As we walk along the trail, I find myself staying closer to Nightfang, feeling much safer beside him than travelling ahead or behind him. I nudge his side affectionately and he smiles at me as he licks my jaw. 

“Ooh!” We hear a voice call out in the brush of the forest just above us. We look up and see a wide-eyed, an owl. “Such a lovely couple.” The owl says teasingly.

“We are not mates.” Nightfang corrects the owl. I am a bit taken aback by this. I was sure that it was my position to make such a correction. It somehow doesn’t sound right now. “You here for a show or what?” Nightfang growls and approaches the tree where the owl is sitting very intimidatingly. I’ve never seen him so hostile. “Beat it, buzzard.”

“So quick to become tempered.” The owl says bitterly. “Do you have a grudge against me?”

“One of my father’s littermates was attacked by an owl. Her eye was gauged out.” Nightfang explains. “I apologize, but I don’t take kindly to owls.” He says with a menacing snarl.

“Oh my,” The owl feigns a gasp, “well, my apologies, but I don’t take kindly to wolves who might steal my mice.” The owl says before swooping down with its talons prepared to strike us. I evade the attack, but Nightfang takes it as an opportunity to try to capture the owl between his teeth, which is both dangerous and stupid. He misses capturing him and the owl misses clawing Nightfang. The owl heads back up to his post and grimaces as he eyes us carefully.

“We should just escape.” I tell Nightfang.

“He’ll follow us for who knows how long. I know these kinds of assholes.” Nightfang says angrily.

“Must you speak so…” I pause before the owl suddenly swoops down again. This time he targets me and I try to react as quickly as possible, but I am about to be clawed at. Just before the talons sink into my skin, they barely graze my fur before the owl is suddenly captured in the jaws of Nightfang and tossed around like a carcass before he drops the poor thing on the ground. He puts his paw on top of its limp body and growls at it as it looks up, barely hanging onto life.

“You made a mistake to mess with us.” Nightfang says angrily. “Give your kind a warning. This is one of the only times I leave something alive that I’ve caught.” He says before removing his paw from the almost lifeless body of the owl. The poor soul struggles to fly but manages to make it to its original post. It is badly hurt, but is alive. Nightfang tells me to continue on and follow him. I do so a bit more carefully and fearfully than before.

“You didn’t have to be so vicious with him.” I tell him a bit bitterly.

“Don’t have pity on a creature that would not have mercy on you.” Nightfang advises me.

“Not all creatures are the same, not every wolf is the same.” I challenge him. He looks at me with a fierce expression, but it softens just slightly. “Something is bothering you. It was not just the owl.”

“Owls are very wise…they know too much…with their eyes that see everything.” He tells me vaguely. “We need to keep moving.” He says before he continues on the path up the mountain. I begin to think that perhaps something else is bothering him, but I don’t try to pry too much. Maybe he will confide in me…

In the afternoon, I find the soil has dried a bit and the day is beginning to become hot. We are thankful for the shade the forest of the mountain provides, but there are some spots where the land is barren and more like an open field. I ask Nightfang several times that we should rest but he ignores me. He is in this state of complete focus and he seems more determined than ever to reach the peak. After the sun has passed noon, we finally rest halfway up the mountain. I lie down in a small hole where the soil is cool. Nightfang paces back and forth and mutters to himself about something I cannot understand.

“Rest,” I tell him softly, "It’s a long way still.”

“You rest. I’ll just…scout the area for something to eat.” He says before heading into the brush to search for fruit. I sigh in response and hope that Nightfang returns to his usually cheerful self again. My ears perk up as he returns with some berries. I notice his posture and the way he seems slightly bothered and remember the season. “Nightfang…?”

“Hmm?” He asks.

“Are you…frustrated?”

“What?” He asks, completely embarrassed by the question. “No…I’m fine.”

