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I wanted to do something different for my 50th Yiffstar Story, and even several colleagues found it unusual that I would choose the F/F vein for it. Chronologically, this is a sequel to Lykos Bane's Debt, prequel to my Taste For the Flesh, and ending with How the Omega Learned His Place. I hope that it, like HappyFunBall(tm) will leave its mark on the minds of readers for years to come.

Mores Lup?s - Act I

And We Shall Walk in the Sunshine

2008 by Eldyran

As Rastus sniffed the frigid, bitter air, he folded his white and black tipped lupine ears back against his skull. The white wolf looked about the few scraggly pines scattered just under the mountain's tree line, and for a fleeting moment, felt the ebbing early spring night creep into him despite his thick coat. He watched his hot breath billow white from out of his muzzle and float up to the shimmering stars of the twilight sky above. In that starry expanse of desolation and hope, he wished his mate Asha was here with him right now.

She was the better hunter of their pair, after all.

Rastus continued down the deer trail for a ways, his hind feet crunching through the hard packed top layer of snow as he went. When he neared a small bend in the tree line next to a small rocky ledge, he dropped to all fours, sniffing at snow dusted hoove marks already several hours old. The wolf stooped there, hunched in concentration, and did not find the scent he sought for. The guard hairs of his neck and back bristled from an errant hunt now turned dangerously precarious. He carried on, regardless.

Like his ancestors. And their ancestors before them. This moment, suspended in time, had been retold again and again throughout an ageless epoch. This was the way of all wolves. Some things would never change. Some ways had to be kept. Some traditions must be honored for life to continue.

This was just one of several.

But Rastus knew something was wrong as he neared the rocky ledge, feeling the hard gust from the cliff side almost push him back. Jagged flakes of icy snow pelted his black nose and white muzzle, and threw up a paw to shield his eyes from it. He didn't know where his hunting Beta, Lerange, had loped off to. They both knew the pack Elders forbade anyone to hunt in the boreal forests west of their small encampment. As the white wolf crept to the overhang and looked out across sweeping valley, he spotted the small fires dotting his pack's village, and wished he was there instead. He chided himself for such a weak failing, but found he could not confess many of his inner weaknesses to any pack mates.

The Hunts Alpha took a couple of hesitant steps out on the rock ledge, peering over its side. He drew back from its edge, the long drop below into endless darkness giving him queasy vertigo. He dipped his muzzle and closed his eyes in secret shame. Asha would never be afraid of such things. She should be Hunts Alpha, not him.

But surely the Elders knew, as they bore Asha from their first litter, so many springs ago. Her boldness and strength must have been apparent those first cycles, her parents watching as she always came out on top during playful tousles with her litter mates. Still, it was relatively unheard of for a female to lead the sacred Hunts. While their fledgling pack might be called progressive in regards to the old ways, some stubborn traditions still kept with them.

The sudden snap of twig startled the wolf, and he turned back around, facing the few scattered pines and boulders before him. Beyond that, darkness. Rastus sniffed the frigid air again, which bit deep into his lungs. Another rush of icy gale blew past him from the unbuffered mountain edge, ruffling his coat of white with black steaks. Whatever approached him did so from upwind.

Hunter's tactic.

No prey would follow his trail, would it? He crouched slightly, resting his front paws on the ground should he need the balance for a lunge. The lupine's keen, perked ears picked up some soft crunches in the snow, barely audible over the shrill gale rushing past them. Rastus knew he shouldn't be here. The Elders forbade anyone from hunting in these forests. No one knew why they decreed it, but few questioned it. The valley they lived in below held better prey, anyway. Why would Lerange veer off into forbidden territory? Rastus had bounded after him regardless, as it was yearling's folly to get separated from your hunting partner. He'd have to explain himself to the Elders once they got back to ...

The sudden flurry of a charging shadow caught him momentarily off guard. But with his back to the edge of a sheer cliff, a moment was all that it would take for tragedy. The shadow slammed into him with bone jarring force; something stabbing in his upper torso with many sharp points. Rastus' hind claws scraped hard at the ice and snow under his hind feet as he tried to catapult himself forward against the momentum, but to no avail. His eyes widened in surprise as he found himself weightless, falling into the yawning, unending abyss below.

He reached up towards the rocky outcropping above that receded away with horrifying speed, watching the sheer rock face pass him by in a vague blur. Rastus gave one final howl as he looked back up to the sky, finally understanding where the his earlier feelings of desolation and hope stemmed from. Everything rested on Asha's shoulders now; the upbringing of their first and only litter, the pack's success or failure, and most of all, the winds of change. How would she leave her mark?

Back up on the ledge a broken deer antler lay in the patchy snow, the only witness to Rastus' forlorn howl and its sudden, abrupt end ...

* * * * *

The next morning Asha stepped out of her tent into the warm rays of the sun, intent on getting some semblance of order back into the pack's shaken morale. Several pack members came up to her at once, offering their sympathies and support if needed. The white wolfess thanked all those who came to her, but turned them all away with courteous reassurances. When the small crowd finally dispersed, she waited till they left before allowing herself a small sigh.

It was almost as if they needed more comfort than her.

Asha moved on to her first morning duty; checking over what stored meats the pack had salted and preserved. This past winter had been harder on her pack than previous seasons, and the recent heavy snowfall made hunting difficult at best. Her mood doured slightly after noting that the meat reserves would only last another week if rationed. She had to reform the hunting parties, and soon, before her pack starved. A task made even more difficult now with her mate dead.

After making sure that enough fresh water had been brought from the nearby streams for cooking and cleaning, she stopped to check on an injured pack mate. Last week a rampaging bison morph had trampled Kurst while scouting the endless prairies far to the south. Inside his tent, Asha made small talk with the bandaged coyote as she checked a crude splint. While it wasn't unheard of per say for a wolven tribe to allow a wandering coyote into their ranks, it certainly wasn't common practice, thanks to old traditions. Perhaps that was why her pack migrated away other, more conservative ones.

Kurst wasn't the only member of her pack who wasn't a direct descendant of the three Elders. After her father moved his close knit family down into this valley, other lone wolves, like Lerange, merged with his pack to form a small, tenuous commune. Though she cared for every pack mate, this one had surprised her with his uncommon resolve, hiking back two days travel on a fractured leg. She patted his split after redoing some of the bandages around his limbs and made a off-colored joke, evoking a good natured laugh from the smaller coyote. Another moon or so and he would be back to resuming his duties. Asha made a mental note to try to persuade the Elders to keep more coyote's around in the future, for their natural skills in scouting and tracking.

Leaving the muted red interior of his tent, she closed her cobalt blue eyes at the brilliant sun hanging in the sky off to the east. As the warm rays fell across her large muzzle, a gentle breeze rippled her soft, snowy facial fur. With a deep inhale, the earthy scent of spring flooded in her flared canid nostrils. Last night's refreshing sprinkle, the first of the cycle, scoured the once sterile, bitter air. Now the cleansing scent of germinating seedlings and ozone filled her, renewing her inner strength.

She would need all the support from Gaia she could get to see her pack through the challenging times to come.

Asha kept her eyes closed for just a little longer, listening to the sounds around her. A red cardinal tweeted out in nearby tree, over scoring the constant bustle of the busy village around her. Teams of wolfesses beat woven rugs in steady thwacks, knocking many moons of built up fur and dust from them. Small fires crackled as apprenticed potters honed their delicate craft. Roving packs of rascally yearling's, led by the always playful Gazban, tousled throughout. Their barks and whimsical laughter danced about the spaces between clumps of tents and feverishly working adults.

When she finally opened her eyes, she realized that she had stood outside Kurst's tent for several minutes now, and some wolves had begun to stare. Asha smiled at them and strode through the village, mindful of the concerned looks behind her back. Her stride full of quiet confidence, she moved in between small enclaves of wolves milling hard at their appointed craft, socializing with those she hadn't talked to in a while.

Most of them looked up to her; both in a figurative and actual sense. Larger than most females wolves, Asha stood a shoulder taller than even some litter brothers. Combined with her deep cobalt eyes and strong set frame, many found it hard not to pay acute attention when she spoke. Her words were seldom, if punctual, and while she did not have the experience and wisdom of the Elder's, she made up for it in calm efficiency and natural leadership.

Asha noticed a small group of males linger about the edge of the village, talking amongst themselves in apparent hushed conversation. When the wolfess approached, they looked uncomfortable and tense, as if she had been the topic of their recent small talk. Some even looked down at their hind feet, avoiding her questioning gaze. She noticed the Hunts Beta Lerange with them, wearing his trademark buckhorn tip necklace, and addressed him.

"Lerange. I'm surprised to see you up this early. I'm going to need you rested for tonight." The wolf with mud colored fur and a white underbelly stared back at her, his ears flickering a bit in unease.

"I figured the boys and I would take a night off." Lerange crossed his arms defensively, claws digging into the hard, well muscled flesh there. "Don't you think its a bit soon, considering what happened last night?"

"We can all rest once our stores are replenished." Asha nodded, offering compromise. "But if a streak of bad weather sets in, would you prefer to be the one to explain to the Elders why there is nothing left to eat but old bones?"

Two wolves hanging out in back snickered at Asha's coyly worded reply. A stern look from Lerange silenced the normally charismatic black wolf and taller gray wolf sporting a shit eating grin, but only for a moment. After the Hunts Beta turned his back, the two chummy wolves made lewd gestures with their paws and muzzles, much to Asha's hard to contain amusement.

Despite the little hunting group's shenanigans, underneath lay a subtle contest for control over who might lead their hunt tonight. The firm wolfess knew and respected pack hierarchy, and while she didn't have any direct dominance over Lerange, her mate had been up till recently his Alpha. The tension between the two would only increase as the need for a new Hunts Alpha grew with every passing sunset.

"I guess we could hunt for the first half of the night, and take a break if we haven't caught anything by high moon." Lerange grumbled.

"So its settled, you will take Lykos and two others around High Pass." Asha folded her arms in confidence. She knew it was the best way to split their concerted efforts, her face set with adamant conviction. "I will take Riff and the rest down through Bramble Gully."

"Hold on here, who put you in charge!" Lerange contested, looking back at the rest, hoping to get some show of support. The other wolves looked at Asha with a questioning look, uncertain of who to side with.

"Now correct me if Im wrong," the wolfess began with a smug grin, "but the last time we let them go hunting off together, didn't we spend half the night fishing ourselves out of a bog?" Lykos and Riff, the two wolves hanging in back, looked at each other with overmodest half smiles, ears folded.

Oh, that time. Small prank really.

The other wolves nodded their heads in agreement. Lerange had coincidently led the hunting party that night, which ended in utter disaster. The ruddy wolf turned back to his female rival in disgust, his necklace rattling as the antler tips knocked against each other. It was clear he wasn't going to get any support from his nebulous lackies through sheer panache alone.

"Fine. You want me to fetch your moccasins while I'm at it, Princess?" More chuckles from the peanut gallery.

"No," Asha replied with a warm smile, "But get some rest. You are my best hunter after all."

In arrogant reflex Lerange's ears perked at the sly compliment, the patchy brown wolf giving a shallow pant as Asha turned and left back to her appointed rounds. The other wolves shrugged and dispersed, a few giving each other uncertain looks at Lerange's expression. Only after the black wolf realized he had been left standing with a domesticated look about his knavish features did it dawn on him what just happened. Lerange's beady yellow eyes narrowed, claws digging into his paw pads at Asha's slippery, silver tongue guile.

He'd have to resort to less savory tactics if he intended to get her mate's former position.

For the rest of the morning Asha finished off a few other routine duties. She oversaw what perishables some of the roving gatherers brought back; mostly half empty woven baskets filled with berries, nuts, herbs, and other such wild consumables. A few hardy wolves, picked for their brawn, carried packs filled with rare minerals: Flint for fire. Obsidian for crude knife edges. The occasional gemstone for ceremonial rites. The wolfess immersed herself in her duties, time fading from her perceptions. While she didn't have the patience for crafting or the keen eye for gathering, she made sure that everyone used their natural aptitudes for the good of the whole.

It was noon before Asha realized where the morning had disappeared to, the warm rays of the overhead sun intensifying onto a bright glare. The wind had picked up a bit, whipping the hanging rugs about in a flourish of reds and browns. Almost everyone came in for noon feeding, all told about thirty adult wolves. The sharp bite of acrid smoke from under the fire pot mixed with the tantalizing smells of its savory contents, blowing around camp as the wind changed direction at random. One thing the pack lacked was a dedicated cook, but they made due as best they could.

A certain charismatic black wolf had managed to sweet talk a wandering Kodiak from the North out of some of his best recipes however, much to everyone's delighted palate.

Today only a few small scuffles broke out in ordered procession to the fire pot, much to the Elders' relief. The order of the line, based solely on dominance and pack standing, often marked a flash point for what small personal riffs existed between individuals in the pack. Afterwards the small tribe settled down in scattered huddles, socializing between spoon fulls of venison stew. Asha ate little, paying more attention to who sat along with who rather than her own grumbling belly. More pools of uneasy silence descended upon their repast than usual.

