This is a revised upload of the first chapter of my novel. i fixed a bit of grammar and some other mistakes.

Chapter 1

Forbidden

FEAR! Fear surged through her, blocking out all other emotions as she ran as fast as her legs could propel her through the dark forest, nearly all sunlight blocked by the snow and ice caught in the spiky pine needles along with a shadowy fog that seemed to close in on her from every direction.

She ran faster than she had ever run in her life and her muscles were screaming in pain, she barely felt the pain through the adrenalin that was coursing through her body.

She did not dare glance back to see if it was following her, she needed to concentrate on getting back to the pack to warn them.

BOOM!!! As a pup she had curiously touched a glowing ember left over from a tree that had been struck by lightning, she never forgot the pain that had been searing through her paw for days after and now she felt like an entire line of embers had been laid across her spine, but there was no time to stop running and check her back, she could still run and that was all that mattered.

Faster, FASTER! I have to warn the pack! I have to warn Kodi! Memories of Kodi were flashing through her mind as she started running even faster, nearly splitting her skull on the trees that she could barely see through the literal fog and the fog of pain, running towards the rest of the pack and safety but most importantly, running toward where Kodi would be waiting for her.

A field of blinding snow and screeching winds seemed to spread on forever as far as the eye could see. If you were to cross this field of icy death and survive you would find a massive forest of pine and birch trees with the occasional outcropping of large boulders, rocks and scattered shrubs.

If this survivor was to travel further into the dark forest he would eventually find himself confronted by a one of the 12 monstrous snow covered mountains that spread out each direction as far as the eye could see even on the clearest of days, needless to say if said survivor attempted to scale these mountains he would soon lose the title of "survivor." Recently the earth had shaken violently causing some of the snow to lose its grip on one of these mountains rocky slopes, it was a small amount of snow in comparison to the amount that had completely blanketed the mountain in a coat of white, but to the forest at the receiving end of the snow fall, the entire mountain may as well have come crumbling down. A large scar had been cut into the forests dark body where there now lay a path of destruction, all branches and foliage had been stripped from the trees as they were ripped from their earthly bindings and thrown down the hill buried under a blanket of snow and ice, only a few logs and branches remained poking out of their icy confines and it was in this clearing scattered amongst and on top of the logs lay a pack of wolves soaking up the warm sunlight. In the forest they would be lucky to find a patch of sunlight large enough to cover their head during the winter so this was a great opportunity to warm up under the suns golden rays.

This pack was not an ordinary pack by wolf standards. Most packs are made up of a family with the pack members mainly being the pups and family of the alpha pair but this pack was a group of mostly unrelated wolves who had banded together generations ago to create a pack. Many of them once belonged to family packs but either left to explore or were deposed by their own pack. Any lone wolves they met in their forest were often not in the best condition and joined the pack after regaining their strength.

This pack was also strange in the fact that they had an alpha pair who made most of the minor decisions but other than that everyone else the pack was seen as an equal and could have their own say at the packs regular meetings.

Ahneila the male alpha of the pack was lying on a pine tree that was striped smooth as a fresh bone by the avalanche.

Ahneila wasn't necessarily the strongest wolf in the pack however he was one of the smartest and he was by no means weak, his muscles bulged under his winter coat as he stretched out on his perch above the snow.

His coat was grey with patches of light brown scattered along his face and sides mirrored on each side very similar to the rest of the pack.

He had lost some of his symmetry in a fight, when Corik got a hold on his ear and left its edges raged and torn.

At the end of the previous leaf fall the pack had been drinking from a creek that had yet to freeze over with the deepening cold when Anaiu smelled blood in the water and told the rest, soon they could all smell it.

the pack had followed the stream in hopes that a wounded animal drinking from the stream and would be an easy meal for them to take down but what they found was an unconscious starving red furred wolf, washed up on the bank with blood slowly seeping from a few open wounds on his flanks onto the now crimson rocks, and into the creek discoloring the water at its edge.

Without a second thought the pack took him in like every other wolf they met. Since his rescue Corik tried multiple times to take Ahneilas place as alpha but failed every time and gained some additional scars for his troubles adding to his gruff atmosphere he seemed to project.

Anaiu, Ahneilas mate, was sitting in front of him peering over the edge of the fallen pine, intently watching the packs only current litter of pups, Jehra, their mother, was lying in the middle of the seething mass of fur and teeth.

In a normal pack only the alpha pair has the right to breed however as previously stated this pack was far from normal and any pair of wolves were allowed to birth a litter. Because of this and the many stray wolves that joined, the pack had grown very large, with over 30 pack members food was both easy to catch but more was needed to feed them all.

Anaiu had white fur all over her body except the tip of her tail which was as black as the deepest shadows.

Her lips twitched in a smile as she watched the pups tumbling with each other in the snow playing, fighting and annoying their mother. As she watched she remembered the pups she had lost last winter and her smile faded, the bright spark in her eyes dulled with sadness.

Jehra herself was lying exhausted, surrounded by her cubs as they rampaged around her and over her, playing with each-other and using her tail and ears as chew toys.

'Stop that now let your mother rest' growled Taul; one of the oldest and strongest packs members.

Tauls body was scattered with white patches and lines of fur marking the underlining scars from his many fights and hunting injuries. One scar was far more prominent than the rest, a line of white fur that ran down the left side of his face where the entire power of a bears swing had dragged a claw through his fur, skin, eye and probably even scraped bone.

