the male knew that she wanted to hear more. “Nava always seemed to hide the facts about his dreams from the rest of his Clan. He never wanted them to learn about the terrible visions that Aniu sent him, so he would maintain his calm, wise demeanor and usually tell me the truth of what gave him chills at night.” 

“So, he knew about the ambushes?” She gasped after realizing that she said too much. “Oh, I’m sorry! I shouldn’t have said that.” She lowered her ears at her previous actions, hoping that Scarlet wouldn’t be too mad at her knowing about his father’s hardships that he had witnessed.

At the sound of those words, Scarlet’s back hairs spiked up. He hoped to never hear about those again, but apparently this quarter-wolf found out about those terrible times a few years ago. “It’s okay, Aleu,” His ears and head lowered. “I suppose you would find out sooner or later,” he growled under his breath, then quickly calmed down and sighed. “Yeah, he knew, but he always thought that he shouldn’t interfere with the natural flow of the grand design. The loss of many of the others hurt him terribly, but he had a feeling that this was all a part of Aniu’s almighty plan for the Kawa. ‘Everything happens for a reason,’ he would always tell me. I have learned to follow that all my life, especially since I was spared by the raids.” He sighed again as a tear dripped onto the dirt ground under his white paws. 

“I see . . .You had a purpose here to the Kawa in the near future,” Aleu told him. “That’s why you were saved. If it wasn’t for you, I’d still be a clueless part-wolf who wouldn’t have a single clue on being an Alpha.” She giggled a bit and nuzzled him with her nose against his neck. “I had always thought my place was with a human in my hometown; when I wasn’t adopted that day over a year ago, I never would have realized that it happened for a reason – to lead a wild wolf pack to caribou. I never have imagined things would happen like this.”

“Ah, Aniu works in mysterious ways, Aleu,” Lorna had just walked by them and overheard the Alpha’s words. As the two looked back at her, the light gray chuckled. “I’m sure you’ll learn more about her soon enough. Winter is her most dominant season, so don’t be afraid if she contacts you more often during the next couple of months until spring.” Her ears quickly pricked up as she remembered why she had originally approached them. “Oh, Aleu! I almost forgot. The rest of the Clan is ready to travel. We await only your word.” 

“Thanks, Lorna,” Aleu’s head quickly bobbed in a short bow as she watched her head back to the safety of her brown and white dam.

Scarlet sighed as he and the Alpha stood up and began to walk towards the rest of the Clan. “She’s a great sister, huh? Too bad her twin’s such a bad apple most of the time.” 

Sister? Aleu thought as she stopped in her tracks, but the truth quickly clicked. That’s right; Scarlet and Lorna are both children of Nava! They are half-siblings, both by different mothers. I almost forgot about that!

“Her twin? I don’t think I’ve heard about her, have I?” Aleu asked, twitching her ears side to side in confusion. 

“I’m sure you have – Riza is Lorna’s older sister by a few minutes,” The male replied as he turned Aleu’s attention to the dark gray female – she was causing trouble, as usual, trying to convince other wolves in the Clan to join her in overthrowing their tame-born leader. “If you haven’t noticed, she’s a lot like Niju – ruthless, selfish, and quite dark-hearted. Not many other wolves here know this – not even Riza or Lorna have obtained this knowledge – but Niju also was a child of Dahlia . . . her first-born, actually. She was with another male before Nava – his sire was a loner wolf, the former Alpha of the Bear Clan who was overthrown by his own Clan. In revenge, he stole away Dahlia one night and took advantage of her, leaving with his seed sowed within her. She birthed Niju a couple of moons later, hoping that something good would come from this terrible act that was beyond her own control; however, Niju was as dark as his father was, with his eyes set on overthrowing Nava and controlling the Kawa as their Alpha. Four years passed since his birth, and you and your father arrived to save us from his rebellious ideas and to have Aniu’s prophecy come to pass.”

“I can see the resemblance,” Aleu continued to walk beside Scarlet as they slowed down by the rest of the Clan. “I’m surprised that such a kind wolf like Dahlia could have children like Niju and Riza.” She shuttered slightly as she remembered the haunting appearance of the navy and white Niju and the way he nearly ended both Nava’s life and her own for his own ruthless intentions. “I suppose it was for a reason, just like you said, Scarlet.”  

“Perhaps . . .” Scarlet nodded with a slight smile as they continued their leisurely promenade.

