for the nearest caribou heard?” “Tonight,” he said. “Excellent. Well as you may have guessed, as soon as I get word on where the caribou heard is… we all shall go pack hunting!” There were many yelps, barks, and howls of joy with this, this made Aleu’s heart soar like an eagle.

So, Aleu has finally decided to get the pack together for a group hunt, hmmm, that would mean I would have to work faster, thought Raccoon, hiding in the foliage. But what he saw made him angry, another wolf kissing Aleu! I hope I am not too late! After this, Raccoon darted back into the bushes, and disappeared into the night.

Aleu awoke to thirst, and went out to go and get a drink from the creek, she went over to the bushes where she usually took a shortcut until she caught of whiff of something, it was faint, but still there, it was a wolf, none of which belonged to her pack, then she recognized the paw prints left behind. Raccoon, she thought. I wonder what he was doing here.

Ch:4

That very night, Raccoon paced angrily in his den, wondering how he can persuade Aleu to be his mate! Come on Raccoon! Think! But nothing came. He growled at the memory of seeing the other wolf kissing Aleu. Then he got an idea; he will have to eliminate the competition. He chuckled to himself.

The next day, Frost Paws went out to scout again, he didn’t find anything that would give away the caribou heard. He finally found some tracks, but they were old, rabbit tracks, and some mole tracks. So he continued out on the trail and followed the old caribou tracks. After a half an hours walk, he finally came up to a fresh sent. He followed it until he came to a field, full of caribou. He smiled to himself, and left to tell Aleu.

Aleu was resting in the afternoon sun, when Frost Paws came with the news of the caribou heard resting grounds. “Thank you very much Frost Paws,” she said. “Your very welcome,” he replied with a smile and went off to rest somewhere else.

Ch: 5

Hiding in the bushes and shrubs, Raccoon was waiting to get the wolf that was kissing Aleu. He had waited for him to be alone for nearly an hour. Finally, Merlin got up and trotted off into the forest for a cool drink. Perfect! Thought Raccoon. He smiled and slowly rose from his hiding place and followed Merlin into the forest.

Merlin was at the creek taking a nice long drink. Raccoon, hiding behind a bush, waited for the perfect chance to strike. When it seemed like Merlin would be drinking for a while, Raccoon changed the bush he was hiding behind, he crept slowly until he was near a bush that was behind Merlin. Suddenly Merlin lifted his head and took a deep breath, than went to go and get something to eat. Raccoon froze, he didn’t move until he was sure that Merlin hadn’t sensed his presence. He followed Merlin, until he made his catch.

Raccoon saw that Merlin had a rabbit in his sight, and waited for a chance to strike again. When Merlin leaped, Raccoon jumped and knocked him off coarse. “HEY! What the!” Merlin yelled. Before he could finish his sentence, Raccoon hit Merlin on the right temple of the head. The last thing Merlin remembers, was complete darkness suddenly coming. Phase one complete, thought Raccoon. Now I have to plan on how to make phase two work.

Ch:6

The stars came out and the moon was up. Tonight would be the packs’ first group hunt together. But Merlin was nowhere to be seen. She was getting worried. No way would he be gone this long without telling her. She stood up and made a howl, “Will all pack members of the Grey Mountain pack please form an emergency meeting!”

At the meeting, everyone was there, it didn’t take them long to get Aleu’s message. Some were excited about the pack hunt tonight, others had questioning looks, some wondered why Aleu had called this meeting. When Aleu stood up and took her place in the middle of the circle, everyone went silent. “Thank you all for coming on such short notice. We have a problem on our paws. My mate, Merlin, is missing. He hasn’t come back from his drink from the creek. He has been gone for too long. Has anyone seen him?” asked Aleu. She looked around the circle, but all she saw were her members shaking their heads no. She sighed and continued, “Our pack hunt will have to be postponed until Merlin is safely returned. I am sorry. I regret this decision my self, but I need everyone to become a search party. Please, take some time tonight to look for Merlin. We will have our pack hunt when Merlin is safely returned. I apologize,” she said, some were a little frightened with this news, others a little disappointed, but saw that this was indeed important.