'Why don't you go play with Neira? I'm sure she won't mind.'

He said with a massive grin showing his yellow but still very sharp teeth as he watched Neiras ears flick back at the sound of her name.

Neira slowly turned he head to see 4 cubs staring at her with grins that mirrored Tauls.

Neira who only recently became old enough to not be called a pup herself was the only pup in the alphas litter to survive.

The last thing she wanted at the moment was to be swarmed by 4 furry little balls of energetic teething cubs.

'No. I'm afraid she cannot play she has a very busy day of training ahead of her.' Growled Maklei as she trotted up to Neira, giving Taul a death stare that he simply shrugged off.

Neira gave Maklei a grateful glance and stuck her tongue out at Taul who looked disappointed that his scheme was foiled as she passed him. She followed her mentor to a quiet spot in the clearing where Maklei could talk to her without being disturbed.

Neira was Makleis apprentice; she was to be the next pack healer and took her study very seriously, hanging on every word Maklei said. The packs healer was responsible for the wellbeing of the pack members and feeding any sick elders or pups, they couldn't really heal injuries or wounds but through generations of trial and error they knew how to help most injuries heal faster and knew which berries and plants would lessen pains and aches.

Kodi trotted up to where Ahneila was stretched out on the log

'alpha?' out of tradition the pack still called Ahneila "Alpha" even though he told them many times to call him by his name.

'Yes Kodi?'

'I was just wondering if you've seen Ika. I haven't seen her in a few nights'

'Yea, 3 nights ago she told me she saw some smoke rising from beyond Bear Mountain and was going to see if the fire would be any danger to our pack. I told her we would be safe from a fire in this clearing but she insisted she go' Ahneila growled calmly with his eyes shut tightly enjoying the sun on his face.

'She went alone?'

The alpha caught the worry in his voice and opened his eyes to see Kodi slowly kneading the snow between his paws nervously.

Kodi was smaller than the average wolf in the pack and his pelt was a dull grey but everyone knew that Ika Was deeply in love with him and he was just as deeply in love with her even if they both denied it to the rest of the pack and to each other they still made it almost painfully obvious.

Ahneila decided to try to comfort the smaller wolf.

'Don't worry Kodi, she is the fastest wolf I have ever met, she could easily outrun even a mountain leopard, I'm sure she's fine.'

'You think so?' Kodi whimpered still looking worried.

'No one can be totally sure of anything Kodi but you have known her for 2 years, you should know that she can get herself out of any trouble.'

Ahneila looked thoughtful for a second then asked

'Remember that time she stole the rabbit Evun caught?'

Kodi started grunting with laughter as his mind flashed back to memories of Ika running wide eyed, tail between her legs, rabbit dangling from her mouth and a big grin plastered on her face as Evun chased after her fur puffed out and snarling up a storm so loud he was sure if she caught her she would have eaten Ika instead of the rabbit.

'You're right I'm just being paranoid.' Kodi said with a smile.

Suddenly both wolves' ears pricked up as they heard a howl in the distance. The howl started very deep and sad and slowly raised in pitch until it wavered a few times before deepening again then becoming silent. Ahneila sat up immediately.

'Maklei! Taul! Kodi! Follow me!'

Ahneila roared across the clearing as he jumped down from the log and started sprinting as fast as he could over the uneven icy surface in the direction of the howl.

'Wasn't that Kimera?' Kodi panted as he tried frantically to keep up with Ahneila.

'yea, he said he was going to go back to the forest to try to hunt some rabbits he saw but that howl was an emergency howl, someone must be hurt out there'

'NO, IKA!' Kodi suddenly flew past Ahneila running full tilt towards where he had heard Kimeras howl, leaving Ahneila blinking with a face full of snow.

When Ahneila finally caught up he saw Ika lying in the snow next to Kimera with Kodi frantically licking Ikas face asking her if she was all right between licks. As he got closer he saw the snow against her back was stained red with blood

'Kimera what happened!?' Ahneila growled

'I don't know I just found her running through the trees like every leopard from here to the last white peak was chasing her.' He whimpered distraught at not being able to do anything for her.

The mountains that lined the edge of the forest were called the white peaks by the wolves due to them always having a blanket of white on them any time of the year.

'Something's in the forest...' the sound was barely a whisper as it left Ikas trembling muzzle.

'What?' whimpered Kodi lowering his head closer to Ika.

'Something's in the forest' she repeated in a quiet voice.

Ikas eyes weren't moving and Ahneila was worried she had died until he saw her chest slowly rising and falling.

Ahneilas ears flicked back as he heard the sound of approaching paws and turned to see Maklei running up to them followed by Taul.

As soon as she arrived Maklei shoed the 3 males away from Ika so she could examine her. She leaned over so her ear was just in front of Ikas muzzle and listened to her breathing for a few seconds although Ahneila was sure he heard Ika whisper something. She then walked around to examine the wound along her back, she looked the long line of shredded skin and fur up and down then licked the wound clean of blood, Ika tensed slightly but other than that gave no other reaction, once the blood was cleaned away she could see the extent of the damage and gave a little nod but still looked worried.

'Is she going to be all right?!' Kodi burst out unable to hold his worry in anymore as he ran back to his perch next to his friend and started cleaning her face and wound.

