to you when you’re upset, Aleu; you know that.” Scarlet tried to give her a reassuring smile, but her head was lowered, solemnly mourning her friend. 

“I  . . . I just want to know why she’s dead . . .” She murmured mournfully. However, the red wolf broke the solemn air with a chuckle. His actions made her head lift up and her eyebrows touched her furious eyes. “What’s so funny, Scarlet? How could you be laughing when my best friend is dead?”

Scarlet calmed himself down, wiping tears from his eyes. “Aleu, since when did I mention that Lorna was dead?” Aleu’s eyes changed from angry to slightly hopeful. “I only said that she was gone, not dead.” He chuckled a bit before clearing his throat to continue. “When I woke up this morning, I first noticed that you had vanished. Thinking that you had gone hunting, I walked outside and I suddenly caught her scent. It led out of her cave and into the darker part of the woods. It’s fresh too, so I’m sure she’s not dead.” 

Both Aleu and Nuk gave a sigh of relief. “Thank goodness, I’m relieved by that,” Aleu replied in a gladdening tone.

“But that’s not all,” Scarlet added. “When I caught Lorna’s scent, I smelt a familiar stench as well . . . an evil she-wolf’s scent.” 

“Riza,” Aleu growled under her breath.

Scarlet nodded. “I think she’s plotting something, and  . . . I fear Lorna may play some part of her evil scheme to overthrow you.” 

“Poor Lorna . . .” Nuk sobbed. Aleu gently nuzzled him in comfort; she had known that he and Lorna weren’t exactly the best of friends, but they were still close companions.

Scarlet suddenly turned his gaze to the fallen carcasses in front of him; his eyes wide in sudden surprise. “Is . . . is that a caribou, Aleu?” 

Nuk shook his head, answering on the Alpha’s behalf. “No. It be moose, not caribou.” He grinned as he looked back at Scarlet. “But the fact that we find moose nearby means that caribou should be close.” The large wolf turned to Aleu, still grinning. “Aleu is great tracker and hunter. She found it and killed it herself!”

“Wow!” Scarlet’s eyes now turned lovingly on the quarter-wolf, who now gazed back with the same expression in her stunning eyes of blue and gold. “I’m impressed by your skills, Aleu. Great work!” He walked to the moose kill and lowered his head to assist Nuk in carrying it to the rest of the Clan, now hungry from their night slumber and their sudden search for the missing she-wolf. “Come on, let’s bring this meat to the Clan. I pray they will enjoy tasting a cloven animal’s meat for once.” 

“Yeah, I think they’ll like it,” Nuk agreed. “The last time we had caribou or cloven meat was over a year ago! Not to mention this one’s a whole one too!” He laughed as he and Scarlet lifted the whole carcass up from the ground and awaited his Alpha’s word.

Aleu nodded and let out a slight giggle. “Come on; let’s bring this blessing to our fellow kin. Perhaps this shall lift their spirits, huh?” 

She led the way through the bushes and let out a howl, announcing her return. Nuk and Scarlet followed close behind her, bearing the large morning meal that they had all been awaiting.

“Aleu!” One of the younger wolves called out from his den. His siblings, three others who were about the same age as he, popped their heads from inside of the cave, looking outside with their faces aglow at the sight of their leader’s bounty. “Aleu has returned and she’s found a caribou!” The other three giggled with joy as they leapt from their home and across the pool; other members of the Clan halted their search cries for Lorna to see what was the cause of all of the fuss. Everyone that had remained in the Clan quickly rushed themselves to see what their Alpha had brought them. 

They gasped in joy at Aleu’s kill and after she allowed them permission, they began to eat, savoring the juicy raw meat into their jaws. However, the same young pup that announced her arrival quickly noticed what others were beginning to pick up on.

“Hey!” He spoke up in a disappointed and slightly angry tone. “This isn’t caribou!” His siblings began to growl with him. “What is this imitation meat anyway, Aleu?” 

Aleu laughed as the younger ones gave her a confused look. “It’s moose, not caribou.” Older wolves had already known this, but the almost yearlings needed to learn the difference between the two similar animals. “I’m surprised that you were able to notice that so quickly, Miko,” She approached the four wolves that were younger than her and gave them a grin. “Unlike you guys, I haven’t tasted caribou before, so I wouldn’t have been able to catch that as quickly as you.” She placed her paw on top of Miko’s medium-gray head and messed up the tuft of hair that now stuck up a little more than before. “Perhaps I can teach you how to hunt and track prey one day. You’re all old enough to help out, right?”

