Aleu reassured him. “Maybe we won’t find them right away, but they’re here . . . somewhere.”

Sumac lifted his head, sniffing the air. “Aleu, it seems that Nuk and Yak are returning. Shall you eat your share of meat now while it’s still fresh?” 

Aleu shook her head. “No. The Clan should eat first – especially you two. I’ll find something to eat when the sun is up.”

Nuk and Yak arrived to the rest of the Clan, just as Scarlet and Lorna stood up. “But Aleu, you need your strength!” Lorna argued. “The Alpha has always taken their share first, and you need it the most too!” 

“She’s right, Aleu,” Scarlet agreed. “It’s the way of the Wolf Clan hierarchy: Alphas eat first, then the betas and others; finally, the omegas – the lowest wolves – eat whatever is left over, even if it is only meatless bones. That’s the way we’re always done it for many years.”

“But it’s not fair!” Aleu stomped a paw on the ground in a tantrum, causing everyone to look at her. “It’s not fair, it’s not fair, it’s not fair!”  

“You’re right, ‘Leader.’ It’s not fair at all, is it?” The dark voice of Riza caused Lorna and Dahlia to lower their ears. “But then again, you should know that already, right?”

“Huh? Riza . . .” Aleu murmured, calming herself by sitting with her head lowered, but the dark gray continued to prove her point. 

“You thought your old life as a ‘tame-born’ was hard enough, eh? You thought it was unfair to look wild in a world that doesn’t take kindly to wolves, right? Well, guess what, honey? It’s not fair out here either! And I should know as well as any other wolf out here.” Riza concluded, giving the yearling a glaring growl. “And besides, the upcoming winter will destroy you if you keep acting like that.” She let out a murmur under her breath, “I hope the winter really does destroy you, ‘tame-born’! You don’t stand a fighting chance out here without your daddy here to save you! Heh!”

Scarlet let out a sigh. “I hate to say it, but . . . Riza’s right.” Aleu’s ears pricked up in shock. “It’s true: the winter will definitely take it out of you if you keep saying that things aren’t fair. Life is never fair . . . and I should know.” Scarlet had a sad look on his face as his head lowered. “But that doesn’t mean we should give up hope.” Aleu began to walk up to the red wolf, sitting beside him.  

“I know,” Aleu raised her head, understanding her duty. “We shouldn’t give up now. The caribou is out there . . . and as Alpha, I say that things should change. Everyone else is just as important as I am – each member of our Clan is essential to our survival, whether we are purebred or not.” A group of younger wolves agreed, letting out a few quick barks. “Well, this food isn’t going to stay fresh forever, you know.” She motioned her paw to the small stack of rabbit kill and allowed the hungry to eat, no matter what position they held.

The late-night feast had begun and the Alpha was content, lying underneath the safety of a tall pine tree. The sound of tearing bloody rabbit flesh against sharp canine teeth began to fill the air, making the aroma flow through the quarter-wolf’s nostrils and the din flood into her ears. She closed her eyes and let out a shutter; she had never killed an animal before . . . let alone eat its raw meat either. Scarlet, who had already eaten his fill, approached the laid-down female and dropped a small portion of rabbit meat in front of her. 

“For you, Aleu,” he smiled, not noticing her slight look of disgust. “I thought you might be a little famished, especially after allowing the others to eat first.”

“Uh, no thanks, Scarlet,” she said, still smelling the fresh meat and scent of death within a paw’s distance of her nose. “You go ahead and eat.” 

“What? Haven’t you ever had rabbit before?” The male asked her.

She nodded, afraid that she would be ridiculed for her response. “Nope. Papa and I usually ate straps and dried meat that my mother’s family would give us, so we never had to hunt for food. It wasn’t much, but it was enough. Papa never really taught me anything about being a wolf . . . especially since he kept that a secret from me since I was born.” 

“Ah, that’s right – you’re still new to the wolf lifestyle. I suppose living the tame life had spoiled you quite a bit.” He let out a slight chuckle.

“Yeah, I guess it has, huh?” Aleu joined in his laughter. 

“Sorry, I had forgotten about that. You know, it’s not that bad really.” Scarlet informed Aleu on the meat. “The first bite’s the worst if you’re new to fresh kill, but it’s tender and good. Go ahead and try some. It’ll keep you going for a while at least.” He used his white nose to nudge the meat closer to the light-brown female.