'Yes, she should be fine, she's just in shock, keep talking to her and after a while she should slowly come round, the wound isn't deep enough to cause any permanent damage but it is going to scar.' Kodis frantic licking slowed a bit and he gave out an audible sigh of relief through Ikas fur.

'Ahneila? Can I talk to you?' Maklei asked nodding towards the tree line. He followed her until they were far enough away that the others wouldn't overhear.

'What's wrong?' growled Ahneila curious and worried

'The wound she sustained was minor compared to how it looks, but I have never seen a wound that large before and by the looks of it whatever attacked her could have killed her had the blow landed any lower, similar to that little scratch on Tauls face that he keeps complaining about. If Taul hadn't jumped back when he did I doubt he would still have his head' Maklei and Taul were both old members of the pack and were quite fond of each other although they weren't mates they kept their relationship pretty open.

Maklei often teased Taul about his missing eye saying he's just a big pup whenever he complains about it.

'But it's what she keeps whispering that worries me. Something about a monster in the forest.'

Ahneila looked back at Ika then turned his head to look back to look into the forest that the pack had only just come from a few days ago, to investigate the avalanche, the forest that had been a safe haven for the pack for generations.

'I will ask her about it when we get back to the pack... It's not safe here.'

After a while Ika managed to lean against Kodi and use his support to stand.

Ahneila walked up to Ika.

'Are you strong enough to walk back to the pack now?' he asked in a low quiet tone.

Ika leaned harder against Kodi and gave a slight nod but otherwise remained silent. The 5 wolves started walking back to the rest of the pack, going slowly for Ika. As they walked Ahneila looked over to Ika and Kodi and noticed Ika wasn't leaning against him for support anymore but it seemed she was just trying to stay as close as she possibly could to the smaller wolf. How she could walk at all with such a large injury across her whole back was a puzzle to him. Every step must be excruciating.

As they reached the rest of the pack they were momentarily swarmed by curious and worried wolves asking what happened but Maklei soon ushered them away telling them that Ika needed peace and quiet and that the alpha would explain what happened later.

Now that they were safely back with the rest of the pack Ahneila sat down and faced Ika. Kodi was still at her side and still looked worried. For both Ikas and Kodis sakes Ahneila decided to let him stay.

Ahneila looked at Ika but she seemed to be just looking past him at nothing. Whatever's out there must have really scared her he thought shaking his head slightly

'Ika what attacked you?' she seemed at first to not have heard him then slowly her eyes seemed to focus on his eyes and he began wishing they hadn't.

He saw the eyes of an old scared wolf staring at him. Not the cheerful, young, inquisitive eyes he had seen a few nights ago.

'The monster.' She said quietly

'What did it look like?' he almost whispered trying not to unsettle her.

'Thunder' she mumbled almost inaudibly then louder

'It had a stick of thunder and fire...'

_ _

The smoke was getting closer now and Ika could easily see it through the gaps in the leafless birch trees, rising dark against the bright rising sun. Strange, it hasn't gotten any thicker over the past few days she thought, looking at the thin wispy line of black smoke where she expected large quantities of smoke to be pouring from the forest fire that should have flared up in the time she had been traveling. She slowed down as the stench of burning wood started to block her sense of smell, making her more reliant on her other senses.

The smoke seemed to be coming from one of the steep valleys that had been carved through the earth and stone by the raging torrents that came during the snow melt, when everything seemed to come crawling from the icy clutches of death and new life brought a cheerful brightness to the forest. A brightness that should have been shining moons ago but was still nowhere to be found.

Ika carefully walked up to the edge of the valley watching her footing to make sure she wouldn't slip and be sent tumbling down the slope possibly into fire.

As she reached the edge and raised her eyes from her paws she nearly yipped in surprise. There in front of her was a strange animal she had never seen before balancing on its 2 hind legs in front of a small fire that seemed trapped by snow and stones. As she watched the creature walked away from the fire and crawled inside a strange brown cave that seemed to move in the morning breeze. Moments later the creature emerged carrying some branches and logs in its paws.

This creature is growing stranger and stranger thought Ika who was bewildered as to how it was carrying the branches with its paws rather than its muzzle.

As Ika watched much to her surprise it threw the wood onto the fire which in turn sputtered out with a large puff of smoke. The strange animal let out some strange growls and reached out its paw to grab a branch that rested in the snow next to fire. The creature poked at the now smoking pile of logs moving them around.

What is it doing? She thought to herself when suddenly the smoldering logs burst into a roaring blaze much larger than the earlier fire startling Ika.

Is it controlling the fire? Ika wondered as her curiosity started to grow.

Ika settled down atop the valley right next to a thick birch tree that matched her fur pattern and would hopefully hide her. She watched this strange creature for what felt like nights to her as it walked around on its hind legs doing strange things.

A thick fog was starting to set in and Ika was about to go back to the pack to tell them about the animal and the fire when a large rock started to roll down the opposite side of the valley causing both Ika and the creature to look up at the valleys ridge.

There stood one of the biggest stags Ika had ever seen, its antlers a network of sharp points; he was a mighty beast that not even Ikas pack would have dared try to bring down. He did not appear to fear the fire or the creature staring at him from the bottom of the valley as he continued to stride along the ridge without a care in the world.

