This one has an odd ending, sorry in advance!

A Lone Howl

Part one: Howl in the Night

Chapter four

It felt like the hours dragged on and on as Journey and the others paced in the clearing, waiting anxiously for news about Beta. The occasional whimper could be heard from inside the den, but Omega was blocking the entrance, ensuring them that Beta wouldn’t want to be crowded.

Journey lay down under a large oak, between the thick roots, sighing worriedly. The last light of day was melting into the dark sky, and the Spirit Hunters twinkled in the twilight. The moon rose, fat and almost full, above the horizon. It glowed like a bright disc, casting silvery light across the clearing and illuminating the anxious faces of her pack-mates. Once again, the light washed Journey’s pelt and set her aglow, making her feel yet again self-conscious. Barley didn’t seem to notice. He padded over, smiling, and settled down beside her. His fur was clean and soft, as always, handsome face well-groomed, and he smelled faintly of pine sap.

“You’re worried, around you?” he asked, cocking his ears towards her as he watched the spirits of their ancestors glitter in the sky.

Journey sighed softly, a faint cloud billowing from her snout. The air was getting chillier up in the mountains, especially when the warm, late summer days gave way to night. “Aren’t you?” She looked up and stared into his deep amber eyes, the color of redwood bark. She could get lost in the sea of beautiful color, and his pupils… they were milky and gentle, and she could see her own glowing pelt reflected in them.

“I guess I am,” he said, tilting his head to the side slightly, thick scruff shifting slightly at the head movement. “I don’t think it’s all that bad, though.” He swished his tail around until it was resting gently against her hip. His fur was soft, and soothed her a little.

Suddenly, as the moon was about to reach its peak in the sky, Alpha appeared from the den, leaping up to the topmost boulder. He stood silhouetted by the moon, every hair on his majestic body outlined by silver. With a commanding woof, he summoned the rest of the pack around him. Driftwood, Journey noticed as she padded over to surround the boulders, was still in the den with Beta. Hopefully that was a good sign.

“Beta is well,” Alpha announced once the pack was all gathered. “She has been given the gift of three beautiful children, and I invite you to visit them once they’re old enough to venture from the den. I hope you all love and cherish them, and accept them as a pack-mate alongside you when it’s time.” He fell silent for a moment, letting yips and woofs of excitement sound around the group, before flicking his tail for silence. “We have held off our Howl for long now,” he continued.

A thrill swept through Journey. The Howl was amazing. The time when the entire pack lifted their voices, led by Alpha, into the night, singing out the names of their lost pack-mates and the name of their home, as well as thanks for all that their ancestors provided for them.