When I wake up, I don’t recall yesterday’s events. My eyes slowly creep open. As far as I can see, the frost has wrapped up the ground like a blanket. The snow blinds me and reflects the sunlight as I try to make out my bearings.
Suddenly, I hear a scuffle in the underbrush and I become aware of my hunger pains. I slowly stand up, shaking the snow off my pelt and start stalking the animal. The scent of its powerful aroma captures me in its marvelous embrace. I can practically feel the heart pumping its blood through its veins in rapid beats. Bump- bump bump-bump. I can see it now; it’s a male cardinal with its brilliant red feathers gleaming in the light.
As I get ready to spring, I realize the bird is so intent on its nuts that it doesn’t notice me. I bunch up my muscles and pounce. I fall short by a couple of feet and, by now, the cardinal has seen me. It shoots out an alarm call and flies away. I turn around and walk away with my legs as stiff as bark. I wander around the area to see if I can find something to eat.
As I roam around, I make a path using my musky scent.. All the different smells on a trail make me dizzy and consume my senses. I quickly trot away and take deep, long breaths. I timidly stray back to the trail. I need water, and the trail will take me to it.









I follow the footprints, sunken deeply into the mud. Finally something I’m good at. My ears prick at a sudden noise and I reluctantly lift my head away from the refreshing water. I hear the noise again. It’s a mole. I only have to think about the situation for a second before making up my mind. I dip down into the tall, scratchy, green grass, adjust my hunches and spring like a rock out of a catapult.
I feel the bones crunch under my strong mouth. As I taste the satisfying flow of blood through my jaws, I also smell the powerful, mouthwatering aroma of the mole, which is slowly dying and its spirit leaves the body. I quietly pray for it and finish eating it. I trudge back to my hollow tree, frustrated about not being able to go back to the village.
I finally decide to find a better place to sleep that’s in a central location. I slowly tick off the necessities on my list.
I need somewhere with water, a lot of prey, and somewhere to sleep. I might as well settle down for the night. I try to sleep but the rustling of the leaves keeps me awake. As my mind swirls in complicated patterns, images of the past two days absorb me. I’m a wolf. A big, smelly hunk of gray fur. I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep, but I guess I do, because I wake up in the morning with the birds singing their poetic songs.
I try to open my eyes, but they’re stuck like glue on paper. I try again, and this time I can feel the pasty- like substance that is coating them. I start to panic. My claws make loud noises against the tough, uncomfortable evergreen wood as I scramble
around blindly. The soil that has gathered inside the tree from erosion scrapes my pelt. I grit my teeth to keep from throwing my head back and howling in frustration.
The smell and taste of fresh water stealthily seeps over my scent glands like buglers creeping into a house. Confused I taste the wind again and swallow a huge mouthful of mist.
Feeling ridiculous, I reach up and try to rub the thin water off of my eyes and end up scratching myself. I hate not having opposable thumbs! I mentally yell. Great. By now, all the animals around me will have scurried on into their dins.
Mumbling unintelligent things, I climb out of the gloomy tree. I force my eyes open and yelp with surprise as the dazzling light glares into my eyes. I stretch out my legs; my back concaving toward the ground. I open my enormous jaws and yawn a long, windy, foul smelling breath.
After straightening out my torso, I jump to my paws. I have to do three things today: Number one and my topmost priority: I have to eat and find water. Number two: I have to stay away from danger, especially the village. I’m a wolf now and I’ve got to accept that they will attack and attempt to kill me; I need to be Mr. Anti-social. Number three: I’ve got to find a good place to sleep. I need to find a central location where I can walk less than half a mile to get anything I might need.
I trot at a swift but silent pace. My ears swivel back and forth to detect even the slightest of movement. I am forced to wait about half an hour before I hear the already familiar scuffling in the underbrush. I stop immediately; dropping my body so low that the grass tickles my nose.
There are two rabbits. They snuffle around searching for food, unaware that this will be their last foraging trip. I wiggle my hunches. I bunch up my muscles and leap. While in the air, I hear another sound. Intent on the idea of making my hunger go away, I don’t notice the large gray shape leaping toward me until it is too late.
I slash my claws at my attacker, but they don’t meet their mark. I hear the thud of the rabbits’ feet as they make a mad dash to their den. Before I can do anything, I am being crushed under the breath- taking weight of my opponent.

As suddenly as it started, it stopped. I am relieved of the weight. I turn around in a crouch, snarling viciously, furious with whoever let my prey go. It is a wolf. Not a male, but a female. She has an enchanting figure. Her torso is slim but her back legs are large and muscular. Her tail is just the right length, about twenty-four inches long. Her front legs are longer then her back ones. Her chest is about twelve inches wide. It is pure white loveliness.

I save her face last, scared to see what I can read on it. Her facial expression is most peculiar. Her head is cocked to the side, dangling one ear, while the other is pointed up. The snout has no flaws. Finally, I look into her eyes. She seems to be amused at something. Her entire body is flecked with reddish- pale gray fur. Then, she laughs out loud, just like I had just said a good joke.
Confusion must have been plain on my face, because she stopped laughing.
“You were seriously sizing me up? You’re thinking about attacking me, aren’t you,” she accused. Now I was on the defensive.