Small rifts could easily widen in such troubling times, spelling slow death to the already tenuous commune.

Asha finished off the contents of her small ceramic bowl with begrudging effort and a long, drawn out whine. Still tired from staying out so late last night, she gave her empty bowl to a wolf tasked with clean up and laid down against the still damp, budding grasses underneath her. A few of her pack mates curled up around her, some even draping a comforting arm across her or resting their head on the softest parts of her bosom and belly. Her stomach filled, the scents of loved ones so intimately close to her, the white wolfess stared up at the deep blue sky and let the strong afternoon gusts relax her. Asha's thoughts turned to tonight's imminent hunt, and tried not to let one more worry heap itself on the mountain of burden already set square on her enduring, but not unfaltering, shoulders.

A few minutes later, her heavy eyelids drooped, then closed on blue sapphires sparkling in the rays of high noon ...

* * * * *

The sun slipped a bit down to the west before Asha's white eyelids twitched, then opened. She felt around for the two wolves still wrapped around her, smoothing out their fur in reciprocity. The wolfess' hearty yawn awoke them, and the wolves stretched as if one, still sluggish from their afternoon nap. A softer breeze rippled their coats, the crisp early spring air coaxing the last bit of sleep from their bleary eyes. Two sets of pink tongues lapped at the sides of Asha's muzzle, and with half closed eyes, her muzzle lips curled in the canid equivalent of a smile. While not a kiss as most creatures would understand it, the submissive, affectionate gesture implied both appreciation and acknowledgment of her higher rank in the pack hierarchy.

Refreshed from the dour mood of earlier that morning, Asha's spirits lightened, and after helping the other two wolves to their feet, found that her new life as prospective Hunts Alpha had just begun. She glanced around the village, and noticed that more of the adults were milling about, some even joining in the yearling's ever persistent tousles. Even those that still working on their appointed craft did so at a more relaxed pace. That's what Asha liked about early evenings, as the sun slid down more and more to the west. Mornings always greeted one with a sense of responsibility and urgency, and many wolves, herself included, often got wrapped up in getting things done that they missed the point of life itself.

Play when you can. Hunt when you must. Rest in between.

The wolf credo. The most basic lupine lore handed down from Elder to Elder, from muzzle to ear, for endless generations. It, like so many things, had become so ingrained in pack mentality that any yearling could recite it verbatim. It, like so many things, had become incontestable tradition. Sometimes tradition creates structure and comfort. Even now as Asha strolled underneath Father Sun, watching others play and work around her, she felt a sense of love and togetherness that could only come from a pack.

Asha walked in the sunshine, her life holding no secrets from those that loved her.

Sometimes, however, tradition stood in the way of reform and progress. When the white wolfess neared the center of the village where the nurse wolves kept and cared for the pack's latest arrivals, Asha's brow furrowed when she noticed a slight commotion, largely ignored by everyone around else her. Her younger sister, Volas, shooed away a skittish male who had tried to pick up and coddle one of the pups. The wolf, named Kura, pinned back his gray ears and gave back the small barking lump of fur to her careless sister. Moments later Volas boxed him about his folded ears, running him off.

The Elders could not decide what to do with Kura, truth be told. The thin, mute wolf lacked the fitness and heart for hunting, had a wanderlust that made him a poor gatherer, and showed little skill for crafting. He had a very gentle disposition, however, and Asha often found him watching over the yearlings of his own accord, making sure they kept in line and out of trouble. Asha also noticed with increasing frequency that whenever the nurse wolves needed an extra blanket or play bone Kura often times was right there give it to them.

He startled many of the nurse wolves that way; before they even turned around to fetch whatever they needed, it was already in their feminine paws. Being mute, Kura had a hard time explaining his intentions through imprecise runes alone, which seemed to compound his awkward standing in the pack.

Asha watched Kura slink away, before circling around a tent and peeking past its edge. His ears perked again as he watched the same ignored pup give a series of short, clipped whines, her belly empty. The wolf pup rolled about on shaky, unsure legs, her snub nosed muzzle and over sized ears tugging at the heartstrings of Kura's care giving nature. All the other nurse wolves were otherwise occupied with their favorites of the current litter, born during the last heavy snowfall. Asha could tell Kura wanted to soothe the young one's duress.

The white wolfess wondered how everyone else in the pack could turn such a blind eye to such inner natures.

Again, tradition stated that Kura, being male, lacked both the proper anatomy and disposition for such crucial responsibility. Asha watched her sister absently gossip to another nurse wolf, and frowned when she realized her own son tousled a bit too hard with his liter mate, a black pup known for his already insecure nature. The two growling, nipping wolf pups tore about, and rolled over a skittish rusted colored pup. That one hid his underneath paws, not wanting to be apart of the fight. Asha sighed and walked over to scoop up her son, who gave sort barks of dismay. This was the fourth time this week she had to intervene to break the three up.

"Athos," she cooed slightly, codling the scrambling lump of white in the cradle of her arms. "For the love of the ancestor's, stop antagonizing Kryven. And stop dragging Urex into your games, he doesn't like to play them ..." Athos looked up into into the blue mirror of his mother's eyes, pleading at the half hearted admonishment. Asha sighed a little more, wishing her mate was here, alive.

He had been the better teacher of their pair, after all.

Asha smoothed out the dirt of her son's large white ears and hugged him close, a short pang of guilt ripping through certain, hidden parts of her heart. The parts of it that went against some of their most sacred traditions. She looked about camp, watching her pack mates toil endlessly for the good of their whole. Most, if not all, respected and loved her. Some would even die for her.

Would they turn their back on her should she not want to walk in the sunshine ever again, and instead break with tradition?

Her gaze drifted over to a black wolf kneeling near a small fire, peering intently at his latest work. The lupine's expert paws never trembled as they stitched together a new set of black knee high leather moccasins, a look of intense devotion settling over his otherwise reserved features. Hawk's skill at leather working held no equal in their pack, and most wolves waited patiently for weeks to get their latest satchels or arraignments from him. Some jealous wolves complained his labors exceeded conventionality and pushed into the realm of aesthetics.

When times were lean, it was hard for the Elders to allow such plush luxuries. But watching the ebony lupine in the middle of his natural aptitude reminded Asha of a question that one of the Great-Great-Great Elders had posed: Does a mangy wolf make a better leather worker than an overly furry wolf?

Even the most reckless yearling knew the answer: that amount of fur had no bearing on one's given ability to work leather. Instead, it was rather their nature that gave them such ability. The progressive Elder stirred much controversy when he implied that a wolf's gender, much like fur coverage, also had little bearing on whether any any given sets of paws, male or female, could manipulate and work the toughened skins. Rather, it was the intrinsic dexterity inherent within those paws, laid down since that wolf's birth, that inferred such natural aptitude for leather working.

Looking back at Kura, his huge, nurturing brown eyes still filled with longing, Asha knew where his inner nature lie. If she became Elder, she would change pack tradition. She would make it so any wolf could nurse their litters. She would make it so any wolf could become Hunts Alpha.

She would make it so any wolf could lie with her and become her mate.

Asha's feature's softened for a moment, her head turning so she could sneak a subtle gaze at one of the potters kneeling before her fire. Her delicate paws held a thin brush, applying a few graceful runes of lacquered glaze to the outside of a freshly fired bowl. Her claws well cared for, they even carried a hint of red lacquer on them, for flair. Asha watched the petite reddish wolf decorate the otherwise utilitarian bowl with rapt awe, marveling at the artisan's unappreciated creativity. When the short, feminine wolf put down her craft next to the small fire to dry, she stood up, turning to look away to the west and its own fire dipping lower to the horizon.

Father Sun's dying rays touched off a vibrant blaze on the outer edges of her coat, almost shimmering if she moved in the slightest. Her feminine curves, while subtle, set off the eye catching jut of her pert breasts nicely. The halter and loincloth around her petite body fit snug, empathizing its alluring qualities, and showed off more of her fiery fur than was customary. The once gentle breeze now picked up again as evening approached, and it whipped the beads woven in the delicate braids of her long head fur about behind her. With the braids dancing in the wind, they brushed past rare decorative golden rings set in the upper parts of her large, lupine ears.

Fera'l's deep emerald eyes glanced back at Asha, perhaps sensing that a set of concupiscent blue eyes now looked over her. For a moment, they locked fleeting glances, the smallest hint of a knowing smile playing across Fera'l's muzzle lips.

The smile that knew the hidden parts of Asha's heart.

Fera'l broke the discreet glance and knelt back down to her toil as if it never happened. As Asha continued to watch they rays of the falling sun wash over the small, red wolf, she mulled over what Fera'l had implied.

Yes ... perhaps we might only hunt until high moon ... Asha thought, her mind distracted now with racing thoughts. She turned to make the last preparations for tonight's hunt, and instead found herself facing a deeply suspicious Lerange, his arms folded, muzzle lips tight in a forced grin.

"See anything you like?" the shifty Beta scoffed.

"Not anymore," Asha shot back without missing a beat. She shoved the shorter wolf aside with the arm not holding Athos and walked past him. The ruddy lupine jogged back up to her side, sneering.

"So where were you last night?"

"I could ask you the same question," Asha replied, momentarily stopping the other wolf in his tracks. "Unless you just watched the deer gore Rastus off the cliff and did nothing to stop it." After realizing his mistake, he marched back up beside her, trying beat her at her own game.

"You have a problem with me? Something you want to say maybe?" Lerange narrowed his subversive eyes, trying not to step into her carefully worded trap.

"No. I cant say that I do." Asha said with a dead set, annoyed look about her white muzzle. Lerange growled low at Asha's calmly measured words, his fangs gritting together as his own pool of resolve gave out. He shot out in front and blocked her path, growling.

"Your mate just died. Don't you feel anything, you heartless bitch? Doesn't it matter to you?"

He snarled, determined to get the wolfess to loose her sense of control. Asha's eyes narrowed at the dastard card the Beta played. She recognized it was his perfect time to strike, with a pup in her arms, she couldn't very well respond with a physical challenge. A couple of wolves walking past stopped to stare at his small outburst. The white wolfess felt her ire rise past its breaking point.

"It does matter to me. It means I have to work twice as hard to make up for your conniving slack ..."

She shoved him down hard into the soggy ground with a free paw, growling over top the insubordinate piece of scat. The sudden push jolted Athos, and sensing his mother's anger, began to bawl. Realizing that half the village now stared at her, the guard hairs of her back and neck bristled in self admonishment, before walking over to a stunned Kura and handing over the crying pup over to him.

A reassuring nod to Kura was all that it took for the male wolf to start soothing the distressed Athos, and within moments he had the white pup nuzzling into his comforting embrace. Now sure that her son was in competent paws, Asha stormed off to cool down, and perhaps later that night, take a relaxing, semi-private dip in a secluded lake ...

* * * * *

Asha pushed aside a few branches on the way to the lake, her paw pads gripping the tiny leaves now budding on the smooth bark. The full circle of Mother Moon above bathed the thick pines and scattered boulders around her in silver light, softening the encroaching darkness of deep night. As mud squished between her toe pads, patches of velvety moss quieted her steps, leaving little trace of her passage. She drifted through the woods like a white ghost, the occasional hoot of an owl breaking the otherwise empty silence.

Asha walked in the Moonshine, her life holding secrets from all those that loved her.

Despite her light steps, something seemed to bother her, her mind and heart heavy with racing thoughts and conflicting feelings. As Asha got closer to the secluded lake her father always used to go to think and relax, her perked lupine ears caught the distant roar of a waterfall. She paused for a moment, caught somewhere between the vast gulf of guilt and need. Like Lerange had suggested, the Hunts teams broke up just after high moon, the scent of even small game nowhere to be found. The Hunts Beta's nagging question haunted her thoughts, tainting the flush of desire still building in her even now.

Did she feel more guilty for breaking off tonight's hunt early or coming here again so soon after her mate's death?

Asha looked up to the starry sky, and thought she saw one of the shimmering lights twinkle at her. The white wolfess smiled as a tear threatened to brim in the corner of her eye. Rastus had always been one to look to the stars for comfort, often telling her how much he hoped he would take his place among the Great Elder's there. They often did that during their unusual courtship, confiding in each other secrets they could not divulge to the rest of the pack.

So many times when they loped off to a distant hillside together under the guise of mating, they would instead lay down on their backs next to each other on the wet moss and stare up at the spanning heavens. There they would simply talk. About fears and concerns, hopes and dreams. Sometimes they might laugh. Other times they might cry. But always, they supported one another, gave strength to the other's failings.

When Asha finally confessed to him last Autumn during the breeding season that only another female's heat scent made her moist, he just kissed her softly on the forehead, holding her and stroking the soft warm fur of her back through her hot tears. They both knew their responsibility to renew vigor in the pack, decreed down the ages by just one of many primal traditions.

Life had to continue.

No one in the pack could ever fully appreciate what they had meant to each other. No one could ever understand their comfortable symmetry. But they did. And in the end, that was all that mattered. Several moons later their first and only litter came, their ancestor's above twinkling that cold night as they helped usher Athos and this siblings from out of the spirit world.

