Wolf - 1. Wolf

Wolf

He was running through the dark trees, tracking an injured and particularly deliciously smelling doe when he heard it, a weak, high pitched whimpering sound; like a scared pup.

Pausing in his tracking he lifted his muzzle and inhaled deeply, yes there was something else in his forest, something near by…something human. His curiosity was piqued; very few humans came into his forest, very, very few.

He turned away from the deer trail he was following. The doe was injured and moving slowly, it wouldn’t be hard to pick its trail up again…if something else didn’t get to it first.

Finding the new scent he set off after it, wondering why there was a crying human in his forest. As he got closer the scent and the sound got stronger. Soon he was standing outside a clump of bushes that stood outside a clearing. The human he sought was just beyond them but he didn’t cross the boundary.

Instead he lifted his muzzle and breathed deeply again. Only one scent, a male but not a very old one. Older humans had a heavy scent to them, an almost animal like musk, until they got too old when it started to go down hill a bit.

But this human didn’t smell of maturity, his scent was gentle, mild, and even a little sweet. But over that, what he assumed to be the human’s natural scent, was much more, there was the smell of a lake that lay nearby that he went swimming in, there was dirt and trees and the smell of flowers.

But the two most over powering scents were fear…and blood.

He was curious, not like those big annoying cats that lived up the mountain, but curious enough to slip between the bushes and into the clearing.

Sitting curled against the tree was a male human pup. He had his arms wrapped around his legs with his head against his knees. The boy pup was crying gently, he could hear the sobs and smells the tears, he could also see the trickles of blood that ran down his legs from the scrapes on his knees.

He looked at the boy pup, wondering what he was doing here in his forest, seemingly alone. He wasn’t sure what to do, the pup was many years from maturity, at least from the smell of him, so he could not leave him sitting there; but he was also unable to care for the pup himself.

Before he could make any decisions the boy pup raised his head from his knees and looked at him. The pup scrambled shakily to his feet and pressed himself flat against the tree.

The pup surprised him by not screaming or calling out in any way, but his crying did increase and the scent of his fear got stronger. He tried to step closer to the pup but he whimpered and pressed himself further against the tree.

His instincts told him to protect the pup, to care for him. But he would not allow him to do that so he didn’t know what to do.

Slowly he backed away from the boy pup and sat down and looked at him intently. The pup was thin, but not frail, so he hadn’t been lost long enough to start to starve. The fur on his head was brown but other than a little sweat and dirt it smelled clean, at least from where he sat.

He watched at the pups legs began to shake and before long he was falling to the ground and curling in on himself again, crying quietly.

“Want mommy and daddy….want to go home.” He heard the pup whisper brokenly. Animals weren’t as dumb as humans thought; he understood the boy’s words, he wanted his family, his pack.

As a pup he had been separated from his pack as well. Hunters had come to the forest and tracked his pack, thinking no doubt that wolf hides would make fine decorations. His pack had been lucky and managed to get away, but not before he had been separated.

He was the runt of the liter back then, had trouble keeping up with the pack. When they had crossed the river to evade the hunters he had been swept away by the current. Like this human boy pup in front of him he had at first found a clearing and howled and wailed, hoping his pack would find him.

After a day though he realized that the pack wasn’t going to come for him so he set out to find them. It took him three days to track them from the river but he finally managed to make it to their new hunting grounds.

His mother had been happy to see him; she licked him so much that he was nearly soaking by the time she was done. His liter mates had mostly been happy to see him as well…what made him feel the best though was his Alpha.

The Alpha himself had brought him a hunk of deer from a recent hunt and congratulated the youngest, smallest, member of the pack on making it back to them safely.

That had been a long time ago and that skinny, weak little pup had grown into one of the best hunters in the pack, if he did say so himself.

During his thoughts he noticed that the human pup had fallen asleep. Being midsummer the nights were warm so he didn’t need to worry about the pup freezing, but he did have to worry about it eating…humans wasted time using fire to cook their meat and he doubted the boy pup could make fire so hunting for the boy was out.

Sticking his muzzle in the air again he breathed deep, looking for something that might be edible for the human pup.

He stood up and walked around the clearing, still smelling for food. As he passed the place where the boy appeared to have stumbled through the clearing he caught the scent of food, berries.

