"Mother? Who were those odd wolves we saw at the Ridge?"
"Odd wolves?" Moon tilted her head at her little son. "What do you mean, Howl?"
"They were wolves," Howl yapped, "but they were all runts, I think.. they were small, and they had the same dark fur on their backs. I think we saw three or.. or four of them."
Moon's grey eyes widened. She looked about, scenting the air, knowing the kind of scent she was looking for. Something that was canine, strong and musty.
"Howl, my small one, where-.. where did you see them?" Moon's tone was serious as she stood, careful not to tread on the tangle of legs and tails and ears in the tall grass. Her mate, Havoc, was asleep nearby, exhausted from their latest foray for food.
Howl stood, tipping his nose to a faraway rocky outcrop on the mountain's back. The Ridge. The place that led to the Burn if you crossed it.. a barren zone where the trees lay charred and stumps stretched for miles.
A place where the prey never ran.
"You saw them on the Ridge, then?"
"They were pacing.. like sire when he gets nervous." Howl averted his gaze. "Back and forth.. they kept looking at us."
"When was this?" Moon sat, lying with her pup sitting between her paws. "And where were you that you could see the Ridge so well?"
Howl's ears drooped and he looked down.
"Howl.." Moon felt a prick of worry in her chest. "Howl, I promise, you are not in trouble."
"I.. I'm sorry! You told us not to stray, but.. Thunder and I.." Howl yelped, tail tucked. "..We didn't mean to go so far, and.. and when we saw them we ran back!"
"Oh..." Moon hugged the curve of her neck around her little one. As much as it filled her with fear to hear this.. she was just glad to hear that Howl and Thunder hadn't been hurt. Worry and anxiety danced in the pale she-wolf's chest like mule deer bucks in the rut. If they'd run back, then those things.. would know where the pups were. Where all of them were.
They needed to move, and fast.
"Come on, now," Moon said, nosing her pups awake. "We must go!"
The little wolves, not much more than two months, wobbled as they stood. They blinked up at the night sky, eyes closing still from sleep. Havoc had gotten up in a flash, pacing around the area, scenting the air for the smaller, vicious canines.
"Howl.." Moon said softly to her fuzzy brown pup. "..They.. the animals you saw.. they are not wolves."
The pup's eyes widened in shock.
"Then what are they?"
"Coyotes." Moon said, turning her head to the ridge. "A long time ago, they were like us, but their ways are different from ours. They do not like us wolves."
Howl dipped his head, a frightened look on his face. "They want to.. to hurt us, right?"
Moon nodded. It pained her to teach her pups this, but it was necessary. The whole world was after them. Pumas, coyotes, eagles and bears.. none would stop 'till they were dead.
"My little one, Howl, as long as you are careful, you will be safe." Moon woofed, calling the others to her. "You can recognize coyotes as not-wolves by the fur on their backs, their rank scent, and their thin figures."
"Why do they want to hurt us?"
"Because they want our prey."
"Why can't we share? Like you and sire share what you hunt?"
Moon let out a soft, barking laugh. "They want it all to themselves. But there are so many of them.. that the prey ends up never enough, no matter what."
Howl looked back to the Ridge as they started walking for the night, towards what Moon knew as their summer den.
“Is.. is that's why they're so small and skinny?"
Moon looked up as well. She could see the Ridge from a distance. She'd walked that place, knew its hostile conditions. The herds of deer, elk, and pronghorn never stayed there. Not even wolves wanted to roam that place.. after all, there was nothing there for them in that barren land. A wolf was lucky if they could find even a hare or two to fill their belly for a bit. Mice and voles were hardly any sustenance.
We may not share our food, our lives.. but.. we share our lands, still. And no animal should have to raise their pups there.. not even them.
But there was nothing that would change this. The coyote pack was almost thirty strong, and they were fierce.
No wolf pup caught in their grasp would escape their jaws. And they'd make sure of it.
"Yes," she murmured softly. "And my alpha told me that it is for the better."
Even if it isn't.
The mother turned back to the Summer Place, nudging her pups away from that cursed Ridge. She would keep them safe, no matter what.
These pups... they were everything.
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