The cool mountain air fills my lungs as I shuffle my nose through the leaf litter. The musky scent of plant decay and the tempting prey-scent of a field mouse blend seamlessly, distinctly different yet extremely complementary.

I huff and raise my head. My ears twitch and swivel as though independent from me.

A twig snaps.

I freeze, my ears flinging themselves forwards. A sound floats up from the distant greyness.

"Damn it, Clover! Quiet down!" Hissed a distinctly feminine voice.

"It's dark!" Whispered a masculine voice. "I can't see for shit. How the hell am I supposed to know if a twig is there or not?"

"Well, If you had taken off your shoes like I asked you to..."

I creep closer, keeping my head close to the ground and my steps light.

"Well, I'm sorry, Rosie. I'm just not comfortable with the possibility of stepping on a snail barefooted,"

"Christ, you're such a child," the first voice says with long-suffering frustration.

I peek through the trees and am met by the sight of two humans. One of them was indeed barefoot.

The man- Clover- sighs. "Can we just go home? Auntie Skye is going to be so pissed if she finds out that we snuck out,"

'Rosie' rolls her eyes. "Grow a pair, Clover,"

"You first," Clover grumbles.

"Good lord, how are we related?"

"Well you see, one day our mummy and daddy were very, very horny-"

Rosie's hands fly up to cover her ears. "Oh my Lord, shut up!"

Clover laughs. "And so they-"

"Lalalalala, I can't hear you!"

Siblings, huh? Well, I'm not about to look a gift horse in the mouth.

I throw my head back and howl.

Clover whips around and gawks. "Oh, shit-!"

"What was th-" Clover grabs his sister by the arm and tugs her sharply.

"Run!" Rosie whips her head around. She spots me, just for a moment, and that gives her the motivation to run after her brother like the devil is on her tail.

I trot after them. I keep them in eye-range and don't bother with running. The hunt hasn't even started yet.

The pair run down the hillside, towards the river bank. I blink at the light in the far distance. Then at the bridge that crosses the river. I begin to walk faster.

If my pack doesn't get here soon...

A howl pierces the air and I bark in excitement.

"Oh fuck!" Clover shouts. The pair stumble across the bank, making a bee-line for the bridge. "We're almost there!" Clover exclaimed joyfully.

Alarra sprints onto the bridge and slides to a stop, snarling at the human's bellow on the river bank.

They slow to a stop. Huffing and puffing, they hesitantly back away.

I growl and stalk closer. Beside me, my packmates slip out from behind the trees and together we surround the pair, trapping them from all sides.

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I can smell the panic in the air as the pair realize that they're trapped. Anticipation curls in my gut, my skin feels too tight. A hunt should always begin with a chase.

"Flare," I nod to the male human.

Flare lunges forwards with a snarl. Clover screams and tries to get out of the way. He slips against the slick rocks and falls with a yelp.

A dulled crack splits the air in two.

Rosie gasps, her hands coming up to cover her mouth. "Clover!"

I growl, frustrated. "Back away!" I bark.

My pack does just that and before Rosie has time to recover, I rush forward and sink my teeth into the meat of her thigh. She cries out. I shake my head a few times to make sure the bite will take before releasing her.

She collapses to the riverbank and sobs.

I glance over to Clover. His body is limp, eyes glossed over. I watch as red cuts a winding path through the river stones before trickling into the water, creating swirling patterns on the river's surface.

I sigh. "Dean, Sam, take him to the gorge and throw him over the side,"

"Yes, Alpha," twin voices chorus and the wolves immediately begin to do as told.

"Alarra dearest, help me with this one?"

Alarra nods. Together we hoist her up and begin the laborious process of dragging her through the forest.

###

The woman passes out halfway to camp. We awkwardly drag her through the entrance to my den and into the secondary chamber.

"Tell Flare to come to me when he gets back, please,"

Alarra nods. "I will, Alpha,"

I nip at her ear. "Hunt with me tomorrow?"

The white-furred wolf cocks her head in mock consideration. "Oh, but I have oh so much else to do,"

I huff and bite her ruff. "Oh, shut up,"

Alarra laughs and shakes me off. "I'll send Flare your way," she says before disappearing up the tunnel.

"Thank you!" I call after her. I'm not sure she hears me.

###

We stroll through the underbrush on silent paws. No words are exchanged between us. We move through the forest like ghosts.

Mist swirls around our paws with every step. Swallows sing in the canopy above, loud and unapologetic, as though needing the world to know that if they're awake, everything else should be too.

Alarra noses some leaflitter aside, revealing a relatively fresh track. With mist as thick as this morning's, the human way was the only reliable tracking method.

"A red deer, I think," The white-furred wolf says.

I nod. "Can you track it?"

Alarra cocks her head and examines the terrain. "I believe so,"

Alarra takes the lead, following the tracks like an old pro. I keep pace with her as best I can.

We draw to a halt, our ears facing forwards.

The sound of rustling leaves and branches reaches our ears.

I lower my head and peer through the mist.

Twenty yards away, a buck strides into the clearing.

"Let's have some fun," I whisper.

"What kind of fun?" Alarra asks dubiously.

I shrug. "Our kind,"

With that, I run towards the buck, barking and snarling. The buck bellows and rears back before dashing off.

Alarra yips and together, we give chase.

We weave through the trees and leap over fallen logs in pursuit of the buck, nipping at his heels and barking with great delight. Prey-scent fills the air like a dense fog, urging us onwards. At a certain point, it becomes less about the chase and more about the hunt.

My legs pump faster with every stride, my heart races. My lungs expand and contract steadily, my tongue lolls out of my mouth. I bark once, twice.

Alarra nips more determinedly at the buck's heels, her yips fading into snarls.

I will my limbs to go faster, to pump harder. I fly across the forest floor, the buck beside me now.

I nip at its shoulder, growling. It bellows again and darts to the side.

I follow its path with a swift shift of my paws, catching up, getting closer and closer.

With a snarling growl, I lunge, catching its throat between my jaws and bodily driving it into the ground.

I shake my head vigorously, a muffled growl rumbling deep in my chest.

Panting, both me and the buck. Our sides heave, our hearts race, our limbs burn. Its pulse throbs against my tongue and beat by beat, it tapers out. By chance, I look into its eyes. The only thing I see there is defiance.

With one last valiant beat of its heart and one last great heave of its blood-filled lungs, it goes still.

I hold it between my jaws for a beat. I let it fall limp against the forest floor.

Panting, I look into the buck's eyes and find only numbness.

I startle at the feeling of a tongue running across my muzzle. Alarra cocks a brow before swiftly finishing her clean-up.

"Beautiful take-down," she says.

"Thank you, Winter," I say. Looking back at the buck, I grin.

I'm still panting, my limbs and jaw ache, everything feels like lead. Inside my chest, a sun warms me and lightning races up and down my heart.

The buck died, and because of that, my pack and I will live another day. It's not just about the chase or the hunt. It's about our survival. And the buck's death has ensured that.

His blood tastes like victory.

I turn to Alarra. "Sing with me,"

She blinks. "Sorry?"

"Sing with me, Winter," I plead. "Just... Follow my lead,"

Alarra nods cautiously. "Well... Alright..."

I grin. Still breathing heavily, I throw my head back and sing. It's not a howl, but a song. Note after note rises into the air, conducted by my voice and shaped by my survival.

I sing of the victory in my mouth and of the thousands before me who didn't make it this far. I sing of hope and life and of a thousand days to come.

After a moment, Alarra's melody joins mine. And together, we sing of luck and love.