He pushed his way into the bushes till he found a bush laden with heavy, juicy blackberries. Using his teeth he broke off several bunches and took them back to the clearing and put them on the ground in front of the sleeping boy pup.

Assured that the boy wouldn’t immediately starve he sat back and surveyed the sleeping human child. He didn’t know what he was going to do with the human boy. He couldn’t leave him alone in the forest, and he couldn’t rake him back to his pack…the other wolves would have a fit if he did.

He wondered if he could take the boy back to his own pack. Surely the pup couldn’t have wondered far, not with his short, scrawny legs. He got close to the child again and ran his nose over his body, trying to track where he might have been through his scent.

Nothing out of the ordinary caught his attention, except the smell of the lake. The lake was popular with humans during the warm months; they would fish and camp there. He himself also enjoyed the lake but his pack was careful about getting too close; hunters frequented the lake as well.

The lake also wasn’t very far from here; even the little human pup could have made it that far on foot, especially if he was scared and running.

There was no way he could show himself to the mature humans, he was sure they would be looking for their missing boy pup, but if he could somehow convince the pup to follow him then he could lead them back to the lake. Even if his pack wasn’t there surely there would be other humans to help him.

Pacing back and forth behind the human pup he tried to figure out how to get the pup to trust him. Sitting down behind the pup he could only think of one thing. He had often surveyed human camps when they came close to his pack’s territory and many of them would bring his cousins with them when they camped, dogs, he believe the humans referred to them

Dogs were descendent from his own kind. Though generations of being raised, cared for and bred by humans had changed their appearance, inside they were still wolf, still yearned for the forests, still felt the pull of the pack instinct.

All wolves knew these tales, passed down from pack to pack, alpha to alpha. The first dogs had been wolves that agreed to work alongside humans. Humans may believe that they “domesticated” the wolves and to a point they may have but the wolves had allowed it, agreed to stay and aid their new human companions.

In his spying on the human camps he had seen how his cousins would curl up close to their humans, protecting and comforting them. He supposed this is what he needed to so he pushed the blackberries he had brought out of his way and lay down close to the boy pup.

Pushing back thoughts of how he was going to explain this to his pack he tried to rest, he knew that tomorrow was going to be a long day. Even if he managed to make the human pup trust him he was still facing a long hike to the lake, the ground was relatively smooth between there and the clearing but there were some pitfalls he would have to watch out for.

He looked up at the half moon in the sky before moving closer to the pup and drifting into a light sleep.

                                                      *         *          *

Mathew woke up in the dirt with his face pressed against something furry. For a moment before he opened his eyes he thought maybe it had all been a nightmare…getting lost while exploring the trees, stumbling through them in the dark looking for his mommy and daddy. Maybe he was still in camp sleeping with his puppy Brax.

It wasn’t long before he realized he was wrong, whatever he was laying with was much larger than Brax. He was afraid to open his eyes, afraid of what he would see.

Carefully he opened one eye slowly to see a mass of gray and black fur. Before he could do anything else the fur moved and watched as a tall four legged animal stood over him.

Recognizing what it was Mathew scrambled away. He only stopped when he hit a tree; he lay there looking back at the wolf fearfully. It was the same one that had come into the clearing the night before…before he cried himself to sleep.

The wolf was big, his fur was gray and black except for his face and belly; they were white. The wolf looked a lot like his puppy Brax, only Brax’s fur was thicker…and his eyes were blue.

He watched at the wolf stepped toward him slowly but it stopped when he whimpered fearfully.

Instead the wolf turned around and with his nose pushed a pile of blackberries toward him before backing away to the far side of the clearing.

Mathew was scared…but he was also hungry. Carefully, with as much courage as he could muster, he crept toward the pile of berries, his eyes never leaving the wolf.

As he ate he watched the wolf, it was watching him too. He remembered what his mother told him about wild animals, that they were just as afraid of him as he was of them. That wasn’t true in this case though…the wolf wasn’t afraid of him.

He watched as the wolf lay down on his stomach and began to creep toward him, slowly. He had seen wolves hunting on TV before and this didn’t look like that, it looked like he was just trying to get closer to him.

