Snowmelt

XVI

I walk through the camp, checking that every wolf is doing what they're supposed to be doing. Firetrail, Hawk, Clay, and Paleleaf are all on a hunt. A small herd of deer was scented nearby by one of the patrolling wolves earlier this morning, so Firetrail had put together a hunting party, determined to get at least one kill from the herd, if not two. It had been multiple moons since we had had a large kill. We had been living off of rabbits and squirrels, and every wolf was eager for some good red meat. Rabbits and squirrels are the food of lone wolves. Deer, caribou, and other large prey is the food of a pack, especially a strong one.

"River! What are you doing? You ought to be working!" I bark at the dark brown wolf laying in a patch of sunlight. He opens one eye and looks at me for a moment before closing it once again. 

"I finished with that. Don't get your tail in a twist," He drawls, and I can hear the contempt in his every syllable. I bear my teeth and growl, feeling my hackles raise in fury.

"Look at who you're talking to. I have been your alpha for nearly four moons. You should know by now to treat me as such." I hear a rustling in the woods surrounding the camp, and Firetrail walks up beside me.

"What's going on here?" His voice is stern, and he looks from me to River, who jumped to his feet as soon as Firetrail entered the camp, and back again. When I tell Firetrail what had happened, he turns on River, teeth bared, tail erect, ears flattened against his skull. "This isn't the first time this has happened, but this is the last time. You are exiled from the pack. You are now an enemy. Get out of my territory."

River's ears are laid back and his tail is tucked tightly between his legs. Head hanging low, he runs from the camp. My head lowers and I exhale. I feel my muscles relax and I turn to face Firetrail.

"Thank you for helping out with that. I always worry about them not respecting my rank, but most of them seem to be fine with it. He was pretty much the only mutineer of the pack, luckily." I look at the other members of the hunting party who hadn't been far behind Firetrail and see two bucks on the ground beside them.

"We brought food!" Hawk, a brown and gold she-wolf, exclaims, tail wagging.

"Looks good," I reply. I tilt my head back and give a sharp bark, and the pack members who hadn't been hunting gather around us.

"Today, we were lucky. There were over a dozen deer, about a quarter of which were bucks. We shall feast tonight!" Firetrail announces, causing the other wolves to yip and wag their tails. "Shall we?" He turns to face me, and I nod. He puts one paw at the base of the deer's neck, then rips its body open, and I turn and do the same to the other. Once we have both eaten our fill, the other wolves come up to eat in order of rank. Last before Omega is Paleleaf, and all that remains on either carcass is chunks of gristle. She throws me a venomous look.

"If you have a problem with what's left, you can go hunt your own prey, and leave this for Omega." Paleleaf snorts but pulls off multiple chunks of gristle, leaving one for Omega. As Omega gets ready to crack the bones to get the marrow, I turn and head for the den, suddenly exhausted.

I reach the den and curl up, shifting so that Firetrail can lie beside me. We talk for a few minutes, but I soon fall asleep.