Galina skidded to a stop in front of the small hole to the Lotus den. Her chest heaved as she sought to control her emotions. She could see her sister's small nose poking from the den and quickly swiped her paw against it and heard a yelp in return. In one fluid movement, Galina shifted and crawled into the den.
Serena glared at her from the den with her paw over her nose. The small wolf's coat was still shaggy with youth and Galina felt her heart slam into her throat as the weight of responsibility hit her shoulders.
"Shift. Now." Galina ordered as she raced further into the den. A dark tunnel led deep into the side of a rocky hill and Galina needed no light to guide herself through the rocky tunnel. She reached the main den and saw her sisters playing a game of tug in the corner with an old deer pelt. Galina tracked her eyes across the den, taking in the piles of warm pelts, various sitting areas, and mix of human goods that they had acquired from hikers in the region. Her eyes landed on her mother.
Irin stood transfixed as she stared into Galina's eyes. On a sob, she crumbled to the ground, and wrapped her arms around her knees. Her sisters immediately abandoned their game and ran to circle their mother, yipping and barking at her.
"Shift. All of you." Galina commanded. She moved to kneel in front of Irin. Her mother's grey eyes met hers through a sheen of tears.
"He's gone, isn't he?" Irin asked a question that she already knew the answer to.
Galina nodded and hugged her mother. "I'm so sorry mama. His heart. I don't know. He was racing through the trees one moment and the next he was writhing on the ground."
Her sisters had all shifted and stood beside their mother with tears racing down their cheeks. Galina swallowed against the enormity of protecting these girls, barely older than pups, and she straightened her shoulders as she heard the howls grow closer.
"Serena. You must stay here and protect your sisters. Mother and I have to go outside."
"Noooo. Galina. I can't. Let me come with you. I'm strong enough." Serena placed her hands on barely developed hips and stuck her chin out at Galina.
"As alpha of this pack I command you to stay and protect our sisters." Galina turned and placed her hands gently on Serena's shoulders. The younger girl's chin wavered as she met Galina's eyes and looked quickly away. The realization that they were on their own now settled over them.
"Mother. Come with." Galina ordered. The time for mourning would be later. Galina grabbed her mother's hand and together they raced through the dark tunnel, the sound of their panicked breath ricocheting off the walls of the cave. Galina slammed them to a stop a before they reached the front of the entrance.
"Mother. We must calm down. They'll sense our fear." Galina ran her hands up and down Irin's trembling arms. "Shh. Just breathe. We know these packs and have mediated between them for a long time. I'm not that worried about Lothar but Vadim we will have to watch out for." Galina straightened and sniffed the air. "They are here. Let's go."
"Wait. Let's shift. We'll be more powerful that way," Irin said. Galina nodded. Her mother was right. Until they knew what the packs would do it was smartest for them to stay in wolf form. She shifted quickly and sniffed the air. The scent of many wolves came to her and she knew the situation outside would be tense. The fur at the back of her neck rose and she bared her teeth before stepping out of the tunnel. Galina quickly moved her body to protect her mother. Her mother was a smaller wolf with a sudsy grey coat. She whined softly and eased herself to Galina's side.
In front of them, a circle of wolves paced. A small line divided the two halves of the circle. Two wolves stood in the center staring at each other. Galina tensed. Lothar's rusty coat was unmistakable. In girth, he was far larger than the slim, muscular black wolf that faced him. Galina had learned long ago that size wasn't always a factor when determining the strength of wolves and she knew that for what Vadim lacked in size he made up for in brute strength. Without a sound both of the Alphas turned to her. Galina stepped up to meet them.