Like a well-oiled machine, the Rose Feathers functioned perfectly in their roles for four good days. They were getting used to their new lifestyles and growing closer together in the process. Teamwork was important in any wolf pack, but they seemed to have mastered it in just a few days. The dynamics were just too strong. They all just clicked. By the second day, Sana took it upon herself to place some tundra turfs on the den’s floor to add better comfort. The pack decided to let Chaeyoung use the smallest den as her medical clinic. In between the scouting patrols, she had been collecting winter flowers and herbs within the forest to stock up the place. It looked very colorful, and honestly more an art gallery than a medic’s den. Momo and Jeongyeon prowled the lower valley daily to check on the prey populations. They had to be careful not to overhunt. It was winter after all and although the valley had a decent amount of prey, they should only hunt whenever they needed to. After the first caribou that they’d brought down, they still hadn’t eaten a full meal. Momo, as the considerate hunter that she was, did bring back a rabbit or two for them to snack on throughout the days.

Jeongyeon and Nayeon’s behaviors had changed drastically around each other, and everyone felt it. Jihyo pretended like nothing happened but deep inside, she was grinning every single time the beta pair played in the snow together. They had never been this at ease with each other before. It was always a silent exchange of discreet glances whenever one of them wasn’t looking at the other. Life, in general for all the wolves, was actually a lot easier than before. They had different roles and new responsibilities, but they spent more time playing now that they didn’t have to travel. They worried about less and spent the days enjoying the landscape instead. Pack duties were distributed well across the wolves, and they felt more secure within the new home as time went on. Everyone seemed to have their own favorite place to dwell. Dahyun usually hung out near the frozen waterfall, Chaeyoung disappeared under the forest’s shadowy pine trees, and Momo would take short naps near the frozen lake’s shore. One time, Nayeon took them ice fishing there. She didn’t have much luck, because the fish were too fast and Jeongyeon didn’t allow her to go past the shallow bank. Whenever she missed a fish, their eldest would turn around and pout. Jeongyeon simply nudged her on the neck tenderly for reassurance. That was when everyone knew something had officially changed between them.

On the fifth day, Momo led the hunting team—which was no one other than her and Tzuyu, really—along with Jihyo, Nayeon, and Jeongyeon out to take down another caribou. The wolves worked fast. It seemed that they knew each others’ styles well enough now. Momo and Tzuyu led at the front due to their quick and aggressive attacking style, Jeongyeon and Jihyo ran along either side to prevent the prey from shifting directions, and Nayeon stayed at the rear to complete the little formation. It was like a deadly trap that was inescapable, and the caribou slowed down its speed out of full realization. It began to stand its ground, yet that was only a vain last attempt to survive. It was five wolves against one, and Momo’s crushing jaw alone could have done the job. By the time Nayeon joined them, Tzuyu was already howling to signal the others. They sat waiting for the rest next to the kill, tongues lolling out to catch their breaths. Instead of hearing the wolves arriving to the meal, they heard a faint howl in the distance. It was Sana, and the omega wanted them to come to the pond. Momo stared at Jihyo, confused. The leader wasn’t very sure what the reason was herself, but she suggested that they go. Momo had a bad feeling about this.

They approached the small icy body of water to find Chaeyoung in the pond, Dahyun sitting by the bank, and Sana next to her wagging her tail so hard it was fanning snowflakes everywhere. The hickory-coated delta was in the water with two sheets of broken ice floating around her. The water wasn’t deep, but it was up to her neck. Before Jihyo or Jeongyeon could ask, Chaeyoung dipped her head down and splashed around in the water as she moved. When she came back up, a silvery fish was between her muzzle. Nayeon dropped her jaw. Chaeyoung shook herself as the fish continued jerking.

“I would have gotten one if I was allowed in the water.” Nayeon pouted again.

“I would have let you if we were at the pond.” Jeongyeon reasoned carefully. The older shot her a glare, and she smiled.

Momo’s brooding feelings had turned into a reality. The pack came back to find a big chunk of the caribou’s flank missing. There were no signs of a blood trail anywhere. It was as if an eagle had swooped down to snatch a piece. Even with its sharpest talons, an eagle wouldn’t have torn off a piece this big. At first, Nayeon suggested the culprit to be a coyote, but Momo’s nose found the scent of a wolf. It was the same smell she’d detected earlier when they first arrived in the den. An intruder was here somewhere, and it seemed that their daily scent markings did not drive it off.

