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The saxifrages and the rhododendrons were the first to flower on the grey boulders of the Northern Ranges. Tulips, daisies and jonquils followed them soon, coloring the valleys below with the crimson, violet and gold of their petals. Spring, even if it had been extremely late that year had finally arrived, bringing the winter gloom to an end.

Hidden away in a cavern of the hills were a group of wolves. Six adults and an five year old, all reduced to the state of bare skin and bones, waited for the sunrise to light up the glades and bring in the grazers. A few nips and scowls from the Alpha female shut up the moaning cub, much to her exhausted mother's relief.

Being the pack's Rho, it was the mother's duty to track down food and remember the positions of the resident bison herds. The Betas and Alphas were the ones to do the actual killing, but none of their noses were as keen as hers when it came to sniffing out prey. She sighed as the scent of a thousand cattle trotting into the valley below tempted her; she had to wait for the Alpha's orders.

The pack has long ceased to be a pack in lycan terms, she ruminated and cursed at the fleas eager to suck the last bit of blood out of her ears.

The winter had been horrible that year, the Rho remembered. They had covered a whole ten-hour stretch of coniferous forest, growing hungrier with each step. Soon ,they had stumbled across a frozen meadow in the hills, and finally, luck seemed to be on their side. Plump goats with skin the color of the moon stood before them, peaceful and unaware of their existence. The party hadn't hesitated to kill and feed. They knew their sin when Lady Chai'a cried for her flock, her kids, and the rains seared their skins and humanity off.

The mother was abruptly brought back from her musings by her Alpha's call for the Hunt. As she walked outside the cave, her whiskers twitched in the sudden cold breeze. The boulder was rolled into place behind her by the three Omegas, sealing the cub in.

How long till we lose our conscience?

She held her head up, proud as ever to not have lost to her wilder side yet as she bounded down the hills, unfazed by her weak legs. The bisons scattered like ants caught in a sudden rain.

The cub watched the cave walls shake with the pounding of hooves in the valley with wary eyes. She blinked as dust fell from the roof into them, making her stumble backwards into a hole in the cavern walls. Her back hit the wall of the hiding spot she used when her Alpha was in a bad mood after she had bit his tail in play. She discovered the hole opening into a tunnel, big enough for a prairie dog to move through. Enticed by the prospect of an adventure, she padded through the tunnel and reached nowhere in particular.

By the time she had returned from her cave exploration through her hiding hole, found herself staring at one of the pack's Omegas, panting and shaking drool off his mouth. He stood guard at the half-open mouth of the cave. He had been spying on the activity of the pack outside, when he turned around and his gaze met hers. He mouthed a single word.

Hide.

Outside, she could hear her Alpha female arguing with a male, saying, "We've told you countless times, we refuse to accept your sham of an invitation!"

"Lady Luna has desired thus. You are none to object, are you?"

"Who the hell do you think you are to speak in her name?"

"I am a Sigma of the pack of the Silk moth – a humble servant in her temple. The head priest has requested all Alphas to attend the ceremony no matter what. I have come here to escort you."

The Alpha male's voice spat, "You killed our Betas for sport, Sigma, we will not return to be game fowl for them!"

"All those who don't obey will be considered as those refusing to obey Lady Luna."

"Lady Luna our foot! If she were as merciful as she claimed to be, she wouldn't have ordered the hunt of our Betas in the first place. What kind of a goddess requires sacrifices of her own children?"

"A powerful goddess . . ." said the Sigma, his voice dropping to a whisper.

Hia didn't hear anything after that. The Omega had grabbed her by the scruff of her neck and darted out of cave. Screams and howls pierced the rain-bearing winds blowing over the mountains. The putrid scents of blood and death tainted the fresh air laden with those of flowers. The fruit trees were just beginning to blossom for the season. The cub hung limp from the Omega's mouth as he swerved and dodged attacks dealt by the Silk Moth pack. He cursed fluidly into the fur on her scruff everytime he slid under a pouncing wolf. He had just scrambled up the cliff near the cave, when suddenly an arrow sprouted from his back.

Hia gasped as she felt his teeth releasing their grasp from her neck. She whimpered as she fell onto the crop of hard rocks and scraped her body.

"Go," spluttered the Omega, and she saw something swoop down from the skies. Hia was knocked out of the way by the strong gust and went tumbling down the cliff. When she looked up, she crouched and let herself slide down the rocky terrain, lodging herself into a well-covered crevice.

What looked like a bat with the limbs of a human had taken the wolf's corpse in its arms. It examined the body and holding the body by its tail, it flung the body downwards. The body stretched and shimmered in the noon sun. It had turned the corpse into a fearsome spear. The cub sank further into the hole and waited till the sun set in the sky. Thankfully, the bat things flew away from her, being more interested in the dead wolves below than live ones.

Hia climbed out of her hiding hole and limped down the mountain. Halfway downhill, she bumped into a scrubby bush, taking sanctuary under its thorns for the night. Her ears picked out the shrill calls of Whistlers, who hunted further down, in the vales of humans and rested in the branches of tall trees. Trees were sparse near Hia's cave, or what had been their pack cave. The cub trembled and whimpered to sleep, wishing to be with her mother again.

Something in her head said, they're dead, cub. Dead as a doe in a dry desert.

Hia shot right back, my mama will find me!

