Fear was everywhere.

The pungent odor wrapped its sharpened claws around my throat. Winding tendrils crept up my nose, curling around my airways and piercing my nostrils with fang-like thorns. A single chill crawled slowly down my spine, and in its wake, a line of wiry fur stood tall and cowardly. Panicked yelps filled my ears, while pounding heartbeats pressed against my sides. Their voices called out for the safe, sweet scent of our mother. It was nowhere to be found.

We flattened our bodies against the farthest damp and earthy wall, nothing more than pale blurs in the dimly-lit corner of our narrow den. Several sun beams trickled in from outside, but their brilliance formed only a small circle of light at the base of the tunnel. Now, a dark silhouette tainted even that, a shadow cast by the towering beast standing in the threshold of our home.

Death took the form of hissing teeth and narrowed eyes. Even through the darkness, they pierced our bodies with a shining glare. A young wolf held the ground between us, lips bared to reveal her own glinting, ivory weapons. Though she seemed brave now, her scent told no lies. Fear danced in the air around her ashen pelt, but she didn't dare show it in the way she stood. Ears erect and tail high, she would fight with courage, no matter how shameless her sharp-clawed foe.

The tan-furred beast towered over her, more than twice her size, and looked down at the mere pup with a wicked feline smile. He let out a low yowl, lowering his forequarters to the cold, earthen floor. The wolf did the same, and a single snarl served as the signal for their battle to begin.

Her pale paws tread the small area in front of us, a slow back and forth. You won't touch them. She spoke with raised hackles instead of words. Her resolve rippled down the fur of her arched spine. You'll have to kill me first.

The cold-blooded cat had no objections, quickly growing impatient with actionless threats. With a twitch of his tail, he barreled towards his foe on thundering bounds. The wolf dodged quickly, taking advantage of her small form and light feet. She leapt to the brute's side, and before he could recoil, she pushed off the floor with her hind paws.

As she soared over his withers, her teeth caught hold of the loose flesh on the back of his neck. The wolf latched tightly onto his scruff and the beast beneath her began to struggle. A fit of jerking and bouncing ensued, the feline flailing in the air as he failed to remove his passenger. After a few futile efforts to break her hold, the cat flung itself toward the nearest wall. Anticipating the move, the wolf released her jaws before she could be pinned. She gracefully met the ground, claws skidding in the earth. Her lips pulled back in a snarl, and her jaw jutted outward to reveal jagged rows of dripping crimson.

She spat the blood from her mouth and faced her opponent once more. A sickening, metallic smell joined the cacophony of scents that curled my nose in disgust. 

The feline picked himself up, locking his fierce moon-sliver pupils on the wolf's heart. He no longer underestimated the skill of his juvenile foe. A cautious prowl replaced his hasty tactic, and he slowly crept closer to her and the stone wall that blocked our escape. But the canine wouldn't be cornered. Instead, it was her turn to charge. She raced toward him, her focus locked on his throat. The sudden attack caught the brute unawares, but he still had time to raise a paw in defense. Steering clear of its deadly claws, the wolf averted her course in a quick dive to the side, but it still wasn't fast enough to match the feline's reflexes.

A flash of tan grazed her hindquarters as she soared by, throwing off her landing. Her legs buckled as she reached the ground, and she crashed face-first into the cold, hardened floor. With more blood seeping from her jowls, her own this time, the pup picked herself up and shook the pain from her muzzle. Sparing a glance at the jagged scratches her rump now bore, she lifted her nose to the gaze of her rival. She beckoned him closer with a determined glare. 

The cat stalked toward her, but this time, the young wolf wasn't as confident in her next move. Her eyes danced from point to point, searching for her next way out.

The easiest remained right behind her. Over the course of the battle, the contender's places had shifted, and the wolf now held the better half of the den. The beast stood between herself and us, but nothing blocked her own escape. She knew the feline wouldn't take chase for the same reason I did; his ribs jutted outward through his tawny pelt. His long-limbed form was gaunt and desperate, his stomach intent on having three defenseless infants as a meal.

All the same, she stayed and fought. Our sister would always protect us.

She would always come up with a plan, too. A new spark lit up her dark-rimmed eyes, and its determined sound resonated deep in her throat. The wolf's paws left the ground in a blur of speed. She sprinted toward the far left wall, only a couple wolf-lengths apart from the other, and in a split moment, the feline followed. Before she could reach the hissing blockade formed in her path, she turned sharply on her hind feet, whirling around to face the other direction. She took off again in a mad scramble for the opposite side, and the cat made a beeline for her path.

This time, the wolf found her target with a single, lengthy dive. Reaching a spot in the middle of the den, she dug her claws into the rugged floor and hunkered down right before the blundering paws of the feline. His forelimbs collided with her compacted form and left the ground in a tumbling flight. The pup remained unmoved by the impact, but the slender-tailed beast went crashing into the wall with a spine-tingling crunch.

