Redsong was awake before anyone else, as usual, and joyfully singing (hence her name). Marselina wanted to just about knock her out. Dayton woke up and told his mate, Marselina, to check and see if Taz, the pack protector, was awake yet. The lovely wolf padded over to Taz's hut and shook him gently. "Taz! Wake up, the pack needs some protection! Hello?" Taz, the silver wolf with a red stripe down his back, lunged out of his hut and to the edge of the Red Clan's territory. His huge, black paws sure did give a threat to any poor thing that may come across him. Redsong merrily skipped towards Marselina and said, "Isn't it a gorgeous morning? Did you feel anything from the puppies last night? How are they doing?" Marselina was pregnant, and Redsong and Dayton were the only ones that knew about it. "Oh, they were very calm last night, and I'm sure they'll be arriving soon!" Redsong started up her beautiful voice again, singing about morning and snow and the sun. 

     Marselina was exhausted from getting up so early, so she told Dayton that she was going to rest for a little while. She climbed into their bed, and the scent of Dayton gently lulled her to sleep. Marselina then heard a noise. A noise that not even she could explain. Then, the entire world began to spin, faster and faster. She heard her self yelp in pain as she saw a puppy's lifeless body, and then, blackness. She saw nothing. All of the sudden, she saw the dead pup again, but this time it wasn't dead, it was quite alive. It was running around, bouncing up and down until the ground opened up, and the dog disappeared into the hole. Next, there were fierce animals trying to kill her too. There were hunting dogs and humans tracking her down. The world began to swirl again, and what she saw next was the worst of all; it was Dayton, and he was running away from her and her pups. Then when she felt like she was falling, she heard his voice saying, "Marselina! Wake up! Please, wake up!" Marselina opened her eyes. It was Dayton. She said, "Oh, Dayton! I had the most horrible dream! I was screaming, I saw a dead puppy, oh, but it wasn't dead. It was eaten by the ground, then I was dead. Then I-" The striped wolf closed her mouth. Marselina sighed. "I'm sorry. It was only a dream." Dayton licked her and told her, "It's OK, Mar. You're fine, I'm fine, the kids are fine. We are all alright." With that, he smiled at her and left. Marselina thought to herself, "It was just a dream. It was just a dream..."

     Marselina awoke again with Dayton at her side, and it was the next morning. She yawned and walked out carefully, trying not to wake up Dayton. Taz was standing at his usual spot, and Redsong was singing her merry little song. It was a peaceful morning, and Marselina felt refreshed. Redsong bounced over to her. "Hey there, sleepy-head! How was your night, Mar?" Marselina sighed and told her, "Fine." Redsong bounded away when Taz sounded the alarm. "EVERYBODY GET DOWN ON THE GROUND!" He yelled. Everyone dropped. There was a gunshot. All the wolves scrambled for cover, and someone was howling in pain. One of the hunting men told the other one, "Ha! That's one more than you, Bill! Looks like I'm winning! We should go before the pack attacks us; that was my last bullet." The men left, and Marselina tried to find the howler in all the commotion. She couldn't believe her eyes. Redsong was bleeding on the snow, calling for help. The brown and red wolf tried to comfort her until Taz sounded the all-clear. When the hunters were gone, she called for Dayton. He came, and Redsong's wounds were wrapped and treated. "You're gonna be alright." comforted Marselina. "You're gonna be alright." 

      One week later...

     Redsong was up and about again, singing her song and annoying the entire Red Clan in just one week. "I'm so glad you're alright!" yipped Marselina. Taz was grateful too, and so was Dayton. Marselina had kept feeling sensations in her stomach area, but she knew already that the pups were coming soon. But, she didn't know how soon they would actually arrive. Marselina felt a stinging throb in her chest, and her heart began to beat harder. "Dayton," she cried, "I think..." She began to sweat heavily. Dayton was confused. "Mar?" She began to cry out in pain. "The pups are coming!" Everbody gasped. Dayton made sure she was calm and he brought her to the hut. He needed help with delivering the puppies. "Somebody help us! The puppies are coming!" Redsong immediately leaped into the hut and informed Dayton to stay outside. The pack formed a circle around the hut, and nobody could go inside; Marselina needs her space. Dayton heard yelping, whimpering, and howling coming from Marselina, making him nervous. Then there was nothing, making him even more nervous. Everyone held their breath, waiting for a sound. They didn't hear anything. Dayton started to cry silently. He thought for sure that Marselina and the pups were gone. Suddenly, there was a baby cry from the hut. There were more barks, yips, and whimpers, but he didn't hear Marselina. Redsong's head emerged and she exclaimed, "We've got puppies!" The entire Red Clan rejoiced, and Redsong let Dayton in.