The wolf stopped a foot away from him and just lay there looking at him. Hesitantly Mathew reached his hand out to him palm down to the wolf. He tried not to be scared as the wolf came closer and butted his nose against the palm of his hand.

Slowly and carefully he moved his hand over the wolf’s snout and up between his eyes to the top of his head. Smiling slightly he scratched the wolf’s head, just behind his ears.

The wolf didn’t respond to the scratch like Brax did, he didn’t sit down and start kicking his leg, but he did close his eyes and press against the feeling.

“I…I don’t know if you can understand me or not but thank you for the berries…I’m pretty sure it was you who brought them to me.” Mathew said quietly as he switched from scratching to stroking the wolf’s head.

The wolf again butted his head against Mathews hand and he again took it as an affirmative.

“I don’t know what I am going to do Mr. Wolf…I got lost yesterday and I don’t know how to find my way back.” Mathew said fearfully as he looked around the woods.

* * *

As the boy spoke of being lost the wolf saw its chance. Moving slowly he lowered his head and nudged the boy in the side with his nose. The boy looked down at him curiously and once he did the wolf opened his mouth and took the boy’s shirt between his teeth and tugged carefully.

He tugged a few times before standing up and walking over to the edge of the clearing. Looking back at the boy pup the wolf saw that he had stood up but hadn’t followed him.

Looking up into the pup’s eyes he tried to communicate what he was doing; he held eye contact with the boy pup for a moment before slowly turning in the direction of the lake and back again.

He saw the confusion on the pups face and had to swallow his frustration and walked up to the boy. Gently he took the pup’s shirt between his teeth he tugged again, this time hard enough to pull the boy toward the clearing edge.

“You…you want me to follow you?” The boy asked and the wolf tugged again.

“Ok.” The pup replied and the wolf felt relieved.

Walking slowly and keeping his nose to the ground so as to track the boys’ scent he led them through the trees.

“I...I don’t know what you’re doing Mr. Wolf but if you can lead me home I’ll make sure to give you some of our food.” The boy pup’s voice reached his ears and he had to hold in a snort, the boy offering him food in return for getting him back to his camp, as if he were unable to get his own food.

He had to move slowly in order to have the boy keep up with him but before too long they came to a problem. Something else had crossed the boys scent, a bear, and by the strength of the scent, it was recent.

And to make matters worse it seemed to be going in the same direction that they were.

The wolf stopped abruptly and stood stock still, weighing his options. He wasn’t able to take down a fully grown bear, a cub perhaps but not a mature one.

He knew how far a bear could scent and he didn’t know if it were likely to go after the human boy, he could take the boy the long way to the lake but it would add some time to the journey.

There was no way to avoid it though. He put his nose in the air and tried to gauge how far the bear was ahead of them but he couldn’t tell for sure.

He decided to go the direction toward the sun instead of away from it, was the shorter of the alternate routes but it went into deeper parts of the forest; they were likely to come across more animals but he felt safe that there would be no bears there.

As he turned, the pup followed him willingly; he only hoped that the boy’s trust would last.

                                                      *         *          *

Mathew followed the wolf through the dark trees, pushing bushes out of his way and trying to avoid upturned tree roots. He had been scared when the wolf stopped so abruptly earlier.

For a moment he had been afraid the wolf would run away and leave him there alone but when it turned and went into the trees it still walked at the same slow, steady pace it had before and hadn’t objected when he made to follow it.

He wasn’t sure how long they walked for before the wolf stopped at a small stream and lowered his head to drink. Mathew was hot and sweaty from the close heat of the woods so he knelt by the stream and gathered water in his hands to drink.

Mathew moved away from the stream when the wolf did and settled down next to it by the rock where he had rested.

“I wish you could talk to me Mr. Wolf, it’s so quiet but at the same time it’s loud too. I can hear bugs buzzing and birds and the wind through the trees…but no voices, no one talking. I’d also like to know where we were going…I want to think that you’re leading me back to my parents but I don’t know.” Mathew said as he looked up at the tree branches.

The wolf didn’t respond, not that Mathew expected it to, but it was nice to be talking; he needed the sound. He wasn’t used to the sounds around him, he didn’t live in a big city or anything but the suburbs were still kinda of loud, kids and people and cars.

