By Morris R. Pike; illustrious by Chris Sheets –
Chapter 2* – Leaving the Pack –
Snap took a deep breath of clear mountain air. He felt strong. His muscles rippled complementing the handsome frame of the powerful wolf he’d grown to be.
But the question of what it would be like to be an alpha wolf gnawed at him.
‘There can be only one alpha wolf in the pack,’ he thought. ‘I need to challenge my father for leadership or leave and establish my own pack. It is a decision every male wolf must make . . . a decision I must make . . . it’s the way of wolves. To stay would be to remain subservient . . . like my brothers who follow the old one like helpless sheep.’
But if he left, he knew he would lose the security of the pack. He would face the hidden dangers in the formi- dable Blue Mountains.
He stood for a long while contemplating the possible move. Dare he leave the Imnaha pack and search for a mate?
It was spring . . . the time for Alpha and his prime female to produce new pups to enlarge the pack.
‘I can’t stay,’ Snap thought. “I must leave, nd a mate and become an alpha male of my own pack.”
He looked closely at the healthy, white petals of a woodland strawberry. “You get to be a beautiful, ve-petaled white ower with yellow whiskers in the center of your face as long as you live . . . Is that fun?”
Of course, the strawberry didn’t respond. It just beamed in the rays of the bright sun.
In bending down he inadvertently kicked a cluster of dandelion seeds sending them sailing into the gentle breeze.
“And you get to go wherever the wind takes you,” he said watching the tiny parachutes oating . . . growing smaller and smaller against the azure sky.
Night was coming on. Snap rose on his haunches, sni ed the air, and trotted over the straw-colored grass to join his lounging pack. He spent the remaining twilight moments walking among them looking at each of his beautiful sisters and strong handsome brothers.
He stopped to admire his mother. He’d nd a mate like her. He looked at his father. ‘He is a good alpha male,’ Snap thought, ‘ . . . a good example for me.’
He lay down with his chin between his outstretched paws, closed his eyes and went to sleep.
A Diary of Snap Wolf’s Journey to Find a Mate is available both in paperback and Kindle at Amazon.com
*Chapter 1 available at Stories for Kids