Without taking its eyes off the mighty stag the creature reached into the strange soft cave and withdrew another stick that caught Ikas eye, the base of the stick looked like one of the smooth pine branches that had been scattered around the clearing where the pack was currently living however the front was straighter than any stick she had ever seen before and looked more like one of the black shiny stones she had played with around Soul Lake as a pup.

The creature raised its stick in its paws and pointed the smooth stone end at the stag. Suddenly there was a flash from the stone lighting up the fog around it like a flash of lightning.

A tremendous crack thundered over Ika making her yelp covering her ears with her paws, scrunching her eyes shut.

Ika slowly opened her eyes and was shocked to see the giant stag slowly sliding down the slope of the valley leaving a trail of bloody snow behind it, she diverted her eyes down to the creature and saw a trail of smoke rising from the stone end of the stick that was clutched in its paws.

This isn't an animal. It's a monster_. She thought as she slowly turned around still crouched low to the ground to lower her profile hoping the monster wouldn't see her._

She was just about to start sprinting back to the pack to warn them of the monster when the snow under her right hind paw gave way and started tumbling down the valley.

For a terrifying moment Ika thought she was going to fall down the hill to the mercy of the monster. She had just managed to pull herself back up onto the snow ridge when the birch tree to her right exploded into splinters that pelted her body causing her to cringe to the ground. This was instantly followed by another thunderous cracking sound that echoed off the valley walls like thunder...

_ _

'That's when I ran.' Ika started to visibly shake and looked like she was about to collapse, Kodi quickly leaned against her side to support her. His touch startled Ika as she flinched in terror instinctually snarling and biting at the monster that was touching her. The sudden salty sweet taste of blood filled her mouth bringing her back to reality and she slowly opened her eyes to see Kodis shocked eyes staring back at her as her teeth were buried deep into the smaller wolfs shoulder.

Suddenly all thoughts of the monster and her injury totally vanished from her mind as she realized what she had just done.

Her teeth were sunk deep in the flesh of the only wolf she had ever trusted, the only wolf she had ever loved and the look in his eyes as he stared horrified at her made her almost choke.

She carefully opened her jaws, releasing Kodis shoulder. Tail between her legs she dropped on her chest burying her face in the snow at his feet.

'I'm sorry, I'm so sorry' she whimpered into the snow repeatedly, shivering now in fear that she had just destroyed the only bond she had ever felt to another wolf and that she may have just crippled her only friend. Crippled wolves rarely lived long through the cold of the freeze.

Ika flinched as she felt something warm brush against the fur on her ear.

'It's all right Ika. Everything's going to be all right' She slowly removed her muzzle from the cold snow leaving it red with Kodis blood, the sight making her shudder until she looked up and saw his face right in front of her.

His eyes showed no anger, fear or even pain. only love, he was even standing on his wounded leg like there was no injury even if in reality the pain was almost unbearable but Kodi knew he had to be strong for Ika in her current state.

'Ika, you don't need to apologize to me for anything, I know you didn't mean to bite me and I would never blame you... I love you Ika.'

Ikas body stopped trembling as her head collapsed into the snow with a quiet sigh

He actually said it she thought as the world slowly got darker around her.

'I love you too' she mumbled quietly as her eyes slowly shut.

Kodi looked like he was about to start panicking when Maklei, who had come running over when the scent of Kodis blood had reached her keen nose, stepped on his tail to get his attention and shook her head at him.

'Don't worry. She's just exhausted, from what I can tell she ran all the way here from Bear Mountain in 1 day and she seems to be traumatized AND she has a rather bad injury. She just needs lots of rest so don't wake her until tomorrow.'

Maklei raised her paw off Kodis tail then looked at the large gashes on his shoulder still trickling blood onto the white snow.

'Speaking of injuries, what happened to you?'

Kodi looked at the large sleeping wolf at his feet or at least she was large compared to him.

'Just an accident.' He mumbled

Maklei looked at Ahneila tilting her head questioningly but he just flicked his ears in the wolf gesture of a shrug.

After Maklei cleaned his shoulder, she told him to stay off his right leg and to get some rest, both of which he was more than happy to do as he curled up next to his best friend. Lying on his good shoulder as he watched the mesmerizing rise and fall of her chest as he slowly drifted out of consciousness.

'They make a cute couple don't they?'

Anaiu asked after Ahneila finished telling her what happened. They were both watching the two sleeping wolves from the same log they had been resting on earlier in the day before all the commotion.

From their perch they could easily see the whole pack and the surrounding clearing for hundreds of bounds in every direction.

'Don't they remind you of us when we were young?' he asked admiring how the setting sun set his mates coat ablaze with a golden fire.

'What do you mean when WE were young? Speak for yourself.' she chided a big golden smile on her face which quickly turned more serious.

'So what are we going to do about this monster? We can't just stay here and do nothing when there's something so dangerous, so close to us and in the middle of our territory.' She growled.

Ahneila looked around him as his pack settled down for the night. Jehras cubs, exhausted from their day of playing were lying down in a pile next to their mother paws twitching in their sleep.

Their mother let out a long sigh as she enjoyed finally having some peace and quiet.

'You're right, we can't just do nothing. We have to deal with this problem quickly and cleanly. I will call a pack meeting tomorrow, I'm sure everything will turn out OK.' He said giving his mate a reassuring lick

'I sure hope so.' She whispered as they both settled down for the night.

