Chapter 2

Amy panted as she ran through the forest, flames reached out and licked her fur as if they were chasing her. She watched as other wolves ran and howled in pain as their fur were burning. She froze in an open area. "Dad! Squeaker! Moon!" She coughed and blinked back tears in her eyes as she watched pup and some surviving wolves limp away from the fire. Their body riddled with bald spots and singed fur.

At that moment the bushes rustled and there stood three beings. They stood on their hind legs, and they had no fur on their bodies. Their faces looked like the faces of the being she heard about in scary stories they told pups to make them behave. Two of the being grabbed the pups my their scruffs and violently ripped them off of the ground. They last one pointed something at Amy's face. She was staring at a a shiny round barrel that was pitch black inside. A flash of light and...

~

Amy jolted upright, completely drenched in sweat. She panted as she brought her breathing to a calm consistency. She stood up and gave a hearty stretch. Looking around the cage she realized her father wasn't around. Amy was used to him disappearing and coming home late. It became more frequent even since her mother passed away.

Amy walked over to the three prints that were stained on the wall and she gently pressed her paw against her mothers print. "Wish me luck today mom. Its my first hunt. I miss you so much mommy."

She left the den and looked over the horizon, the sun was just rising. "No harm in going for a little walk." Amy whispered to herself as she went striding out of the pack grounds and into neutral territory.

Amy walked up to the lake. She bent her head down and greedily lapped at the water. Her ear twitched as she heard the bushes rustling behind her. Her head slowly rose and she scanned the area, inhaling sharply. She growled as she picked up a whiff of a familiar male.

"Come out here dammit." She barked, "I know it's you."

Then a male wolf emerged from the bushes. He was tall with the build of a hunter. His fur was grey and his eyes were the same as Amy's.

He smirked, "What you aren't happy to see me?"

Amy barked at him, "No I'm not. You can leave."

He circled her and gave her a smooth smirk, "Happy birthday babe."

She growled at him as she turned her back to him. "I'm not your babe."

He growled back, "You may not want to show me that side. I might get the wrong idea."

She turned to face him, her face hot as she barked. "Leave me alone." Amy wanted to slap that damn smirk right off of his face.

"Well, I just want to wish you luck on your hunt today love. I hope I see you out there today." He stated.

"I thought you were older than me?" Amy asked confused.

"I am, but I'm one of the best hunters. Maybe I can give you some pointers." He stated.

Amy took a step back, looked down at her paws and shrugged, she was confused as to why he was being so nice to her. When she looked back up he was gone. She tried to pick up his scent but nothing. She turned her attention back to the lake and she gently lifted her eye patch to look at the crescent moon mark that was resting on her eyelid and the surrounding area.

~

Amy was running through the forest as fast as her little legs would take her. She heard hard footsteps not that far behind her. She was panting as the voices grew closer.

"She is this way!"

"Get her!"

"Don't lose her boys!"

Amy tried another route under the bushes and low hanging trees. Amy saw a decaying fallen over tree and she dove into it. She duck her head and peeked through the foliage. Her ears folded over as she was trying to control her breathing.

She saw some paws stop a few feet from her hiding spot. "I can't pick up her scent."

"I didn't see which direction she ran too."

"Scan the area! She might be hiding"

Noses to the ground Amy tried to shrink back into the tree trunk. Her eyes were glued to the entrance of her hiding spot. Her eyes widened as a little nose grew closer and locked eyes with her. Amy gave his right blue eyes a pleading look not to tell on her. He stared at her for a moment before turning his back on her.

"Found anything Desmond?"

"Nah, dad. There's nothing here?" He said as he looked into Amy's eyes. He turned and with his back legs pushed some leaves and branches to better hide her spot.

"We shouldn't have brought Des. He is too young for this."

"Hold your tongue. My son is doing well. Besides if he is to ever lead this pack he needs to know how we handle trespassers. Now lets go we need to find her!"

They all ran off leaving Amy to stew in her silence. She curled up in the trunk and stayed there until it was a little darker. Once the other wolves scents faded she slowly and quietly left her spot. She was immediately tackled to the ground and she looked up at familiar bright blue eyes. "Please...don't."

"I'm not going to hurt you. I'm going to help you. You need to leave this territory before you get killed." He whispered as he rubbed his head against hers.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm masking your scent so I can get you out of here." He paused for a moment and took a few sniffs. He got off of her and nodded, "Follow me. I can get you back to the neutral ground."

Amy blushed a little as she silently followed behind the young male pup. "Thank you Des."

He stopped and she stopped behind him. He hit her on the top of her head, "You need to be careful Amy!"

"How do you know my name?" She barked as she rubbed her head.

Des blushed a little as he motioned for her to run off. "I just do."

Amy realized that she was back on neutral ground so so darted off in the direction of her territory. Des watched as she ran off. He looked down to is paw and sighed.

~

Amy shook the memory out of her head. She looked at her reflection a little more and her mark appeared to be glowing lightly. She flipped her eye patch back before turning and running back to her territory. Little did she know a familiar pair of blue eyes were watching her.