ATTACK

Lunis leapt from her spot, paws thrashing about as her fight response kicked in. Her body twisted mid air, making a full turn and landed awkwardly on her paws, prepared to face whatever danger had managed to sneak up on her. Everyone else had lifted their heads, Rodwen and Sunny bolting out of the brush on high alert at the call, all eyes turned towards the two Huntresses.

"What's going on?" Growled the dark pelted Beta, deep blue eyes scanning the area with a steely eye.

Heads turned to Senna as she scoffed, appearing not in the slightest alarmed while casually flicking a twig from her shoulder. A sheepish smirk lifted the corner of her lips. "Woops, my bad— thought I saw a snake."

Anger boiled in Lunis' veins. The others seemed to share the same opinion, glarring at the cream Delta with unfriendly stares. Silent steps approached the female, grabbing her attention towards a scowling Rodwen.

"You know better than to ruin a hunt over some grudge, Senna." His growl was laced with anger, but he kept his usual calm tone, his blue eyes turned to ice. "You've probably alerted the entire forest, ruining any chances we've had of catching prey."

Senna stood up, starring at him with an equally challenging stare. "I told you, I thought I saw a snake. If I'm that bad of a scout, don't assign me the position next time." She flicked her tail crossly, turning her back to the broad Beta before eyeing Lunis with an equally angry look as she walked away.

Lunis bit back a growl and sighed. "I think we've done enough for today. Let's head back and hopefully, the others had better luck than us."

A wave of agreement swept through the group, everyone's head dipping at the Huntress' words. She turned to Rodwen then flicked her tail, calling everyone to follow her. The wolves obeyed, trekking alongside the leading female, a heavy distempt hovering above their heads. Before long, the group reached the plains' border where Rohan had previously instructed them to meet, leaving behind an eerily silent forest. The plains ahead were just as quiet, the tall grass gently rippling into golden waves along the horizon with still no sign of their packmates.

The sun had already begun to settle behind the tree tops, it's final golden rays majestically stretching through the sky. The pack was supposed to regroup by now, why aren't the others already here? Intrigued, Lunis approached Rodwen, both wolves sharing the same worried look in their faces.

"They should've been back by now..." lowly growled the broad male, deep blue eyes scanning the horizon.

"Perhaps they ran into trouble?" Suggested Sunny, brushing a delicate paw over her golden snout.

"That or we're too early-" growled Kora, turning her dark head angrily to a cergain Delta. Senna curled her lips into a snarl as a response, barring her sharp teeth. Rodwen quickly gave out a warning growl, urging to the females to cease their queral before they pushed his patience any further.

Lunis however, paid no attention to the argument within the ranks, all her focus drawn towards the far side of the plains. Something was wrong. Her gut fluttered with anxiety, an ominous sense of dred washing over her as the sudden urge to find her packmates nipped at her mind. A blood curdling howl echoed from across the plain, alerting the present wolves with a gruesome worry.

Rodwen barked alarmingly. "That sounded like Aki-"

The male's words were drowned by the echo of a blood curdling roar, striking fear into every wolf's chest. A grizzly. The reeds split at the wolves' passage, their claws digging deep gashes in the ground while they pelted towards the far side of the field, hearts racing in their chest. They reached the far side of the field, breaking through the forest line when another gut wrenching howl ripped through the sky, followed by the unmistakable roar of a bear.

Within the center of a hollow, tufts of fur and splashes of blood stained the scene, bear and wolves fighting with equal ferocity. Lunis breached through a line of bushes, skidding to a halt when she spotted the massive creature, jaws gapped open as it gave out a mighty roar and faced its enemies.

Rohan, his shoulder dripping with blood, curled his lips ferociously at the bear, keeping his body low while he and Silver circled the beast, Navira close to her mate's side. Further back, Blaze stood before Nuka, his back facing the injured Omega who struggled to stand up as his front leg stained crimson onto the grassy floor. Although the bear was outnumbered, it seemed unwilling to give up the fight, foaming at the mouth while it panted loudly, eyeing the wolves with its sunken orbs.

Upon arrival, Sunny immediately crawled to Blaze and helped him escort Nuka to safety; the young wolf had a worrying gash in his hind leg, the sharp edge of a broken bones visible through the wound. Rodwen, Lunis, Kora and Senna were quick to act as well, each taking a defensive stance, joining the fight. Crouching till her belly brushed the ground, Lunis silently stalked to the bears blindspot before leaping onto it's back, her strong jaws bitting down into the creature's scruff. The grizzly gave out a roar of pain, rising to it's hind legs as it flailed its paws around, desperate to rid itself of its opponent. Taking the opportunity, Rohan leaped in and bit into the bears hind leg, spitting back a mouthful of fur.