“I’ll start at the creek, see if I can pick up anyth--” suddenly every one’s ears perked up, they all heard a howl. There was a message for Aleu. “Aleu! I have your friend, Merlin. If you want him back, you’ll have to come and get him. You have 3 days, or Merlin dies! When you come, come alone! I repeat! Come ALONE!” “Jupiter!” Aleu called. Immediately, Jupiter stepped forward. “ I need you to go to the creek. See what scents you can find, something, or someone out of place.” “Yes Aleu.”

Ch: 6

Everyone was quite shaken by the mysterious message. Aleu finally told the pack everything that Jupiter and she had done while in the other territory, awaiting to meet the pack leader.

“I promise, I will never hide anything from you again,” she said when she finished her story. “It was wrong of me to try and hide it from you.” Some of the pack was astonished about how all this happened, and how they were able to solve the problem. “We forgive you Aleu,” called someone from the other side of the pack. With a clear conscience, Aleu was able to focus on the task at hand. How was she going to get Merlin back alone, without killing those responsible for this outrage?

Raccoon waited patiently for Aleu to arrive, or answer his message. He smiled triumphantly. No way would Aleu let this go, he thought. He knew that he would do anything to keep her mate safe. Suddenly he heard a howl from Aleu, but it was for Gemini, so it was nothing to concern him. He went over to Merlin, who was a little thirsty, sleep deprived, and hungry. Raccoon kept him that way, so that Aleu would agree to anything that he said, to keep him alive. He chuckled. He will have Aleu.

Ch: 7

Earlier, Aleu called for Gemini, hoping that he would be well enough, to come and talk to her. She needed his help and advice. When she received his message back, he said that he would meet her near the east boarder.

Aleu met Gemini again and welcomed him to her territory. “Welcome Gemini. This is my friend Jupiter, as you have met before, and Mirage. She is one of my pack members,” she greeted. “Nice to see you again Aleu, I received your message, and it sounded urgent. What is wrong?” “Well, I sent out one of my pack members to find out where Merlin, my mate, went to, for he had been gone for quite some time. He reported back that he found an interesting scent. The scent of Raccoon.” Gemini listened intently as she continued. “Raccoon has my mate. He says I have three days to come and retrieve him or Merlin dies. But I think there is more than meets the eye here. I need your guidance,” she finished. Gemini was silent for some time. He closed his eyes and thought. Finally after several minutes, he spoke. “I will help you in any way I can. I agree, there is more than what meets the eye here, a very wise leader you are Aleu.”

“I don’t know what he exactly has planned but I know one thing for certain, he wants me to be his mate,” she replied. Gemini closed his eyes and thought again. This time, it didn’t take as long. “ I believe that Raccoon is trying to use Merlin as bait. After you go and retrieve him alone, I am not sure what will happen next. All that I hope is that the great Aniu is keeping him safe.” Aleu nodded in agreement. Today is day one, Merlin has two days to live. I hope we can come up with a plan to save him before day three. “I will call for you when I have some clue of a plan,” said Aleu finally. Gemini nodded and left.

That night, Aleu couldn’t sleep well. She couldn’t help but worry about Merlin’s safety. She would have to come up with something so that she could save him, without becoming Raccoons mate. When the moon was high in the sky, Aleu finally drifted into a troubled sleep.

“Aleu, you have the cunning wolf in you, let it free, and you can save Merlin,” said a voice. Aleu turned and saw a white wolf. She had glossy white fur and kind golden eyes. “Aniu?” asked Aleu hesitantly, the white wolf nodded and howled, her howl was sweet and silky. Aleu joined her in the song. When they were finished, Aniu smiled and howled once more, but this time, mists carried away her spirit.

Aleu awoke to chirping birds near the cave entrance. Finally Aleu had an idea. She looked up at the sky and silently thanked Aniu for her guiding light. She called for Gemini to tell him her plan.

Ch: 7

Day two, thought Raccoon. He turned to Merlin, he was now thin, and he didn’t look well. “Merlin! Get up!” Raccoon ordered. Merlin looked at Raccoon with eyes of tiredness and hatred. “ What do you have against me that you want to use me as bait for?” he asked. “I wanted Aleu before you ever knew her. Before you kissed her, before you asked her out! When she stepped off the ice sheet,” his voice softened “She looked like an angel sent from Aniu above!” Merlin lifted his head and nodded in agreement. But then asked, “ So you wanted