted this mission to Diego,
my most trusted companion. However, his slowness and lack of determination began to frustrate me.
I reached the point of threatening him, telling him that if he kept delaying,
he might end up as our dinner instead.
I knew we had to migrate north, away from these lands stripped of resources, but I couldn't abandon my mission.
The pain of my loss consumed me, and the nights became endless. I couldn't sleep. The guilt tormented me,
constantly reminding me that I had failed as a leader, as a father, and as a mate.
Was I truly worthy of being an alpha male? How could I protect my pack if I couldn't even protect my own family?
Finally, the moment I had long awaited arrived. We found the human baby.
My heart filled with a strange mix of joy and rage. Seeing it,
I remembered the happiness I felt when my pups were born. But this little one wasn't a blessing; it was an instrument of revenge.
As I looked at it, I wondered: Where is your father now, little one?
The one who always protects you? Why isn't he here to save you?
When I was about to sink my claws into it, I realized it was all a trick. That sloth was mocking me! Fury overtook me, and I swore he would pay for his insolence.
What I never imagined was Diego's betrayal. The one I trusted the most turned his back on me for a mammoth and a sloth.
Those animals are nothing but food! I couldn't believe what I was seeing.
Diego, my companion, my brother in the pack, had betrayed our bond.
Despite my anger, I didn't lose sight of my goal. However, the distraction cost me dearly.
The mammoth attacked me with brutal force, impaling me with three thick ice spikes. I fell to the ground,
wounded but not defeated. My vision blurred, but in my mind, there was only one promise:
"Diego... you will pay with blood for your betrayal."
Even as I felt death calling me, my rage and desire for vengeance kept me alive. If I managed to survive,
I would not rest until all of them—that mammoth, that sloth, and above all, Diego—felt my wrath.
𝙴𝚗𝚍︎