“I was not! I was just really frustrated that you scared away my first good meal in two days! Why did you—“
“You don’t know? First off, you’re awful at hunting. Next, could you really not know that that rabbit was carrying little bundles of joy?” she asked exasperated.
I looked at her curiously. I considered it for a moment, but I cannot figure out what ‘little bundles of joy’ are. But before I can ask, however, she interrupts.
“One of the rabbits was anticipating little bunnies!”
I looked down at the ground, embarrassed. All of the sudden, my anger switched on.
“So? That would have given me more to eat! Then you came along and attacked me. Who cares about rabbits? Why does it even matter if she was going to have babies?”
Now it was her turn to be mad.
“It matters because that means that we will have more prey next season! Don’t you know that the cubs will need food? I mean, I’m surprised you didn’t protect yourself!
You knew I was there! So don’t get mad at me for giving you more food next spring!”
She finished her rampage, howling like a lunatic.
I look down ashamed. I hadn’t known that she had been watching me! I do know, however, that she was right about the rabbits. I’m worse than a newborn cub. She misreads my downturned pose.
“I’m sorry I yelled at you. It was wrong. I’m just so hungry and I’ve been watching the rabbits all day so nothing would eat them.” When I didn’t say anything, she knew what was wrong at once.
“You didn’t know I was there,” she said gently. “I thought you could smell me. I mean, I could smell you. You have a strong odor. You smell wonderful; you smell like everything I like. For instance, you smell like fresh grass, and the forest after it rains…” she trails off and looks down, obviously embarrassed.
“So, you said something about the cubs. Are they yours?” I ask as a distraction. Before she could answer, however, a new voice growled.
“What are you doing, Lexi! Why are you talking to a trespasser?”Lexi, jumps into the air. Another wolf walks out from behind a holly bush. He is grizzly with long brown fur; however, the fur is clumped into tufts and looks like he hasn’t groomed for days. He has one long tooth protruding from his mouth. He also has dark brown eyes.
“Oh, it’s you, Fang. You worried me a second. I thought you were Stargazer.”
“Well, you can stop worrying. However, we’re going to go home, and taking him with us as a prisoner. And before you get all defensive, Stargazer should hold a trial for… what’s his name?”Lexi shrugs and looks expectantly at me.
“It’s Tekquan or Tek for short. But guys, I don’t need to meet Stargazer. I’ll just be on my way.” I say hopefully.
“Sorry pal, but you’re trespassing on our turf. That isn’t allowed, so follow me. And if you put up a fight, we’ll drag you.”
“Nope, I’ll come without you ruining my swagger, if you don’t mind.” I say.
Lexi leads while Fang takes the caboose. I am mesmerized by Lexi’s graceful movements. I feel uncoordinated next to her. Watching her, I don’t notice the scenery until Lexi abruptly stops.
I take a look of my bearings and am amazed that places like this even exist. It is in the forest, with patches of light barley achieving to get through the canopy of trees. There are approximately eight dens. I see a mother with three cubs tumbling around her. Four males and a female look up as I enter the camp. It has a huge tumble of rocks that is covered up with scratches from climbing. It also has a stream running straight through it.
What really got my attention, though, was a food pile with about twenty pieces of prey. My mouth waters with longing. Fang catches my eye and followed my site.
“Don’t worry, you’ll get to eat. Just because you’re a ‘visitor’ doesn’t mean we’ll let you starve.” He chuckles. “Follow me.”
He leads me to cave and tells me to wait here. Not long after Fang left, a young wolf, perhaps six moons old, brings me a rabbit. He looks frightened but determined not to show it. All he says is: “Complements from Lexi,” and left.
I try to eat slowly, but fail. After I finish stuffing myself, I am disgusted that I can still be hungry. Man, it sure is hard being a wolf. Eventually, a strange wolf comes in. I think he was one of the four that I saw upon entering the encampment.
“Stargazer will see you now,” he said in a deep, husky voice. I take a deep breath, and step out into the light.

When my eyes adjust to the gleam of the sunlight, I am shocked to see all of the pack staring at me. That is, all of the pack but Lexi. All my hopes of a private conference with Stargazer evaporate like steam.

My guard, Muncher, flanks me as I slowly walked forward. I see a wolf on the top of the rock pile. He is standing there, looking down at me with a thoughtful expression. He has a certain air to him, like nobody would dare to challenge him.
When I finally make it to the base of the pile, the wolf looks down upon me and I look up at him. We stand like that for what seems like hours but is only a few short seconds. Neither of us breaks eye contact, not even to blink. I am determined not to back down or beg for mercy. Maybe I can die a Tralsk in the wolves’ eyes instead of a child like my father expects of me.
Suddenly, he howls and all the wolves in the clearing grow quiet. I see Lexi slip out of the nursery. Preoccupied, I don’t hear Stargazer’s beginning words. I quickly tune my ears into the speech.
“—be held on trial. Because of this, we must make an important decision. Will we let him live or will we kill him. Before you cast your vote into my ears, I wish for him to wait in my den, so I can conference him myself.” He looks at me and Muncher expectantly. Muncher pushes me with his snout, and I walk out of the clearing. He takes me to a den near the stream and says: “Drink now, for you do not know your fate.”

