Broken Alpha (Book 1 of the Broken Wolves series)

Aliac

Aliac left the camp following Mouse to the stream that bordered their territory. Aliac curled her lips in disgust as the smell of crow-food hit her. Mouse led her closer to the shallow end of the stream and pointed her muzzle to the water. Aliac looked down and growled when she saw rabbits and mice dead in the stream. There looked to be no cause of death noticeable until Mouse said "They died from a sickness. I could smell it on the pelts."

Aliac nodded and sat down. She didn't know what she could do. She couldn't let the sickness spread to the camp. Especially with Flame expecting kits. The alpha growled at the thought of Flames name and shook her head. "We need to have a few wolves come out and clean this up. They wont be able to touch the dead prey. I don't want them to fall ill. Can you go back to camp and get Stone, Owl, Oak, and Silver. That should be enough to clean this mess." She barked to Mouse and the brown wolf sped back to camp.

Aliac let her thoughts wonder. She couldn't decide what to do with Flame. She knew it wouldn't be right to exile the pregnant wolf and if she did, no doubt Stone and maybe Owl would leave too. She couldn't afford to lose warriors. And if Flame was expecting there would be more pups. She sighed and knew she couldn't kick the she-wolf behind. She had to be fair. Flame didn't know what her sister had done and she left that life a long time ago, proving it when she agreed to have her named changed at her ceremony. She would talk to the flamed colored she-wolf when she returned to camp.

Aliac decided to hunt while she waited for the patrol to return. She made sure that the prey wasn't sick. A mouse scurried in front of her and Aliac quickly slammed a paw and killed it. That was easy she thought but then smelled the sickness on it. She backed away, fur bristling, and growled in anger. How was her pack supposed to survive if there was no healthy prey. She couldn't remember what the prey pile looked like before she left camp. She would have to have a pack meeting then send out hunting patrols. There must be something they can eat.

She quickly washed her paws off in the stream and Aliac heard a soft bark signalling Stone and the patrol had arrived. Aliac led the four wolves to where the crow-food was and barked 'We need to clean this up fast. We don't need it spreading anymore then it already is in the water. Do not touch it, instead try and find sticks to move it out of the water. Then we will bury it." The four wolves nodded grimly and set off to work. Aliac headed back to camp, she needed to address the pack and warn them about the new danger.

"Let all wolves old enough to catch their own prey gather here beneath high rock for a pack meeting." Aliac howled and waiting for the wolves to leave their dens. Flame sat outside the nursery and glanced at Aliac warily. The alpha nodded her head to the she-wolf and made a mental note to talk to her after the meeting. Ice gathered her pups and pushed them into the nursery and sat beside Flame. Aliac noticed how Ice swayed from her deputy-ship whenever she could. She would have to talk to her later about it. Maybe she would have to appoint a new deputy. Aliac sighed. So much was going on. As soon as the pack all gathered she began

"Mouse has shown me a new kind of danger. There is a sickness spreading. The shallow part of the stream was filled with sick dead prey and when I went to hunt i caught a sick mouse. No one should touch or kill a sick animal. If you smell sickness you must leave immediately and hunt somewhere else. Also we will not be drinking from the stream for at least a moon. There may be sickness in the water and i don't want anyone getting sick. We will go to the larger stream on the opposite side of the border of pines." Aliac said and waited for responses from her pack.

"Also if you see dead prey, you must bury it so the sickness doesn't spread from it, again you can not touch it so use a stick or anything to move it." Mouse added, nodding her head to her leader.

Aliac nodded and continued "Now i need a hunting patrol. I have Stone, Owl, Oak, and Silver cleaning out the stream. I need a few wolves to hunt around the pine boarder. Kludd, pick three wolves to accompany you. Find any prey you can but again be cautious about sick prey." 

Kludd nodded and immediately ran to Eva, and left the den. Aliac realized with a jolt that she didn't have enough wolves to complete the patrol. She would have to send Stone back out when they returned. 

Aliac returned to her den and let her thoughts wander. She was worried the sickness might spread to her pack and she knew they couldn't afford any losses. She also knew that River-pack would not stop until she was dead. That thought made Aliac shiver. She would give her life to save the pack but only if it came to that. another thought ran through her mind. Ice. her friend served her long and hard by her side as deputy and Aliac could see the tiredness in the white wolfs eye. Ever since her injury Ice has been reluctant to leave her pups and Aliac knew she couldn't handle the deputy-ship anymore. She let out a long sigh. She would have to appoint a new deputy. 

But who?