tsk; that's no way for a brat like you to behave! Unless you were just going to rat on us for teasing you again." Adolfo shoved his muzzle in the view of Ashur's face, causing the younger wolf to close his eyes shut, shrinking back. Trey and Tara laughed in the background.

"I don't tell on you, Adolfo." Ashur spoke, his voice shaking at the sight of his intimidating older brother. He swallowed, trying to regain his nerves. Adolfo grinned slyly, causing a shiver to run down Ashur's spine.

"Not believing your lies, Ash." He laughed, and Ashur knew his brother could tell that he was telling the truth; he just didn't want to make it look like he believed it. "You'd better think up more lies, Ash. Yours don't sound very convincing. Then again, shrimps like you are apparently always bad lia - "

"Adolfo! Let your brother go." A large dark brown wolf stepped in front of the small group of siblings, and Adolfo backed away from Ashur, leaving him to pick himself up. Ashur coughed slightly, then backed away from the male wolf who stood before him. It was Gareth.

"Where have all of you been!?" Gareth snarled, his voice booming in his offspring's ears. "You were supposed to come to the clearing at sun-high! It's way past that time!" Gareth seemed frantic as he shouted, but the siblings knew he was over-reacting. The sun was still high in the sky, casting a golden light across the forest surrounding them. But inside, they felt guilty. They had forgotten their evaluation today. Today they would have been checked to see which rank they would receive the following week.

"We're sorry dad. We lost track of time. You know how playing can get," Adolfo laughed slightly, and he noticed a dim smile rise across him father's face. Gareth didn't know how wrong his judgments of his eldest son really were.

"Yes, but really. If any of you ever want to get a high rank, you have to learn how to arrive at pack meetings on time. There will be no toleration of being late because of ‘’playing’’ from now on. You are all almost reaching adulthood – you need to realize how to be responsible. Now," Gareth sighed and turned around. "Let's head back to camp before your mother starts worrying about you all even more." With that, the lean male leapt away, everyone following behind him. But before Adolfo took his place in line, he cast a threatening glance towards Ashur.

"One day, I'll show you what true fear really feels like. I promise." A sneer came across his face, and Adolfo leapt away, leaving Ashur to pad frightenedly after his brother. If Adolfo was destined to become Beta, or even Alpha, there was no questioning what he would do. Ashur only knew Adolfo always kept his promises; no matter how horrible they were...

All characters [Ashur, Adolfo, Tala, Trey, Tara, Gareth, Whylee, Melena, etc...] [c] Blake

Plot and Story [c] Blake

Please do not copy or take from my ideas. Thank you.