White Feather?” The words took their time to come out of her mouth, but eventually they escaped from her lips. “Am I meant to figure out my destiny here, as a member of your Clan?”

White Feather shook her dainty head slowly. “That is unknown, young one. Each and every creature has a certain fate that they are bound to since the day they were thought to existence, and we all have the power to change our destinies, even though we may not understand what they are right away; since you’re so young and unsure of what awaits your future, I’m sure your own destiny will be known in due time.” 

The quarter-wolf, disappointed by the Alpha’s wise words of guidance, let out a deep sigh and lowered her ears to her neck. “What about you?” The Alpha’s white velvet ears perked up at the sudden query. “When you were my age, how did you get to where you are? Was this your destiny: to be an Alpha of a large group of wolves that no one else wanted?”

“Well,” The Alpha began to speak, surprised by such an unexpected question from such a curious pup. “I remember I was born to my mother, who passed her lupine looks to me. I had two other siblings, a brother and a sister; the sister was always by my side when I was growing up, but when I was a few months old, my father took the other one away to the lands in the west . . . I never saw my only brother again.” She let out a deep sigh of remembrance.  

“I-I-I’m sorry to put that pressure on you,” Aleu bowed apologetically. “I didn’t know.”

White Feather again placed a paw on Aleu’s shoulder. “It’s all right. It’s been over four years since I last saw him, so he’s probably changed a lot since back then.” She smiled slightly, although Aleu could sense that the subject of the Alpha’s lost brother was hard for her to talk about at times; strangely, the white she-wolf was quite calm about speaking him. “Every opportunity I was able to find, I tried to search out my brother and father’s scent. Once I thought I had found him when I check at the bottom of a nearby mountain cliff due east from here, but . . .” The Alpha let out a small chuckle. “I realized it wasn’t him; he didn’t even acknowledge me, so I left him . . . despite his own dilemmas, I suppose.” White Feather sighed deeply as she gazed back at Aleu’s now lifted face. “You know, I feel comfortable talking about my past with you, Aleu.” She chuckled a bit and continued. “It’s . . . it’s like, I don’t know how to explain this feeling I have with you.” 

“It seems like everyone can tell me about their lives today,” Aleu responded with a light sigh. “I thought I had it bad when I learned that my father kept the secret of my mother and other siblings being dead and me being born part-wolf . . .” She sighed, her head collapsed parallel to her front legs. “I was so upset at the time that I yelled at him . . . ran away from him . . . hoping that he would just leave me alone.” She huffed at the ground. “He’s always so protective of me, even though he doesn’t mind me running off to play within the town; but when it comes to the forest, he never goes in it, and he tells me never to go in there. Oh, I don’t understand fathers at all.” Aleu let out another deep sigh of frustration.

“Fathers can be difficult sometimes,” the Alpha told her. “Where most pups have one father, I’ve had two in my entire life: my real father and my mother’s twin brother. From personal experience, I’ve learned that it’s normal for a father to be protective of their young once they have someone that they love with all their heart. Their actions may seem harsh and cruel to you when you do disobey them, but they do that only because care about your safety, not because they hate you or anything.” By the Alpha’s tone, it seemed that she was speaking from events that had happened in her own adolescent years.  

“So, I guess my papa’s out in the woods looking for me, huh?” Aleu asked with a sigh.

White Feather nodded. “Probably. He just wants to make sure that his daughter is safe . . . and to possibly make amends, that’s all. Give him a chance to show that he loves you, and maybe you’ll understand the importance of being a family.” 

“Maybe,” the quarter-wolf began, but was interrupted by the large form of the wolf that had escorted her to White Feather’s chambers.

“My Alpha, the hunting party has returned. The feast is ready and waiting for you to bless in the main chamber,” The medium-gray and white wolf bowed in a formal manner at the top of the stone stairs inside the large chamber. 

“I’ll be on my way in a moment. Thank you, Oak,” the white Alpha sent him away, returning the gesture with a light nod of her head. Once Oak had left, White Feather turned to Aleu. “I’ve only been Alpha here for nearly three years; I ran away from my guardian when I was over a year old, changed my name, and started my own pack for those wolves that were looking for a new life. It was hard, and I began to wonder why the Great Aniu would choose me for such a difficult task. It was couple of years later when I saved a days-old pup from certain death in a raging river that I realized my life’s true purpose . . .”