I lie down in the sun patch and close my eyes. The next thing I know, a paw is roughly prodding my side. I sit up indignantly.

I lower my head at a respectable level as I realize that it is Stargazer that is towering over me.
“I wish a conference with you. Come into my den. Muncher, stay out here, I think I can handle this tiny scrap of fur.”He pushes past the drape of ivory beckoning me to follow. I stare around the den and see two piles of moss. I sniff it and realize it would make great bedding. I’m still staring at it when Stargazer says:

“You can make yourself comfortable with the moss. I didn’t bring you in here to torture you,” He says with a tired voice.

“It’d take more than that to torture me.”

“I’m sure it would. Now sit down.” This time it’s an order. I sit and he begins interrogating me. I answer as best I can with all of them. Then he says something I never expected to here.

“Alright, I know all I need to. However, I thought you should know that the pack agreed not to kill you. So, I have one last question to ask of you. Would you like to leave now, uninjured, and stay off our turf for the rest of your life? Or would you like to stay and join the pack and learn its ways? Your choice, but I would like you to stay a while and see what you think. You could also leave the pack anytime if things are too rough for you,” He raises his eyebrows and grins, challenging me, to see what I can handle, “I’ll give you five minutes to consider it, but no longer,” He finishes in a confident attitude and leaves the den.

I want to leave immediately, but something stops me. I can’t put my paw on it until I let my thoughts wander. When I think about leaving I feel a longing to stay here, with Lexi. I think of her smiling at me when we first met, how beautiful she was when she was irritated at me. Before I consciously make the decision, I am out of the den, looking at Stargazer, and saying. “I’ll stay here for a while. See if I can handle and understand the ways of the pack. What do you say, Stargazer?”

“I say that it’s not ‘the’ pack. Now it is ‘our’ pack. Get it, chum?” He flashes a quick, rare smile at me.

“Sure, sure. I’m sorry I messed up… O wise leader,” I say teasingly.

“Glad you see your mistake. Otherwise, my thoughts on the matter are simple. Good luck and don’t get too beaten up out there. I shall assign a warrior and a hunter to help you understand how I run this pack. Before dusk tomorrow, you and your, I shall call them trainers, will report to me. Understand?”



I nod my head in a bob like motion. “Good. Fang, he’s the wolf who brought you here, and Lexi I guess. Fang is a warrior and Lexi is a hunter wanna-be.” Stargazer informs me. I’m not listening. I stopped paying attention when he said Lexi will be helping me. My ears prick up and I look around for her.

Fang’s chest puffs up with pride. His first tyro is a prisoner! He, too, gazes around for Lexi. Once he sees her, he walks over to Stargazer and says: “Alfa, do you think it is wise to allow a tyro to act as a master to another apprentice. I do not want to judge, but what are you thinking? I saw her being friendly to him instead of attacking him in the woods!”

Stargazer, growling, stares at him with scorching madness. “Are you undermining my authority? Do you want to be Alfa of the tribe? You may be a master but to be you a merely an unintelligent warrior, too!”

My whole body tenses as I have a flashback of Mother Juste saying nearly the same thing to me. I remember the horrible feeling that followed her statement and I jump to my feet. All the wolves turn and glare at me. All, that is, but Stargazer. He glances up and looks at me bemused.

“Why did you startle the pack in the clearing? What for, I mean? Is there something you have to say?”

I immediately sit down. “Um, yes. I want to say something. I’m sorry I scared you guys.” At the word ‘scared’, all the wolves jumped up and started protesting in loud voices.

“Okay. Okay! Scared was the wrong word. What I was trying to get at, though, was what I think Fang was trying to say, Stargazer. I think what he meant was when he came; we were talking about my lack of awareness. Earlier on, she had attacked me for trying to catch a pregnant rabbit and its mate. It was only when she realized that I didn’t know it was pregnant was when she was nicer. At least, that is what I think his point is.”

Stargazer considered this for a moment, and then turned to Fang. “Is this, indeed, what you had meant?” Fang nodded so fast that if I had blinked, I would have missed it.

“I guess I owe you an apology, Fang. Well, she’s staying as Tekquan’s master-of-hunting. Find him a place in the tyro den.”

Fang leads me to a big bush in the middle of a rock crevice. He pushed past the right side of the bush and into a cavern. I quickly join him after I witness several of the pack staring at me. Once inside, I let my eyes adjust to the dimly lit shelter. Fang takes a paw full of moss to use as bedding and taking it to a spot at the back of the den.

“Just pat down the moss until it is cozy and there you go; you’ve got yourself a bed. I’ve put you near Lexi’s so you can have a friendly presence by you when you sleep. Rest now and I will wake you up at dawn tomorrow.”

