The wind howled in the night as the branches swayed and trees groaned in the white air of the blizzard around them, the snow seeming to flow like a waterfall from the sky. The small valley was completely blank, and void of almost any color but bright white. Almost. The frosty landscape was only marred by a solitary figure, pushing its way through the bad weather and ice, a drop of ink on the paper that was the Alaskan winter season. 

The figure, a wolf, was thin from months of near starvation, yet still he clung to a small strand of life, dangling from its end and holding on with a death grip. Any moment could be his last. He was a survivor, one who had seen Death and stared him down, refusing to let the reaper rip him from the world. His eerie yellow eyes pierced the white haze around him, seeking shelter. Out of the bright gloom rose a cliffside, a small cavern rooted in its base. 

The wolf moved forward and suddenly emerged from the blizzard and into the damp air of the underground. His black fur instantly melted him into the shadows, an invisible cloak seemingly placed upon him. Only his yellow eyes were to be seen. He laid in a corner of the cave, shivering, yet no emotion showed on his face. It was as cold and calculating as the stone walls around him. He laid down his head and closed his eyes, memories flooding back before being trapped behind his mental dam once more. For the longest time he lay in silence, nothing but his breathing and the howling wind to be heard, until finally, a three words escaped him. They floated out into the cavern air as a hoarse whisper, filled with regret and loss that his face could not portray. "I'm sorry sister."

 

 

"Finally, freedom!" Tosca breathed.How long had she dreamed of the day she could finally leave her parents pack! She loved them both, but she had waited so long to prove that she could take care of herself!

 

"I'm gonna miss mom and dad" Kai added sadly. "Why'd we have to leave in the middle of winter anyway?"

 

Tosca ignored her younger sister and observed her surroundings as the snow began to fall steadily. It wasn't quite a storm yet, but she could bet it was going to be a nasty one. 

"Don't forget who's in charge!" Una said, pushing in front of Tosca.

 

Tosca groaned. "Just because you're the oldest doesn't mean you're in charge" Tosca drawled slowly.

 

"Please don't fight again" Kai whined, backing away toward her older brothers, Rowtag and Yuma.

 

"It's not even worth a fight..." Tosca practically spat. "But with Una in charge, we're as good as gone"

 

Una ignored her younger sister and set off, leading the tiny band of five out into the wild.

Yuma sighed and shook his head. "Girls." he muttered under his breath. "There's no living with them. Right, Ro?" The young wolf looked back at his older brother, walking a few steps behind the others. He just shrugged in reply. He never said anything much anyway, so that was all the answer Yuma had expected. The brown wolf turned his head around and began to examine their surroundings again, ignoring the sound of conversation coming from his sisters in front of him. 

 

The small group of wolves had soon entered into a wide valley. A vast sea of white, broken here and there by the odd tree rising from the depths, was spread out before them. The hills seemed as if rolling waves over the landscape, sharply contrasted by the grey-black of the small mountains that stood on the Northern and Southern sides of the valley. The scene created a thrill inside of Yuma; a sense of adventure he'd never felt before, yet revealed in at every moment and every step he took. He loved this feeling, and would've desired nothing else than to be where he was at that very moment.

 

"Hurry up guys" Una ordered, looking over her shoulder. "We need to stick together"

 

"They aren't that far behind, stop worrying" Tosca snapped in response.

Una rolled her eyes. The snow began to fall in thicker flakes and the wind began to pick up. The flakes melted through the thick coats of the wolves and made their fur wetter. Una knew that it was getting colder and had to find shelter, but there was nothing in sight.

"Shouldn't we find shelter soon?" Tosca ventured, raising an eyebrow.

 

"Yeah Una, I'm getting kinda cold" Kai said softly, shivering.

 

Una's brown eyes passed over the now snow-blurred landscape but it was impossible to see anything."Then let's go this way" Una replied, breaking into a jog and stepping further away from the woods and out into the open. Kai followed quickly, afraid of being left behind, but Tosca glanced back at her brothers. She knew that Una was losing confidence. There was no way they could find anything to take cover in!

