hard.

"Aleu," he said quietly. "Why are you out here in the cold? You should come back inside."

Aleu sighed again.

"I'm... I'm just thinking. Aniak was acting awfully strange today."

"Yeah," Shadow said, "don't know what that was about."

Aleu looked at the ground.

"Shadow, do you... do you ever think that..."

"What Aleu?" Shadow asked.

"Do you ever think that a full wolf would make a better leader?"

She looked back up at him; there were tears in her eyes.

"What's wrong Aleu?" Shadow asked, concerned.

"Do you?" Aleu asked again.

Shadow shook his head.

"You do as good a job as I've ever seen any wolf do, in fact better. Look around you Aleu, look at this cave, at this pack. We have the largest pack in our clan, in any clan for that matter, and it's not because they like the weather."

Aleu smiled.

"I expected that you'd say something like that."

Shadow returned the smile.

"Well it's kind of my job."

She laid her head on his shoulder.

"Shadow," she said looking up at him, "I love you."

"What went on up there Aleu?" Shadow asked. "Ever since you came down, you've been despondent, you hardly ate tonight, and even the kids are worried about you. They asked me what was wrong with you."

Aleu sighed.

"Nothing, it.. it was nothing."

"Well," Shadow said, "I know something had to have been said, or something had to have happened, I've never seen you like this before."

"Shadow..."

Aleu sighed again.

"Aniak... she was going to drop Raye.. off the shelf. "

"Really," Shadow asked, "I know why, but...why?"

"I don't know Shadow," she said, "Aniak is always so... so kind and... I've never seen her act like she did tonight."

Shadow took a step back from Aleu.

"What did she do?" He asked.

"She.. she didn't do anything..." Aleu began. "She wouldn't listen to me."

"Wouldn't listen to you?" Shadow said, some anger drifting into his tone. "You're the leader, the alpha she better listen to you."

Aleu nodded.

"I know, but she just laughed at me, and I asked her why she was doing this...."

She stopped.

"Aleu?" Shadow said.

"She said it was something a wolf dog would never understand."

"What?" Shadow said, "Aniak... she said that."

Aleu nodded.

Then she really did drop her, but she fell on the shelf and I... I almost knocked Aniak off, trying to save Raye., but I saved Aniak, I had to bite her paw, and it was bleeding pretty good...."

She looked at the ground and then back up at Shadow.

"I... I've never seen her look at anyone, but especially me, like she did. She didn't say anything, but her eyes said it all. As she walked... or stomped by me, she bumped into me and knocked me down."

She stopped.

"Do you think she'll attack you?" Shadow said once again the stern, straight to business wolf that Aleu had known before their relationship.

"I.. I don't know," Aleu said, "that's why I didn't say anything before... but.... well she's acting so out of character.. I suppose it's possible."

"Aleu," Shadow said, "I'm going to accompany you everywhere, and if not me, then one of my team."

Aleu nodded.

"I know you don't like this."

Aleu nodded again.

"but it's necessary," she finished

Shadow looked at her.

"Aleu,.I will do everything, anything to protect you. I don't care about the right to challenge, now understand my team... they will, if Aniak, or anyone else for that matter, challenges you, it's between the two of you, they won't help. That's just the way that things work, but if I'm along...”

He paused.

“They can throw me out of the pack if they want, but life without you is no life at all."

Aleu smiled at him,

"We probably don't need to worry about it," Aleu said, "but it never hurts to be prepared. "

"Come on Aleu," Shadow said, "let's go inside."

The two of them walked inside the cave.

"Shadow," Aleu said, "what's that noise?"

Shadow looked concerned

"I don't know, it's pretty late."

Aleu walked over and made sure that the kids were all right, and that they were asleep, and then she and Shadow walked out of the room.

It looked like every wolf in the pack was inside the main chamber, the crystal lights had been put in place, and everyone was talking.

"What is this?" Aleu asked.

Shadow just shrugged.

Aleu walked down to the ground floor, and Shadow followed her.

At the far end of the room, she saw Aniak standing on a rock.

She walked over to it.

"Aniak what's this, why aren't all of you asleep?"

"Come up here Aleu," Aniak said.

