their choices of leadership . . . only you have been like that, and no one else!"

“And so have you, . . . because you’re my daughter,” the Alpha murmured, placing emphasis on the last few words and smiling a bit as he said them.

Keliah gasped, as did Aleu who saw everything. Daughter?! Aleu thought, shaking her head in disbelief. Is Keliah the Alpha’s daughter? Why didn’t he say so before? She had learned a bit from Scarlet’s teachings about wolf life that in some Clans, the next-in-line after the Alpha passes on is his or her oldest child. Perhaps they follow the rule of heir-apparent too? She wondered as Aleu awaited Keliah’s own response.

“Me? I’m your daughter?” Keliah only said, surprised by her own tone. “I don’t understand. It doesn’t make any sense. How in the world can I be your daughter?”

“You are the last of my blood and the purest of those that remains here, Keliah. I’ve kept this secret for many years and never told a soul, but Aniu has told me that now you should know the truth of your birth,” the Alpha paused before beginning to explain the she-wolf’s heritage. His voice was still weakening, but perhaps it was Aniu’s strength that allowed the elder wolf to continue speaking.

“When I was young and just become Alpha of our Clan, I had a vision one night. Aniu spoke to me, saying that my legacy would be in a wolf with a brown coat. At first, I didn’t understand what she meant by that and completely ignored her words. I had a couple of other females during my life, each whelping several cubs after our first springs together, but both of them ended up being killed in battles. Their cubs never lived to see a year old, all dying from some mysterious illness.

“As I grew older and more and more death struck our Clan, I wondered why Aniu would take away those that I loved. She only reminded me of the same prophecy that she told me all those years ago – ‘a wolf with a brown coat.’ After years of leading, I learned to take heed to Aniu and her words.”

She must have punished him for not listening to her, Aleu thought to herself, responding to the story thus far. But to kill others just so he could make some prophecy come to pass? It just doesn’t seem right to me at all! She knew her grandmother was very wise and powerful, but the thought of killing off wolves and young cubs still felt wrong to Aleu.

“It was during a hunt that I met your mother, Hatalia. My eyesight was still rather good back then – when I first caught a glimpse of that beautiful brown coat, I felt my heart skip a beat. Spring was once again upon us, and I proposed marriage to her underneath the moonlight. Once she agreed, we consummated our union at the sacred place known only to the Alphas of our Clan – on the Plateau of Great Aniu.” He turned his eyes to Keliah’s face. “You were that spark we created that blessed night, and two months later, Hatalia birthed you in the Birthing Den of the North Woods. Once she returned back to us and I saw you for the first time only two months later, Aniu took away by sight after I got a good look at your perfect smile.”

“Why did Aniu make you blind?” Keliah asked, now getting curious about the tale of her origin and purpose. “And why after you saw me for the first time? Didn’t she want you to see me grow up into what I am today?”

“Of course she did, my child,” the Alpha told her sweetly. “She took away my physical sight and made me appear blind to mortal beings, but I still had my inner sight – my mind’s eye. Her prophecy was now in motion, my job was done; there was no need for my sight any longer. I can still see you, and I’ve always known that you are as beautiful as your mother was.” He paused to take a breath; this one was raspy and a bit rough, as if his voice was beginning to fade now as well. “When Hatalia died after birthing your sister and her four siblings, my heart was torn. I could not tell the rest of the pack that I was the father of you – they had all figured that on that day at the hunt I had already lost my sight and mated with another instead, especially since another she-wolf birthed on the same day as you – nor were they to know the truth yet. It was not time for them to know what I knew.”

“So, are you Palei’s father too?” She asked, hoping to make sense of everything.

He shook his head slightly. “She is not my true daughter as you are. Her father was one of my best guards, but he was killed a couple of weeks before her birth,” the Alpha told her. “Palei, although she was the runt of Hatalia’s last litter, ended up being the only survivor of the five. We buried your mother and the other four pups together down the river – you were a little over a year old back then, and it tore you up inside to watch your mother disappear from sight forever. I wished I could comfort you like a father should to their daughter, but I could not.” Tears swelled in his blind eyes, thinly falling down his cheeks. “I had to watch and wait from the shadows as you grew, knowing that one day you would ascend the throne as our Clan’s Alpha.”

Keliah’s mouth was dry, empty of the right words to respond to this sudden moment of time. Even Aleu was amazed by this revelation of Keliah’s past.