     Dayton had never seen anything more beautiful. His mate was lying down with three gorgeous pups nursing and crawling around. Marselina was beaming with happiness. "Dayton, look! Aren't they beautiful? We should name them." The proud father laid down with his mate, and agreed to name them. They first picked a pup with brown ears, brown belly, brown paws, brown muzzle, white face, and white body. It was a boy. Dayton said, "I think a good name for him would be Odin (oh-din). It suits him." Marselina liked the name, and they moved on to the next one. This puppy was red with a black nose bridge, black paws, white belly, and dark red tail. They named her Akeelah (a-keel-luh). The last one looked exactly like Marselina, with a white belly, brown body with red tinge, and a red-tipped tail. "Dayton." spoke Marselina "This pup may look like me, but we should name him after you. I want to." Dayton looked puzzled and said, "Well, it's a girl, so we should name her Marselina, but if you want to name the pup after me, then we should call her Detani (day-ton-ee)." Marselina smiled with joy. "Yes! Detani is a wonderful name. Let's let them rest now." Dayton was absolutely pleased with his new family, and he promised Marselina that he wouldn't let anything happen to them or her. The new mother told Dayton, "Oh, thank you for protecting the pups and me. I'm sure that nothing will ever happen to them now." Marselina licked Dayton's muzzle and she told him, "I love you." Dayton said, "I love you, too." Redsong popped in and asked Dayton to let the puppies and Marselina rest. He left, and Marselina let out a sigh of triumph and drifted to sleep.

     One month later...

Marselina's pups weren't pups anymore. They were much bigger now, and they were beginning to eat meat. Odin definitely lived up to his name; he was strong, the leader of the pups, and a real fighter. Akeelah lived up to her name also; she was headstrong, smart, and observant. Detani was just like her father; caring, had an attitude at times, and imaginative. Marselina saw the little ones play-fighting, and she told Odin, "Odin, no! No fighting near the ice!" Odin sighed and he brought the fight away from the ice. Detani was so imaginative that she was making up her own game and playing with Redsong. Detani was howling and saying, "Arrg! I be a pirate! Walk the plank, mateys!" Redsong went along with it. "Oh no! It's a big, scary pirate! I should do what she says and walk the plank!" They both looked at each other and burst out laughing. They were, to Marselina, the best of friends. Akeelah was wrestling Odin when they stumbled into a pile if fur. They looked around and Odin said to Akeelah, "I-I know where we are. Look at those men over there, and those big sticks they're carrying." Akeelah did see men with camoflauge clothing on them and big sticks. "I see them, Odin. Maybe they want to play with us!" Odin stepped on Akeelah's tail, stopping her from going forward. "Akeelah, they don't want to play, they want to kill us! They are hunters! Those big sticks are things that they shoot us with, and this fur we're sitting in is dead animals!" Akeelah instantly pulled her tail away from Odin and ran back to her pack. "Help! The hunters are coming! Run! Hide!" Odin tried to run with Akeelah, but he slipped and fell and made a big thud as he hit the ground. One of the men turned and looked directly at him. Odin froze, and he whimpered as the bullet skinned his paw. He got up again, but he paw that got hit was bleeding, and he touched his paw to the ground to run. He cried out in pain. Akeelah heard his yelp and she hurried back to save him. She dragged him and gave him to her mother. Marselina was heartbroken, and she carried him away from the hunters, who were now in hot pursuit. Detani saw a dozen hunters charging at her and shooting wolves left and right. She saw her father protecting Marselina and Odin. Dayton then called to Detani, "Detani! Come to me! I can't let anything happen to our fami-" There was a gunshot. Then; Silence. The leader fell, and the hunter who shot him was right behind him. Marselina heard the quiet, and she cried out, "Dayton! Detani! Akeelah! Where are you?!" Detani went up to her father, and Marselina came too. Dayton was panting, and then he let out his final words to Marselina. "I'm sorry I broke my promise..." With that, he laid his black and white striped head down, and died.

