A Wolf’s Story

Draco

Nome, Alaska, 1925. A place where, if you don’t learn how to survive, you will soon

die in the harsh arctic wilderness. Though in the case of one pack of creatures, a wolf pack, there is new life about to enter the world.

In a cave located on a cliff, far from the borders of the town, the wolf pack all gathered around the main cave of their alphas. They eagerly awaited the birth of their alpha female Olathe’s pups. Their head alpha, Cheveyo, a huge black wolf with golden eyes was pacing anxiously, and nervously outside the entrance in front of them. His midnight black fur glistened in the early morning sun, and his bright amber eyes skimmed wildly across the rocky surface of the cliff. All heads suddenly turn to the cave as a glorious noise filled the cool morning air. The sound of puppies crying within the cave. Sniffing the air, Cheveyo, curious and anxious to see his mate and their new pups, entered the cave slowly. In the dim light that managed to get into the cave, the alpha wolf could make out the figure of Olathe on the large bed of hay and leaves near the back. Black tail wagging gently in greeting, Cheveyo ventured closer to the nest. As he did, he could now see the small figures of the three new born pups curled up at their mother’s stomach, suckling. Ears going erect, the large black wolf studied his new offspring. After a few moments, a smile stretched across his dark face. He lowered his head to lick his mate’s face, noting the tired look in her blue eyes.

Olathe was a beautiful silver colored wolf. She was gentle and wise, the other members of the pack often came to her for advise. Yet as an alpha, she was still dominant when she had to be, putting her authority first when needed. And when the pack was out hunting, she was graceful and swift as she ran beside Cheveyo, her mate.

After giving Olathe a kiss, Cheveyo looked back down to study his pups. Two were the silver color of their mother, one with black tips. But the pup that caught the male’s attention was the one in the middle. It’s fur was a deep black and, down it’s spine, there was a silver stripe that ran from it’s forehead to the tip of it’s tail. It’s nose was also slightly striped in silver. Since their eyes were still closed, it would be a few days before the parents would see what color the pups eyes were.

“Two boys and one girl…” Cheveyo’s head turned back to the female at her statement. She just looked back at him, smiling, her blue eyes seeming to sparkle, even in the dim light.

“Have you named them…?” The alpha’s deep voice resounded on the rock walls of the cave. Olathe lowered her head to point to each pup with her nose. Nudging the all silver one, she gave it a brief lick.

“ This is Ayashi, your daughter...” Moving to the opposite end to the darker silver and black pup, “Takoda, your son…” And, with a smile, the female moved to the middle, black pup. “…Achak. After his father.” Achak…name meaning ‘spirit’. The alpha male’s name meant ‘spirit warrior’. At hearing the name, Cheveyo smiled gently, and lowered his gaze to his son.

“Achak…Yes. Our little spirit.”

On the far outskirts of Nome, 1926, deep in the woods, it has been a little over nine months. Olathe and Cheveyo’s pups had grown, though they were still not fully grown. Takoda was still smaller than his brother Achak, who had grown considerably over the last few months. His black and silver striped fur was healthy, and shown in the sun. The young wolf also had piercing blue on black eyes, which stood out from his dark fur. Ayashi, or Aya, as her brothers nicknamed her, was not as big as her siblings. She had been smaller, even as a pup. It seemed she would always be smaller than the other wolves. Although it didn’t seem to worry her; she could keep up with her brothers, being as swift and agile as her mother. It also became apparent that Achak was going to be a dominant male. He had already shown his authority to Takoda, who almost immediately showed he was going to be a passive wolf, by rolling on his back and exposing his stomach in submission. Achak would never actually hurt his brother of course, just bare his fangs or glare if his gray sibling went too far with trying to play when he wasn’t in the mood. Despite this, the two brothers were close, almost never going anywhere without the other.

Today, however, there was to be a treat for the three wolf pups. Their father and alpha male Cheveyo was going to take them off with him to show them their pack’s territory. The young wolves needed to know the boundaries of their home, so they didn’t get in trouble with the other packs if they got lost. Achak seemed to take the matter seriously, unlike Takoda and Aya, who were eccentric. Their tails wagging low but quickly in anxiousness, eager to get out further than the caves on the cliff. As they all headed out after eating, Cheveyo spoke to them.