He leaves the cavern through the right side of the bush. I pat down the moss and drift off to sleep with my head full of all things I’ve learned about today. However, most of my dreams are of Lexi and her goofy smile.

“Rise and shine sleepy head!” Crows Lexi from the cave entrance. My eyes snap open, narrow into slits, and I spring up into a fighting stance with my ears drawn back and snarl viciously. A half of a second later, I realize where I am. Memories flood back to me threatening to knock me flat. I relax into a comfortable position with my head tilted down in embarrassment, hoping beyond hope that nobody, especially Lexi, noticed. Obviously she did.
She forces her legs, stiff with anger, to move. Her army march stops when our noses are practically touching. Her tail is parallel to the ground and her ears are flat against her head as if she saw a threat. Her eyes contract into slits and she bares her fangs right in front of my face. She is majestic even when she’s mad.
“Common, Tekquan. We need to go and hunt. I’ll show you the technique and then you’re on your own. The nursing queens eat first, than the cubs and tyros, than us. If you don’t bring enough food back, we don’t get to eat more than a vole. Got it?”
Before I can even answer, we trot off into the forest. I’ve got to do well to impress her.

Lexi looks over her shoulder as she waits for Tekquan to catch up. She would’ve thought that he was a beaver instead of a wolf for all the time he’s taking. Her ears prick up at the sound of something clumsily smashing through the brush. An idea that would add some fun to their expedition pops into her head. Immediately, she looks around for something to conceal her. Then she sees it, a perfect white oak with foliage surrounding it. The thrashing grows louder and she springs into the underbrush.

She pulls her tail into cover just as a dark shape pounces through the bushes. She’s only known him for two days, but she would recognize him anywhere: Tekquan. He frantically tries to scratch the bramble away from his eyes, but he’s just digging it in deeper. Howling in pain, he yanks it away along with several tufts of fur.
The fur on the back of his neck is up in alarm and one of his ears is flat against his head while the other is flopped up awkwardly. His eyes are a startling blue that feel as though he could read every thought she has ever had; his mouth is open with his tongue hanging between his two bottom front teeth. He is perfect.
“Lexi, where are you? Lexi…? Great, just what I need! I’m lost in these God-forsaken woods without my guide. Lexi, where are you?”
Lexi’s ears twitch in anticipation. She wiggles her haunches, bunches her muscles, and sits perfectly still, waiting for the moment when he is right in front of her. He turns and his gaze sweeps the area. He walks a few steps forward, right in front of her. Yes! Her nails dig into the ground as she gets a good grip and she lunges forward. She retracts her claws right before she hits him on the torso with enough momentum that it knocks him over. Tek yelps in shock.
“Gotcha!” she yells. Tekquan realizes what’s happening and gathers his back legs into his belly. She’s right on top of him and nips his ear. Tekquan pushes his legs out in one, swift moment. However, in that moment, Lexi flies off of him and hits a bush, not moving. Tekquan slowly walks over to her, inhaling her scent.
“Lexi? Are you okay? Did I hurt you, L?” she still doesn’t move; she doesn’t even twitch. Tekquan nudges her with his nose.
As soon as his head turns away, Lexi pounces on him, giggling.
“Lexi? Lexi, are you okay?” she imitates in a high, squeaky voice then bursts out laughing. She bites his back leg, than grabs his scruff as he tries to retaliate. Tek flips over and rolls on his back, squishing her. Her breath gets knocked out of her and she takes in a deep, ragged breath, losing her grip on his scruff. He jumps up and looks at her incredulously.
“Do I have to remind you that we are on a hunting trip? Plus, if we don’t bring back food, we don’t get to eat, Stargazer’s orders.”
Realizing he is right, she begins scenting the area around her for food. Then she smells it; it’s a male lynx, a vicious species that loves to kill pack cubs.
Immediately, she flattens on the ground. Confused by her sudden alarm, Tekquan drops to the ground, too. He catches her gaze and tilts his head questioningly. Before she can answer, however, he sees the creature slinky along the white tree right in front of him in the direction on the camp.
His eyes narrow into slits and his lips curl up in the beginnings of a growl. Lexi notices this and shakes her head ever so slightly. She then opens her jaws and quickly shut them, indicating that they need to attack it. Tekquan nods and bunches his muscles, waiting for her signal.
She patiently waits for when the Lynx’s back is to them and pounces. Her jaws hit the animal’s rear and she clamps her mouth down hard. It turns on her hissing and slashes her claws on her shoulder. Howling with rage, Tekquan jumps on it and bites the top of its head while digging his claws into its pelt, creating deep puncture wounds.
The cat finally manages to throw Tek off right into a tree. He hits it with a small, feeble yelp. Fearing that he broke his back, Lexi starts howling foul things at it until it turns on her. She tries to get in a good angle, but her leg—which was clawed down to the bone—was of no use to her. She tries to bite at it, but it keeps dodging her.
The lynx was nearly on top of her now and she can see loathing burning in his eyes. Just as it leans in to make a fatal hit, Tekquan charges at it, landing blow after blow after blow. Everything begins to move in slow motion as Tek narrowly dodges a paw and jumps off a tree, and lands right on the foul creatures neck, snapping it. Her vision blurs as her wounds continue to bleed, but the last thing she can think is: Tekquan just saved my life.

