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Two wolves emerged from the old house. One large wolf, dark grey, solid and muscular, with a thick ruff and long bushy tail. Black tipped ears and muzzle accentuated his proud bearing. By size, posture and manner, he was clearly an Alpha.
The alpha was accompanied by a smaller wolf, golden-brown, with smaller ears. Despite the extra volume of its very thick coat, the wolf barely reached the shoulder of his companion.
If anyone had been watching, they would have seen the two wolves gently touch noses before slinking into the forest together.
They were a mated pair.
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The tall and silent tree trunks were dark shadows flying past as the two wolves dashed across the uneven terrain. Their grace, even as they chased down their quarry, was evident in the silence with which they hunted. Barely a twig snapped beneath their feet as they flew across the ground, just the stirring of leaves in the wake of their passage told the tale to the darkness.
Ahead, a sixth sense sent rabbits scattering, their white tails glowing like bouncing balls away from the predators. On any other night, they would have been the prey, but not tonight. Tonight, a special feast was required - it wasn’t every day that a Pack Alpha took a mate.
Dappled shadows cast by the half-moon danced across the coats of the two wild creatures. At first, their hunt was half-hearted, more joyful than serious, the wolves stopping from time to time to play, the smaller one dancing behind trunks and branches and rock formations, then springing away as the bigger wolf stalked him. The younger wolf taunted and teased, lithely jumping up and running away each time the other surprised him by getting too close. The alpha seemed content to stalk his mate, never using his weight or speed to bring the exchange to a conclusion.
Finally, as the sparkling pinpricks in the night sky faded into the background, and the shadows shortened down below, the two wolves suddenly froze.
The large grey beast lifted his nuzzle, subtly scenting the air. Then with a chilling deep challenge uttered into the night, he bounded away, closely followed by his companion. They trekked downhill and up the other side, on and on, paw after paw hitting the dirt and the leaves and the damp, decaying leaf litter, until finally, tongues lolling and sides heaving, they slowed, circling around a dense thicket of thorny bushes.
The honey-brown wolf positioned himself behind the clump, while the larger wolf pushed his muzzle deep into the congested mass, startling a red fox - whites of eyes showing, and hairs erect - out the far side. The young wolf took off after it, the larger wolf heading around and coming in at an angle. The fox managed to stay ahead of the young wolves, but was relentlessly driven always in the same direction, despite increasingly desperate attempts to dodge and track away. Each time the fox attempted to break away, one of the wolves would herd it back, uncompromisingly urging it back along the original path.
When they reached a small flat grassy space, bordered by a semi-circular sheer rock face, the fox realized it was doomed. Turning its back on the sheer rocks, it made a frantic dash between the two wolves.
The crunch of shattering bone and a few last pitiful yelps marked the end of its life.
Later, the dark grey wolf carried the limp corpse, limbs dangling uselessly from his jaw, and laid it at the feet of its mate.
It was a fat red fox, plump and juicy, a fitting mating gift for an Alpha Mate. The Alpha lay on the thick grass and watched as his mate fed. He was hungry himself, but he could wait. The wolf was well-pleased.
His mate had participated in the chase and his belly was now distended and full.
When the Alpha had finished the remnants of the fox, the two wolves ran their tongues over each other’s muzzles, licking up any lingering red droplets, before disappearing together amongst the trees, to re-enact somewhere on that dark and lonely mountain, their union as Alpha and Alpha Mate.