RUN.

That was all that mattered: RUN. As fast as I could. No - faster than that. A red cloud surrounded me, and with it came pain. Anguish. Grief. Loss. I had to run from it, had to get as far away from it as I could.

There was a crying puppy that needed help. He was important - the last pack that I had left. I scooped him up and dragged him out of the red cloud.

Then I ran to the forest, leaving the red cloud behind.

Run...

~

There was a strange scent somewhere out in the forest. I recognized it - we all did. Torn-ear had noticed it first, and had stopped running to sniff the air. Gray-streak growled under her breath and started to pace in a circle, sniffing the ground to figure out what direction it was coming from. I growled and joined Gray-streak in sniffing, trying to understand where the source of the scent was at.

The scent was dangerous. It threatened our running. It called to the red cloud and told it where we were. If we didn't deal with that scent, then it would stop us. Trip us. End our running. Then we would be caught by the cloud. We would be helpless. This scent was a threat. It had to be dealt with.

I could deal with it. I felt my teeth vibrating around the fuzzy scruff in my mouth as I focused on the scent. I was the largest wolf in this pack. The leader. There had been a word for that once... but now that word only belonged to the cloud that chased us. What mattered was the strength I held inside me. The sheer mass I had over all the other wolves that ran with me. The ripping sharpness of my teeth, the crushing power in my jaws. The scent would be helpless against any one of the wolves with me, but especially so against me.

This scent would not threaten my pack. It would not interfere with our run.

I would make sure of it.

A sudden pitiful wail came from the puppy. It was lost! It needed help! It was in danger! But... it was safe...? I held it in my mouth, and nothing could harm it there. It was too small to keep up. Too slow to run. So I carried it - had carried it for as long as I remembered, as long as I had been running. It wasn't lost. It was... it...

It was thirsty? It needed something to drink. That must be it. There had been a stream... somewhere. We had passed a stream. Had we stopped to drink? No. We had forgotten to stop and let the puppy have a drink. We needed to do that.

I turned back the way we came and sniffed at the air again. Could I smell water? The puppy was still making that noise, and it was causing Gray-streak to whine too... the other scent was still there, was still a threat... but... the puppy needed something to drink. That was important. More important?

Torn-ear growled and started walking in another direction. The direction of that other scent, the dangerous one. The one that wanted to catch us. It had to be stopped...

The puppy's cries grew louder, and I didn't care so much about the other scent anymore. Torn-ear looked uncertain, too. I turned to glare at him, meeting his bright red eyes with mine. I could see the disobedience there, see that he wanted to find the scent, wanted to kill it, and make sure it didn't threaten the run... but he would not disobey me. None of them would. None of them could, not if I wanted it.

I stared at him, feeling the distant cloud again. If I wanted, I could... I could command... but... but that would let the cloud catch me...

Another fierce growl sent the cloud away. Torn-ear's ears fell, and he stepped away from the scent. He followed me as I started back the way we had come. They all followed me. I ran faster, and led them all in a run. We had to run. The cloud was chasing us. Always right behind us.

And the puppy needed water.

We made it to the stream, and the day began to turn to night. The puppy had stopped crying... sometime. I couldn't remember when. After we had left the other scent, but before we had found the water. But the puppy was still thirsty. I could feel that. I didn't need to worry about that other scent. It wasn't important, even if it might threaten the run. The puppy needed water.

The stream was still and gentle. Barely covered my paws. It was safe for the puppy. I lowered him to the ground and released my jaws, and he ran to jump in the stream. Some of the water splashed back at me. It was cool and relaxing... and it made me realize just how tired I was. My muscles burned from the running, and my throat was parched. I was thirsty, and I was tired.

I drank from the stream to stop the burning in my throat. The others drank too, each walking up to the stream and noisily lapping up the cool water. All seven of us - Torn-ear, Gray-streak, Black-paw, Stub-tail, Golden-pelt, and myself. And the puppy.

The water reflected our red eyes back at us as we drank our fill. All except the puppy. His blue eyes watched us as he splashed playfully between our legs. Stub-tail finished drinking first, and moved towards the puppy. He slipped into a play-bow and growled lightly at the puppy. I stopped drinking to watch, and to make sure Stub-tail wouldn't hurt the puppy... but what was left of Stub-tail's tail was wagging happily back and forth. He was only looking to play.

