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Chapter 1

"Do you really have to go?" a wolf whined.

"You know I do, Artemis. As much as I hate it, winter's on its way, and I'm not really in the mood to starve."

"Yeah, I know." Artemis said. "But can't you let me go out instead? I'm fine now. We could even go together, if that's better. I've been cooped up here for almost a month now, Tundra. You've got to let me out at some point. I don't want something to happen to you. . ." she took a breath before continuing. "I know it hasn't been that long since. . our pup, but I want to come with you."

Tundra sighed. She hated keeping her in the den. "You're still pretty messed up. We both are. But you're the one who had Talo- "She cut herself off, and took a deep breath before continuing. "You're the one who had our pup. And he didn't make it. You barely made it yourself. I'm scared, Artemis. I don't want to lose you either, but you've got to trust me here."

Artemis hauled herself up onto her feet, and sat beside Tundra. The two simply staring into the forest. For a few heartbeats, everything was still, and peaceful. Tundra stood, and turned to look at her mate. They exchanged only a quick glance, but that's all they needed. With a sigh, Artemis resigned herself to another day or two in the den, and Tundra got ready to head out.

"I'll be quick. I promise."

And with that, she'd gone out into the forest.

Panting, Tundra stumbled into a clearing, managing to scare away all the little flurries of snow that were starting to take residence on her pelt. She had been running for nearly the whole day, and was exhausted. Small snow crystals wormed their way into her nose, causing her to sneeze. She couldn't help but reminisce about all the time she and Artemis had spent in these woods. Since they were young, they chased the odd deer that wandered too close, ran around in the meadow for hours until their legs gave way, and sent them tumbling into a heap on the grass, watched the stars and tried to make sense of their strange patterns, and having uncontrollable laughing fits until they could barely breathe. She truly felt terrible about keeping her confined to the den, but what more could she do? What she hadn't told her dear mate, was that the humans had, ever so slowly, been encroaching on not only their territory, but every other packs, as well. What if she couldn't outrun the humans? What if she got hurt? She'd heard terrible, horrible stories about what humans did. They skinned the ones that couldn't get away in time. No one really knew if they were dead or not when that happened. Once they got you, you were a goner.

A twig snapped behind her, causing her to spin around.

"Ah! Sorry, Tundra! I didn't mean to startle you. Just wanted to check in."

"Jesus, Shrew, you're like a ghost!"

"Heh, I guess so. How are you?"

"Eh, I'm alright, thanks." Tundra said. "Artemis is fine, too." She added quickly.

"That's good. Speaking of Artemis, Lotus and I haven't seen her in awhile. Lotus is worried but I've assured her everything's fine. Everything is fine, right?"

"Thank you for your concern, but she's perfectly fine. Just a bit under the weather." She said "I did just say she was alright, remember?" she snickered.

"Yeah, yeah, I know that now."

The two sat in silence for a while. Shrew was a dark black wolf, with bright yellow eyes, and white paws and tail tip, as well as a patch on his rump. It was as if he had been dipped in white paint.

"So. . . How's life as a father now, Shrew?"

"Oh it's wonderful. Although, I barely get to see Lotus anymore!" he chuckled.