VOICES:

-Buck: Mark Harmon

-Kaya: Sasha Alexander

-Bristol: Patrick Swayze

-Bear: William Lee Scott

-Talon: Christopher Lloyd   

  The fresh, spring breeze blew into my face and I inhaled deeply. A month ago, I would have taken it for granted… but now I wouldn’t let it escape. I tried to listen to the rustling pine trees, but it was hard to hear. It would have been even easier to enjoy if Kaya wasn’t such a loud eater.

            I opened my eyes and watched my mate, stomach expanded with pups, practically inhale her food. The rest of the pack sat around her, mouths watering. No one said a word. The less they got Kaya to talk, the faster she would eat. I peered around at my pack and cracked a smile.

“Wow, you were that hungry and you didn’t even help hunt… and I think you’re gaining some weight” I said, trying to keep a straight face.

Kaya whipped around and glared at me. But since she had a full mouth, she didn’t say anything, just aggressively chomped on her food.

            “I think you look good for someone eating for, you know…more…” Bear said, laying his ears back.

“I thought you were supposed to back me up on everything!” I yelped, turning to Bear.

Bear shrugged sheepishly, keeping his eyes on Kaya.

            “If I had a choice between which of you two doesn’t get mad at me, I’d choose the pregnant one” he shrugged again.

                        “How do you even know I’m having puppies!? Do you think I look fat!?” Kaya snapped, turning to him so that their noses touched.

Bear shot backwards and behind me, his tail between his legs.

“Relax, Kaya. I guess mood swings are part of being pregnant…” I slammed my mouth shut.

For a second, I thought I was going to be in for it, but Kaya only glared, then gave in.

                        “I know! I just needed to let my anger out and there’s no pregnant one to choose” she shot back, glaring at Bear again.

I sighed and shook my head. The rest of the pack waited for Kaya to finish, not daring to upset her again. But like her mood, Kaya’s appetite swung rapidly. Halfway through chewing a mouthful, her face turned a different color and she spat out the meat.

                        “I’m done” Kaya moaned. “I’ll be back in the den if you need me”

 Atka, Kaya’s new best friend and care-taker until she had pups, snagged a part of the deer and hurried to catch up with Kaya as the alpha female headed for the cave.

As soon as her grey and tan tail was out of sight, the rest of the pack dove for our catch before Kaya changed her mind. Bristol sat patiently and waited with me, even though we were the two highest ranking in the pack and should have eaten first.

            “When is she going to have those puppies?! I don’t know how much more I can take!”

“I don’t know… it has to be soon though…” I said, absentmindedly looking over my pack.

            “How’s your side?”

“It’s better then it was” I said quietly. I didn’t want to admit that it still bothered me…

            When the pack started to clear out, Bristol and I where about to start eating when Atka charged back, skidding to a stop in the slushy spring snow.

 “I think Kaya’s having her puppies!” she barked excitedly.

The whole pack jumped up at once, following Atka back to the den in a mad rush.

“What should we do?!” I blubbered as I slid to the front of the den.

Why didn’t I know what to do? I’d never had puppies before! Bristol picked up the slack…

            “Atka, go in and help Kaya if she needs it and whoever’s scouting go to your usual places, the rest of you just relax and breath! She’s only having puppies…” the beta snapped.

                        “Only having puppies!” we heard Kaya laugh hysterically from inside the den. “Have you ever had puppies before?!”

             Her drama was cut short by a short whimper. I jumped to my feet. I had to help her! I made a break for the den, but Bristol blocked me.

“I need to help!” I said desperately. “She’s hurt!”

            “Calm down Buck, she’s fine. You’re just going to stress her out more if you go in”

With a small whimper myself, I ordered myself to sit. Bristol was right. But with another yip from Kaya, I dived for the den again.

            “Yukon, Bear, take Buck away from here!” Bristol ordered sharply.

