When my consciousness returns, I notice the rockiness of the ground below me and the thick forest that is covered in fog. I lift my body slightly and look around. A cave is my temporary shelter over me, but my savior is nowhere to be found. I sniff the air but with the fog I cannot pinpoint the creature’s scent.

“Was this their intention?” I ask myself. I look around the cave and search for any other trace of my savior like footprints, fur, or even markings, but there isn’t anything. “Hello?!” I call out, but do not receive a response back. I become a bit frustrated. “I just want to thank you for saving me! I want to at least say it to your face!”

“Those who wish to see my face once, don't wish to ever see it again.” I hear a voice from above me. I look up and notice a figure standing in the bright sunlight breaking through the fog. I cannot see them quite well, but I know the voice to be masculine. I can barely make out his eyes which are like my father’s, a glorious yellow like gold. “You’re a white-haired wolf.”

“Yes, I am white-haired. I’m the alpha of my pack, the pack of Moonbright. My name is Snowheart.” I tell him as confidently as I am able to. He is a bit bigger than me with piercing eyes that are quite intimidating. I step back slightly and try to see his face.

“Snowheart.” He repeats. His voice is as fierce as his gaze.

“And your name is?” I insist.

“My name is not important, but if you have to call me something, you can call me Nightblood.” He jumps down from his perch and I am finally able to see him in his entirety. He is a wolf, a black-haired wolf with a gaze that could frightened even the largest of bears. “You are beautiful.” He says with a smirk.

“I am most certainly not a female.” I inform him, though I thought it was clear.

“I know.” He says with a laugh. “I have a liking towards males.” I suddenly back away.

“You’re flawed…” I say as I back into the trunk of a tree.

“Most like to call it that. I say I’m ‘graced.’” He licks his lips and circles me as he seems to scrutinize my every feature, perhaps seeing if I am a suitable mate. I begin to growl and try to intimidate him with my teeth but he seems more amused than frightened. “You’re feisty. I like that.”

“Don’t toy with me.” I say angrily. “Tell me where I am and why you have brought me here!”

“Quiet down. You’re safe here, isn’t that what’s important?” He says as he stops circling me and begins to scratch and bite off the insects from his body. I begin walking towards the forest, but he quickly jumps in front of my path. “Where do you think you’re going?” He asks.

“I must find my pack.” I inform him bitterly.

“Didn’t anyone tell you to be careful with the fog? Just wait until it clears. I can keep you company while you wait.” The last thing he said was in a very sly tone, almost seductive. I push past him and turn to feign a bite. I try to assert my dominance in this way but he does not turn his muzzle. He stands proudly facing me and does the same tactic to me, but I do not turn my muzzle either. I will not submit to a loner wolf, especially not a flawed one. He smiles and seemingly attempts to mount or pounce me and I push him as hard as I can and growl. “I thought we were playing.” He says.

“We are not. I am trying to assert myself as alpha. Do you not understand even the simplest of things among our kind?” I ask aggressively.

“Seems like you’re as much as a disappointment as me, virgin.” He says playfully as he turns away from me and is about to climb the top of the cave. Before he makes the jump, I leap towards him and capture his ear in between my teeth and bite down and pull him to the ground. I look down at him with a glare and put my paw on his throat.

“You have no reason to talk, flawed one.” I said angrily. “At least I do not mate with males.”

“Jokes on you, I haven’t mated with another male, yet.” He confesses before he rolls over and lifts himself up.

“Then why talk if we are the same?” I ask angrily.

“I was wondering how you’d react.” He says simply as he scratches the ear I had bitten. “Apparently, badly.” He says before he shakes his entire body. “That’s a swell way of thanking someone for saving your life. Next time, I’ll mind my own business.” He says distraughtly as he jumps onto the top of the cave and lies down so his tail is facing me. I look down to the ground a bit guiltily before jumping on the top of the cave and loom over him. “You trying to shade me or something?” He asks as he reveals his belly to me. It is a vulnerable position, but he seems to be playful. He scratches his back with the gravel atop the cave and mutters in delight.

“I’m sorry. I am a bit tempered…” I say softly.

“Of course, you are. You just got separated from your family. You’ve probably never been alone out here in the wilderness like I have.”

