grown-ups. Undoubtedly, his face was more angered than his little brother’s. “How else are we to get stronger unless we play-fight? Us wolves are supposed to learn how to battle by fighting each other at a young age; that is the only way ones like us can survive!” He turned his icy gaze at the relieved forms of his little sister and her best friend, causing them to gasp lightly. “But then again, the two of us deserve better targets; those two are too weak to even fight back – it’s absolutely pathetic.” He huffed, lifting his nose aloofly. “Girls are such weaklings . . . They won’t last long enough to do anything useful around here if they aren’t strong enough to defend themselves.”

“Tram!” Saba was taken aback by her son’s words. “You know better than to say things like that!” He had grown up more in tune to his wolf blood, but as he grew, he seemed to think more ruthlessly than anyone they had ever met. She could see just by looking into his cold glare that he was defiant, even if his mother was the Alpha of the Talbourne Clan, but Saba’s maternal rage took over against her son’s statements. “Go straight to the den – Now! I’ll talk to you later once your father gets home from his duty.”

Tram only scoffed with a devilish smirk on his face. “Humph . . . Whatever . . .” However, he followed his mother’s orders, making his way to the den that he shared with his family.

Saba sighed in relief, but Aleu could see the frustration in her sister’s now amber eyes. “Little Jadze, are you and Sunny okay?” The light brown-gray asked, thankful that her own daughter wasn’t attacked.

The two of them nodded as Rife helped his sister up onto her feet. “We’re fine, Mom,” Little Jadze replied with a smile.

“Yeah – ow . . .” Sunny fell back onto the ground once she tried to stand on her leg that Tram bit. The wound was now bleeding a bit, staining her paw red. “Actually, I think . . . I think my paw hurts a little.”

“Sorry if we hurt you, Sis,” the dark red lowered his head in apology to the girls. “I was only following Tram, but I thought . . . I thought it was only for fun, not to actually hurt anyone.” His ears fell to the side; Rife really was as sorry as he sounded – a complete opposite of his older brother. “Please forgive me . . . please . . .” He gently gave Little Jadze a lick on the cheek, as well as his sister on her wound as a sign of friendship.

“It’s okay, Brother,” Sunny smiled back at him while leaning up against him as she stood up in between Rife and Little Jadze. “I know Tram didn’t really mean it . . .” She turned to her mother with a look of worry in her eyes. “Mama, you won’t hurt him, will you?”

“I may have to, Sunny,” Saba nuzzled her daughter, licking the wound that hurt her so much. “He knew better than to be so rough when playing with you two, so I’ll definitely have a talk with him about what he did.” She sighed deeply. “I understand his passion to be rough like a wolf should be, but . . . but he still has much to learn, just like you three do.” She turned her white nose towards her sister, remembering that she had something to tell her. “Why don’t you three play near those cliffs? Just be careful, okay?”

“Okay, Mom,” Rife and Sunny nodded, replying back in unison. The two of them scampered to the area that was assigned to them, and naturally, Little Jadze’s cream-beige form followed behind theirs.

“Thanks for helping me with the kids,” Saba turned to Aleu with a smile after the pups left them alone, but once she noticed the look of concern on her sister’s face, the Alpha remembered what she had told her earlier. “Now, you said you had to tell me something? What’s up?”

“Well, I wasn’t sure if it meant anything, but I have to tell someone about it,” Aleu began to recount her vision from when she was asleep, not holding back on any detail of what she saw. She mentioned the darkness of Shade, the sudden deaths of those near and dear to her, and the mysterious lupine that protected her before Shade could come any closer to her shuddering form. Saba, by the look of things, seemed to keep her cool, but on the inside, she was afraid; Aleu had seen her be killed by Shade in her vision . . . she didn’t want that to happen for real.

“That is scary,” Saba said after hearing what happened in Aleu’s dream. “but as real as it seemed to you, I think that it all seems impossible. I defeated Shade using Aniu’s power – he’s gone for good now, isn’t he?”

“I’m not sure about that,” Aleu lowered her ears. “Don’t get me wrong, but . . . I think he was watching me until I woke up.” Saba gasped as Aleu shuddered at the reminder of the demon lord’s presence. “I know it sounds crazy, but I could smell him lingering around me . . . and then it just disappeared before Little Jadze asked me if I was okay.” She sniffled at the fact her daughter’s presence calmed her mind this morning. “I think she saved me this morning . . . I really believe that she did.”