She felt a bushy tail brushing over her fur, warm as a hot spring, soft as a cloud. Her eyes failed to discern the body to which the shadowy tail was connected, and found herself all alone in a scrub.

Someone's here, murmured the voice as it dissipated into the wind.

She yelped as a body collapsed onto the bushes, its shadow shattering into fragments as it fell on her through the thorny vines.

•°•

The sheep were thoroughly bewildered when a wolf cub limped into the barn and entered their enclosure, nudged from behind by their sheepdog Gina. It made the Bellwether, a ram with impressively curled horns to spit out the expensive hay he had been chewing and push his way to the front of the flock.

The ewes and lambs who had been trying to avoid the cub crowded behind him and brayed in his ears, "You see that thing, Mathulo?!"

"Our mistress and the bitch have gone mad!"

"Do something!"

"Eee-Mathulo! Mathulo!"

"MATHULO!"

"Quiet," commanded the ram, stomping the ground and giving the flock a snort. He raised his head, making sure that the cub could see the pointed ends of his ivory horns in the dim evening light. He then gave it a calculated glare; kind enough for Gina to accept it but strong enough to intimidate the cub.

When the cub's head lowered to an acceptable level in a bow, he asked the sheepdog,

"What is this?"

"This is Hia, and she's a rogue wolf," began Gina in the stern tone she usually reserved for ill-behaved sheep.

"Our mistress had found her at the foot of the Northern Ranges a month ago. She has said that the cub may stay with her as long as she proves herself useful. Since she's too young to have been trained for the hunt, I–"

"You thought that she could herd us?" The ram completed her sentence, scratching the ground with a black hoof. The cub could see his strong muscles moving beneath the bluish grey furred legs. She whined ever so lightly, and bowed deeper.

The sheepdog sighed and said,

"Mister Ram, I promise that I'll raise her to be a good sheepdog. I won't let her bite or claw any of your ewes or lambs. You trust me to protect you, don't you?"

"Why let her herd us then? So that she can lead us right into the mouth of her parents? Dershiu no, where are they hiding, cub, in the forest?"

Hia's ears drooped and she finally spoke up with a quivering voice,

"My pack is de-dead. My m-mama is de-dead. My m-mama says that I'm too s-small to kill. . ."

The cub was being honest about it being a packless rogue, the ram thought.

He could smell the salty pack scent slowly fading away from it. The milky scent of its mother was nowhere to be smelt and its father's scent was nonexistent. It even smelled of bread, like any other regular human dog. The sheepdog's hard face wasn't expecting a 'no' from his side, he could tell. He wondered for a split second whether the bitch was the one adamant about having the cub around to raise it like her puppy.

It would make sense since the dead puppy last month. The poor dog. This could be advantageous for us, though, the ram thought.

When she grows up, she'd be stronger than these collie things against the other rogues. Provided she doesn't eat us first. Hm . . . old man Lucio did mention that these things are desperate to find a family when newly made rogue. Also, he said something about dogs being domesticated wolves. Which would make sense since dogs are just wolves beaten to submission with sticks. Since these lycans came from wolves, would the domestication work here too?

Let's see. I'll stomp the life out of her if she tries something funny.

The Bellwether, Mathulo, looked at his flock one more time before clearing his throat and saying,

"Alright, she can herd us."

This caused the goat from the next enclosure to choke on some oatmeal, look over the wooden separation and bray in disapproval. The geese stopped their clucking immediately and Mathulo could see them gossiping amongst themselves. The goat voiced the opinions of the herd of ewes too scared to confront the ram,

"Are ya outta ya mind, Mathulo?!"

Before he could kick a hole in his enclosure wall, the sheepdog ran to his side.

When the lambs began to cry at the harshness of his voice, the ewes glared at the ram. The prima donna of the herd, an ewe named Caona had been discussing the pros and cons in the back of the herd. She moved towards the goat and whispered something in his ear before saying,

"Mathulo, we accept your proposal. However, if that cub harms us in any way, we swear to Lady Chai'a that you will not be siring any more lambs from us."

"Siring?" The cub asked, cocking its head to one side.

"Sire-ing, as in making lambs," explained the ram.

"Why do you want to make more lambs, Mister Ram, you have a huuu-uge flock already."

A stunned silence followed her statement. Caona was the first to burst out laughing.

"Are you stupid, cub? It's what rams do, boss over the herd and sire lambs."

Mathulo snapped, "I'm not bossy. You ewes have absolutely no respect for me these days. That's it, cub, you're hired. Herd these giggly, good-for-nothing, fluff balls for me. Bite and snap at them as much as you like. Don't come crying to me when she hurts ya, Vallie. I'll teach ya some manners."

Caona gave her head a defiant flick.

"The last ram was more of a ram than the lamb we have for a Bellwether."

The sheepdog who was trying to calm the half mad goat next door, called out,

"Well, what did the sheep say?"

Mathulo, now fuming with rage, nodded at the cub and the sheepdog. Ears erect, tail wagging and tongue lolling, Hia replied,

"They said yes, mama."

"Oh no," said the collie, trotting over to the sheep enclosure, "I am just your friend, little one, I'm not your mother."

The cub rubbed her head against her legs and earned a lick in the nook of her neck.

The sheepdog looked up at the storm clouds billowing over the plains through the window of the enclosure. Whistlers pierced the cloud cover and weaved in and out in play. She dropped her head, and thanked the sun hidden behind them for letting the slain buck fall into that scrub.

•°۝°•