“How long have you been out here as a lone wolf?” I ask as I sit next to him, not wanting to lie down least he attempt something on me. I am still cautious of him.

“A year probably.” He says simply. “I was still a pup when I left my pack. I came out here to explore.”

“Explore?”

“Yeah, my pack would take lead and we’d travel places as a group, but I wanted to be on my own and explore everywhere, everything.” He says as he licks his lips. “You curious about what I’ve seen and experienced?”

“A bit…” I say nonchalantly.

“Ha, I like you Snow.”

“Snowheart.” I insist. “Only my friends can call me by affectionate names.”

“Oh, sorry, your highness.” He says with a laugh as he lifts his body up. He stares at me for a moment before he gives me a genuine smile rather than a cheeky one. “You have really beautiful eyes. Blue like the ocean.”

“You’ve been to the ocean?” I ask excitedly.

“Of course.” He says simply with a smirk. His ears drop a bit, probably because I had not acknowledged his compliment.

“And thank you…I take after my mother.” The thought suddenly struck me as I could not remember if my mother was among our pack when the danger had ensued. “My mother…”

“What about her?” He asks curiously.

“I don’t know if she’s safe…or even…alive…” I say sorrowfully. “I panicked when I followed my pack, I didn’t even check to see if she was among our pack.” My ears drop and I lie down and close my eyes as I feel the sadness welling up in my chest.

“Whoa…” Nightblood says as he nervously tries to console me as he paws my side before nudging me softly with his nose. “It’s okay. She’s probably fine. No animal would sit in a burning forest, trust me. She was probably running with your pack but the smoke was too thick to see her.” I look up to Nightblood and notice his genuine concern. He is not as much of a cheeky brat as I had assumed. “I can lead you through the fog to find your pack if you want. It’s not wise to trudge through the fog alone, but if you don’t mind me accompanying you, we can go now. It’s not letting up anytime soon.”

“I don’t really need an escort.” I say.

“As an alpha, you’re an important part of your pack. If you got killed, what would your pack do? I’ll protect you. I’m bigger and stronger than you anyway.” I get a bit irritated by his comments, but at the core of his ramblings, he speaks the truth. My beta wolves would usually ensure that I was not harmed in the line of battle, but with them not present, I need a substitute.

“Were you also the alpha in your pack?” I ask.

“No.” He says with a laugh. “Size doesn’t matter when it comes to being the alpha. Actually, I wasn’t even the largest wolf in my pack.” He snickered again and then looked at me with a gaze I had seen before when Sweetsong looked at me.

“I hope you don’t want any compensation from me that has anything to do with mating.”

“That’s your decision if you want to mate with me. I won’t force you, so you can lower your guard a bit.”

“That’s just what you want.” I growl.

“Geez, are you always this tense and aggressive?” Nightblood says before leading the way through the brush of the forest. “Maybe you should think of mating soon. You’re dripping with sexual tension.”

“I am not. You annoy me.” I say as I trudge through the forest beside Nightblood, never allowing him to lead me, least I abandon my status as alpha. He notices my intentions and gives me a toothy grin, almost looking like a smirk. I quickly look away and disregard his presence altogether so I don’t go mad. He notices this too and nudges me every now and again as we trot beside one another. “Stop touching me.” I say icily.

“You’re warm.”

“And you’re scruffy-haired.” I snap. He seems a bit irritated by my comment as he turns away from me before beginning to run ahead of me. I follow him with a quicker pace as I head in front of him and he tries to get in front of me. As we run out of the thickened brush of the forest, we chase after one another, each of us racing ahead of the other over and over again. I tackle him and he falls into the tall grass of the open field. I look up and notice that the territory we are currently entering is swiftfeet territory—rabbits, food. My stomach suddenly alerts me to my hunger and I scout the area a bit before hovering my nose close to the ground and listening to the sounds of thumping distantly in the field.

“Swiftfeet.” Nightblood says simply. “I’m not a big fan of them, but if you want a few, I’m an excellent hunter. I can catch you some.”

“No, I can hunt my own food, thank you.” I say a bit snobbishly.

“Boy, you are really a catch, huh?” Nightblood says before rubbing his body on the ground happily and resting while I prepare to look for a swiftfoot. “Cunning reds will catch one faster than you.”

“Foxes are sly mongrels.” I say icily.

