lot of attention to Rallan…” Lily pointed out, staring into Typhoon’s eyes seriously, “I want you to pay attention to your other pups as well… Rallan isn’t the only one who merits love… I want to know you care for the rest of your children…”

Typhoon gasped and looked at Lily. His eyes reflected that he was clearly in a state of shock by what she had just said to him. He nuzzled her neck and face and stared at her seriously in her eyes.

“Lily! How could you think that of me! You’ve known me for easily over a year now and you should know how affectionate I am!” Typhoon retorted, trying to prove his love for his children to his mate, “Of course I care about them; I care about all of my pups dearly!” Though maybe not as dearly as Rallan, but Lily doesn’t need to know that…

“Good…” Lily whispered and kissed him gently, “I love you, Typhoon…”

“I love you too, Lily…”

Lily leaned her head against Typhoon’s shoulder, sighing softly in relaxation as she did so. The two loving parents looked out of the entrance of the den where they lay, watching over their five pups with pride and joy. However, Typhoon continued to watch Rallan more often than any of the other pups, a grin slowly spreading onto his face. He already had his eldest son’s future planned out for him and he’d do anything to make sure it went according to his plans.

As for the rest of my pups? Eh, they can get lost for all I care… Rallan is the only one who truly matters to me… Typhoon thought bitterly and cruelly to himself, his grin slowly curling into one of slight malice, but quickly returned to normal.

But what the future held in store for Rallan was unknown to him, to his father and mother, and to everyone else.

Chapter 3

            Three months flew by like they were leaves in a large gust of autumn wind. The five pups grew larger and slowly, the pups began to split. Although they did play together on occasions, they became separated as Rallan and Rayne both struggled for control as a leader. Eventually, Varim followed Rallan and Snow and Summer followed Rayne. Rallan also became good friends with the other pups in their pack, such as Krystal, Captain, an orphan that Talon took in named Spirit, and Winter, one of the daughters of another pair within the pack. He also made friends with Drake, Chronos, Hunter, and Valley.

“Hey, Ral!” Drake called to him, catching Rallan’s attention as he ran up to him and Varim, “Whatcha up to today?”

“Nothing much Drake,” Rallan told him, shrugging his shoulders, “Probably gonna head down to the river, seeing as it’s so hot out.”

“Yeah I agree, what, with it being summer and all… I hate summer…” Drake muttered and walked alongside his friend, “Too hot out for my taste, you know what I mean?”

“Yeah, that’s why Varim and I can be found there often around this time!” Rallan replied with a chuckle and nudged his brother, “Right Varim?”

“Yeah, more often than not,” Varim answered, somewhat timidly. Varim wasn’t as open or sociable as Rallan was.

As they approached the river, they saw Hunter there, trying to catch the fish that jumped out. They watched him snap at one and miss, almost falling into the cool water.

“Hey Hunter!” Rallan shouted to him and watched Hunter jump in surprise, falling face-first into the river.

Rallan, Varim, and Drake laughed as they watched the brown pup pull himself out of the water, his fur soaking wet. He shook off and growled softly at them, a smile on his face.

“That wasn’t funny guys!” Hunter shouted back to them, turning back to his fishing, “This isn’t as easy as it looks! Wanna give it a try, Ral?”

“Sure,” he replied, shrugging as he walked up beside Hunter, “Now then, my Dad showed me how to do this… You just time your strike and then y-”

Rallan was cut off in the middle of his sentence as he felt Hunter place a paw on his back. He suddenly realized what was going on just as Hunter pushed him forward, the cold water rushing over his body as he plunged in, head-first. He made his way to the surface and climbed back onto the bank, dripping wet. Hunter, Varim, and Drake were having a fit of laughed.

“Heh, very funny, guys…”

Rallan shook his pelt off and growled playfully at Hunter, tackling him. The two pups rolled about on the ground for a moment before Rallan was pinned underneath Hunter.

“You need some practice, Ral!”

“Says you.”

Hunter laughed and kept Rallan held firmly down. The gray and white pup struggled underneath his friend and tried to get up, only causing more laughter from their on-lookers. On the other side of the river, a brown female pup walked around, gathering up herbs. She spotted the five boys and shook her head.

