say that about Aleu! She’s just young and naïve, but she has fulfilled Aniu’s prophecy by being ‘the one who is wolf and does not know.’ Besides, we should give her a chance, at least.” 

“Why? So she can lead us to our deaths? Just because you’re showing affection to her doesn’t change the fact that she is nothing more than a tame-born that just happens to look like us. Besides, what would a tame-born yearling know about leading a mighty Clan?”

For once, Scarlet was silent. She has a point . . . what would a yearling with no experience in the wild know? “Well, we’ll just teach her then,” he said calmly after taking a couple of moments to ponder on Riza’s query. “If we teach Aleu over the winter about how to live in our lifestyle, I’m sure she’ll be alpha material by spring!” 

Riza let out a guffaw. “Are you serious? You are just as naïve as your tame-born alpha!” Her eyebrows lowered as her voice began to rise. “We don’t need an alpha by spring, we need a alpha now!” She lifted one of her front black paws and stomped it onto the icy ground. A couple of wolves began to agree with her words, cheering her on. “Winter’s chill is here and without food, we will all perish!” She paused to laugh. “Hell, I betcha that our” – she spoke the next word with a hint of sarcasm – “leader hasn’t even found our source of caribou yet!”

Riza’s cheer squad joined her laughter, but it was soon silenced by the sound of a high feminine howl that filled the air as it came out of the nearby forest. 

“Hmm,” Riza lowered her eyelids as a smirk began to grow on her face. “Speaking of our ‘leader’, here comes your girlfriend, Scarlet,”

Ignoring the comment from the gray and black she-wolf, Scarlet turned to the direction of the voice with his mouth open wide in a grin. “Aleu! She’s coming back!” He returned the call, which also caught the attention of the rest of the Clan. 

Suddenly, the mousy-brown quarter-wolf and her two navy companions leaped out of the forest in a flurried rush. “Scarlet!” Aleu howled back in happiness. Nuk and Yak quickly glanced at each other, winking in unison at the sight of their red friend and his love for their kind yearling alpha. The three of them leaped back onto the slab of frozen water, panting with smiles on their faces.

Everyone began to barrage the three wolves with a slew of questions, both important and not so important. 

“Is it safe for us to live? It’s not too far from here, is it?”

“What does the land look like? I hope it has everything we need!” 

“When can we go there?”

“Where’s the food? I’m hungry!” 

Aleu surprisingly took charge, hushing the Clan. “Quiet, everyone! I will tell you everything once you are silent!” As soon as every wolf was quiet, she continued with her usual excited yet calm tone. “We three have seen past the forest up to the edge of the mountains. The land on the mountains is rocky and full of caves, just like your previous territory. There’s even a waterfall, a reflecting pond, and even a river nearby – a perfect place to quench your thirst.”

Riza stepped forward, hoping that the young “tame-born” could answer her question. “What about the caribou? You were chosen to become our alpha to lead us to the caribou, so have you found it yet?” 

Aleu shook her head with her blue eyes closed. “Not yet, Riza, but I hope to continue searching until we find the herds.”

Riza’s smirk returned to her face, pleased with the yearling’s response. That’s right, Aleu. Keep searching for the caribou – our source of life. Heh, you’ll never find the caribou anyway! You’re so clueless and still a tame-born, and you’ll only cause it to run farther away from us, allowing us to starve! Your reign over us will not save us . . . unless I overtake you myself, we can still survive without your help! 

If you can’t find them, I bet I could do it . . . once I overthrow you!

“But I did smell other prey out there!” Nuk added, licking his lips as he spoke the names of what he smelled. “Rabbit, mouse, salmon, herring, fox, raccoon, squirrel, beaver – that’s what I could make out so far, but still no caribou yet.” 

“How far is this new place anyway?” The light gray form of a curious Lorna softly approached Aleu, much to the anger of her older sister who was blocked by Scarlet, Sumac and Yak.

“It’s only about a mile or two, I think,” Aleu replied. “Why do you ask . . .” She paused, realizing that she didn’t know the young wolf’s name. “Umm, may I have your name? I’m afraid I never learned yours.” 

“It’s Lorna,” She gave Aleu a small grin, then returned to a worried frown. “I asked because I’m worried about my mom.” She turned towards the resting form of the dark-brown and white she-wolf, watching her massive belly rise up and down while she breathed. “She due to give birth soon, and . . . and . . .” A tear formed in the corner of her eyes. “I don’t know if she can make the trip if we move quickly. She hobbles really slowly now and I’m scared that she’ll be too slow to catch up with the rest of the Clan! I can’t leave her here alone!”