He had been looking forward to the camping trip ever since they came up for the day last summer. He had loved the lake and the trees. The campsite had been quiet too but at least there he had the voices of his parents and Brax’s tiny barks and yelps as they played.

Here though there weren’t any voices, just the sound of bugs and birds and the occasional scamper of animals he couldn’t see.

That was something else that scared him. He could hear animals moving around in the trees and bushes but he couldn’t see them. He was scared of what else could be in the forest beside him and the wolf. He remembered his dad telling him that there were bears and deer…he hoped they didn’t run into a bear.

They didn’t rest for too much longer when the wolf got up and stretched Mathew did too and silently they walked through the trees. They stopped again a short while later behind a tall stand of blushes, Mathew could hear movement on the other side but it didn’t sound like people.

He looked down at the wolf and the wolf looked up at him before looking back at the clearing.

Mustering his courage Mathew carefully and quietly pulled back a branch and peered into the small clearing behind it.

Mathew smiled at what he saw; a big doe was standing in the clearing with two small fawns. The little ones were standing slightly behind their mother and the doe was staring at the bushes in their direction but Mathew wasn’t sure if she could see them or not.

“It’s a doe and her two babies Mr. Wolf, what should we do?” Mathew didn’t really expect an answer he was just talking to hear the sound.

In a way though the wolf did answer he took Mathews shirt between his teeth and pulled him off to the side, around the clearing.

                                                      *         *          *

The wolf felt a little thrill of amusement when the boy pup told him what was behind the bushes. The wolf knew what was there long before they got there. He had brought the boy there just for that reason, it seemed harmless enough, letting him get a close look at some wild life.

It was true that he would normally consider going after one of the tasty deer, he was starting to get hungry after all, but the boy seemed to have a very gentle disposition so he didn’t think he would enjoy seeing him tear into one of them.

After the boy had had his visual thrill the wolf tugged him away and around the clearing, they were close to the lake now, it wouldn’t take them much longer to get there.

He had to admit that he was actually going to miss the boy pup once he was gone. He and his mate had no pups of their own so spending some time with the eager and inquisitive human brought out his paternal instinct.

It was ok though, soon the human pup would be back with his pack and he would be on his way back to his, without the pup it would hardly take him anytime to get home.

Soon they were pushing through a small copse of trees onto a small outcropping of rock. Below and a little way away was the lake, a small hidden trail would lead them down from the cliff and near the bank of the lake.

“Look down there Mr. Wolf, that’s the lake where we’re camping. I bet my parents are still there.” Mathew said as he pointed down to the lake.

The wolf allowed him to look for a few more moments before turning and heading toward the path down the cliff.

They walked for a little while before the wolf caught the scent of something. It smelled similar to the boy pup but it also smelled like other humans, a mature male and female, but it also smelled…wolfish.

He paused, and the boy paused next to him, when he heard something scrambling around in the bushes up ahead. Before he could do anything a small furry pup bounded through the bushes. The pup looked a little like a wolf, long face and pointed ears on the top of his head.

The scent of the lake and the forest was all over the pup, in addition to the mild scent of the boy that clung to his fur.

The pup regarded him with shocked, piercing blue eyes before he bared his little teeth in a snarl and the fur on his back stood on end.

“Brax!!!” The boy pup next to him called before he dove at the little puppy and scooped him into his arms.

The pup’s agitation vanished as soon as he was in the human pup’s arms; he was licking the child’s face and wagging his long tail.

It struck the wolf then that the human boy belonged to the brave little pup. The wolf could have died from the humor.

Before he could bask in the situation however the pup had ceased his affectionate attack on his human and jumped back to the ground, putting himself between the boy and the wolf. He didn’t crouch and snarl this time he stood with his head held high and even though the wolf could see some uncertainty in his eyes he stared up at him bravely.

Yes, this little pup was very brave, very determined in protecting his human. He made to step toward the pair but the pup bared his teeth and yelped at him.

“Brax, no, be good. Mr. Wolf found me and brought me back; he even gave me some berries.” The human pup admonished as he reached down and stroked the pup’s fur.

The little pup calmed at the human’s words and let the wolf approach him. He tucked his nose into his fur; taking in the scent of the pup from behind his ears to the tip of his tail. Yes that was the reason to pup smelled wolfish, he had wolf blood.

