waves. They curved from the bottom jaw, under her front legs, to right along her stomach, giving her an odd look. However, she was certainly attractive, but very young. He guessed her to be less than two, still a pup, but her attitude proved him wrong. Amak thoroughly thought about the first question he should crack at her.

"So...how old are you?" he asked.

"Two. Why do you ask?" she answered.

"Just wondering. You've got a lot of spunk for a two-year old. I personally thought you were much older." Yes, yes! A little flattery always helps...

"Really?" Her lips lifted into a smile. It was pleasing. She really did have a lovely face if she only smiled a bit. "How old did you think I was?"

"At least...three," he said after a pause.

"That's really sweet of you. Everyone thinks I'm only one. My mother was an arctic wolf, smaller than than the norm. It made me shorter than most. I inherited most of her genes."

Amak gulped as Lilly turned away. He fought for her attention. "She must have been beautiful if you look like her."

Lilly turned to look at him. Her eyes locked hard at his, but not in a pleasant way. The smile across Amak's face faded as she glared at him in hatred.

"I know what you're trying to do, Amak," she began.

"You do?" he asked, flattered.

"And I want you to know that it doesn't change anything...I'm used to people making fun of me." She stomped away, a bold look upon her face.

Amak was speechless. She was impossible! She couldn't hold a compliment without jumping to conclusions that everyone was against her.

The day went on, just as tension build up like a storm cloud. Every time Lilly caught Amak looking at her, lightning seemed to come out of her eyes, making her seem even more cautious than ever before. Each time Amak would try to speak, no words were able to come out after Lilly gave him a piercing glare. Night finally came after an eventful day of traveling. Both wolves, dog-tired, collapsed into a shady overgrowth of trees that served almost as a cave.

Lilly seemed more aching now than angry. Amak tried again to make her cheer up and show her how she could trust him.

"Lilly," he began.

"What do you want now?" Her glowering eyes turned to him.

"I was not making fun of you. I was complimenting you."

Lilly rolled her eyes. "Oh, sure you were," she stated sarcastically.

"Lilly, I meant what I said. Your completion is astounding. I have never met another wolf quite like you."

"Is that what you were trying to say earlier today?" she asked, the mean look diminished.

"On my word."

"I guess I could forgive you. I'm sorry for snapping. Like I said, I have problems trusting people. You never know when they're going to let go of the other end of the rope you're holding on to."

"What's made you this way? Tell me, Lilly."

Lilly locked down on him, furry returning in her eyes that seemed to burn into his. She had a way with making others feel smaller than she.

Eyes finally softening, Lilly looked out to the moon that sat nestled behind the tall pines. Its luminous glow shone through the needles, making it presence known. Lilly sighed and began speaking, never taking her eyes of the moon, afraid to meet the eyes of her listener.

"...never," she finally said.

Amak just smiled and collapsed on the ground slowly. For some reason, he couldn't keep his eyes off Lilly. She seemed unreal, almost as if someone like her couldn't exist. Finally, after quieting his endless thoughts, he fell asleep.

Lilly awoke in the middle of night with a start from dreams about tormenting wolves in the pack. She stared dreamily at him. His steady breathing caused his stomach to rise and fall. Lilly sat watching in a daze. Her blue eyes seemed stuck on his muscular body. She imagined him awaking and catching her gazing at him. She pretended to force herself to turn away and pretend like she had been doing something else.

The instincts and calls from home battled with the loneliness within her heart. She had never met another wolf like Amak. It was almost as if they were meant to be. She could sense that he felt the same way about her. As much as she felt real love for Amak, the pack had a strong influence on her, and she had a promise to keep to herself.

She just smiled blankly and stood up, shaking herself free of a multitude of dry leaves. Home was calling, and not even Amak or the feelings she had for him could pull her apart from the pack. Her eyes caught sight of a familiar landmark, a group of several white cliffs in the distance.

Bending down, she gently licked Amak on the cheek and began her cold journey alone to the pack. It was daybreak by the time she reached the pack grounds, yet the sun had not yet come over the sky. Trying to reach he next bush for cover down the narrow slope, Lilly lost her footing in the loose debris and came tumbling down the ditch. Landing right in the center of the circle of strange wolves, she was once again covered with leaves. Holly gasped in surprise.

“Funny to see you here kicking up more dust,” she remarked snottily.

