Shadow tip-toed out of her new nest. She and Dawn had grown out of the old one, and slept in separate nests next to each other. She tried hard not to disturb her sister. Shadow wanted to see the wolves her mother had always talked about, doing what she had always been told not to do: Never go outside the cave at night.

The little purple wolf had not gotten any other signs from them since her weird nightmare. 'What are they trying to lure me to?' She wondered. Her paw steps made soft, echoey sounds in the main cave. The entrance yawned like a wide open mouth. Shadow peered outside, nothing happened. Perhaps if she stepped outside, something would happen. Shadow crawled over to the entrance and placed her front right foot onto the snow. She looked up, had the stars gotten fainter?

Shadow stepped back in, and the stars were fully bright again. With hesitance, Shadow hopped out of the cave entirely, and the stars went dim again. The young wolf started walking away from her home, and with every step she took the stars grew darker and darker..until there were none at all.

"Follow me...Follow me..." It whispered. The wind blew in her face harshly, and snow flurried in swirls of white crystals.The further she went, the louder the whispers became, she started hearing paw steps walking with her.'Where are they leading me?' Shadow thought.

The land started changing, the freezing snow had turned to rough, hard earth. Foliage started to grow around her ankles, the leaves brushing her fur.  

"What is this?" Shadow asked in wonder. She stared in awe at the colorful flowers and greenery coming from non existence. She found herself at the lonely, dead tree. But even that didn't stay the same. Bright light flashed into Shadow's eyes and there towered a magnificent oak. It was the biggest thing she'd ever seen! Shadow was no longer cold, but it was warm as if she was still in her nest. 

Suddenly, wolves started coming from out of nowhere. These must be the shadows! 

"Hello??" Shadow called to them. These wolves were huge, but no one answered her call. They didn't even notice her. They all seemed to be looking at a figure up in the tree. Another wolf! Shadow ran around and in between legs of the many wolves, and the voices grew louder and louder.

"See us....see us..." They said. 

"But i can see you!" Shadow shouted. The voices screeched in her ears as the land around her died. The flowers wilted, leaves fell to the ground and turned black, a rotten smell rose in the air. The temperature dropped, so now it was cold again. But the landscape didn't turn back to the tundra Shadow called home, it turned to a hellish wasteland where nothing lived except the shadows and spirits that thrived. The wolves turned to shadows of their former selves once more, and disappeared, leaving Shadow alone in this dark, empty place.

Shadow whipped around to stare at the tree again, the wolf figure was still up there, staring right back at her.

"Come to the tree when the time is nigh...." It said. The bright light blocked Shadows field of view, and when she could see again, she was back at the entrance of the cave. It was dawn, the sun cast weak rays across the black sky. The stars had reappeared. Shadow turned around, giving the outside one last glance, then walked back to her nest, acting as if nothing had happened at all.