My body was wrapped in warm fur, gently pressing against my sides. The fuzzy walls expanded and shrank back with each breath. I shivered as I remembered the horrors of the day.

That it was just me and her now. Alone.

But at least it was safe now. Mother had ended the danger, sacrificed her life to save me. And then there were my siblings. I didn't understand why I was the one to make it. Why not Ripple, my sweet, loving sister with such a beautiful hope of a life filled with joy? Why not pure little Wade, who deserved so much more than what nature had dealt him.

But no. It was me. I'd live forever listening to their screams. Ripple called my name again as I left her behind in the forest. I heard her howl as the cougar snapped her neck. I hadn't meant to get separated. Now she was dead. If only I'd stayed with her I could've... I would've...

Died too.

I felt her weight shift beside me. My sister was finally waking from her long slumber. She needed the rest to recover from her injuries. She needed time. Needed help.

There was no one. We only had each other, and I relished her warmth like it was the last I'd ever feel.

She yawned. It was time for our snuggling bodies to part ways––the only source of comfort we'd felt the whole day through. We had to face reality now, break away from the bliss of our dreams. Because sleep wouldn't fill out bellies, and it wouldn't find us a new home.

I cracked open my eyes, and a line of soft pink broke through the darkness. Blinking the heaviness from my sight, I raised my open muzzle with a small, squeaky yawn of my own.

I looked at the wolf beside me, but I no longer ducked in the fur of her belly. I couldn't hide beneath her chest from the monsters in my dreams. Instead, I formed the outer shell like a snail with my curved body, and her white form lay against my side. Her fur was soft, warm and silky. She smelled of pine and sweet pollen. Her eyes gently opened, as pale as her pelt, silver and sparkling like crystal waters.

"Cloud!" With a start, I jumped to my paws and reached down to nuzzle her. I licked her face then nudged her chin upwards until her weary eyes met mine. "You're awake!" Tears welled in my vision, but I quickly blinked them away. She was okay. She was alive. No need for sadness.

Her expression was a little speechless and dazed. I pressed my cold nose into her muzzle, trying to tickle a smile onto her lips, while she continued to scan her surroundings. "Where am I?" She rolled over, then shifted her weight onto her hind paws. She pushed up with her legs and attempted to stand, but her front limbs were weak. They quickly toppled, and she tipped snout-first toward the ground. I reached out with my head, hooking it under her neck to catch her before she fell.

"Woah, woah, woah," I chided, "Lay down." I gently lowered her back to the den floor, but the fearful look hadn't left her eyes. "You're home, Cloud."

Finally, she exhaled. Her darting eyes settled, but her heart was still pounding in her chest. It thumped loudly as her pupils widened and another question came to her tongue.

"It's okay," I cooed, nuzzling her again. "You're safe, and so are the pups. You saved them."

She sighed, shaking her head and closing her eyes for a moment. I knew the feeling, the dazed headaches brought on by sheer confusion and the feeling of being lost. When she opened them, she slowly cast her gaze over her bloodied side. The three long gashes inflicted by the grizzly were still there, fresh and raw, but thankfully they had stopped bleeding. I'd nursed them while she slept, cleaning the dirt and blood away from her wounds so they wouldn't get infected. I was just relieved they hadn't killed her in the first place.

"What happened?"

The injuries were fairly surface-level, and the bear hadn't done much more than tear the skin. It was a lot of blood, but after the panic subsided, Mist assured me that Cloud would be fine.

Hesitation tainted the answer. I didn't want her to have to think of the horrible memories and stress her heart any more than it already was. "The grizzly," I finally told her. "Mist was the only thing that saved us from being bear food."

I hadn't been convinced that Cloud would make it either way, but I didn't add that. I chose to believe Mist's words, even when fear raked its claws through my brain and I imagined her bloodied body dead and alone. I didn't add that it was my fault, either, as I traced the pink, proud flesh with my eyes. My stomach sank again. If Mist hadn't been there, it would've been reality.

"Pine and Spruce freed their mother," I told her. "You all saved those pups." I nuzzled her again, putting on a fake smile in another attempt to bring some joy into her expression.

She narrowed her eyes and cocked her head. "What about you?"

My heart took off in a gallop. She was right, whether or not she meant it that way. I hadn't done anything to help. "The only thing I did..." My voice caught in my throat. "Was let you get hurt."

Cloud blinked, her eyes drifting upward in her head as she tried to think. Then she glanced at her side again, and her brows furrowed. "What are you talking about, Drizzle?" Her gaze met mine, a look of concern nestled deep in the star-studded rings of gray. A frown curled her lips. "This"––she gestured to the wounds––"this isn't your fault."

