Quintin growled.
Another of the pups whispered,"Somebody. I wanna know Tess's new friend..."
"Tess, who's your friend?" Lilly asked.
I'm surprised she didn't say anything about me calling her "Kid" all this time, Aleu thought.
Tess bit her lip.
"What... Is your name? I've never asked..." Tess whispered.
"Yes you did, silly! Remember, last night? You asked my name, and I said it was Aleu..." prodded Aleu.
"I... Forgot." Tess blushed.
Quintin waved his snow-white paw. "Don't take any offense. She does that a lot." He giggled.
Tess shot a quick glance at him, her lips curled over her teeth.
A snarl sounded from outside. Some wolves said,"Who are you? What do you want?"
Tess and Lilly ran and snuggled into Aleu's fur.
"Who's that, Aleu?" Lilly cried.
Aleu looked at the pups surrounding him, then said," I don't know."
A rough voice sounded from outside. "I'm looking for my son, and I've tracked him to here. Let me in!"
Aleu felt all the blood drain out of his face. "And now I do," He said, darting to the back of the cave. "It's my dad!"
All four pups stood in front of Aleu, trying their hardest to protect him.
"Remember what Aunty Night Shade taught us?" Tess said loudly. "We growl our hardest and bare our claws!"
Tess, Quintin, Lilly, and Sapphire growled and flawed their claws in the air.
Aleu would have chuckled at how silly the puppies looked, but he was scared out of so much as blinking.
Tess growled. "GET IN HERE!"
The challenge brought Aleu back to his senses. "Um, Tess, I don't think that's a good idea..."
Aleu's father ambled through the clearing.
The pups started yowling with all of their might!
Aleu looked at his father: jet black, and even now a good 6 inches taller than Aleu at the shoulders. "Yeah, that's why." Muttered Aleu.
Tess and the others growled.
Quintin yowled. "Get away from Aleu! Don't touch him!"
Sapphire swiped her paw at Aleu's father.
The larger wolf sat, then rolled to his back. "I'm not here to hurt you, Aleu. I'm here to bring grave news...and to apologize."
Lilly growled. "It's a trick..."
Aleu knew the move. It was one his mother had often used, in an attempt to escape a beating. He walked up to his father, and used the counter, placing one front paw against his father's throat, and the other on his chest.
"Speak, but don't make any sudden movements."
The rest growled but Lilly whimpered, "what does he want?"
"Aleu, I bring sad news about your mother. Unfortunately, she has...passed from this world. Her final wish was that I be the one to tell you. I am sorry, Aleu, but I could do nothing."
"DON'T LISTEN TO HIM, ALEU!" Tess's screech pierced the air.
The dark wolf growled. "Who is this insolent cub, to call you by your name, instead of the respectful Sir?"
Aleu pressed on his father's throat until he turned blue, then unblocked his throat and said,"She is my friend, which is more than I can say for you. You will leave now, and never return." Aleu felt the eyes of the entire pack on him, but he didn't care. He released his father. "Go now!"
Tess went up to Aleu and swiped her paw across Aleu's father's face. She left a tiny scratch.
Tess sat, chin high in triumph. "That's how I, Tess, rolls!"
The large wolf growled, but left. Aleu turned to look at the other wolves, the ones staring in awe. "What are you looking at?"
A large black and purple wolf growled. "It's a little odd to see something like that..."
Aleu was confused. "Like what?"
"You just come into our camp and almost kill a wolf without permission..." The wolf growled.
"Yeah, it was me or him, buddy. I would prefer him, after what he did to me."
The wolf growled deeply. "You think you can talk to the deputy like that?"
"I'm leaving right now." Aleu stated, walking toward the cave exit. "And I'm not coming back." Right after he said it, Aleu wished he hadn't. Tess had started to cry.
"Don't go!" Tess wailed.
Aleu leaned down and nuzzled Tess's cheek. "I have to, Tess. These wolves don't want me here."
Tess screamed. "Aunty Night Shade was just weirded out!"
Aleu jerked back in surprise. "What?"
"She's pregnant," Tess whimpered. "She's just a little edgy..."
Aleu went into panic mode. "Do you know what weirded her out?"
"You almost killed your own father," Tess whispered. "I was scared, too."
Aleu sighed and walked outside. He sat down just outside the cave. "I did almost kill him. How could I deal with that when I can't even stand to see a mouse killed?"
Tess whimpered. "Stay... I've never had a friend like you..."
Aleu glanced over his shoulder. For the first time, he noticed that he didn't see a certain face...
"Where's Clara?"
Tess breathed in and out. The tears that had been there 5 minutes ago, came back out of her eyes. She's not there... Tess thought.
"MOMMY!"
Aleu sniffed the air. There you are! He thought triumphantly, but the glee didn't last long. Oh, no... The scent was exactly as strong as his father's...and they were going the same way.
"Where's Mommy?" Tess whined.
Aleu looked at the poor pup. He couldn't lie to her, but he also didn't want to tell the truth. "My dad has her," he found himself saying,"and I'm gonna save her."
Tess screamed at the top of her lungs. "What's he going to do?!"
Aleu put his paw over Tess's mouth. "I don't know, but I have a feeling it's a trap."
"So, what are you gonna do?" Tess's squeak was muffled by her best friend's paw.
"I'm gonna walk into it," he said, then he leaned down and whispered his plan in Tess's ear.
"Do I come?" Tess whispered back.
"No, you stay here. If I let you walk into danger, your mother would kill me herself." Whispered Aleu.
"Mummy would never kill you..." Tess looked away.
"Oh, Tess. It's an expression. It means...yell really loud and really long at someone you know."
"When are you gonna go?"
"Right now." Aleu's stomach rumbled like an angry bull, but he ignored it.
Tess reached up to nuzzle Aleu's nose.
"Goodbye..."
Aleu tapped his snout to the top of Tess's head. "I'll be back. With your mother."
Tess watched Aleu pad out of the den and through the clearing.