When Lexi woke, she tried to sit up but fell back down almost immediately. She lay there silently inspecting her wounds. She had a stinging feeling on her nose and tail; she could live with that. What really felt horrible was, of course, her left leg. She looks down, expecting the worse.
She cringes with disgust. It looks awful; it is bright red and oozing pus. If she looks closely, she can see the white of her bone. She quickly turns away and begins to wonder how she got in her bed. The last thing she can remember is Tek defensively standing over her with blood on his muzzle, teeth bared, after he killed the ferocious Lynx.
Tek! Oh no! How could she be so self absorbed as to not even think of him? She tries to remember every detail of the battle: where he got hurt, if he showed any signs of blood, if he limped or not, but she comes up blank. There is only one way to figure out if he’s okay. She turns to where his bed is but finds it empty and cold. He hasn’t used it for the last two days, at least.
“Hello! Somebody please come here!” she hollers in the direction of the cave opening. Almost like magic a young tyro pokes his head in the entrance. Seeing her awake, he looks over his shoulder and yells something. He then jogs over to her and sniffs her leg.
“Well, it seems to be better than it was two days ago, Lexi.” He states in a matter-of-fact voice. “I’m afraid that there some bad news, though. It appears that the wound is infected and unfortunately, during this winter season, all of the herbs to heal infections have died. In simpler terms, you are going to have to be on medical leave for the next few days until the infection goes away. You will most likely be able to stand, however I strongly suggest not overusing it until it is fully healed.”
Lexi looks at Alex questioningly. How did he know all that? Then it hit her.
“You had your initiation ceremony! That means you got accepted to be a healer! How could I forget? I’m so happy for you, Alex,” she gushes. Alex looks down, embarrassed by her sudden excitement.
“Yeah, I got accepted by Sky. It was awesome. I wish you could’ve been there, but you came back to camp all bloody and so Stargazer decided to go ahead with the ceremony. And I was initiated with all the Spirits’ approvals and…” he trailed off as she stared at him without breathing. Alex nudges her with his nose and she forces him his flank against the wall.
“Tell me how I got back,” she demanded. He swallows and opens his mouth to respond when a loud voice says: “Stop!”
Alex looks in the direction of the voice and lets out a sigh of relief. Lexi backs away limping and looks into the furious eyes of Sky, the head healer of the pack.
“What do you think you are doing, Lexi? Alex was sent in her to diagnose you and this is how you treat him? I’m ashamed of you!” he breaks off. “Alex, go wait by Tekquan and send for me if he wakes up.” Lexi tries to interrupt him but he doesn’t give her the chance.
“Lexi! Stop acting like a child and I will tell you all that you wish to know. Now, child, what disturbs you enough that you try to force the answer out of Alex?” Lexi considers what the most important questions are, and which questions she can wait to find out later.
“Well, for starters, how did I get back in camp? Is Tek alright? How bad is he hurt? Will you be able to help him?” She pauses for a second before stating her final question, “Can I get some food?”
Sky chuckles at her last request. He then calls for Lio to get her a rabbit. After she begins eating, he answers all of her questions.
“I believe your first question was how you got back to camp, so that is the first I will answer. Actually, Tekquan brought you back to camp. He somehow managed to carry you on his back and drag a dead lynx to camp from over two acres away while injured. He howled so loudly that it woke Muncher, who was supposed to be guarding the entrance. As soon as we relieved him of the cat and your injured body, he said to take care of you first and feinted. He hasn’t woken up since then.
“I guess you could call his condition alright, saying as he isn’t dead. As to his wounds, his back leg was dislocated and he was bleeding from scratches down his flank. I can only help him so much. I can relocate his leg—which I did— and I put some herbal concoctions on his scratches. But as to his coma, I cannot do a thing. He needs to find the will to survive.” He ends in a grave voice.

