Seasons changed: nature waking as its blanket of snow would be melted by the gentle sun, only for the forest to go to sleep not much later, trees shedding their leaves one by one as winter approached once more. But the forest stayed the same.

It always only changed just a little. For the strongest of wolves, it was easy to overlook such minor matters. Their instincts relied strongly on what their wolf dictated them and it  did not need much of their smell, sight or hearing to function. It relied on something else not many of them could decipher. That, however, did not mean that they did not welcome its help with open arms. The reason for that was quite simple: alphas were the protectors of the weakest from their kin. Naturally, they had to be sharp, they had to posses something that would make them capable of such actions.

Omegas on the hand, the weaker of their kin tended to be different. They were mostly small and soft-spoken, born to be mothers rather than fighters. Those without mates to protect them would often dote on the rest of the pups in their packs, granted that there were any. It was rare for them to hunt or fight... or travel alone.

Tiny paws clad in dark fur hit the snowy ground in a rushed manner as a pup made its way through the forest: there was an urgency to the way its lithe body moved. Confusion could be seen in bright blue eyes as yips and whines escaped its muzzle. It had seen something so, so horrible...

"Alpha, alpha!" its voice sounded, confusion and pain marring the simple words."Alpha, you need to come with me, I found something!"

The wolf it had spoken to, large with fur as dark as the night sky, rose to his feet, proud head held high. He regarded the pup with some surprise: it was rare for the independent little one to actually plead for his attention. Something truly important must have happened.

"What is it, Sehun?" he asked, tilting his head to the side. He could see in the way the pup bounced on his feet that he was nervous and puzzled, but he would not go without questioning. It probably was no false alarm, but who knew. He could recall stories from his own childhood, wanting to impress his father... Without a true father figure, he supposed, that Sehun would want to impress him. While they were not connected by blood, they were connected by something even stronger. They belonged to the same pack, and as alphas - albeit the young one was still a mere pup and not up for the responsibilities yet - they were to guard the same lands until their life ended. They were bind by that: their wolves tied to each other in a bond that was stronger