like Hickory is, runaway wolves from other Clans,” The light-gray she-wolf paused as they entered into a narrow pathway, leading into the smaller clan chambers. Hickory nodded to them, giving the two of them some time to bond and chat about each other as he went into his own den. “The rest of us are made up of mostly orphans, exiles, rejects and others like that. I’m one of them – oh, here’s our den, Aleu.” She pointed her nose towards a cozy hole that was built for two normal-sized wolves. 

The light-gray and the gray-brown she-wolves entered the den, and yet it remained spacious once they were inside. “Wow, there’s so much room in here!” Aleu exclaimed. “Are the other rooms as large as yours, Geona?”

“No, not really,” Geona laid down on a higher slab of rock that was only inches off the ground. “I was just born small, so I can easily fit in smaller spaces.” She let out a sigh as she began to explain her story to a interested Aleu. “I was born over a year ago to a she-wolf from a nearby Clan. My mother had seven pups altogether, but six were still-born – dead from birth.”  

Aleu’s ears pricked up in surprise. That’s just like with me, she thought to herself. My five siblings died at birth, but I survived. But she’s lucky – at least she had a mother to care for her . . .

“My Clan thought I was an absolute miracle for surviving, but my mother . . .” Geona’s eyes had begun to swell with tears. “She . . . well, she didn’t show the same affection to me that the rest of the Clan.” Her head lowered to her front legs as she wept. “She growled and beat me once she was alone with me. I . . . I really couldn’t see or hear anything back then when I was newly-born, but . . . I could feel her presence or recognize her scent that surrounded me.” 

Aleu gasped in shock. “Why would she do that? I mean, she’s your mother!”

“I have no idea why she hated me so,” Geona sniffled. “but I still loved her, because I had to. She was the one that gave me life after all.” The she-wolf let out a weeping whine. “I never even learned her name.” 

“Oh,” Aleu leaned over to comfort the she-wolf with her muzzle. “I’m sorry if I brought back some difficult memories for you.”

“None taken,” Geona replied in a more comfortable tone. “The experience of it all has only made me stronger, supposedly. The last moment I can remember with my mother was when she dropped me in the river when I was a few days old.” The she-wolf let out a small chuckle. “I guess she couldn’t handle keeping a pup that she hated.” 

“My mother . . .” Aleu sighed, remembering what she had learned only hours ago. “I don’t even remember her at all.”

“Really?” Geona’s ears pricked up. “How can that be?” 

“Mine . . . she died after giving birth,” the quarter-wolf murmured difficultly, tears falling from her face as she remembered the moment when Ebony bullied her because of it. “I only found out about it when another husky told me about her and made fun of me because of it.”

“Husky?” The she-wolf’s head turned to the side in confusion. “What’s that?” 

That’s right, Aleu realized. Wolves are always in the wild. They have no clue about things in the world of humans. “It’s a different type of dog; they look like you guys, but they work and live among humans, . . . I mean, people, . . . uh, two-legs?” She tried to find the right word to describe humans in her world so that Geona could understand; at the time, the light-gray continued to tilt her head at every different word.

“Ah, you mean those packs of dogs I see every so often running with someone following close behind them on a piece of wood?” Geona’s tone perked up. 

“Uh, yeah, that’s it,” the quarter-wolf replied. Not exactly how I’d explain it though, but it’s close enough. “Those are huskies that are trained for dog-sledding. That’s how humans get from town to town around here – by using teams of huskies and pulling their human on a sled.”

“Ah, I see,” Geona awed. “Were you one of them, Aleu?” The quarter-wolf’s ears lowered. “I mean, you’re part-wolf, so what else are you then?” 

Aleu sighed deeply. “Well, I learned my father’s half-wolf, half-husky, . . . and my mother was a purebred husky . . . so I guess . . .” She sighed again; just before she began to speak again, a cough came from the hole in the den.

It was a large-sized wolf, about the size of Hickory, but instead of a dark-brown coat, this one had medium-gray fur. Light patches of white-gray surrounded its slim almond-shaped eyes of pale gold and black pupils, wide-jawed muzzle and down its chest and under its tail.  

“Sorry for interrupting, but the Alpha wishes to have a private word with you,” the wolf muttered to the quarter-wolf. “I’m here to escort you to her quarters at once.”

“Thank you,” Aleu bowed quickly to the escort then turned to her new friend. “Maybe we can talk later, Geona.” She gave her a comforting smile. “It was really nice to get to know you better. Perhaps . . . I might join this Clan after all.”