Tekquan looks around in the misty forest. He knew this stretch of the woods, as it was where he had hunted every day for fifteen years. But why would he be here? He hasn’t visited the Ancient Oak since he turned into a wolf. That brought up another question: why is he so cold? He hasn’t felt cold since he started growing a thick fur coat. He looks down and realizes that he is human. His first reaction is unbridled joy, but then he thinks of Lexi.
He wishes he was warmer, and a fur skin appears on him. That’s it; Tekquan is in the Spirit Realm. That means either he is a leader of a tribe, or he is slowly dying. Considering the recent events, it is probably the latter. He was taught as a child that if you are in the Spirit Realm you can choose to let go of everything and die, or you can fight to live.
Not physical fighting of course, but a mental war. You must decide whether you want to live just to die in a couple of years, or to live peacefully in the spirit realm while you wait for your chief to join you and take you up to the Other Realm. Nobody knows what is in the Other Realm, just that it is the Realm after death.
To stay in the Spirit Realm seems easier, right? Well, it might be if you didn’t have to wonder if you made the right choice for what seems like an eternity. The reason for this is that there is no passing of time in the Spirit Realm. What is a day in the Realm of Life—where Lexi is—may be ten years in the Spirit Realm. Or it may be the other way around. So all the Spirits do is sit and think until their leader comes and takes them away, but it could take twenty years for the leader to die, but it is a risk some people take.
Tekquan does not know what happens if you are an animal, like a gray wolf. Staying there may seem terrible but going back with the chance of being paralyzed seems just as bad. The real dilemma Tek is facing is Lexi. Not seeing her face just one more time would be unbearable, but so would her not loving him back. Before Tekquan has really thought it through, he seeing someone he never expected to see again: his mother.
She is not alone, however. She is with Quanto, laughing and happy as can be. No wonder Tekquan’s dad had never seemed remorseful that she had died! He could visit her whenever he felt the urge because she must wait until he dies to move on. Tek stands up and thinks her name, for it is impossible to speak in this Realm. Her head whips around until her eyes lock on his. Her face breaks out into a beautiful smile and she runs toward him.
Tekquan! I can’t believe I’m seeing you again! Oh, how I have missed you! She thinks. Quanto and I are so very pleased that you could join us!
Tell me, Son, how did you enter the Spirit Realm? I thought only Chiefs and the Spirits could enter! Quanto reflects.
I got attacked by a Lynx and am dying. The only upside is that I can spend time with Mom.
Be assured that you could stay with her, but that is what the Other Realm is for. Do you not miss anybody in the Realm of Life? Think hard before answering, Tekquan, for you have a difficult decision to make. So long Tekquan. I must awaken to lead my tribe. Think about it. Quanto’s voice whispers inside my head.
Good-bye Tekquan! I love you! Mother says before she disappears like Quanto.
Now Tekquan is faced with a difficult decision: Mother or Lexi. He closes his eyes to imagine it. He takes a deep breath and makes his decision.

I slowly open my eyes and stare into the sleeping face of Lexi. She is curled up on the ground right next to me with her flank touching mine. She breathes in deeply and stretches in her sleep, moving closer to me. I slowly bend my head to press my nose to hers for a second. Alerted by the sound of movement, I look up and see Stargazer watching us. I should feel embarrassed but I don’t. I just stare defiantly into his eyes, daring him to say something.
“You know, she hasn’t left your side since she woke up after the fight. Sky got mad at her because she walked all the way down to his cave to lay by you and wouldn’t move an inch to let him heal you. I found it quite amusing. You know, you are the first wolf that she ever showed interest in. You can’t get rid of her even if you wanted to.” Stargazer said.
“Do you want to tell me what happened in the Spirit Realm?” When I don’t answer he adds, “It’s okay if you don’t want to talk about it because I already know.”
I look at him in horror. How could he know? What did he see? Did he tell Lexi?
“Why didn’t you tell me you were Pale Skin? Why did you have to lie?
My heart is breaking. Surely, he has already told the rest of the pack; now, Lexi will never love me. I wouldn’t love me either, if I was in her place. Now I have got nothing to lose. “With all due respect, Stargazer, I didn’t lie to you or any other member of your pack. I simply refrained from telling you the whole truth. And the reason was that I was and still am ashamed. I never wanted to become a wolf.” Then I told him the whole story about the curse and the confusion and the decisions.
Once I was finished, Stargazer looked me over.
“Do you swear that that is the whole truth and nothing short of it?” he questions. I nod in defeat.
“I warn you right now that I don’t know what will happen to you from now on. You may turn human or stay wolf. I must leave now, for it is time for the first watch and I must wake Fang.”
After he leaves, I turn towards Lexi to find her staring right at me. In a moment of horror, I think she overheard our conversation, but realize that it is not so. I open my mouth but close it. I turn away and lay my head on my paws and try to sleep. After a few minutes, I hear movement and feel someone licking my injured side. I knew it had started to bleed but hadn’t made a move to stop it.
Expecting Alex, I lift up my head to find Lexi. She gently cleans it until it stops bleeding. Lexi lifts her concerning gaze from my clawed flank and looks my in the eyes. The moonlight sparkles in her deep blue eyes. I slowly move toward her, never breaking away from her gaze, until I am right in front of her. Keeping a very sincere face I open my mouth ever so slightly and I quickly lick her nose.
Startled, she bursts out laughing and I can’t help laughing, too. My side hurts so badly but I could care less as long as Lexi is happy. I feel as if everything else goes badly, this will be the moment I remember every time I think of her. She teasingly opens her mouth and lazily moves it across her chops.
That harmless movement makes my stomach growl so loudly that we both burst out giggling again. At some point, Lexi calls in Muncher to get us some food. He brings us a plump weasel to share. Lexi explains why Muncher is on guard duty, which makes me laugh again and I almost choke on my prey.
I look down and notice her fur is matted on her shoulder. I start to lean down but stop hesitantly. What if she takes it the wrong way? My mind made up, I start slowly licking her shoulder. She tenses up at first because of the pain, but after a while she lets out a sigh of relief. I’m beginning to get drowsy and so is Lexi. I can tell because about halfway after I started grooming her, she starts licking my face. Finally, I fall asleep with my head on her paws and her head on my torso.

