We left nothing, but our paw prints in the snow

Chapter 14

Chapter 14:

Something didn't seem quite right. The smell of metal had completely disappeared, but instead, I seemed to be in something. And I was being bumped around painfully.

My chest was painful, but nothing compared to the pain I remember feeling. But the bumping around wasn't helping. In fact, it was making things worse. All I could do, was hope Pup was okay, and that the Pack was okay, and that the bumping would stop soon.

I felt myself falling, and I hit something hard. It felt very much like the floor, only it didn't seem to be the floor, or at least, it didn't look like the floor, but then again, I was inside something that didn't look like anything I have ever seen.

Suddenly there was light. I only knew that it seemed to be coming from up, and that it would probably be worth it to investigate. I moved towards the light and poked my nose out. I smelt snow. I smelt trees. Basically, I smelt home.

I brought the rest of my body out of the weird thing I had been in. I felt the snow beneath my paws, and I felt the cool air try to get through my pelt and chill my skin, but my pelt is a wolf's pelt, and no cold could get through it!

I caught the scent of a human. Normally that would have made me afraid, but the human wasn't any old human. It was Pup, and I trusted her.

I turned to her and approached her, wanting to lick her face in a form of thank you, because although I didn't know how I came from being trapped inside something metal, to being banged around in something I have yet to come across, I do not know, but what I do know is that Pup made sure that when I come out of all of it, I will be home, and that's just where I am. To my surprise though, when I jump up to lick her, putting my front-paws on her shoulders, she pushed me away.

She says something in her odd tongue, that sounded something like this, “No!Wecan'tbetogether!”

I had no clue what it could mean, but I did know that it pained her to say it, and that made me sorry for what I had done. I leapt off her shoulders and instead took the liberty to grabbing some of the weird stuff that humans have a tendency to wear, I think because they envy us of our pelts, in my jaw and pulling her in the direction of where I sensed the pack was.

I could and would look after her, feed her, and treat her as one of the pack. She would have to leave though in about two springs to come, but that's two springs away, and if she wants, she will be able to come back here, won't she?

I pulled again, and this time she came.

I let go and ran off at a relatively slow pace. I looked back and saw that she wasn't following. I walked back to her, grabbed her odd pelt in between my teeth, and pulled her again. This time, when I ran, she followed.

I would have jumped four meters into the air if I could. She made such a racket. A well, I would train her to be silent as well as everything else she needs to learn.

We ran together, though I must say, at a pretty appalling pace. How can you live, and only be able to run this slowly? Ah well, yet another thing I ought to teach her. Not only how to run quietly, but also quickly. Running lessons coming up, as soon as I have found my pack, that is.

Suddenly I felt guilty. What happened to all the other wolves who had gotten shot at the hunt? What became of them? I know that I hadn't seen them where I had been, but as their alpha, I should have at least thought of them a tiny bit earlier, or?

I pace slowed even more, which, a few moments ago, I hadn't thought possible.

I stopped entirely, titled my head up, and did something I have been longing to do for a really long time. I howled. I let everything out in my howl. Humans should try it too, maybe that way they wouldn't hurt their pups and end up losing them to wolves. I mean, isn't that sort of embarrassing?

I felt my chest open up. I howled and all the muscles relaxed and tensed with my howl. It felt so good be be sharing everything again. All my feelings and worries. I even sang out about Pup. I howled and howled, and to me it felt so beautiful. I sensed Pup looking at me. I sensed that she wanted to howl too, but didn't know how.

I stopped howling and walked over to her. I put my nose under her chin and pushed upwards, so that her head tilted back. I kept that position and howled. It was slightly uncomfortable to howl like that, but I did it so that she would understand. After a while she got the message, and she howled, or, she tried to howl. It was wobbly and uncertain, a bit like a wolf's first howl, but I guess that if this was her first howl, it would make sense.

We howled together, and I felt more complete than I had in a long time. After what seemed like ages, I heard My Mate answering, and the rest of the Pack. My heart-ache stopped. It felt like I was with the, again, only a very long way away. Now They could come towards us, and we towards them. They would make much quicker time than we had, and we would make, because Pup couldn't run fast enough.

“Come here, and we'll start coming to you!” I howled at My Mate.

“Okay,” he howled back. They stopped howling, but we continued a little longer so that they could hear us for a while. Then we too started our slow and clumsy walk towards my pack.

Occasionally we would stop and howl so that they had something to orientate themselves with. Pup's trot was painfully slow, and when she did go faster, she couldn't keep it up for long.

I smelt my pack first, which meant me were upwind of them. I howled, because they wouldn't be able to smell us. A few moments later, I heard panting, and the occasional bark, or yap. I started slowly running towards them, slow enough for Pup to follow, but a bit quicker than we had been going.

My Mate pounced on my when I had just looked around to see if Pup was following. We rolled over each other. We licked each other in every place we could get to. I was so happy.

But deep inside me there was a longing that was hard to satisfy. I needed him to make me pregnant. The motherly instinct deep in me wanted to have pups. I wanted to feel life stirring in my belly. I wanted and needed to feel those pups against me, and although I loved Pup in that way, she would never be able to e like my very own, for she did not grow in my belly.

I crawled out from under My Mate and looked him deep in the eye.

He seemed to understand.

We would do it...later.