I flew towards the bear, a growl ripped through me. I landed on his shoulder, biting at the muscle underneath it's fur. The bear let out a blood curdling roar, sending shivers through my body. Raven lunged at the bears backside, pulling its attention away from me. It swung around, hitting Raven barely in the rump. Blood matted it's fur, filling the air with its musky smell.

A flash of grey streaked in the corner of my eye, and I knew our back up had shown up. I backed up slightly before a large grey wolf jumped into action. Three other wolves surrounded the big Grizzly. This earned a angry huff of air from the bear.

Raven slunk around the great build of the bear, growling the whole time.

"Raven, that is enough," The grey wolf said. The wolf's muscular shoulders tensed as the bear growled back at Raven,"And as for you, leave here, before this fight gets any worse."

"You wolves have over stayed your welcome here, watch your backs." And on that final note, the great bear ran off into the woods, leaving an eerie silence in its place.

"What does he mean Dale?" A smaller brown wolf asked. Dale, the grey wolf, shook his head.

"Something big is about to happen I think, let's head back and let the Alpha's know." Dale answered.

"Baron! Pay attention." Raven hisses in my ear, breaking me from my day dream. I look around and find myself in the Pack Cave, with about five other wolves. Raven, Dale, the brown wolf from earlier tonight, both Alpha's, Kane and Darcy.

We had come to the cave once we came back, to inform the Alpha's of the bear, waking almost the entire pack. My eye's heavy with exhaustion, look to Kane, my father. He looks back at me with a troubled stare, making my nerves prickle with uncertainty.

It was very rare to see him rattled over something. My mother rubs her head against his shoulder, trying to comfort him. He looks down at her and licks her snout. The affection they show to each other makes me feel lonely. Thoughts of a mate cross my mind. As fast as they had come, they are gone.

Shaking my head, I listen in to the conversation between Dale and Raven.

"We should have shown the bear what happens when they cross too far over the line!" Raven snaps at Dale. Dale looks at him with a calm stare before replying.

"You know that would have started an uproar. We need to keep as much of the peace as we can." Dale responds. "I know it's hard, but we have to try."

Raven is not satisfied with this. "They think they own the entire forest! We need to do something about it."

This is the one thing Raven and I do not agree on. He thinks we should fight for our territory, I would rather make peace, and find a solution. My father was leaning more to the violent side of things.

"I agree with Dale," I say, not paying attention to Raven's look of annoyance,"We made this treaty to keep us from tearing each other apart. I do think the bears are getting to pushy with everything, and I do think we need to do something about it. I just don't think it should be in a violent way."

My mother nods in agreement, my father huff's his disapproval. Raven just glare's at me. I look to Raven.

"We may be pack brother's, but I can have my own mind." I tell him. The look in his eye softens slightly, letting me continue. I look back to the group before talking. "We should think of ways to renew the thought of the treaty."

I let this sink in to the other wolves. The brown wolf is the first to speak up, surprisingly. "Why don't we hold a meeting with the bears?" He say's. I nod, considering the idea. It was not a bad plan, but the other pack's would need to have a say in this. We never agree on anything. It is a long shot to even hope that the majority of the wolves would vote for our plan.

"First we need to get the other pack's on board." I tell him,"What is your name?"

He chuckles before answering,"My name is Xander." I nod then look to my father.

"What do you think?" I ask him, remembering that he was the one in charge. He thinks everything over for a moment, whispering to my mother, and muttering under his breath. After what seems like a life time, he looks up from his silent discussion.

"We can try it, but if this doesn't work Baron, we will resort to violence if need be." He say's seriously. His hazel eye's glimmer with pride, but also with something I can't quite name. Nervousness? Guilt? False hope? None of these ideas make any sense in my exhausted mind.

"We will send out more scouts around the borders, to keep watch of the bear's." My mother says, letting out a long yawn, causing me to yawn as well. I shake my head to stay awake.

"Go get some sleep Baron, we have long day's ahead of us," My father tells me. I just nod and head of into the chilly fall night. I hear foot steps behind me, padding through the frosty grass.

"Baron, how do you plan to even do all of this?" Raven ask's as he matches my slow pace. I shake my head, annoyed at him for not letting this go.

"Raven, I have already told you what my plans for the pack are," I say, keeping my voice low so no listening ears would hear our conversation,"Do you need to be told a hundredth time?"

He grunts in disagreement, shoving past me and loping into the dark woods. I stop walking and watch as he disappears into the night. Raven was always good at camouflaging at night, his coal black fur working to his advantage.

I walk the short distance from the cave to my den. A chilly wind picks up, bringing with it the smell of rain. I stop outside of my den, my mind turning over the thought of bringing the packs together. It wouldn't be my job, but my father's. I still have the feeling that I would need to take control, and that my father won't try as hard as he should.

The moon gets clouded over by a cloud bank, shrouding the forest into a blanket of black. With a final glance into the tree's, I turn and head into my den. I'm greeted by the warm, crisp smell of fallen leaves covering the floor of my den. Roots come down from the roof, tickling my back.

I go to the far edge of my den, away from the opening, mindful of the rain that I'm sure is to come. Letting my breath slow, my eyes drift closed.

***

Evergreen tree's blur by me, my paws pound on the frozen ground. Everything glistens white with the fresh snow that had fallen earlier that morning. White clouds of breath puff up in front of my face, leaving frost on my muzzle.

I come into a clearing with an unfrozen creek trickling off of the rocks. The snow crunches as I step through the snow, making my way to the water. My snout touches the icy water, waking my senses. I drink the cold water, letting the needles of coldness seep through me.

Snow crunches behind me, and I turn to see a wolf. Her amber fur contrasts with the white snow around her. Green eye's stare across the flat area, landing on mine. This mystery wolf was the most beautiful creature I had ever seen.

She walks to the creek, a few feet away from me. Her scent smells of pine and rain. I take a breath in, savoring the scent. She looks up at me in amusement, I look away sheepishly. Why am I acting like this? I think to myself. I notice that the female wolf was almost at the edge of the forest. She flicks her tail, and looks back with her green eyes.

With that, she disappears into the frosty evergreen forest. Regret fills me, making my stomach cramp.

I wake up from my dream, sitting up in the dark den. Shaken, I take a breath of air.That wolf was my destined mate, and I would probably not see her ever again.

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Hey guys hope you liked this chapter! The picture for this chapter is of Dale and the Grizzly. Im not giving any pictures of Baron yet. (Its a surprise!) I'm also wondering if I should start making these chapters longer. Any thoughts?

Thanks for reading!!!

~Sierra

Word Count: 1 481