'WAKE UP, YOU DEAF PUP!' Neira bolted up right, her fur puffing out in all directions and her tail fuzzing up to twice its usual width as she was torn from her peaceful slumber by Makleis loud roar.

Realizing there was no danger other than to her eardrums Neira let herself calm down and her silver fur de'fluffed a little.

'I'm NOT a pup' she indignantly growled at her mentor as she stretched out in true canine fashion.

'if you sleep until after the fireball is high in the sky AND sleep through the alpha YOUR FATHER giving the meeting howl AND many attempts from me to wake you then you are no different now to when you were a pup and thus I shall call you a pup until you can prove to me otherwise.' Maklei snarled back before turning around and dog trotting towards a large pile of boulders in the distance.

Neira was shocked by her mentors' gruff reply. Maklei was normally a very gentle caring wolf, but today something seemed to be bothering her.

Something really bad must have happened to get Maklei this worked up She thought to herself.

Neira had seen Ika coming back with her father, Maklei and some others and could see the large injury down her back, but no matter hard she pestered Maklei the older wolf wouldn't tell her what happened and just told her that she would find out tomorrow.

Is that why father called a meeting? She wondered to herself as she stretched out one final time and shook herself getting rid of any snow that was still clinging to her silver coat.

Neira had inherited her mother's white coat, but she had just enough of her fathers gray to turn her fur a light silver color that blended in with the snow nearly perfectly.

As she made her way towards rocky outcrop, weaving through the field of dead trees sticking out at every angle, she saw a flicker of movement out of the corner of her eye.

She stopped dead still and perked her ears as she scanned the clearing for movement.

'There you are' she growled to herself a grin starting to grow on her face.

He's getting good at that she thought as she crouched down and slowly crept towards what looked like a moving shadow, flitting between the shadows cast by the morning sun on the sea of upturned pines.

Because the dark shape only moved along the shadows whereas Neira was perfectly camouflaged in the open sunlight that covered much more of the clearing she quickly gained ground.

Soon she was a mere leap away from the dark shadow and she decided she was close enough.

'HELLO EEK!' she roared happily, rewarded with a terrified yelp followed by a loud THUMP and a yelp of pain as Eek jumped in the air hitting his head on one of the many nobly roots fanning out from a nearby upturned tree.

Seeing Eek lying on the ground, clutching his head with both paws and whimpering quietly Neira felt a pang of guilt for being the cause of the black wolfs current condition but mainly she found it very cute.

Eek looked up to see whose leg he was about to rip off when he saw Neiras white face grinning down at him.

'What are you doing creeping towards the meeting Eek? You're still part of our pack, you don't have to hide from everyone' Neira growled as she closed the gap between them and gave his aching head a harsh lick causing him to wince.

'It's just a habit I guess' he growled as he got to his feet.

Neira jumped back to give him room as he turned around and continued along his shadowy path.

'I can't stand the looks they give me; they think I'm a freak and a monster'

Neira rolled her eyes trotting after her friend.

'You are not a monster or a freak; you are a cute and gentle fluffy wolf'

Eek spun around and jumped on Neira pinning her on her back in the snow.

'Don't call me cute!' he growled at a still grinning Neira

Suddenly a drop of blood fell from a cut hidden in Eeks black fur.

The root must have a sharp edge hidden along its many twists and turns.

The drop landed directly on Neiras nose.

'Wow, this is scary' Neira growled, eyes growing wide.

'What? You're scared of a little blood?' Eek barked with a grin

'No stupid, this is just like when we first met. Geez that must have been about 10 moons ago.' Neira said with a giggle

'Oh yea' Eek growled as both wolves minds were being filled with memories of the past.

The alpha of the pack had found Eek lying unconscious in the icy field of death that bordered the forest during a desperate hunt. The freeze had lasted longer than usual and food was scarce.

The alpha had already lost all but 1 of his pups and was desperate to find food for his pup.

_ _

_ _

All Eek remembered was waking up, in an unfamiliar forest surrounded by unfamiliar wolves and no memory of how he got there or who his pack was.

All he knew was that he wanted to fit in and be a useful part of the pack that had saved his life.

The next night Eek decided to start being useful and, while the pack was sleeping, crept deeper into the woods.

He didn't get far before he saw a snow hare slowly hopping towards him.

Why isn't it running away from me? He wondered as the hare got closer and closer.

Confused he looked down and noticed he couldn't see his black paws in the darkness.

He grinned to himself as the hare got so close that he could see each individual hare on its fluffy tail.

With as much strength and speed he could muster, he leapt at the hare and felt his jaws close around its neck. The hare was frozen with surprise and shock at being grabbed by what had been a shadow. Eek didn't give it a chance to run as he clamped his jaws as tight as possible and was rewarded by a soft 'pop' as the hare went limp in his jaws.

_He ran back to the pack feeling, very pleased with himself for catching a hare that was larger than he was. Nothing could have prepared him for the packs reaction to a 2 moon old pup catching an animal that most adults could only dream of catching. _

_ _

Neira gave out a massive yawn as she stretched out over her father's back.

It had been 2 nights since her father had found a pup the same age as her somewhere she was told she should never go. Neira was looking forward to being allowed to play with him. She had never known her siblings and she desperately wanted someone her age to play with and the one glimpse she had of him when her father carried him into the pack had piped up her curiosity. His fur had been totally black and was unlike any of the other wolves in the pack. Her father had told her last night that when she woke up she would be able to meet the new pup and she was practically bouncing with excitement.