Meanwhile...
Clara watched Aleu's father pacing back and fourth. She growled in her chest.
Father glared at her, then said,"Oh, be quiet. Unless I'm mistaken, this is outside your land, so when he comes to save you, I can kill him without penalty."
"Shut up, you moron." Clara snarled.
Aleu could hear the voices, but not loudly enough to hear what was said. He started to put his plan in action.
Clara's eyes blazed with fire as she looked up at Father, as she was held hostage...
Aleu jumped on his Father's back and rode him until he was thrown off. "Run, Clara!"
"Aleu!" Clara called. "I'm staying with you!"
"Then you wanna help me before he kills me?!"
"I'll go for his throat..."
"Hurry, He's coming for me!"
Clara ran toward Aleu's father, yet enemy's, throat.
She took a swift bite to the neck, and blood oozed out...
Seeing the blood, Aleu shied away. "I...I can't!" He said.
Clara growled. "You can't what?"
Aleu gestured to Father's blood. "You know how I feel," he muttered.
Unfortunately, Father got the gist of it, too. "So I raised a vegetarian wolf, huh? I must fix this!"
Clara growled and launched herself to father.
"Don't you dare touch him!" She yowled. "What did he ever do to you?!"
Aleu shied back some more. This was not part of the plan.
He watched the battle between Clara and Father.
Clara growled and shook her head.
What is my problem? She thought sadly.
Clara pulled Aleu by the scruff, and out of the cave.
Aleu was shaken out of his "phobia trance" when Clara dragged him out of the cave. Popping to his feet, he ran. "Come on, Tess is waiting for us."
"What about your father?!" Clara yelled. "He'll hunt us down!"
Aleu was silent for a moment. "He won't bother with you; he learns from his mistakes. You have nothing to worry about, you'll never see him again."
Clara looked deep into Aleu's eyes. "I was talking about you..."
Aleu shifted his gaze to the ground in front of him, and kept running. "Tess is just ahead. I can see her."
Clara growled. "Shut up, Aleu. I don't want you to get hurt or even worse... Killed!"
Aleu swished his tail. He sat down. Stared at the ground. Felt Clara's glare burning into his skull. Remembered why he didn't like being among others of his own kind.
"You're just like the others,"Aleu mumbled,"Acting like I can't take care of myself. Just leave me alone."
Clara's eyes teared up.
"I'm sorry you feel that way..." She whimpered.
She walked away sadly, a tear slipping down her cheek.

Aleu turned and slipped into the greenery, not making a sound. He was sad about losing his only friend, sure. But he was sadder that, in the end, she had turned out like all the others: too caring to realize he didn't want sympathy.

Clara hid under a dead tree.
She tried her hardest not to, but she started wailing.

Aleu went to his old cave. He didn't care if his father found him now. Clara was safe; that's all that mattered.
With a start, Aleu realized that he was crying.
He let the tears come. For the