VOICES:

-Buck: Mark Harmon (younger voice)

-Kaya: Sasha Alexander

-Ataneq: Jack Nicholson

-Xenia: Hillary Duff (I hate her but she has a perfect voice for Xenia)

-Nuka: Brian Dietzen

-Bristol: Patrick Swayze

-Bear: William Lee Scott

 I sighed as I tried to follow what the two wolves in front of me were saying. I’d force my eyes to follow them, but my eyes blurred up and I slipped back into my own thoughts. Kaya was probably just as bored as I was. She sat next to me and watched the clouds. Of the four months I’d been alpha, the past one with our pack’s newest editions, Xenia, Boulder and Nuka, had been torture. The only reasons why I tolerated them were because they were my cousins and they were still very young.

“Leader?! Buck?!”

“I’m sorry, can you say that all again?” I said, snapping out of my thoughts. Kaya giggled next to me. Xenia glared at me.

            “I was saying that he lost us our dinner!” she scoffed.

                        “I did not!” barked her grey brother, Nuka, head and tail low.

            “You were too! You were supposed to make the deer go left! Instead, you were too busy fooling around and missed your cue!” She barked.

Nuka laid his ears back, glancing at me and back to Xenia and shifted on his feet.

“Well wasn’t that his first hunt anyway?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.

            “Well yeah, but he should have still been paying attention! I can’t put up with him anymore!”

“Isn’t he your brother?”

Xenia shut her mouth mid sentence and furrowed her brow.

“We ate yesterday. We’ll be fine for another day. Plus, this isn’t the first time a pup messed up his first hunt” I said, standing and stretching.

            “He’s not really a pup anymore” Xenia muttered as she stalked off.

                        “Sorry” Nuka replied in a small voice before following his older sister.

I plopped back down on the ground and sighed. Ataneq, who was behind me the whole time, gave me a sympathetic smile.

“She just turned seven months old and she can already find anything to tattle on” I said flatly.

            “Not as easy as it looks, huh?”

                        “I don’t know how much more of this I can take!” Kaya moaned, dramatically rolling on her back and kicking her feet in the air. “Why did you have to be the leader?”

            “Don’t worry. It took your dad about this long before he got the hang of it too” Ataneq said very distant.

I turned to Ataneq curiously.

“You never really talk about my dad”

            “Not much to say. He and Aniu were only the alphas for a week or two” he shrugged.

I looked up at the dark, cloudy sky. There was a small storm coming, but it was still a storm none the less. And I needed an excuse to take a break from being leader.

“Let’s go back before it rains. Fall rain is the coldest”

I looked around but I only saw Xenia, Nuka and Boulder.

“Come on you three. We’re going home”

They leapt up and eagerly led the way back up the trail. The trail twisted up the double mountains to our tiny den. I went to the edge of the cliff in front of our den, threw my head back and howled. Other howls from far away joined in, telling me my pack was on their way back. Then I turned back to the three siblings.

“Alright, um, Xenia, Nuka and Boulder, you guys can scout the north and west, but try not to kill each other. Okay?!”

Xenia didn’t look happy at all and was about to complain, but her two brothers bounded off, forcing her along with them, Her complaints echoed back to us as she was rushed to the border. At least they’d be out of our way for part of the day.

“Okay” I started, mostly to myself. “I guess we just need a few more to scout the other two…”

            “I’ll go” Ataneq volunteered.

I cocked my head and he shrugged. The rest of the pack happily retreated toward the den.

“Wait”

The pack grumbled and dragged their feet back, listening to what I had to say.

“You need to take someone else with you… I’m sure you could scout by yourself,” I said, laying my ears back respectfully. “But like you always tell me… this is a war”

            “I can take care of myself” Ataneq snapped.

“Sorry” I muttered, lowering myself submissively.

            “Don’t do that either!” he corrected sharply. “You’re the leader and no one is supposed to intimidate you!”

I raised my eyebrows and cocked my head. Ataneq’s gaze softened a little.

            “Sorry. The cold hurts my old bones… makes me kind of grumpy”

“I guess you’re old enough to take care of your old bones then” I said. “I guess you could scout on your own”

The pack happily left once again and left Ataneq, Kaya and I standing by ourselves. Ataneq looked to make sure the pack was gone then nuzzled my head. He hadn’t done that since I was almost killed in a fight…

            “You’re a good leader Buck, and always will be” he smiled, turning to leave.