Saba was silent, but she was able to comfort her older sister with a gentle nuzzle. It’s strange, she thought as she turned a gaze to the cream-beige pup that had just pounced on Rife’s dark form playfully. She’s such a miracle pup, and somehow . . . somehow, I sense a strange aura about her. Almost as if . . . as if she’s being protected by something . . . A smile curled on her white face. “Perhaps she did – she may not know what a service she was to you when it happened.”

“So, you believe me?” Aleu was shocked by Saba’s response.

“Of course I do,” Saba nodded. “Little Jadze is a special child, blessed back to life by Aniu herself; you know as well as I do that Aniu works in mysterious ways, so I’m wouldn’t be surprised if your daughter has such an ability. However, this doesn’t mean that she should be reckless and be treated special. She’s still a wolf, just as we all are – we’ll have to start training her like all the rest of the pups.”

“I know,” Aleu smiled. “I’ve lived longer as a wolf than you have, but you know as well as I do that it takes a lot of strength and courage to do a wolf’s duty. It won’t be easy for her – she’s a she-pup for one thing, and both of us know that the males won’t go easy on females just because we’re of the opposite sex of them.”

“Well, you’ve been an Alpha and endured difficult situations, right?” Saba asked.

“Yeah, other wolves didn’t agree with my ideals, even before I came in touch with the Talbourne Clan,” Aleu told her sadly. She trusted her sister with what she was about to tell her, especially since not many in the Clan knew of this knowledge. “When I first crossed the water to the imprisoned island, my pack – Nava’s former pack – was easily deceived by Shade, who posed as Aniu in their dreams; unfortunately, they gave their lives . . . drowning to their deaths so I could eventually free the Talbourne Clan from Ill’aenna.” She nearly broke into tears as she remembered the horrible sight . . . she could still see the young yearling named Heamer, one of the wolves that she had saved and befriended, sinking under the icy-cold depths after following Julious, a black wolf who had convinced the rest of the pack to follow him off the island. She was glad, however, that she was able to accept their apologies in her dreams. “Although I was sad that things had to be this way, I learned that things happen for a reason. If not for their deaths, I never would have freed Aniu’s Clan . . . and none of this would exist.”

“Oh, I’m sorry . . . Sorry to bring up bad memories,” Saba felt rather contrite for having Aleu remember something so horrible. “I didn’t mean to, you know.”

“It’s okay,” Aleu managed to smile. “That and other situations only made me stronger as I matured into an Alpha. I already know that you’re strong, but you will deal with many challenges within your tenure as Alpha, no matter how long it may be. I won’t guarantee that it’ll be as tough as mine, but it’ll help you become wiser of wolf life.”

“I know,” Saba responded. “The hardest part so far has been balancing Clan business and spending time with my family.” She let out a sigh. “I love them so much . . . I fear that I’ve ignored my children and Everest . . . the kids are growing up so fast – they’re almost yearlings now . . . maybe that’s the reason why Tram’s acting up so much . . .”

“You’re not the only one to have trouble with balancing duties,” Aleu admitted to her. “When my pups were newly born and young, attacks didn’t happen as often as they did when you first joined us; Shadow usually took control of protecting me while I remained with them, but I knew I was still Alpha . . . and I was still stubborn, just like Papa.” She chuckled. “I didn’t want to show that I was weak to the Clan – Aniu chose me to save the Talbourne and make them stronger, and I knew I could be strong. As the children grew, my skills as a fighter began to fade . . . I started getting defeated by enemies that were probably a piece of cake. My focus was more to my family, the life that I had made with Shadow . . . and when I saved Raye, the heir to the Onasie Clan, that led to the biggest changes to the Clan. I thought I was helping her by saving her life – sure, she was from an enemy Clan, but she was still a helpless pup, a new life on the Earth that could possibly die if I didn’t do something to help. My maternal instincts took over . . . and I think my weakness began to show from then on.” Her dark-brown ears fell at the thought. “Although we eventually created a peaceful compromise in the end, still other packs and Clans tried to take note of how weak I was becoming. Once the Uniea attacked, I was overthrown as Alpha . . . they took over