And now, as Rastus winked from alongside the celestial ranks of their ancestor's, she felt her mate continue to give his support and reassurance despite no longer laying beside her. Instead, he urged her to live her life as nature intended, and leave her mark not among the stars, but among her fellow wolves. Asha gave a short, happy sob as a mountain of uncertainty fell from her sturdy shoulders. She wiped the errant tear from the corner of her eye, and continued toward the sound of rushing water without any further hesitation.

She stopped just shy of the forest's edge, her paws pushing the line of foliage apart. Asha's blue eyes took in the picturesque scene before her, her muzzle parting slightly as she felt a sudden flush of inner heat. Miniature ripples danced over the surface of the lake, reflecting shimmering beams of moonlight. A small cloud of mist hung just under the curtain of falling water, the spray of droplets hazing the nude outline of a female red wolf underneath.

Asha watched on for several minutes as Fera'l washed herself under the waterfall. Rivets of chilly water ran down her naked form and matted her silky fur against her curvy body. Under the falling water and moon lit night, her fur almost looked like pitch. Her slight paws worked their way through her thick head fur, careful as they ran though the intricate braids woven throughout. Fera'l's tilted back her head as the curtain of spring runoff splashed over her face and muzzle, trailing down her between the soft furred mounds of her chest. Her paws followed, gently cupping the sharp juts of her breasts, nipples hard from the chilly water.

Asha felt the building heat between her thighs grow slick as a soft moan escaped from the red wolf's thick lips, lost in the roar of the waterfall.

Lost in a timeless place, it took the white wolfess a moment to realize that Fera'l had made her way to the center of the lake, frolicking about in the deeper, gelid waters. Sensing an opportunity to slip in unnoticed Asha, crept out to the lake's sandy edge, before untying her halter and loincloth. She dropped them next to another pile laying atop a thick blanket, and now nude, she slipped her hind feet into the freezing waters. Asha looked up to Mother Moon, whose rays emphasized the sweeping outlines of her own ample bosom and hips. She seemed hesitant to slip into the chilly, rippling waters, a painful memory still stinging deep inside her heart despite its age.

After a few moments, her arousal outgrew any lingering doubt and she waded farther in, a small wake trailing behind her. Asha gasped lightly as the frigid water came up to hip level, enveloping the core of her heat. But despite the water's chill, it could not extinguish her aching need. The wolf dived forward with a quiet splash, the buds of her nipples hardening upon contact with the lake's silvery, glinting surface.

At its center, Fera'l still continued to groom out her wet fur, matted now against her petite frame. The roar of the water fall drowned out the small splash from behind her. Despite not hearing or seeing anyone. the red wolfess didn't seemed surprised when a strong set of white, dripping arms encircled her waist from behind.

"I thought you didn't like the water ... " the red wolf said, smiling forward at nothing in particular. She placed her own slight paws over the larger ones now rubbing in teasing circles against her taught belly.

"Depends on what's in it," the white wolf whispered back into a lupine ear, nuzzling it gently. Asha's paw circled lower, before slipping down into the cold water at hip level. Fera'l whimpered as Asha's claws teased the very top of her mound, and she tilted up her head in yearning, murring softly. Her lover bit down gently at the back of her neck, Asha's fangs digging into the matted scruff there.

Fera'l's insistent paw moved Asha's unoccupied paw pads upwards. Asha smiled as she rubbed against the smaller female cradled in her embrace, taking the hint. She cupped one of Fera'l's teats in her paw, the firm massage sending a shudder in the smaller form trapped again her. Asha's height advantage allowed her to rest the bottom of her muzzle between Fera'l's pointed ears, and the white wolfess smiled down with satisfaction as she watched Fera'l's emerald eyes close in rapt pleasure.

Asha slipped her paw tips even lower, and skirted between Fera'l's velvety folds. The red wolf gasped sharply, her body rigid now against the white wolf's roaming paws, muzzle open part way. With a sudden splash Fera'l turned around, a mock expression of shock attempting to hide the playfulness glinting in those beautiful green eyes.

"Didn't you ever learn about teasing me?" the shorter wolfess gaped.

"I dunno. I must have forgot." The taller lupine smiled, a subtle invitation pulling at the corners of her black muzzle lips.

Fera'l's paws pulled Asha forward against herself, one paw cupping the sloping curve of the larger wolfess' ass. Asha grinned at her lover's forwardness, her weighted tail weaving underwater with some effort. The hot fat of their breasts molded into each other as Fera'l stood up on the tips of her toe pads, seeking a kiss. Asha obliged the other female wolf moments later as she dipped her muzzle down a bit, muzzle lips intertwining in a searing kiss that kept the water's chill at bay.

Asha felt her the lumps of her teats tingle with another hot flush as blood rushed to them. Their paws roaming over each other backs, Fera'l's canid tongue accepted the invitation, and slipped inside Asha's black lips. The kiss deepened, each wolfess turning her head this way or that, attempting to gain more slippery, intimate contact within each other.

Despite the passion building in them both, their paws wandered over each other with a slow, methodical touch, the type of sensual love making that only two females might know. Fera'l cupped paw pulled Asha's hips closer, one of her legs sneaking in between the white wolfess' thighs to rubs against the swollen heat of her sex. Asha's muzzle broke the kiss with a load moan, claws raking the smaller wolf's back on instinct.

Fera'l's paw moved up to give one of Asha's tingling mounds a firm squeeze, the white wolfess whining softly at the rough touch. She responded by slipping a single paw tip down between their rubbing bodies, past the apex of Fera'l's parted thighs. The red wolfess threw her head back in a pleasured, unexpected gasp as a single claw scraped tiny circles around the nub of her engorged clit. As Asha stroked the swollen nub with the rough ridges of her paw pad, she felt a small orgasm already building in the core of her lover.

Right before the soft spasms rippling deep inside Fera'l reached crescendo, Asha slipped in two paw tips inside her trembling entrance. The red wolfess cried out in a series of short howls as her feminine walls clamped down own her lover's furry digits. The two female wolves clung to each other as Fera'l rode out her climax, their rigid bodies pressed hard against one another. As their rhythmic, shallow thrusts grew erratic, large ripples spread out from them on the lake's once placid, mirror like surface.

When the smaller wolf's trembles eased, Asha nuzzled against her furry check and relaxed her grip, expecting a chaste kiss. Instead, Fera'l's muzzle dipped down to suck an exposed nipple into her long canid muzzle, and it was Asha's turn to tilt her muzzle up to Mother Moon in a load moan that carried far into the forest around them. Sometimes it got hard to tell who taught who a lesson between the amorous pair.

But it sure made learning fun.

Caught off guard, Asha could only caress the golden rings her lover's ears as Fera'l's muzzle lips sucked gently at her teat, the red wolf's fangs scraping the flushed lump of fat. Asha shuddered when Lesa let the dark nipple fall out of her muzzle, the firm breast bouncing lightly. Already racing, Asha's heart skipped a beat or two as her lover pressed her thick muzzle lips against the spot right above it, between the deep fleshy cleft there. The white wolfess' claws dug into those large ears in reflex as Fera'l lips trailed down to Asha's navel, her canid tongue teasing the soaked fur there with prevues of delights yet to come.

Her sparkling sapphires slitted with keen anticipation, Asha watched as Fera'l's head continued downwards, disappearing beneath the dark mirror of the water's surface. A few small trails of bubbles drifted to the inky surface, the full face Mother Moon shining back up from it. A moment later, the white wolfess' growl of ecstasy pealed over the placid lake as Fera'l's muzzle spread her quivering thighs. Asha felt a slippery muscle part her inner folds, so blistering hot in comparison to the water's bitter cold. With nothing to hold on to for support, Asha's large paws wandered up her chest, ridged paw pads kneading the supple mounds of her chest.

Fera'l's breath control astounded her lover, at least in the rational portion of Asha's sensual hazed mind. With skill and delicate grace, Fera'l's tongue sought out Asha's pearl, and the white wolfess shook hard in the water, sending more quakes out along its surface. Her cries of pleasure carried far, but they had sought an excellent place for such clandestine rendezvous. Close to the edges of the forbidden western forests, few in her pack had reason to be out this far.

Unless they harbored seditious motives to begin with.

Asha could barely stand, let alone be wary of any prying eyes, her curvy hips rocking gently under the water. Underneath, Fera'l's paws cupped and kneaded each cheek of Asha's bosomy ass with loving care. Her paw tips brushing about her lover's bushy tail base, Fera'l scraped a claw around the snowy lupine's puckered rosebud. With the icy water drowning the slight flare of spiked sensation, it added some spice of the unexpected.

Sensing her prospective mate edging closer and closer to her first climax, Fera'l pushed the bulk of her squirming muscle deep into Asha's sex. As he felt the rubbery walls constrict around her long, invading lupine tongue, Fera'l curled it back and forth inside her lover. Asha's body pitched, waves of pleasure rolling throughout every fiber of her being. When the red wolfess felt a sudden, diluted spurt of feminine cream on her tongue, she flicked the tip of it over the fleshy opening to Asha's womb, driving her mad.

Asha cried out, almost doubling over as a deep, reverberating howl erupted into the quiet spring night.

Fera'l emerged from the frigid waters seconds later with a deep intake of fresh air. Asha panted down at her lover and clung to the smaller lupine for support, tremors of her orgasm still coursing through her unresponsive, shaking limbs. They stood there for several tender minutes as they held each other, gentle paws roaming over the soft curves of each other's trembling bodies.

On the outskirts of the surround forests a pair of mud cobbled paws smoothed back some parted foliage, a necklace tinkling as a lupine slid back from prying view. Unknown to all three wolves, a disfigured buck watched also from atop the waterfall's slippery rocks, glaring down to the bush line below. Against the full circle of white hanging above, only one antler cast its spiky shadow in the moonlit rays.

Together, the two drenched lupines helped each other back to shore, their limbs still sluggish and weak. On the moonbeam bleached sand, they curled up against each other on one of the thick woven blankets, pulling the other atop themselves for warmth. There, sharing body heat and basking in the afterglow, they stared up at the stars. After several minutes minutes went by, Fera'l noticed her lover seemed more distracted, silent than usual. If the pack ever accepted their union, they would know Fera'l as the more outspoken, outgoing of their pair.

Maybe thats what plagued the white wolfess' thoughts tonight.

"A nuzzle for your thoughts, love?" Fera'l nosed a white ear, paws smoothing out the drying fur of Asha's naked backside. Asha smiled back and licked the other wolfess' small, black nose.

"Nothing worth mentioning ..." Asha feinted a light smile, but her lover knew her better than anyone else.

"Was it too early ... after last night?" the smaller wolfess' emerald eyes clouded with sudden concern.

"No ... no ... Ive gotten past that. Rastus knew about you, he just didn't want to make things complicated by ever talking to you." Asha smiled coyly. "From the way he blushed when I spoke of you, I'd say he might have had a small crush on ..." Fera'l laughed a bit, pawing the larger, white muzzle spreading such fancy lies.

"Then ... whats bothering you?" When Asha remained quiet, Fera'l prodded the stubborn, taciturn wolfess, who then giggled.

"I'm worried about Lerange."

"Why? He's smaller than you. Challenge him and watch his tail tuck. I almost laughed out loud earlier when you made him eat dirt."

"Its not that easy." Asha explained to the always feisty, fiery wolf whose paws caressed her body. "Some contests aren't won through simple brawn alone. The the most important ones are won and lost through words and deeds."

"You sound like your father ..." Fera'l stuck her tongue into her lover's ear, who squealed softly and nudged the other wolf.

"Maybe if you would listen to the Elder's once in a while, you might learn something."

"All I need to know I taught you ... want another lesson?" The two wrestled a bit under the stars, before murring against each other again, their bosoms flattening against each other. After a few minutes of tender silence, Asha continued with her concerns, and this time Fera'l listened.

"Lerange is going to try to stir trouble for us, the pack. I just know it. He always was jealous that I chose Rastus over him, ever since last breeding season."

"Don't worry so much, love." Her partner soothed out the concern in Asha's perked white ears. "You'll be Hunts Alpha, there's no doubt in my mind. He wont try to cross you then. Everyone knows that you'll take your mother's place in the Elder Circle next cycle, and when that happens, you'll be in a position to make changes." She squeezed her lover's paw in reassurance, then nipped playfully at an ear. "After that, the pack won't care if we share a tent ..."

The two snuggled against each other at those words, looking up to Mother Moon and hoping that blessed day might come sooner...

* * * * *

Asha crept back toward the camp some time later, a pang of emptiness already filling her heart as she made her way between moonlit pines. She hated taking separate trails on their way back, but no one could see Fera'l and her together outside of the commune. Especially after the events of last night, many in the pack might feel she neglected her duties as hunter and mate. If she chose a scandalous night of passion with another female over such pivotal pack matters, how would she treat the greater responsibility as Hunts Alpha?

Few would understand. Kurst, Hawk maybe. They had shown little, if any, interest in taking a female mate last breeding season, and Asha suspected it was because they preferred the company of other males. While it was certainly within their right, as the best hunter of their pack, she had no such luxury. Her pack expected that she bear pups, keeping her bloodline alive.