Too shocked to say anything, I just sat and watched him go. I turned to Kaya and we exchanged worried looks.

                        “What’s up with him?”

“No idea, but I’m kinda worried” I replied, not sure what to do.

Thunder shook the ground, rain started to fall and soak us. Kaya jumped up towards the den and the cover of the mountain rocks.

                        “You coming?”

“Yeah” I looked one last time where Ataneq had left and followed Kaya reluctantly.

Even after we found the pack and shelter from the heavy wind and rain, I didn’t get a wink of sleep. I worried about Ataneq and the look in his dull eyes… I shouldn’t have let him go. It was time to switch scouts anyway. I woke up Kanut and Cikuq and Talon and another older wolf to go out and send the first scouts back. They darted into the downpour without hesitation and a while later, three forms charged back, soaking wet. As worried as I was, I had to smile.

“Fun to scout in the rain isn’t it?”

Xenia glared at me, shook off and her fur expanded, making her look more like a bear then a wolf. Her brothers were too tired after a whole day of torturing their sister and plopped down, fast asleep. Meanwhile, another figure came out of the rain. Just not the one I expected.

            “Leader, we can’t find Ataneq anywhere” Kanut reported.

“Then stay here, I’ll be back in a while” and with that. I leapt out into the storm to the south and east borders. I followed a stale scent of Ataneq’s and tracked it until I found Cikuq trying to follow the same one.

“Go back to the pack” I ordered blandly.

He gave me a curious look, but with a silent nod, he left. I returned to tracking, but the rain was washing away his scent and tracks. My breath started to turn into fog and the cold rain was seeping through my coat and sending chills down my spine. I hated rain. Especially if it was this cold. Suddenly, a new smell caught my attention. I had to sniff it a second time, just to make sure my nose was telling the truth. I smelt my mother’s smell. Clear and sharp as day. Automatically, I knew I would never see Ataneq again.

My eyes started to flood with tears and I remembered all of the times Ataneq had helped me or taken care of me. How was I going to be a good leader now? Ataneq had raised me from puppyhood. It was like losing my parents all over again. Lightening split the sky above me and I shook the tears out of my eyes. I needed to find shelter now. I broke into a run and searched for anything that had shelter besides a tree. Memory told me that an old, abandoned cave was nearby, so I hurried through the rain, still kind of numb, but found the cave. I dived into it and shook the water off. It wasn’t getting any warmer. Shivering, I turned back to the mouth of the cave and sat stiffly, looking out as the storm raged on. Something clicked on the floor behind me. Like a toenail. I spun around.

 “Ataneq?!” I jammed my mouth shut, sadness ripping through me again, but I had other things to think about right now.

Two pairs of eyes, one brown and one blue glowed in the shadows. Bristling and growling, I backed out of the cave. Whatever was in there followed me out. Lightening flashed and as my eyes adjusted, I found myself looking at two wolves. One was different shades of tawny- gold,  the other was in serveral shades of dark brown. Emotions swirled in my head. I wanted to fight. But that would be a foolish thing to do at a time like this.

“Um, hi. First of all this is my territory. But I’ll let you go if I can just use that cave for a while”

            “You’re not in any position to bargain” the brown one spat.

“I’m the alpha. I can take care of you no problem” I shot back.

I took a deep breath and stopped myself. The younger brown wolf snarled but the older one held him back.

“Sorry. What pack are you from anyway?”

            “We’re loners. Our mother and siblings were killed and we don’t know who our father is” the tawny wolf supplied.

“And who are you?”

            “I’m Bristol and that’s Bear” said the golden wolf. “And you are?”

“Not important” I said, still not trusting them. Ataneq would have said it wasn’t wise to spread my name anyway.

They looked at each other but didn’t say anything. I brushed past them into the cave. Now I was all wet again! I shook off, annoyed with having to do it again, then slid down to my stomach. I could hear the two brothers talking outside but as the wind picked up and the rain stopped crashing, they returned. It was pretty obvious they didn’t trust me either. They skulked to the back of the cave again, far away from me, and settled down there. I rested my head on my paws so that I could see them, without it looking like I was staring at them.

