The power Within

The bright rays from the sun warmed my fur that cheerful spring day. Insects buzzed around my leg and I chewed and bit my fur, trying to get the cause of my annoyance off of me.

“Would you stop chewing yourself in public?” I heard a familiar voice snap from behind me, “That’s why you’re still such a lowly Omega.” Thunder materialized beside me, his tail always pointing rigidly, slightly downwards, never moving. His brown fur bristled when he saw Alpha, the Alpha male, coming towards him.

“Good evening subordinate Thunder,” Alpha nodded curtly. He glanced his eyes in my direction, snorting his nose in disgust. “Well, omega Lightning?”

“Hi there, Mr. Alpha male wolf, sir!” I chirped, lowering my tail at the last possible second. I resisted the urge to bite at the insects that were crawling on my leg again knowing it would offend him. Alpha just snorted again and walked off.

Thunder breathed a sigh of relief as soon as he had disappeared. “Lightning! I wish you would not cut that so close! You know your tail HAS to be lowered or you could get in serious trouble!”

“Oh, stick straight like yours, I suppose? No, my tail has a right to be up if I want it to be. This whole tail business is stupid. Alpha males know their rank, we shouldn’t have to lower ourselves so they can feel superior,” I stated, knowing full well what Thunder’s response would be.

“We ARE lower than Alpha males! If he wants us to lower our tales, then we lower them. If he wants us to dig our noses in the dirt, we do so! This is a tradition going back generations-” Thunder started.

“-when the first wolves even created a pack!” I droned on, finishing Thunder’s sentence and cutting him off. “Yes, you have said that a thousand times, and I know it is tradition! Just because something is tradition doesn’t mean it’s not stupid!” Sighing and shaking his head, Thunder gave me one of those I’m-superior-to-you-so-don’t-
give-me-any-trouble looks.

Suddenly, I was getting very impatient. “Look,” I growled, baring my teeth, “you’re one to talk! You’re just a subordinate, only one rank ahead of me! Don’t act like you’re better than everyone, because all the beta and alpha males spit at your paws too! Especially Alpha... ever since he got promoted to the head Alpha and changed his name he’s treated everyone like dirt.” My bad mood abruptly forgotten, I thought back to the time when I had almost gotten myself killed...

It was a fine, spring morning. A slight breeze ruffled my fur while cubs merrily wrestled behind me. Nothing could spoil that wonderful day. Well, almost nothing.

Alpha, the head alpha male, marched up and down the rows of cubs, frowning and shaking his head. Suddenly, a small cub, the runt of the litter, ran straight into Alpha. He looked up at Alpha and wagged his tail happily, his tongue lolling out the side of his mouth. Beads of sweat dripped down my fur. If that cub didn’t lower his tail soon, he would be in big trouble. Unfortunately, the cub continued staring at Alpha, it’s tail raised as high as it pleased.

Alpha growled a warning, but the little cub paid no heed. Raising a paw to strike the tiny cub, Alpha gave a little smile of satisfaction. That was the last straw. I shot off towards Alpha at top speed, bowling him over before his paw could reach the runt.

The cub scampered off, in search of new playmates, and I breathed a sigh of relief. My joy was short lived, however, when I felt teeth brutally sink into my flesh. I gave a howl of pain, and bolted upright into the staring eyes of Alpha.

“Subordinate Lightning. For this act you should die. But, since I cannot make such a decision as to kill a pack member, I will demote you to lowliest Omega male. But if you so much as breath the same air as I do from now on, I will not be responsible for my actions,” Alpha growled in my face. Then he sauntered away, limping slightly from where I bowled him over.

That was a long time ago. Thunder stared at me quizzically, and wandered off. I sunk to the ground, exhausted suddenly, and fell fast asleep.

Later that day I woke up, feeling refreshed. It was still light outside, and a cub nipped at my tail. I paid no heed to him and he sulked off.
Goldpaw, the mate of Alpha, walked slowly by, stopping close to where I lay. I jumped into a sitting position, lowering my tail in respect. Goldpaw merely smiled at me. I lowered my ears also, afraid she would get angry at my disrespect towards her mate.