'Neira' her father growled quietly, his serious tone dialing down her excitement as she realized he was about to say something important.

'I know I said you could meet the new pup today and I was hoping you two would be able to get along like siblings but things changed last night.'

Her father took in a deep breath.

'You are not to go near him Neira. If I see you trying to talk with him or play with him you will be severely punished'

'WHAT?! Why!?' Neira growled, all her excitement crushed by her father's unexpected words.

_ _

'Why can't I be friends with him? He must be just as lonely as I am!' she growled almost crying at the injustice of it all.

'Neira. He's dangerous, and just too different to you. You two can never become friends.'

'That's not fair! So what If he's different! I'm different aren't I!? So is mother, neither of us look like any of the others in the pack!'

'It's not that he looks different Neira' he said with a sigh

'You will understand when you grow up'

'I don't want to understand! I want a friend!' she yelled as she jumped off her father and ran into the den where she had been raised and started crying.

So what if he's different she thought as she started coming up with a plan.

I'm still going to be friends with him.

_ _

Eek sat in the shelter of a hollowed out log keeping out of sight. The packs reaction still fresh in his mind he started shivering, traumatized.

All he had wanted was to be helpful but when he had shown his catch to the pack instead of the praise he had hoped to get from the hungry pack they just stared at him in a way that made him shiver.

He dropped the hare and ran back to the safety of the shadows. But he could still hear their hushed whispers as he hid.

'How did he catch a Rabbit? He's only 2 moons old. He shouldn't be hunting for another 3 moons'

'Hey look closely it's not a rabbit, it's a snow hare.'

'Your right! I've never seen one this close'

'Looks like he broke its neck'

'That pup is dangerous'

'Have you seen his eyes? Every time he stares at me it sends shivers down my spine'

'Yea and his fur is so black, you can't even see him when he walks in the shadows'

'That pup is a monster'

Those last words echoed in Eeks mind. He tried to help them and in turn they had called him a monster.

The next night he had caught a normal white rabbit in the same fashion he had caught the hare and ate it himself. He then crawled into the hollow log where he was currently sheltering to sleep.

I don't belong here_. Eek stopped shivering, his mind now decided._

I'm leaving this place

He was just about to crawl out of the log and run for as long as he could when he noticed 2 wolves he had never seen before through the end of the log.

He inched forward, ignoring the spider webs that were covering his face and body till he was able to see them clearly.

One was a totally white wolf save for the tip of her tail that was as dark as his fur but it was the other wolf that had caught his attention.

She was another pup that he guessed was about the same age as him.

Something deep down in him stirred at the sight of another pup and he suddenly felt an urge he had never felt before. He wanted to play with her. To fight and roll around and feel happy, something he had never felt.

His puppy instincts took over him as he jumped out of the log and started running towards the two wolves when a large paw stomped down right in front of his face.

'Where do you think you're going?' he recognized the voice of the alpha that had saved his life but the way he looked down at him terrified the pup.

'I-I was j-just going to play with that o-other pup' he whimpered

'Well you can't' Eek suddenly felt rage build up in his body burning away his fear.

'Why not!?'

'Because your dangerous!' he snarled at Eek making the small pup crouch down but Eeks eyes never left the pair of female wolves.

'You managed to catch a hare all by yourself. A hare that's much bigger, faster and stronger than my daughter and you broke its neck without any effort or hesitation. I don't want those jaws anywhere near my daughter!'

He could do nothing as he watched the 2 wolves walk out of view between the large males' legs.

'If I see or hear that you were near my daughter I will force you from our territory myself' Eek looked up at the alphas eyes and saw that they looked sad and full of pain. Eek understood to a degree that he just wanted to keep his pup safe but this was too unfair.

The alpha walked off in the direction Eek had watched the 2 females walk.

Eeks mind was racing.

'I'm going to meet her' he whispered to himself. He now had a reason to stay and if the alpha finds out then he would be no worse off than he was a few moments ago.

_ _

Neira was walking through the forest with her mother and father to Soul Lake to drink. Soul Lake was named that because its surface never froze over and never rippled even in the wind.

You could always see your reflection on its surface.

Neira kept close to her mother, using her as a barrier between her and her father whom she wanted nothing to do with at the moment.

'I will be right back, you two keep going' her father said as he trotted deeper into the forest out of her view.

Like I would want to follow you she sneered in her head.

Neira looked up at her mother who had been unusually quiet lately.

'Mum, why won't father let me see the new pup?'

Neiras mother stared back down at her with a sad look in her eyes.

'He just wants what's best for you and he feels that letting you mingle with the new pup will put you in danger.'

'I don't want to be safe!' Neira growled

'I want to have a friend, a friend my age that I can play with and besides. He seems really interesting' she trailed off causing her mother to grunt with amusement.

'You know what? I think I'm going to have a talk with your father and see if I can't get him to change his mind.' She said as she smiled down at Neira whose eyes lit up with joy.

'THANKYOU MUM!' she yelped happily as she ran between her mother's legs and rubbed her back along her mother's chest but quickly moved back to her mother's side as her father reappeared alongside them.

When they finally got back to where the pack was resting, Neiras mother told her to play by herself while she had a little chat with her father and gave her a parting wink.

