well. He glanced along the opposite shore for signs of this other pack in the area, ever watchful for some sign of a threat. "I've got a bad feeling about this." he said. The other pack's side of the river was heavily forested with pine and he could see slight, barely noticable movements among the lower branches. They were being watched.

 

As soon as the words had come out of his mouth, Tosca began to tense up too but continued walking. Were they a threat? Friends?"What should we do?" she muttered in a low voice, not knowing where the unknown creatures were.

 

 

Meanwhile, Kai was having the time of her life... and she wasn't even doing anything. While Yuma did his sight-seeing as usual, the almost white wolf darted back and forth, attacking invisible shadows and jumping through the air when she imagined someone sneaking up on her. "I wasn't so sure at first, but living mom and dad was one of the best things to happen ever!" she yipped happily.

 

"Yeah, I know!" Yuma said. "I've always wanted to see new things like this. It's awesome!" He was having the time of his life. All the new sights, smells, and sounds of their new home were pulling him in. The young wolf was totally enraptured.

 

 

Twilight continued to keep a close eye on the opposite shore. "Just keep your voice down and pretend you don't notice." he said. "If they attack, we want them to think they have the element of surprise. Then we'll turn the tables on them.”

 

Tosca nodded gravely, and walked, trying to look away. Instead, she tried to look at the trees several feet away... if their plan was to run, they probably wouldn't make it into the trees in time. The young wolf forced herself to not think about that and glanced straight ahead of her at the cloudy sky. 

 

A small rustle came from across the creek and for a split second, Tosca froze, but as she remembered what Twilight said she forced herself to stay calm.The fur on the back of her neck stood on end."I'm thirsty" Tosca finally mumbled, barely able to take the suspense. She padded over to the edge of the creek and lowered her head to drink, but her ears strained to hear another sound.

 

The black wolf did not drink with her, but rather kept his eyes and ears pealed for anything strange or out of place. He heard the rustle as well, but he refrained from saying anything or even acknowledging he had heard it at all.

 

As Tosca lapped the cool water, she could almost see under the tree branches. For a second she thought she spied... wolves paws? The tawny wolf finished and slowly headed back over to Twilight."I guess we should continue on our way. At this rate, Yuma and Kai are going to beat us back to the den"

 

The black wolf nodded and turned to follow her back to the den. As they left, he cast one glance back over his shoulders. His eyes glazed over for a moment, seeing something only he could see. Then it was over. He began walking again to catch up with Tosca, a small smile briefly flashing across his face as he chuckled quietly to himself.

 

"What's so funny?" Tosca asked, not sure whether to smile or be alarmed. Tosca glanced over her shoulder. Nothing was there..."Was it a fox or something stupid?"

 

 

Kai and Yuma were still having uninterrupted fun. Neither had seen any sign of another pack or any sign of bear. Their parents had always talked about things called humans, but from what Kai could see, there weren't any of those either. 

 

"This place is huge!" she said, dumbfounded. Where they were was bare, but up on top of the hill where the den was, rocks and a few spindly trees dominated the landscape. Deep woods also surrounded the territory, but Kai was scared to death of the darkness under its branches. What if they were attacked in there?! And from where they were, they could also see a few small creeks much farther away.

 

 

Twilight shook his head with a small, knowing smile still on his face. "It was nothing. Nothing we need to think much about at the moment." he said. They had finally reached the den once more, with Rowtag standing outside. He smiled and nodded as they approached.

 

Yuma sighed and took everything in. He loved it more each second! He was curious about the distant forest, but was feeling tired. Time to rest. "Let's go back. I'm beat." he said. He raced Kai back to the den and the two showed up panting not long after Twilight and Tosca had got back.

 

Tosca cocked her head, but followed Twilight toward the cave. From a far off, she could see Kai and Yuma racing their way back. Tosca smiled and shook her head. Curiosity was still itching at her, but the tawny wolf ignored it and headed into the cave.

 

The whole time her siblings and Twilight had been out, Una had been pretending to be asleep. She had no clue what to do about the leader crisis. She was the one meant to be in charge. Now it just seemed like she had given in! There had to be something she could do to assert herself. Tosca wasn't good enough to be the alpha! The sound of the others entering the cave caught her attention, and once more she pretended to be in a deep sleep but kept her ears open to whatever had gone on.

 

Twilight instantly melted into the darkest corner of the cave and became invisible to all present. Rowtag cocked his head and tried to do the same. He nearly succeeded, as his fur was almost as black as Twilight's, but the effect was not complete invisibility. The dark wolf nearby chuckled. “Almost. It takes a little practice.” He said.

 

Yuma walked up and practically collapsed next to his older brother, panting hard and with a big goofy smile on his face. "Ha! I won!" he said. He'd just barely been faster getting to the cave than Kai.

 

Tosca grinned at Rowtag and watched Kai race in a step behind her brother."Yeah but I'll getchya next time!" Kai panted, jumping on her older brother and playfully tugging on an ear.

 

Tosca plopped down as well without a word but then her blue eyes passed over Una who was facing away from the rest of the group."Is she still asleep?" Tosca asked, looking from face to face. Tosca rose to her feet and stepped over to her older sister. Una closed her eyes and kept pretending to be asleep.

 

Yuma was too tired to resist so he let Kai gnaw on his ear. He shrugged at Tosca. "She looks asleep to me" he said. He gave a wide yawn and laid his head down, closing his eyes. It was only about mid day, but he was tired as anything. Soon he was fast asleep. Twilight was also asleep, but only lightly. Rowtag was softly snoring in his own little corner of the cave as well.

 

Kai was so tired she fell asleep with Yuma's ear in her mouth. Tosca didn't find herself as tired as the others. The afternoon light was still shining through the mouth of the cave and it kept Tosca awake. But eventually, she too, was asleep. 

 

As soon as she was sure the others were out, Una stood up. Her eyes swept over everyone and then darted to the back of the cave. She didn't trust the strange black wolf at all. She quietly tip-toed over everyone and with one last glance at everyone else, she took off into the unfamiliar landscape. If they could handle it in pairs, she could surely handle whatever was out there alone.

 

Twilight woke as he heard Una leave the cave. He quietly walked to the entrance of the cave and stared out at her retreating form. He shook his head. "So foolish." he whispered. "You will see soon enough." With that he turned and went back inside just as quietly as he had come out. He knew the elder sister was in for a rude awakening.

 

Una trotted along the edge of the river, following Twilight and Tosca's footprints. Obviously Kai and Yuma hadn't found anything in their direction, otherwise they wouldn't have had so much fun or would have at least talked about it. But Tosca seemed a little shaken. For a moment, Una paused and glanced over the river. Maybe the other pack had met them? She could clearly smell the scent of them from the other side. So with a big breath, Una stepped though the shallowest part of the river until the water came up to her stomach. The grey-brown wolf waded onto the opposite bank and looked back at the cave. "I'll show you guys!" she muttered to herself.

 

"And exactly what would it be that you'd be showin'?" a gruff voice suddenly asked.

 

To be continued….

 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Previous Page

1 2 3 4 5 6