Nothing quite wakes you up like the sound of a certain white wolf charging at you in full speed bellowing a battle cry. Immediately I jump up and twist around, facing my ferocious—if harmless—little attacker. As he grows closer and closer to slamming into my body, I prepare to dodge his assault. I neatly side step him, grab his scruff, and carry him around as he kicks and thrashes.

“Let me go, you terrible lynx!” Bane hollers as loud as possible. I quickly cover his mouth with my neck fur.

“Bane! Soon wolves are going to believe you and you’ll get into big trouble for alarming the Pack. Is that what you want?”

Bane looks down, a sign of submission and acceptance of my authority. Deep inside, a little part of me relishes in the feeling. Another part of me is, however, upset that I am pleased about being a higher rank then Bane. I put Bane down and look him right in the eyes.

“So, Bane, are you ready for your first day of training with your new and improved Hunter/Warrior Master?” I ask with a smirk.

I watch as he goes through various different reactions to this news. First, his eyes grow wide and his mouth drops open. Then he looks confused and his head cocks to the side. Finally, his face radiates with happiness. I was surprised when I heard the news, too.

Late last night, Stargazer entered my den and said that the pack wasn’t very pleased to have me joining their ranks so soon. Therefore, he had decided to give me a Tyro to train, that way as long as I did a good job training the Tyro, they would be more apt to accept me. He then said that I would train Bane, especially because he already likes me so well.

Bane whispers, “You mean that you’re going to be my trainer? Really?”

“Well, Lexi and I will be training you.” That was the best part, in my opinion. I got to spend day after day with an excuse to be with her. I mean, what more could a wolf ask for? Bane nudges me with his nose, knocking me out of my daydreams.