“A gamma female.” Momo reported after sniffing around and filtering through the scent of blood.

“A gamma…” Jihyo’s eyes widened.

Nayeon hummed in fascination. “I’ve only ever met one in my lifetime.”

Gammas were the most elusive wolves among the ranks. They were just as mysterious and mystical as they sound. They possessed strong natural intelligence but rarely really committed themselves to social environments. Unless attached to a pack since birth, an independent gamma was usually never spotted. The one that stole from their kill appeared to be a loner.

“We’ll search for her in the early morning.” Dahyun suggested when they gathered around to divide what was left. Chaeyoung offered to eat her fish instead.

“I’ll come with you.” Momo’s voice was low and bitter. She shot Dahyun a determined look, her striking light blue eyes darkened as the younger wolf nodded. Momo was the leader of the hunters after all. She couldn’t let a thief run around and steal her hard work. Jihyo, on the other hand, wished she could feel just as angry. She sensed the other alpha’s frustration and found nothing of the same within herself. She should be the one getting mad. This was her pack’s food for their well-being after all. Her easygoing nature, although a fairly valued trait for a leader, was standing in the way. It wasn’t like she didn’t care. She did, just not enough. Jihyo was never a wolf to be easily provoked anyway.

The pack soon dropped the subject of the gamma thief and moved onto Chaeyoung’s feat. The hickory-coated delta just blushed lightly at all the compliments and resumed tearing apart her fish. Nayeon warned her several times about separating the bones and stuff. If Chaeyoung was careful enough to catch a fish, she should be careful enough to eat it afterwards. She chewed cautiously, letting her tongue search for any stray bones as she worked her way through the fish. Tzuyu stared intently beside her. Chaeyoung tried to ignore it, mainly because she was too hungry to bother. But Tzuyu possessed a rather scary stare, the intimidating glare type that would concern anyone it was directed towards. And maybe she did not mean anything by it, but Chaeyoung found herself stopping halfway to blink curiously at the younger delta. Tzuyu simply stood up, grabbed her share of the kill with her jaw and moved exceedingly close to the older. Their fur touched and Chaeyoung flinched. She gawked at Tzuyu, completely muddled and worried.

“You’re cold. I’m going to help you warm up.” The younger stated nonchalantly.

Well, her fur was still a bit damp from the freezing water. It wasn’t anything she couldn’t manage, but Tzuyu was somewhat warming her up effectively. It must’ve been her size and large fur coat. Chaeyoung went back to eating, despite being awfully bothered by the younger’s intentions. She didn’t mean any harm, surely, because Tzuyu was pretty obvious—though unexpected—with everything she does. Small or big, she always meant it. Chaeyoung just couldn’t understand whether or not she liked the younger’s bluntness.

