CHAPTER 1,

AMAROK:

Amarok stood proudly on the rock where he watched all of Icina. Icina was his homeland, and no other wolf was allowed to enter this territory, unless you were an IceWolf.

After finally having enough of the cold breeze brushing his thick white coat of fur, he climbed down hoping to find something to eat. Mother would like seal, he thought huskily, that's always her favourite. Amarok 

only lived with his mother, named Sheaba. She told him his father had died while protecting him and his little brother, Fantom, from a cougar. Amarok, as a pup, had always wanted to meet him, since he had no living memory of his father. But when he had asked about him, Sheaba used to morn all night. So, he learnt never to speak a word about his father again. 

As he started sniffing the frozen snow, he looked up and spotted a seal hole. He crouched down, Catch this for mother, he thought. Amarok forced his tail not to swish and he flexed his claws. He waited, and waited, and waited, until... a seal's head finally popped out. And without hesitation, Amarok sprang, teeth bared as he locked his jaw onto the seal's throat. The seal thrashed, but it soon became limp.

Amarok growled with satisfaction, but before he could

tear through its juicy flesh, some wolf called out: "Amarok? Is that you?"

Amarok sighed in frustration, whishing he wasn't hearing the voice of his little brother. "Not the time!" he yowled back.

But Fantom raced to his side. "Not the time?!" he cried. "You promised you would play with me! Surely, you haven't forgotten?"

"Can't you see I'm busy at the moment?" Amarok snapped at him.

Fantom shuffled toward Amarok, eyes growing wide as he looked at the seal. "You caught that?" he asked him curiously, swishing his tail.

"Who else is around to do it?" Amarok muttered.

Fantom started rolling around in the snow. "Come on, Amarok! You don't play with me anymore! The only thing you do is slop around!"

Amarok flattened his ears. "I do not slop around," he growled. "Go find your mother, or the other pups to play with."  Fantom sat up. "But the

other ice pups don't like to play with me." he said, tail drooping.

Amarok flicked his tail irritably. "And why is that?" he asked.

"They think I'm boring and too small for them," the pup mumbled. "They all ignore me every time I try to ask." 

Suddenly, Amarok felt a pang of sympathy for the little wolf cub, but he squashed the feeling down and sighed. "Fine," he said reluctantly. "I'll do whatever you want to do, but first I need to give this to mother."

Fantom wagged his tail excitedly. "Thanks Amarok!" he chirped, before racing off into the snow, and disappearing behind the trees.

Amarok frowned as he watched him go. Why don't the other pups play with him? So what if he's smaller than you? That shouldn't matter. IceWolfs always stay together. What's really going on?

...Is there something mother isn't telling me? Amarok shook his pelt, 

trying to get the thought out of his head. Time to go.

 .    .    .

"What's this?" Shaeba asked tiredly as he dragged the seal he had just caught into the den. "Is this for me?"

"Yes mother, " he said, dropping the seal carcass onto the stony floor.

"Oh, Amarok, my sweet cub," said his mother, struggling to get up. "You didn't need to-" she was cut off by her own gasp of pain.

Amarok immediately ran over to her and made her lean on him. "Mother, I told you to rest," he fretted. "I don't want you to get worse."

"I'm fine," she assured him. "I've been fine for the last 2 moons."

"You're not fine," he said sharply. "You need rest!"

His mother nuzzled his shoulder fur. "Don't be like that," she said. "I really am fine." she paused. "Didn't you say you would play with your brother?"