So absorbed in her thoughts, Asha almost didn't notice as an one antlered deer step out from behind a huge cedar.

Not so much startled as confused, Asha had to catch herself as she lurched to a stop, her square nose almost smacking the buck dead center of his chestnut colored, broad chest. She backed up a bit, hackles raised at the buck's sudden appearance, but made no growl of warning. Most adult wolves had little to fear from a single cervine, let alone one missing an entire antler. In the moonlight, Asha noticed he favored one of his legs, and fresh lacerations crossed a good portion of his face and torso.

"Stay, wolf. I mean you no harm." His deep voice reverberated in the still of the night. Despite his injuries, he held a relaxed posture. Asha crossed her arms after a moment of silence.

"Speak then. And be quick about it. I don't think our respective packs would take well to see us talking."

"My herd knows I am here. I speak for all of them, but even as one our voice cannot carry past these evergreens, into the valley you call home." The buck snorted in emphasis, but to Asha it sounded like contempt.

"Why does your herd need to speak at all in our concerns?" Asha narrowed her eyes, allowing him to continue on this unusual vein of conversion. While she didn't exactly trust him, it wasn't as if he had convinced her of anything yet.

"There is something I wish to show you. Come to atop the waterfall tomorrow at high noon, and bring your most brazen offspring. I will do the same. Tell no one of this."

Before she could inquire to the odd request, the maimed buck limped back into the dark depths of the forest, back into the regions the Elders forbade the pack to hunt. Asha thought of the single, broken antler found on the cliff side above the broken body of her mate, and wondered if this buck had anything to do with his untimely death. Just from the brief, quizzical introduction, the cervine didn't seem to be a ruthless killer.

With seemingly coincidental events piling atop each other and gaining insidious momentum before her, Asha stalked off back to her tent for further reflection and uneasy slumber. Some of the wolves still tending to the dying fires about camp stared at her as she walked by; most of the Hunts teams already back and asleep into their own tents by now. Asha didnt say anything to them as she entered her two wolf tent, a new set of concerns already weighing heavy on her overworked mind. As she undressed and crawled into her blankets, Asha felt about the empty spot next to her. Pangs of loneliness and lingering grief ran through her exhausted body as she drifted off to an uneasy sleep.

* * * * *

In a prophetic dream, she looked back and forth in a long processional line of both ancestor and descendant, marching forward through the mists of time itself. Both deer and bison morphs flanked them on either side, ravens swooping about in the rolling, murky fog above. Far ahead, a reddish male coyote led one of her yet unnamed white grand-sons though the worst trails her pack had yet to face.

Asha awoke with a start when she watched them hold paws, openly.

She peered out of her tent flap to the dead silence of late night. As smoldering fires dotted the sleeping camp, Mother Moon dipped lower now to the star speckled, western horizon. Father Sun would soon give chase, continuing the endless cycle started since the beginning of time. Asha lay back into her blankets, wishing Fera'l could be there to ease her back into the arms of dreamless sleep.

The dream only strengthen her resolve to leave her mark on long standing traditions. Not just for Fera'l and herself now, but for her grandson as well ...

* * * * *

The next morning brought another cheery spring day, but to Asha, the sun's warm rays seemed bittersweet at best. She made her usual rounds, but felt more distracted than normal. Once or twice she caught herself looking at Fera'l as she threw clay on a crude potter's wheel. Asha stared on as if in daydream, watching her lover's feminine paws mold the slick clay into bowls and cups. She chided herself when she realized several wolves came up to her in that reverie, asking if she was all right.

Instead of milling about aimlessly and allowing gossip to mount, she dropped in to Kurst's tent to check up on the injured coyote. There they made the usual small talk, which seemed to ease Asha's tension somewhat. But certain things continued to eat at the wolfess, and she needed to get some things off her chest.

"Kurst. What is natural?"

"By definition, whatever happens in nature." Asha blinked at the logically obvious, yet somehow largely ignored answer.

"But ... some things are meant to happen, right? Birds are meant to sing. The sun is meant to give light. Males and Females are meant to breed together." Kurst shrugged at Asha's words.

"Do all birds sing? Does not the moon eclipse the sun? Do not some females ..." Kurst smiled knowingly at his selfless benefactor. "... choose to breed with other females?"

Asha felt the blood drain from her face and muzzle at Kurst's words. If an eccentric, reclusive coyote could pick up certain traits about her, what would more perceptive members of her pack figure out?

"So there's ... no chance that such things are flukes? Abnormalities?"

"In nature, everything happens for a reason. The disastrous mudslide that killed three of you wolves last cycle was tragic, no doubt. But to blame it on temperamental Gods would be folly; sandstone and mud erodes, rains can fall heavy. Everything in nature has both cause and effect. Everything in nature is both perfect and flawed at the same time."

"So I'm ..."

"Completely natural. Just as the Gods intended. A wise coyote once said the Gods do not play dice. There are no coincidences."

Asha fell silent for a bit, mulling over what the usually Hyper Yote had given her. She wondered why she had grown up so afraid of the truth, wondered why it was so important to hide secrets about herself from others. Why should it matter to others what she did of her own volition, of her own love? She thought about that for a bit and nodded. The wolfess left without saying goodbye, knowing full well she would see him tomorrow morning.

When Asha stepped out of the tent and closed the entrance flap, she noticed a few more wolves watching her with a curious look. She gave a small inner laugh at the irony and walked off to the Elder's campfire near the center of the commune. She found the three there as usual, talking amongst each other about good time, bad times, and times yet to come.

While the Hunts Teams had their own internal hierarchy, many of the large scale decisions affecting the pack as a whole fell to the Elders. Each of the three wolves oversaw some aspect of their society: The Pack Elder oversaw matters of pup rearing and pack cohesion. The Hunts Elder gave advice to the Hunts Alpha in times of need. The Lore Elder spun stories of their ancestors to the pack young. When the three Elders saw her approach, they moved a bit in their close circle, allowing the wolfess to sit before her kitty corner to the small fire.

"What brings you to us, childe?" The wrinkled gray female inquired, the invigorating scent of mint fresh on her breath. Her voice, while thin and reedy with age, still rang with experience and humble wisdom. Despite her age, the sun still reflected off her glossy coat. In her prime, many considered her to be the most beautiful of their pack, and the most wise in the concerns of family. She held the rank of Pack Elder.

"Perhaps you have come to speak to us of coyotes." The black male spoke, a light smile playing across his thin lupine lips. "Several others have brought us news that you visit Kurst inside his tent every morning. There are also rumors abound that you seem distracted as of late, and you have the look of one in love about you. Might we expect to see coyolf pups in the foreseeable future?" The former Pack Beta joked, tongue in cheek. While loyal to the two other Elders for many long cycles, one could see a glint of devious mischief in those dark eyes, hinting to a once unruly past. He held the rank of Lore Elder.

It took a moment for Asha to center herself, before addressing her Elders.

"I wish to know why it is forbidden to hunt in the western highlands. If game has become scarce in the valley, we should consider ..."

Asha stopped when she realized the Elders suddenly tensed, their eyes widening at the mention of the verboten, boreal forests. They stole small glances at each other as if she had broached an uncomfortable subject. Finally the Hunts Elder, her father and former Pack Alpha, spoke.

"Asha. Come. Walk with me." The large gray male grinned, getting to his hind feet with some stiff effort. "Its been a while since we talked anyway, and I don't want your mother to overhear how sick I am of her constant nagging."

Harmony stuck out her tongue at at him playfully as Cameron nudged her with a loud snicker. Even to visiting outsiders it was clear that the threesome formed a close knit group. No one contested that they formed the heart of the commune; their guidance keeping the pack together despite the constant pettiness and personal agendas threating to tear it apart from within.

With the two other wolves left behind to pick at each other with good natured ribbing, Asha walked along side Dag through their bustling village in comfortable silence, basking in crisp, early spring morning. Only after they left its outskirts did the aged wolf speak.

"Whats troubling you, Asha?"

"Many things." There was a moment of empty silence, but her father allowed it hang in the air for a while, letting his sometimes obstinate daughter lead the conversation. When Asha was ready to skirt the forbidden subject with her higher ranking Elder, she continued. "Why is the western territory such a forbidden subject?"

"Is this about Rastus?"

"About his death? Yes." Asha sucked in a deep inhale, chest tight with too many unanswered questions.

"I meant about him and you." Dag shot his headstrong daughter a sideways glance, skirting a sensitive topic of his own. When Asha refused to look him in the eyes, he could read all manner of things in the way her lower jaw set, the way her stiff ears faced forward. Besides the usual non-verbal cues wolves gave each other, he had watched her grow up, knew almost as much about her as Rastus. What they had confided in each other in mate ship he could only guess at, but he had his suspicions.

"I ... don't know how to answer that ..." Asha lips quivered, more guilt from not being at his side that fateful night welling up inside her. Despite what remorse she had worked through already, regret can be a hard thing to let go of. Dag stopped and put his large paws on her shoulders, looking straight at her through the pent up tears she refused to show her pack at large.

"You know, you were always the stubborn one of the litter." His eyes filled with fatherly concern. "Ever since your brother drowned in the lake you used to follow me to, you've always tried to fill his place, to be the Alpha he always seemed to be destined to become."

Asha's cobalt eyes locked on his, that sweltering summer day still burning fresh in her memory. If only she knew how to swim better, she could have saved him from the swimmer's cramp her mother Harmony had warned them all about. Reckless he was, always, and she promised herself she would set an example for all her litter mates and those yet to come. Under her lead, her family would lose no more brothers and sisters to rash ways or fool hearty thrills. Her father continued.

"You can't keep things pent up forever, Asha. I'm your father, and I'm going to love you no matter what. At the same time, you shouldn't keep secrets from those that love you." Asha's ears flicked a bit at that, and she bit her lip at Dag's words. "If they truly love you, then they will understand ..."

"Is that why you won't tell me about the deer you decreed never to hunt?" Asha's white ears pinned back when her father's eyes narrowed.

"We do not speak of those." Dag grumbled, his voice touched with a ruthful growl. Asha closed her blue eyes a bit at his tone, before Dag sighed a little. "Asha ... I understand how that must have sounded to you, but believe me when I say this, there are things that happened when you were young. Things that few in the pack would understand. Things that if found out, might tear the pack apart ..." His daughter opened her stark, sky blue eyes, and looked through him.

"No father ... thats the problem. I do understand ...

Asha walked off abruptly, leaving Dag alone to contemplate his poor choice of words. As a sudden, bitter gale cut through him, rippling his dull gray coat, he hung his head in regret of what secrets he had kept from those that loved him ...

* * * * *

A few hours later when Father Sun hung directly overhead, his comforting rays now beating down on the budding landscape, Asha trudged up the well cut deer path to the waterfall's top. She cradled Athos in the crook of an arm, who squirmed and whined at his mother with fussy boredom. She didn't know what exactly the buck had planned, but after the opaque conversation with her own father, Asha was determined to get some actual answers. She took a huge risk to come out in the open like this and talk to prey, in broad daylight no less.

And Asha was not known to take risks, ever.

When she crested the top of the waterfall and found no one around, a sour lump of disappointment formed in the empty pit of the wolfess' stomach. Feeling listless, she made her careful way over top of the slippery stones to the edge of the waterfall. The small flashes of intense sunshine reflecting off shallow rippling channels blinded her, but she took her time navigating the treacherous footing. Without warning, the sharp hundred foot drop below greeted her, and she looked down at the falling downpour, watching the racing water churn the fall's base. With a load roar filling her ears, a forlorn gaze drifted to the center of the lake the waterfall fed.

So many memories swirled about its murky depths, all churning within her into a gray emotional paste.

"Have you never been up here before?" Someone said behind her, and Asha spun around to face the crippled buck, almost slipping on the muck covered stones. The wolfess must not of heard the clatter of his hind hooves over the roar of the waterfall so close to her. Asha's white ears flickered as she spied a fawn hiding behind his father's hind legs, the young deer's knobby knees trembling a bit at the sight of two strangers. When Asha didn't reply to the cervine's question, he continued. "Let your young one down."

"Why?" Asha asked, drawing her son closer to her chest in a protective hug without even realizing it.

"Trust me. We are no threat to you or yours." The buck watched her with calm eyes that never seemed to leave her.

Asha paused for an unsure moment before a gentle nod convinced her to set Athos down. The normally cocky wolf pup seemed to linger around his mothers ankles for a while, making cautious sniffs to the two unknown creatures standing before them. After a minute of silence, Asha started to speak, but a hoove hand waived her silent.

With no direction from either parent, the two young males started to edge closer to each other, their bold natures coming out of their own volitions. They paused just before meeting in the center between their parents, sniffing at each other. A few minutes later, they started to play, chasing each other and tumbling about with sharp barks and short snorts. Asha stared on in disbelief.

"Why ... did you bring us here?" She said with some marked hesitation, looking back up to the one-antlered buck.

