Sophia shivered in anticipation as Remiel spoke those words. The betas began to separate everyone into groups made up of dogs from all packs. Since some sixty dogs all hunting at once wouldn't work very well, five to six groups were formed and then they spread over the territory.

Speedwell, Wind Pack's beta, put Sophia into a group of what looked like ten dogs, counting both him and herself. She felt a jolt of nervousness as she realized that she was the only dog from Lake Pack. From Earth Pack, there was a Yorkshire Terrier and a Dachshund-type mix that might have been a relative of the Yorkie. There was also an Alaskan Klee Kai and a Samoyed from Frost Pack; a pit bull and one of the Great Dane trainees from Night Pack; a Belgian Malinois and some kind of shepherd mix from Storm Pack; and also a Bearded Collie, one of Speedwell's packmates.

"Introduce yourselves," Speedwell barked. The dogs had to know each other's names before the hunt began. "As you know, I am Speedwell, Wind Pack's beta."

"I'm Kye," said the Beared Collie, shaking back her long fur to reveal twinkling brown eyes.

"River," yipped the Yorkie. "And this is my son, Quake."

"Jager's the name," rumbled the pit bull. "And I'm sure you've seen Rocky tonight." He nodded to the trainee, who raised his head proudly.

"I'm Echo!" barked the Klee Kai, who looked rather energetic. She was bouncing on her paws as though she couldn't wait for the hunt to begin.

"I'm Gemma," said her packmate, the Samoyed, who looked much calmer to Sophia.

"My name is Hyperion," barked the Malinois, "and this is Knox." The mix dipped his head. He looked like he may have been related to his packmate, but Hyperion made no mention of it.

Sophia's fur went hot as she realized they were now looking at her, expecting her to introduce herself. "Sophia," she murmured, then raised her voice slightly in case they hadn't heard. "My name is Sophia."

"Excellent," said Speedwell. "Follow me and scent for prey."

The group rose and trotted after Speedwell, nostrils flaring as they scented the air. Sophia looked around herself. She thought that the meadow was pretty at night, but it couldn't compare to moonlight shimmering on the lake.

Shaking her head to clear it, Sophia focused on hunting again. She put her nose to the ground and sniffed, but smelled nothing but grass, dirt, and the faint scents of animals that were no longer there.

After a while, a voice barked, "I found something!" Sophia turned to look at Hyperion, who had drifted away from the group slightly and now stood, his tail waving. "White-tail deer, it smells like."

"Lead the way, then," Speedwell barked, dipping his head.

Hyperion nodded and started down the scent trail, the rest of the group behind him. Sophia allowed herself to fall to the back, preferring to keep from being surrounded by unfamiliar dogs. She knew that they were supposed to be one pack right now, but she still didn't know them.

Hyperion led them into tall grass; it brushed the bottom of Sophia's muzzle and covered the small dogs completely. The larger dogs dropped into a crouch so they wouldn't be seen.

"There!" whispered Gemma, pointing with her muzzle to where a group of deer stood. Some of them seemed to be asleep or resting; others were still grazing.

"Speedwell and I can herd them towards you," Kye said. "Then you all can single one out to chase."

The other dogs expressed their approval of this, and so the two Wind Pack dogs bounded from the bush and ran at the herd. Sophia tensed, watching with admiration as the two dogs expertly ran around the herd, arousing them with sharp barks and nips to the heel, rounding stragglers back up and herding them towards where the rest of the dogs were.

"Now!" Jager barked, bursting forth from the tall grass and plunging into the herd. The other dogs followed and Sophia found herself in the midst of a wild whirling of hooves and fur, the barking of dogs and the bleating of deer. Having become slightly disoriented, she was quite glad when Knox singled a buck out and the dogs regrouped to chase it down.

Exhilaration flooded through her as she galloped after the deer with the other dogs. "Spread out!" yelled Speedwell. Knowing herself to be more swift than strong, Sophia joined Speedwell, Rocky, and Echo as they ran harder, attempting to get in front of the deer and cut off its escape.

Suddenly, Quake darted forward and ran right at the deer's legs. It stumbled and the dogs surrounded it. Gemma and Jager both took hold of its neck while the others helped to hold it down. Eventually, the deer stopped struggling and the dogs stepped back, panting.

"That was awesome!" Echo barked, her tail whizzing. Sophia grinned, silently agreeing with her. Her heart was pounding and her paws had begun to grow damp with perspiration, but the successful kill was worth it.

"That was a risky move, Quake," River said, an edge to her tone. "That deer could have killed you with one kick."

Quake shrugged. "I knew it'd save time if I just tripped it. His hooves didn't get too close to me."

"Well, be more careful next time," River replied, though she was clearly more relieved than annoyed.

