Where the heart lies

Chapter One

Outlaw flicked an ear as he sleepily rose to his paws. The fresh Alaskan fragrances filled his nose. He couldn't even begin to picture a moment without the aroma, a time when he hadn't run with the wind in his fur, or the yowls of joy from his pack at his side...

"You're up early. Is something wrong?"

Outlaw veered his eyes to gaze fondly at his mate. Her hazel eyes shown with ginger concern.

"Nothing's wrong. I was just thinking of launching an early hunt. Want to join me?"

Lilac climbed to her feet shaking out her snow-white pelt as she did. She opened her mouth to respond when a tiny voice beat her to it.

"Papa? Are we going hunting?"

Outlaw looked down just as a small white and gray furball bounced to her feet.

"You're up early, little one." His voice was soft when he spoke, and the small pup gazed at him with bright innocent eyes.

"I'm always up early Papa. It's Flame that always snoozes like a bear in winter."

Outlaw bit back a wince at the mention of his wayward son. Swift was right. He did sleep much later than what was appropriate for a wolf. In fact, he didn't really act like a wolf in general, always romping after butterflies when he should be watching the hunt, obsessed with burying the leftover bones from said hunts. No, much to his disdain, his eldest pup was becoming more and more like a.... dog. His nails curled into the soft dirt at the mere thought. The word alone increased the rhythm of his heart.

"Well, why don't you go rouse your brother now. If he wants to go out on the hunt, he should be up and alert already."

Swift sniffed, sticking her nose pompously into the air. "He doesn't even know how to hunt. All he ever does is chase after bugs."

Outlaw used his huge paw to gently nudge her towards her sleeping sibling. "Go on now, I know Flame is a little... slow at learning all of this. But be kind, he's trying."

Swift sniffed, strutting off and leaving her parents alone in their thoughts.

"Outlaw?" The Saint Bernard mix turned his head to face his mate's soft voice.

"Yes?"

"My love, you are a full dog, yet, you have the soul and heart of the strongest wolf. But Flame...while he may be only part dog, what if...instead of the spirit of a wolf, he has one of a... dog?"

Outlaw felt his heart sink painfully low. She had noticed it too.

"He can't Lilac! He just can't. If he even has the slightest bit of dog in his heart...." He let out a long breath. "He'll seek out man. He'll need man. And man is the most dangerous creature in this world."

The she-wolves' ears smoothed against her head. "But Outlaw. What can we do?"

Outlaw closed his eyes. "I...I'm not sure." Is it even possible to remove a part of someone's nature? After all, man tried so hard to remove your wolf... and it never worked. Only propelled you faster toward your destiny...

"Dad! Swift hopped on my back!"

"He wouldn't get up!"

Outlaw shook his head clear as his two youngsters came barreling toward him from their old tree den. His son was glaring intently at his sister. Outlaw nearly sighed. It was almost past sunrise, much too late for a pup his age to still be sleeping.

"Flame, it's almost time for the hunt." Outlaw walked over, using his tongue to prim the pup's messy, rusty fur. "Best get up and move about."

Flame pulled away, looking vaguely aggravated. "Aw, Dad, so I have to?"

"Yes, knowing how to feed yourself is a very vital part of being a capable wolf," Lilac answered, giving her pup a mild glare.

Flame let out a soft growl. "But... Why do I have to come now? It's not like you ever even let us actually hunt."

Outlaw nudged the pup softly with his snout. "If you watch the pack hunt while you're young, it'll be easier for you when you do have your first hunt."

Flame leaned against his father's warm snout. "Are there really no easier ways to get food?"

Outlaw felt the fur prick up on the back of his neck. Were there easier ways to get food? Sure, but at the cost of one of the most precious things to any animal in the land, freedom.

"No little one, believe me, this may not be the easiest way to live...but it is the best way."

Flame cocked his head in a horribly dog-like manner. "Oh... But isn't the easiest way, the best way."

"Not always," Outlaw clarified, "for example...you need to get to the other side of the river. The easiest way is blocked by a bear. What would you do?"

At this moment, Swift piped in. "You would just walk right through the bear, Papa."

Lilac let out a soft purr of amusement, and Outlaw scratched intensely at his floppy ear.

"Er, yes. Well, what would most wolves do?"

"Go around the bear, even if it is the longer way." Flames' voice was thoughtful as he spoke.

"Yes, exactly. Because it may not be the easiest path. but It is the smartest." Outlaw said.

"Although, if you really think about it, pushing through the bear is about just as easy as going around him. Cause if you choose to go around, you're wasting time getting wherever you're going, but it's safer. But if you go through the bear, you're at risk of getting hurt, but you get there faster. So, I mean, neither choice is really easier. They both are just... different?" Flame murmured, looking to his father for confirmation.

Outlaw felt a slight jolt of fear hit his heart. And you know what the worst part was?

The pup was absolutely right.