Wolves of the Falling Stars Book 4: The Return

Chapter 28

"Wake up, Tall Willow," Strong Boulder said. He shoved his snout into his sister's side in an attempt to wake her. She had been sleeping into the evening, though Strong Boulder wasn't sure how she could with so much excitement in the air. Today he was going to begin training alongside his sister! He felt he had been confined too long in the nursing den. Now, he was on his way to becoming a full member in the Pack of the Falling Stars.

"Are you two excited today?" Shining River asked. "You'll make the best wolves, I'm sure."

"I can't wait to learn to fight and hunt. I'll take all the rogues down!" Strong Boulder announced.

Shining River laughed. "I'm sure you will. Wake up, Tall Willow. The ceremony will be starting soon."

Under the full moon and shining stars, Strong Boulder and his sister walked with their mother up to the alphas. They were smiling down at him, and in the distance, he could see Silver Snowflake and Brown Owl's gentle smiles. They knew this was an important day for him more than ever.

"What do you keep looking around for?" Tall Willow asked as she stood beside him.

Strong Boulder had not even realized he was looking anywhere. He dug his claws into the ground, cursing himself for looking places he shouldn't. Still, his eyes scanned the crowd until he found his father. Feather Wings was standing next to his mother, and while his eyes didn't gleam quite like Shining River's, Strong Boulder felt his shoulders sink in relaxation once he finally caught onto the gaze of his father. He wasn't sure why he believed his father wouldn't come.

It was hard to pay attention as the alphas continued to ramble on with their normal speech. Strong Boulder kept staring back at his father, wanting to make sure he was watching and listening. He briefly heard the mention that Bright Trout was his trainer, and White Crane, Tall Willow's, but other than that, he didn't realize the ceremony was over until the howls went into the sky. The night wind tickled his fur, and he smiled into the crowd. That was until he noticed his father had vanished, and then his heart sunk again.

"Training was boring," Tall Willow said when they met up back at the den in the afternoon. "All we did was walk around."

"Same," Strong Boulder complained. "I hope Mom talks to the alphas about speeding up our training. We're way more advanced than a tour of the territory. Mom's been showing us around forever."

"Ew. I hate the smell in this den," Tall Willow complained. "Smells like omegas."

Strong Boulder snickered, though he had to agree. He was not fond sharing the space with Lily Petal's two pups again, and he also didn't appreciate the way Golden Flower seemed to babysit all of them, giving tips as to where each should sleep, how early they should rise, and how late they should expect to be training. Though not an omega, Strong Boulder didn't necessarily trust a wolf that had originated outside of the pack. He thought she had a lot of nerve speaking that way. In fact, she was starting to get on his nerves more than Quiet Ocean and Snow Fall, mostly since she was taller than him and could take him in a fight, as much as he didn't like to admit it.

"I'm going to take a nap," Tall Willow said.

"I think I'll sit in the sun for a little bit," Strong Boulder said. He rested in the shade of the den just outside of it, staring around the den area. He cursed himself once more for doing it, knowing he shouldn't be looking, but it came about naturally these days. He was always searching for that one wolf, that one wolf that never gave him the attention he deserved.

Strong Boulder let out a groan as Golden Flower emerged out of the foliage with her mentor, Copper Rock. He was still shocked the alphas had let the dog train another wolf, though if she wasn't the blood of the Pack of the Falling Stars, he supposed he understood the exception. Golden Flower wasn't a true pack member, not like him.

Golden Flower trotted back to the den after wrapping up her conversation with Strong Boulder. She had a stupid smile on her face, which unnerved Strong Boulder even more.

"Did you and your sister have a good first day?" she asked him.

"It wasn't up to my standards," Strong Boulder answered. "I think we should be training at the same level as you."

Golden Flower eyed him weird. "I don't think that's right." She went to step into the den, but stopped when Strong Boulder spoke up.

"You seem to talk to Copper Rock a lot," Strong Boulder said.

"Um, yeah, he's training me," Golden Flower answered.

"Well, you better not fall in love with him," Strong Boulder said. "He can't have a mate anyway, and plus, you shouldn't hang around a dog to begin with."

"Ew, he's my trainer!" Golden Flower exclaimed. "And you should learn to hold your tongue. Your mother didn't seem to teach you that in the nursing den, probably because she doesn't know any better. Besides, Copper Rock is just as much a wolf as any other member in this pack. And the same goes for the alphas."

"Your opinion doesn't matter. You weren't even born into this pack. Not like me," Strong Boulder said.

Golden Flower let out a deep growl. "I've tried to be polite to you and your sister because I don't want the den to be messy. I ignore the comments you make to Quiet Ocean and Snow Fall, but now that you're directing comments toward me, I've about had it with you."

"Oh, what are you going to do? Tell my mom? She'll agree," Strong Boulder said, sticking out his tongue.

Golden Flower crouched low and stared him in the new. "We all know you act like this because you want your father's attention. My parents may not be around anymore, but at least both of them loved me equally. But you knew this already, right? I saw the way you looked around for him when the ceremony started. I pity you in a way."

"S-Stop! You don't even know what you're talking about!" Strong Boulder growled. He huffed, then ran off into the edge of the woods to catch his breath. Though he told himself not to, tears were beginning to spring from his eyes. He hated Golden Flower, and he hated Quiet Ocean and Snow Fall, and he should hate his father, but even he couldn't bring himself to hate him. He hated that Golden Flower was right, and he hated that he was crying over this. 

I don't need my father, Strong Boulder thought. Soon, I will be a full member of the pack, and my father will notice me with or without my effort.