Part IV
 

===========================================

The quarter-wolf was still stunned by the sight of the dog in the clutches of the two wolves that had captured him as their prisoner. He did indeed have a resemblance to her father, but . . . was it really him? 

His coat was more tattered than her father’s, including a freshly-made red cut on his left front shoulder, but it was still the same shade of faded grayish-brown. Everything else that Aleu could see on the prisoner made her think the impossible: tan markings on his body and legs, obviously large paws, and his wolfish physique.

It has to be him, Aleu thought, currently unable to see his face and eyes by the way he was laid on the ground. That has to be Papa . . . but why would he be all the way out here . . . and captured by a Clan? 

Oh Papa, if you don’t have a clue about the outdoors, why would you even risk your life over something like this?

“Arise, Prisoner,” the light gray and white Geona growled, showing Aleu the serious side that she never knew existed. “We’ve come to take you to your prison until our Alpha requests to speak with you.” She nudged the dog’s scruffy back, causing him to reply with a groan. 

“Ah,” the prisoner groaned once again in a weak voice. He began to rise to his feet, finally turning towards the two females that were to escort him, but once he got a glimpse of the young light brown-gray, his yellow and red eyes grew wide. “Huh . . . Aleu?”

“P . . . Papa?” Aleu’s own eyes widened in shock as the word slipped through her lips in a murmuring voice that quickly morphed into a gasp. “Oh, is it really you?” 

“Aleu, do you know him?” Geona asked curiously, unable to understand why Aleu was so curious about the prisoner her small troop of guards had found. “What is this trespasser to you?”

“Geona,” the quarter-wolf carefully stepped forward, much to the surprise of the two guards, and nudged the prisoner gently with her muzzle. “this is no prisoner; this is my father, the one I ran away from.” 

“Oh, my baby . . . you’re okay,” he spoke weakly still, but he was strong enough to return the gesture to his only daughter. “I’m . . . so . . . glad . . .” His eyelids lowered in exhaustion as he collapsed towards the rocky floor, but thankfully, Geona caught him before he fell completely to the ground. Aleu let out a gasp of fright, afraid that something would happen to him, and quickly ran to his and Geona’s side, nuzzling him in hope that he was still okay.

“Papa . . . Papa!” The voice of the quarter-wolf cried out amidst her lowered eyelids. He was still her father, so no matter how upset she was a day ago, Aleu had to make sure he was okay. 

However, one of the guards, the smoky-gray she-wolf, pushed her away. “Still, he is our prisoner, Aleu,” Nariah growled. “Our rules state that we guards must do as ordered by White Feather herself. We cannot allow anyone to touch or speak to him without direct permission from the Alpha, not even an honored guest like you. Sorry.”

Aleu let out a sigh of dismay, lowering her head; Nariah’s partner, the tan and brown-furred Hanoki let out a sudden whimper of sympathy. “Oh, come on, Nariah. If this is her father . . . and since she is assigned to help take him to the prison, it should be all right for her to speak to him until we reach his cell. Shouldn’t it?” 

“Hmm, I don’t know, Hanoki,” the she-wolf thought aloud. “I know we shouldn’t, . . . but perhaps it should be okay, for now . . . but don’t expect to get so lucky next time, Aleu.”

The quarter-wolf nodded. “I understand. Thank you, Nariah . . . thank you, Hanoki.” Aleu bowed, thankful for the fact that her one day as a guest in the Runaway Clan allowed her  such an opportunity. 

“We’ve got him now, Nariah, so you and Hanoki are free to go,” Geona ordered her small troop of guards. “I promise we’ll take good care of him . . . especially now that his daughter is here.”

“Yeah, but don’t let White Feather know that the prisoner is Aleu’s father,” Hanoki muttered. “Just her presence with him might make his punishment worse instead of better.” 

Aleu’s ears pricked up in shock and fear as she looked at her father and then at her lupine companions. “Huh? I don’t understand . . . why would – I mean, how could White Feather do that?”

