Ari's Hope

After a successful autumn, Ari and her alpha male, Moa, had been leading Green-Leaf Pack well. With it's limited members lowered to four after Windsong's peaceful passing, food had been abundant and easy to get. They didn't hunt unless their carcasses had every scrap taken off of them, yet when winter came, life became brutal. Elk and Moose became more hard to find, rabbits were difficult to chase, and hunters gathered closer to their den. They were forced to take shelter in the deepest part of their territory. Ari was terrified. Her pack was starving. This never had happened before. Clueless, she separated from her pack for a little bit of time for herself. She trotted by the riverbank, following its calm flow, searching for any prey in sight. Nothing popped up. Ari only had the choice of going back to her pack. When she met back with them, they were resting, storing as much energy and fat that they could preserve to survive.

*****

When morning arrived, Ari was dazed with hunger. She stood and stretched before taking a whiff of the dawn's cool air. A foul stench clung to the snow. Not just a foul stench, but the stench of a dead wolf. But it was stronger than just one. She jolted around, licking Moa's cheek eagerly to wake him. Moa blinked open his golden eyes before rising next to Ari. Turning to his right, the alphas walked confidently to find their beta, Cephus. When they had walked a few meters, they froze in terror. Cephus and Wilder, their omega, were laying a meter apart, limp. She prodded their sides. Nothing. Ari and Moa howled a sad, harmonized tune of sadness before leaving their pack mates behind. They mustn't let that happen to them. As the two raced through the day, they found a limping deer and eagerly caught it, filling to their hearts content, and remembering the two they had lost to the winter famine. Soon, Moa and Ari mated successfully. Their pack would continue with the new hope of new life for Green-Leaf Pack.

*****

After a slow three months, Green-Leaf pack had two little miracles. The first, a dark male, Derramme. The second, a white-coated female, Voile. Moa and Ari were excited for their first litter. Moa quickly took down a wounded deer near the den for Ari and the pups to feed as often as they needed. But soon, they would face another issue--Hunting season.
Since it was the beginning of spring, new life, and green, hunters would surely be about. And there was. Humans spread out traps and bait cows to lure the hungry wolves into their clutches. Traps surrounded the den, food, and water supplies. The wolf family would have to risk starvation for a few days before the traps wore off.
Luckily, the hunters had moved westward with all their traps and shiny objects. Moa and Ari could easily develop back into their new life with their wolf family.

*****