Yawning, she leaned over towards me and briefly nuzzled my ears. Then she was gone, back to Alpha and the company of Alpha and Beta females.

I sat there, stunned, for a few minutes, taken completely by surprise. Had Goldpaw really been here, or had I been imagining it? Looking down, I saw her paw prints leading away, and I knew that Goldpaw really had been sitting beside me.

* * *

“Attention all pack members,” Alpha’s voice boomed out, “Humans have been scented nearby.” There was a moment of hushed whispers among the crowd before Alpha continued. “Instead of moving the entire pack, including young cubs, away from the area, I have decided that I will take Whitetooth, my son, and Lightning with me to scout the area out.”

There was much murmuring among the crowd of wolves, disagreements being shouted back and forth among the pack members. One Beta female, Sundew, bravely shouted her question among the loud ramblings of the group.

“Why are you taking such a lowly Omega male such as Lightning on such an important mission?” Sundew cried out, above the din.

“SILENCE!!!” Alpha boomed out, causing the pack to become silent once more. “All right, that’s better. Now, Sundew has asked a very important question, one that many of you are probably asking yourselves right now. Well, the answer is simple. If we should get into trouble, Lightning will surrender himself so that my son and I can get away unharmed. Does anyone see a problem to this?”

There was complete and utter silence among the wolves, none daring to make the slightest noise.

“Alpha, this is completely against all wolf regulations. You don’t sacrifice another member even if they are an Omega. Every wolf is of importance to the pack, you of all people should realize this,” Goldpaw, the mate of Alpha, spoke out.

“Very touching, Goldpaw,” Alpha said dryly, “Now, does anybeast here agree with Goldpaw? Am I wrong in my judgement?” Alpha bared his teeth and growled at the wolf members who averted their eyes to the ground or shuffled their paws. “Good. Sorry Goldpaw, you’re outvoted. Now sit down,” Alpha commanded.

Goldpaw sat down, giving me a brief apologetic smile as she did so. I felt a sudden compassion towards her, she had tried to save my life.
“Now, the sun is setting and night will be approaching rapidly. Everyone in the pack, sleep well, but be ready to move on the slightest notice of me or my son. We will depart now, when all beasts, including humans, are resting. Whitetooth, Lightning, come, let’s go now,” Alpha stated, starting off towards the woods.

Since I was at the back of the pack, I hurried to catch up with the fleeting figures of Alpha and Whitetooth. Suddenly, I felt someone lick my ear. Turning around, I was shocked to see Goldpaw sitting there.
“If you are in danger, don’t stay. Come back quickly when Alpha isn’t looking. Every wolf is of vital importance to the pack, I don’t care what Alpha says. Go now, or you will be left behind.” And with that, she bounded off into the night.

I shot off in the direction of the two Alphas, and caught up with them relatively quickly. Tall sycamore trees swayed in the breeze that ruffled our fur as we stole through the dark night. Owls hooted ominously in the distance, while the smell of humans got stronger.

Twice I glimpsed Whitetooth shivering, but Alpha didn’t even notice. ‘How cruel, I thought to myself, not to even notice your own son shivering in the cold.’ As our paws padded the earthen floor, the smell of humans got stronger, but I noticed that the smell was older and less rancid. Then, without warning, a small, wooden cottage materialized in front of us. Whitetooth yelped in surprise, and Alpha cuffed him soundly.

Quickly Alpha barked orders for me to investigate this cottage while they continued searching farther to the right.

As silently as I could, I stole up towards the cottage, noticing at once the smell of humans was old. Remnants of a fire long extinguished sat near the cottage long abandoned. The door was resting on it’s rusting hinges, and the little furniture inside was in disarray. Whatever humans had been here previously were gone now for good. They had been here for a short while, then departed without warning.

Since the wind changed, the scent of humans only reached us now. Smiling to myself, I left to go find Whitetooth and Alpha.

