Run towards the moon

Chapter 4

Alia woke up early. The cold air that seeped inside her room made her flinch and shiver. She pulled the covers up and wrapped them tightly around her body, trying to keep as much warmth as possible. It wasn't very effective though, and soon enough, Alia stood up and walked to her window. 

"I must have forgotten to close it yesterday", she thought as she leaned on the windowsill.  

The wind was chilly in those early houres. It came directly from the snowy mountains belonging to the North clan. 

Alia gazed at those peaks and pondered. 

A long time ago, several wolf packs lived on that mountain range. Unfortunately, they were battling very often. Alia's mother often told her that life on the Akal Tikky was difficult. The weather was harsh and the resources scarce. Only the strongest could survive in those conditions. It must have been why they tried to invade other packs. More territory meant more supplies and wealth. Thankfully, those wolfs eventually agreed to sign a peace treaty. They united and formed the second biggest werewolfs clan, the North clan whose territory covers the entire mountain range.

"The Akal Tikky mountains are beautiful, even before the sunrise. I wonder how it feels to live in the North Clan, at that altitude". 

Sometimes, Alia tried to imagine how life was outside. Werewolfs were rarely allowed to leave the confines of their territory. Of course, there were exceptions to these rules. The mating ceremonies were one of them. The invitations sent by the royal family were another. 

 Alia shook her head and tried to focus on the feeling of the wind on her face as she leaned further through the window frame. She closed her eyes and let herself drift away. The wind carried the scents of the valley and of the forest with it. She could smell the deers and the rabbits running, the mushrooms that were slowly emerging, the leafs that would soon fall, showing the inescapable arrival of the winter.

"I need to make sure each werewolf in the clan started making rations. I should also check if we got enough firewood and herbs. Mister Grisette tends to have colds, I should probably make some medicine in advance. Also, Nathalia gave birth not so long ago, it would be good to give her one more warm blanket, just to be sure". 

 The events of yesterday were slowly coming back to her. The story she told Eliza, the lavender tea, and the red enveloppe containing the invitation sent by the royal family. 

"We will certainly stay several days at the palace. If we also count the trip duration, we might as well be gone for two weeks", Alia groaned. 

She didn't like fancy parties. She didn't like most of the other alpha families and their old-fashioned way of living. She didn't like leaving her clan while she had so many things to do and so many projects to take care of.

She was about to close the window when she noticed an atypical smell. It came from the north side of her clan's territory. It was the scent of a wolf, but not one from her pack. 

Alia gripped the windowsill with her two hands and started to growl at the thought of having an intruder. 

"So there are still people reckless enough to trespass on our territory". 

In those cases, it was best to alert her fellow pack members and to chase the intruder down. But Alia waited a bit because she realised the scent wasn't as unfamiliar as she thought. It smelled like ... wheat ?

Alia relaxed her grip a bit. She sighed and smiled, still a bit pissed. 

"That little rascal". 

She walked away from her window and took off her nightclothing as she headed towards her closet. She opened it and looked for an iron box. When she found it, she took it out and opened it. Inside were several sweatshirts. They were dirty and stank. She took one of them and brought it at a safe distance from nose. She sniffed it only to yank it away from her.