I went back to drinking as the puppy stumbled through the stream to play with Stub-tail. The puppy nipped at Stub-tail's paw, and the larger wolf let out an exaggerated yelp as if he had been hurt before dancing away from the puppy. The puppy chased after, running as fast as his short legs could carry him through the stream.

Golden-pelt finished drinking her fill and went to join in the fun. I kept one eye on them as they danced around each other. The others finished drinking, but instead of joining to play they moved back onto dry land and stretched out in the grass. They were tired from running. I was, too.

My throat finally stopped burning. I stepped away from the stream and settled down in the grass. If we didn't run... then the cloud would catch us. But... we had run enough. It was late. We were tired. It was time to sleep.

The puppy splashed out of the stream with Golden-pelt and Stub-tail behind him. Both still wanted to play, but the puppy was done. He came over to me and nudged at my chin, pushing my head up enough to slip between my forepaws. I let out a huff and rested my head over him, protecting him with my body. Golden-pelt whined at us, but she stopped when I glared at her and growled. She chased after Stub-tail, and the two ran back into the stream as they played.

They would join us in sleep soon. We were all so tired, and I felt even more tired as the puppy rolled onto his side.

The day had ended. It was time to sleep.

We would run more tomorrow.

~

The Beta was talking - something important about a neighboring pack, and their request for food, and whether he thought it was a trick to weaken us or a legitimate request - but it was hard to focus on his words. I couldn't help but sneak another glance at the Luna. My mate was even more beautiful than ever. She glowed any time she smiled, but now that glow was practically radiant. She caught me looking at her and smiled back at me, and the already-radiant glow threatened to blind me.

I realized the Beta had stopped talking, and I glanced back at him. He had a slight smirk on his face, and I saw him look between the two of us. "Something you want to share with me, Alpha? Luna?"

My mate blushed and lowered her head a little, letting her long hair cover part of her face. I pulled her closer to me in a hug, and looked back at the Beta. "We're pregnant."

The Beta's face lit up in a smile, and he crossed the room to grab us both in a hug. "Congratulations - I mean it; I know you've been trying for a while now. This is great news." He released us from the bear hug and looked back towards the door, and towards the rest of the pack. "The request for aid can wait an hour or two - I'm going to go tell the cooks they need to work on a feast."

The Luna blushed more as the Beta left us, and I gently brushed the hair out of her eyes. "Shh. It's okay. It'll be fine; they just want to celebrate. Nothing to worry about." I brought my hand back down to hug her against me again. "They're just excited to know they'll have a little mini-Alpha running around."

She looked up at me, still blushing with that nervous shyness I had come to love, and she glowed again as she smiled. "You never know. Maybe we're having a daughter." Some of her smile faltered slightly, taking out a tiny bit of the glow. "Though I know you're hoping for an heir..."

I shook my head and kissed the top of her head. "I will love our child just as much if she's our daughter. Though I hope any daughter we have gets your nose instead of mine."

The smile came back to the Luna's face, and the glow came with it. "Me too. Though if we have a son, he gets your eyes."

"No. The ladies deserve a fighting chance. One each - brown and blue." I grinned, picturing a cute puppy with a mix of my eyes and my mate's.

My mate giggled, and she leaned into my hug. I wrapped both arms around her, and she put her head against my chest. I heard the giggling start to turn to sniffles, but I felt only happiness and excitement through our matebond. "Silly. I love yo-"

Everything went red.

An angry red fog clung to the ground around me, sending slow puffs of mist upwards to dissipate in the air. It ended a short distance away, where six ferals were digging through the rubble. Their red eyes looked up at me occasionally before they turned back to their digging. A puppy sat where the fog ended, watching with sad blue eyes that I could barely make out through the fog.

I ignored them all and held my mate. She was covered in burns. She was barely breathing. She was so weak. And so beautiful. And she... she was about to...

Something wiggled out from under a collapsed part of the building. I saw terrified blue eyes looking at me as a small wolf squirmed out from under one of the beams. It started to run towards me, stumbling on its puppy-like legs... then it stopped. It slunk down in fear. It started to back away from me, trembling in terror at what it saw. At something in my eyes. "No... don't..."

I looked back at my dying mate and held her tighter. I shut everything else out and focused only on her last moments, as she looked back at me with eyes fast fading, and whispered...

"They're gone... you have to let them go..."

My mate died in my arms.

The fog rushed towards me, drowning everything out in a haze of red.