Rays of moonlight filtered through the den, the howling of the wind outside sounding like a soft whisper from underneath the outcropping of rocks, held together by a gnarled tree.

Two wolves lay together in the warm den, the male sleeping, and the female occasionally turning to pull two small pups closer to her warm belly. The male had a dark grey pelt, with light streaks below his yellow eyes. The female was a honey color, with a darker mask, white shoulders and hips, and a patch of red spreading behind her ears and freckling the bridge of her nose.

The small cries of pups caused the dark grey male to wake. He leapt to his feet, head flipping back and forth in search of a possible threat to his pups.

The female beside him gave a chuckle, startling him. "Hush, furball, you'll wake the pups up more than they already are."

The wolf lowered his head, sheepishly bringing his nose to the female's with a grin. "Did I wake you?"

"No, you can't exactly sleep in the first place what with little fangs biting at your belly every few moments," the light brown matriarch sighed with a smile, her silver eyes twinkling with mischief. "But I appreciate the concern, Storm."

The male lay down next to his mate, careful not to disturb his sleeping day-old pups. His pink tongue graced the cheek of the honey-colored she-wolf, who pawed at his shoulder playfully. "Have you yet thought of names?" He asked, gingerly touching his charcoal nose to the pelts of the two pups curled up at his mate's side.

"Of course."

Instead of responding right away, Storm looked into his mate's beautiful eyes; the color of swirling silver snowflakes twinkling in the moonbeams as they fell to the forest floor. The female looked up to the male, sensing his gaze on her. After holding his gaze for a heartbeat she looked away with an embarrassed laugh. "Storm, don't you want to hear their names?"

Laughing at his mate's reaction, he gave her a gentle nuzzle to her white shoulder. "Of course, my dear."

Suddenly there was a crunch of snow outside the den entrance, and the the two wolves tensed. Storm stood, his stance protective.

A familiar grizzled grey head poked through the den, and the Alphas relaxed. "Ah, Tempest, it's just you," said Storm with a relieved sigh.

"Eh, sorry to startle yeh," said the wolf. "Prob'ly should've announced my presence."

The male had a light grey coat which was pelted with scars, and his muzzle had white hairs blossoming around his dark nose. He had a dappled black and silver mask around his brown-yellow eyes. Around his neck was a thick, unbreakable collar of human origin that blinked if you looked at it for long enough.

"Oh, it's alright, Tempest," said the matriarch with a chuckle. "Is it snowing much?"

"Storm's 'a brewin', m'lady. The patrol should be back within moments."

"I've always admired your stubbornness, Tempest."

"Why thank you, m'lady," The grizzled wolf said with pride. "Er, what do ya mean exactly?"

"You still call it a patrol even though there's only two wolves on it," she chuckled, her red freckled muzzle concealing a grin. "It's not much of a patrol, let alone a pack."

"Ah, yer too critical of yerself, m'dear," Tempest said, his face serious, but his black-tipped tail wagging. "We've got five adults, two near-adults, and three near-yearlings. Not to mention yer pups. We've got more than a head up on other new packs," he chuckled. Then he frowned, tail dropping, his brown eyes watching the matriarch with dimmed memories. "In my lands you were lucky to raise a single pup without yer mate dying from a thunder-stick."

The matriarch searched the brooding male's downcast eyes with her silver ones. Storm stepped forward, pushing his nose into Tempest's shoulder comfortingly. "We're very lucky to have you here Tempest. What other Beta would be brave enough to back down a bear by himself?"

Tempest's eyes lit up, and his tounge lolled out of his mouth for a brief moment before he composed himself. "None, besides maybe those rascal pups on patrol."

Storm laughed heartily, and the grey-brown matriarch smiled. Suddenly another wolf pushed himself into the den. He was a carbon copy of Storm, but instead of yellow-amber, his eyes were a mesmerizing green, and his pelt was slightly darker. He glanced towards Storm, making direct, blatantly unsubmissive eye contact, before looking towards the matriarch, lowering his head ever so slightly. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything, Glory."

"No, Grey, you're not," the matriarch said stiffly, staring him down until his green eyes shifted uncomfortably. "And I expect you to address me and my mate as Alpha in the future."

"Yes m'lady, sorry m'lady," he mumbled gruffly, lowering his head in a bow. He turned back towards Storm, green eyes meeting yellow, but instead of scolding him, Storm smiled. "What is it you need, brother?" The alpha said with kindness in his voice.

