Wolf's Heart

Chapter One: The Outsider

   "The packless will rise and the packs will fall, unless he comes to save them all..."

   Saltwater stood on the edge of Shoreline territory, watching for danger. He sighed. This had to be the most boring task. Really, who would want to be put on watch duty? Apparently, his mentor thought it would be a good idea to leave a potential Zeta alone.

He flicked his tail and sighed again. "When will Zeta Conch return? I feel like its been hours!" Being a Zeta, or a wolf assigned to patrolling the territory, clearly wasn't meant for Saltwater. He would much prefer to be a Delta or Epsilon but he figured he would probably be best at being a Eta or Theta.

   Saltwater pawed at the sand below him, attempting to draw a picture of himself in his ideal pack role. He really didn't know where he wanted to be in Shoreline Pack so he kept erasing the stick figure drawing of himself and redrawing it. He wasn't paying much attention and didn't notice the approaching wolves until they spoke.

   "Xi Saltwater. Return to the camp immediately. You are being reassigned another mentor. We will take your place. Please follow Zeta Pufferfish back to camp."

   "Oh.." Saltwater was a bit surprised. "I wasn't expecting to be reassigned this quickly."

   Typhoon looked the Xi over. "Well, you don't show signs of being a good Zeta so you will be getting a new mentor to see if another rank fits you better. Goodbye." With that, Saltwater was shooed away.

   "Sirius above...I failed the first apprenticeship already! I hope I do better with my next mentor..." He thought. With his head and tail lowered, he followed Pufferfish back to camp. Upon arrival he noticed a small, aggressive wolf being forced towards where Alpha Seastar and Beta Frogfish were standing. He paused and watched for a moment, wondering who that wolf was and what they had done.

Seastar stood tall, authority radiating off her, the perfect image of a pack leader. "Hello, outsider. Explain who you are and why you attempted to sneak into our territory."

The little invader snarled and snapped her jaws at the wolves surrounding her. "Buzz off!" She lunged at Seastar and Frogfish, saliva spraying as she tried to pierce their jugulars. She yelped as the harsh paw of a Delta shoved her head down into the sand.

   "Watch yourself, mutt."

   Saltwater was snapped back to attention when he heard Pufferfish's sharp bark call him over. "Sorry, Zeta Pufferfish." He bowed his head. "I was just curious about that wolf that was brought in."

   "Oh." Pufferfish sneered in the outsider's direction. "That's just some stupid mutt that thought it would be smart to try and steal from us." She shook her head. "Forget the bitch. Come; we will wait here for Epsilon Fin to return."

   Saltwater sighed. "Cool. I could potentially be a hunter."

   "Mhm. You best be on your best behavior out there. The hunt is dangerous."

   "Were you ever an Epsilon?" The curious young wolf questioned his peer.

   "Oh, no, it wasn't right for me!" Pufferfish scoffed. "I passed my trials and was granted the role, but Seastar figured I would be better as a Zeta." She was obviously still sour about being ranked down, which made sense. Who would want to be taken from a role that permitted exploration and be put in a role that kept you within the territory or just in the camp? "Whatever. No point being upset about it. Seastar knows best, I guess."

   "That seems true. Seastar is a good alpha."

   Pufferfish scoffed again. "Sure. Believe that all you want, kiddo." She flattened her ears and looked in the direction of where Seastar stood with Frogfish and the outsider before quickly adjusting herself. "She is power hungry, rude, and cruel. All I hear from her is about how we have to keep the pack strong and keep weakness away and blah blah. I would much rather be part of Darkstar or Meadowbrook. They seem so much better!" She quickly corrected herself when she noticed Fin returning.

   Fin was covered in scars from many hunting trips and his build was that of a wolf that spent hours either in the water or around the territory trying to provide for the pack. "Hello, Zeta Pufferfish. I assume this is the Nu I am to mentor?" He showed no emotions as he looked Saltwater over.

   "Yes, Epsilon Fin." The Zeta lowered her head in a show of respect for a higher rank. "This is Saltwater."

   The young wolf smiled awkwardly and lowered his head to Fin. "Nice to meet you. I'll try my best not to let you down!"

   "Good to hear. I'm going to have some food and a quick rest, then we can get going. I suggest you do the same." With that, Fin moved away to find something to eat, wolves hurriedly moving out of the way of the expert hunter.

  Pufferfish coughed. "Fin was meant to be a Gamma and train to potentially be the next Alpha, but he denied it and chose to stay an Epsilon. He wouldn't even accept being a Delta. Dunce. I would have jumped at the chance to be Alpha." She flicked her tail and walked away, leaving Saltwater alone.

  "Oh. Guess I'm alone." He looked around and noticed the outsider tied to a small tree on the outskirts of camp. There was plenty of cover so he could easily talk to her. He shuffled over to where she was. "Psst."

   She whipped her head towards him, teeth bared and ears flattened to her skull as a low growl rippled from her throat. "Who are you and what do you want?" She hissed.

   "My name is Saltwater. I was curious about you. I know Alpha Seastar's ways can be mean to outsiders so I want to know about you before she does anything."

   The outsider relaxed. "I'm Molly. I'm not sure where I came from. I just remember waking up alone on the beach and feeling nauseous so I decided to wander around to see if I could find food." She sighed. "Bad idea because now I'm trapped here. Anyways, tell me a bit about yourself, Saltwater. I don't know much about myself."

   "Well, I'm a year and six months old. I'm currently going through my trials to see where I'll be placed in my placement ceremony. If I can't get placed, I'll be kicked from the pack. I hope I can pass because I don't want to leave Shoreline Pack yet."

  "You're lucky." Molly rested her head on her forepaws. "At least you know your potential paths. I have no clue about myself or what I want or anything!"

   Saltwater scratched his ear. "I guess I never thought about how lucky I am compared to outsiders. I think outsiders are usually alone. I can't imagine not having a pack to help." He lifted his head when he heard Fin howling for him. "I better go. I have another trial to get through. I'll try to come talk to you more, Molly." He quickly ran off, not wanting to risk upsetting Fin.

  "Goodbye, new friend." For the first time all day, Molly felt happy. She had hope. Maybe she and Saltwater could get away from this pack. With a sigh she curled up and tried to rest. At least she had someone to talk to now in this strange new place.