The blood red waters glistened as the sun reflected off its surface. The waters were full of iron. It was so dense that humans couldn't live near it without help processing out the iron. Because of this it was the perfect place for his pack. They were known as the red river pack and the locals avoided his territory saying was cursed. In a way they weren't wrong his pack was known by the local human population by many names there current one is calling them skinwalkers. Though they were no such thing. They were werewolves. His pack however had a rare quality due to generations living by the blood river. His pack held a tolerance to iron.
The pack owned a couple hundred acres of land. It was theirs legally by human laws as well as pack law. It's been in the pack for generations. A loud howl roared across the land as a warning to would be trespassers. It was early spring as the long winter gave rise to new growth and rebirth of the land.
Rydian stood atop a hill in his wolf form. Clyde, his wolf was happy watching from a distance as the newly transformed pups were led deep into the woods by his beta. They were going to have their positions chosen after their trial was completed. He watched as parents cried as their growing pups were led away. He will be joining them shortly. He was to teach the pups how to hunt, provide and be a part of nature. Most loved being out there in the wild. But unlike him the pups won't be returning for the next three years.
Clyde huffed with pride at the new batch there were about 50 newly transformed wolves. All still young but this had to be done. It helps them learn to be productive wolves and if any are separated from the pack this will help them get home and avoid getting caught by hunters. Clyde smiled with pride. Look at them, Rydian. They will return bigger and stronger than when they left. He huffed through the mind link. Rydian sighed. But it's also the hardest thing for parents to have to let their pups leave home for the first time. He smiled though knowing this was the only way for the pups to let go of their human view of lesser ranked members showing everyone is important if they want to survive.
Rydian saw his own son Lyle leading the pups as he was the future alpha to the pack. He would be using this to find his beta and delta. This was going to be a hard lesson however for his son it was going to be even harder as this lesson meant any and everyone can challenge him for the position. Hiis son had been showing signs of being spoiled lately bullying anybody with a low ranking. This was going to be hardest on him.
Clyde stood up excited to see if his own son could beat all his peers and become a true leader. Clyde howled loudly causing the mountains that wrapped around his pack to echo it back at him as the adults howled out there fearful farewells. His paws beat under him as he leapt off the side of the cliff landing on the small outstretched ledges as he ran down towards the children who were excitedly talking amongst themselves. He landed at the base of Iron mountain.
Clyde's voice ripped out of his wolf muzzle. It was deep and gravely from lack of use. "From this point forward you will all shift and we will only speak wolf language. From this day forward you will eat, sleep, and breathe wolf." He then shot his beta a look and he chuffed. It was a sound they all knew meant change.
He watched as everyone took off their clothes and handed them to their parents. They then proceeded to change one after another.
Once Clyde was satisfied he howled to gain their attention. He then turned, looked at his beta and started off running through the lands to the middle of the woods. They would be running for 3 days straight with no rest. For most of the pups this will be their second run but for a few this would be their first. It was gonna be hard on them but he, his beta and a few warriors would make sure they kept pace the whole time.
Lyle ran next to his father while everyone else took up the large group behind them. Lyle's wolf ruger was running as hard as he could while it seemed the adults were taking a more leisurely pace. Ruger was proud to be the next alpha but he hated how Lyle acted with everyone lower than him. He had a feeling that he needed this to change before they met their future mate. Though Lyle didn't know, Ruger was pretty sure their mate was of lesser rank. He had high hopes that this would force Lyle to see the strength of his pack and his own weakness.
The first day of running wasn't that hard. But as they started running through the night wolves started falling behind. At this point the Alpha Clyde growled at his son to keep running as he fell to the back. The adults now tailed everyone biting at their feet if they tried to walk. He was having none of it. They forced every wolf to run past their limit. The sounds that now filled the air were ones from irritation, tired pups and adults forcing them to keep moving. They didn't let up on the pups however.
Day two came and went at the same pace they started at. There was no water or food stops, no breaks to relax. The adults wanted the pups so tired that they would mentally break down and be forced to rely solely on their wolf's power. By mid day on day two the complaining started. Lots of whining and griping even from his own son started up. They all knew they would be going for three days to the only clean water supply for miles. If they drank from the river they would go into shock from the high iron content of the river since they were still young and didn't have the metabolism yet. This trip would normally take a week if walked, longer for humans. But they ran night and day to get there as quickly as possible.
