Two chapters at once. Lucky you guys.
Chapter 7
A few months had passed since Cedar had joined Stonepack. Faedon's reddish-gray and white pelt waved in the wind as she pelted through the forest. Sierra, Cedar, and Aki flanked her; they were searching for a herd of elk or caribou, so that the pack could hunt. Faedon was in a cheerier mood today than she usually was.
"Hey, stop!" Aki suddenly barked. He skidded to a halt, and soft dirt and pine needles pillowed up into the air.
Faedon blinked in confusion, but slowed to a stop without question. Cedar bumped into her with a grunt, and lowered her head, whining in apology.
But Sierra was slower to listen. She kept on running for a few more meters, before she realized that her companions weren't following her. Confusion clouded her sky blue gaze. "Why? What's up?"
"Sierra, get-" Aki's commanding bark was cut short by another male voice. Faedon's hackles shot up uneasily; she didn't recognize the voice, and no one in her group probably recognized it, either.
"Hey!" The voice wasn't harsh or mean; it was actually quite friendly.
This only made Faedon even more uneasy. She caught a strong whiff of Darkpack, and she bit her lip.
Is this... A Darkpack wolf?! Every grain of her instinct was screaming for her to run away, run as far as she could. But the pack code stated that no packmate could be abandoned in times of peril... and this could very well turn out to be one.
Sierra seemed to be just as uneasy about the Darkpack wolf as Faedon was. She curled her lip inward, baring sharp white fangs.
"Whoa, whoa... I'm not here to hurt you.. And as you can see, I'm staying on our territory." It was a male voice that was smooth and quite comforting. This made Faedon even more uneasy. "Are you alright?" the male inquired to Sierra. He seemed to be completely ignoring Faedon and Aki. Cedar must have been absolutely terrified; at this point, she had bolted away.
"Y-yes. I'm fine." Sierra replied through grit teeth. "Why are you asking me this? What do you care?"
"It looks like you sprained your paw earlier..."
"I'm fine! Alright?!" Sierra snapped.
"....... Okay..... um, my name is Timber. You are..?"
Sierra blinked a bit, before she replied in a slightly softer tone, "Sierra."
Faedon's jaw dropped.
WHY would you share your name with a strange wolf who is also possibly from Darkpack?! "Don't be stupid, Sierra!" she barked.
Aki must have thought the same thing. "SIERRA!" he roared furiously. "Get your tail back on this side of the border!"
Sierra yelped, and started. Timber's yellow eyes widened, and he turned, bolting away back into the shadows of Darkpack's land. "B-but Aki..!" she started to protest, but Aki cut her off.
Aki surged forwards and grasped Sierra's scruff roughly in his jaws. He dragged her back over the border, and roughly dropped her back onto the ground. "What were you thinking?!" he barked furiously. "You
do not share your name with a strange wolf, and certainly not a Darkpack wolf!"
"Aki, he was just-" Sierra stammered. Faedon wondered why in the world she would be jumping to a Darkpack wolf's defense.
"I don't want to hear it!" Aki growled. "You could have been killed! Darkpack is our enemy, not our friend!" Aki's hard eyes bore down into Sierra's. "I don't ever want to see you doing this again. Understand?"
"Yes," Sierra yelped. "I'm sorry!"
"Good," Aki growled. "You better be." Sierra stumbled to her paws, and shook out the dust. With haste, she trotted back to the densite, while Aki and Faedon fell behind. Aki sighed deeply, closing his eyes softly. He was deeply troubled by all of the sudden activity from Darkpack.
Faedon gently brushed her muzzle through Aki's fur. She blinked a bit, and stepped back; she had surprised herself with the gesture.
Why did I do that? Aki had seemed surprised, too, but he blinked back at her gratefully.
But Aki and Faedon hadn't been the only witnesses to Sierra's talk with Timber. Two shadowy figures on Darkpack's side of the border watched silently, their eyes glinting with malice. As Aki and Faedon left, they turned and slipped back into the shadows.
***
Faedon sat in the shadow of the alpha's rock. It had been a couple of days since Sierra had spoken to that unsettling Darkpack wolf. The setting sun was casting long shadows across the densite, and the sky was shining with a warm orange glow. The densite was bustling with activity this evening. Faedon didn't see Sierra, but she figured that she must have been out hunting or something. Thunder and Rain were lining the floor of their den with a new deer pelt, and Nebrivo was offering Quartz a decent-sized trout. The pack was growing increasingly aware of the signs that Nebrivo was in love with Quartz, and vice versa; it was clear that it was only a matter of time until the two became mates.
The thought suddenly gave Faedon an unexpected pang at her heart. She blinked a bit,
Why am I bothered by that? Faedon didn't really understand why.
"Hey, Faedon!"
Faedon looked up when she heard a voice. Aki's handsome form was standing in front of her with shining yellow eyes. Those eyes... they were so mesmerizing to Faedon. She felt as though she could stare into their depths forever.
She blinked when she realized she was staring. She rose to her paws with a smile, and replied rather cheerfully for her snappy attitude, "Hey, Aki!"
"I was wondering if you wanted to come hunting with me. There's only bones left of the caribou we hunted a couple days ago."
Faedon's tail wagged at the prospect of hunting with Aki. "That would be great!"
Aki nodded, and with a grin, led her out of the densite at a brisk trot. Faedon flanked him, and stayed close to his side.
They picked their way up the side of a mountain. To most wolves, the rocks would be painful and would tear their pads, but because Faedon and Aki had lived here their whole lives, their paws were tough and callused.
"I saw a herd of caribou from here earlier today," Faedon suggested as she looked towards a crag in the mountainside. She padded over, and peered down the side; indeed, the herd she'd seen earlier was still moving through. They were stopping to graze before nightfall.
Aki padded over to her to check it out. "Yup, down there," Aki nodded.
"You think we can make it before the sun goes down?" Faedon inquired.
"If we hurry, pro-" Aki was cut short as a distant scream split the air. Faedon's ears shot up, and she looked around in alarm.
"What was that..?!" Her hunter eyes widened in fear.
"That sounded like... Sierra!"
Faedon swallowed hard as her mind drifted back to the Darkpack wolf from a few days before.
Oh no...