Grey raised a brow, then turned to Tempest. "You forgot to tell them?"

"It slipped my mind," growled Tempest, clearly not appreciative of the other male's tone.

Grey raised his head and gave a huff through his charcoal nostrils, before turning back to his Alpha. "The buffalo carcass has been completely stripped of meat," Grey said with a monotone voice.

"What?!" barked Storm.

"Hush, dear, the pups," said Glory through her teeth, though her tail thumped against the ground. She turned to Grey, face becoming serious. "That carcass was enough to last the pack through the winter, even if a bear came to eat its fill."

"Not to mention it's in the center of our territory." Storm said, quieter.

"Which is why this is so troubling," nodded Tempest.

"Did you see this for yourself, Tempest?" Asked Glory, wrapping her tail around her two sleeping pups.

"No, the snow had gotten too strong for these old bones to make that big of a trip, by the time Grey came back," said Tempest. "But he did smell somethin' troubling."

"At least seven wolves," Grey said, this time to Glory, and a brief shadow of worry crossed his usually stoic face. "None of them familiar. Different genders, none of them related closely...all adults."

There was silence for a moment. "All adults?" asked the matriarch grimly.

Grey nodded.

"Hm...I'm inclined to believe you. You've the best nose any of us have ever seen," she said quietly, eyes clouding in thought. Grey puffed his chest out a bit.

After a moment of silent thought, Glory raised her head. "Is there any chance that they could be a dispersal litter of the surrounding packs? Its possible we haven't met them yet."

Grey shook his head. "I doubt it, ma'am. The youngest one was approximately two years, and the rest were all older than three. And again, none of them were related."

"Damn," whispered Storm.

The three males stood unspeaking as they waited for their matriarch, the only sound being their breath and the howling wind's muffled cries.

Finally, Glory raised her head once again. "It will be safest to assume that an unknown band of rouge wolves trespassed on our territory, and stole our marked carcass."

"Seven wolves couldn't have eaten an entire buffalo carcass in the few days that we haven't checked the area, m'lady."

"Which is why we must assume there is more. And that they want our birthlands," Glory stated, setting her jaw. She looked towards her mate, then to her pups, her silver eyes softening. "My parents were pushed out of Silver Falls by a rouge group when our pack was weak. My older siblings, my aunts and uncles, all of them perished in the battle, and our allies and neighbors never came to our aid for fear they would be next."

"We escaped with nothing but the scars on our back and you pups between our teeth," said Tempest solemnly. He glanced at Grey, but turned to Storm to speak. "Your parents risked everything to accept us into their pack, three old codgers and three yearlings. We owed you our lives and yet you still fought next to us to reclaim our homeland."

Storm bowed his head, and Tempest returned the motion.

"My sister died in that battle. Your parents died in the battle. My parents succumbed to their injuries soon after," Glory continued. "And yet, here we are. I will not allow their sacrifices to go to waste, if not for us old wolves then for the children who will inherit our lands."

She growled. "My parents underestimated the strength of rogue wolves. I will not make the same mistake."

"What do you want us to do, Alpha?" Storm asked, tilting his head towards Glory.

"If you see a wolf trespassing, do not engage."

Tempest's eyes widened, and Grey's brow furrowed as he stepped forward. "But, Glory-"

"I said do not engage, Grey," the alpha repeated, baring her fangs as the male backed down. "You are not to allow the wolves to see you. Catch their scent, examine their appearance, and if you are able, bring back something that they marked. We must gauge how many individuals are here, and recognize which ones are a threat in the case of a confrontation."

"What if they begin to hunt? It's treasonous and we have every right to stop them-"

"It's treason enough that they are on our territory and have eaten our pack's food; we will stop them in due time. But for now we must be cautious," Glory stated, crossing one paw over another and flicking her red-dappled ear. "Do you understand?"

"Yes, Alpha Glory," the males said in unison, bowing their heads.

"Keep this between us. I will brief Rune when she comes back from visiting the other packs."

Tempest looked up towards the matriarch. "What about the patrol?"

"I'm not sure we should tell them just yet. Slate's temper is not an asset in this situation," the Alpha said thoughtfully. "They can take on your Beta duties around the camp. We need more experienced wolves to patrol in the meantime. Storm, you can join them until the pups are strong enough, then we'll take turns," she added, looking up towards her mate with a thump of her tail.

Storm gave her a worried look. "But what about..?"