     "Dayton..." sobbed Marselina. Detani leaped gracefully on to his body and whispered in his ear, "Goodbye, Papa." 

     Chaos was breaking out everywhere, and Odin passed out from the loss of blood. Akeelah was nowhere to be found, and Detani was growing weak from all the running. Marselina picked up Odin and Detani and started to dash away from the dead pack, but then she remembered. "Redsong." she breathed. Marselina screamed, "REDSONG! REDSONG! Redsong, please be alive! Please..." Since the hunters were gaining on Marselina, she couldn't go back and look for Redsong now. She ran and ran and ran. Then, when she tripped and broke her leg, it happened again. There was a gunshot. Then; Silence. Detani could only watch in horror as her mother died. "No! Mama! No!" Marselina told her daughter, "Detani, listen to me. Never let anyone take you away, not even the hunters. Just keep going. Believe in yourself, and never let go of hope. Never..." Marselina was passing fast, so Detani said, "Don't worry, Mama. I'll never let go. I love you, Mama. Tell Papa I love him too." Marselina smiled and said that she will tell him that. Then, Marselina died.

     Detani couldn't believe it. In only one hour, both of her parents died, her brother died, and her sister went missing. But she never let go of hope, just like her mother told her. She never let go of hope even when she went back to the Red Clan's territory, and there was no live wolves. They were all dead. Suddenly, a shadow emerged from the bushes, and Detani was sure it was another hunter, so she hid under another wolf's broken body. But the shadow wasn't a hunter at all. It was Redsong. Detani leaped onto Redsong with joy, and they were both so happy knowing that they were alive. Redsong smiled and asked, "Where's your mother, Detani? Is she alright?" The little wolf's smile vanished, and she told her, "Oh, um, she's with Papa and, um, Odin too." Redsong asked again, "Well, where are they?" Detani started to cry, and she said, "They are telling Papa that I love him." The red wolf finally understood. They were all dead. Redsong couldn't take care of Detani, so she led the pup to another pack called the Black Clan. "Prince, this is Detani." informed Redsong. "Her mother and father died, and I can't take care of her, so can you?" Prince scowled, but then he agreed. Redsong licked Detani and told her, "Don't worry about a thing, darlin'. Prince is the pack leader, and he will take good care of you. Remember, never let go of hope. There is always hope. Don't let it die inside of you." Detani and Redsong said goodbye to each other, and Redsong disappeared into the forest.

     Prince shoved Detani out of his way, and he randomly picked a wolf out of the crowd. "Let's see... Trek!" A brown and tan wolf stepped forward and took the wiggling ball of fur. Prince's icy gaze met Trek's calm, yellow eyes, and Prince said, "Trek, this is your new pup. If she dies, I blame you." That frightened Detani, so she started to whimper. "Shut up!" screamed Prince. "These are the rules, mongrel. You stay out of my way, you live. For now." Detani flattened her little velvet ears to her head and started to cry again.

     Two weeks later...

Detani had grown very close to Trek. Even though he wasn't her real father, he felt like a father to her. He would always bring her food, wash her fur, play pirates with her, and catch frogs with her. One day when they were catching frogs together by the stream, Prince stomped his way right onto Detani's tail. She howled in agony, and Prince scratched her face. "Get away from my stream, you trespassers!" Trek stepped in and said, "Don't blame her, Prince, it was my fault. I didn't know this was your stream." Prince pushed Trek into the water, and he threw Detani in with him. Prince broke out laughing. Trek got up and brushed Detani off and dried her. Prince howled, "No wonder your parents are dead! And the sad part is, they wanted to leave you. You were too much of a burden to them!" Then, Detani ran into Trek's hut with tears streaming down her face. Trek ran and followed her in, giving Prince a stern look.

     Trek asked Detani what was wrong, and she told Trek the whole story. She just couldn't hold it in any longer. She poured out her heart and soul into telling him what happened. Trek widened his eyes at the part when she said that Akeelah went missing. "Is she still alive, then?" he asked. "She might be, but I'm not going to look for her because she probably is dead. I don't need any more heartache than I already have. Still, it would be nice to know if she's alive." Trek warmly smiled at her and said, "Yeah, but we should probably get some sleep now. It's getting late." Trek laid down and Detani curled up next to him as they sank into a deep sleep.