Writer_JJ

On the night of the new moon, wolves shiver in fear of the shadow that covers the goddess Luna, who watches over them. The Alpha of the northern pack must find a way to keep his cursed Cub, born on the night of shadow moon, safe after an accident during exile that tears her away from her mother. How will the Alpha take a queen's job of raising and nurturing a normal pup, while also keeping her safe in unmarked territory? How will he face the bad luck evident on the cub's shadow black pelt?

The Cursed Cub

The next morning Solar rose before sunrise. The damp, pre-dawn air seeped through his fur with it's cooling touch. He shook out his pelt and stumbled to a large rock that sheltered the den from the brisk northern winds. 


   Solar rocked back, onto his haunches and sprang up onto the rock. He landed nimbly on his feet and slowly sat down, arching his head to groom his sleep-muffled fur. The cold stone   soothed and numbed his paw pads which were sore from the excitement of yesterday.


   As Solar groomed his pelt the sun slowly rose to the sky from bright scarlet waves to gentle white rays. He used this time to reflect on his future plan. "What will I do if Sirus IS'NT at the northern pack? What will I tell Luna? If she's not there should I just give up? But how will Luna take it if she's raised without a mother?" As these worse thoughts wandered into his head he quickly shook them away, deciding to be positive. 


   "Fa? Are you out here?" Luna's whines came from below so Solar had to lean over the boulder's edge to see his daughter. Luna sighed in relief as her Fa's head came into view. She stopped feeling alone and scared knowing that Solar was still here. 


   Seeing as Luna was awake Solar rose to his paws and jumped the 2 yards down to the ground. He needent take a step to reach Luna and bowed his head to give her an affectionate nuzzle on her head. After all Solar thought he needed to be more motherly since Luna didn't have her ma right now. 


   Solar's fur stood on end when a low growl passed his ears. "Mountain Lion?" was Solar's first thought though he soon realized the grumble came from Luna. 


   "Fa, i'm hungry. Did you hunt while I was asleep?" Luna glanced around expectantly, assuming she'd find a tasty squirrel or meaty rabbit waiting for her. 


   "Oops." Solar blushed and lowered his head, embarrassed. He knew he was forgetting something. While full grown wolves could go for a few days without food pups couldn't without falling ill. 


   "So you didn't get any food?" Luna's crestfallen face drooped with disappointment and discomfort, "Sorry I guess I just expected you too since ma always fed me in the morning and snuck out of the den at night to hunt for me once I could eat solid food. 


   "Don't apologize! I should've hunted instead of pampering myself. I guess I forgot you couldn't go long without eating." Solar was disappointed in himself. How was he going to hunt now? He couldn't leave Luna alone without any protection, but he couldn't take her with him without any training. She'd scare away the prey or get hurt. 


   "Since I can't take you with me without any training, how about we do an early morning training session before we hunt?" He figured this was the best way to fix his mistake. "How DO queens do it?"