My sister wasted no time while her enemy was down, running to the weary brute's side. She seeked to end its life quickly, with more mercy than it deserved. The wolf placed her jaws around the tender part of his neck, long fangs sinking deep into the thick muscle. A quick jerking motion would come next, and the sound of tearing flesh would fill my ears.

I pressed my eyes shut. I couldn't bear the sight of more blood––but the noises that followed weren't the ones I expected. A deafening yowl echoed through our den, and my sight returned only fast enough to see my sister fall at the claws of the strong-willed feline.

More deep wounds lined her face and ribcage, seeping the dark red fluid that once held her life. A puddle formed beneath her, and the wolf's battered chest rose and fell slower by the second. It wouldn't be long before it stopped all together.

It took everything in me not to run to her side, but for once I wouldn't defy the unspoken agreement to stay put and away from the danger. It hurt me just as much to watch her lie in pain. But even through the blood dripping from her cheek, she eyed me with reassurance, a soft sparkle in her brown eyes. A faint smile touched her muzzle.

If that didn't kill her, her foe was determined to finish the job. With his enemy immobilized, he stalked toward the crumpled wolf with slow resolve and a sway of his black-tipped tail. She had no time to prepare, only to roll over on her back, baring her belly to the feline victor.

The show of submission didn't make sense. Why was she giving in now? Why allow a sense of pride to fill this monster for his horrific deed? And that it did, the cat's bloodied lip curling upward in his own smirk-like way. He had won, and he knew it. Now it was up to him to end her suffering.

That didn't seem to be good enough. The feline stepped over my sister's body, his paws on either side of her chest. He glared down at her, then up toward the far wall of the den. Toward us. He would leave her alive, just conscious enough to watch him hunt his final prey.

Our assailant took another step, while the battered wolf beneath him closed her eyes and exhaled in defeat. My legs trembled, my siblings uttered their final whines, and I gazed upward at the feline's soulless pupils––then back to my sister. Her breathing was steady and controlled. Not a single hair prickled in fear.

She mustered her last ounce of strength into one concentrated motion. All four of her paws shot upward, her outstretched claws making contact with his equally exposed underbelly. Long gashes sank down to his flank, and the beast staggered backward.

A snarl of pain rang out, and my sister turned her head to us. Above the roar, a single word met our ears.

"Run!"

In a flurry of fear, the three of us took to our small and clumsy paws. We bolted toward the sunlight at the other side of the den, over our sister's sprawled legs and the feline sulking beside her, doubled over in pain.

Each of my short, lumbering steps matched the throb of my heart, and I ran ahead of my littermates. I didn't dare look back. The distance between us and our escape seemed impossibly long, ever growing with the panic in our strides. Then, a wave of vibration trembled through the ground. The cat had regained his bearings, and with a single, heavy pounce, another scream tore through the silence.

A high-pitched yelp emerged from the throat of my smallest sibling, and moments after, the whimper of death took its place. My face quivered as my paws carried me farther from my brother's fallen form. There was no time to stop––to pay him or his killer one final glance. There'd be no time to mourn. My vision blurred as water surged in the corners of my eyes, but nothing could draw them away from my path.

With my final littermate still at my side, the two of us desperately clawed the earth of the incline that led to the surface. With one last, exhausted scramble, we reached the end, breaking through the barrier of light and into the world outside.

My eyes snapped open. Darkness flooded my sight. Heart thumping in my ears, I whipped my head around to scan the shadows. There was no monster hiding among them, no snapping jaws or deadly fangs. The air smelled crisp and fresh, not tainted with the bitter scent of fear.

Realization struck like a bolt of lightning, searing and painful, and the events of the day came back to me. I was in the den where Cloud had left me. I was no longer running, no longer a pup. There was no feline standing over me, waiting to make his kill.

My thoughts flashed back to the haze of terror. The towering beast, its flying spit and claws. A scream slashed through the silence, the blood-curdling cry of a pup as he died. I saw our protector once more––torn and battered, laying in a pool of blood.

None of that had been real.

It was only a dream, no matter how lifelike. I resisted the urge to shiver, to let that unsettling feeling creep down my spine. I blinked away the warmth gathering in my eyes. There was no reason to get emotional over a dream, a mere construct of my subconscious meant only to scare me.

Padding footsteps broke me from my thoughts. Through the darkness stood the pale silhouette of a wolf, glowing in the faint moonlight, and I recognized her sweet, pine-sap scent.

"We brought back food." Cloud spoke softly and approached my side. "How did you sleep?"

"Fine," I muttered, not caring to explain the nightmare. They didn't need another reason to view me as a helpless pup, afraid of his dreams.

But the rest had helped a little, and I could feel some strength returning to my body. With a yawn, I pushed up on my paws. Balanced on my middle, I let my belly sink between my shoulders and haunches, sending a crackle down the tense muscles in my spine. I shook the dust from my fur and met Cloud's eyes.

She nodded gently and led me outside.