Roughly One Week Later

    The Storm Creek Pack is slowly adapting to our customs. It's very overcrowded, but we're working on constructing new dens and expanding old ones. Once the Storm Creek wolves are gone, we'll have a lot of extra room. That is, if they do leave.
      The scouts that were sent to check outside of the territory reported that the humans were cutting down a pretty large amount of trees around Storm Creek.
      The Storm Creek wolves are very friendly and modest, and very accepting of the dogs. In fact, a good amount of them go out of their way to be kind to them, seeing as most of the Whitetail Valley wolves resent the team.  I regret snapping at the wolf who asked why there were dogs here. I believe that all of the dirty looks were from stress.
  There's a female Storm Creek wolf that frequents the dog team, a pretty white wolf with bright blue eyes. Her personality is lacking in any kind of modesty or friendliness. Nothing like her counterparts, she's overconfident, believing that she can have any wolf she wants. 
      I stretch my legs and yawn, but don't stand up. I blink heavily, squinting out of my damaged eye. I can open it, but not fully. Dodge pointed out that two of the four claw marks cut directly through my eye itself.
       Golden light is starting to stream into the den. The sun is rising, and with that, I know exactly what to expect. When I hear another wolf crunching through the snow outside, I nudge Dodge's side tiredly with a forepaw.

"Hey Dodge, guess who's here." I snort.

     The wolfish husky's ears flatten, and he grumbles unintelligibly. Dodge buries his black and white muzzle in the snow.

"Do me a favor and kill me now, please." He grumbles.

"Too late." I mutter.

     A dashing white she-wolf parades through the entry, her pelt gleaming. How early did the even wake up to be able to groom herself and still make it here at dawn?
     Judging by the expression on her face, she's expecting us to be leaping with joy. I'm still not awake yet, and my face is flat.
     Dodge sighs, very audibly. He just wants to sleep.

"Do you think that you could wait a bit to wake us all up, Snowbird?" He asks with a yawn.

     Snowbird laughs.

"Oh Dodge, you're so funny!" She exclaims in her sing-song voice.

    I growl absentmindedly, resting my head on the snow with an annoyed grimace. She'll be here for a while. Usually she doesn't bother me, but she hovers around most of the males and is generally a flirtatious annoyance. I don't know why, but she seems to think that the dogs will treat her like a god because she's a wolf. They stopped doing that a long time ago.
      Snowbird has been hanging around here for the past week. We're growing sick of her presence, but are too timid to say anything about it. I mean, her Pack's territory was just invaded by humans. But it's starting to go a bit too far.
     I try to fall back asleep, but by now, the sunlight has already woken me up. Even after closing my eyes for a minute or two, I'm still wide awake.
       I divert my gaze to Snowbird. She's hovering around Dodge, and he's trying his best to ignore her. She flirts with everyone, but mostly Dodge. Understandable.
       I let out a quiet snort. Seeing as I'm unable to get any more sleep, I stand up and stretch my legs and tail, yawning. I shake out my ruffled pelt, and stride out of the den. Pausing at the entry, I turn my head to explain where I'm heading.

"I'm going to go hunt. See you all later." I explain and continue on my way.

"Wait! I'll come too!" Dodge exclaims, leaping to his feet so fast that he nearly falls down again.

     I let out a quiet laugh, and continue walking.

"Oh, I guess I'll help!" Snowbird calls.

     Now, every wolf that's able to survive to adulthood has enough survival instinct to keep them self alive. But Snowbird is not a good hunter. In fact, she's terrible. She's loud, and spends half of the time talking and not keeping an eye out for prey.
Dodge and I exchange annoyed glances.

"Look, Snowbird, I'm sorry about your pack and all, but you're starting to be a huge bother. Would you mind leaving the team alone?" I grumble in an exasperated tone.

      Snowbird lifts her snout indignantly.

"Fine! I can tell when I'm not wanted." She growls, storming off.

     Once we're a bit farther from the den, Dodge speaks.

"Well, I guess that's taken care of." He says with a completely straight face.

"Not a moment too soon. I'd feel bad, but... she has to be a little self aware, right?" I reply.