I didn’t object. I knew I was being irrational. Yukon and Bear led the way back to the deer; I don’t think they had eaten much either. Even though Kaya was out of earshot, I couldn’t calm myself down. Would she be okay? What if the pups died? What if Kaya died? What if Boss killed them while I was gone?! What if the den collapsed?! WHAT IF THE MOUNTIANS EXPLODED?!

            “You really shouldn’t stress yourself. She’s going to be fine” Yukon said, blue eyes studying me.

“I just need something to eat that’s all” I said, shrugging him off as we approached the half eaten deer.

Yukon and Bear wasted no time digging in, but no matter how hard I tried, I just wasn’t hungry. I plopped down and tried to close my eyes, but I wasn’t tired enough to fall asleep either. Bear lay down next to me, shifting uncomfortably. Yukonsat down next to us and kept watch while Bear dozed and I tried to squeeze my eyes shut. But there was just no way that it was going to happen…

            We lay there for what seemed like an eternity before I just couldn’t take it anymore.

“Let’s head back” I moaned, getting to my feet.

Yukon nodded and Bear blinked the sleep out of his eyes and followed us, still drowsy. We trudged back until the den came into sight… If it was this dark out, the pack should have been asleep. But they weren’t at all. The entire pack swarmed in front of the den and a desperate Bristol was trying to ward them off. I broke into a sprint, heart beat accelerating wildly. The pack moved out of my way, smiles wide and tails wagging. Wait… was someone missing? I didn’t have enough time to mull it over before Bristol caught my attention and smiled warmly.

            “Congratulations”

I smiled nervously and hesitated at the mouth of the den.

 “Kaya?!”

            “I’m right here…” she said. I had never heard her use that tone of voice, ever. “I’m not going anywhere…”

I slipped into the den and made my way toward Kaya. My eyes adjusted to the dark and the first things I saw where the three shapeless lumps squirming next to Kaya. My mate looked up and smiled warmly, eyes sparkling. The three lumps wriggled and whimpered. The first born pup was easy to see, her coat bright white. The smallest pup looked like she was the same color as Kaya but with a white and the middle pup was the same color as me minus the white chest and paws. I nuzzled Kaya but couldn’t tear my eyes away from my new family..

“Wow” I said breathlessly. I was a father?

            “Yep. Not bad for a first time mom, huh?” Kaya said proudly.

“Not bad at all. I think we should name her Anyu” I said, motioning to the white pup.

            “Maybe, but I don’t want to name them just yet…”

I smiled and got up to leave.

“Just rest before you get cranky or something” I smiled.

            “I never get cranky!! When have I ever gotten cranky!?”

I backed out of the cave as fast as I could before Kaya could follow me.

Even though the pack was missing a hunter, we were able to catch another deer and various small animals because of the warm spring weather. During Kaya’s absence, I grew more on edge. It seemed like every once and a while, we were another wolf short, or like someone was sneaking around at night. However, I tried to ignore the feeling and worry about Kaya instead. We hunted without Kaya for a whole week but constantly stopped in to see the pups. They didn’t come out very often, but when they did, the whole pack wanted to play. They had all opened their eyes by now and the two younger pups had Kaya’s bright blue eyes. Only the oldest female had brown eyes like me. And after a long debate between Kaya and I, we had decided to name the white female Anyu, the black male Dakota and the youngest one that looked like Kaya, Sitka. Thankfully, by the time the next week had passed, Kaya was confident enough to leave the pups with the newly crowned babysitter, Talon, much to Talon’ displeasure. But she still had to go back to the cave continuously to feed the pups. I had never thought of her as a mother before, but her maternal instincts surprised me when I least expected them.

“You better watch out for Dakota!” I told Kaya playfully one day as we made our way back to the den. “He’s gonna be just like me, I bet!”

I grinned but when I glanced at Kaya for her reaction, the look on her face dissolved my smile.

“What’s wrong?”

She shook her head.

            “What if he is just like you?!” she burst out.

“That’s not such a bad thing is it?” I asked, laying my ears back, a little hurt.

