The Living Wind in the Forest

Chapter 2

Comforting the pups with a soothing voice, the two males closed their eyes and fell asleep. The female eyes twinkled as she turned out to be right.

Pushing herself onto her paws, Snow squinted and joyously realized that the rain had stopped and the sun had come out with a gentle, warm glow,"I'll be going," Snow woofed. Glancing at the female, she dipped her head and added, "Nice to meet you Breeze, take care of those pups."

Snow and Breeze stared at each other for a long time with the uncomfortable silence growing. Snow pushed herself to her paws. Realizing with joy that the sky cleared up and the sun was emitting a warm, bright glow. Snow murmured, "I need to get going, the sky looks friendly right now."

With eyes sparkling with gratitude, Breeze replied, "Nice meeting you too- uh,"

"Snow," I filled in.

"Nice meeting you Snow, and these pups will be safe and sound."

Dipping her head, Snow pushed through the branches and stopped. Now what? Back to camp? Snow twitched her ears,"Back to camp," she said out loud. Dragging her paws one by one, Snow went the long way to avoid going too where she was attacked. Pausing next to a river, Snow crouched down to lap a few gulps of water. When did I last drink? Passing the huge stone blocks where humans live, Snow dove back into the forest as soon as she spotted it and pounded back to camp. Skidding to a halt, Snow smelled the scent of smoke. Peering from a log, Snow was shocked to see a group of humans fleeing from a huge fire. Fire!

Snow pounded into camp howled, " Fire! Heading this way!" Her packmates blinked at her,"Come on! We have to run!" Frustrated, Snow looked at her leader.

"Snow, there is no fire, at least, not that I know of," Luna replied.

"No! You have to come with me!" Snow whimpered, "The fire might be right outside!"

Luna shook her head,"Snow, you're hurt. Look at your pelt! If I didn't recognize the smell of wolf, I would think you were a bloody monster. Branch, go with her."

Shaking with fear and rage, Snow stepped through the log and immediately she felt a scorching wave of heat on her face. Screaming, Snow's legs collapsed and she fell to the ground. Feeling teeth sink into her scruff, Branch pulled Snow back into camp. Snow closed her eyes as she felt the pain engulfed her. Snow felt drops of water landing on her paws.

Is it raining?

Opening her eyes, Snow saw Luna squeezing water on her paws from a clump of moss,"Can you walk?" She asked.

Getting up, Snow stumbled as she tried to find her footing,"I-I think so."

"Good, we need to get out of here," Luna said grimly,"All wolves! We are evacuating the valley. Follow the pack and help each other."

Snow dived into the Nest desperate to see her family,"Leaf, Coral, Moon! Where are you?"

Her siblings popped their heads out of a mossy ditch,"Snow! You're back!" Coral howled, bowling into Snow.

"Where were you? We were about to send a search party when you didn't come back for the evening feast," Moon said anxiously, sniffing Snow.

"I'm fine, I-fell into the lake," Snow lied,"But never mind that! We need to go! There's a fire coming!"

Coral eyes widened,"Come on then, we need to go!" Heading out of the cave, he looked back to see Snow and Leaf staring at Coral with disbelief,"What?"

Moon rolled his eyes,"We need to let the others know. The den goes a long way, there's no way they know about this."

Coral looked anxious to get out but sheepishly followed.

"We need to evacuate! There's a fire raging this way! In fact it might be in the camp now!" Snow howled. Dozens of heads popped out with shock.

"How are we all going to get out? What about my pups? They're much too young," a queen said.

"If we all work together we'll make it, trust your pack-mates, Branch," Moon soothed. With all the wolves soon following Snow and her siblings, Snow stopped in shock as she saw the fire raging outside of the cave. We're trapped!

"Oh great, how will we get out now?" Leaf muttered.

Coral eyes darted wildly,"I told you we should've ran!"

Snow glared at him, " I can't believe you said that! At least if we die, we die together instead of being a coward and knowing you killed all of the pups and queens!"

Coral looked away,"You're right," He muttered.

"Come on! Help me dig!" Moon cried. Snow threw herself beside her brother and pawed at the edge of the cave. Soon, the group of wolves all started to dig. Little by little, the hole grew bigger and bigger as pawfuls of soil were thrown up behind them.

"We did it!" Branch cried as she slipped her paw under the hole,"And I think I can fit!" Branch poked her head under the wall of the den and scuttled through. Her paws skittered as she popped out of the other side,"It's safe! No fire here," she called out. One by one, the wolves popped out of the den. Snow looked at her surroundings. A group of wolves, separated from their pack, and with a fire raging.

Now what?

Snow and her group scuttled nervously as they tried to keep away from the flames licking at their fur,"It's so hot, if we don't do something soon we'll be burnt!" Moon cried.

Snow ignored him and remembered, "The river! If we cross the river the flames won't be able to reach us," Moon nodded,"It's this way," Snow said, leading the group,"Tread carefully, and be careful of things that are burnt; they might be hot."

Weaving through the debris, the group slowly but surely reached the river,"Is everyone ok?" Snow called out. Yes's and all clear's rang behind her,"Good, we're going into the river."

A/N: Sorry for the late update guys! I had some technical difficulties and my schedule was full. I will try harder to prevent this, and I hope you are enjoying The Living Wind in the Forest: Book I. Thank you for your patience, and have a good day!