"I can handle the pups until they're weaned," she chuckled. "And if any wolves do come threaten the camp, don't forget that the terrible two are going to be here as well."

Storm relaxed. "You're right," he said, wagging his tail and giving her a lick on her red tipped ear.

"I could always stay and watch Glory and the pups," offered Grey, his green eyes glancing up to Glory and Storm before returning to the ground.

The alpha female stiffened, narrowing her eyes at the Beta male, but Storm laughed heartily before she could say anything. "A sweet sentiment, brother, but I do believe that Slate, Lush, and the three yearlings will be sufficient at warning her if there is an intruder," He bumped into Grey's shoulder playfully, his tail wagging, completely oblivious of the smaller wolf's annoyed scowl. "Besides, we need your nose!"

"Yes, your nose," mumbled Glory, her silver eyes boring into Grey's. His scowl had not slipped past her.

Grey's tail tucked a bit, and he averted his gaze.

Storm didn't seem to notice. "Well, I guess we should start a marking patrol, boys," he barked excitedly. "Been a while since I've been in action."

Tempest chuckled. "While I'd love to join ya, I think it'd be best if I stay here to wait for Slate and Lush. Those tail-chasers are way past their agreed curfew."

"Actually, Tempest, I would prefer you'd go with Storm. I'd like to speak to Grey about his insubordination," Glory responded, with a glare at the dark wolf.

Tempest chuckled. "Very well, Alpha. Grey, once they return, tell them to guard around the camp while we mark. That should keep them busy until I can brief them."

Grey gave a small nod, keeping his eyes on his paws.

Tempest nodded to Glory before padding out of the den, his black-tipped tail high.

Storm chuckled and nuzzled his mate. "Go easy on him," he whispered with a cheeky grin, tail wagging. Then he turned and followed Tempest out into the snowstorm.

Glory's tail wagged a bit, but her face remained stoic and mildly angry. The moment Storm and Tempest's footsteps could no longer be heard over the wind, Glory's head turned to the disgraceful wolf.

"I'm so sorry Glory," Grey sputtered out before she could say anything, his green eyes trained on his paws. "I didn't mean anything by it, I'm just-"

"They're not your pups, Grey."

There was silence. Glory stared at the ground, paws clenched, her pups rustling beside her. She didn't dare look at Grey as she continued.

"They're not your pups. You- you can't keep acting like..." the strong matriarch's voice cracked, and her silver eyes began to well up with tears. "...like nothing happened between us. I chose Storm, Grey."

She looked up towards him, but he might as well have been gone. His green eyes were dark and distant, his face screwed up in an indiscernible expression.

"They're not your pups. They're my pups. You have to-"

"No no, I get it," Grey snapped as if his tongue was filled with venom. He took a moment to compose himself, before his shoulder slumped, and his eyes softened in defeat.

"I-I get it."

Glory winced, as if his broken tone hurt her more than his icy outburst. "Grey..."

His head dropped as she said his name, his face screwed up in endless pain. He slowly raised his posture, his emerald gaze fixed on the back of the rocky den as he leeched his face free of emotion.

"I gotta go wait for Slate and Lush," Grey muttered, his monotone drawl returning. He dipped his head, avoiding her gaze. "Glory."

"Grey-" The female began again, her voice strained.

"Sorry. I meant... Alpha." Grey swallowed, his eyes hardened ad emotionless, though his hackles were trembling. He turned to leave.

He stopped, his form swaying at the entrance of the den, snow swirling around his paws. His green eyes would look back, head tilted ever so slightly towards the two pups at the matriarch's side. 

And then he was gone.

Glory's eyes burned, gaze turning fuzzy with tears threatening to spill. The pups, sensing their mother's pain began to whimper with worry, pawing at her light belly with comforting whines.

The she-wolf looked down at them before breaking into a smile, allowing the burning tears to roll off her freckled muzzle and dissipate in the frozen air. Her tawny nose lowered to brush against their pelts; the female's honey and grey, the male's a spitting image of his father's pelt.

"No one will ever harm you as long as I live," she whispered. The female pulled her great head away from the pups, her silver eyes reflecting the moonlit snowflakes as she gazed out the den, watching swirling snow blanket a wolf's fresh tracks. Snowflakes caught in honey-colored lashes.

"No one."

---

A/N ; I think this better shows how the book is going to be then the actual teaser, which is why I decided to publish it early. I don't expect to get out much more of the book for another month or so, but I'm going to try and work on it more often. 

Thanks for reading! Means more to me then you could know.

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