            “What if he gets attacked by other wolves! What if he gets hurt by Boss! What if he gets shot! What if-!”

I blocked my frantic mate, licked her nose and looked straight into her blue eyes.

“I promise, as long as I live, nothing will ever get to those pups” I said with a small smile.

Kaya smiled back and nuzzled me.

“Now let’s go home before everyone gets worried about us” I said, leading the trail up to the den.

Suddenly, Kaya gasped.

“What!?” I said, hackles rising after listening to all of Kaya’s worries.

I followed her gaze to see a beat up Talon sleeping in front of our den. We rushed over as fast as our feet could carry us. Where was the pack when we needed them?!

“What happened?!” Kaya and I barked in unison.

Talon woke with a start and managed to nod into the cave and motioned for us to stay quiet. As we started into the cave, Kaya bristled up as much as I was. But nothing could prepare us for what we saw next…

            All three pups were curled up with each other, sleeping peacefully. Kaya and I exchanged glances.

                        “I think their teeth are starting to come in” Talon moaned behind us.

Not being able to help myself, I laughed right out loud. Talon scowled and threw himself on the ground. The pups’ eyes popped opened and they all scrambled over to us excitedly.

“What did you guys do to Talon?” I asked Dakota gently as he jumped up to lick my face.

            “We hunted him!” Dakota yipped excitedly.

                        “Yeah! I knocked him over!” Sitka added just as excited.

“Next time, you need to pull his tail” I smiled, winking.

            “Are you serious?!” Talon snarled, wiping the smiles off our faces.

“Calm down they’re only puppies!” I replied, raising an eyebrow.

            “They need to be taught manners and need discipline!” Talon growled, moving toward the puppies. Kaya growled softly and I stood in front of the pups.

“Get out of here and cool off!” I growled. “Or get out of the pack”

 Talon looked between me and the pups whirled around and stormed off. I watched him go, confused.

            “What got into him?” Kaya snorted.

“I have no idea… we aren’t leaving the pups with him again, that’s for sure” I declared.

            “Really? Cause I was gonna tell the pups to follow Talon and play with him some more” Kaya replied sarcastically.

“Who can watch them now?” I mumbled, half to myself as the two younger pups wrestled.

Anyu, who was listening intently, looked around and beamed.

                        “What about them daddy?” she yipped, pointing down the trail.

Three red hybrids floundered around in the wet grass, soaking up their time off. Well, today was about to be their lucky day.

“Atka, Nero, Yukon! Come here for a second!” I called enthusiastically.

My two nephews and niece came running up excitedly expecting some amazing job. I looked between the three and grinned widely.

“How would you guys like to take up a super important job?”

Kaya had to hold back a laugh. Yukon caught on and nudged Atka, who watched me skeptically. Nero, however, was almost bouncing with excitement.

“You guys get to…. watch the pups!”

The hybrids’ smiled dropped right off their faces.

“Don’t like that, huh?” I said sympathetically. “Then let’s have a vote”

They sat to attention and didn’t say a word.

“Who ever wants someone else to pup sit, raise a paw”

Three paws went up.

“Too bad” I smiled. “Sorry, I’m leader and we don’t vote”

The three siblings grumbled and dragged their feet over to their new charges.

“See, problem taken care of”

I strutted away proudly, knowing Kaya was about to pounce. She did and landed square on my back, pushing me into the mud.

                                                *                      *                      *

            “That’s my piece!”

“No it’s not!”

            “You have two pieces and I don’t have any! Give it back!”

“It’s mine now! I’m stronger, I need more to eat!”

            “I’m faster! See! Now I have it!”

“Not for long!”

I heard them growling and heard Kaya sigh and moan:

            “Please make them stop! I need a nap”

I was past thinking that the pups’ fighting was funny. My three month old pups were just learning how to eat meat by themselves, and it now it was harder to keep them from stealing each other’s food.

“Knock it off you two! Where are your baby sitters?” I said, opening one eye.

