Silent Whisper's tail dropped at the sight of her mother, Little Shadow, pad after Tide. Several other wolves, including the only yearling Ghost Step, gathered around the faction's lord. Tide led almost every hunt the Elk Hills faction began—no one hunted without his say so.

"But mama," she called, bounding after the pack. "I want to come, too! I promise I'll keep up," she whined, her ears flattened against her head.

Little Shadow's amber eyes softened, though her tail stuck straight out. "You're far too young," she said, soft but stern. "Wait just one more moon cycle, and you can begin training. With coyotes on the prowl, a little pup like you would be far too easy a meal."

Pathetic whimpers racked the young pup's chest, her head dropping. "That's forever away! I can outrun a coyote, I promise."

Another voice sounded a few paw steps away. "You will have your time, little one," Tide began, his voice deep and gruff. "If you behave, you will be on a hunt soon enough. Today is not that day, however." The black fur along the tall, muscled wolf's back rippled as he padded forward. He leaned down, his muzzle pressed against Silent Whisper's ear. "I'm entrusting you with watching over my faction while I'm gone." He pulled back, his blue eyes warm with amusement. "Can you do that for me, little one? Make sure none of those mangy coyotes come prowling around my pack mates."

Silent Whisper's eyes stretched wide as she looked up at her leader. He wanted her to watch the camp! The task he gave her made Silent Whisper's pelt burn with pride. "Yes!" she exclaimed, barking excitedly as her tail wagged of its own accord.

A smile pulled up at Tide's muzzle, and Little Shadow dipped her head to him. The group turned to leave, murmuring amongst themselves. At the tail end of the group walked Hunting Prey, only one moon cycle older than Silent Whisper. He narrowed his eyes at her and snapped his jaws before disappearing into the treeline.

With a sense of purpose, Silent Whisper puffed out her chest and turned towards the clearing. In the middle sat a tall outcropping of boulders, the rocks crashing together to form nooks, crannies, and overhangs in which the lord and his family slept. The small den beneath a hollowed tree that Silent Whisper, her brother No Eyes, and their mother slept in sat against the far edge of the clearing.

Bounding over to her den, Silent Whisper peered inside the dark, cool space. No Eyes laid curled in the back, his ears twitching. "Have they gone?" he asked, raising his head. Where his eyes should be was just a flat expanse of fur. His nose crinkled as he sniffed the air.

"Yes," she said, peering over her shoulder at the near empty camp before taking another step into the den. "And we're going to follow them."

No Eye's ears flattened and he stood. "We can't leave the clearing," he said, tail tucked between his legs.

Silent Whisper circled her brother and nudged him towards the mouth of the den. "Of course we can," she said, nipping at his hind legs to urge him forward. "They'll never know we were gone. I just want to see a hunt, smell the elk on the wind..."

"And if we get caught?" he growled, snapping his jaws at his sister as she nipped too hard. She padded forward and licked his cheek.

"We won't," she said, a pleading edge to her voice. "Please come with me. It won't be any fun without you."

He sighed, shaking his head. "Do you have a plan for ditching our pupsitters?"

Silent Whisper's gaze darted across the clearing on the pair of grunts lazing in the grass. The subtle twitch of their ears gave away their facade of slumber.

"Easy," she replied after a heartbeat. "We should ask Little Runt to play hide and seek," she began. "We sneak through the trees behind the elder's den, and by the time he comes looking, we'll be long gone."

No Eyes frowned. "That's a terrible plan."

"Is not!"

The skin over his eyes stretched, as if he rolled them. "If we get caught, I want all your bones for the next moon cycle."

He drives a tough bargain, she thought before agreeing. But they wouldn't get caught—Silent Whisper was sure of it. They'd watch the hunt and return home before their mother brought them a scrap, and she'd get to keep her share of bones to gnaw on. It'd be a win-win.

What could go wrong?