By evening of day two the adults were feeling the strain of keeping a bunch of pups together and corralling them while forcing them to keep running as fast as they could. Day three finally came and by mid day they reached the watering hole. There were more adults there in a group cleaning themselves up after a successful hunt. The pups however would not get to rest just yet after their thirst was quenched they would have to go out hunting. Clyde walked over to the adults who bowed their heads and approached him. His beta approached dropping some freshly killed caribou at his feet. He huffed out as he was tired and happily ate.
The pups saw this and slowly approached the kill. Their muzzles dripped with saliva as their stomachs growled. But they were forced to stop short by a group of angry adults not willing to share with the pups who didn't help.
Lyle growled back at them, opening a mind link. Let us eat, we're starving. We're also exhaust… Clyde cut his son off with a low growl. He spoke to them all through a mind link. You are going to catch your own dinner. ALL of you. You are no longer considered pups. You are no longer at school. Your school hierarchy means nothing here and the same goes with rank. You have to earn those titles. Here you are all the same. Here you are rankless If you want higher ranks then you have to work for it. The same goes for you son. Here you are not an alpha here you don't get to eat first and your parents won't hunt for you. This is why we force most to stay behind. You will learn to use your own strength and how to work as one.
Lyle growled at his father. Are you crazy? We have omegas here and those two are also omegas. I'm an alpha. Why should I… Clyde grabbed his son by the throat with his jaws, throwing him into a tree. Causing him to cry out in pain before getting back up while the other pups stood in silence. They were shocked, neither Clyde nor Rydian had ever raised a hand against lyle. But here Clyde just threw him into a tree. Stalking over to the now defeated Lyle he growled lowly. If you don't work together then you're gonna be eating rodents all year long. NOW! Get up and go out and hunt! All of you.
This time it was Lyles' friend and future beta Tyler and his wolf Odin who spoke. Um… sir does this mean any of us can become alpha? Clyde smiled while he looked at his son darkly. From this day forth you are working to gain a pack ranking. High ranks are given to the strongest, fastest, smartest wolves. In our pack there isn't a birth right to keep the pack strong we must all be strong. You can also challenge each other to gain ranks. However if any of you kill someone over a ranking you will be ousted from the pack and me and the adults here will hunt you down and deliver the permanent punishment. Do I make myself clear?
The wolf pups all let out a howl of excitement before they were quieted by a grow again. Lyle and ruger you will have to force your pack mates to respect you without killing them. These will be the men and women who run with you into battle; these wolves will have to give you their trust and respect. If you fail to gain it. Then you will not be inheriting the pack. Further more me and the other adults will be here for 1 week then you lot are on your own. If you want to learn how to track, hunt, and survive by yourselves. Then everyday from this point forward till we leave you can join us adults and WATCH how we hunt. We will not be sharing any food with you you still have to survive as a unit without us.
He then put his head close to lyles growling as ruger whimpered in understanding but Lyle was pissed off.He knew he hadn't been the nicest and now was his pack mates chance to give him pay back. For all the years of mistreatment and targeted rage against the omega pups.
Once his father turned and left all the other wolves looked at him with hunger in their eyes, but not hunger from their stomachs. No hunger for power. Hunger for the coveted alpha position that his father made clear would remain open till someone who met his demands filled it. He growled and chuffed as he finally stood, shook off and growled at everyone. Lets go get dinner! Though they were all hungry not a soul acknowledged his demand, each separating into their school groups. Because of his father they had to learn to trust each other while still being rank enemies.
This was gonna be tough and now even his closest friend Tyler had turned his back to him. He had to gain back their respect. But he was so hungry he couldn't think straight. With a sigh he set off alone. He saw the herd of caribou that his fathers hunters had attacked earlier. He smiled as he slowly made his way down the path. Being sure to stay down wind as he slowly approached them. How hard could hunting be. He saw the hunters kill two or three at a time so he figured he could at least catch one. He wasn't small by any means; his wolf sat at a good three feet tall on all fours. He smiled. Alright, Ruger lets go get everyone dinner. Ruger grumbled. We're not strong enough alone and I'm still sore from running three days straight. Everyone else decided to rest and hunt in the morning. Why don't… Shut up ruger you heard dad we will remain rankless if we can't prove ourselves, This is perfect we can bring them back food and show them all who the next alpha is. Ruger sighed but knew lyle needed to learn for himself that alone he was weak versus having a pack to back him up.