A tan wolf sat at the door of a barn. It was his home, at least, it was where he usually stayed. He lived with seven other dogs. Jean, Maribelle and Coco were the females on the team. Jean was bought from a french man, Maribelle from a spanish lady and Coco was born into the family. Coco was also Rhys' twin and only sibling. There was also four other males. Harry and Louie were troublemakers and both dark brown with black eyepatches. Thunder was mute. He was usually calm and quiet but would growl whenever he got angry or upset. Then there was Demi. Demi was the runt of his litter and much smaller than the rest of his team. He was often teased and mocked but was actually very brave, determined and serious about doing his job right. He was also the mate of Maribelle, though they'd yet to have puppies.

Rhys was usually calm. He was fake polite and enjoyed teasing people with flirty comments. However, he distanced himself due to once thinking that no one besides him was important and being recognised only for his angry outward appearance.

'Daww, puppies!!' the girls squealed.

Rhys turned his head, giving them an odd look, though they didn't notice it.

'Really?' Coco asked, eyes wide, 'Puppies?'

Maribelle grinned and nodded.

'Yep! You bet!' she said.

Rhys shook his head. She was always one to show off. He padded towards the group of dogs and sat down.

'I think it's time we slept.' he said, sternly.

The others just shrugged and settled down to sleep. Maribelle had Coco and Jean snuggled up to her on one side and Demi on the other. She sighed, contentedly. Rhys rolled her eyes and layed on some hay that was closer to the door. Thunder huffed in his sleep, making Rhys frown. He finally managed to find his way to sleep.

 

He woke a few hours later. He sniffed around and could smell something unfamiliar, yet somehow familiar as well. He got up from his place and walked to the door. He poked his head out. He couldn't see anything but the smell was still strong. He left without hesitation and set off to follow it, feeling somehow compelled to it. He was soon crossing the white, snow-covered forest floor. The trees weren't very close together, making it uneasy for other dogs to be able to pounce at him.

He soon found the owner of the smell. A white wolf, much younger than Rhys, was clawing at the trees around her. She snarled angrily, her golden eyes glinting in the moonlight.

'Wow, they're pretty.' Rhys thought, smirking.

'GRRR!' the wolf growled, pounding her claws into the low branches of a tree and breaking them instantly.

Rhys stepped out, rather calmly.

'What's gotten you so angry?' he asked.

The wolf snapped her head round, nose wrinkled and brow furrowed in anger.

'What do you want?!' she hissed through clenched teeth.

'Bothing much.' Rhys replied, shrugging, 'You were just making so much noise I thought it rude not to ask.'

The wolf growled.

'Well, it's none of your damn business!' she snapped.

'Maybe.' Rhys replied, 'But I'm curious.'

'Everything, OK?!' the wolf snapped, 'Everything makes me angry! All the rules, all the expectations! Everyone and everything annoys me! Including you, you nosey old bugger!'

Rhys looked down at her calmly as she slammed her front paws into the ground, angrily, and snarled.

'You all think that you're gods or something!' the wolf continued, 'You think you're better than everyone else! You treat everyone else like roadkill! You don't give a damn about any of it. You all think you're so perfect! But you're not!'

She dug her claws into the ground, panting and shaking with anger and confusion at her outburst.

'Hm.' he said, making her tense, 'I suppose your upbringing provided no warmth. No comfort. But I think that on the inside, you want everyone to care about you. You want them to look at you a realise that you're special iny our own way. You want them to keep you close and terat you like family. You want their love.'

The wolf stopped and looked up slightly, her eyes full of tears.

'I suppose you could say that i'm like that too.' Rhys said, smiling and sitting down in the snow.

'Why?!' the wolf choked, 'Why do people think like that?! Why don't I think like that? Why do I have to act like this? Like such a brat! Why did I turn out like this?'

Rhys stared at her, seeing her fully as she cried.

'Why do I have to be so alone? I'm so lonely!' the wolf cried out.

Rhys smirked and stood up, walking over to her.

'Come on.' he said, grabbing her scruff in his mouth and hoisting her up.

'What?' she said.

'Let's go have some fun.' Rhys replied, walking off.

He walked through the trees before stopping and calling over his shoulder.

'That's if you want to of course.'

The wolf stared after him, not believing what was going on. She didn't know what to do exactly. But she felt herself being pulled.

'Wait up!' she yelled, running after him.

 

Rhys led her to a small clearing where there were obvious signs of rabbits.'

'Quiet.' he hissed, 'Don't move.'

The wolf wondered what he was doing but shrugged and crouched. After a while she got impatient. She was about to ask what he was doing when he shot forwards and chased something. The wolf looked up, watching him in awe. She saw him halt and saw scrabbling and he picked something up. He turned, carrying the somethign towards her.