“It is the mating season…”

“It is, I know that.” He says more aggressively. Unfortunately, I know what it is that he desires and what could calm him, but I am not sure if I am willing to do what needs to be done to appease him. “Look, you don’t have to worry. I’m in control. I’m fine.”

“So, you are frustrated.” He looks at me with a shamed expression and sighs.

“Yes, but I can handle it. I’m fine. How many times do I need to say that?” He says angrily.

“You’re not fine.” I tell him with a more assertive tone. I try to maintain my position as the alpha and approach him with every intent to intimidate him into submission. He backs away a bit and whines before turning his muzzle. Each action tells me that he is aware of my dominance and he relinquishes any power he might have possessed to me. “Just calm down. You’re tempered.” I nuzzle my muzzle to his and try to calm him, but he is still restless in my presence. “You need to release this tension.”

“Yeah, that’s kind of difficult when you and I are the only ones out here.”

“What have you done before now?”

“I’ve ignored it as much as I could.” He says softly. “That was easier without another wolf around me.” Nightfang says sadly.

It is not within my plans to mate with Nightfang, but he is struggling and very irritable, which is not pleasant at all to deal with. My own sexual drive has never presented itself, so I am not aware of the details of what he is going through. I can understand it in its most basic form, but I haven’t experienced such feelings before. I have no right to give him advice.

Nightfang shakes his body and continues on the path.

“I’ll walk a further distance from you. Your scent makes me…feel worse…” He admits shyly. “Continue on the path whenever you’re ready. I’ll be further ahead.” He says as he grumbles. I am at a loss for what to do. The only option is one I can’t come to terms with and certainly something I can’t bring myself to do.

Once I have rested, I continue not long after Nightfang left. I smell his scent. It is even more noticeable and powerful. It doesn’t offend me. It is a familiar scent I even carry on my own body. We have slept beside each other. We have nuzzled and rubbed each other with one another’s scent. We have bonded. I walk a bit slower as the scent becomes a bit overwhelming. I stop and notice I feel strange. I whimper as the feeling grows slightly with time.

The chirping of nearby birds alerts me back into reality and I find myself very bothered and strange.

“Young pup!” I hear a voice call out. It is the one Nightfang calls Ash, the crow. “I don’t think I caught your name last time, chap.”

“Snowheart.” I say softly. My breathing is strange and I am in no mood to talk.

“Ah, good, good. I remember you travelling with Nightfang. Correct?”

“Yes.”

“Do you know where he is?”

“No.”

“Dear me, you don’t look well, boy.” Ash says as he swoops down and stands next to me.

“I don’t feel well…” I tell him as I whimper and lie down in a patch of grass.

“Must be that time of the year.” Ash says simply. “Don’t worry, it will pass.”

“What do you mean?”

“You are sexually frustrated, my boy.” Ash says as he hops next to me. “Maybe, you should settle down and try to think of something else while the feeling passes.”

“Does it pass?” I ask weakly as I whimper and feel completely strange by these new feelings.

“It will.” Ash reassures me.

Time passes and I am nearly normal again. Ash continued to stay by my side until I was alright. He sits patiently beside me as I lift my body from the grass. He hops aside to allow me to stretch or move about freely with as much space as possible. He is unafraid of me unlike some small creatures. I am thankful for this.

“Good, good. You’re all better and seem to be in a much better state of mind.”

“You didn’t go to find Nightfang; you waited for me.”

“Of course, my dear lad. I’m not one to abandoned a friend in need.” Ash says happily. “Anyways, it isn’t a pressing matter I needed to speak with Nightfang about. It’s just that the Greystorm pack is heading north now. Howlingwind, in particular, wishes to make a rendezvous with Nightfang. I suppose he misses his company and wishes to announce the good news to him himself.”

“What news?” I ask curiously.

“He has finally gotten a mate!” Ash says cheerfully. “Nightfang will be most happy. He’s been cheering for Howlingwind to receive great fortune in that aspect for a long time, months it seems.”

“I don’t think he will be so pleased…” I whisper to myself.