“Oh?” Another voice says as he approaches us. “Is that so?” The red fur catches my attention and I immediately regret making my remark about foxes. “Well, wolves aren’t much of a better bunch.” The cunning red says out of spite. “What are a pair of wolves doing in the fields? This is our hunting grounds.”

“We are not a pair.” I correct him. Nightblood smirks before he approaches the fox.

“Snowball here wants to get back to his pack. We’re just passing through.” Nightblood says plainly. “I don’t eat rabbits, but he wants to eat some. Mind if we take one?”

“If you can catch them, then be my guest.” The fox says as he smiles mischievously at us. “Also, my name’s Ruby.”

“I’m Nightblood and he’s my dear prince, Snowball.”

“Snowheart.” I correct him with a growl. “And I am not a prince.”

“Oh? But you act and talk so proper and pompous.” Nightblood teases as he snickers. I growl at him before pushing him to the ground.

“For two wolves who aren’t mates, you sure act like you are.” Ruby says as he snickers. I growl at Ruby and turn my attention to the hunt. I lower my body so I am not seen above the tall grass and sniff the ground for the scent of rabbits. I pinpoint a cottontail that begins to periscope his surroundings, his ears perked up and his eyes surveying the sounds as he stands on his hind legs and looks above the tall grass. I approach the rabbit sneakily before preparing to attack. Suddenly, the rabbit thumps once before he escapes into the burrow. I jump to where it left and begin to dig slightly at the burrow before I give up.

“Almost had that one.” Nightblood teases.

“Yes, so close.” Ruby adds with a cheeky smile.

“You two are bothering me. Why don’t you leave?” I ask as I try to regain my composure. Nightblood pushes passed me and smirks.

“Let me give it a try.” Nightblood says as he lowers his body and sniffs the ground. He approaches another rabbit a bit farther away who is busy grooming itself and eating the grass. Nightblood takes careful steps towards it and lunges at it with a swift movement, much faster than the rabbit could respond and snatches it by its neck. He bites down and shakes it to assure it’s dead and will no longer struggle or pose a threat with its powerful back feet. He carries it in his mouth and trots happily back to Ruby and me before he drops it at my feet. I look at it and feel unsatisfied by the gift mostly because I didn’t want him to catch it for me. Although I am not an experienced hunter, I rather try and fail as many times as I need to than accept someone doing it for me. I am prideful.

“Keep it.” I push it to Ruby and turn to leave the fields.

“Snowheart.” Nightblood calls out to me as he catches up to my pace. “I thought you said you were hungry for rabbit.”

“I am, but I would have rather have caught it myself.” I say icily. “Do not treat me as a lesser wolf or as a possible mate. I also do not like being fawned over and I definitely don’t like being doted on like a child.” I say as I looked at him with fierce eyes.

“Alright, noted.” Nightblood says before looking out towards the open fields, the meadows just beyond the tall grass. “Don’t give you nicknames, don’t mention you’re a virgin, don’t give you gifts. The list keeps growing.” Nightblood settles into a slower and steadier pace. He allows me to walk a bit ahead of him. He seems to notice that I am not in a very good mood. I’m not sure why I’m so tempered, but as Nightblood had suggested, perhaps I’m just bothered and stressed because I’m lost. “Hey, mind if I ask you something?”

“I swear, if it is something that will annoy me—” The fog begins rolling in and covers the landscape slowly in a dense mist.

“Does your pack have any flawed ones?” He asks curiously. His expression is genuine but I believe he is still being cheeky.

“No, even if it did, I wouldn’t tell you. It’s not acceptable.” I say simply. He is a bit bothered by this remark, as I thought he’d be. “Besides, you’re not a very suitable mate for females or males.”

“Why do you say that?” He asks angrily. “I might not be perfect, but I’m capable of obtaining a mate.”

“And if that were so, why don’t you have one?”

“There aren’t a lot of flawed ones around.” Nightblood sighs.

“You don’t say?” I ask sarcastically. “Probably because it isn’t normal.”

“And you’re normal?” He asks out of spite.

“No, but I am not flawed either.” I say a bit less confidently.

“There’s nothing wrong with being flawed.” Nightblood says as he turns away from me. We continue on in silence as we both are too tempered to speak to one another without arguing. I am beginning to think that perhaps we are too different to even be companions.