The wind blew, sending red and orange leaves swirling. No sign of the moon was visible from behind the dark clouds, and it was darker underneath the looming trees. The shadows enveloping the ground created an ominous feeling. The usual gentle laps of the river were exchanged for violent crashes against the banks. But none of that was noticed by the wolves of the Moonlight Pack, who had just settled down in their dens.

A large gray wolf carried a chunk of deer between his jaws into a den. He gently set it down and nudged it toward a light gray she-wolf sprawled on the ground with four small shapes huddled around her. The she-wolf glanced at the meat and carefully leaned forward to take a bite.

"Hunting went well, I take it?" the she-wolf asked after a few bites.

"Yes, we brought down two large deer. I'm very pleased. It's only been a few days since we last ate," the male wolf replied.

"I would like to hunt again, Cloud," the she-wolf said wistfully, pawing at the meat.

"I know Star," Cloud said gently, "but you need to take care of our pups."

"I know." Star licked each of her pup's heads. "But still..."

"Have you decided on names yet? They're nearly half a moon old," Cloud said, changing the subject.

"For two," Star responded, her eyes brightening. Shifting a bit, she nudged her two male pups, one nearly white and the other dark gray. "I'm thinking Light for the lighter one and Night for the darker one."

"Light and Night." Cloud nodded thoughtfully. "I like it. Welcome to the pack, Light and Night." All four pups opened their milky blue eyes and began to whine. Star took a piece of deer and chewed it, then fed the regurgitated meat into the pups' mouths. The silver she-pup and Night seemed to like it, but Light and light gray she-pup only ate it after some encouragement.

"They're growing up nicely," Star said, her voice tinged with pride as she watched her pups stand and walk around the den. The soft drizzling of raindrops had turned into a pounding force against the ground and the whoosh of the wind grew ever stronger, but no one thought anything of it. It was just a storm. A storm that would pass.

"Yes. Do you have any idea of what to name the she-pups? They're going to be jealous that their brothers have names and they don't," Cloud teased.

Star huffed. "Picking names is harder than it looks," she protested. "Besides, you're the father. You should help name them too."

"Hmm..." Cloud hummed, watching the pups stumble around. "Maybe Scarlet for the light gray one? She has tints of red over her body."

"You know they might disappear as she grows older right?"

"I know, but she has them now. And Scarlet's a nice name," Cloud responded, his bright yellow eyes twinkling..

"It is." Star nodded. "Very well. Hello, Scarlet." Scarlet let out a squeak and started to bat her tiny paws at Light. Light gave a small growl and attempted to evade Scarlet's attacks, but the den was too small for him to escape.

"Natural born fighters," Cloud said, appearing amused.

"Yes. Now I feel bad for the silver pup. She's all alone," Star said with a small smile.

"How about Moon?" Cloud suggested.

Star cocked her head, but then shook it. "No. It's a nice name, but I don't think it suits her." Cloud opened his mouth, but before he could say anything, a wave of water flooded into the den.

"The pups!" Star gasped, desperately trying to keep her head up. "Get the pups out!" Cloud gave a grunt of agreement and picked Night and Light up with his jaw as Star carried Scarlet and the yet-to-be-named she-pup. They made their way out of the den as fast as they could, the pups whining and whimpering.

"Alpha!" a brown spotted wolf gasped. "What do we do?"

"Run toward the hills, Branch!" Cloud handed him Night and Star gave Scarlet to another she-wolf, and the pack took off to higher ground, the water an ever present force behind them.

"Do you think anything will be left when we return?" Star asked, her voice muffled by the she-pup.

"I don't know," Cloud replied honestly. "I don't know if we'll have a home to return to. But as long as we're alive, we'll have a home with each other."

Star nodded, but just as she was about to speak, a wave of water crashed over them, sending them back. Their pack members turned back, but Cloud shook his head vigorously and they continued running with low tails.

"At least, they're safe. The pack, and Night and Scarlet," Star whispered, desperately trying to keep her head and her pup above water.

"No. You will survive," Cloud said, his voice firm. He began swimming, pushing Star against the waves thrusting them back. Star did too, and they slowly began making progress.

"A tree!" Star puffed, pointing her head at the tree next to them with golden leaves and long, twisting branches.

"We can't climb trees," Cloud said, his voice exhausted.

"We might be able to climb that one. It's our only chance." After a brief pause, Cloud nodded and they swam toward the tree. Star grabbed a branch with her paws and heaved herself up, slowly making her way to the higher branches. Cloud followed her, but as he went higher, the branches trembled and finally snapped.

"No!" Star cried through her pup, but there was nothing she could do. Cloud and Light crashed back into the water, the waves returned with a vengeance. She saw his face one more time, his eyes conveying all the love he had for her, the regret, and the sorrow, before he was forever by the river. By the storm.

Star stopped at the place where many branches overlapped and let go of her pup. She sat down, her head drooping. Then she howled, her grief leading the way. She continued, forlorn. Alone, except for the silver she-pup who had nestled next to her. Star licked her pup's ears. She had lost her mate, and her pup. She didn't know where her pack was, if they even survived. She didn't know what tomorrow would look like. But for now, she had herself, and her pup.

"Storm. Your name will be Storm."

************************

Well, here's the first prologue. Welcome to Storm's story. Note: since Storm is a wolf, I did my best to include wolf-like behaviors in the story. Meaning I did a lot of research. However, this is still a work of fiction, and I can't get everything the pack does to be exactly what a real wolf pack is like. I tried, but it's not going to be 100% realistic.

That aside, how do you think? Interesting enough? Thoughts?

Jessica