☽ ☾

Little Runt had been reluctant to follow the pups around playing games. However, his brother Trip Foot promised to keep watch on the woods, for the return of the pack or enemies. Silent Whisper had let the small grunt find her and No Eyes a few times before beginning the first stage of her plot.

With the white and black furred grunt busy counting in the clearing, Silent Whisper nudged her brother.

"The elder's den," she whispered, padding behind her brother.

No Eyes led the way, his nose sniffing along the way. Despite his lack of sight, his sense of smell was sharper than Silent Whisper's.

Under the rocky overhang lay the Elk Hills Faction's only elder, Sharp Teeth. The black pelted male snored, with a single tooth poking out from under his greying muzzle. The two pups skirted around the den, their paw steps soft against the grassy earth. No Eyes squeezed beneath the thorny bushes behind the den, grunting as he rolled out on the other side.

Silent Whisper followed close behind, wincing as barbs snagged her fur. Like her brother, she tumbled down a small incline on the other side, covering her fur in dirt.

Shaking her pelt, she bounded around her brother. "We did it!"

"Hush!" he growled, his teeth flashing. "We're not clear, yet. Little Runt is already looking for us."

Silent Whisper's ears flattened, and she nosed her brother's shoulder. "Let's circle around the clearing and follow the hunting group's scent," she said.

No Eyes' brown fur puffed up, his hackles prickling. "Do you have pebbles for brains?" he snapped. "I can smell the elk from here. We'll get there quicker if we climb the hill. You may see them from there, anyway."

Silent Whisper paused, her nose to the subtle breeze. It was faint, barely a trace... but the sweet, earthy scent of elk was there. He was right!

Now she took the lead, her brother trailing behind. They crested the hill, the vast expanse of their territory lying at her paws. In the distance towered the enormous mountains where their alphas made their home. Snow still covered the utmost peaks. Before her, though, rolled the hills of her home. Wide hills, giving way to small valleys and clearings. To the far west, the terrain calmed into flatland covered in tall grasses.

In the distance, she could see a small speck of brown moving along the ridges of a distant hill. Howls sang through the air. The elk herd!

"There!" she exclaimed, excitement flooding her veins. Every nerve stood on end, screaming with excitement. She was finally out of the clearing! The things she could see, and oh, the smells. It was even better than she'd hoped.

"We'd better get going if we want to see anything before they make the kill," No Eyes grumbled. "Or we can just go home and pretend this never happened."

Silent Whisper scoffed, playfully nipping her brother's ear. "Never!" she said. "Let's get just a little closer, then we can go home."

Before long, the pair had traversed down the hill and padded through a shallow creek. This must be the same one that flows right outside the clearing, Silent Whisper thought. Though pups couldn't leave the clearing, they could drink and play in the stream.

They were closer to the pack now. The fearful bleats of their prey carried on the wind. Silent Whisper could hear her mother's sharp bark, and Tide's throaty snarls.

No sooner than when Silent Whisper turned, did a tan pelt flash from the opposite bank.

"No Eyes..." she whispered, tail tucked firmly between her legs.

Her brother's ears twitched, his body trembling. "That horrid odor," he said, curling his lips back in a snarl. "What is that?"

The sour, suffocating scent assaulted the pup's senses. She'd never smelled it before, but... she could see it. The creature stalked through the grass, its yellow eyes boring into the pups.

"I think that's a coyote," she whispered, a quiver in her voice. She took a slow step to stand in front of her brother, her ears forward, and hackles pricked. The coyote was triple her size, with black tufts of fur along its long body. Its small, beady eyes gave way to a narrow, ugly snout full of sharp, yellowing teeth.

"When I say run," she began, fighting against the fear in her voice. "You run back to the clearing as fast as you can."

"What about you?" No Eyes whispered, whimpering quietly. "I can help—"

"No!" she barked at her brother.

The noise set off the predator, and it leaped at the pups with a snarl. In a heartbeat, Silent Whisper threw her body into No Eyes, sending him sprawling a few paw-bounds away.

No way would she let this mangy thing anywhere near her brother! Maybe they should've never left the clearing.