Sakara woke with a start as he tried to rub the sleep away from his eyes with his paws.
What a horrible dream. He enjoyed it so much only to forget it.
He looked at his brother Omaris sleeping on top of Abby who seemed to be sucking something in her dream. He shook his head and walked out of the den waking a wolf not far from him who softly protested in his passing.
"Sorry" he whispered as he walked out of the cave into the darkness of the night.
The night air was chilled to say the least and to be honest he felt that this night was special somehow, or maybe he wished it to be. He glanced across the clearing to the large tree hole that housed Sabina and sighed.
"So have you… already found your true mate?" He couldn't help but recall Omaris asking Sabina earlier as he too had gone to greet her, but had hid upon hearing their conversation. He also had wondered if it was true, as she never showed any interest in the males in the Clan. She wasn't interested in Omaris. She wasn't interested in that wannabe Alpha. And sadly not interested in him.
He looked at the cave longingly, How could she not like a single male within the clan?
He breathed in the air trying to catch a whiff of her scent from the cave but he was upwind, he sighed and closed his eyes as he sat down. He remembered when he heard her voice so long ago, it was soft and caring as she cuddled him close to her as he tried to find milk.
He always remembered the smell of something foul and the screams of pain in his earlier years when suddenly that smell came to him. It was the smell of pine and dirt but this scent was almost drowned in the smell of blood as he felt pain in his chest when suddenly it wasn't there.
Then he heard that soft voice as she whispered in his ear "My love, don't worry. I will cherish you."
Her voice was filled with such raw emotion as she spoke and immediately he believed she would. He would always be loved by her, and whether she wanted it or not he would always love her.
He found out later at the age of ten that his mother had been a pregnant she-wolf that had left the pack voluntarily. She conceived in a cave a week later far from the pack in the hopes to keep the pack far away from him and his siblings, and they suffered for it.
Sabina told him that he didn't actually just have two siblings but five, and he was horrified. She told him they died over a period of a week from starvation and being eaten by their own mother. Sabina had said the only reason he and his last two siblings survived was because she tracked his mother to the den.
Sabina had found his mother about to devour him, with her front tooth beginning to pierce through his chest into his heart. Sabina had killed her without mercy before his mother could do anymore harm to him or his siblings, and slowly she raised them on Dragin goat milk over a course of six months until they were big enough to walk on their own.
Once they were big enough to travel to the Petra Clan, she brought them to the ravine over a course of days jumping cave to cave.He remembered her words clearly as they stood over the valley filled with the smell of wolves "Now children"
He remembered looking up at her with his golden yellow eyes "Yes?"
Sabina had never told them her name, so whenever they wished to find her they would bark or find her themselves, eventually this would be an issue with their adoptive mother as they only barked at her if they called for her. Sabina had smiled at the little wolves before her sadly, he always wondered why when she said "We are going to be meeting your family today."
All three of the children leapt with joy as Sabina had said since she had taken them under her care until they were old enough to go back. Sakara knew it to be an only part of the truth now but for a child it was a good enough explanation.
He could remember when he jumped as a sudden bark from below them in the pine forest came echoing to their ears. Sakara and his siblings ran behind Sabina who looked at them for a second with concern as she said "Never show fear. Especially to your enemies little ones."
Sabina looked away from Sakara and his siblings to the wall of the ravine they had walked past moments before. Sakara taking her glance as a cue, he led his siblings over to the wall hiding easily from view.
Sabina stood very still making Sakara wonder if she was a statue, when a group of fourteen wolves came racing up the side of the wall on the ledge leading to Sabina. They were all aggressive yet the one that made Sakara worry for Sabina was the leading large gray wolf, who to Sakara's surprise stopped short of Sabina.
"Sabina?" the gruff voice came from the large gray wolf making Sakara note it was a male wolf, he had been rather keen to understand the difference between himself and Sabina as a child. One such difference Sabina had mentioned was male wolves had deeper voices.
"Beta Sannan" Sabina lowered her head below his making Sakara want to growl. Sabina as they call her was never meant to bow to anyone, she was supposed to hold her head high as she had in the cave or when she would go howl at nights when it was too quiet within the forest.
"Where have you been for the last six months?" asked a high pitched voice.
Sakara peeked past the ledge to see a small gray and white wolf shove past the other wolves to stand beside the wolf called Beta Sannan. What a ridiculous name he had thought, they didn't have to make that male gray wolf's name so long.
Sabina smiled "I have found Zera's pups"
Both wolves went rigid and Sakara felt Sabina's air change slightly from happy to irritance, but she did not expose the wolves before her with her feelings.
"Sabina…. they were cast out with their mother." said Beta Sannan as though he were trying to convince Sabina to desert Sakara and his siblings.
Sabina sighed "No, their mother left."
"Alpha Fumus would not even accept them into the clan even if they have suddenly appeared before him." said the gray and white wolf to Sabina, who looked at her coldly.
"These words do not fit you Beta Ali" growled Sabina as the gray and white wolf looked away in shame making Sakara want to cheer Sabina on, but he remained silent.
"I will take them into camp myself" Sabina said coldly to the wolves who slowly parted for her to pass.
She flicked her tail and Sakara smiled, now its his turn to show off in front of these wolves that he and his siblings belonged here. After all as Sabina had said "Never show fear. Especially to your enemies" and he knew these wolves seemed to be more enemy like then family. Sakara slowly walked out flicking his tail for his siblings to follow.