Sana was sitting across from them, chatting consecutively with Nayeon and Dahyun. Ever since Momo had been occupied with hunting duties, the omega began branching off to the rest of the pack. It was a weird feeling at first, especially for the bluescale alpha. They’d always been together for the majority of their lives after all. It wasn’t like Sana stopped interacting with her altogether. But this sort of thing—separation to say the least—wasn’t as easy for Momo as it was for Sana. She was still a little stiff at socializing. The alpha only got along with Tzuyu and Jeongyeon most within the pack, and maybe it was just their cool-headed natures that matched.

~~~***~~~

Momo got up even before the sun. Dahyun and the scouting crew usually headed out at the break of dawn, but the alpha wanted to start now. She was anxious and excited at the same time. Her hind legs ached due to the awkward position she was sleeping in yesterday, and the only thing she could do was stretch. She padded over to the entrance of the den, laying herself down on her belly and watched the falling snow. It had been a peaceful couple of days. Perhaps too peaceful to be the day for catching a thief. But they were definitely going to find the gamma because if they didn’t, Momo would certainly take her own time to search. She was keen on catching the wolf that stole from their carcass. Winter hunting was hard as it is, even for the most skilled hunters. If the wolf lingered, she might devour all their prey before they knew it. As leader of the hunters, Momo felt obliged to protect their resources from any threats at all costs. The bluescale alpha was halfway through cleaning her coat when she felt shuffling from behind. Her ears perked and she spun around. Dahyun was stirring just as the first ray of sunlight emerged in the distance. Momo tapped her tail on the stony floor and awaited eagerly.

The very first thing the scouts did was scent marking, a task that seemed too tedious for Momo to follow along. That was their duty, not hers, so she decided to sniff around on her own until they were finished. She started at the forest edges near the waterfall and headed eastward. She made note of every suspicious detail, checking around tall white boulders and fallen logs. Momo spread the toes of her paws to reduce the crunching sound of snow under her feet. She needed to be silent. If she was dealing with a thief, she would have to play stealth against stealth. Fifteen minutes into the search, Momo’s toes were soon freezing due to the exposure, and she winced in total discomfort. The alpha wasn’t used to this at all. She never hunted in pure stealth, even in the densest of forests where there was no space for her to run freely. Momo always charged, so fiercely that her prey were left stunned for a brief few seconds before attempting to escape. Seeing Momo in full hostility—with her ears all pulled back, her striking ice blue eyes narrowing, and her knife-like fangs flashing through a deadly snarl—would be very intimidating. The delay was almost always effective because by the time her prey tried to run, they would be immediately knocked down with the alpha at their throats. Momo was a powerful wolf after all, and she never hesitated on using brute strength. She was planning very much on flinging herself in the same way towards their thief, maybe not as aggressively. It gave her an odd satisfaction to know the force she could deliver, but all that would have to be saved for later. She needed to sniff the intruder out first. Patience was much needed now.

The scouting team joined her under the late morning sun, a light layer of snow covering their backs and heads. Dahyun was leading as Chaeyoung and Tzuyu tailed behind, shoulders touching and giggling. Momo could tell that Tzuyu was lowering her head to be at the older delta’s height as much as possible.

“Did you find anything?” Dahyun greeted the bluescale alpha.

“No.” Momo replied rather disappointedly.

“Well, let’s start where you left off.” The fawny beta suggested and Momo nodded.

The four of them went, tracking, sniffing, listening, and looking. They were approaching the rockfall when Dahyun halted the entire group. Her eyesight was incredibly good even in the forest where everything was just covered in plain snow. The lead scout’s tail curled at the tip, and she stepped forth, dragging the entire group anticipating at her heels. Chaeyoung’s ears twitched, but she couldn’t hear anything. A smell was faintly coming closer to Momo, but it was still too far for her nostrils to properly register it. The wolves simply froze for a few seconds, waiting. Dahyun wouldn’t tell them what made her stop, and they were too busy trying to figure it out themselves to bother asking. A breeze flew by, fanning their focused faces while causing the pines to brush gently against each other. Suddenly, Momo smelled it. She mentally thanked the lucky direction of the wind for giving off the thief’s exact position. Her head turned gradually to where the scent came from, eyes shifting directions rapidly to scan for its source. She suppressed a snarl in , but her back fur rose and her muscles tensed.

There, between the trunks of two pine trees, was a glistering pair of amethyst eyes staring back at her. It was undoubtedly the thief, but Momo had a hard time making her body out in the snow. The gamma had a smooth completely tundra white coat, an addition to her overall enigmatic aura. Her eyes caught Momo in a trance, and the alpha only blinked out of it when Dahyun shifted briskly next to her. When she turned back around, the gamma wolf disappeared just as quietly as she had appeared—like a ghost. Of course, Momo began searching frantically around, spinning herself in a circle while darting her eyes in every small opening between the trees. There was a crack from what sounded like crushed pine needles, and Momo snapped her head towards it. The scouting crew, at this point, was too confused to even know what was happening. Yet, the bluescale alpha spotted the purple-eyed phantom again. Momo saw her in between two snow encrusted bushes, eyes still shining despite the sunlight.