Bristol’s head nodded and he fell asleep comfortably. On the other hand, Bear glared at me, very distrustful. He looked as young as Xenia,Boulder and Nuka were, so it didn’t bother me. My heavy lids closed themselves, but in no time at all, I was awakened. I still kept my eyes closed but my ears caught the sound of whispering.

“Come on Bristol! He’s asleep now! We can get him right now!” Bear’s voice whispered excitedly.

            “What do you have against him?” Bristol stated quietly.

“He wanted to fight! Let’s give him one!”

            “Don’t be stupid. He just wants a place to rest” Bristol whispered, shuffling.

“I don’t trust him. He didn’t even tell us his name!” said Bear’s voice, getting a little louder.

            “Then he probably has a good reason”

I was starting to like this Bristol.

“Well I’m not waiting for him to turn on us!”

Soft foot steps started to come my way. And I opened my eyes just in time enough to see a dark shadow creeping towards me. So he wanted a fight, huh?

            “Bear!” Bristolwarned. “Leave him alone!”

The foot steps stopped and the shadow jumped at me. I rolled over, jumped up and rammed Bear, sending his light body rolling. Then I pinned him. Bear was in shock but Bristol didn’t even flinch.

            “I told you to leave him alone” he said calmly, resting his head on his paws.

“Did you know I was awake?”

Bristol shrugged but didn’t answer my question.

 “Can you let my baby brother go?”

I stepped off of Bear, who slipped away and slipped back to Bristol.

“I have to go anyway. We just lost a pack member. I need to scout”

I nodded to Bristol and he curtly nodded back. The rain had let up considerably, but the damp smell still hung in the air as I stepped out of the cave. The early morning sun pierced the few clouds left, warming me up a little, but the autumn air still turned my breath into a cloud. I needed to get back to the pack before they started to really worry.

I was pretty sure that Kaya would have sent out more scouts, but that wouldn’t stop her from being worried. I picked up my pace from a walk to a quick jog and found my way up the trail. When the pack caught sight of me, they charged down the trail, firing questions and asking if I was okay. Naturally, Kaya got to me first.

            “Were the heck have you been?!”

“Patrolling the South and East borders”

            “Oh” she said, relaxing a little. “With Ataneq?”

She glanced behind me, looking for Ataneq and I shook my head sadly.

“Kaya, Ataneq’s gone”

I felt my ears lay back. Kaya looked at me, a little confused. The pack was dead silent, trying to listen.

            “What do you mean? Like the migration gone?”

“No. He’s gone as in never coming back”

The wolves around me looked down and stopped wagging their tails. Kaya had tears in her eyes. Once again, tears stung my eyes and I blinked trying to make them go away. I tilted my head back and started the slow, mournful howl I had always dreaded and admired. Kaya joined in along with the rest of the pack. The sky was filled with the beautiful song until the pack’s feelings were drained. Then we walked back to the den. Kaya wiped her eyes on my shoulder and leaned into me. I nuzzled the top of her head as we lead back to the den. She sniffed my coat and glared at me.

            “Did you get into a fight?!”

“Not a really big one” I said, trying to shrug it off. Kaya kept glaring “This time I was on patrol! You can’t blame me for that!”

Kaya sniffed and forced a laugh.

The next week that passed was the hardest for the pack. I was a little shaky without someone behind me to guide my leadership. Even though it didn’t seem like much, one wolf less made a big difference when it came to hunting too. But eventually, the loss set in and the pack adapted. We didn’t even have territory problems, like the other packs knew, but as they always had, the packs fought with each other and we could hear fights that were close to our borders. Later on that week, I sat where my mother and grandfather used to sit. Kaya spotted me and sat down next to me, looking up into the sky too.

            “Do you miss them?”

“Yeah. I wish I could have gotten to know my mother more. I wish Ataneq was still here to help me” I said mournfully.

            “You don’t need any help” she said unusually kind. “The pack’s fed and healthy”

“I don’t know, I think they’re underfed” I said, holding back a smile and not looking at her.

            “What makes you think that?” she asked softly.

“Because you hog all the food” I couldn’t hold back my laughter any longer and it snorted out my nose first.

Kaya scoffed and knocked me over. I wagged my tail and chased after her. I dived to trip her, but she knew me too well. I slid in the soft mud and she bounded away, using me as a stepping stone.

