Wolves

I walked out of my den. Alana and the rest of the pack was beginning to gather, preparing for the first hunt. Being one of the lesser Betas, I was able to slip into the group without being noticed.Our Alpha, Alana was going over the strategies.

“The Omegas will chase the deer out and try to separate a few from the herd. Then the group of betas that I assigned a moment ago will emerge from the tree at Birdbeak Peak. Then they will continue the chase to where I will be waiting with Dalka, Olgrum, Torbik, and Alis at Fox Hole Hill. We will close in and trap the deer in a circle. Then we will attack. Try to take them down as quickly as possible. The rest of the pack will stay here and guard the territory,” Alana explained. There were yips and barks from the wolf pack before Alana silenced them with the twitch of her ear. I hadn’t joined in and noticed a few others who hadn’t as well, “We will set out in just a few moments.” 

I walked out towards the stream, hoping to get a moment of peace before the hunt. I had every characteristic of a lone wolf, and had once been one. My mother and father had been Omegas who had been killed by an avalanche shortly after my litter was weaned. My litter-mates had been shocked by their death and didn’t survive much longer than our parents had. I had grieved, but promised myself that I would survive. I had become a loner for most of my younger life. As I grew older, however, I showed my worth and moved up in the ranks. 

When I reached the stream, I lowered my head to take a drink, glad to be alone before the hunt. Then I noticed Dalka was also at the stream. I pretended not to notice him, but he noticed me.

“I saw you come in late. Don’t worry I won’t tell anyone,” He commented. I nodded slightly. Dalka was a middle to high Beta and I had known him longer than most of the wolves in our pack. 

“I also heard you whispering in your den last night. Were you having another one of your dreams?” He asked. That was another thing. I was known in the pack to have strange and in-explainable dreams. I had never told another wolf that some of my dreams would become reality. 

“Yeah. Just another one of my crazy dreams,” I replied.

“I don't think your dreams are crazy. You always seem to sense when something is about to happen. I don’t know if that relates to the dreams, but I know that you aren’t crazy,” Dalka said, tilting his head slightly. 

“Well, some of the others think I’m crazy,” I added, mostly under my breath, but Dalka heard me.

“Then don’t listen to them. Alis, you are a smart wolf. I have known you for a really long time, longer than most of the other wolves. Don’t listen to them.” I nodded, just to satisfy the young male. In reality, I wasn’t sure if I believed some of his words. Some of the other wolves did think I was nuts and it was sometimes really hard to ignore. He didn’t have to deal with that, because he was basically Alana’s pet. She had singled him out along with a few of the other pack members, who some might consider to be Alana’s “inner circle”. 

Before he could make another remark, I leapt over the stream and darted into the underbrush. I turned to look over my shoulder when I knew he couldn’t see me. Dalka was staring into the underbrush, clearly unsure of how to understand my actions. He didn’t need to understand. No one did. I turned back around and walked away. I knew where I was supposed to be stationed so I would take the long way. I probably would make it before the others as well. I also need a moment to think to myself. Without any interruptions. 

I had noticed the silence in some of the other pack members when Alana had announced her plan. Alana was mostly supported by the pack member, but there were also those who didn’t think she needed to be Alpha. Alana was the pup of the previous Alpha mates. When they died, Alana rose up to take their place. Unlike most Alphas, Alana had assumed the position instead of challenging the previous Alpha. The challenger was also usually a male, who would then choose a mate to help him lead. Alana had been leading the pack soully for much longer than it was custom and many wolves in the pack had noticed. 

Spring was approaching and the partnering season was quickly approaching. I knew this and so did the rest of the pack, including Alana. Yet, she did not seem to be trying to find a partner. She had her “inner circle” that she sometimes consulted, but not often. I growled at the thought. This meant that I would have to choose one of the males to be my mate. I might not even get courted. I didn’t want to think about any of that. What was important was that I was not the only one who believed that Alana might not be the best Alpha to be leading the pack. That meant that if there were enough pack members who thought that the Moonbright pack needed to appoint a new Alpha. If only I knew how many of us there were, it would make things so much simpler.

Looking around, I realized that I had reached Fox Hole Hill. I sat down in the clearing and waited for the others to arrive. Soon they emerged from the trees. Alana growled for a moment before she realized that it was one of her pack members. I had wanted to growl right back, but stopped myself.

“Alis, how long have you been here? We were waiting for you to set out,” Alana inquired, the growl still hovering in the back of her throat. Most of the other wolves might have cowered in front of her, but I was not one of those wolves. 

“I haven’t been here long. I decided to walk out here on my own. I followed the stream to Birdbeak Peak and walked the rest of the way up the main trail,” I explained.

“Inform someone next time you do something like this,” Alana retorted. The growl had gone from her voice, but I could still tell she was annoyed with me. So what. I didn’t care what Alana thought about me. 

“The deer should be chased into this clearing in a few moments, spread out and be ready,” Alana instructed. We all nodded and fanned out. I was positioned between Alana and Dalka on either side of me. Lowering myself onto the cool morning ground, I watched the clearing. Keeping my ears perked, I knew that I would hear the hunt before I saw it. Moments passed and it had started raining. We didn’t move though, we had to be ready for when the hunt came into our range. When I was starting to shiver from the rain soaking my hide, I heard it. I saw Dalka’s ears perk as well, indicating that he heard it too. The yips and barks from the hunt. I got ready to spring, but the hunt never came into view.