True it was diluted but it was still stronger than any of the other dogs he had ever smelled, what few there had been. There should be enough for him to communicate with the pup though.

The wolf pulled back a little and used his muzzle to push the pups head up to look him in the eye. He pressed his nose to the little pup head between his eyes. He focused as hard as he could on the pup, willing it to hear him.

It was easy to create a connection with another full blooded wolf, the wild, the language, ran in their veins, the pup though wasn’t full blooded and made it hard to do. He would have preferred to speak with the pup how he did with his own Pack, with actions, emotions, and images but the pup was still more dog than wolf so he drew on the knowledge from the pup’s mind and spoke to him.

‘Do you hear me pup?’ The wolf asked, the words unfamiliar to him.

‘I hear you…you brought my human back to me?’ The little one asked in his mind.

‘Yes I found him in the clearing some miles from here. It was not wise for you to let the boy pup out of your protection.’ The wolf told him sternly and the puppy cowed back a bit.

‘I know…I did not mean to. I tried to find him but could not; I was not strong enough to brave the forest.’ The little one answered in return and the wolf felt fear and shame in the little pup.

‘This is a dangerous place pup, you have bravery and courage, but to be a good Alpha you must watch out for your pack. The boy is your responsibility, not the other way around. Remember that little pup.’ The wolf said forcefully.

‘I understand…thank you for bringing him back to me. I know the way back to camp; I can take him from here. My other humans are scared and worried; they might attack you if they see you.’ The little pup admonished.

The wolf answered in affirmative before he broke the connection and turned to the boy. He walked up to him and touched his nose to the boy pup before licking a long swath across his cheek before he turned to walk away.

“No don’t go Mr. Wolf, I…I don’t know how to get back from here.” The boy cried out and the wolf turned to the little pup intently before he walked away into the trees.

                                                      *         *          *

Mathew fell to the ground as the wolf walked away, leaving him and Brax there alone.

“Oh Brax what are we going to do, I don’t know how to get back to camp.” Mathew was one the verge of crying before Brax walked up to him.

The puppy stood on his hind legs and licked the boys face before taking the leg of his shorts between his teeth and pulling.

Mathew understood what the puppy was doing and stood up and followed him off through the trees. It didn’t take long before the boy and the pup came up to the campsite. He saw his mother and father sitting by their tent talking to one of the Park rangers; he scooped up Brax and ran to them, calling out as he went.

His parents looked up at his shout and ran over to him. His mother and father both hugged him tight.

“Oh Mathew, we were so worried, where did you go, how did you get back?” His mother asked desperately.

Before he could answer his father scooped him up into his arms and held him tight to his chest. It was some time before things calmed down; his parents helped him to get cleaned up and got him some proper food. It wasn’t until late that evening that he could explain.

Mathew told his story and his parents listened with rapt attention as he spoke. He didn’t think they believed him at first but he managed to convince them that it was true, that the wolf had led him home.

Late that night, after his parents had fallen asleep Mathew slipped out of the tent and went to stand on the bank of the lake.

“I don’t know where you are Mr. Wolf…but if you’re out there and you can hear me…thank you. I…I plan on coming back here some day and I hope that I’ll get to see you again…I’ll miss you.” Mathew said quietly as he looked into the reflection of the sky and the cliff in the lake.

Mathew saw movement in the water and looked up to the top of the cliff, silhouetted against the half moon was an animal…he couldn’t make it out for sure but the sudden howling that pierced the night and Mathew smiled before taking a deep breath and letting out a small, high pitched howl of his own.

                                                        *         *          *

The wolf watched the boy and the pup go. Silently he tracked them until they were back at their camp. It made him very happy that he had helped the boy return to his pack. He knew that he should return to his own but he stayed and watched the boy, just to make sure that he would not wander away again.

He was happy to see however that the little pup kept his human in check, never allowing him to stray too far from the rest of the pack. The pup would grow into a fine Alpha if he remembered the wolf’s words.

The wolf stayed far later than he should have but he couldn’t help wanting to watch the boy some more, he would miss him, having no pups of his own. Finally late that night as he stood on the cliff above the lake he decided it was time to leave and return to his own pack.

Just as he stretched and turned to go he saw the human pup walking to the edge of the lake. He stood there silently as the boy’s words reached him, low and quiet.