"I wanted to show you that we have to learn to fear one another." He said, watching his son chase the wolf pup around his hind hooves.

"Wolves don't fear deer." Asha shot back, narrowing her eyes.

"Then why where you afraid to come up here and meet me?"

"I have nothing to fear from you, but my pack ..."

"So you fear each other. Or what they might think. And why is that?"

"Because ..." Asha barked back then stopped, unsure of how continue. When she didn't continue right away, the buck titled his head. "Because ... its ... tradition. We aren't supposed to mingle with prey, especially in discrete matters." The buck seemed to give a soft laugh at that, crossing his arms.

"Yes. But decreed by who?"

"By ... Elder Harmony." Asha's ears skewed when the buck smiled, eyes glinting with some unknown, humorous memory. "But why ask me to come here, to show me this?"

"Because we do not have to fear each other. We can live together, side by side in harmony, if we choose to." Asha gave her own loud, pretentious snort at the buck's words.

"We are wolves. We hunt and consume prey such as you. Its the natural way of things."

"Is that why you also seek a female companion?" The buck offered, upturning a hoove hand at the wolf. Asha blinked in the bright sunshine, lost for words.

"How do you ... know that?" The wolfess felt dizzy, a touch of lingering ozone burning in her constricted lungs. "Who are you?"

"My name is Connor." The buck nodded graciously, and walked over beside the wolf. Asha make a move to step back, before remembering the fall's edge at her heels. Connor approached the water's crest and looked down at the lake with the same expression about his weatherbeaten face that Asha had expressed earlier. "And I have known you since you splashed with your father down by those very shallows. I was there when your pack brother disappeared below its swirling waters." He pointed to the sandy shore, then folded his arms again.

"Then how come I don't remember you?" Asha felt lost, adrift in a hidden past of secrets running parallel to her own. A soft gust blew a few stands of her head fur across her white muzzle.

"I used to know your father." The buck looked back over to the white wolfess, locking gazes. Something in the old buck's eyes seemed pained. "Your father made a compromise with me and moved away from this place, into the next valley over, which you now call home."

"Is that why he refuses to talk of you, and your herd? Why we are forbidden to hunt here?" Asha questioned, some crucial pieces now falling into place. Connor nodded.

"Looking back on it now, it was a temporary pact at best. We both hadn't anticipated your pack numbers swelling so quickly. One of you came here, and did this to me ..." Connor made a motion to grasp at his phantom antler. "The wolf didn't come for my meat, but instead snared me in a carefully laid trap. Who ever it was tortured me for a time, cut off my antler, and then left me for dead."

"But ... why? And who?" Asha gasped.

"I do not know. It was a New Moon that night, and I could not see. The wolf used mud or clay to mask their scent. There was an odd noise about the wolf, one that I cannot place, one that was almost like a chime." The buck looked out across the eastern horizon, to the valley below.

"This doesn't make any sense. Why would one of our pack do such a cruel thing?"

"I do not know. Regardless, their actions have jeopardized countless seasons of peace between our species. You must carry our pleas to your Elders." Asha closed her eyes and sighed, feeling the early spring chill ripple her fur. Too much had happened in the last few days, too much tragedy and revelation that shook her confidence in everything she had grown to believe in. When you find out that your core societal mores are grounded in fear and specism, there isn't much to believe in, except yourself.

And thats what Asha was going to do.

"If there is going to be peace between us, it will not come today. You forget. We are wolves. And we must eat your flesh to survive. To deny this would mean our deaths." The buck lowered his head at Asha's words.

"So ... you deny your father's oath to us?"

"No. I do not. But any debt you feel he owes you must be settled with him, and him alone." Asha stared at the buck with an adamant look in her icy, impartial eyes.

"Will you at least carry our voice to him, so that he will remember his promise?"

"For all that you have shown me, all the truth you have offered to me this day, it is the least I can do."

Conner smiled, his flat teeth glinting in the sunshine at Asha's sincerity. He turned and started to walk away with a stiff limp, still favoring one side. Given his age and the injuries he sustained, Asha doubted that he would live past next snow season. Like her, much of his herd's responsibility would fall to his son. Connor called the fawn his heels, much to Athos' dismay at losing his new playmate.

"Gortek, come ..."

Asha watched them disappear into the edge of the boreal forest before scooping her son up in her arms and cradling him. She kissed him on his forehead and then made her way back to camp, the bright sun dipping lower to the west now. So deep in thought now, she failed to catch a spying masculine scent drifting on the afternoon breeze ...

* * * * *

Asha sniffed at the chilled night air, her hackles raised. She crept among fading moonbeams that filtered through the canopy above, following the scent of a hare. The wolfess stopped when she noticed the budding leaves of a nearby bush tremble. Her nostril's flared as she stooped to all fours like her primal lupine ancestors, ready for the pivotal, final lunge.

"I see the mighty huntress has cornered her worthy quarry." A sudden voice barked out behind behind her, the words tempered with a touch of contempt. The hare hiding under the bush bolted, and Asha spun with a growl to Lerange.

"Why did you just do that?" Asha barked, fists bawled in barely restrained anger. Her sharp claws bit deep into her paw pads before she turned back and attempted to storm off into the forest. She was already annoyed that he called the hunt early tonight, right as she got back to camp. She didn't have time to confront the Elders with any of Connor's revelations, and she doubted any coincidence in Lerange's impeccable timing. "I thought you told us to spread out."

"I did." Lerange smiled before loping up next to her. "I wanted to make sure no one would disturb us." He tried to catch her eye from the side, but she just increased her pace, her large hind paws snapping wet twigs underneath as she went.

"Save your breath. Im not in any mood to listen to any of your pathetic passes tonight. In case you haven't noticed, we are all about to go on a crash diet unless we pull game out of our tail holes." Asha gritted her teeth as the brown wolf matched pace, pushing pine boughs out of the way as he went.

"I know about you and Fera'l." Lerange blurted out with a smug grin. Asha stopped in her tracks, the blood draining from her face and muzzle. Lerange slid up beside her like so much ooze, and continued. "I don't think anyone else has noticed yet, but they might if you don't take ... precautions." The night itself seemed to grow silent as Asha just stood in a pool of moonlight, thinking about what to do.

"And what, pray tell, might those ... precautions be?"

"It was unfortunate what happened to Rastus ..." Lerange leaned against the damp moss of a nearby trunk, trailing a claw up it. " ... but it would be unseemly for you not to take another mate for next season." Asha gave a hearty laugh.

"So ... we come back to that." A smile of her own pulled at the corners of her black muzzle lips as she watched Lerange frown, his lupine ears folding. "Not interested. Not then. Not now." She glared at him, a growl emphasizing her next words. "Not ever." They stood there for a few moments at an impasse, until Lerange played his next card.

"Fine. Lets ignore the fact that you aren't interested in breeding. Its going to be hard for the pack to trust you as Hunts Alpha when they find out you've been mingling with prey ..." Lerange's shifty eyes narrowed. Asha rubbed her muzzle with both paws, not believing her luck.

"Alright. Let's cut the crap. What do you want?"

"I told you what I want."

"Please tell me that you aren't really that petty. There are lots of other females that I'm sure would love to suffer your stench from underneath you ..."

"But they aren't trying to take my rightful spot as Hunts Alpha." Lerange idly clawed his personal rune into the wet bark of the tree he leaned against. Asha gave a weary exhale and sat on a dew slicked boulder next to her.

"At least that makes some sense."

"See? Everything would work out. You would have your bitch, I would have mine, and we can end this pointless squabbling."

Asha stood up and walked over to a nearby tree at his proposition, resting her forehead against its trunk. When the shorter wolf approached her, she spun around with her back against the bark, eying him warily. Lerange strode up in front of her, closer than he ever dared before. Asha made no move to stop the emboldened wolf as he leaned in, squashing his muzzle lips against her own. As Lerange pushed into the wolfesses' larger frame, his lips moved, trying to claim hers. He placed his paws on either side of her curvy hips, roaming upwards toward the soft mounds of her chest.

He groped at them like filthy mongrel who had stolen a meaty rip from his Alpha's kill.

Asha could taste the stench of his feted breath, feel the sharp jut of his tented loincloth poke into the soft fur of her inner thigh. He broke the kiss and leaned back, his eyes searching for any sign of relent in those icy blue pools. A sudden back paw sent his muzzle snapping hard to the left, answering his unspoken question. A thick line of blood tickled from the Beta's square lupine nose.

"You fucking cunt!" He snarled through his paw, holding his bloody nose. "Don't you ever learn?"

"Ive been asked that before." Asha crossed her arms and pulled up one of her legs to rest her heel against the tree behind her, nonchalant. "And according my father, I'm also quite stubborn. Looks like you have your work cut out for you."

"Fuck you." Lerange spat out, blood mixed saliva splatting across the soggy ground between them.

"Doubtful."

"You stupid bitch, I'm going to make it perfectly clear to you ..." Lerange growled low and flashed his bloody fangs at the wolfess, who listened on without much emotion. "... your going to come out to your little play spot tomorrow. Up at the Falls. And your going to offer yourself to me ..."

"Or?"

"Or I'm going straight to the pack. Announce where you where and who you were doing when Rastus died. Do you hear me? Either you give me what I want or your going to lose that precious firebush of yours." A small amount of froth overran the Beta's muzzle lips. "One way or another, I'm going to become Hunts Alpha. One way or another your going to get on your paws and knees and bear my pups like the complacent, subservient bitch that every female should be ..."

Asha's blue eyes flickered up to meet Lerange's, those cobalt orbs burning with glacial vehemence at his chauvinistic words.

"Tomorrow. The falls. At high noon." Lerange stormed off, not willing to get cut down with any more of his rival's superior wit. It was all just the same. Asha had nothing left to say to the sorry sack of scat.

Or could say.

When he was gone, she let her emotionless stone facade crumble, and sank down onto knees. Old, moist pine needles pricked the thin skin under the fur there, her knee caps screaming with the sudden crunch into hard packed, rocky dirt. The white wolfess sputtered out without warning at the vulgar violation and indecent proposal, choking back hot tears.

So much she might lose. And for what? Despite the prophetic dream, Asha didn't know if she live without Fera'l's love. Even if they never walked in the sunshine together among their pack, at least they had moonlit nights alone with each other. Asha was only mortal. She wasn't made of stone. Hot blood coursed through her flawed fleshed, blood that yearned for her lover's touch.

The white wolfess pushed herself from her knees, forced back the torrent of self doubt and despair that threated to spill from the corners of her eyes. Asha did her best to suck up her pride and made her way back to camp, to sleep next to the only one that could take these feelings away.

Even if just for a while ...

* * * * *

The rustle of her tent flap awoke Fera'l with a start, the disoriented lupine drawing her blanket up farther on her body to hide her nakedness. No one ever entered her tent unannounced anymore, as she had sent several headstrong suitors packing with a black eye and several bite wounds to their flanks last breeding season. She growled softly, a courteous warning to anyone who hadn't gotten the picture yet.

While Fera'l wasn't known for her social nature, she did her part for the commune. So many times Asha reminded her that the Elder's prized strong bowls over decorative ones, but the red wolf found it hard to stifle her creative nature. No one seemed to notice that on every bowl, every jar, every work that touched her paw, she left a history on them. Her pack's history, inscribed in a flourish of runes. Few in the pack could read their simplistic written language, and saw the decorative bowls as nothing more than ornate superbia.

Their pack could do so much more than simply survive and breed. It could foster an entire sophisticated culture, one that would endure like their twinkling ancestor's above. But only if they allowed new ideas to enter their rustic, barbaric society.

But in order for that to happen, sacrifices must be made.

In the thick dark, Fera'l sensed a shadow steal its way into her one room tent. One paw groped about for the broken deer antler hidden underneath a nearby pile of winter blankets, just in case. She felt strange for keeping Rastus' murder weapon, but on destitute nights like tonight, her paw pads felt about the spiky horn, reminding herself of all the sacrifices Asha made for their forbidden love.

The lurking shadow pounced Fera'l before she even had time to react, before her small nose could even pick up it's trademark scent. Her emerald eyes widened as the larger lupine form pinned her smaller body, felt soft comforting curves press into her own. A set of thick muzzle lips descended on hers, the shape and taste more than familiar.

The lips that when kissed for the first time underneath Mother Moon's ardent glow last winter, Fera'l knew that she would never want to kiss any other lips but those again.

Fera'l tilted her head back as her lover devoured her lips with urgent need, her trembling red paw skirting away from underneath the pile of blankets besides her. Every ounce of spit and fire seemed to sputter and sizzle at Asha's insistent touch. Fera'l felt so wonderfully vulnerable each time she felt Asha's strong, reserved paws caressed her petite body. The feisty wolfess found herself letting go each and every time Asha's trademark feminine scent descended on hers despite her plucky nature.

Fera'l's Fire to Asha's Ice.

As Fera'l felt Asha's endowment press into her own, her lover tore the blanket away, leaving her naked lupine body bare to Asha's ravage. Fera'l gasped out at her lover's inexplicable hunger, the sudden exhale smothered by the deep kiss. When Asha broke it, paws roaming up and down the subjugated wolfess' petite form underneath her, Fera'l moaned out, arching her back.