“That sounds good. I’ll see you later,” the light-gray returned the gesture as she watched Aleu walk out the doorway and behind the large lupine. Once the mouse brown-gray left the area, Geona sighed. “I hope she joins us. Aleu’s a very interesting yearling . . . with problems like mine.”

I wonder why she ran away in the first place . . . She doesn’t seem like the type to run away at all . . . 

As Aleu and her escort traveled back into the main chamber, she felt a bit nervous about the whole idea of being alone with the beautiful Alpha that she had just met moments ago.

Oh, I hope I don’t make a fool out of myself! Aleu thought as the escort led her up a stack of well-placed boulders that were like the flight of stairs that led to Rosy’s room. What if she doesn’t like me? What if she sends me away for being only part-wolf? She let out a sigh of worry. 

Sensing the quarter-wolf’s nerves, the large wolf comforted her with a couple of words. “Don’t worry; she rarely ever gets upset about things. You’ll be fine.” He gazed into the female’s large sky-blue and gold eyes and gave her a smile. “Trust me.”

Aleu returned the grin back at the escort as he halted in front of a guarded chamber with two identical gray wolves standing in front of the rocky doorway. 

“You must go in on your own from here,” the escort told her.

“Okay,” Aleu bowed to him. “Thank you very much.” As he left the area to continue his next duty, the two guards stepped aside, allowing the nervous quarter-wolf to enter the Alpha’s main chamber. Once she stepped past them, they returned to their guarding positions almost immediately. 

White Feather’s chamber was much larger than the main chamber was, although it still maintained the same spherical form. A wide ray of moonlight shone down on the heart of the room, where the stunning figure of the Alpha awaited the young quarter-wolf. The Alpha was no longer gray-white as Aleu had seen her earlier; her fur, now kissed by the lunar radiance from above, was pure white, like freshly fallen snow, and she looked more like a spiritual being than an actual wolf the more the quarter-wolf noticed her. Aleu continued to look around in awe and sheer amazement by the spacious area of just the leader’s room and the now different appearance of the beautiful she-wolf, but the tinkling voice of the Alpha made her gasp and remember her purpose here.

“Aleu,” White Feather called out, getting the yearling’s attention. “Welcome to my chamber room.” Aleu made her way down the layers of lowering stones until she reached where the lunar beams gently began to lighten her coat and where the Alpha stood in front of her with shimmering topaz eyes. “Ah, I see you like it, yes?” 

“It’s beautiful, ma’am,” Aleu bowed low to the ground, just like the others had done last time. “I’ve never seen anything so wonderful before!”

“Why, thank you,” White Feather replied, placing a paw on the quarter-wolf’s shoulder. “There’s no need to bow right now; I invited you here after all, and it’s my pleasure to meet you at last.” 

“At last?” Aleu’s head and ears pricked up in shock. “I’m afraid I don’t understand. Do you know me or something?”

The white she-wolf giggled behind one of her paws. “No, I don’t know you, but I know that there’s a reason why you were sent to our Clan. The Great Aniu led you here, and your safe arrival only proved the prophecy that she sent to me.” 

The quarter-wolf lowered an eyebrow in confusion. “I’m sorry, but no one led me anywhere,” Aleu clarified to the Alpha. “I only ran away to get away from my lying father . . . I just didn’t know where I was going and before I knew it, three wolves took me prisoner.” She let out a small snort. “I hate to be rude, but I’ve never even heard of this ‘Great Aniu’ character. Who is she anyway?” That final question was only out of pure curiosity, but she didn’t know why it sounded so important anyway.

“Hmm, you must be more accustomed to the outside world’s beliefs and not raised on the words and sacred teachings of the wolf,” The Alpha muttered in a quiet tone before informing the clueless quarter-wolf on the beliefs of the wolves. “Why, the Great Aniu is our Creator, the mother of all wolves, the deity that watches the destinies of every wolf on this planet from the very second of conception to the exact moment that they enter eternal sleep.” White Feather explained to the quarter-wolf. “She blesses Alphas with special dreams, visions of things that are to be. Through my most recent vision, she told me that a lost soul would be found on our western territory and decide their destiny here . . . but what else, I really don’t understand.” She lowered her head slightly. 

Aleu let out a gasp, slowly taking a couple of steps backwards. “Am I the lost soul in your dream, White