With curiosity, she sniffed it, quickly throwing her head back at the slowly-rotting meat; but somehow, she gathered her courage and tore a small piece of fur and flesh with her teeth, chewing it and trying hard not to gag at the taste. After swallowing that test piece, she wanted more! She began to quickly wolf up the remainder of the meat, much to the calm happiness of Scarlet. 

“Wow, this isn’t that bad after all!” Aleu exclaimed after finishing her meal. She licked her blood-stained lips and teeth before letting out a yawn. “Thank you, Scarlet, for thinking about me. You didn’t have to do that.”

“Just like you didn’t have to allow the others to eat first,” he yawned, stretching his legs and preparing for sleep. “I suppose we’ll rest until sunrise?” 

Aleu nodded. “Then we’ll follow Nuk and Yak’s trail to our new home.” She yawned again as other wolves followed in yawning. “Good night.” She laid her head down upon her forelegs and had pleasant dreams for the next few hours.

- - - - - 

The sky was dark and cloudy, shaded with navy. Neither the moon nor the stars were in sight above her. The terrain was rocky where she stood, but she had no idea where she was . . . except she knew she was about halfway upon a mountain of some sorts. She lifted her nose into the air, trying to smell something or someone that she could remember. An unfamiliar scent of a moving herd of creatures hit her nostrils; her ears pricked up as the sound of vibrating hooves coming from about a mile or so away. The sound was so similar to something that she had heard in a previous dream, so there was only one thing it could be: the herd of caribou! Her instincts told her to climb, so she did automatically, sensing that the sound and smell were coming from the other side of the mountain.

The feel of the rocks against her claws as she moved forward, one step after another. The only sounds that were audible were her steady panting and the nervous pounding of her heartbeat. Onward, onward she climbed, until a caw filled the air; it was a dark raven, circling around her light-brown form. 

“A raven?” She gasped, recognizing the familiar avian. “What do you want from me?” She heard her voice echo softly; the quarter-wolf felt as if her body was out of her own control in this world. The raven only cawed back, flying past her and landing at the mountain’s apex.

She followed the bird, having a gut feeling that this raven was the same one that helped lead her to her destiny both in and out of her dreams before; once she made a few more steps, she was halted by a sudden rush of snowy wind that hit her head-on. She grunted at the force of the blow as she attempted to clutch the rocky surface beneath her using her claws. They made a screeching noise as the gale began to nudge her body backwards, for her strong claws weren’t enough to keep her stationary on the mountain. She slipped but continued to stand her ground, but it wasn’t enough. A scream of panic escaped from her lips as the snowy wind, now joined with a thin layer of misty fog, pushed her off of the edge of a nearby cliff. 

She began to fall into the darkness, trying to remain on the cliff, but her legs weren’t long enough to reach it. She screamed again as the darkness began to engulf her figure and the sound of a howling wolf joined an ominously evil-sounding chuckle of someone she had met once before . . .

- - - - - 

She let out a gasp as her head quickly jerked from her forelegs, panting in fear of the dream’s ending. That dream was anything but pleasant . . . Aleu thought. The noise of a morning howl helped her relax as a sigh escaped from her lips. She stretched her legs, fully waking up as several other wolves also began to get ready for the homestretch journey to their new home. The rising sunlight gently kissed against her fur, allowing it to show in its true mousy-brown glow. She closed her eyes and leaned her head backwards, relaxing as the rays warmed her and allowed her to focus on the duty she had yet to complete.

“Morning, beautiful,” A relaxing voice gave her a fright as she jerked her head around to the sound, soon realizing that the greeting was from Scarlet. “Did you sleep well, Aleu?” 

“Scarlet! You scared me!” She heard him let out a small giggle at her reaction to his voice, but after she calmed down, she answered back. “I slept well, thank you.”

“Oh, really? I could have sworn that I saw you tossing and turning around as you were sleeping during the night.” The mud-red wolf gave her a friendly nuzzle. “Is everything okay? You woke up so loudly.”  

“Everything’s fine, Scarlet,” Aleu lied. She paused for a moment before giving in; Scarlet had raised an eyebrow at her response, almost as if he could sense that Aleu was feeling tense about something. “All right. I suppose things weren’t exactly too good last night. I had a dream . . . and to be honest, it really scared me.”

“I see,” Scarlet sat down beside her, his ears against his neck. “You really are like my father.” The reply peaked the Alpha’s curiosity. She said not a word, but the male knew that she