“Aw shoot! I missed the catch again!” I growled as I walked back to my den, empty stomach. I could barely catch prey, let alone do anything. I sulked through the forest, and walked into my den, which was a tree cavern. I closed my eyes and smelled the grotto, like I always did when I entered. This was home. But if only Ma and Dad were here...If only I could see them once more...I brushed the back of my memory to seek my life as a child once more. Ah, frolicking with my parents by my side in that meadow... scrumptious banquets whenever I wanted, a swim in the river...and playing with all my friends. Yes, friends are what I wanted the most, but I knew my aspiration would never be real.

A noise shattered my thoughts and I whipped around. A loud whirring sound filled the forest air and a frosty gust rushed into the warren. I peered outside, and I saw a colossal black thing that landed about twenty yards away from me, tearing down a group of trees underneath it. My eyes widened with fear, and I scampered across the forest floor. I threw my head backward to see that whatever it was again. Two animals were coming out of it, though they had no fur, no tails, and they walked on their hind paws. I didn’t like the look of them, so I continued sprinting. My limbs were getting tired from the dash, but they were barking something I couldn’t understand and their scent proved they were angry. I stopped abruptly to pant for a few seconds, and I knew I was so far ahead, they could never catch me. The yelling was getting closer.

I heard a sound that cracked the air.

And I went black.

I woke from the blackout and yawned tiredly. Then I remembered what happened. The animals had caught me. I stood up to run, but my left front shoulder was aching. I glanced at it nervously, because there was a dark red matted to the side. It was dry, but the wound felt sore and tired. I lapped at the gash until the stain was gone. It felt a bit better. Now I was awake and my eyes had adjusted to the darkness of their den. There were bars all around me. I was in a cage. My parents had warned me about a cage, because you could get trapped in them. Too late to think about that now, though. I saw two other cages next to me. So these animals have been hunting other animals besides me! The creature in the smaller cage was a bird. It had big wings, and was a grayish-blue color. It was hopping in circles and jumping in the cage, as if it wanted to get out. Well, everyone wants to get out of this situation, but there’s a slim chance that that’ll happen. I checked out the next cage, which was bigger and had a wolf. The wolf was light gray with white splashes. It had its paws over its head, like it was upset that it had been caught. Their scent was proving they were both males, so I could probably get along better with them. I wanted to start with the wolf, because he looked like he was having a bad time.

“Excuse me? Sorry to bother you, but I would like to get to know you a little bit better, since we’re all stuck together and we’ll be here for a little while.” I said nervously. The wolf lifted his head to me.

“Well, if you want to know me so badly, my name’s Wolf O’Donnell. I’m trying to think of a plan to get out, ‘cause they’ve wanted me for a long time. So shut up, and I might think about getting you out.” He growled at me, but with a sense of kindness. “Yes, okay.” I whimpered back to him, but Wolf had already lain his head down between his paws. I spun around to face the bird, who was still hopping in circles, and he seemed to be enjoying it. “Hello, I’m Fox McCloud and I was wondering if we could get to know each other better, so we won’t be alone in this place.” The bird stopped hopping and he ruffled his feathers.

“Why hello there, Fox. My name is Falcon Lombardi. It’s very nice to meet you.” He answered coolly. I nodded my head in thanks, and I turned back to Wolf. When he finally realized I was watching him, he pricked his ears and he tossed his head upward to look at me. “What do you want, softie? I don’t have time for kiddies, but I’ll let you slide.” He demanded annoyingly. “Um, I just wanted you to meet Falcon, my new friend...” My voice trailed off. My mother told me when I was younger that I needed to learn to make friends so I could be allied in bad situations. If I had Falcon and Wolf, I could be safe from the animals that caught me. Wolf matured voice smashed my thoughts. “Oh, you’ve made a friend? Well then, nice to meet you, Falcon. I hope you have fun with Fox. Playing games and singing songs, probably?” Wolf’s remark hung in the air. “No, we’ll be enjoying our time here while you ‘think’ about how to escape.” Fox responded. Wolf’s eyes widened with bewilderment. “Enjoying? You think getting mutated will be enjoyable? You and that Falcon better be crazy to think to enjoy being changed for the rest of your life! I’m going to be the hero. I’m going to get all of you foolish amateurs out of here, if it’s the last thing I do!” Wolf snarled back, and he stood up, revealing his power and ability to me. He was showing that he was the boss, no doubt about it. His expression changed from ambition to annoyance. “What’s the matter, scared?” He snapped at Falcon and me. “N-no...” I stammered. “Good.” He replied. He turned his head to the side and fear came out of him. “I-I’m too late!” And light streamed through the den entrance.