“Holly,” she growled, reaching her feet.

The stranger wolves circled around her, making it impossible to escape. There was a uneasy feeling in the wind as tensions rose. Holly only laughed and grinned at Lilly with irrepressible delight.

“My step-daughter has returned, my friends. Why don't we throw a party? You know, she would be the perfect person to complete my meticulous planning to allow my son Midnight to be the leader of this pack.”

“I thought I was in the way. If I am supposedly dead, how could I help you get Midnight to the place of leadership.”

“Oh, Lilly, I always knew you were slow and predictable. It's very simple. Tonight at sunset, I will ask your father to take a romantic walk with me to the White Cliffs. My friends will then gang up on us and kill him with my help. Your father will think that we are both under attack, but really I am the instigator of this genius trap. I will then run back to the pack declaring that a foreign pack from the woods killed the leader, forcing a new leader to come to order. This is where Midnight comes to play.”

“And where do I supposedly come in?”

“Oh, Lilly, I was just getting to that!” Holly then whispered something to one of her friends, and a familiar wolf walked up beside them, hanging his head low as two guards stood beside him.

“Amak!” Lilly cried out. “What are you going to do with him?!”

“Oh, Lilly, you are so predictable. If you don't do what I tell you, let's just say that you'll never see him again.”

“Lilly, please!” he pleaded.

Lilly looked as if she were about to break down, but she forced a quick nod that stated her approval.

“Good. As I was saying,” continued Holly, “you and Amak are responsible for guaranteeing Midnight's title of leadership. You see, the law of our pack states that no wolf that is not blood-related to the leader can become leader unless the heir is decreed with treason. And that, Lilly, is where you come into play.”

Lilly's face grew pale and she felt her legs grow numb. They tingled beneath her and she could hardly keep her balance. The mixture of feelings in her brain spun around like a tornado, creating a nauseating perception.

“Can I count on you?” Holly asked with a grin.

Amak's eyes caught onto Lilly, just as she almost declined.

“I'll do anything you tell me to,” she answered weakly.

“Excellent,” stated Holly cheerfully. “Guards! Don't put them together. Oh, and Lilly, get me some deer. And don't think of letting anyone see you or running off because then I will kill Amak. See you later!”

Lilly fell to the floor as Holly gave her a blow in the side. There had to be some way to save Amak and her father, but she could see no way around it. Besides, even if she ditched the pack and left her father and Amak to die, she would meet her own unnamed villain of fate. There had to be some other way to save the ones she loved. Even if she went through with the plan, she would be charged with treason and exiled from the pack, unable to see Amak ever again if they continued to keep him bound.

Lilly caught a deer with ease as these thoughts scurried through her obscure mind. It was too late to turn back now. Reporting to a secret cave where Holly's “friends” stayed, Lilly requested to see Amak after she dropped off the deer. She was led through a dark tunnel to the very back of the cavern where Amak rested peacefully. He did not seem as down as Lilly thought he would be.

“Lilly!” he rejoiced when he saw her. “I can't thank you enough for saving me and putting your own self in danger.”

“Amak, it was worth it for you. You helped me get through all the mysteries of the forest. You saved my life at the river, and I never thanked you. I just hoped I could make it up to you somehow.”

“Lilly, I've been meaning to tell you something,...how I feel about you.”
“Yes?”

“I...uh...”

“Yes?”

“I think I'm falling in love with you. I know I am.”

Lilly's heart danced with his words in a dream. A smile crept across her dirt-smudged face.

“Amak, I've been trying to tell you all along, but I didn't realized how I felt. Now I know. I love you too. I could never leave you.”

“Lilly, I know this is a bad place to ask, but will you be my mate?”

“Yes, yes! Oh, yes! Amak, how I love you!” she shouted, her voice echoing through the tunnels.

Lilly and Amak met nose to nose and held it there for a long time. She nuzzled against him and felt the soft warmth of his body as he indulged himself by gingerly licking the side of her face. Lilly thought the moment would last forever until Holly came in with a startled, yet devious expression.

“Getting cuddly, are we?” she asked with a chuckle. “It's time to go, Lilly.”

Lilly kissed Amak goodbye and followed Holly out of the shallow cave. She was told to sit until Holly howled, which was the signal to bolt to the pack's main cave. The sun was almost setting on the west end of the sky. The time was drawing near as silence overtook the deep