Wolves of the Tundra

Ch. 1: Flames

~Written by AphEggland~
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"WATCH OUT, THE tree above our den is about to fall!" Heather gasped, her blue eyes glittering in the orange glow.

Flames lapped at the trees around us, eating at them until nothing's left but ashes. Debris, ash, and half burnt leaves fluttered around our pack cave, carried by the chilly night wind. Though it wasn't very chilly around these dancing orange figures.

I barked at Heather, who was just standing and staring, as if amazed by the fire. "What do you think your doing?! Help with the pups!" She nodded, snapping out of her daze and rushed over to the nursing mothers, who were struggling with their pups.

"Thank you," one mother wheezed as Heather grabbed one in her mouth and let another climb onto her back.

Turning away from them, I flicked my gaze to our alpha, who was escaping with his mate and the beta.

"Stone! Rose! Harley!" I breathed, trotting over to them. Suddenly what Heather said earlier became true; the tree that rested ontop of the cave den cracked and groaned, before tottering towards the two alphas and the beta.

"Watch out!" But my call was no use. The old tree took one last moan before smashing the three wolves underneath it.

Eyes wide, I watched as all three twitched once before laying still, a pool of blood covering the dense leaf floor. There's nothing I can do now! I howled a sorrowful song to the rest of the pack before plummeting myself in the opposite direction towards the dark part of the forest. I heard howls reply in the same sorrow-filled tone as I hurried beside Heather and the nursing mothers.

"T-the alphas and betas are dead?" One she-wolf asked, her eyes wide, as I caught up to a scared and confused group.

I nodded, picking up a pup who was too tired to keep up with our quick pace. Eyes burning from the smoke and ashes, my vision blurred and I could barely make my way through the trees.

"Here, I'll guide you," Meetra, one of my close friends murmured, leaning her flank close to mine. I breathlessly thanked her as I followed her out of the forest and onto the hill above the river where the rest of the pack awaited.

I collapsed onto the ground a few feet in front of the other members of the pack before carefully setting the pup down that was struggling in my mouth. He smiled at me before scrambling back to his mother, Meetra.

In the distance, crackling wood and burning flames could be heard against the bleak night air, and along with it, shrills of human laughter. Our home is lost. Friends and family lost. All of it is gone.

After a brief rest, the pack regained it's strength and continued on in the opposite direction. Everyone agreed on one place to go, and that place was anywhere other than home.

"I've had enough of this!" a wolf snarled, making us all stop in our tracks. "I can't stay in this pack anymore. There's too much fighting and death!" he growled, his silver pelt rippling in the dim moonlight.

"Grim, we won't have war anymore! We're moving away from them, those disgraceful flea-bags. And death is a part of life," I said, gazing at him intently.

"No, Celestial!" he snapped, his golden eyes raging. "This is all too much! I'll have a better life by myself." With that, he stalked off into the forest without looking back.

"I want to leave too," a soft voice muttered loud enough to be heard above the whispering. All heads turned towards the amber and mud colored wolf.

"You too, Meetra?"

"I'm so sorry."

Meetra gathered her pups and ushered them towards the direction the other wolf had gone.

"Goodbye, everyone."

"We're leaving mom?" the pup I helped carry earlier whined.

"Yes, honey," Meetra replied softly, her voice laced with sadness. Soon they were only a dot on the many hills in front of us.

"Where to now?" some wolf asked from the middle of the skittish group.

"Anywhere," I muttered, making my way to the front of the group. "Let's go anywhere but here."

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"Keep low until I give the signal," I murmured, my gaze flicking to the other two hunters who were tense and ready. I then focused on what was ahead of me; a small family of deer huddled together in the icy rain.

We knew which one to aim for; the weakest. If we aimed for the fawn, we could cut off future prey that would sustain us in the many seasons to come.

With a mere flick of my tail, we charged. Growling, we startled the small family, making it scatter fearfully in all directions. In a split second we surrounded the lame doe, her back leg lifted slightly.

Swinging my head towards Snake, a fellow hunter, I signaled him to lunge towards the doe's flank, but not to touch it. He did so, and I leaned in to snap at her neck. I ever so grazed her, which made her gasp and flinch away, towards Leaf, who was crouched, her hind legs bunched, ready to spring. I nodded. In a instant the doe was on the ground, Leaf ontop of it. Snake helped hold her down while I quickly snapped her neck. My mouth flooded with warm and scarlet blood.

The doe squealed softly and went limp. With a pain I watched the light in her eyes fade away. Bu I reminded myself that without her sacrifice, we couldn't live. She's had her time.

Standing up, I shook my pelt before nodding at the others. "Good hunting," I said as I bent down to grab her scruff, ready to haul her back to our pack.

On the way back, we had to stop a fews times in order for Leaf to catch his breath.

"Are you okay?" I asked him. He usually was very strong and never needed assistance.

"Yeah," he wheezed, and continued the rest of the way back without problem. But he was still breathing heavily. I'll keep a good eye on him.

After mutters of appreciation and everyone had full bellies, we laid back in the grass and soaked up the sun's warmth. We all chatted quietly like birds until the sun moved west and left us in a violet and orange glow.

"I think we should keep moving," a wolf named Zelitx piped up. She looked a bit anxious. Shrugging, I got to my paws, shook the debris from the grass off my pelt, and scanned the area.

"Let's get a move on," I barked.

Once everyone was up and at it, we set off towards the setting sun.

And the farther we traveled, the heat slowly turned to cold.