* * *

While Lightning had been investigating the abandoned cottage, Whitetooth had shot ahead of Alpha and stumbled upon an old, rusting bear trap, being careful to step around it’s sharp, pointing teeth.

Chuckling silently to himself, Whitetooth came up with a crafty plan. For far too long Alpha had reigned. It was becoming evident that Alpha would not die anytime soon. Grinning evilly, Whitetooth decided he would help things along a bit...

Running wildly back to his father, Alpha, Whitetooth gasped out his message, “Father! There is a beast in those bushes up ahead! It nipped at my tail and said it wanted to do battle with you! It said you were too stupid to defeat it! Whatever shall we do, father?”

“Stand back, Whitetooth, my son! I will charge this beast and show him who is the stupid one! Nobeast challenges Alpha and lives to tell about it!” And with that, Alpha charged headlong into the bushes... and the open bear trap.

Whitetooth smiled with satisfaction as the jaws of the bear trap clamped down on his father’s back leg. Howling with pain, Alpha called to his son for help.

“Shut up, old fool. You have lived an easy life, and it all ends now. Look at me, for this is the last face you shall ever see. I am king now! I am the leader, the ruler, the top Alpha! Stop that pathetic whining. Nobeast is near, but perhaps you would like some humans to come and shoot you, putting you out of your misery. Goodbye, old fool,” Whitetooth sneered at the pathetic Alpha.

Glancing sideways, Whitetooth glimpsed Lightning coming towards where he stood.

Whitetooth walked away from Alpha, content in the knowledge that he was too stunned to call for help, and too old to live through the night.

* * *

After about fifteen minutes of fruitless searching, I was beginning to lose hope of ever finding Alpha and Whitetooth. There were too many different wolf scents, all of them very old, plus the scent of caribou, elk, rabbit, fox, bird, etc. It was then that I stumbled upon the trail of Whitetooth and Alpha, purely by accident, but very fortunate. Their scent, already growing fainter, was definitely distinctive. I continued along the trail until I heard shouting up ahead.
“Lightning, Lightning! Oh, it is awful, so very awful!” Whitetooth panted, running crazily up towards me and shaking visibly.

“Slow down, Whitetooth. What happened? Where is Alpha?” I asked calmly, fearing the worst.

“He... they- oh it was awful!” Shaking and trembling horribly, Whitetooth started moaning and muttering to himself.

“It’s going to be okay,” I reassured him, “Just start from the beginning and tell me what happened.

“Th- the men, they came... and they... and they shot Alpha! They shot him with their guns! Oh, Lightning, it was horrible! Alpha was lying there all bloody and crying for help! B- but I couldn’t! I ran, I ran far away ''till I found you! My father, Lightning, they killed my father! They would have gotten me too if I hadn’t had run!” Cried Whitetooth loudly, clutching himself.

“But I didn’t hear any gunshot...” I questioned.

“Come on! We must get out of here or they’ll get us too! Hurry!” Whitetooth tore off in the direction we had come from and I caught up with him in two seconds.

We raced back towards our den, the bleeding Alpha and the abandoned cottage.

When we got back, Whitetooth immediately took control and called an emergency meeting.

I sat, lost in my own personal thoughts next to Whitetooth. I had never heard any gunshot, nor smelled any recent man scents. Plus, the cottage was obviously abandoned... some things did not add up.
Whitetooth interrupted my train of thought to have me tell what I had seen to the wolf pack. I recounted everything I saw, leaving out the fact that I had not heard any gunshot.

“If we stay here for much longer, everybeast will be in danger. The humans are far away now, that leaves us a little bit of time. Soon we will have to make a journey to find a new home. First of all, we must choose a leader, the head Alpha. Since I am of direct descendent to Alpha, I believe I should be the new leader. Any opposition?” Whitetooth challenged.

A strong, burly wolf named Grimpaw stood up decisively. “You are but a young cub. Not fit to rule this entire wolf pack. I challenge.”

Grimpaw was a towering wolf with many scars from battles with other wolves and other creatures. He was a wolf of few, simple words, but not stupid by any means.