            “They went to go get a drink” Anyu supplied.

“Can I trust you to go bother them and leave us in peace?” I moaned.

Anyu nodded proudly and turned to her younger siblings.

            “Let’s go find Atka, Nero and Yukon you guys!”

Sitka and Dakota dropped their scraps of meat and scrambled after Anyu excitedly. I couldn’t help but to smile as I watched them. I started to close my eyes again…

            “Buck- I mean Leader?”

I opened my eyes and there stood Talon, face expressionless.

            “It’s your turn to scout” he said blankly.

“Oh, right” I said, standing up and stretching. Bear started to get up too; he usually scouted with me.

            “Actually, I missed my scouting shift. I’ll go now” Talon stammered, averting his eyes.

Something was definitely up. I studied Talon cautiously and turned to Bear, who was staring disappointedly at the ground.

“All three of us can go” I said firmly.

Talon started to object, but I started toward the western territory lines. Bear scurried after me and Talon followed us with a dark expression on his face.

“Keep your eye on him” I muttered to Bear. “He’s been acting really weird”

Bear nodded excitedly as we reached the territory lines and started to scout. I kept out a sharp eye for anything unusual and Bear sniffed the ground for intruders. Talon wandered in and out of sight but didn’t seem to be doing anything important. Suddenly, Bear stood alert. I stopped and sniffed the air but only smelt an arctic fox.

            “I think there’s a white wolf over there!” Bear whispered excitedly.

“Go check it out pup” I said, chuckling to myself.

Bear launched himself into the bushes and I heard the fox start to snarl at Bear as he landed on it.

            “Watch where you’re going pup!” the fox shrieked as it chased Bear out of the bushes.

I laughed and turned to see Talon’s reaction. Talon had wandered off again. I strained to listen and walked slowly. Oh well.

                        “Leader! Behind you!” Bear yelled.

Something landed straight on my back and sent me tumbling. I slipped back onto my feet and growled at my attacker ...Talon? Bear jumped out of the bushes and growled at Talon.

“Stay out of this Bear. This is our fight” I said low in my throat.

Talon grinned and crouched.

“So you’re the one that’s been sneaking off!” I said darkly.

“Never thought you’d pick it out” Talon shot back.

Bear looked between us, confused. Talon grinned again and leapt at me. He might have been older and more experienced, but I had size and skill on my side. I flipped him onto his back and pinned him with a paw on his chest. My side burned but I hid any emotion besides rage from the disgraced wolf in front of me.

“Get out of here right now. You’re a traitor and wolves like you have no place here”

I stepped off of Talon and let him get to his feet. The grey wolf shook off and grinned at me again.

            “Do you really think that I’d want to stay here? Until Aniu was born, I was going to be alpha. At least then I was beta… then you were born and Tundra came back with Aniu, you found Bristol and got Kaya to be you’re mate. Plus, my new leader is much smarter then you. And he’s going to let me be beta when I tell him about your pups”

My blood started to run cold.

“I’m going to give you two seconds-!” I started to thunder.

            “Who are you kidding” Talon snorted. “Since when have you ever tried to kill another wolf?”

“I can make exceptions” I said quietly.

Talon dived for Bear, open jaws aiming for Bear’s neck. I grabbed the scruff of Talon’s neck and threw him to the ground, jaws wrapped around his neck. Talon still smiled.

            “Go ahead! I dare you” he wheezed.

My conscience fought with my instinct but my jaws loosened and Talon squirmed out of reach.

            “I knew it! You’re a soft leader” he spat. “Soft leaders never last”

He turned tail and ran into the neighboring territory. Bear, still perplexed and clearly in shock, wrestled with what had just happened. I still watched the spot where Talon had disappeared. The sky thundered and I looked up. This was going to come back to haunt me…

Buck, Kaya, Dakota, Anyu, Sitka, Talon, Nero, Yukon, Atka and Bear (c) me

Bristol (c) Anileu