'Hungry?' he asked, placing the rabbit in front of her.

She looked between it and Rhys, wondering what he was playing at.

'Oh, by the way, my name's Rhys.' the golden dog said, smiling.

The wolf blushed and turned away, frowning.

'Aniu.' she muttered.

Rhys smiled a secret smile that made Aniu frown.

 

Over the next few weeks, Rhys and Aniu met up during the night time. Since there first meeting, Aniu had started to change. It was a change that both Rhys and her pack noticed. They sat on a hill, staring up at the brigth stars one night.

'So, what did your team say?' Aniu asked, 'About you sneaking off.'

'Not much.' Rhys replied, 'They wondered where I'd been. I told them I'd been hunting.'

'You lied?' Aniu said.

'A bit.' Rhys said.

Aniu watched him. He smiled and stared up at the shining stars as if something was on his mind. Aniu looked up too and sat for a few moments in silence.

'So, have you always wanted to race?' she asked, finding the silence unnerving.

'No.' Rhys said, looking at her, 'Not really. I've never had a passion for it. My father was a great race dog. The best. He raced and won so many races that he became a bit of a celebrity. I supposedly had racing blood. That's the only reason I was sold to a racer. Me and my sister.'

'That must suck.' Aniu said, 'Having it basically forced upon you.'

'A bit.' Rhys said, smiling, 'But I was trained as a hunter too so that makes up for it.'

'You like hunting?' Aniu asked, eyes wide.

'I do.' Rhys said, 'It fills me full of happiness knowing that I can do something that interests me.'

'I'll bet.'

They sat silently for a while longer before Rhys stood up.

'I'd better go.' he said, 'My team'll be wondering where I am.'

He walked back to the trees, Aniu behind him. He picked something up and gave it to her. Another rabbit.

'Don't want you getting in trouble.' he said.

Aniu took it, blushing and bowed her head in thanks.

'See you tomorrow maybe?' Rhys said, running off.

 

'Aniu!' yelled a voice.

Aniu rolled her eyes as she walked into her pack's camp. She dropped the rabbit in the cave with the other food. It was more like leftovers and scraps but it was enough for them.

'What?' she snapped, turning round.

She came face to face with the alpha female, Rora. Aniu's father, Achak, had been the last alpha. He was starting to get old and was challenged by a younger wolf. Achak gave his position up so that it wouldn't come to fighting when he died. He was now the beta and still viewed highly, something he made sure of. Rora was the new mate of such younger wolf.

'Where have you been?' Rora snapped.

'Hunting.' Aniu said, simply, trying to get past.

'You hunt when you are told. Are you trying to pick a fight?'

'Are you saying that hunting for the pack in order to get more food for us is a bad thing?' Aniu snapped, 'That's bad leadership right there.'

Rora snarled at her.

'Just stop thinking about your own desires, Aniu!' she hissed.

Aniu sneered at her behind her back and went to find a place to sleep. She preferred to sleep away from everyone else. They all ignored her so she ignored them.

 

Rhys met Aniu at the usual spot a few weeks later.

'Hey!' Aniu said, grinning.

'You seem happy.' Rhys said, smirking.

'Yeah.' Aniu replied, nodding, 'I'm second from head hunter in my pack now.'

Rhys smiled at her and nodded his congratulations.

'How's Coco?' Aniu asked, referring to Rhys' sister.

'Good.' Rhys replied, 'She had her puppies today. She and Maribelle can't stop going on about it now.'

Aniu giggled slightly. Rhys had told her about Maribelle's pups and Coco's recently found out pregnancy not long ago.

'How many puppies did she have?' Aniu asked.

'Three.' Rhys replied, 'Amy, Layla and Kaltag.'

Aniu smiled. The two of them walked off. They didn't care where they went, as long as they could talk. They soon found a clearing that overlookd a small town.

'I have some news for you.' Rhys said.

'Oh yeah? What?' Aniu asked.

Rhys sighed.

'I'll be leaving soon.' he said, 'My master has a race coming up. We'll be training harder. It'll be shortly after my sister's puppies have found homes. So I may not be able to come and speak to you regularly.'

Aniu stared at him, shocked. Was he joking? He didn't seem to be, but you couldn't tell with Rhys.

'Are you trying to toy with me?' Aniu croaked.

'I'm afraid not.' Rhys said, shaking his head, sadly.

'So... I suppose this is goodbye?' Aniu said, 'I hate to say it. But then we'll probably never see each other again. Good luck with whatever you do and please... try to remember me.'

She got up and started walking away, holding back her tears. Rhys

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