I let out a soft breath, white mist swirling through the crisp night air. The sky is clear, not a cloud in sight, and the moon casts a pale glow across everything not obscured by shadow. Millions of stars sprinkle the deep blue, interrupting the seamless abyss. Dodge's footsteps echo behind me, crunching through the snow to remind me that I'm not alone in the camp.
       I continue on my path in my search for Alpha Granite. I assume that he's in his den, so I trot in that direction. His den is in the center of the camp, so he can have access to everything that goes on in the Pack. 
      I slow my pace as I grow closer to the mound of snow where Granite abides. His den is quite large for a single wolf. The previous Alpha had a family who lived there with him, but the current Alpha does not. He insists on keeping the Pack more important than anything in his life. I can respect that, but it seems like a lonely existence.
       I'm about to wake Granite when I head a a few loud pawsteps behind me. I wheel around, not even getting a chance to get one paw inside of Granite's den. I turn to see Cedar trotting out of one of the nearby dens, a look of slight confusion on his tired face. He's probably just woken up.

"I already told him of your plan. You don't need to wake him up." Cedar says in his slide-whistling voice.

     Dodge tilts his head in confusion, but I answer Cedar.

"This is a different problem, Cedar. Not related, but it's very urgent." I say, shaking my head and padding into the den.

       Dodge nods and follows behind me. Cedar's face twists oddly, thinking that I'm not looking. I don't understand, but ignore it. Maybe the cold got into his nose.

"Alpha, I'm afraid you'll have to wake up. It's urgent." I speak loudly, idly pawing at his side.

     The grey wolf's ears flick up, and he leaps to his feet seconds after as if there's an enemy Pack attacking. I realize that if he's woken up in the dead of night, he probably does assume the worst.

"What is it?" Granite asks in a rigid tone.

"Cadmium found a buck that was acting the same way the Burmese mountain dog was. The disease appears to be spreading." Dodge says, noticing my lack of words.

     Granite's face grows fearful, but reverts back to a rigid frown.

"What did the buck do?" He asks.

"He attacked and killed a doe, and then he started to... eat her. He was about to charge me, but collapsed." I say, finding my words.

"That's bad. Very bad. We need to act quickly." Granite speaks worriedly.

"What are we supposed to do? We don't know the cure. We don't even know if it has one! In fact, this disease wasn't even in the forest until recently! What do we do?" I ask frantically.

     Granite steps forward and out of the den, casting his gaze at the starry night sky.

"The disease is coming from the humans. So it seems like taking them down is the best idea." He tells us.

       My ears flick forward in surprise.

"You're actually going to do it?" I ask in disbelief.

"It's the only logical decision. I want you two to get some rest. You'll be heading to Eagle Hill Pack territory tomorrow, and I want you to convince them to aid us. The Storm Creek wolves already pledged their allegiance to us for the time being, seeing as we've accepted them into our camp. They'll have to help." Granite says with a nod.

My eyes glitter with excitement. Even my dull, squinted and wounded one seems brighter. Albeit the danger of the situation, Granite did take my idea into account. I feel... important?

"Well, Dodge, I guess that we should get some rest. Eagle Hill isn't very far away, but I can't tell you honestly that it's very close, either. About a day's trip." I say, turning to address Dodge.

        The husky nods, and we begin to make our way out of Granite's den.