“Oh . . .” Aleu saw the worry in Lorna’s eyes and remembered seeing the pregnant she-wolf when she made her acceptance speech. Her piercing eyes softened as she leaned close to the female, drying her tears with her own tongue in a sign of friendship. “It’s okay, Lorna. You won’t have to leave her behind – we are a Clan together, so no one will get left behind,” She heard Riza growl in the background and gave her a returning glare to silence her. “Even if we are to be slowed down, we must make it together.” 

Lorna, now finished crying her tears, put on a grin. “Thank you, Aleu.” She bowed her head and then returned to her mother’s side. Aleu returned the smile and then turned to Scarlet, giving him a nod.

“All right, let’s begin to travel to the mountains tonight.” A flood of murmurs went through the Clan, but were hushed as Scarlet continued. “It may take us a couple of days to get there, especially since we may have to stop many times to rest, but like Aleu said, no one will get left behind. Nuk, Yak,” he turned to Aleu’s accomplices. “did you mark the trail that you traveled to the river pool?”  

They nodded. “I remember the smells and the marked path too,” Aleu added. “Nuk and Yak told me what they were all about as we traveled. The pine needle scent against its bark – that’s the markers that I remember surrounding the beaver pond! You can’t miss them!”

The red wolf nodded. “Good. Then you two, and Sumac too, will lead us there.” 

“Scarlet,” Aleu spoke up to the male. “I’ll stay behind with Lorna and her mother. You watch the middle of the pack, making sure that everyone stays on track.”

“Are you sure?” Yak asked Aleu in confusion. “You are the Alpha of the Clan, so you should be up front with the rest of us!” 

She nodded her head. “I’m sure. Someone needs to make sure Lorna’s mother is well protected, and who else would be better than your new Alpha?”

“She has point, Yak,” Nuk agreed. “Nothing bad should happen to Dahlia if Aleu’s with her. Right?” He turned to his much smaller beige friend. 

“Oh, yeah.” Sumac followed suit, with his drool-covered tongue sticking out. “Aleu and Lorna can protect the back of the pack.”

“Then it is agreed,” Aleu settled the situation, but also brought up another problem. “But what about Riza?”  

At the sound of her name, the gray and black she-wolf growled. “What about me, huh? Are you afraid that I may attack you or try to escape the Clan?”

The four wolves and the quarter-wolf nodded in unison. “It’s for your own safety, Riza,” Scarlet looked at her piercing eyes, then glanced back at Aleu. “I’ll put her near the front with Nuk, Yak and Sumac so that she’s far away from you. I’ll help watch her actions as well.” He nodded and leaned his nose to hers for a quick touch. “I promise.” 

“Thanks, you guys,” The Alpha beamed with pride that she had such good friends. She elegantly leaped off of the ice block, landed onto the rocky shoreline of the new island and turned to the rest of the Clan. “Come on. We have a long road ahead of us.” She moved her head in a gesture, pointing her nose towards the forest. “What are you guys waiting for? Let’s go!”

At the sign of Aleu’s confidence and spirit of adventure, led by Scarlet and the Trio, the rest of the Kawa Clan followed their leader until Lorna and her mother slowly limped off the ice several minutes later. After everyone was accounted for, the Clan got into their traveling order: Yak, Nuk, and Sumac put Riza near them up in the front of the formation; Scarlet was near the front of the middle section, where the younger and middle-aged wolves of the Clan would travel; and finally, Aleu accompanied Lorna, Dahlia, and a couple of older wolves in the back of the pack, making sure that none of the slower pack-members were left behind.  

Scarlet looked back at Aleu and the five other wolves that were with her. “Are you ready back there?”

“We’re ready back here!” Aleu replied after allowing Dahlia to lean up against her body and her daughter’s.

“We’re ready too, Scarlet!” Sumac said, stretching his legs with his other two companions while also keeping a close eye on the rebellious Riza. “Shall we go then?”

Before Scarlet and Aleu could answer, a loud crash drowned out the excitement. Everyone turned to the sound behind them, watching the slab of ice that had brought them to their new home break apart as it smashed against a sharp shore cliff and split into many different pieces that began to float away from the shore. As the small ice pieces headed back towards the open sea that was between their old territory and their unfamiliar home, mixed emotions swept through the Clan as they watched on; a nearby raven cawed a cry into the air, making the