"A ... sha ... what are you doing ... someone is going to hear us ..."

"I don't care. Not anymore ..."

Fera'l tried to protest, but her iron spunk turned into molten relent as a large paw slid down her taught belly before cupping the fire of her slick heat. A single furry digit slipped through the moist cleft between Fera'l inner thighs, a single claw trailing around the sensitive nub of her clit. Fera'l shuddered hard at the exquisite sensation, the cool night air sweeping over her naked flesh and fur. Asha trailed a line of gentle nips and licks down the other wolfess' neckline, before taking one of the red wolf's flushed teats in her black lips.

The red wolf squirmed, a soft squeal pealing itself from her slack muzzle lips. Her claws raked Asha's backside, through the thick white fur there. Through the drunk haze of racing sensation, thundering heartbeat, Fera'l gasped out her lovers name, pleading. Asha's claw ran tight circles around her tingling clit, waves of pleasure crashing inside of her. When Asha's searing lips left the soft mound of fat, Fera'l whined at the loss of lips previously wrapped around her nipple. Without warning those thick lips descended upon the soft folds between Fera'l's thighs, and the red wolfess spread her legs on instinct.

Fera'l's claws dug into Asha's ears as her lover's skilled tongue danced about her throbbing pearl.

Unlike Asha's usual slow deliberate ministrations, this interlude came urgent, passionate. Asha lapped hard and fast at her lover's folds until a musky feminine cream gushed all over her lupine tongue. The taste was tangy across Asha's taste buds, Fera'l's squeals of climax falling on her perked ears. White paws roamed over the pitching body underneath them, savoring every alternating soft tremble and hard quake Asha's skilled tongue evoked. Fera'l's naked, spent lupine form collapsed back into her sweat soaked deerskin blankets, moaning gently in the blissed afterglow.

In the sightless interlude, Asha sat back on her knees, pealing off her halter. The gentle curves of her sizable breasts were mere shadows, but the hint of their supple shape only added to the spice of the heated moment. Fera'l's half slitted green eyes watched entranced as Asha slowly slid her loincloth down past the swell of her hips with teasing deliverance. She paused when they reached her knees, before running a free paw down to the apex of her thighs.

Two paw tips slipped up and down the slick groove there, Asha saturating the air with her aroused heat scent for Fera'ls sensitive nose to sample.

The look in Fera'l's pleading eyes seemed to appease the exhibiting wolfess, and Asha slipped off the last of her garments. Nude, she straddled the smaller lupine, her stern sapphires laying claim to all they surveyed. A set of emeralds glinted back in what moonlight filtered in through the partially open tent flap. In silhouetted shadow, a slender red paw reached up to touch snowy white cheek fur, accepting that claim and all that it entailed.

Asha intended to consummate her newfound mate ship with Fera'l in a way that no earthly tradition could contest.

She lowered herself atop the other wolfess, their eager lips intertwining once again in a searing kiss. Fera'l felt so warm against her, their bare breasts flattening against each other as they rubbed their furry, sensual bodies together. Their nipples hardened as they slipped back and forth over each other, their pelvises grinding in shallow, needful thrusts. Tandem sets of paws roamed over every unexplored curve, every unclaimed line of muscle and patchy fur.

Asha slipped a hind leg between Fera'l's parted thighs, grinding against her damp sex. The red wolfess arched her back in a muted groan, returning the favor. The two wolfesses humped at each other, rolling their hips as their sexes touched. Muffled moans of passion broke within the darkened tent, so stranger to the camp as a whole, but quizzically never heard from the tent obtuse red wolf before tonight.

Fera'l arched her back more, deepening the angle at which she rubbed against her lover. Asha took the hint and got back on her knees, before leaning back on the plump curves of her ass. She scissored the other wolfess' slender legs and scooted closer to her lover until their puffy, slick mounds bumped against each other. Fera'l cried out, her crafty paws roaming over the pert mounds of her chest. Asha's head tilted back in a long drawn out wine of pleasure as she rocked her hips, her curvy thighs squeezing her lover with sensual, alternating rhythm.

Asha ground her engorged clitoris against Fera'l's own, faster and faster. Their breasts jiggled at their lusty undulations until their paired moans broke into feminine squeals of climax. As interlocked thighs grew slick with creamy spurts, the titillating mix of female sex and light sweat filled the one room tent. The two females tensed one last time against each other before collapsing back down into the deer skin blankets.

Panting heavy, their furry bodies matted with a light sheen of salty sweat, Asha and Fera'l murred out against one another in the afterglow of their first mutual climax. For a while neither said a single word with slack muzzles and half slitted, satisfaction hazed eyes. Then Fera'l gave a wicked grin soon after, hear ravenous sexual libido returning with typic female vigor. Her nimble paw reached over to massage a perked white furred teat with a sly smile. Asha gasped lightly as her lover traced a single claw around the tight nub of her nipple.

Spurned onward, Asha's own need lanced like lightning in her most intimate depths. The white wolfess moaned and arched her back against her lover yet again. So slick with their female juices, their puffy sexes slipped against each other with ease. A seemingly endless wave of climaxes and tender refraction followed throughout the rest of the night. Only after streaks of purple and pink broke the eastern horizon did the two exhausted, sweat matted wolfess end their passionate marathon and spoon one another. Asha rubbed Feral's cum slicked thighs and nuzzled her ear from behind before speaking.

"My Firebush." She giggled softly before encircling her lover's slender waist with a weary arm and giving a firm squeeze.

"What kind of pet name is that?" Fera'l smiled, rubbing herself back into the larger wolfess' hips. "Its not fair. I certainly can't call you my Ice Queen. Although ..." she flicked her lupine tongue over Asha's nose when the firm curve of her ass and bushy tail came back wet. "I think something in you melted tonight ..."

Asha laughed and smoothed out her lover's thick red head fur. She stopped when the beads in the braids ran across the gold earrings in her large ears, tinkling like a somber wind chime. So close to her ears, Asha's nose could not deny the scent of potter's clay seeped heavy into Fera'l's fur. The wolfess' heart froze back into solid ice when she remembered Conner's words.

The wolf used mud or clay to mask their scent. There was an odd noise about the wolf, one that I cannot place, one that was almost like a chime.

"What's wrong love?" Fera'l said, noticing a tense inhale from her lover. She rubbed a reassuring paw over the furry arm encircling her waist.

"Huh?" Asha barked out, realizing that she had spaced out. "Nothing ..."

"I call deerscat." Fera'l rolled her eyes. "Out with it." When her lover said nothing, she buried her nose between Asha's large furry breasts, nuzzling. The long hours of hot sex and thick sweat still could not mask the reek of a certain male lingering in her fur. Fera'l's deep emerald eyes drew back darkened, a look of confusion and pain stinging in them. "Lerange ..."

Asha lower jaw trembled, shame and apology brimming in deep blue eyes that threatened to tear.

"I ... don't know what to do ..." Her ample chest hitched. "He knows about you ... about us ..." Fera'l hurt look turned into one of horror.

"Did he tell the pack?"

"No ... not yet anyway." Asha shook her head. The red wolfess narrowed her suspicious green eyes.

"Thats not like him at all, unless he gets something in return." Fera'l probed her lover with a dominating stare. Despite her smaller stature, Asha could not resist the other wolfess' burning resentment.

"He asked me to stop challenging him for the rank of Hunts Alpha." Asha's cobalt eyes drained of confidence, hoping it was enough to placate Fera'l long enough to work something out. She only had a few hours before she was to give herself up wholly to her Beta. Fera'l knew her mate hid something else from the insecure look in her constricted, tense pupils.

"What else?" Fera'l growled, demanding full disclosure. Asha had never seen her new mate jealous before, and the feral wolfess wielded it with the uncontestable force of a thousand spears.

"He plans to lay claim to me for next breeding season ..." Asha confided. Her enraged lover's reaction was instantaneous. Asha had to use all her strength to hold on to the snarling, bucking Fera'l. "No ... no ... please ... let me handle this ..." The larger wolfess whispered into the struggling lupine held tight against her. Fera'l claws swiped madly, muzzle snapping at empty air. Caught in an unstoppable blood lust, she would stop at nothing to blindly defend her mate's virtue now.

And that's why Asha did what she had to do.

Asha hooked the crook of her free elbow up underneath her lover's chin, compressing the sides of her carotid artery with both bicep and forearm. Fera'l snarled and kicked one last time, spittle flying from her sharp fangs, before the lack of blood to her brain gave her tunnel vision.

"Shhhhssshhh ..." Asha whispered into her ear, trying to sooth the savage wolfess' gentle passage into unconsciousness. Fera'l, not accustomed to fending off skilled hunters and fighters, was surprised at how little pain accompanied the sudden curtain of black that descended over her ...

* * * * *

Fera'l jolted back to consciousness to the gentle rustle of her tent flap. She tried to scream to her mate to come back, but found shreds of a woven rug gagging her muzzle. She tried to get up to chase the obstinate lupine and found her limbs bound with more of the same. The restrained wolfess mumbled out some choice profanities as she squirmed about.

She looked to what little sliver of dawn she could see through the partial silt of her tent flap, and realized she couldn't have been out for more than a minute or two at best. Just long enough for Asha to make sure Fera'l couldn't find Lerange and castrate the conniving cur.

Fera'l thrashed about in a wild fit of anger and helplessness, until eventual exhaustion took its toll. It forced her to lay there for several minutes and think rationally about how to get out of her binds. She tried to roll over a delicate bowl and smash it to at least get a cutting edge, but found Asha had secured her binds to the stakes holding the tiny tent in place. She tugged against them, hoping to at least pull the stakes clear of the ground and cause the collapse of her tent. At least that way someone wandering by might take notice.

Exhausted by the previous night of passion, Fera'l found herself too weak to do so.

And yet the snappy wolfess refused to give up, looking this way and that, her racing mind desperate for escape possibilities. Asha bound her wrists in such a way that she could not reach the binds with her sharp claws, defeating that idea. After a while it dawned on her that an hidden antler lay just behind. Her bound paws fumbled around for it, sightless. Fera'l shoulders screamed in burning agony at the difficult angle they had to bend at to search behind her, but after a few moments, her triumphant paws dragged out the prize from underneath the pile of winter blankets.

It took the wolfess several hours to saw through the tough woven fibers, her already sore, slender wrists having to stop for periodic rest.

With a victorious snarl Fera'l broke the last few strands holding her hostage. She didn't waste any time slashing apart her ankle restraints with a swipe of her dangerous claws. Had she a more patient nature, she would have made an excellent huntress. But a different type of quarry filled her thoughts now, and as she pried the muzzle gag from her swollen lips, her sensitive lupine nose sniffed out for her mate's unique scent.

She threw on her sparse garments, grabbed the antler, and raced out into the warm afternoon. Several confused wolves stopped to blink at her in the bright light, Father Sun almost directly overhead now. Fera'l sniffed the light air and caught the scent trail of her lover on the gentle breeze. She raced after it and plowed headfirst into Lykos and Riff. The three wolves all hit the soggy ground at the same time in a twisted pile of limbs and fur.

"Oamph!" Riff barked out and he rolled, coming to rest with the majority of his muzzle under Lykos' tail in a compromising position. The two wolves were chummy, but not that chummy. Lykos just grinned and nosed one of the annoyed wolfess' hind pads.

"Hey Spitfire, what's the hurry?" The black wolf looked down at the deer antler that had come perilously close to stabbing his crotch. "The ritual sacrifice and grill out isn't for another few hours ..." His gave a more cheeky smile at the off-handed stab at dark humor, until he realized it was Rastus' murder weapon. He still hadn't figured out why the spirited wolfess wanted it after they had brought it back for the Elder's to see.

"Yeah," Riff said trying to untangle himself from the furry pile of limbs, "Just whose scent were you following anyway?"

"Asha. Which direction did she go?"

"Um ... West?" Riff blinked a bit. "Why?" The red wolf shot off without so much as a courteous reply, her paw clenched tight around the blood stained antler, a glint of murder in her narrowed green eyes.

"Huh. That was strange." Lykos remarked as Fera'l raced off toward the forbidden western forests.

"You think we should tell the Elder's about it?" Riff folded his ears as he also watched her bound off with the clear intent of killing something or someone. With a grim nod, Lykos left alongside his friend and went straight to the Pack Elder.

* * * * *

As Asha sat with her knees tight up against her chin, the choppy gusts coming off the top of the fall whipped her white head fur about. She sat and contemplated the view from the lake this high up, feeling if somehow she could trace back how these secret falls had influenced her to this very juncture in time and choice.

Seeing her father watch his Beta bath from her own hidden spot in the bush line. Her litter brother's drowning. Coming out to Rastus. Making love to Fera'l for the first time. Conner's revelations.

As she reflected before, so many horrible and beautiful memories both swirled within every time she came here. No small irony then that this time proved no different. For the first time since that sweltering summer's day, she felt helpless to stop the insidious slide of what felt like coincidental events. But what had Kurst said?