"Well, let's get it back," Jager grunted. He grabbed hold of one of the deer's limbs and began to drag it back, assisted by Hyperion, Rocky, and Knox.

When they returned to where the Hunter's Moon had begun, two other groups had already made their kills and were waiting for the rest to get back. Sophia sat by the deer and waited, her ears pricked.

It wasn't long before the other groups returned and the preceptors said the blessing over the meal. The dogs then began to eat and talk, exchanging more personal news and pleasantries. Sophia was content to listen to the others while she ate rather than talk.

"What do you think about those wolf scents?" River was asking Kye. "I haven't been out much; I haven't scented them, but Saxtus told me he did."

"I don't know," Kye answered. "I scented it some, while we were hunting the other day. I don't know where it could've come from, though."

"Probably just a passing pack, like Aaron said," Hyperion barked, pausing from his activity of ripping meat off of a bone. "Wolves can be nomadic sometimes."

"It's probably nothing." Rocky looked up from his own meal. "It was just scent anyway. Why's everybody getting so worried about it?"

Before this question could be answered, Sophia noticed that most of her pack was beginning to stand up to leave. The moon was sinking down towards the horizon; the Hunter's Moon was nearly over.

"Come on, Lake Pack!" Dallas barked. "We're heading home."

Sophia swallowed the last of the meat she was eating and then stood up, dipping her head to her hunting partners. "It was a pleasure hunting with you," she said respectfully.

"You too," smiled Gemma, wagging her tail.

"See you at the next Hunter's Moon!" Rocky called as she trotted back to her own pack.

"How was your hunt?" Jarvis asked as she joined the group. "Mine was mostly defenders... We got smaller prey."

"We took down a deer," Sophia replied proudly. "It was great."

"I saw," interjected Seth, a black Cocker Spaniel. "It looked like an impressive catch."

Sophia ducked her head, smiling. "I didn't do much, really," she said modestly.

"I'm sure you did," Jarvis said, pride shining in his eyes as he looked at her. "Mark my words, Seth, she'll be one of Lake Pack's best hunters in the future."

"Well, Tarragon is quite good too, I must say," Seth said nonchalantly.

"You're just saying that because he's your son," objected Jarvis.

"Well, you were just saying that about Sophia because she's your sister!" Seth retorted.

Sophia chuckled as the two slid into the lake, bickering. She yawned as she paddled behind them, realizing how tired she was. The Hunter's Moon was great, but now all she wanted was to go back to the island and sleep.

~

Sophia blinked open her eyes and saw that it was morning. Do I have to get up already? With a sigh, she heaved herself into a sitting position and looked around.

Immediately she was struck with confusion. Where is everybody? The rocky, sandy part of the island where the pack usually congregated during the day--and slept on warm nights--was empty. There wasn't any sound except the faint splash of the lake upon the shore.

Sophia rose and padded forward, glancing around. She felt strangely uneasy. The sky had suddenly become overcast with dark clouds, and it was so eerily silent. "Bronze? Jarvis?" she whispered, hardly daring to break the silence. "Where is everybody?"

She peered into the clump of trees where the pack sheltered in worse weather. It looked dark and threatening, with shadows in every corner. "Celeste?" she breathed. "Aurora? Tarragon? Please, somebody, say something..."

Hardly knowing what she was doing, Sophia walked into the trees. The deafening silence continued, barely broken by her pawsteps. "Anyone?" she whimpered, truly scared now. She turned around, and let out a sharp, horrified gasp.

She was staring into the face of a huge gray wolf with its long, deadly fangs bared. It loomed up out of the shadows over her, its golden eyes blazing with wild ferocity.

The voice from her dream not two days ago whispered in her ear again urgently: Terror!

She shrieked and whirled around to flee from the monstrous wolf, only to find herself lying in the sunshine on the island shore, with no face but Tarragon's over her. She was on her back, her paws thrust outward as though to deflect an attack.

"Sophia!" He stared at her, his eyes wide. "What's wrong? Are you okay?"

Sophia swallowed and shakily stood up, realizing she must look terrified. "I--I'm fine," she stuttered. "J-just a nightmare."

Tarragon frowned. "You had one of those the other day, didn't you? Are you sure you're okay?"

Sophia nodded mutely. Tarragon didn't look like he was convinced in the least, but he simply said, "Well, Jayla and Sinbad are taking us for basic battle training this afternoon. We're also going hunting at midday."

"Okay," Sophia mumbled. Tarragon walked away, casting a glance over his shoulder like Bronze had done. She wasn't too worried about he was thinking with the fright of the dream still in her mind.

Nightmares don't repeat themselves... Do they?

Hey! Hoped you enjoyed this chapter, and as a note, I put up the picture I used as a reference for the island, to aid you in your imagination. ;)