            “You’re gonna have to do better then that!” she called over her shoulder.

Then she froze.

“What?!” I said apprehensively.

            “Shhhh. Did you hear that?” she said, ears twitching.

I strained my ears and picked up a howl from the Eastern border.

“That’s Nuka. He’s scared of everything. But we should probably go” I said, relaxing.

Kaya and I jogged down the trail, leaving the pack in the care of Talon, the beta.

            “What do you think it is this time?” she joked.

“Probably a squirrel” I laughed. “But they can be pretty dangerous!”

We followed the footprints until they veered sharply off the trail. Then I spotted the pink in the snow. I bristled and sprinted. Kaya gasped behind me and we followed the trail into the woods.

“Xenia!? Nuka!?”

The two siblings were facing two other wolves. The unknown tawny one made a move for Nuka. I jumped and tackled the wolf to the ground, pinning him. This wasn’t an unknown wolf!

“Bristol?”

Bristol stopped growling and I let him get up.

“What are you guys still doing here?”

            “Food’s getting scarce. We were following a deer and I guess we kind of surprised your scouts” Bristol said, not at all shaken up.

I looked over to Xeniaand Nuka.

“Are you guys okay?”

                        “Yeah Leader. Nuka’s got a scratch on his leg, but it’s nothing serious. He did it to himself even before we found these two”

            “It could be infected…” I heard Nuka mumble.

“I don’t think there’s any real problem then”

I noticed Bear out of the corner of my eye. His blue eyes burned into me, but in a different way then last time.

“Uh, hi Bear”

            “Hi…” he tried to remember my name but I never told him “…Leader!”

I looked at Bristol. Bristol shrugged and shook his head.

“Do you want to come with us? We have an opening” I joked.

            “Really!” Bear exclaimed.

I glanced at Bear, eyebrows raised.

“Yeah, really”

Bristol smiled and said “That would be great. Thanks”

Kaya looked from Bristolto me.

“Are you serious?!”

“Why not?” I asked curiously.

“I don’t know! Ataneq didn’t let any strangers into the pack!”

“Well they’re hungry and I know them” I said.

Kaya rolled her eyes.

“Nuka, are you good enough to keep on scouting?” I said checking out the tiny scratch on his front leg.

            “I guess so” mumbled the young wolf.

“Then you guys keep scouting until sundown”

Xenia glared at her little brother who shrank away and I turned away before she could complain and led the way back. Bear walked right behind me, eyes on me all the time. I moved awkwardly, trying to focus on something else. But it was impossible.

“Why is he watching me?” I whispered to Bristol.

            “You’re his hero. Since the last time we saw you, he hasn’t stopped talking about you”

“Oh” I said, uncomfortable.

I looked back again. Bear was still staring. Kaya giggled.

            “Who are you anyway? You didn’t tell us your name last time”

“Oh. Right. It’s Buck”

Bristol nodded but Bear’s eyes widened.

                        “Some wolves were talking about you!”

I stopped and looked at Bear, chills racing down my spine.

“What did they say?!” I demanded.

                        “Well, after you left, a big black wolf and an old wolf were walking around, so Bristol and I stayed in the cave. The big black one was saying that you were dead. The old one said he was sure because you fought them. He said you had the scar and you were with your friend”

Kaya and I gave each other looks.

            “Is he your friend?” Bristol inquired.

“You could say that” I muttered.

I picked up the pace and when we got back, I introduced the brothers to the pack, much to their displeasure. Then I announced that Boss might be back. That took their minds of Bristoland Bear…

“We don’t know for sure yet, so don’t over react. Just to be safe, We’ll have four scouts patrol the eastern border and two on the other three borders. Okay?”

The pack quieted, but they all nodded.

A week past with no exciting incidents and I was beginning to wonder if Bear really had seen Boss. Then again, the old wolf I had fought before was from far away and that would explain his absence. The only things we could do was to watch and get ready… Meanwhile, something else had started to stir inside me. I was very close to being two years old and I should have started looking for a mate… but deep inside, I knew there was only one perfect for the job. And I didn’t have to look very far to find her….

Buck, Kaya, Ataneq, Bear, Xenia, Nuka and Boulder (c) me

Boss (c) Tadie

Bristol (c) Anileu