Aleu gasped lightly after hearing those words. Could she be talking about . . . Geona? She thought, remembering the light-gray’s story of her mother’s rejection of her as a young pup.  

“As I watched that young pup suck against my own teat with my own litter of two pups,” the Alpha continued as she led Aleu back up the stairway out of the chamber. “I realized that my quick actions had just saved someone’s life. My duty out here was to raise and care for those that could not protect themselves, and once they matured, they would return the favor by protecting the Clan that saved their lives.”

“But these others,” Aleu wondered without actually thinking about what she was saying. “They aren’t related to you by blood, and yet they are still wolves like you. How can you love them like family when clearly they are different than you?” 

“Don’t you have anyone in your life that isn’t like you but you love them like family?” White Feather halted, staring into the pools of gold and blue. She paused for a moment, allowing the harsh words to sink in. “Just remember that they may be different on the outside and may have different , but the on the inside . . . in the heart, we are all a part of the same large family.”

The Alpha’s powerful words touched the young quarter-wolf, her thoughts could clearly be felt just by looking into Aleu’s softened eyes.  

She’s right, Aleu thought to herself, her ears hung low against her neck. There’s Boris, Muk and Luk, . . . and Rosy . . . they’re all different, but they care for me . . . a lot. I feel so stupid for not realizing that before! Oh, she must think that I’m so selfish . . .

“I . . . I . . .” Aleu stammered; she wanted to say something aloud to thank her for the advice, but deep down inside, the words just wouldn’t come out. 

“Now, there’s no need to thank me,” White Feather chuckled softly. “You’re still quite young and learning more about the world you are a part of, so it’s okay. Besides, we have a feast to get to. Come on.” The Alpha gave her a grin. “I’ll introduce you properly there.”

“Oh, okay,” Aleu cleared her throat and followed behind the elegant Alpha out of her very large chambers and down to where the rest of the Runaway Clan awaited for the Alpha’s blessing and the beginning of the majestic feast that was in front of them. After a few moments of getting into their appropriate places in the main chamber, the feast ceremony commenced.  

“My children, we meet once more together to share another meal,” White Feather rose her head high as the rest of her Clan lowered theirs in honor of their Alpha.

Aleu, who was placed near Geona in the large circle of wolves that were surrounding their kill of a couple of medium-sized deer, followed along, although the stench of the quick-rotting carcass began to make her nearly vomit. 

“Gosh, it smells awful!” Aleu murmured to Geona with a tone of disgust. “Do you really plan to eat that?”

Geona nodded and quickly hushed the almost yearling with a gesture. “Shh! The Alpha’s praying to the Great Aniu!” Like the other wolves, she and Aleu lowered their heads and closed their eyes in prayer, allowing White Feather’s blessing to linger around their ears. 

“Oh Great Aniu,” the white Alpha spoke in an almost mystical voice. “We thank you for your protection and strength that you give us everyday. Thank you for sending us nourishment so that we may live through another day in the land that you’ve blessed us. We live together, only to prove to those that lost faith in us that we are meant for much more. Again, we are at your mercy . . . watch over us as we continue to flourish into a Clan that will live on forever.” White Feather paused for a moment, only following it up with a howl as an Amen. The rest of the Runaway Clan joined suit, letting their voices harmoniously intertwine before White Feather silenced them prior to eating.

“Before we eat, I would like to introduce our honored guest of this evening,” The ivory she-wolf pointed a paw at the quarter-wolf, gesturing her to rise so that all could see. “This is Aleu, a possible new member of our Clan. Yes, if you can not tell by her scent, she is only part-wolf, but please treat her like you wish to be treated.” White Feather bowed slightly to Aleu, who lowered her head slightly at the statement of her being only part-wolf. As she sat back down beside Geona, White Feather nodded. “Now, let us enjoy this kill together.” To begin the feast, the Alpha opened her mouth and tugged on a piece of deer hide, ripping it until the raw meaty juices spilled on her jaws, staining her white muzzle red. Once White Feather began to eat, the other wolves finally moved forward,