He tried not to look at the gray wolf who looked at him surprised as he walked by followed closely by his siblings. It made Sakara's pride jump with joy as the gray wolf was not the only one in shock at Sakara's presence but also the other wolves present.
A silver wolf whispered "Look at that confidence. He definitely has his blood in him"
"He has more confidence than Fenar." mentioned a light brown wolf Sakara would find out to be Sinar, a female wolf known to be quite a chatter box in the clan.
"Will that pup be the next Alpha?" Sakara wanted to glance at them but refrained from it, he was on a roll and he didn't want them to know he could hear their loud whispers.
The wolf was shushed by the one next to it and the small parade of pride he delivered to the spectators was over, he was standing next to Sabina who looked at him knowingly. He smiled up at her and she looked back to their path and continued walking, he followed behind her for a long time when he heard the sound of snow being crushed and smiled. They were following him, following Sabina, him and his siblings. Maybe he was to be the next Alpha, whatever that was he wasn't sure but he did like the way it sounded on other wolves tongues. It sounded like something he wanted.
Sakara looked around not as eagerly as his siblings but he glanced here and there to see many dens of wolves with some wolves exiting out of some with very wide bellies, he assumed these were the she-wolves who were called mothers. Sabina had refused to be called their mother as she had said she never gave birth to them, he wondered what the difference between Sabina and a mother was.
He knew now what the difference was. His mother was instinctually meant to care for him, as he was a part of her as her offspring. Sabina however chose to care for him and his siblings until they were brought to the clan, and adopted as children of a she-wolf who lost her cubs to fever earlier that year.
He could remember those words Alpha Fumus said "I will never claim a child from that she-wolf as a wolf of the Petra Clan! It was that She wolf who cared for nothing other than status that caused such great heartache in this clan! She not only valued status over life, she killed her own kind for her own amusement! To me, she and her offspring are nothing more than rogues. Cast these pups out. They have no place here."
Sakara had felt the pain of being abandoned by their mother but to be abandoned by their whole family too was just heart wrenching, then Sabina said words he would never forget "Then I do not belong here. For I too had been a rogue, for I too have made a terrible mistake and I too have killed many for my own amusement."
"Sabina! What are you talking about?" demanded Beta Ali.
"You know what I speak of, Alpha Fumus." Sabina's words were sinister of their own accord but they seemed to have struck true because the large gray wolf known as Alpha Fumus whispered "They are not the same."
Sabina smiled at Alpha Fumus "How can you claim such things? Was it not Evil? Was it not selfish?"
Sakara was confused but as he turned to gaze upon the other wolves and he began to see that they too were just as confused as he was, and only this Alpha Fumus and Sabina knew of what she spoke of.
"Would you condemn my offspring for the mistakes I have made in the past?" asked Sabina.
Sakara stared at Sabina in surprise, Sabina had offspring? He had more brothers and sisters? Did Sabina have a mate he could call father? but Alpha Fumus put Sakara's hopes down as he said "You never had any."
"But what if I did? Would you cast them out?" She asked this and the world around Sakara seemed to fall silent all except the breathing of the wolves around him.
The Alpha stared hard at Sabina when he whispered "Join me"
The Alpha quickly stood before entering the cave leaving Sabina to follow, however before entering Sabina smiled at Sakara before disappearing into the darkness of the cave. They were gone for a long while before Alpha Fumus exited followed closely by Sabina.
"Wolves of the Petra Clan. These pups have been found in the forest abandoned by their mother, I wish to have a volunteer to take them under their care."
A tan she-she wolf with brown eyes stepped forward "Alpha Fumus, I will care for them."
Sakara almost refused when he saw Sabina shake her head and he calmed himself again, after all Sabina had said she wasn't his mother. He had felt his heart begin to hurt as he began to see he was once more being abandoned. Later in years Sakara had realized the Sabina never stopped caring about him and his siblings but she was just never one to take upon the parenting of young pups, he never understood and Sabina never explained why.
Alpha Fumus nodded "Then so it shall be"
Sakara had been shocked he and his siblings were within the clan yet, he turned to look at Alpha Fumus had they really accepted them?
Beta Sannan was the one to answer their question "Father? What of their parentage?"
Alpha Fumus turned his yellow gaze upon Sakara "How am I to know? They came from a rogue."
Sakara sighed as he stood in the cave entrance as he whispered "Rogue."
They were known as the rogue pups and though they were accepted in the clan they were always treated different, always got the harder jobs, were always the last to find out things and were always the one to take the fall. The only one who believed in him and his siblings was Sabina, she cared about them unconditionally and she was his friend and first love.
In fact that's why he wasn't excited for the coming of age ceremony. Not being excited was putting it nicely, he was actually more hateful of the coming of age ceremony. He didn't want anyone other than Sabina, she was always going to be by his side and he was going to make sure it happened. With a true mate or not.
He sighed, maybe he should retire and forget trying to remember his dream, it wasn't a telling of the future anyways. He turned to go into the cave when suddenly a flash of white caught the corner of his eye, he quickly looked back at Sabina's cave to see her standing at the mouth of it for a moment.
He backed into the mouth of the ceremonial cave letting his black fur blend into the shadows. She looked around the clearing surrounded by the caves of the clans, but seeing no other wolf outside she left at a trot towards the ravine.
He silently walked out of the cave mouth after her at a safe distance, she should not be alone at night as it was dangerous even for a seasoned wolf like Sabina. He smiled to himself, she would not be alone. She would have him to protect her from the dangers of the forest, and she wouldn't even know he was there.