By the time the two of them reached the rest of the pack, the wolves were in their traveling formation again, awaiting Aleu’s orders. “Nuk, Yak,” she turned to the large navy-gray and the faded navy-gray wolves near the front of the formation. “Did you refresh the trail to the mountain lake last night?” 

“Yes, we did,” Yak nodded.

Nuk stepped forward. “Would you like us and the lead team to escort you there, Aleu?” 

“Sure thing, Nuk, but,” The quarter-wolf smiled. “you should lead all of us there. I’m sure we’re all quite parched with thirst by now.” Other wolves nodded in agreement – they were all thirsty and without water, dehydration would cause some of the wolves to be unable to travel much longer.

Yak and Nuk looked at each other and smiled. “We’re ready to go then,” They walked over to the front team where Sumac and Riza awaited them. 

Scarlet trotted to the larger, middle group, and Aleu met up with Lorna, Dahlia and the elders in the back pack. Once the leaders of each group nodded back at each other, Aleu made the call.

“Let’s head for our new home, guys!” 

With cheers of excitement, the lead group led the way with the others pacing their way close behind them. Traveling as the sun made its trip to the top of its invisible arc-shaped path, the Kawa Clan passed through branches of trees, shrubs and bushes of many types, and random woodland creatures that also were beginning their morning routine like clockwork. After about a half-hour or so of steady jogging and trotting, Aleu heard a couple of howls from the front pack. Recognizing it as the Trio, she signaled her group to stop and ran quickly to the front of the group; Scarlet did the same thing with his group and joined Aleu and the lead pack. They stopped in awe as they realized why they had halted.

“We’re . . . here!” Aleu murmured as the glow of the late-morning sunlight hit the water’s edge, causing a translucent rainbow to arch near the waterfall’s cliff. The other wolves in the Clan followed the five leaders out of the forest’s end and into the grassy shoreline beside the lake, gasping with sheer wonderment at the place their leader had led them. 

“It’s beautiful,” Lorna said to Aleu, her eyes lit up in amazement. “It’s better than I ever pictured it to be! This is like . . . like . . .”

“Paradise . . .” Scarlet completed her statement, turning beside him and gazing once again into Aleu’s azure and gold eyes. “Pure paradise.” The way he looked at her made it seem as if he wasn’t talking about their new home, but about the elegant yearling that was in front of him. 

“Yeah,” The quarter-wolf softly agreed, returning the gesture as if no one else was watching. “It is Paradise . . . We’ve found our Clan’s safe Paradise, at last.” Their wet noses began to inch closer to each other for a loving nuzzle . . . until a loud cough ended the tender moment.

“So, Aleu,” The coughing voice began to speak, revealing herself as Riza as she pushed her way through the crowd of relieved lupines. “It seems I may have been wrong about you.” Her voice was calm, but her tone made Aleu slightly shudder with worry. “You’ve led us to a safe haven, just like you said you would . . . but what about our food?” A couple of wolves barked in agreement as the dark gray continued. “Just a meager kill of rabbits won’t be enough for us to last the winter, so when will you lead us to our caribou, just like the Great Aniu prophesized, huh?”  

The noise of the opposing wolves almost made Aleu want to break down and cry, but she knew she had to keep her cool and not let her fellow Kawa see how she really felt about the situation. “In due time, Riza,” she responded calmly with a voice of maturity. “We should bless this land first, settle down and take note of the land around us. We have no idea what else could be here, so we must study and learn about else could be living with us so that we can find the herds.”

She led the wolves around the lake’s edge, causing them to form a barrier around the shore. Lorna passed by her older sister, giving her a quick glance; Riza growled quietly as she followed the others, observing her naïve leader’s actions as she spoke her blessings to the spirits above. 

“O Great Aniu,” Aleu prayed aloud, standing with her beige ankles in a shallow part of the lake in front of the others. “You have helped lead and guide us to this place of beauty, far from the barren lands of the river where we once gathered and thrived with your blessings.” These words caused a few whispered murmurs from some of the wolves and a slight tear from Scarlet. “Now, we thank you for our safe travels and ask for you to bless us now on our quest to survive the upcoming winter and find the caribou that sustains life for us all.”

She lowered her head and closed her eyes, pausing for a silent prayer to Aniu herself. Please, Aniu . . . Give me the strength to endure this lifestyle that you have wished for