“What was that?”

“Nothing.” I say softly. “I’ll report the news to him--about the rendezvous. I promise not to reveal what you just told me.”

“Oh, excellent. Very well.” Ash says before flying up above me. “Please give him my regards as well. I hope he, too, will find a mate soon.” I begin to wonder if Ash is aware of Nightfang’s painfully obvious attraction towards males. He probably did not inform him. Perhaps, crows do not need to know such affairs. Perhaps Ash is also a gossiper. I am not sure. Nightfang is certainly a private wolf, but to a complete stranger such as myself he seemed to be quite comfortable in revealing to me such a personal thing as his gracefulness. He was very upfront about it. He flirted with me, even.

My heart suddenly remembers the look he had given me when we met. That look of curiosity, of attraction, of seduction. He was definitely not discreet about himself being graced at all. I sigh to myself as I continue on the trail to try to catch up to Nightfang. I hope that he also has calmed down a bit and has recomposed himself to be as cheerful and annoying as ever.

Along the trail, there is not much except for the earthy trails made by thousands of wandering ones and the patches of lush, green grass. The forest is getting less dense as I traverse farther up. The landscape begins to become rocky and boulders are scattered about. Although he is nowhere in sight, Nightfang’s scent still lingers in the air. It is his normal scent mixed with his muskier scent of his sexual frustrations. He has marked several trees along the trail, for what reason I am not sure. There are no other wolves I can smell for miles, but perhaps he is doing it as a precaution. He is a rather large wolf and his scent is very strong. If I were not aware of his personality, I would have been intimidated by the markings myself. If I had not already known the wolf who made them, I surely wouldn’t be travelling towards the one who made the markings.

Suddenly, the scent is so strong and close that I am a bit bothered by it once again. I see a form in the distance that has black fur and wonder if it is Nightfang. It could be a bear or something else entirely. I approach it carefully and growl as I am almost hovering above it. Before I dare strike it, I realize that it really is Nightfang in a light slumber under the shade of the trees. He seems much calmer and his scent isn’t as musky.

“Nightfang.” I call out to him.

“Hmm…” He mumbles before waking. “Oh, you’re here.”

“Yes, I was…stalled a bit…but now I am here. Should we continue on? We have almost reached the peak.” I say as I sit beside him.

“Sure.” He says sleepily.

“Oh, and Ash wanted me to give you a message. It seems that the Greystorm pack is returning to their territory in the north. Howlingwind is requesting an audience with you.”

“The way you talk really fascinates me.” He says with a smirk.

“Did you hear what I said?” I ask a bit more angrily.

“Yeah, yeah, Howlingwind probably wants to tell me something.” He says as he yawns. “I think I know what it might be.”

“Well, I don’t.”

“Ash told you.” Nightfang says with a snicker. “You’re a really bad liar. Anyone else wouldn’t have said anything about knowing or not knowing.” I feel very embarrassed. “You’re so cute.” He says as he nuzzles me a bit more aggressively than normal.

“What’s going on with you? You’re acting strange still.”

“You’re making me like this, maybe you should stop being so sensual.” He says as he makes a strange sound, almost a grunt or moan. I move away from him and growl to make him back away.

“I am doing no such thing. I am not enticing you or seducing you in anyway. Stop this.” I tell him more intimidatingly. He seems to begin to come to his senses as I assert myself as the alpha again. He turns his muzzle when I press mine closer to his and he lowers his head.

“I’m sorry…” He says softly. “I’m not usually…”

“I know you aren’t.” I tell him assertively, but a bit more mildly than before. “It’s alright. I understand.” I glare at him. His eyes are focused on me without turning away. “Just because I understand, does not give you permission to do such things. Got it?”

“Yes…” He says as he bows before turning on his side and rolling on his back. He rubs his back on the ground, dusty his fur with gravel and dirt before he hums contently. “Back to normal.”

“Good.” I say happily. “Let’s go.”