There are no coincidences.

Every moment, every choice led to this moment. Still, Asha could not help but wonder if there could have been another way to keep Fera'l's love. So many second thoughts plagued her, but she wasn't a perfect heroine in the Lore Elder's fireside stories. She made due with what poor hand circumstances dealt her. Asha continued to stare over the rippling surface of the lake below, watched the endless murky water slip over the fall's crest and plunge into the placid, gelid waters.

A paw dropped on her sturdy shoulder, and for a fleeting moment, Asha though Fera'l had come to talk her out of her choice. But the paw was patchy brown and covered with mud, not red and caked in clay. The wolfess closed her eyes and dipped her head a bit. Lerange must have used the slick earth to conceal his scent, a clever hunting tactic to be sure. He approached her from upwind like any skilled hunter, cornering the most elusive of all his prey.

"I see that you're not as dumb as you look." When Asha said nothing to her Beta, he gave a low laugh, touched with a haughty growl. "Now, strip and present. And do it slow. I love it when females show me their cleft as they get on all fours."

Asha's ears flicked, but after some hesitation, started to undress. The chilled air seemed to sweep past her nipples as she pealed off her halter. The wolfess hooked two thumb claws under her loincloth before sliding the thin garment down past her knees, then after getting on all fours, off her ankles entirely. Lerange grumbled with satisfaction.

"Grrrmmm nice. Spread those legs. I wanna see that pink slit gape a bit before I fill it with my knot."

Asha refused to fold her ears at those humiliating words, chin and tail held high into the wind as she spread her hindquarters a bit, exposing her pink vulva to him. Even if she was going to allow this mutt to soil her, Asha wasn't going to allow her Beta to sap her pride. Lerange rumbled with sleazy voyeur. Asha heard a faint rustle of clothing drop to the island of wet earth that lay underneath her. As the fall's crest just ahead showered her nose and muzzle in light spray, there was no doubt in her mind what the sick fuck did behind her.

She heard the rhythmic pumps of his paw stroke over his naked erection even over the roar of falling water. Asha didnt even bother to look behind her and give the bastard the sick satisfaction of acknowledging her disgust. A muddy paw fell on her hindquarters, leaving a filthy, scat colored smudge there. It held her hips steady as its twin guided a silt slicked shaft into her.

Asha felt the tepid, squishy lube spread her hot folds, but forced her ears to remind still. Lerange's tapered length slipped inside her like an invading maggot eating its way inside her sex. The wolfess concentrated on the scent of wet earth and fresh spring runoff. She let it slip into her flared nostrils as Lerange's shallow thrusts rocked her back and forth on her paws and knees, letting cleansing thoughts wash over her. Spring was a time of new life. Rebirth. Renewal. In these things she thought, anything to block out what happened to her now.

Asha let her mind float away from the plunder, thought back to her first heat two cycles ago. Such strong sensations, urges coursing through her flesh. The scents that spring seemed to make her insides boil; her lust race. Every shed pine needle fed the fires inside. Every drop of rain splattering against her coat evoked unseen orgasms. Why couldn't these scents saturating the air ease this honorable disgrace?

The wolfess looked around her to the huge rivets of water churning around moss covered stones. The picturesque scene in front of her, with the shimmering lake below and the forest stretching far in the distance, might comfort her. All she could think about at this loveless pairing was Rastus. The few times they had mated, he made sure to be as gentle and as loving as possible. Asha grimaced as Lerange took her deep now, his clumsy thrusts accentuating his calloused stabs inside her. She heard the beast huffing behind her in exertion, his forearms clamping around her hindquarters now as his climax neared.

At least the bastard had the courtesy to be quick about it.

Asha's ears folded on instinct when Lerange's orb swelled deep inside of her, its girth rubbing through the fleshy, unaroused walls of her sex. Any moment she expected the curr to bite her scruff and arch deep into her, staining her womb with his sorid seed. The wolfess didnt know how she could endure this again and again six moons from now, when the rituals of next breeding season arrived. Asha gritted her fangs, grimacing as she awaited Lerange's climax.

A wolf howled, but it wasn't Lerange.

He did however tense and give out his own howl a moment later, but it wasn't one of pleasure. Instead the muddy lupine convulsed inside of her and stumbled backwards out of her in agony. Asha's eyes sealed in pain as his knot ripped out of her, and she fell over clutching her womb still healing from birthing Rastus' litter. Everything erupted into a cacophony of chaos, and it was hard for her to discern anything at all.

Screams. Threats. More howls of pain.

Asha rolled on her side, capturing glimpses of her mate blindly stabbing at Lergane with a broken deer antler. Once Fera'l lost the crucial element of surprise, it didn't take much for Lerange to deflect her frenzied jabs and slap the makeshift weapon out of her paws. Weaponless but not disarmed, the red wolfess slashed across his muzzle, her sharp claws leaving gashed, bloody rents there. Lerange snarled, more pissed than harmed at the savage swipe.

A brutal back paw sent Fera'l's head snapping back to the side with a sharp yelp. Asha tried to push her self up, agony flaring in her abdominals as she wobbled upright on shaking hind legs. Her futile attempt at interceding failed when Lerange grabbed the petite wolfess by the throat and hurled her off the fall's crest.

Asha's stunned blue eyes widened as she watched her mate flail weightless for several moments, a look of panic and horror overtaking her. The red wolfess disappeared into the cloud of mist at the fall's base, and for a terrified moment, Asha thought she would never see her again. She looked into the churning waters far below, felt an all too familiar fear creep into her numb bones. Her clenched claws spasmed into her paw pads, adrenaline spiked blood dripping from them.

Not again. She refused to loose her mate the same way she lost her litter brother.

Before Lerange could react Asha dived headfirst off the fall's top. Moments later a fountain of spay erupted as she plunged into its chilly, deadly waters. Lerange wiped off a smear of blood from the rents in his muzzle and wobbled on dizzy legs to peer over the edge. He watched on for several minutes, but never saw the two female wolves resurface.

"Good riddance ... whore ..." Lerange spat down into the falls and reached back to feel at the gore mark Fera'l left on him. After all the trouble he went through to actually obtain the antler, it was no small irony that the little minx end up stabbing him in the back with it. He wasn't a stranger to backstabbing. After goring Rastus off the cliff and blackmailing Asha into subjugation, the Beta usurped the two rival Alphas with slippery ease.

And no one was the wiser. A smug grin spread across his face, the wind off the top of the fall's crest blowing about the tips of his deer horn necklace. Lerange turned to leave, the soft jingle of the keratin covered tips tinkling like a musical chime.

A stabbing pain shot through his belly, his amber eyes going wide with shock and surprise. His paws reached out and groped Connor's reminding antler, now spearing him through to the other side. The revengeful cervine brayed out and with surprising resilience, scooped the lupine up and slung him down past the fall's edge. Instead of the wolf coming off the antler's end, the already loose horn shed off, still embedded deep into the theif who stole its sibling. Connor's brutal downward pitch sent the two slamming into the exposed, jagged rock face on either side of the waterfall with bone crunching force.

Lerange barked out as he dashed against the hard stone, one his arms bending backwards with a sick wet snap. He spun and tumbled downwards, bouncing off the sheer face on the long drop to the fall's misty base. With a loud crunch Lergange landed on a uneven boulder, his spine snapping in half. A small fountain of foamy blood erupted from his slack muzzle, running down either side of mud streaked cheeks. The cruel, insubordinate wolf looked up with glazed, bloodshot eyes, now clouding over with wet mist and death.

Lerange's limp body slid down the slick boulder into the dark water, never to be seen again.

* * * * *

Elsewhere on the lake, Asha surfaced with a frenetic intake of air, Fera'l's limp body sagging in her drenched arms. The white wolfess coughed up some water before furiously kicking towards shore. Her lungs ablaze, it took all of her stamina to keep they both from sinking back below the death filled waters. The water behind them churned with white foam at her frenzied kicks.

As soon as Asha shaking hind legs felt sand mixed silt underneath, she half carried Fera'l the remainder of the way. She collapsed next to the unmoving wolfess after dragging her limb body on the sandy shore. Asha moved a perked ear over the drenched fur of Fera'l's still chest, hearing no heartbeat. Panicked, she almost didn't know what to do.

She pushed the petite female on her side and whacked her back hard. A gout of lake water poured from her purple muzzle lips, no sign of life under the death mask her placid lover wore. Asha rolled the limp form on her back again, the sand crusting its soggy outline.

"Nooo ... noo nooooo noooooo ..." Asha began in denial. Tears of loss dropped from her wide blue eyes to mingle with her lover's matted red fur, the vibrancy muted by its prolonged immersion. The desperate wolfess sealed her wet muzzle lips over Fera'l's muzzle, her cheeks puffing outward as Asha forced air into her unresponsive lungs. Asha pulled away, watching for any reaction.

Fera'l just laid there in the warm sand, her dull green eyes staring blankly up at Father Sun with a slack muzzle.

Asha's gave a panicked sob, her fang's gritting together in helpless frustration. Her pent up rage built in crescendo, then broke. The wolfess screamed at the sky; at the insane, immoral Gods who threated to steal away her sole reason for living. Fera'l had done nothing to provoke this, nothing to justify this cruel twist of irony. Asha's scream fell away in the distance, replaced by the peaceful sounds of the forest and lake around her.

She looked to Fera'l's limp body, watched it for several long moments. Asha tried to make peace with the inevitable, accept the loss and allow her lover to ascend back to the spirit world without guilt.

"N..n...ooo" Asha whispered feebly. More tears fell. Selfish tears. Tears that could not let go.

Tears that would not let go.

"NOOOO!!!" Asha sobbed hard once before an enraged howl erupted from her defiant muzzle, now tilted back up to the sky. Still nude, soaked to the bone, she straddled Fera'l's slender waist before slamming a fisted paw between the mounds of the red wolf's chest. Fera'l's body jumped a bit, more bubbles of lake water burbling up out of her chest and running down the side of her slack muzzle. Still those green eyes remained spiritless, their once vibrant spark still absent.

"Gods dammit, you bitch!" Asha wailed down to her lover, her cheeks dripping with the overflow of salty tears. "You never backed away from anything in your life! Now fight!"

Asha slapped Fera'l hard, the sightless head atop the limp neck lolling to the left.

"Fight!"

Asha bared her fangs, growling a challenge to the unconscious form underneath her. She smacked Fera'l back the other way, the wet slap of her paw against slack cold flesh echoing throughout the silent forest and placid lake around them.

"Fight! Right now! Do it! Fight Gods dammit!" Asha's large white paws gripped Fera'l's drenched halter and shook her hard. Fera'l's cold lax limbs flopped around at her lover's rough abuse. "Fight! .... Fight! ..." Asha sucked in a deep inhale, her face redding with fury. The throaty scream reached fervent crescendo, then broke.

"Fiiiight!!!!"

Asha shook with its intensity, flushed red. Her heart threated to stop, but Asha refused to breathe again until Fera'l did the same. A breathless moment went by. The red wolfess' jaw flexed, almost imperceivable. With dauntless persistence, the emerald spark clawed its way back into the blank eyes below, the throat muscles starting to twitch.

"Come on baby ..." Asha whimpered down, guilty paws petting her lover's bruised chest, "... come back to me ..."

Fera'l sputtered without warning, coughing up more water. A second later her lungs dragged in life giving air, before another set of rasping coughs shook the red wolfess. Asha's ears had never heard a more delightful sound. She bent forward, clinging to her soaked lover like she would never let go again. "Oh Gods Fera'l ... I thought you had left me ..."

"Didn't ... I ..." Fera'l gasped in, wheezing, "... teach you anything?" Her eyes and brain felt like they were aflame. The oxygen in her soggy lungs burned. The spark of life seemed to have touched off a second fire in her, one that death would have a hard time claiming again.

"I must have forgot ... which is why you can never leave me again ..." Asha kissed the cold, itching purple of Fera'l's muzzle lips, who draped her sluggish arms around her.

* * * * *

Back up on the fall, Connor watched on as the two wolfess clung to each other. Satisfied he turned to leave. A wall of spear tips and lupine muscle stopped him. The cervine's eyes narrowed in bleak assessment as he looked over the ten or so wolves who formed a half circle in front of him, growling in low warning.

"I demand to speak to your Alpha, Dag." Connor called out, crossing his arms in defiance. A wolf pushed her way to front, the scent of mint leaves drifting on the fall's breeze now.

"He no longer holds the rank of Alpha anymore." Elder Harmony replied, her stance defying his request. "I am Pack Elder. And any requests concerning the pack as a whole are made through me."

"I see." Connor snorted, spying Dag cringing next to Cameron at the rear. It was evident who held the seat of power in this herd now. "My business is done here. Let me return to my herd in the western highlands, and we shall bother your pack no further." He started forward, but the wolfess stood her ground at his approach and stopped him with a paw. Antlerless and surrounded by edgy wolves with sharp claws, fangs, and spears, Connor halted.

"No. You have broken the God's truce. You have trespassed into our territory." Harmony smiled a vicious smile. Like mother, like daughter.