The human pup was grateful to him and would miss him; he would miss the pup as well. He stood up and turned his head to the sky and let out a long howl, letting the pup know that he was indeed listening; he was pleased when he returned his howl.

Turning around he took off into the trees, heading for his Pack’s land. It didn’t take him long to reach given that he could travel much faster without the pup. He stopped when he came to the river and drank his fill.

When he looked up from the water he let out a surprised yelp and jumped into the water and swam to opposite bank. Usually he would go around to a more shallow part of the river but standing against the trees on the far side was his mate.

He pulled himself out of the water and rushed to his mate’s side. He nuzzled against her jaw and she licked along his.

Images and feelings passed between them. Her asking where he had been why he smelled like humans. He explained to her what had happened. She shook her head at her mate’s tale but nuzzled against him none the less.

Together they trekked back to the Pack’s den. They found their place and lay down quietly with each other, tomorrow he would have to explain to his pack, and the Alpha, what had happened but tonight he just wanted to rest.

                                                       *         *          *

Mathew and Brax came back to the camp site every summer. Despite what had happened in his childhood he never lost his love for the trees and the forest. Once when he was about fifteen he and Brax had even found the clearing where the wolf had rescued him.

Mathew made it his yearly ritual to go back to the clearing every year and leave a small bit of meat. He didn’t know if the wolf ever got it or not but he had made a promise to him and left the meat anyway.

Just before his twentieth birthday Mathew went back to the clearing and sat there silently with Brax, remembering how nearly ten years to the day he had met the wolf.

As he sat there scratching Brax’s head where it laid on his lap he heard movement beyond the bushes. He stood up and pulled his pocket knife out of his back pocket.

Of all the things that he thought it could be, an old gray and black wolf with a white stomach and face was the last thing he expected.

Mathew dropped to his knees and slowly dropped his knife next to him.

“I’ve been hoping to see you again for tens years Mr. Wolf.” Mathew said quietly, he knew that the chances were the wolf didn’t even understand what he was saying, much lest remember him but it didn’t matter to him.

Brax moved up beside him and remembering Brax’s reaction as a puppy he put a hand on the dogs back to keep him from moving forward.

Brax though didn’t snarl or bark; instead he bowed his head so that he was lower than the wolf’s head. Mathew watched as Brax moved slowly toward the wolf and nuzzled its jaw. He was surprised when the wolf pushed Brax’s head up with his muzzle and pressed his nose against Brax’s for a few moments before turning away and looking back at him.

                                                        *         *          *

The wolf crept quietly through the forest, seeking a quiet place to rest. Without much thought he wandered toward the clearing where he had found the human pup, so many summers ago.

He often visited that place, a small part of him hoping to one day see the boy again. He even took his pups there when they were young and told them the story.

Wolf was quite alone now though. His pups were grown and were very strong hunters and his mate had died a few winters ago. Wolf missed her terribly and thought of her everyday. He never took another mate after she passed back to the earth but devoted himself to raising his pups and helping his Pack.

Now the wolf was nearing the end of his own life. He was no longer as strong or as fast he had been and he was unable to hunt the big game that sustained his pack. Quietly he had slipped away in the night and searched a place to spend his final days. He knew that his time was short but he still held on, he couldn’t help but feel as though he was waiting for something to happen so he hung on, waiting.

He knew the clearing was too exposed to spend his last days but he wanted to visit it one last time before he passed back into the earth.

As he neared the clearing he caught a familiar scent, one he hadn’t smelled in years but had never forgotten. The scent had changed some over the years; it was colored now with the scent of maturity and a masculine musk.

He pushed into the clearing to see a tall and powerfully built human male standing there with a shining stick in his hand, he knew that humans called these things knives.

Once the human laid eyes on him though he dropped the knife and got down on his knees.

“I’ve been hoping to see you again for tens years Mr. Wolf.” The human said, his voice no longer high and squeaky like it had been, but now it was deep and rich.

He watched as a large dog next to human walked forward and bowed his head to him. He recognized the scent of this one too; this was once the little pup that the human belonged to.

The wolf pushed the dogs head up and pressed their noses together and spoke to him.

‘We’ve come here every summer seeking you. It pleases me greatly to see you again. I have done all I could to protect my humans and be a good Alpha, just as you told me.’ The dog said to him quietly.