Neira was amusing herself by trying to dig her own den in the snow when she saw a shadow moving in the forest far too fast to be caused by clouds. She froze and fixed her eyes on where she had seen the shadow end.

_ _

A dark figure darted away from behind a tree then disappeared behind another tree, this one further away from her.

It's him she was sure of it.

Neira quickly looked over her shoulder to make sure her parents weren't watching her and sure enough her mother appeared to be scolding her father who seemed legitimately scared of her as his tail was tucked between his legs. She quickly sprinted off deeper into the woods away from her parents and hopefully towards a new friend.

She saw the shadow flit behind a tree directly in front of her.

Hehe, he thinks he's so stealthy but I can see his every move she thought to herself as she lowered herself into a crouch and snuck as silently as she could towards the wide pine trunk.

'AHA!' she yelled in triumph as she raced around the tree sure she had caught him. But as she rounded the tree she was surprised to see there was no one there.

What? Where did he go? She wondered as she looked around in confusion. Suddenly she saw a flash of green to her right.

THERE you are she almost giggled as she turned her back to the bush where she was now sure he was hiding.

Neira closed her eyes, focusing all her concentration on her hearing. She could hear the wind softly whispering through the pine needles all around her, the creaking sound of trees nearly being crushed under the strain of the snow that seemed to never stop falling, the sound of soft snow being crunched under small paws behind her...

Eek yipped in surprise as the white pup he had been running up on suddenly spun around. His plan had worked perfectly so far, she had followed him into away from her parents into the darker part of the woods where he would be more hidden, he had lost her behind a large tree by using its shadow to sneak away and she had even turned her back on him.

He had wanted to run up behind her then try to scare her but now that she was facing him that plan had been ground into the snow.

Eek tried frantically to stop his forward momentum, his large front paws skidding in the snow to no avail as the pups' skulls made contact sending both pups tumbling and yelping in the snow.

_ _

Neira groaned as she slowly got back on her feet causing her head to throb with pain.

She quickly glanced around, seeing that the black pup was still dazed and lying in the snow with his eyes tightly shut, she quickly ran over to him to take advantage of the situation.

_ _

Eek felt like he had just tumbled down the side of one of the white peaks and everything felt like it had been turned upside-down.

He heard the high pitched chuffing sound of a wolf giggling from bellow him.

His eyes flew open and he felt his stomach lurch as the world had been turned upside-down around him until he realized that it was him that was upside-down. Eek relaxed a little as his stomach settled down.

Another giggle drew his attention down... up... to the amused face of the white pup he had almost brained himself against.

She had both feet on his chest pinning him down and had a big grin on her face. He felt a sudden rage fill him. He had wanted to be friends but it appeared that she just wanted to show that she was dominant over him.

He was about to bite that grin off her face, when her eyes suddenly caught his attention.

They were a beautiful gold color and when a sliver of sunlight broke through the icy branches above hit them they glowed brightly.

As he stared deeper into her eyes he saw green flecks scattered throughout the gold that made those eyes glow with even more beauty.

They held none of the suspicion, fear, anger, aggression or mistrust that he saw in the eyes of every other wolf.

She looked at him with joy, amusement, curiosity, hopefulness and, he noticed, a crushing loneliness.

Eek was mesmerized by those eyes and felt a rush of happiness at the possibility that she may actually want to be his friend. He was snapped from his daze by something warm dropping on his nose.

He instantly recognized the familiar scent, the scent of fresh blood.

_ _

Neira had both front paws planted firmly on the dazed black pups chest.

She was starting to get worried when his eyes didn't open, but then his mouth opened just wide enough for his long pink tongue to flop down the side of his face.

From where she was standing, and being more than slightly dazed after their collision, this seemed like the funniest thing she had ever seen and she couldn't help but giggle.

Her giggles were cut short as the black pups eyes flew open and she felt his body tensed up as the green orbs raced around in their sockets.

Just as suddenly the pups body relaxed under her and his eyes seemed to roll up into his head as he sighed showing the whites of his eyes, which mixed with his dangling tongue, caused Neira to giggle again against her will at the black pups' silly expression.

At that moment he must have noticed that she was standing on his chest.

His brilliant green eyes stared up at her.

She was still grinning down at him, his angry expression adding to how cute she thought he looked pinned under her.

Neira saw his eyes change from angry to savage and when he suddenly tensed she felt a moment of fear.

Then his eyes met hers.

Neira was instantly mesmerized by the way his deep green eyes seemed to swirl with the faintest hints of gold that flared up in the sun making his eyes appear a brilliant bright green.

All anger disappeared from those beautiful eyes and she felt him physically relax under her as she stared into his eyes.

She was surprised when he suddenly craned his neck up and licked her between her ears.

A sudden sharp pain on her scalp made her yelp involuntarily, but the pain faded just as fast as it had appeared as the shadow furred pup continued licking her head.

Neira felt her headache slowly melt away under his gentle grooming and she slowly closed her eyes as she felt calmer than she had in as long as she could remember.

_ _

Eek forced himself to look away from white pup's eyes and saw another drop of blood gathering itself underneath a small cut in her scalp, ready to slowly trickle its way down her face staining her beautiful white fur.

For reasons he couldn't understand and didn't bother to, he was suddenly compelled to lick the drop of blood away.

Not one to ignore his instincts he leaned forward and licked the offending drop of blood away.