Aleu hopped up onto the rock.

Everyone fell silent.

Shadow watched, ready to spring into action to save her, if necessary.

"Look here," Aniak said. "I am about to prove that which I have told you."

She turned to Aleu.

"Aleu did you, or did you not bring Raye, daughter of Hiluck, alpha of the Onasie clan, into this cave?"

Aleu hung her head.

"Yes," she said.

The voices resumed.

"And did you not attack me, when I tried to do the only thing that one should do with the enemy?"

Aleu nodded and raised her head.

"But... but I was trying to protect you, you would've fallen..."

Aniak cut her off.

"I would've been in no danger at all if you hadn't put the enemy before my safety."

"but I..."

"No buts about it, I still bleed from the wound you inflicted on me."

The other wolves all gasped and started talking again.

Shadow suddenly found himself facing his best friend.

"Lightning?"

"I'm sorry Shadow," Lightning said.

Shadow noticed the presence of three other wolves near him.

He looked at them.

"Member's of the team?" He thought.

He glared at his friend.

Lightning nodded his head, and Shadow felt the one to his left, Yaemus, nudge his shoulder with his head.

Shadow stared at his friend, who remained unemotional, as Shadow stepped back.

His mind was racing.

"Aleu is in danger! They know that if I'm here, I'll help."

He looked at the three wolves that were escorting him, one on each side and one behind.

"Yaemus, Kiluc and Heru, he picked some of the best fighters on the team. I can't take them, if I attack one of the ones to the side Kiluc will be on my back in seconds.

His mind raced through countless resolutions to the huge problem now facing him, but all of them seemed to end in his death.

He was led outside and then the wolves turned and walked back into the cave.

“I can just sneak in,” Shadow thought.

The three wolves lined up right outside the cave and turned to face him.

He glared at them, but they said nothing.

“Yaemus, why?” he said.

One of the other’s, Kiluc, stepped forward

“We feel the pack needs to have a change in leadership,” he hissed, “and we all know that you’re somewhat biased on that issue.”

Shadow said nothing, just continued staring.

After a few minutes he spoke up.

“What did she promise you, what did she have to do to buy off my friends?”

Heru stepped forward and hit Shadow across the face with his paw.

Shadow fell to the ground, and glared at them.

“I’ve got to get back in there.”

“Aleu you’ve been a good friend to me, always been so kind, and you have been a good leader… in times of peace. In times of war however,,, you have demonstrated your weakness to us, through your resistance to violent action.

Aleu you have been a friend, someone who I could talk to no matter what.”

“Then why…” Aleu started.

Aniak cut her off.

“Because I was part of this pack before you were born Aleu… and I intend to keep it safe.”

“Aniak?” Aleu said.

“Aleu,” Aniak stated, “alpha of the Talbourne clan, leader of this pack, daughter of Balto and Jenna. I Aniak, daughter of Siu and Trias challenge you for this pack.”

Aleu took a step back.

“Aniak….”

Aniak growled.

Aleu hung her head.

“Aniak… I… I don’t want to fight you. Just, just take it.”

“See,” Aniak said, “you prove me right.”

She turned to the crowd of wolves below her.

“You see?”

She turned back to Aleu.

“I know you believe yours to be the best approach, yet you… you lack even the backbone to back it up.”

Aleu looked back up at Aniak.

“I have a family to consider.” Aleu said, anger evident in her voice.

“Well I won’t let you back down,” Aniak said, as she leapt at Aleu.

“There’s got to be a way for me to get past them,” Shadow thought.

Suddenly he had an idea.

“They’ll be on me in seconds,” he thought, “I’ll have to be fast.”

Shadow suddenly darted forward, sliding on his side as he did so. Yaemus, he knew, would be the first one to react, so he targeted him first. Shadow bit down on his leg, and hit Kiluc’s legs with his body, as he slid by.

Yaemus howled and Kiluc dropped, leaving only Heru, the slowest of the three.

Shadow was on his feet and running for the entrance in seconds. The three wolves were hot on his tail.

Aniak closed the distance between she and Aleu amazingly fast.

Aniak grinned, and hit Aleu in the side of the head, throwing her to