Wolf saw the animals were holding another cage with another fox. He sighed in relief. The fox was a blue color and was very shy when the animals placed her cage down. She was a vixen, so I automatically took interest to her.

“Hello, my name is Fox McCloud. What’s yours?” I said reluctantly. Falcon tipped his head in question- he knew I wasn’t so restrained when it was just the three of us.

“My name is Krystal, and I hope we can become good friends.” She answered. I dipped my head in thanks and she nodded, pleased by my first impression. I turned away, and suddenly smirked at Wolf, because he was realizing that the more friends I made, the more powerful I would be. Wolf returned my remark with a glare, signaling that he was still in charge. I just continued the smile, because Wolf was, in a way, a father. He showed me how to prove your power, and to earn respect.

“What now, Mocks McLoud? You need to learn a few things from me, so once I get everyone out of this heap of junk, you’ll join me in my pack. You, the Falcon and that pitiful vixen will come to some use to serve me.” Wolf finished.

“Serve you? Why would I, Fox McCloud, serve you? And her name is Krystal. Also, if you think you’ll get us out at this point, then show me right now.” I challenged daringly.

“Okay then, Fox. I’ll get us out once and for all. I’ll prove to you that I can do it, and you can’t.” Wolf sneered at me. Falcon hopped so he was as close to me as he could get through the cages.

“This’ll be interesting to see...” He chuckled. Wolf unsheathed his claws and raised his huge paw, and swiped it at the metal. It fell in pieces and he ambled to my cage. He ripped through my cage, and I leapt out. I was stunned at his power, because I didn’t think he could do it. He tore through Falcon’s cage and Krystal’s cage, and they jumped out. Wolf sheathed his claws and said, “Don’t you think you’ll be better off without me now?” I knew he was joking, but it was a direct order to join his pack. I looked down to the floor, embarrassed that I had thought he wasn’t capable of completing my task. Krystal flew to my side.

“Don’t worry, Fox. I’m sticking with you, no matter where you choose to go.” She murmured compassionately.

“Me too. Wherever you head for, expect me to be there for you.” Falcon joined. He dove to my shoulder and perched on it. Wolf narrowed his eyes at my team, because he didn’t have his pack with him.

“All of you follow what I do. If you don’t, I’m assuming you want to be mutated.” Wolf snapped at us. I swerved around to nod to my friends that we should follow him, and they gave a quick nod back. Wolf crouched low to the ground, and started walking. I did the same, and I felt Falcon lower himself to my back. I could tell Krystal was very uneasy about Wolf’s plan, because she was completely attached to me. Wolf crawled through all these den rooms, that I started to think we could never go back. Wolf stopped and opened a wall that was blocking us, but the wall didn’t break. It just moved open when Wolf pawed at a circular thing. It was dark outside, so we didn’t need to worry about the animals looking for us. We strolled out, proud that we were free of transformation. We were finally a team, so we walked in a huddle. Just then, I heard something creak and an enormous cage came crashing down on us.

“Oh, great. They have security in this lab. Well, that only means one thing...we’re going to be mutated for the rest of our lives. I didn’t expect that Wolf O’Donnell, would fail such an easy duty, but I suppose wolfs can be wrong sometimes.” Wolf stated calmly. Krystal was terrified from what Wolf had said, so she grabbed the nearest object, which was me.

Falcon hopped off my back and shifted his talons in the loamy soil. He made a smirk at me because of Krystal’s opinion about me. I felt her grasp loosen and I stood up, shaking my pelt. Wolf clawed at the bars of the cage boringly. Falcon and I watched Wolf with uneasiness because he seemed to be lost in thought. I pushed the thought of Wolf hurting anyone and fell asleep with Falcon and Krystal, away from Wolf.

I woke up the next day, and I saw we were back in their den. Only this time we were all in the same cage. Wolf was standing up, looking at the animals. They had white fur, and they were tapping silver screens.

“We better get ready to be changed for the rest of our lives.” Wolf said as he walked over to me. “Even if we do get mutated, I think we’ll still survive. So all of you will still be in my pack.” Wolf finished. I rolled my eyes. Did Wolf only think about his pack? Or was his pack so valuable