Enraged and in pain, the bear kicked out, it's claws missing Rohan's neck, but another powerful kick shook him off and connected with his head, sending the large wolf flying. The predator then swiped a large paw over it's shoulder, clawing towards Lunis with a mighty roar. Quick on her paws, the female leaped out of the way as the sharp claws raked into thin air. She landed with a thud ont the ground but lost her footing and tumbled just as a massive set of claws racked against her flank, ripping out a good chunk of fur, only missing her flesh by a whisker. Senna was quick to retaliate and racked the grizzlies muzzle. Scarlet drops tainted the earth, shaken by the predator's gut wrenching cry as it finally backed away, overwhelmed by the onslaught of wolves. Shaking it's head, it took a few quick glances at the canines, then turned heals and pelted away, huffing in pain.

With the danger away, the wolves could finally relax, their pelts returning to its flat, albeit ruffled state. Lunis groaned, a flash of pain invading her flanks as her legs struggled to push her up. A gentle snout came to her aid accompanied by Blaze's familiar scent.

"Any injuries?" He crooned, worry lacing his voice.

Lunis shrugged, bitting back a whimper. "Nothing serious, cuts and bruises."

Blaze tipped his head, noticing a gash in the female's shoulder where the bears claws had cut through. He gently licked the wound, cleaning the blood from her fur all the while careful not to press too hard. Lunis pressed her head gratefully to her friend's shoulder then turned to the rest of the pack as they too cleaned each other's wounds.

Rohan laid down by Navira, the gentle giant stroking his tongue over her cheek and neck, removing the blood that stained her beautiful black fur.

"Is everyone alright?" Navira Barked, eyeing her pack attentively once she had shaken off her daze.

"Nuka has a nasty cut in his leg. Sunny helped stop the bleeding but I don't think he can put any pressure on it." Blaze reported, sitting down while Lunis cleaned the blood off his fur.

The dark furred female nodded then turned a worried gaze towards Rohan. "We'll need to get that bite cleaned..." She crooned, eyeing the blood soaked wounds on her mate's front leg.

After a few moments of silence assessing wounds and cleaning cuts, Lunis stared at the massive gap the bear had left in the brush when it left, bewildered. "What's a grizzly doing this far out into the territory? The nearest prey-rich river is at least three suns from here.

- It must've been seeking out food-" rasped Dasker, his old voice cracked from exhaustion. "It's pelt wasn't thick enough to protect its skin, not to mention his ribs and bones showing underneath."

A wave of whispers rose from the group, concern lingering like a heavy cloud above their heads. Crooned by his mate's gentle licks, Rohan spoke softly in reply. "We must not forget, Thushar was incredibly unforgiving last season. Many animals suffered a lack of prey, especially further North.

- But we're near the end of Summar, prey has been bountiful eversince.

- Maybe for us." Navira added, pausing Rohan's cleaning. "However, the river's upper North might be dried out from the drought. Perhaps this bear was desperate enough to venture far into our territory."

The wolves nodded in agreement, however, Senna unconvinced, starred intently at a Bush settlement. "Perhaps..." she groaned half-heartedly, ears flat onto her skull. "Or perhaps, he was after something."

A heavy silence ensued, all's attention turned to the Huntress. Intrigued, Rodwen trotted up to the she-wolf, investigating the area she designated with her head. "Navira, Rohan."

Their names called, both Alphas trotted towards their Beta, a stern look frowning their faces. The icyness in their gaze was suddenly replaced by shock, Navira craning her neck towards Sunny. "Head back to the den, warn Silver— we have a critically wounded on our paws.

- Yes Navira." The small she-wolf pelted off into the forest, passing by a confused Lunis. The female tipped her head, eyes wide with worry.

"I didn't see anyone get hurt-

- It isn't for one of us." Rohan sighed, looking down with a face of stone. Lunis trotted over to her leaders, ready to help whomever was injured. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw the silvery grey pelt of a badly injured she-wolf, hidden in a makeshift den she had dug between the roots of a tree.

Resting by her flank, the frame of a tiny pup stood out amongst her silver patterned pelt.

-*-

Fun fact:

Recent studies showed wolf packs aren't exactly ranked as Alphas and Omegas, but rather lead by a mating pair of wolves.