Whitetooth, who was small for a wolf, shakily stood up and walked over to Grimpaw.

All the surrounding wolves formed a circle, keeping a safe distance away.

Grimpaw immediately launched into battle, leaping at Whitetooth will fangs and claws barred. Whitetooth nimbly sidestepped, his youth serving him well. Again, Grimpaw charged Whitetooth head on. Whitetooth tried to sidestep, but this time Grimpaw was ready. He latched on to Whitetooth’s fur, pulling him down to the ground. Whitetooth was up in a flash, tearing savagely at Grimpaw’s scarred face. Taking in a deep breath, Grimpaw rammed into Whitetooth’s stomach, knocking the wind out of him.

As Whitetooth struggled for breath, Grimpaw seized the opportunity, with all of his energy, Grimpaw jumped down onto Whitetooth, grabbing onto his neck. Whitetooth cried out in agony, and tore viciously into Grimpaw’s left leg flank. Bleeding freely from many wounds, Grimpaw held tight to his neck, never letting go.

Whitetooth’s choked sobs filled the air, and he struggled against Grimpaw, brutally tearing his legs to shreds. Despite the searing pain in his left leg, Grimpaw held tight, victory in his grasp.

Suddenly, Whitetooth stopped struggling, his eyes clouded over, and he fell limp.

Grimpaw released his hold tentatively, making sure Whitetooth was really dead. He spat on the bleeding carcass and stood painfully up.
“I win. I am your leader now. Go to sleep. There is a meeting tomorrow. Here. 7 o’clock,” Grimpaw stated, then hobbled off to his den, leaving a trail of fresh blood behind him.

Goldpaw groaned aloud, knowing full well that Grimpaw was now her new mate. She started off for her den, looking back only once at the limp form of Whitetooth.

Other wolves headed back to their dens, spitting on the dead carcass or gazing at it in pity. Nobody cried for Whitetooth, he was unloved by any but the one wolf he had painfully killed; his father.

* * *

Dawn rose the next morning, grim and cloudy, as if signaling the fate of the coming day. I awoke to the sound of Thunder calling my name. “Lightning! Wake up or you’ll miss the meeting! Hurry up, you sure are slow today!” Thunder called to me.

“Thunder, my old friend! It’s been so long since I’ve last seen you! Hold on, I’m coming up!” I emerged from my den with tousled fur from the previous night’s events.

Thunder and I walked together, silently, each deep in our own thoughts. In the distance I saw Grimpaw and Goldpaw standing in the front. It was evident that Goldpaw had been elected to be the spokesperson for Grimpaw, her new mate.

I hurried to the back of the assembly as Goldpaw began. “Fellow wolves. As you well know by now, both Alpha and Whitetooth are dead. Alpha was shot by humans while Whitetooth was defeated by Grimpaw. As your new leader, Grimpaw has decided we will stay for a few days to a week while his injuries heal. Any who wish to challenge Grimpaw and his new position should wait until he is fit to fight, or be known as a coward throughout the land,” Goldpaw’s clear voice rang out. Then she and her new mate trudged back to the den, leaving the rest of the pack to do whatever they wished.

Days passed by in complete and utter chaos. Wolves barked and growled at former friends, tore viciously into their fur trying to get a better piece of rabbit. Mothers harshly bit their young when they did not listen properly. Wolves fought other wolves when no respect was shown, and two were slain in fierce battles. a bright, energetic female named Raineyes, and a young male named Earthfang.

I laid quietly in my den many of the days, waiting for the time when we would travel from this awful place.

An older male wolf whose name I don’t recall stood right outside my den, bad-temperdly, until a small runt of a wolf crashed into him. The older wolf bit lavishly into his side, shook him several times, then hurtled him across the ground.

The little cub’s body made a sick thud as it hit the earth floor, never to rise again. The sight sickened me so, and I when I tried to sleep at night, I had many nightmares.

Then the day finally came when Grimpaw’s wounds healed. He stood outside in the chaos, and the surrounding wolves gradually got quiet in his presence.