“So, when are we starting?” he yaps. No sooner were the words out of his mouth before Lexi streaks by in a blur of color, sending his legs flying out from under him. He springs to his feet, teeth barred, ferociously snarling at his new opponent. He realizes a moment too late that he is about to get barreled into by a hundred-twenty pound wolf at full speed. Yelping, he gets thrown up into the air, clawing at empty space. Right before he hits the ground, Lexi jumps and grabs his scruff, saving him from a painful landing.
Pinning him to the ground, she growls, “Right now. Lesson number one: always keep an eye and an ear out for signs of an enemy. Next time, I won’t be so easy on you.”
Bane continues to struggle but she just ends up holding on more tightly. She turns her head to look at me, smirking; I burst out laughing. Becoming indignant, Bane opens his mouth as wide as it would go and chomps down on Lexi’s leg. Her head snaps down to look at him and she nips his ears. As he howls in pain, I wince in sympathy. As a wolf, I have learned that my ears are one of the most sensitive parts on my body. I understand the pain; therefore I step in.
“Lexi, get off of him. I don’t want him too injured before I even start my training!” I joke. She steps neatly off of Bane and trots over to my side.
“I suppose you’re right. It’s not my fault he’s a big softie.” She teases in a confident voice. Upon hearing this, Bane frowns and springs up to face her. Before he can say anything, I interrupt.
“Okay, Bane. We all know you are tough, she was just teasing. Anyways, I think you did well for your first time being attacked by a full grown wolf. I am actually impressed that you did not flee. However, I think we should finish this lesson at the training area tomorrow, because there will be a price to pay if we annoy these elders any more today.”
Upon hearing this, they both look up at Stripe and Shadow, who are mumbling to each other about younglings always misbehaving. Lexi grins apologetically while Bane just stares defiantly at them. Seeing the look on his face, I swiftly bash him on the side of the head. Since Bane wasn’t paying attention to me at all, he didn’t see the oncoming assault and gets knocked to the ground. Before he gets up, I pin him and stare him down. Seeing the look in my eyes, Bane tries to shrink away, but I move my head closer until our noses are just an inch apart.
“Now listen here. There are three lessons you should get from this moment. Number one; never, ever disrespect your elders. They have seen more in their lifetime than you can even possible imagine. Lesson number two, just because I am fond of you does not mean that I will cut you some slack. I will be as hard if not harder on you than Lexi and I will expect to see more than cockiness and disobedience out of you. Thirdly, always listen to your trainers, Lexi and I, and memorize each lesson we teach you. I say this because it seems as though you have already forgot the most important lesson: always keep an eye and an ear out for an enemy or any sign of attack. Got that, Bane?”
Looking sheepishly at me and Lexi, Bane just nods.
“Well, let’s head out. We want to cover as much of our territory as we can today. Obviously, since it is so vast, there is no hope of covering it all today.”
Lexi nods in confirmation and the three of us head out of our camp. Since Lexi knows the territory better than me, I pull up the back. I listen for any signs of trouble, and possible prey. We continue at a quick trot; after about a mile has passed, I hear something. My ears perk up as I hear the pecking of a bird. I nudge Bane and Lexi and point my nose in the direction of the sound. Lexi’s ears perk up and she opens her mouth slightly to taste the scent. Silently, Bane mimics her; upon smelling the prey, his stomach growls like a wild beast. We all grow very still and wait for the rhythmic pounding to resume. After waiting several minutes, it commences. I let out a breath and chuckle lightly. Suddenly, I get an idea.
“Bane,” I whisper, “do you want to learn how to catch a bird?” Without moving, he grins.
“Lexi, show him how it’s done.” I finish with a big smile.
She nods in confirmation, and then begins to crawl on her belly towards the noise; Bane looks expectantly after her. She slowly twists her body stealthily under a hawthorn bush. Returning into a pouncing position, she angles her haunches towards the bird, now recognizable as a crow, and parts her jaws ever so slightly. Gathering her legs underneath of her, she bunches her muscles and jumps. Her claws hook onto the crow’s wings and her mouth closes over the neck of the crow, snapping it before it could even create a warning call. All this happened in the matter of a few seconds, the way it’s meant to. It takes a true master to be able to kill an animal before it scares off any other prey, so it’s not surprising when she hauls the bird back while positively beaming.
“Wow! That was amazing! I mean, you grabbed it and then snapped its neck and—“
“Yes, Bane, we get it. That was expertly done, Lexi.” I cut Bane off before he can recount the whole event.
“Your turn now, Bane. But let us go further out into the forest, near the Aging Oak, that way the prey will come back here tomorrow as well.” Lexi advises.
It is mid-day, and we are required to be back before dawn, so we hurriedly trot to the North, where the Aging Oak is. Before long, I hear a sound, just barely. I have a flashback of when I was human, when I was hunting; I remember the sound of the arrow sliding out of its sheath and onto the string of the bow. I know instinctively that we are in danger and I jump on Lexi and Bane, forcing them to the ground. The arrow flies past my snout and sinks into a nearby tree. I drag them up and push them until they come out of their shock and can run on their own. Lexi comes out of her shock first and helps me push Bane. Seeing that he’s so scared that he can’t move, I decide to give him another reason to run. I open my jaws wide and bite his tail until he yelps and puts on a burst of speed. Panting heavily, I force Lexi to lead, while we flank Bane, protecting him at all costs, even our own lives.
Arrows fly past us as we zigzag in and out of the trees, running for our lives. The forest comes alive with the sound of humans shouting war cries. Deep in my mind, I know that this is my tribe and to turn on them would be treason, but I push that to the back of my mind. This is my family now. A spear lodges itself into ground right where I was to step, and in my haste to avoid it, I stumble and trip on a tree root. As I lurch away from Bane and in the split second that I’m gone, a tribe member grabs his scruff and races away.
Lexi stops in her tracks, mouth dropped in disbelief. She starts to run after the man who stole Bane, but I stop her. I pull her into a dip in the ground and growl, “Lexi, go get the others! We cannot save him by ourselves! Go! I’ll follow and find out where their camp is.” Lexi just nods and sprints away from our hiding place.
The forest has gone silent as the tribe stalks silently back to the camp. I got rid of Lexi by telling her to get reinforcements, but deep in my heart, I know that there is no point. I know exactly what they are going to do with Bane, or at least I know why he is of such interest. In the tribe, we had a for-telling that a pure white wolf would save our tribe from otherwise inevitable doom. What the doom would be caused by, none but the Spirits knew. However, it was clear that Bane would help save them, even if they did not know how.
I follow my old hunting path to get towards the camp. The camp is surrounded by a wall made from the wood of the fir tree. It is a good barrier, and has been successful in keeping out wolves before. So, how am I any different? I know the secret entrance that nobody else has ever discovered. As I race through the underbrush, I inhale sharply in case there are tribe members nearby. It’s a good thing that I did, for at that moment a sharp tangy aroma overpowers my senses. I duck right as Chief Quanto walks by. His gaze sweeps around until he is staring exactly into my eyes. His eyebrows shoot up as he sees me. I crouch lower and tense up as I prepare to run away.
Luckily, he doesn’t notice me crouched down in the thicket. I hold my breath until he walks away. I quickly race though the foliage for what seems like minutes, although it was surly only seconds. I skid to a stop as I reach the entrance. It’s full of thickets and thorn bushes. When I was human, I could easily duck and weave through it but now that I’m a wolf, and so much bigger it is going to tear up my pelt. Oh well. It is worth it if I can retrieve Bane without anybody else getting hurt.
I snap my mouth shut, close my eyes, and push through. I have to grit my teeth so that I don’t howl in pain, but eventually I reach the other side. Still crouched, I quickly survey the inside of the camp. Not much has changed in the past two months that I have been a wolf, except for the small gate enclosing who-knows-what. Actually, from the sound of scuffles and growling on the other side, I do know what is on the other side. And the little white head that pops up for less than a second proves my suspicions. Bane!