But why would he tell her this now, right before he’s about to die? Aleu thought, trying to piece the entire puzzle of her visions together. Suddenly, she gasped, her gold eyes were wide like pools at this new realization. Wait, the Alpha didn’t want the rest of the Clan to know about Keliah being his daughter . . . so maybe . . . yes, Aniu wanted only her to be present in his final moments . . . That all makes sense now! A smile brightened her white-beige face. That’s why he only asked for her . . . and none of the other wolves of the Clan . . .

She is the one he wanted her to find . . . Keliah’s destiny is to become the Clan’s new leader! Aleu let out a cheerful chuckle, but it was cut short by a choking sound and a scream.

“My Alpha!” Keliah watched the elder wolf’s body begin to tremble violently against the ground. Tears swelled in her eyes at the sight as she moved closer, hoping that this wasn’t the end yet. “My Alpha . . . oh, God . . .”

“Shh, my c-c-child . . .” The Alpha managed to stutter out weakly amidst the shudders. “Aniu is r-r-ready to take me h-h-home . . . Y-y-y-you are n-n-now Alpha, K-k-k-keliah . . . L-l-l-lead them w-w-well, my D-d-daughter . . .” His eyes rolled back as his final breath was released in a final message. 

“ . . . I-I-I . . . am . . . p-p-proud of y-y-you . . . I . . . I love . . . y-y-you . . .” 

His body now lay still on the rocky ground, the ray of sunlight within the cavern sparkled as it blanketed the gray-furred wolf and suddenly disappeared – the Alpha was dead.

“No . . . no . . .” Keliah’s voice cracked under the massive grief she felt in her heart. She shook her head, in denial of what she just witnessed, and the tears just fell. “No . . . No . . .”

Shutting her eyes tightly, she lifted her nose up, crying mournfully with a howl. 

“FATHERRRR!”

- - - - - - - - - -

 

She gasped awake once again, despite the redundant ending of a long, blasting howl and all. I thought I would get used to that by now, she grumbled to herself with a sigh of relief, realizing that she had returned back to her den. To her surprise, Aleu soon noticed the wetness on her cheeks, dripping from her tear ducts.

Was I crying? She asked herself, using a front paw to wipe her cheeks dry. Was it because of what I saw or what I heard? Pausing to sniffle, Aleu looked sadly out at the opening of her den, watching the early-morning sky begin to slowly brighten in front of her eyes.

Keliah . . . to lose her Alpha and her father all at once . . . She closed her eyes, letting more tears stain her cheeks in remembrance of her vision. She had never felt such a heavy weight on her heart like this before – never had a single moment that she had seen or witnessed made Aleu sense such sorrow, not even at that time when she told her father goodbye only a month ago. It feels so awful and heart-wrenching . . . Hey, . . . why can’t I stop crying? It’s almost as if . . . as if I was feeling . . .

She shook her head, squeezing her eyes shut. No, I don’t even know her . . . Why in the world would I be feeling what she felt? But no, that was impossible . . . even she knew that.

I couldn’t bear to lose so much so quickly like that . . . Why must she lose so much, Aniu?

“Because that is all a part of the struggles of life, my child . . .”

The ethereal tone of her spiritual grandmother entered her ears, nearly causing Aleu to gasp. She was still not used to the Great Spirit’s sudden appearances since she was still so young and green to the lupine life, but Aleu felt relieved that perhaps now was the time she would get some answers.

“Aniu?” Aleu looked to her side, noticing that white wolf’s black-velvet ear twitching beside her. “Is that really you?”

The wolf nodded. “All life has its obstacles . . . Sometimes through those times, there are lessons we must learn and doubts to be overcome.” Aniu paused, turning her gaze to the light brown-gray yearling with a slight smile. “Yes, it is me, Aleu.”

The quarter-wolf sighed with a relieved expression. “Thank goodness. I’m glad to see you again because I could really use your help.”

“I already know what knowledge you seek,” Aniu replied warmly. “Your visions have captivated your thoughts, and you want to know why I am sending them to you, am I correct?”

“That’s right,” Aleu’s light-brown head bobbed. “Exactly who is this Keliah and why is it so important for me to know the truth about who she is?”

Aniu closed her almond-shaped eyes, looking rather stern yet loving. “You will learn in due time, my granddaughter. Just observe her and

Previous Page

1 2 3 4 5

Next page