“ I am better. Any challengers?” Grimpaw simply stated, trying to nuzzle Goldpaw. Goldpaw shuddered, and tried to turn away, but Grimpaw was in no mood for fooling around. He bit her ear and nuzzled her harder. Tears of hatred spilled down Goldpaw’s face, but there was nothing she could do.

I’m not quite sure what happened to me at that point. Perhaps the ombination of Alpha’s mysterious death, the cruel scene with the tiny infant, my position as Omega, and the cruel way Grimpaw was treating Goldpaw did it. All I know is, something inside of me snapped. I could take no more. Crying my hatred and grief, I hurtled myself at Grimpaw.

He was bowled over, taken completely by surprise. But he was not down long. Leaping to his feet, Grimpaw rushed me as he had done to Whitetooth. I was not as young as Whitetooth, but I did have a plan. I leaped into the air and landed nimbly on Grimpaw’s back, tearing brutally at his fur. Grimpaw bucked and reared like a rodeo horse, trying to shake me off. I clutched firmly to his back, trying to reach his neck. Suddenly, Grimpaw tripped on a rock, and landed flat on top of me.

I laid under him, gasping for air as he stood up. He was at my throat immediately, and no matter how much I struggled, I couldn’t get away. I saw flashes of color as he tore at my throat, and struggled madly. He kept a firm hold, and my lamentations grew weaker and fainter. I started to lull into a deep sense of calm.

It was then that I saw Goldpaw apart from all the other wolves and received my second wind. Crying hoarsely, I tore myself free from Grimpaw’s viselike grip, gulping in as much air as possible.

Grimpaw laid there stunned for one second, and that was all I needed. I was on the strong wolf in a flash, keeping a firm hold onto his neck. Grimpaw’s rancid smell filled my nose and he struggled madly, but it was to no avail. For several minutes we laid there, then suddenly Grimpaw’s eyes clouded over, and he died.

I released him, wiping blood from my forehead and standing up.

Goldpaw rushed over towards me and nuzzled me affectionately.

I howled in a victory cheer, and my voice was mixed with the entire pack’s. Every wolf howled my victory that moment, Thunder’s and Goldpaw’s ringing out the loudest. The remaining pack formed a circle around me, awaiting my speech. Not wanting to disappoint them, I began immediately.

“Friends, fellow wolves hear me and believe what I say. There are not humans in this area. It has taken me awhile to finally realize what has happened. Whitetooth killed his own father somehow. There was no gunshot, no humans, and no danger. Whitetooth made it all up so he could become leader. I realize that now. I will do my best to be the fairest and all-around best leader this pack has ever seen!”

The entire pack cheered at that last statement, and I waited for silence before I continued. “Although there is no apparent danger, this can no longer be our home. There is too much death and destruction for us to be able to live here peacefully. I say that tomorrow we start off in search of a new home. All in favor?” I questioned, and was answered by the entire pack howling in agreement.

Suddenly a young cub ran straight into my leg. He looked up and wagged his tiny tail high in the air at me, showing no respect as young ones usually do. The entire pack held their breath, unsure of my next move. Smiling fondly at the young cub, I gently lowered his tail with my paw. The small wolf seemed to understand, and I stood up to address my audience one last time.

“Friends, I also realize now the error in my ways. Before, I had never realized the importance of respect for pack positions. Now I do. I have seen cruel tyrants take advantage of wolves showing respect, but I have also seen complete and utter chaos without any positions at all. It is important to keep these positions safe, but not lose sight of what is important in life.”

There was a chorus of cheers from the surrounding wolves, and the little cub trotted off elsewhere to play. Sighing deeply, I started off towards my new den, Goldpaw walking beside me, nuzzling my neck once in awhile.

“Meet back here at 9 o’clock tomorrow!” I called out as an afterthought. The rest of the pack went home, safe and secure in the knowledge of their new ruler.

Back at the den, I fell fast asleep, dreaming of tomorrow, and the journey we would undertake. Who knows what dangers the coming of light would bring? One thing was for sure, though. Whatever perils awaited the pack, we would face them together.