"The brown wolf broke the truce first. He crossed into the highlands and tortured me, left me for dead. It was your pack that drew first blood."

"We do not take the word of prey who murders our Hunts Alpha." Harmony narrowed her eyes and growled. "Lykos and Riff here found your antler at the scene of Rastus' death. It was you who drew first blood." Connor took a step back from the wall of vengeful stares and angry growls.

"You must believe me! I talked to the wolfess and made an agreement with ..." the maimed deer pointed to the lake shore below, before Harmony silenced him.

"Enough!" She barked, waving a dismissive paw to her side. "We will tolerate no more of this heresy." Connor crossed his arms again when he caught the glint of a long harbored grudge in her seemingly innocuous eyes. "We will deal with this accusation later, according to pack tradition. But the penalty for this ingress and blasphemy is death."

Her fangs glinted in Father Sun's bright, cheerful rays, outlining her starving pack's need for survival. It was nothing personal. It overrode any sense of individual debt. It was just the law of nature.

Some laws must be kept for life to continue.

"So be it," the buck snorted, staring down Harmony and her two subjugated males cowering in the back row behind her, "May this treachery come back to bite your pack in its collective ass ..." His prophetic words rang with disdain at the wolfess' choice.

"Take his meat ..." Harmony spoke aloud to the throng of hungry, eager wolves behind her.

The wave of lupines surged forward and leapt at the buck, who offered no resistance. Hidden in the bush line not far away, an impressionable fawn watched in fascinated horror as the wolven tribe tore his father apart, the waters of the lake below turning a light shade of crimson. Something in Gortek's mind snapped, a strange taste for the gory sight coming over him.

A taste that would haunt the pack till the end of days.

* * * * *

Back down on the lake shore, Asha cradled Fera'l in her arms, a light layer of sand encrusting their matted fur. They said nothing to each other for a long while, instead savoring each blessed moment they had with each other now. The threat of losing one another came so perilously close in the past few hours, that now all they could was lay there in each others arms, feel their paws caress imperfect, transient flesh.

Abstract Ideals could never comfort like Concrete Touch.

"Why did you come after me?" Asha finally spoke, touching a tender paw to her lover's damp cheek.

"I couldn't allow you to go through with it. I couldn't live with knowing that I only had part of you, even if it was the best part." Fera'l placed her paw between Asha's cleavage, over her heart. They looked at each other for a long while, the sound of the wind whistling through the forest's edge filling the otherwise serene silence. "Asha ... there is something I meant to tell you."

"Yes, love?"

"I kept the antler used to kill Rastus ..."

"But ... why?" Asha blinked down at the weak wolfess.

"Because I wanted something to remind myself each day that love is sacrifice. And your love especially, is worth sacrificing for." Asha didnt have a reply for Fera'l's words, her sapphire eyes trembling.

"Fera'l ... did you ... kill Rastus?" Asha bit her lip. Fera'l gave the white wolfess a shocked, wide look.

"Of course not!" She stammered, wondering what brought that on. "Why would you even think such a thing?"

"The buck ..."

"What buck?"

"There was a buck, who made a deal with my father years ago ..."

"Asha ... that's blasphemy ... any wolf caught mingling with prey, especially colluding with them ... is punishable by exile."

"I know ..." Asha sealed her blue eyes tight, mind straining with its implications. To expose Dag's truce to Connor would tear the heart of the pack asunder. "... the buck said a wolf cut off his antler, used it to kill Rastus ... the only motive I can think of would be ... jealousy ..."

Asha opened her apologetic sapphires to Fera'l's understanding emeralds.

"I can think of some one else who might have harbored a grudge. As well as a motive to become Hunt's Alpha. Who else was supposed to be there at his side the night he died, besides you?" Asha closed her eyes again, almost knocking her head against the ground for not seeing the other blatant suspect.

"Oh Gods Fera'l ... I'm sooo sorry for even suspecting ..."

"Its okay love ... but what are you going to do about talking to this buck? If someone found out ... the pack might try to exile ..."

Fera'l stopped talking when she realized Asha wasnt paying attention anymore, instead focusing on the blood stained lupine posse walking toward her. Their bloody hind feet crunched on the sand, their spears held before them like a grim funeral procession. The scent of death hung heavy on them, the scent of dead prey and dark suspicions. The three Elder's lead the wolven troupe in front, their muzzle tense from their unavoidable, merciless responsibility.

Still nude, Asha helped Fera'l to her wobbly feet. From the way they protectively held each other, Fera'l shielding the other's wolfess' nakedness to the troupe, there could no doubt that the two were lovers.

"Asha ... why are you naked?" Harmony inquired, motioning for one of her subordinates to remove his deerskin cloak and offer it her naked daughter.

"Lerange and I were mating." Asha let that hang in the tense air before draping the cloak around her naked form.

"Then why are you here, Fera'l?" Harmony narrowed her eyes, seeking the impartial truth, no matter how personal.

"Because I could not let Lerange blackmail my mate any further ... " Fera'l closed a supportive paw around one of Asha's own in open defiance, and the small troupe murmured amongst themselves. Never before in pack tradition had two females declared exclusive mate ship.

"Fair enough." Harmony acknowled with a heavy sigh. The truth was all that the pack behind her expected. But before she could silence Conner, he let it slip that one of their own had allied with him in what was decidedly internal pack matters. The pack Elder didn't know what she could do to protect her daughter now from the same law she had set down to keep her mate Dag from going to his prey lover Connor.

"The buck said a wolfess made an agreement with him ... explain yourself." Harmony felt the blood drain from her face, her knees weak as she addressed Asha, but in a surprising move, Fera'l stepped forward in quick thinking.

"What else could I do?" The red wolfess blurted out, her steps still uneasy from near death. "I couldn't stand by helpless and let Lerange breed my mate."

"No ... don't ...!" Asha gasped out and grabbed a hold of her lover's arm, realizing what Fera'l was doing. The feisty wolfess shook free of the grasp and admitted her false guilt openly to the pack.

"It was the one who made a deal with the buck to take care of Lerange. After Rastus died, I thought Asha was all mine, until Lerange announced his intentions to me. And I simply could not have any of that ..."

The three Elder's looked at each other, wondering if the pack as a whole would buy her sacrificial confession. A couple of wolves growled and dripped their spear points at the red martyr, snarling.

"Traitor!" One of them barked.

"Blasphemer!" Another called out.

Harmony dipped her head but gave an unseen, relieved inward sigh. Without looking she waved the sign for two wolves to take Fera'l into custody. Dag and Cameron both attempted to console a frantic Asha as the wolves left the blood stained lake for the comforting sight of their sinless village. This illusion of truth kept the commune together, as it always had. A lie had simply compounded the other lies on which the three close knit Elders based their society, allowing life to continue.

Hemmed in on all sides by lies, lies founded on fear, specism, and jealousy, only five wolves knew the truth.

The truth of what happens when you keep secrets from those that love you.

* * * * *

The fire of Father Sun appeared no more than a dying semi-circle on the western horizon by the time the weary wolves reached camp. They confined Fera'l to a her tent until Mother Moon arose, the traditional time at which the pack exiled transgressive wolves to their solitary fate. During the walk Asha returned to her cold facade, the many tears which ran down her muzzle evaporating into a bitter taste of salt on her tight muzzle lips. Harmony drew her aside, asking her to walk along with her, much like her father had done the previous day.

They walked for a while in uncomfortable silence for a time, watching the sun dip below the horizon. Growing up Asha felt closer to her father, who admired his strong overt nature and leadership. Only recently did Asha realize that she took more after her mother; calm, concise, and sometimes ruthless. But always subtle.

"So ..." Asha breathed in a tense inhale, not sure how to address the older Alpha female. "Why did you let Fera'l take my blame? You knew she lied to protect me."

"I knew ..." Harmony said, her amber eyes intent on the last ray fading on the creeping edge of dusk. "But it was her choice."

"But it wasn't the truth ..." Asha said, stopping. Harmony stopped as well and turned to her daughter, the faint call of crickets washing over them.

"No it wasn't. But it was her choice to make, and you should respect that."

"I don't ... know if I can live without her ..." Asha choked back small tears, trying to remain strong in front of her mother.

"You can. And you will." Harmony rested her paws on her daughter's broader shoulders. "I won't lie and say that would rather see you take her place. I can't imagine a what a parent might feel sending her own blood in exile. Pray to the Gods that you never have to ..."

A gentle dusk breeze ruffled their fur, the two female wolves regarding each other as the purple curtain of night fell.

"How long have you known about Father and the buck?" Asha asked, curious.

"Almost since the beginning. When I birthed black pups in our third litter, I suspected that Cameron might have somehow been their father. I thought I had been with Dag the whole time, so it was only natural to suspect him and Cameron had some type of contest going on." She grinned.

"Males ..." The two female wolves shook their heads together in amused agreement, before Harmony continued. "I started following Dag in secret, and then stumbled on to him and Conner rutting. After I ... politely questioned Cameron they spilled the truth, and both fell into my ..." Harmony flashed a discreet hint of fangs. "... Debt."

"How did you take it?" Asha perked an ear.

"I was hurt of course, jealous, maybe a little resentful even." Harmony sighed. "But most of all I feared for our pack. If an Alpha allowed himself to submit to prey, what would prevent them from ruling over us? The natural hierarchy must be maintained, or else everything we know would fall apart ..." Asha nodded in agreement as Harmony squeezed her daughter's shoulders.

"Make no mistake, Males may think they rule they day, but we are the ones who have the final say. We choice who to mate with. We choose when and where to continue the species. We hold the true authority in pack matters."

"Without us ..." Harmony grinned as Mother Moon peeked her crown over the eastern horizon. "... there would be no pack ..." Asha hugged her mother under the waning Goddess, whose maternal love touched all things, knew no bounds.

"Next cycle, Asha, you will take my place on the Elder's circle. It will be your pack then. I all ask is that you Leave your Mark on all things to follow, so that our descendants will remember us as the ones who brought progress to our way of life ..."

The two females wolves made their way back to camp just as their ancestors began to peek through the black expanse above, ushering in a new era of reform and equality for all.

* * * * *

In the still of deep night, Asha led Fera'l to the western edge of their territory, holding paws for the last time. They walked together in the moonshine in relative silence, the comforting sounds of the nocturne forest around them easing their sorrow. While ironic they would lose each other so soon again, at least this way they would get to say goodbye.

"I'm surprised that the pack allowed you to see me away, alone." Fera'l remarked, her heart heavy with the hardest trail yet to come.

"Its because they trust me." Asha offered, knowing that this trail would only cement her standing within their complex ranks. If she stood by Elder Harmony's decree and banish her mate for breaking pack law, then her objective, selfless wisdom knew no bounds.

As they passed the spot they had first made love, Fera'l gave a comforting squeeze to her lover's paw, each watching the moonlight dance over the shimmering ripples on the lake. When they came to the base of the mountain range bordering the western highland's edge, they stopped in a pool of moonlight and just held each other.

"Why did you sacrifice yourself for me?" Asha asked, staring deep into the emerald eyes of her exiled lover. She felt a wave of love and sadness burble up from within, refusing to be contained.

"Because ... your love is worth sacrificing for ..." Fera'l stared back into those sparkling sapphires, into the eyes she might never see again. "The pack needs you more than me. Without you they will starve. Without food they will tear at each other's throats, and our culture will blink out forever like a twilight ancestor. The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few ..."

"Where will you go?" Asha sniffled, her eyes brimming with bitter tears at losing her mate again.

"To the Redcap Mountain range. I can see our valley from up there, and every day we can look at each other. Every day we will remember each other, and I will wait for the time when Father Sun can acknowledge our love."

She placed her muzzle lips over Asha's, the lips that she knew would never kiss another until they met again. The soft tenderness of Asha's black lips against her own made Fera'l's heart bound, heavy and elated at the same time. The red wolfess released herself, and without looking back, disappeared up the side of the pine covered hillside. Asha closed her eyes and bit her salty lip, standing there for a few minutes alone. Only after the scent of her mate faded did she head back to camp, tears falling from hard set muzzle lips.

I will wait for you ... Asha thought to herself I will Leave my Mark. I will lead our pack to success. I will convince them to allow you back in to our ranks. I will hold your paw among them ...

Asha looked up to her ancestors, Rastus, and all those that would ever take their place among them. She knew how she would leave her mark.

And We Shall Walk in the Sunshine ...

~ Fin ~

As always, acknowledgement goes out to the following for their contributions:

Many muzzle licks to Lykos Bane, who wrote arguably the best Bisexual story on Yiffstar to date

Many ear scratches to the Wandering Kodiak Koshne, who finally settled in CA with his mate.

Many thanks to Kurst, Hawk, Riff, and Feral for loaning their likenesses for this long yarn.

Many nuzzles to DreamyWolf, for her experienced critique of the Yuri.

And yes, the revival scene came directly from The Abyss, line by line. I found the scene too stirring to attempt a shallow mimic.

Many scratches to the various Yiffstar readers through these three long years and fifty stories. Its been a long road, and I only hope you will be with me for fifty more ...