Before the alpha could even do anything but blink, the tundra thief dashed away again. This time, Momo was quick to race after her. She jumped over the bushes, squeezed past some pines, and bolted after the gamma. Unlike the rest of her body, her tail had a bit of silvery gray at its tip, making it quite easy for Momo to follow. The alpha took big leaps, hoping to gain an advantage, and her own tail whipped around to ease her in turning. She gave tremendous energy into every sprint, but she was too quick to let her exhilaration take total control. Within a few minutes of their little chase, Momo began to feel exhausted. She panted desperate breaths that displayed themselves as large puffs of smoke in the freezing temperature. Behind her, she heard shuffling and muffled voices of the scouting team calling her name. Yet she didn’t stop, not even for a second to think or to reevaluate her situation. She kept on following the tip of the gamma’s tail, turning whenever and wherever it moved like she was being hypnotized.

The lack of oxygen soon caught up to her, however. She felt dizzy, staggered in her pace, and even tripped over a small branch. Momo finally stopped in a clearing among the trees where the sunlight shone down hard, illuminating the snow to form a huge bright circle. The alpha stood half hunched over, tongue lolling from the labored breathing. She heard nothing then but the beating of her heart, and that was when she realized her big mistake. Chasing was a different game in the forest than it was outside and in all her excitement, Momo had directed too much energy into it. In the plains, the effort she put into each leg would definitely give her a boost. Yet in the forest, it only wasted her stamina because she had no straight path. The gamma had made sure to lure her into every nook and gap within the trees until she was completely spent from just dodging everything. It was embarrassing yet impressive at the same time, and Momo just stood there wondering what to do next.

She was about to turn back and rejoin the scouting crew when a snarl rang in her ears. The alpha was knocked back and before she knew it, a sharp pain stung one of her shoulders. Momo fell onto the cold snow, shocked until she saw a white muzzle and the daunting amethyst optics. In the corner of her eyes, she also saw crimson droplets staining the white snow, but the pain was pushed aside as a sharp instinct overtook Momo. She quickly kicked the gamma’s belly with one of her hind legs. The purple-eyed thief yelped, releasing her shoulder and the alpha took the opportunity to unleash her specialty—strength. With a push from the very same shoulder that the gamma had tried to capture, the intruder toppled and slid across the snowy forest floor as she fell. Momo immediately seized the chance to grasp the back of the white wolf’s neck with her jaw, tackling and holding her still on her belly. The gamma, despite her cunning tactics, was pretty malnourished and didn’t have much force to fight back after that.

“Don’t hurt her!” Dahyun’s voice echoed through the trees as the shuffling neared.

Momo wasn’t planning to. Her fangs penetrated the gamma’s fur enough to hold her, but not enough to cut through. The alpha had fought a lot of wolves before thanks to her awful previous pack, and she learned mostly how to defend herself from harm, not to harm others. It would only lower her reputation in the pack more—if it could even go any lower—and no matter how angry she was, she learned to be satisfied with just winning the fight alone. Dahyun soon appeared into the clearing with Tzuyu and Chaeyoung behind her.

“Let’s bring her back.” The fawny beta said, eyeing both Momo and the gamma thief.

“Stay still, understand?” The bluescale alpha growled before releasing her grip.

The white wolf got up slowly, shaking her fur calmly despite being surrounded on all sides. She stood fully, chest pointed upright as her amethyst eyes studied the wolves around her. There was something so incredibly elegant and noble about her overall aura. It was strange, but it was obvious. The way she stared at them, her long legs, and even her scent which smelled like fresh lavender despite it being the middle of winter. She was also extremely stunning even with her ribs showing through her fur. Her fur matched the snow which reflected under the light and she literally sparkled.

“Oh God…” Chaeyoung mumbled when she spotted Momo’s bleeding shoulders.

The alpha simply shrugged. She had worse. The gamma thief eyed her meekly, and Momo felt uncomfortable. She already had a strong dislike for this wolf. It was sudden, but everything from the tundra-coated gamma’s strange exquisiteness to the glints in her royal purple optics irritated Momo. It was like a deep sourness in that she couldn’t understand nor get rid of. Maybe, it was their bad encounter.

“Are you...Mina?” Tzuyu suddenly whispered, turning all the wolves’ heads towards her.

The gamma widened her eyes, stepping back as she took a hard look at Tzuyu. There was a mixture of confusion and surprise in her complexion.

“You were that wolfdog in the big house at the end of the street.” The younger inched forward.

Mina withdrew her ears and retreated. “I’m a wolf. Do I know you?”

Her voice was incredibly soft, but Momo guessed that it was only appropriate for a wolf like her.

“You can’t just live in Hesterdale and not know me. I’m the leader of the Snappers. We talked one time outside your porch, remember?”

Mina squinted at Tzuyu’s silver ear cuff then nodded. “And you brought me a few sausages, because I was spying on my neighbor for you? The australian shepherd?”

“Ahaha, Jae. Yeah, we needed to make sure he kept a promise.” Tzuyu laughed at the memory.

“But,” Mina looked at the wolves around her. “Why are you here?”

“Why are you here?”

“My humans died. The house was on fire, and they just all disappeared. I felt safer in the woods than in the streets.”

Tzuyu chuckled. “Yeah, it’s rough these days.”

“Five years of leading those...swines…I’m surprised they hadn’t gobbled you up yet.”

“They were about to. I was smarter.” The younger smirked.

“I could tell.” Mina smiled rather fondly.

“Well, this is my new pack.” Tzuyu pointed out around her. “The Rose Feathers.”

“Ahh…” The gamma hummed, inspecting around but stopped when she got to Momo. They stared at each other again, just like the first time and the alpha felt that same distaste rushing up her tongue again.

“We need to take you to our leader.” Momo stated firmly. Her voice sounded more hoarse than she’d expected and she grimaced. Mina only quirked an eyelid.