One of Miko’s siblings nodded, responding with a happy bark. “Yeah. The grown-ups won’t let us do anything around here anymore!” 

Aleu laughed. “Don’t worry, Seeka,” She turned to the other two gray and brown wolf pups, calling their attention to her. “Lota, Geena – we’ll begin your training tomorrow morning, bright and early, okay?”

The quadruplets nodded back in unison as they resumed their meal happily with the others. Aleu walked to Scarlet and lay beside him, sharing the other rabbit that she had caught prior to the moose. 

“Scarlet, do you really think the young ones can help find the caribou?” Aleu asked him as she tore a small piece of the rabbit and began to chew its skin.

“Of course,” Scarlet nudged her before ripping a piece off for himself. “If they have someone to lead them like you, I’m sure they will be essential in our quest for the herd.” 

Aleu smiled. “But it’s my job to find them, to lead the others to them . . .” She let out a sigh. “And now we have the problems with Riza . . .”

“Problems?” Scarlet’s ears pricked up. “What do you mean? I mean, she left with the other two to plan her revenge on you; what else could possibly be wrong?”

Aleu began to explain to the mud-red wolf about what Dahlia had told her earlier that morning about Tydra and Viking’s forbidden relationship and the prophecy of the Dark Child of Destiny.  

“Dark Child of Destiny, huh?” Scarlet repeated with a tone of concern. “I’ll be truthful, I’ve never heard about that before, but whatever that means, it sounds like a totally bad situation.” 

“Tell me about it,” Aleu nodded in agreement. “And now with Lorna suddenly gone, I’m not sure what problems are more important right now. The winter’s given us a short pause from the rough snow weather, but it’s unknown how much long before the next storm.”

“These blizzards are hard to predict,” Scarlet comforted his companion with a lick on the cheek. “It could halt our search party for Lorna if it lasts for days like the last one did.” 

With that comment, Aleu nodded at Scarlet; she had just realized what was more important at the moment. “We have to find Lorna.” She spoke in a clear, powerful voice. “She is a loyal part of our Clan, and even though she’s only been gone for less than a day, it’s just not the same without her.”

“Does Dahlia know?” Scarlet asked carefully. 

Aleu shook her head slowly. “I think it would be best that she not know right now. Her pups are more important to her, and they need her support more than ever.” Tears began to swell in her eyes as her eyelids lowered. “She’s already lost one son after birth today and her oldest daughter last night; I don’t want her to know that she’s close to losing her other precious child too . . .” Her voice cracked as she broke into a loud sob.

The red wolf didn’t even ask for explanation about the Alpha’s words, especially when he heard about the death of one of Dahlia’s pups. “Aleu . . . Aleu . . .” Scarlet attempted to calm the yearling Alpha down by stroking her neck and nose gently and licking away her tears with his tongue. “Shh . . . Shh-shh, Aleu,” The male murmured into one of her ears in a hushed yet calm tone. “It’s okay now. Shh.” 

Some of the remaining Clan members halted their rest period after eating and turned their attention to their sorrowful Alpha.

“Aleu,” one of the elder wolves, Kayli, spoke up first. “If you need us to help with anything, we only await your word.” 

Aleu sniffed, looking at the faded gray she-wolf and her companions. “Thank you, Kayli. I just need a moment to think.” She used one of her own front paws to dry her eyes and quietly slid herself to the ground to figure out what she was to do next.

First, Riza revolts against me . . . then Dahlia goes into labor and gives birth . . . now Lorna’s suddenly disappeared . . . and now this prophecy with this Dark Child of Destiny only adds more troubles to come . . .   

Where should I begin to set things right? What am I going to do? Aleu sighed worriedly as she closed her eyes for a moment. This is completely insane! How can I really live up to all of this now?

Suddenly the words of a song she once heard when she ran away into the safety of a cool cavern in the mountains began to whisper into her ears, almost as if the soft breeze was singing it just for her . . . 

“It's a dangerous trail . . . a difficult quest . . . if you want to know . . . who you really are . . .”

You’re right, Muru, Aleu thought as she took a deep breath and slowly let it out, remembering the words of guidance that her personal spirit told her days after she had first run away from home. This is more difficult than I thought it would be. I thought that the quest ended once I chose to live this life; I guess Aniu’s warning of Riza’s attack against me was a wake-up call to me, showing me that the real quest has only begun. 

I suppose I still don’t know who