“Something’s not right,” I breathed. Then I repeated myself louder, so the others could hear, “Something’s not right!” I heard a growl.

“Keep your voice down,” Alana said menacingly. I was already on her bad side for not telling anyone where I was and this wasn’t helping my case. But I didn’t care, something was wrong. I jumped out into the clearing. The others followed me, even Alana. She had a snarl plastered on her face. I ignored her and ran down the path. The rain had picked up and it was now like small pellets hitting my skin. I ignored this too and kept running.

Soon I saw the problem. The pack had been chasing the deer, but some of them had gotten trapped by fallen trees and boulders. I looked up and saw a giant mudslide approaching the trapped wolves. The deer were nowhere in sight.

“What happened?” I asked one of the wolves who was passing around the fallen tree. 

“This tree was struck by lightning as the pack was passing under it. No one got hit, but many wolves are trapped inside,” The wolf explained. I nodded. 

“We need to get them out of there before the mudslide gets here. That doesn’t leave much time,” I said. Alana and the others were now at the scene. 

“We need to move to the tree or one of the boulders, then the wolves can run out,” Alana instructed. I spun on her.

“That will take too long. There aren’t enough wolves here to move a boulder or a tree. We have to get them to jump out,” I countered. 

“Jump? Those boulders are too slippery and the tree is too tall, they’ll fall,” Alana snapped. I began to growl. I didn’t reply. Instead, I jumped up onto one of the boulders. 

“Everyone, follow me,” I instructed. The trapped wolves looked up at me through the rain and a wave of relief washed over them, “Hurry. If you don’t the mudslide will drown you.” The wolves began trying to climb up the boulder. I looked up and the mudslide was getting close. Too close. 

“Don’t try to climb it. Use your back legs to push off of the ground and jump!” The wolves followed my command and they began to come free, “Those who are free, run back to the dens.” The pack members listened to my command and ran off in the direction of our teritory. There were only a few wolves left when I heard a low growl behind me.

“Alis…” Alana’s voice said behind me. I turned around to look at an angry Alana, “What are you doing?”

“I am helping my pack members get to safety,” I replied, “What are you doing?” I saw Dalka shaking his head in warning from behind Alana, but I ignored him. Alana growled even louder. The last wolf ran into the woods. 

“We have to get out of here,” Dalka said. The mudslide was sliding down to where the wolves had been trapped. I jumped down from the rock and followed Dalka through the woods. I could hear Alana and the others following behind. 

They reached Moonbright’s territory and found all of the wolves there. The ones that had not gone on the hunt were confused about what had been going on. Alana was trying to calm everyone down but it wasn’t working. 

“What happened?”

“Did something go wrong with the hunt?”

“Why is everyone talking about a mudslide?” 

“Everyone calm down. I will explain everything in a moment,” Alana tried to silence the pack. I walked past her, heading for my den. Alana saw me however and growled, “You aren’t going anywhere.”

I turned around and met Alana’s gaze. She was snarling and growling at me. I began to growl back. The other wolves in the pack gathered around us, confused and startled. 

“Do you disagree with how I am leading this pack?” Alana asked as we faced off. 

“Maybe I am,” I replied, “But I am not the only one.” 

“Oh? And how do you know this?”

“Small things that I have noticed, but still small revolts all the same,” I answered. 

“Are you challenging me?” Alana inquired as we began to circle one another. The pack gathered around us as we prepared to fight. We were both cold from the rain and sweating because of our run, but we pretended not to notice. 

“Maybe, but you were the one who confronted me. Maybe you want a challenger…” I replied. Alana bared her teeth and lunged. I jumped out of her way. Some of the other wolves barked in excitement and others were yapping for us to stop. We ignored them, I knew that this is what needed to be done. 

I dodged another attack from Alana before lunging at her. I didn’t want to hurt Alana, I just wanted to assert my dominance. To show her that I was done being pushed around. As we circled one another, I stopped for a moment. Breathing heavy and shivering, I raised my nose, closed my eyes,  and howled into the sky. 

I didn’t expect anything to happen. What happened next surprised me and Alana. Other wolves in the pack began howling with me. I didn’t stop howling, but I did open my eyes and look around. Several other wolves had their noses raised to the evening sky. Others looked confused and seemed to be considering howling too. I saw that Dalka was one of the wolves with their heads raised, his howl distinct from the others. I took a breath and continued to howl, leading this small rebellion.

Finally, I lowered my head and soon the others did the same. Alana’s expression was unreadable. I couldn’t tell if she was outraged by the pack’s actions or finally deflated. I stood, breathing deeply, and waited. The whole pack seemed to be waiting for something. Finally Alana lowered her head. 

“Alis…” She said quietly, so only I could hear. I raised my head and perked my ears, “Is this true? Would you want to take on the burden as Alpha? It is a much heavier burden than you would think.”

“It is hard because you are leading alone. I believe that I can take on the challenge,” I replied confidently, but also quietly enough that the pack couldn’t hear. Alana nodded then she lowered her head. With one smooth motion, I raised my head back towards the sky leading another round of howls. This time everyone joined in. Even Alana.