The True Rogue

Chapter Two

We crouched low to the ground, tail wagging nearly between our legs as whines and whimpers escaped our snout.

The larger wolf of the two stepped forwards then, its head and tail raised high with confidence and I stared in awe at its night-black coat and bright amber eyes that almost seemed red.

'That is the alpha male, you can tell by the way he carries himself; confident, a natural leader.' Nyx murmured as she lowered our eyes respectfully.

Nyx remained in control of my movements, lowering our haunches to the ground as our tail wagged harder, ducking our head and whimpering low puppy whines. The alpha male sniffed us curiously, using his snout to push us over on to our back.

We batted at his snout playfully with another whine as he breathed in our scent and stepped back with a short huff, apparently satisfied with his inspection. The second wolf stepped forwards then, its white and light grey coat brushing against the alpha male's as it passed him.

'This must be the alpha female.' Nyx spoke to me again, noting her somewhat smaller size and the dainty black markings around her eyes that made their bright gold color stand out even more.

She sniffed us curiously also and then gave a short whine in return, licking our cheeks and ears a few times as her tail wagged happily. She trotted a few steps away, following the alpha male it seemed, and she paused and looked back at us almost expectantly.

Nyx was quick to trot after her and follow close enough at her heels to keep pace with but not close enough to step on her paws. We trotted only a couple of yards before multiple new scents reached my nose and I slowed a bit, feeling nervous as I realized Nyx had given me back control.

The alpha female sensed my unease and immediately turned to give me a few reassuring licks and used her snout to push me forwards encouragingly. 'You can do this.' Nyx murmured and I steeled myself as we moved forwards again, seeing four other wolves ahead.

A dark brown and tan male stood near the alpha's left shoulder, his golden-brown eyes looking at me curiously but remained where he was. The other three wolves though sprang towards me immediately, a mixture of whines and growls of excitement that made me freeze.

The dark brown and tan male quickly sprang after them though and cut in front of them, baring his teeth and raising his head and tail above theirs with a sharp growl. They immediately paused, trying to sidestep and approach me but one sharp growl from their alpha male had them immediately lowering themselves to the ground.

'He must be the beta of the pack.' Nyx spoke and I cocked my head. 'What's a beta?'

'They are second in command of the pack, under only the alpha pair and above the other pack members. They help the alphas to keep the mid-ranking wolves in line and are often the ones to become alpha if something happens to the original one.' she explained and I committed the information to memory and thanked her.

The dark brown and tan one relaxed his posture after a moment and approached me, sniffing me curiously and giving my snout a single lick with a tail wag before stepping away. The other three were staring at me unblinkingly, whining lowly and occasionally scooting closer.

I remembered what the beta and alpha pair had done to show their confidence and tried it, holding my head and tail high as I moved towards the last three wolves. Their mouths fell open, teeth bared and tongues lolling to the sides in what looked like wolf grins of amusement.

Their tails thumped on the ground as I moved closer and examined them, sniffing noses with each of them curiously. The first was the female, her reddish fur color was hard to discern in the moonlight but I could tell she had white fur on her chest and belly with black on her legs, ears and tail tips.

That coloring along with her slanted golden-green eyes seemed so different from the other wolves and I was highly intrigued. The next was a large male, probably the largest wolf here, with a white and grey coat and golden eyes similar to the alpha female.

'From scent it does seem they are related, probably born in the same litter as they both look around three years old.' Nyx stated. 'He's huge, why isn't he the alpha?' I asked curiously and felt her amusement. 'It's not always size that makes a leader. You will understand with time.'

I pondered the thought curiously for a few moments and then moved on to the third wolf. This male looked to be lightly colored, perhaps white and tan with greyish tones and dark golden eyes.

Once I sniffed noses with each of them they stood, crowding around to catch my scent better before licking me enthusiastically. I gave a short growl and hopped out of the middle of the group, shaking out my coat and trotting back towards the alpha female.

They followed after me excitedly but with a quick snap of her teeth they hopped back and stayed out of reach. The crunch of leaves caught my attention and I glanced to see the alpha male had disappeared into the trees.

The alpha female quickly followed, keeping pace beside him while the beta followed just behind his left flank and the other three followed in single file. Even though they moved at a slow trot I was soon falling behind until the large white mid-ranking male dropped back, swiftly picking me up by my scruff and returning to the others.

I instinctively curled into and ball and whimpered my thanks, my aching paws already feeling much better. We traveled through the forest for what seemed like miles, moving at a much swifter pace now that I was being carried.

I was nearly asleep by the time we finally slowed our pace. We were at the base of what looked like a huge mountain and steadily moving up the slope. After a bit the ground seemed to level out again and I picked up another unfamiliar wolf's scent along with a heavy concentration of the pack's scent in the area.

The trees opened into a small clearing with tall grasses and what looked like multiple fallen rocks and boulders against the mountainside. A small stream cut through one edge of the clearing and looked to only be about ankle deep with colorful pebbles scattered across the bottom.

I saw another wolf pop up from the grass near the rock pile, a male with tan, reddish-brown and cream colored fur and nervous yellow eyes. His wagging tail was low, nearly tucked under his stomach and he kept his gaze to the ground as he greeted his packmates with small whines.

'That must be the omega of the pack.' Nyx spoke as I stared at the wolf and cocked my head. 'Omega?' I asked curiously. 'They are the lowest ranking member in the pack. They are often bullied and are usually the pack babysitter.'

'Bullied? That sounds awful!' I exclaimed. 'No, it's not quite as bad as it sounds. While the lowest member that does get picked on or pushed around, the omega still plays a very important role in keeping pack morale high by instigating play to relieve stress and babysitting for the alpha pair. Every pack member has their own role to balance the society that is a pack.'

I saw the alpha female disappear into the rock pile as her brother placed me on the ground and I trotted over curiously. A small whine made me glance to my left though and I saw the omega looking at me curiously, his tail wagging furiously as he nearly belly-crawled towards me.

The light colored mid-ranking wolf growled sharply and he flinched, immediately falling on to his side and showing his stomach submissively. I ignored the other wolf though, approaching the omega with a yip and wagging my tail.

We sniffed each other curiously and then a small sound made me look to see the alpha female looking at me expectantly. I quickly trotted towards her, stumbling a bit as my tiredness washed over me.

She quickly groomed my fur and then picked me up by my scruff, placing me in front of a hole I had not noticed before and nosing me forwards. I stumbled into the tunnel and followed it blindly, seemingly sloping downwards for a few feet before going back up and opening into a large den.

The floor felt like soft, thick soil covered by a layer of dried grass that made for thick padding. Small whining caught my attention and I used my ears and nose to navigate the pitch darkness, finding the alpha female curled around three pups.

She nuzzled me into her warm belly fur alongside them and gently groomed us all, her rhythmic motions soon sending me into a deep sleep.

----------

A/N: Hope you are enjoying the story so far!