Chapter 9, Alanna
Until the very moment, her world existed out of faint sounds and vague scents, occasionally something very warm pressed against her and her nose was always drawn into it, her mouth then found something that filled her belly with a sweet rich liquid. there were others in the darkness the pressed against her own body, that pushed her away when she was drinking, scratching her sometimes. but they smelled familiar.
then one day, a glimmer appeared before her, growing in size while she slowly opened her eyes for the first time in her life. it took a while before she could make out the shapes and identify them as her vision was still a very blurry there where four bodies next to her own, about equal in size, and around all 5 of them one huge form, it took all of her focus making out what the shape identified but when she did she could not help but yap happily.
"Momma? Momma! momma!"
The large figure stirred, lifted her head and immediately smiled brightly, pressing her nose against the little pups and exchanged her life breath greeting the pup as she would an adult.
"Hello, little one, my beautiful daughter. You do not have a name yet, that has to wait. but you are the first of your siblings to open your eyes. for that, I am proud of you." 
The little pup looked around a little bit more, they were inside something and it seemed dark but dry, her siblings continued to sleep and soon enough her own body yearned for more sleep, she forced herself to crawl closer to her mother, finally seeing where her food came from and eagerly drank, drifting off as she fed while her mother groomed her back and between her ears. 
"sleep my child, grow strong and healthy, and one day you may even lead this pack."


Every day that came and went, with every moment she had her eyes open she learned more, recognized more, linked scents and sounds to her vision, to her siblings, her mother, some days she would come in the burrow (she had explained to them they lived in an underground burrow) with the scents of other wolves in her fur, and she would take them all in eagerly, almost not able to stay and wait properly to meet her kin.
Both her and her siblings grew a little more every day, getting better control of their motions, one day mother came in the burrow and while all where hungry she denied them to feed off her breasts, instead she heaved a few times and regurgitated a few chunks of meat, all the pups circled around it and took in every scent, she was the first to take a piece into her mouth, the aroma and taste made her eyes water and she fiercely growled when one of her brothers tried to take a piece too, hurdled protectively over the meat she began to tear small pieces off and swallow them until her mother took her by the fur of her neck. 
"Never lose yourself to the meat little one, it can take a hold on you so bad that you will forget everything and everyone around you. turning you against your siblings and making you oblivious to all dangers."
"But Momma,  we are wolves, how can we have enemies?"
"Oh little one, there are many that are far stronger than us, like bears or even the elks, it is only through working together that we can defend ourselves, there is great power in every wolf, but working together as a team will amplify each of our strengths and take away our weaknesses. Trust in the pack, my child."
After four more days their mother called them together, interrupting their play fighting and chasing their own tails.
"little ones, today you get to meet the pack, they will inspect you and determine if you are worthy of the name wolf."
She heaved a deep sigh.
"should you pass you will be granted a name by our leader, which is custom. Should you fail, you will not be allowed to live, so please be on your best behavior and show how strong you are."
 
With mother in the lead one by one the pups emerged through the narrow tunnel of the burrow blinking away from the harsh bright light of the morning sun, scents overwhelmed them and her curiosity almost got the better of her as she lifted her nose to take in as many scents as possible when she got aware of the other wolfs standing in a half circle around her, Mother came to line them up orderly and she was placed on the far left of the line, the other wolves began encircling them and sniffing, some exchanged life breath with a pup. At long last, the Alpha send greeted his mate, and then inspected each pup carefully.  He seemed pleased with all five of them, taking their muzzles into his maw after the inspection was done. 
As he moved back to his place at the head of the pack, he quietly looked over the pups. 
"Welcome, Welcome young wolves, You are hereby accepted into our pack,  many challenges will lay ahead of you, but always remember these two rules. Every wolf part of the pack will protect you and keep your safe, we are one.  the second rule is that you yourself will also do everything with the best interest of the pack in mind. that also means letting go of your own needs or wants.  I will visit you one by one when I have thought of a fitting name for you all, I can see a lot of promise in you all.
Over the course of the next few days they were allowed to go out of the burrow around dusk and dawn, occasionally one of the elder wolves would come to play with them or fed them some of their own meals, taking care of the pups was the responsibility of the entire pack.
At some point, while playing hide and seek with her siblings she got confronted but the Alpha, he was the biggest wolf in the pack, having earned the right to lead with pure force instead of wise decisions, scars adorned his well-trained body, most from fights which he won. 
Hunching down to face the young pup and exchange his breath with her, she almost whimpered in fear curling her tail under her belly and dropping flat on the ground.
"do not be scared little one, it is unfitting for a wolf, especially one like you are going to be. Your name will be Alanna, You will be a member of this pack, and you will be responsible for the continuation of the pack and its offspring. grow up fast kiddo."


What he exactly meant with those words was beyond her comprehension at this point.