“Now my young ones…I want you all to have fun on this excursion, but you must also be careful. We are not the only predators in this forest.” Ayashi paused in her wild running around with Takoda, and came up to lope beside her father.

“Do you think we’ll see any today?” she sounded a bit fearful, disliking the idea of coming face to face with a bear. With her small size, she wouldn’t stand much of a chance alone with a bear. But Cheveyo shook his head.

“Probably not today…most of them are at the rivers.” This information seemed to give the female much relief, as she once more ran off to explore with her brothers.

Nearly half the day was gone, and the four of them had still not seen the whole territory, and had stopped to take a break from all the traveling. There was a small fresh water spring that was running through the woods there, and Takada, Aya, and Achak soon found themselves getting soaked from wrestling in it. Watching from a safe distance, Cheveyo smiled to himself as he observed. It was good for his pups to practice fighting, even in play. Suddenly, ears and tail going erect, the large black wolf looked off into the trees. He had smelt something. Something that wasn’t suppose to be there. Golden eyes narrowing, the alpha looked back at his offspring. Could he leave them alone while he went and scouted? They were certainly old enough to be left alone…but this was their first time away from the caves! Getting another whiff of the scent, he knew he had to go. There was more than one intruder in his territory. It smelt like another wolf pack. Passing by the three adolescent wolves he glanced quickly at them, catching Achak’s eyes.

“I’ll be right back…you stay here with your sister and brother..” he tried not to make it sound serious, not wanting to scare him. But Achak seemed pretty calm about it, though a little nervous. He had gotten a little whiff of the foreign smell as well. Nodding to this father and glancing at the direction the smell had come from, he watched as Cheveyo trotted off into the woods silently. It didn’t take long for his two siblings to notice their father had gone, coming over to Achak. Takoda the water off his coat, it flying off his fur and going off in every direction. Aya jumped away, unwilling to be drenched again.

“Where’s father?” she asked as she glanced around, looking increasingly worried.

“He said he’d be right back…”replied Achak, who had moved to lay in a patch of sun coming through the trees to dry off. Seeming satisfied with the answer, Ayashi started exploring the perimeter of their resting place. As she went off beyond Achak’s sight, he began to get a bit uncomfortable. That scent was much closer now, and there was no sign of Cheveyo. Takoda now seemed to smell it, as he glanced around them nervously, ears twitching back and forth, listening. His black tipped tail was erect, and he was slowly edging his way closer to his brother. Both of there heads shot around as Ayashi suddenly came shooting into the clearing. Achak jumped up, along with her, the scent was practically on top of them. This made him agitated, as the fur on back of his neck and haunches rising, and his pupils shrank. Ayashi scrabbled over to her two brothers, panting. Takoda frowned worriedly at his sister, at the fear in her blue eyes.

“What is it, Aya? What did you see…?” Achak looked up as he heard the sound of something approaching. They were wolves, but the three of them had never seen these ones before. There were four of them, all looking about the same age as Achak, Takoda, and Ayashi. One, whom Achak guessed was the oldest and leader of the group, was a dark brown and white wolf with dark eyes. The other three wolves were either gray or light brown. The black and white one sneered at them, then glanced at Aya.

“Well, there you are, cutie…why’d you run away?” We just wanted to say hi.” Ayashi scowled at that, as did her two brothers, though it seemed to infuriate Achak. Takoda remained quiet, tail ridged. As the black and white wolf made a move towards Aya, Achak growled deep in his throat, stepping over his sister protectively, who had huddled down next to him.

“Stay away from my sister…” This seemed to make the gray and brown wolves stop, a bit fearful. Achak was big for his age, and looked quite intimidating as the black and silver wolf was all ruffled.

“Hey, Nayati, maybe we should-”

But Nayati didn’t seem too worried, but he too had paused, looking back to his