~~~***~~~

The little trial hadn’t even started yet, and Momo was already annoyed. She liked to think of herself as a rather relaxed wolf, and maybe it was her injured shoulder that she should’ve blame for her short temper. There was something, she didn’t know what but just something, about Mina that simply ticked her off every time. She scowled at the back of the line when she saw that the gamma was approaching Jihyo with no concerns at all. She walked just as elegantly as ever, one paw gracefully after another without missing a single beat. Her coat did everything from shimmer to dazzle under the full contact of light as she made her way towards the main den. Even when their leader and ambassador—yes, Nayeon was professionally working her dream job at last—offered her to sit down, Mina slid down as smoothly as a feather, tail curled around herself like a big cushion. Watching the entire meeting would only make Momo more tense, so she offered to go to Chaeyoung’s medic den and get the wound patched up. When Momo returned, Jihyo was beaming brightly at her. Mina was too, but the bluescale alpha knew better than to look at her.

“Mina is now officially a part of the Rose Feathers.” Jihyo declared.

Momo’s eyes narrowed. She tried to swallow the news, hoping it would disappear. They were welcoming a thief into the pack. Even with all her self-control, Momo had to say something at least.

“She stole from our carcass.” The bluescale alpha said between gritted teeth. There was a sharpness in her low tone that couldn’t be missed.

“She had reasons to as any wolf would in this season. We’ve offered our carcass to a lot of strangers, Momo.” The leader reasoned. Her voice was tender, and it only meant that she noticed the objection vibrating off Momo’s face. “I think she’ll do well as a hunter.”

Momo tensed even more at the word.

“Would you mind mentoring her for a while? Perhaps until you think she qualifies to hunt with us?” Jihyo smiled.

The leader had a nice smile, honestly. It was assuring and a lovely enhancement with her comforting green eyes. Momo never wanted to disobey her. She was an alpha herself, yes. She had her own ambitions and a drive for independence, but she never wanted to ever go against Jihyo. It was weird, yes, but Jihyo was just a tad too undeniable. Momo saw her very wholesome heart from the very start, and she knew she was always the leader who just wanted everyone to get along and be happy. She was never anything like Momo’s old alphas and probably one of the most unique leaders there ever was. It saddened the lead hunter, truly. Yet, the thought of her teaching Mina was almost too much. Momo forced a smile in the end, directing it awkwardly in the gamma’s direction and hoping that Jihyo could be at ease seeing that they were totally going to get along fine.

The leader grinned back immediately. “You should show her around the lower valley.”

Momo nodded. Mina wagged her tail idly to initiate a friendly impression. Momo didn’t really know how to feel about that, but Jihyo was dragged away by Sana to see something a second later. The atmosphere became stuffy and awkward as the bluescale alpha and the tundra-coated gamma stared at each other. Like hot lava against ice, it always felt intense whenever her purple met blue. Mina suddenly broke the contact and got onto her feet. Momo didn’t know why, but she felt the need to do the same. Then, the gamma approached her in a sophisticated manner that made her breath hitch, and Momo froze as the younger stood next to her.

“I’m sure you’ll be a great teacher, Momorin.” Mina simpered at her.

“Momo. My name is Momo.” The bluescale alpha growled.

Mina withdrew her ears and took a step back. Momo, realizing what she’d done, quickly cleared . She hated this. What was wrong with her? She mentally slapped herself out of the sour attitude.

“U-um, follow me.” Momo made sure to soften her voice and flash another stiff smile.

Maybe, this was the result of waking up way too early.

AN: SHE'S HERE AT LAST

Chapter ten already, man. This wouldn’t have been done otherwise without yall’s support.

The plot is thickening btw~ ;)