Free New Territory by Sarah Marie Porter

Among the tall, whispering pines of an alpine forest, a wolf ran. She bounded over the springy turf, her long pink tongue lolling beneath her slender nose. Pine needles carpeted her footing, scenting the air with the sweet spice of evergreen. Her pale fur ruffled in the spring breeze as she hurried to an unknown destination. At her side ran a larger wolf, a male, with similar, shaggy pale fur. Behind her, in single file, ran four others. The first was white, and the other three were gray-and-white, their markings distinguishing them as individuals.
     
    The white wolf was a younger female, her fur ivory and her eyes an unusual bright blue. She loped easily behind her sister Ailene and her sister’s mate, Brayden, careful to stay an exact length behind Ailene. Behind this she-wolf trotted an older, smaller male, all shades of gray but for patches of white on his muzzle and around his yellowish eyes. Behind him, an elderly she-wolf loped along, her eyes dulled with age and her once-gray muzzle speckled with white hairs. Close behind her, a strong partly-grown male galloped at the end of the line. His golden eyes sparked with vigor, and his face was marked with a starburst-like mask of dark grey-on-white that gave him an almost quizzical look. Every so often, he would run up alongside the elderly female and give her a reassuring nudge with his nose, before dropping back to his place guarding the end of the line. At the front, Brayden, the pack Alpha, veered off to the east, having caught the scent of a herd of caribou. When the rest of the pack caught the scent, their formation changed. The strong male in the back ran up to join the Alpha pair, and the older male and elderly female dropped back.
     
    Brayden glanced over to make sure the young male, Kieran, was in his place. His Beta nodded slightly as he loped swiftly at Brayden's side. At Brayden's left, his lifemate Ailene kept pace. At her shoulder, Ailene's younger sister Keva loped along smoothly, her blue eyes roving the forest for a glimpse of their prey. The scent trail continued across rocky ground, and the ground grew rough and hilly as they continued in a southeast direction. Brayden’s ears pricked up as he heard water rushing nearby. He continued to lead the way, as the sound of water grew louder until it became a small river running through the alpine woods. The river was low in its banks, typical for the time of year, but it was still enough for the wolves to lose the scent trail. Brayden growled deep in his throat, frustrated. “We have lost them, Kieran,” he said to the younger male, who was taking a quick survey of the riverbank, as the rest of the pack lapped from the cool water. Kieran looked up from his examination of the riverbank, his nostrils quivering. He searched the far bank with sharp golden eyes. “Not yet,” he said. He led the way across the river, leaping from boulder to boulder to avoid getting his paws wet.
     
    The alpha followed and the others followed quickly behind. It was late in the afternoon, and the sun was getting lower, casting dappled shadows across the forest. Kieran, the sharpest nose in the pack, led the way until Brayden caught the scent trail again. Ailene bounded past the younger male, her tale held high, ignoring him. “Do you still need the young pup to catch the scent for you, old one?” She teased her mate, her golden eyes twinkling. Brayden growled playfully at her, but spared no concentration to respond to her jibe. After a minute or two, he saw that the forest was thinning out into a clearing ahead. He slowed his pace, signaling the pack, and they split up. Keva and Ailene circled around to the woods on the opposite side of the clearing, while the elderly female and weaker male crouched deeper in the woods to watch.
     
    Brayden and Kieran split formation, each taking to one side of the clearing. Kieran could smell the musty scent of the caribou distinctly, and he soon saw them in the clearing, grazing unawares.