‘You have done well pup, your human pup has become a fine, strong man. He smells of goodness and honesty. I am proud of you Alpha.’ The wolf said in return before turning to the man before him.

Slowly, and with a slight limp in his step from age, he walked up to the human and rested his head on the man’s shoulder. He closed his eyes and let the sent of an old friend wash over him, reminding him of summers past.

The human pup wrapped his arms around his neck and held him close; he recognized this gesture as a hug, something humans did to show love and affection.

“I’ve missed you Mr. Wolf, I come here every year hoping to see you and I’ve never forgotten you…and I never will.” The human said quietly and the wolf could smell the scent of tears.

He pulled away from the man and looked into his face; he had tears on his face and looked very sad.

The wolf licked across the man’s face, just as he had done when he was a boy, and nuzzled him again before walking away to the edge of the clearing. He had seen his friend again after to so long. He felt that he could pass back to the earth in peace now.

“You don’t have to go Mr. Wolf. You could come home with me and Brax…we could take care of you.” His old friend’s voice reached him and for a moment he thought about it.

It would be nice to spend his last days with a friend…but the forest was his home. He could never leave it. Perhaps he wouldn’t have to, he could return to his friend’s camp and spend some time with him and return to the forest once he was asleep.

Late that night though as the two pups lay near the small fire the man had kindled the wolf found himself unable to leave. He was very tired and chill had crept over his limbs that he had never felt before.

Carefully he crept close to the fire as well and lay down to let the warmth wash over him. He was comfortable here. As he fell asleep he thought about his pups, those he had sired and the two he had adopted so many years ago.

He thought of his mate and the many winters he had shared with her, he would be so happy to be with her again when he passed back to the earth.

He dreamed of her that night, like he did many others. He was young again, as was she, and they ran together through forests that were evergreen, swam in cool crystal clear lakes and basked in the warmth of the sun and at night under the brightest full moon he had ever seen they stood on a tall cliff and howled together as they did when they lived.

The dream never faded and nor did their youth and he came to realize, with no small sadness, that it was no dream; that he had passed back into the earth and was with her again, forever.

                                                        *         *          *

When Mathew discovered that his wolf friend had died in the night he couldn’t help but cry silently as he smoothed to gray fur. He wrapped his old friend in his sleeping back with the small shovel he had brought with him took him to the clearing where he had found him as a boy and buried him there.

Mathew wasn’t sure what wolves did when a member of their Pack died but he couldn’t bear the idea of just leaving the wolf in the forest to rot, the night the wolf found him in the clearing was a pivotal moment in his life…something that had shaped who he was.

With his old friend buried Mathew took Brax back to their campsite. After making sure that their fire was completely cold the two of them began the short trek out of the forest.

“I’m sad Brax,” Mathew told him as they walked, “I’ve come back here every year hoping to find him again….I wanted to pay him back for saving me…I finally find him and…and he dies. It isn’t fair Brax.” Mathew said as the pair stopped and Mathew ran a shaky hand through his fur.

Brax was sad too, he had tried his whole life to live up to the wolf’s expectations, and he had always hoped to find him again as well, to show the wolf what he had become. He wanted the wolf to be proud of him.

Not for the first time he wished he could communicate with his human the way other animals did, he wanted to tell his human that it was ok, that the wolf had gone back into the earth, that he was at rest now.

He mimicked the wolfs actions from earlier, he lay his head on his human’s shoulder and licked him across his cheek, hoping that he would understand.

Mathew smiled at Brax’s actions and held him close to him.

“It’s ok I guess…he was old and probably couldn’t hunt very well anymore. It…it’s probably better this way…at least we got to see him again.” Mathew said as he stood up and the two of them continued their hike.

Mathew never forgot the wolf that had saved him. The story of how the wolf saved him and lead him back to his family became his children’s favorite bed time story. He took them several times during their childhood to the little clearing where he had buried his old friend and his story became a family legend.

When Mathew died and was cremated he asked in his will for a small portion of his ashes to be scattered around the clearing where the wolf had found him, where his old friend had been buried.

His family didn’t quite understand but to Mathew his life had been saved there and he wanted a small part of him to be there forever with his friend.