 

Yuma was finally distracted from his sight-seeing by the cold, wet feeling of the snow in his fur. He and Rowtag ran to catch up with the others and search for shelter. His eyes ran back and forth across the land. The storm was getting steadily worse and he began to feel that things weren't so much fun anymore. "You know, maybe it wasn't such a good idea to leave if we... Hey, what's that?" he said, noticing a dark blotch in a cliffside some distance away. A second look revealed it to be the entrance to a cave. Yuma shivered again, more violently this time. "D-does that l-look like a good s-spot, Una?" he asked. He hoped so. He was just about to freeze to death if he stayed out too much longer, and he was sure Kai was doing worse than he was.

Una squinted out into the haze of white around her and spotted the cave Yuma had found.

"Yeah" Tosca answered before Una. "Let's hurry!"Without waiting for Una's advice or leadership, Tosca set off, Kai right behind her. Una scoffed, anger rising a bit then turned, daring her brothers to follow Tosca. "Come on guys! You're gonna freeze!" Tosca yelled over her shoulder, now in a dead sprint.

 

Yuma raced after his sisters, Rowtag not far behind. "Come on Ro, lets hurry and get inside!" he said. His older brother just grunted in reply. Before too long, they had reached the cave. They were all settled in and breathed a sigh of relief. The three sisters went to one side of the cave to huddle down while Yuma and Rowtag went to the other side. "We made it. Yes!" the younger wolf said. "That wasn't so bad." He gave a sweeping look around the cave, taking it all in. For a brief moment he thought he saw some strange light in a far corner, but it was fleeting so he just brushed it off as a trick of the mind. "Well it's not so bad here, is it Ro?" he asked, but soon turned to find his brother already asleep, as were his sisters. Yuma shrugged and gave a yawn. It was about time for him to rest too. He needed it. Little did he know as he submerged himself in his own dreams that he and his siblings were being watch from the shadows, by a pair of eerie, yellow eyes.

 

 

Una groaned as she settled down next to an already sleeping Kai, but Tosca couldn't fall asleep as easily. She didn't trust Una as far as she could throw her and she had a bad feeling she couldn't shake off. Almost as if someone was watching her. Tossing and turning restlessly, Tosca finally picked herself up and walked over to the mouth of the cave. Nothing moved outside as far as she could see. The wind had stopped howling at least... but the snow was still falling in vast quantities.

 

Tosca sat there for a while, trying to tire herself out, but she couldn't get rid of that feeling in her gut."Nothing's wrong Tosca!" she told herself. "If someone was watching you, they'd have to be in the cave and you saw for yourself that there’s no one else here."

Sighing frustratedly, Tosca turned back to her sleeping family and headed back to sleep on the other side of Kai. But as she walked back, she had to do a double take. Was there someone in the back of the cave? ‘Had to open my big mouth, didn’t I?’ she thought.

 

Tosca tilted her head and squinted but all she could see was black. She shook her head bitterly and plopped onto the ground, facing away from the back of the cave. She convinced herself that no one was back there, but just to show herself one more time, the tawny wolf glanced over her shoulder. A pair of yellow eyes stared back at her. Was it an illusion? "Hello?" Tosca whispered, trying not to wake her tired siblings.

 

 

The black wolf stayed hidden in the shadows, watching the new arrivals with mild curiosity. They were fortunate to get inside when they did, as it appeared that another storm had begun outside. He was beginning to believe he would never leave this blasted cave. Not that there was much wrong with that. He didn't have much of anywhere to go anyway. 

 

One of the females got up and began wandering. She seemed agitated, and filled with frustration. Understandable, as loss of sleep does that to everyone, and the black wolf knew that very well, as he himself hardly slept at all. He only slept as much as he needed to maintain his ability to stay alert, and that was all. Then the female cast her eyes in his direction and she apparently had discovered his presence, as she called out to

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