Apparently, it was easy for one to notice that a sudden change had gone through the near yearling during her short day in the presence of the Runaway Clan. Due to her anger of just learning that her mother had died after giving her life and losing her five other siblings and the fact that her father had hidden the truth of it from her ever since yesterday, she had hoped to never hear or see him again after he crushed her heart with the reality of who she was and what she had done: because she had inherited a quarter of her father’s wolf blood, she had caused her mother to die without even knowing it. Hurt by what she had realized was true, Aleu thought that running away into the forbidden wilderness – away from her lying father and the world that scorned her for the impure blood that flowed through her veins – was the best thing for her to do, not realizing that the world of the wolves, the Runaway Clan - led by the beautiful White Feather, was calling her to join them. After hours of learning more about the harsh past of Geona, one of her new companions, and the truth of the white Alpha’s own heritage, she let the untamed instincts she possessed take over, not knowing what would happen next – the power of love, thanks to a young hunter named Everett. It was still spring after all, and although she had learned more about hunting and tracking prey, the handsome brown and light-tan wolf had unexpectedly taught her how to fall in love . . . and how to get on the Alpha’s bad side by accident. 

Now that she knew she had to get back her confidence in White Feather, Aleu was sure that she could do whatever it took to assure the Alpha could consider her as a member of her Clan; however, with the new prisoner being her own father – the one she never expected to see again – and her instructions being to take him to the prisoner’s chamber, the quarter-wolf wasn’t sure how Hanoki’s comment about White Feather would make the situation worse for her father.

“Let’s go, Aleu,” Geona nudged her, trying to make the young pup not pressure the two guards on such questions. She could see the worried expressions on their faces and knew that now was not the time to tell her the truth. “We have a job to do with the prisoner.” She began to push the grayish-brown hybrid away from the others while also motioning Aleu to follow her. 

He’s not a prisoner; he’s my Papa! Aleu wanted to scream out loud, but she kept her calm, afraid that her opinion would indeed make things worse. She knew that she should still be angry at her patriarch, but right now was not the time for her emotions to go awry. “But what about that thing that Hanoki was talking about, Geona? Why does –”

“Let’s go!” Geona growled, causing Aleu to nearly lower her entire body to the ground. Knowing that the other two wolves were still looking at her, she shook off the feeling of rage within her and began to speak in a lower tone of voice that Aleu would be able to understand. “I’m sorry, but now is not the time to talk about it. Remember, we have to do this first; we’ll talk where it’s more private.” 

“But . . . but . . .” Aleu whispered, but after looking at the piercing glare of her friend, her dark sepia ears lowered in defeat. “Okay, okay. I’ll ask later.” As she had been ordered, she trotted away from the closed-eyed Nariah and the quietly-sighing Hanoki.

“I hope White Feather doesn’t separate them because of this,” Hanoki murmured in a near whisper to his companion. “That poor pup . . . You told me about what happened the last time . . . remember?” 

“Yeah,” Nariah’s eyes finally opened with a sorrowful gaze aimed at the young quarter-wolf. “The last time that happened, one of our own was ordered to leave forever, . . . never to return to our territory unless they had a death wish.” She sighed deeply, lowering her head and ears. “It’s not right, but it’s not our decision to make; White Feather’s our Alpha and the one that offered many of us a new life under her wing. If anything happens to them, we can’t save them . . . except for her . . . She’s the only one that has the authority to make White Feather stop her decision.”

As the light-gray and light gray-brown females made their way down the same hall that was near Geona’s chamber, the hybrid male finally began to stir with a groan. 

“Uhhmmmm . . .” was the sound that passed through his lips as his eyes opened slowly. “Where am I, . . . ah, . . . Aleu?” His voice grew stronger with every word, but Geona hushed him.

“Quiet, Prisoner,” Geona put a paw to his mouth, stopping their movement. “It’s not safe to talk yet.” Releasing her grip from his muzzle, she moved her head forward. “Quickly, let’s go to the holding cell and then you can talk freely for a while. The Alpha won’t be sending for him for at least a couple of hours, so that should give the two of you some privacy.” 

“Thanks, Geona,” Aleu lowered her head politely. “but I don’t think I need that much time with him. I’ll just say a few words and go, okay?”

“No, Aleu,” the hybrid spoke up, shocking his daughter to a halt. “there is something we need to talk about.” He turned to Aleu’s companion and quickly introduced himself, for he was quite tired of the title of Prisoner. “By the way, my name is Balto. Call me that, okay?” 

“Okay, Balto,” Geona nodded in understanding and followed his request.

“If it has anything to do with me coming back home, you can just forget