We make our way through the forest, weaving through the trees in search for prey. There are no more caribou in the area, but deer and rabbits are still a possibility.
  My ears flick upwards when I hear the faint crunch of the snow underneath a small animal's feet. The scent of the rabbit that caused the sound follows soon after.
  I creep through the underbrush, my amber eye fastened on the unsuspecting white rabbit. Closer, closer.
My paw snags on a sharp twig, and I call out angrily. I try to catch myself, but the rabbit notices and thunders off. But I'm not giving up so easily. I leap after it, crashing through the brush.
I pant, snarls escaping my parted jaws. Crystals of snow fly out from under my paws, flinging them backwards in a cloud of glittering dust.
     I'm not quite sure how long I've been chasing the rabbit, but I think we're out of the territory. I'm vaguely aware of Dodge following close behind, but I snarl and put on the speed.
      I leap forward in a final attack, but my jaws don't collide with a rabbit. My entire snout crashes into a furry wall, and I'm thrown onto my back in the snow.
     I find myself unable to move when I lock eyes with the beast I ran into. A huge mountain of black, white and brown fur stares down at me. A massive, drooling Burmese mountain dog.
     I try to speak, but I just stutter. The huge dog's brow is furrowed, and only now do I realize that the rabbit must have ran straight into her jaws. She holds its corpse tightly, the blood running down her white chest.
  Is she a rogue? Did she escape from the humans? Or is she with them now?
The Burmese snarls, saliva dripping from her mouth. I yelp out in shock, flailing to get to my paws. The gargantuan dog drops the rabbit and steps over it, growling louder. I don't understand why she's so angry, I only bumped into her!
       I back away slowly, crouching down so low that the fur on my chest is nearly brushing the snow.
Dodge barks, leaping in front of the Burmese. I always knew that he was brave, but this is pretty impressive even for him. The dog is bigger than both of us combined.

"What do you want?" He snarls.

     The mountain of fur turns her attention to him, growling. She pads slowly forward, advancing with an unexplainable fury in her eyes. I suppose that she expects him to step back, but he doesn't. He just snarls, baring his sharp teeth.
       Something about those eyes just isn't right. The fury is so unprecedented, and she looks ready to kill. Something is very wrong behind those eyes.

"What do you want?" Dodge repeats, louder.

She says nothing, but snarls louder. Before either of us can expect it, she leaps at Dodge with her jaws open. He jumps out of the way, barking out in surprise. He wheels around, snapping his jaws at her viciously.
    I can't just stand here, I need to help. I rise from my crouching position, my paws faltering. But I don't stop. I find my bearings, and leap at the Burmese. This dog won't back down, and we need to fight.
      I find my teeth buried in the fur in the dog's back, but they don't meet flesh.

"Get back, Cadmium!" Dodge shouts.

     I comply, leaping backwards and spitting out a mouthful of fur.

"She's diseased. Don't let her blood touch you. We need to find a way to kill her, or she'll infect this whole damn forest." He says, his voice sharp and serious.

      I nod, turning to face the Burmese. She snarls, and charges me with a speed I didn't expect from such a bulky dog. She expects to receive my throat in her jaws, but I slide to the right before she gets a chance. But she does sink her teeth into my left shoulder. It's not that deep, and I can still move just as well as before. It does sting pretty badly for a moment, though, and I yelp out in pain.

"Let's just try and tire her out!" I call to Dodge.

  Dodge nods before leaping back at the mountain of fur. He takes hold of her thick pelt, allowing her to swing him around until he finally has to let go.
I don't know how much time passes, but by now, both of us are riddled with a good amount of wounds. But Dodge and I match her strength almost exactly. If we're going to take her down, we're going to need reinforcements.

"Dodge, I'm going to call for more wolves. Keep her busy, alright?" I ask, getting out of the Burmese's way.

I take a deep breath, and let out a loud howl. A more low pitched tone, so it signifies that we are in danger. The wolves who hear it will run to my aid immediately. We just need to hold up against her until they arrive. Which might not be easy. Pain doesn't seem to bother her at all, and she doesn't even care about stretching and tearing wounds that were already on her. Nothing is slowing her down.