Starry Nights

Chapter Three

Huttser opened his eyes, hearing snarls from multiple wolves.

He slept inside that night, being a chilly and windy night. Now, the sun was shining. As he padded outside the den, he saw an unfamiliar wolf being held down, Dust, Thunder, and Timber ripping at his fur.

"Father! What's going on?" He shouted, dashing over and looking down. A white wolf with brown stripes was pinned under Thunder's large grey paws. He didn't struggle, but looked offended to be bitten so much. He was smaller, but heavily built, like a type of dog Huttser had seen with a human while patrolling.

"This weaselbrain tried to invade the camp!" Dust snarled, getting a shove from Thunder. Timber looked at Huttser, then back to Thunder and Dust. "Let him go. He is not welcome here. Huttser will take him out of den bounds and ask him questions on the way." He said, padding away as he swished his tail. Thunder and Dust shrugged and released the wolf, who stood up and peered at Huttser.

"Come." Huttser said, not remembering agreeing to his father's orders, but doing it anyway.

"So... What's your name, anyway?" He asked the brown-and-white wolf. He cleared his throat. "Veetor. I came because my brother, Victor, kicked me out of his pack." He announced with a bit too much of pride for such a situation. "Why did he kick you out?" Asked Huttser, sniffing around for scent markers. Veetor rolled his eyes. "He called me a rat, got a few of his wolves to beat me, and I got banished for fighting back. Really? That's in our instincts to fight back. Not fair." He growled, lowering his short, pointy ears.

"Victor seems brutish." Huttser said. Veetor spat. "He is." His walk became rigid, face screwing into a grimace. Huttser felt uncomfortable with this wolf. Something about his eyes caught him. Bright blue and far off somewhere. Soon, they reached the border. "Well, it's time you left." He said. Veetor shot him a glare, then walked off a bit. Before he left, he turned around, saying something quietly. "Perhaps I shall persuade the winged wolves."

~~~

"What does he want with Gemini?" Timber asked. Gemini was the alpha of the winged wolves, being disrespected in her early years of ruling because she "needed" and alpha, and she was merely an alphess. But the pack accepted her as an alpha.

"He didn't explain. He just ran off." Replied Huttser, remembering that one winged wolf he met the other day... Flister, she said her name was? Yeah, Flister.

Timber paced, growling. He looked troubled, the ridge of his back standing up, tail bristled. "Gemini is a good wolf. He better not hurt her." He barked. Timber's pack had been allied with her pack for years, and they watched eachother's backs. Maple sat in the corner.

Huttser's mother had grown older, gray around her muzzle, and her hips had been failing her. She was older than Timber, and smaller.

"There will be no... War, correct?" She asked, twitching her ears. The Delta, Arwing, and the Beta, Ymir, shifted uncomfortably on the other side of the conference cave. The healer was there, too; Slovka.

"I pray there will be no war, but if Veetor does something drastic, there will be a chance." Timber answered gravely. Huttser frowned, shrinking back a bit. He was the heir to being Alpha, and he felt not exactly ready. Timber, turning to his Beta, growled. "Ymir, go tell Ulrika the news." Ymir nodded, dashing away with her poofy tail fluffing in the wind.

Ulrika was the pack's war specialist/planner. She devised plans for future wars, making maps of entry points and weak spots of enemy territory.

Suddenly, Gem, a warrior, burst in. "I am truly sorry to interrupt, sir, but Fern has been caught in a human trap!" She cried. Huttser widened his eyes, dashing from the den without a second word from his father.