_ _

_ _

_ _

Eek felt the female flinch and yelp in pain under his tongue and was about to stop but she stopped mid yelp and she didn't make any further complaints, so he continued licking the fur on her head until the only evidence she even had a cut was the slightly pink blood stained fur.

When he leaned back against the ground he was shocked to see that the pup on top of him looked to all appearances to be asleep.

Why do I feel so calm around her? He wondered.

The wolves around him had always looked at him differently, always judging him, always looking for things to blame him for.

They always stared at him like he was some strange animal and very few ever even talked with him.

After he caught that hare the few pack members he had seen walked around him, not looking him in the eye, pretending he didn't exist, like he was an abomination.

All he had wanted was to be looked at normally like the rest of the pack, like the little white wolf pup that was now standing over him.

All sorts of emotions were starting to fill his mind.

What makes her so different to me?

He felt rage starting to well up in his chest drowning out the other emotions.

Why don't they treat me like her?

His body started to shake with anger

Why wouldn't they let me near her?!

He opened his eyes in shock as he felt her lick the tip of his nose.

Once again as he looked back up into those joyful, beautiful, golden eyes and his rage was quickly replaced by hope.

Why can't I be friends with her?

_ _

Neira couldn't remember how long she had been standing over the dark pup as he groomed her head and face and she honestly didn't care.

_ _

She had never felt so calm and collected in her life and felt disappointed when he stopped.

She felt his body start shivering and instantly opened her eyes worried.

She was about to ask him what was wrong when she noticed a spot of red on his nose that hadn't been there before.

She leaned down and after a moment's hesitation licked his nose clean.

Blood? Was I bleeding? She wondered.

That must be why he was grooming my head and started shivering;

he must have felt bad for hurting me she thought to herself, pleased with herself for figuring out what happened. The black pup stopped shivering looked back into her eyes. Not wanting to make him feel bad she smiled back down at him.

_ _

'What's your name?' she asked him hoping to break the ice between them not realizing it had shattered when she smashed her head against his. The black pup seemed taken off guard by the question and stammered for a second.

'Um... oh... my name is Eek... I think...'

Neira giggled again

'My names Neira and how can you not even know if that's your name?'

The black pup looked away from her and she wondered if she said something wrong.

'I can't remember my family or pack or anything before a few days ago and... um...'

Eek paused and looked up at Neiras face curiously.

'Why are you standing on me?'

Now it was Neiras turn to be caught off guard. She was about to reply when she realized she couldn't remember why she had stood on him.

'I'm not sure'

'Well can you please get off'

A mischievous gleam entered Neiras eyes as an idea struck her.

'I will let you up IF you promise me something'

Eek was curious now

'Promise you what?'

Neira grinned. She had him now.

'I will get off you, IF, you promise to be my friend'

Eeks grin suddenly mirrored her own.

'I promise'

Neira had just stepped off Eeks chest when she heard her father call her name. She turned to Eek with a look of disappointment.

'I have to go now Eek but meet me here tomorrow. I know a fun game we can play AND you can finish telling me why you don't know your own name' she said with another one of her giggles as she ran back towards her family. She finally had a friend and had never felt happier.

Eek felt sad as he watched his friend run back towards her parents.

Neira huh he thought as he let memories of her standing over him flood his mind. Just remembering those golden eyes staring down at him made him feel calm, happy and relaxed. He finally had the friend he had wanted. He finally had someone who looked at him like a normal wolf.

'I'm pretty sure it was you pinning me to the ground that time Neira.' Eek growled with a grin.

'Yea, so what, this is still kind of the same. When my father saw me he looked so angry I was sure he knew I had talked with you. But when I walked past him he didn't stop me or yell at me so I guess my mother's nagging just got him real angry.'

Neira looked away from Eek to the packs meeting place and saw her father climbing up the rock pile

I hope he never looks at me like that she though and felt a slight shiver run up her spine as she remembered the look of absolute rage on her father's face.

'Looks like the meetings starting, you going to get off?' Neira growled

'Only if you apologize for calling me cute' Eek growled and drew back his lips showing off his fangs. Neira ignored his attempt at looking intimidating; she knew he wouldn't hurt her.

'I'm not going to apologize for something that's true' she said as sweetly as possible before kicking Eek off with her hind legs and jumping back on her feet in the blink of an eye. She sprang past Eek but at the last second flicked his nose with the tip of her tail.

'C'mon cutie you're going to miss the meeting!' she barked over her shoulder as she ran towards the meeting grounds. Neira turned around and looked at the top of the pile of rocks, she could barely see her father from where she was but she could swear he was staring straight at her.

I hope he didn't see me talking with Eek from up there... she thought, looking at her father wondering just how far he must be able to see from on top of the large pile of rocks. Neiras mother had said she couldn't convince her father to let her meet Eek but she didn't seem upset about it and didn't seem surprised when Neira didn't look disappointed or throw a fit, but Neira could guess by the funny smile she gave her whenever she would leave to "spend some time alone" or "go get a drink" that her mother knew she was actually spending time with Eek. Neira was just glad her father didn't know.

When she finally arrived at meeting she sat down next to her mother who looked worried about something, she then looked up at her father who was glaring at her with a look that could scratch stone and she felt her ears flatten instinctively and her tail draw closer to her body.

At least I hope he doesn't know...