I shook my head. She couldn't downplay this any longer. None of them could. "It is, though." I cleared my throat and my mind, shaking the swirling doubts from my muzzle. This had to come out, not stuttering and overcomplicated. I just had to get this weight off of my chest and be honest.

"Cloud, you're the most selfless and brave wolf to have ever been graced by the light of Sol." The words came out in a whispered breath, and I found it helped my aching heart to close my eyes. "You didn't hesitate, not for a moment, when you took off to save the pups. All the while I tripped and stumbled on behind you, falling on my face every chance I had."

The weight lifted just a little, but nausea rose in my throat, sour and bitter. It tainted my tongue and made my head feel light and dizzy.

"You attacked a grizzly for star's sake, while I stood in shock, frozen in fear," I muttered. "I did nothing, Cloud. I couldn't help Spruce dig, I couldn't help you fight. I couldn't even pull you away from the grizzly's claws when you got hurt. If Mist hadn't been there, we would both be dead. All of us. The pups, Spruce. And it's my––"

"Drizzle, stop." Cloud's sharp tone cut off my words. "You can't––"

"You're right, I can't," I told her, just as sharp with my own remark. "I can't do anything. Can't hunt or protect myself. I can't even walk half of the time. I don't belong here, Cloud. I don't belong with a pack. You shouldn't all have to constantly help me, look out for me, patronize poor old Drizzle because you feel guilty for me and my stupid leg."

I glared down at my missing paw with a growing anger. Who was I kidding to think things were getting better? That one day it wouldn't make a difference.

"I should be by myself," I said, "wallowing in my own sorrow. Mist should've kicked me out while she had the––"

"Stop!" Her growl caught me off guard. I swallowed the rest of my words, and I stared at her wide-eyed glare of disappointment. It was a little intimidating, especially coming from Cloud.

"And just where are you going to go?" she snapped.

My muzzle fell slightly agape. I wasn't sure how to react to her hostility, how to answer her question. All that came out was silence.

She rolled her eyes. "That's right. Nowhere." Cloud shoved my muzzle away and shook her head. "I can't believe you, Drizzle."

My jaws parted even wider and still speechless. What else had I done?

"Does this pack mean nothing to you?"

I searched her face for some kind of a hint at a joke. There was nothing amused about her pointed expression.

She scoffed. "I don't know where you're getting this from, Drizz. You've been here for two moons now, you should know that you're a part of this pack, no matter how useless you think you are." There was an angered shimmer in her silver eyes, glowing like the moon had burst into a ball of light.

"And it isn't your fault for doing what you could to help. I don't care how much it was. I watched you pull those pups away so they wouldn't have to see the fight, wouldn't have to be scared. You took them out of harm's way." Her words softened, just a little, but stayed firm and unwavering.

"Maybe digging isn't your thing, but you helped Spruce focus, and you helped him free their mother. You were there just as much as we were––saved those pups just as much as I did."

The ball of nerves settled in my stomach, and I finally met her gaze. Did she really mean all that? Even after what she'd said before?

I opened my muzzle, only to snap it shut at a look from Cloud.

"I'm not done." Her glare held my face with pickling, invisible claws. "What is a pack, if not wolves that look out for each other? You are part of this pack, Drizzle, not because you can hunt or fight, but because you care."

Heat rushed to my cheeks.

"It's obvious in everything you do, that you care just as much about this pack––about bettering yourself and being more helpful––to be more worthy of our love," Cloud said, holding tears in her eyes.

I was sure that the loss of blood was just making her loopy and her emotions uncontrollable. It stripped away all of the hard, outer-shell she used to protect them, and these words flowed straight from her heart.

"You were worthy the day I brought you here, even more so when Mist made the best choice she ever could've, letting you stay. And you decided to call this place home." She whispered the word, holding it on her tongue for a long moment.

As if to remind me of something I didn't know. This pack was just that: my home.

Cloud was right. I'd never thought I was worthy to be one of their own, that I'd ever be able to call these wolves my family. Perhaps I was wrong. Maybe this was where I belonged.

I didn't know what to say. I blinked the water from my eyes and pressed my nose to her muzzle. I smiled as best as I could, a silent thank you. Cloud beamed back, giving me a tiny nod.

After a warm, fuzzy moment, I pulled away. "I've got to go tell everyone else you're awake." Without waiting for a response, I turned and walked to the entrance of the den. As I reached the doorway, I faltered in my steps. There was something else sitting on my tongue. Something I needed to tell her, crammed down for far too long.

But I couldn't. Not yet.

I licked my chops and left the den.