“Easy boys… Don’t play too rough! I don’t wanna use my medic skills this early!”

“What medic skills? You’re still in training, Spirit!”

At Hunter’s remark to Spirit, Rallan took his friend’s momentary distraction and pushed him off, getting to his feet with a laugh.

“I may still be in training, but one day I’ll be the one thing saving you from death!” Spirit shot back, a satisfactory smirk on her face.

“Spirit, don’t you have herbs to go gather?” Rallan asked.

“Yeah, I do. Thanks Ral. See you guys later!”

Without another word, Spirit ran off. Rallan chuckled and turned back to Hunter, intent on pinning his friend back. Just as he leaped at him, Typhoon came up to him and grabbed Rallan’s small body in his mouth, holding him back and walking off with him.

“Aw, Dad! Can’t I go back and play?” Rallan asked, trying to fight his way out of his father’s mouth.

“No son…” Typhoon muttered, his voice muffled by Rallan’s form in his maw, “Today, your training begins…”

“Training? Training for what?”

Typhoon walked Rallan into a clearing a good distance away from the rest of the pack. He set his son down on the ground and stared seriously down at him. Near the clearing was a small brook, which Typhoon had chosen to use for later trainings. For now, they’d start with the basics.

“Rallan, I’m going to shape you to grow up into the perfect wolf!” Typhoon said with hope and pride, “How would you like to be the best wolf out there?”

“I’d love to, Dad!” Rallan said happily, bouncing up and down with excitement.

“Alright son, just calm down!” Typhoon said, laughing slightly, “Now, for starters, we’ll need to see what you can do… I’ve seen you pin all of your siblings easily, so we can skip pouncing lessons. How about fighting, let me see what you’ve got… C’mon, attack me.”

Rallan grinned and crouched down low. After preparing himself for a moment, he leaped at his father, grabbing onto his muzzle and scratching and biting it weakly. Typhoon raised Rallan up off the ground and stared in shock at his son’s pathetic attempts to hurt him. Sighing softly, Typhoon shook his head, easily tossing Rallan gently to the ground.

“Son, that was pathetic…” Typhoon blatantly admitted, “We’re gonna have to get your strength up. Now, claw that tree.”

Typhoon pointed to a nearby oak tree. Rallan stared at it, then looked back at his father.

“But Dad, do I have to attack it?” he asked, somewhat confused by his father’s requested course of action.

“Rallan…” Typhoon said softly, lowering his head so he stared eye-to-eye with his son, “Do you want to be an impressive wolf; a role-model to everyone you meet?”

“Uh-huh…” Rallan said, nodding quickly.

“Then do as I say and attack the tree!” Typhoon said, raising his voice to a near shout, becoming irritated with his son’s lackadaisical personality.

Rallan yelped slightly in shock and fear and ran over to the tree. He began hacking away at the bark, leaving four, small scratches in the wood every time. Typhoon grinned and watched his son build up his strength slowly. He was determined to change Rallan from his current personality to a wolf who’d take orders and execute them faithfully, no matter the consequences.

“Good son… Before you know it, you’ll be a perfect wolf in no time…”

            For four long, dreary months of Rallan’s life, he was trained non-stop every single day. Whether it was honing his strengths, learning new battle stances and techniques, learning the medicinal properties of some plants, learning how to lead soldiers into combat effectively and strategizing for battles, or learning to memorize the layout of the territory he was in, Rallan was always constantly worked by Typhoon. Typhoon threatened that if he ever complained of being overworked, that he’d relinquish his trainings.

In fear of losing his father’s love and respect, as well as failing in all he’d worked so hard for, he kept his mouth shut and his strength and stamina up in order to meet his father’s challenges. They started from simple tasks, like catch a fish or leave an inch thick mark in a tree, to harder tasks, such as find a plant that contains no more than three leaves or kill a buck with one antler missing. Many of these tasks kept Rallan out all night, or even away from home for days.

“Typhoon, where’s Rallan?” Lily would often ask when they were all gathered in their den, only their eldest son missing from the group.

“He’s out training,” Typhoon would always reply