Ookami Tenma book 1 Prologue

~Curse of the Ookami Tenma~

~Book I: Mark of the Ookami Tenma~

~Prologue~

Deep within Enzeru Forest in a wolf den, there was a small pack of wolves. In that wolf pack was a strict alpha male. And there was a white female wolf who was about to give birth. And anyone other than the alpha male or female to bare pups was strictly forbidden.

Luckily for the mother to be, the alpha female was more forgiving than the alpha male. And she was going to let the mother to be have her children and leave her with just a warning.

The mother to be was breathing quickly and deeply as she continued to push, "You can do this, Reidou," a brown male wolf said to the white female as he nuzzled her.

There were tears streaming from the white wolf, Reidou's eyes, "I don't...think...I can...Daifu," Reidou panted to the brown wolf. Her eyes were then drawn toward two other pups. They were her pups...stillborns. They had died in the womb by causes unknown.

One after the other, Reidou had more pups, each one a stillborn. Finally, she was done. Out of a litter of seven pups, only one survived. It was a boy. A light gray wolf pup with dark gray hind quarters and legs. His hind paws were light gray. His shoulders, ears, and the top of his head and muzzle were dark gray.

"Congratulations, Reidou," Daifu said to his mate, "It's a boy." Daifu then lifted the pup up in his jaws and set him down next to Raidou. It was bittersweet. Almost her entire litter didn't even survive birth. But her one surviving pup was there next to her as she curled herself around him.

The pup then opened up his eyes and smiled as he looked up at his mother. He had a pure blue right eye that for some reason seemed to be full of sadness. It was as if the color of his right eye told her that his fate would be a painful one. And his left eye confirmed why his right eye was sad.

His right eye was a blood red color. His pupils were white while the whites of his eyes were black. This was recognized by many packs as one of the evil curse marks of this world. What was worse was that the alpha male of the pack saw his eye, "He's got the eye of the Ookami Tenma, the mark of the demon!" he growled as he approached the pup, "He's got the demon eye!"

The rest of the pack followed the alpha male with killing intent. They were going to rid this world of what they believed to be a demon before he was old enough to stop them. One of the wolves attacked. But the pups demon eye began to glow. And as if being controlled by another force, he moved with unnatural speed and agility for his age and avoided the attack.

Avoiding one attacker was one thing. But he was surrounded and wouldn't be able to avoid them all. Daifu realized this and grabbed the newborn pup in his jaw and ran. The rest of the pack followed suit to get the demon pup. Lucky for the pup, his father was one of the fastest wolves in the pack.

Daifu managed to lose the other wolves. He then went to find a good hiding spot for him. After about ten minutes of searching, Daifu found a hollow in a tree to hide his son in. He place the pup in the hollow of the tree and carved a name onto a piece of bark and set it next to him, "Stay safe, my son," Daifu said before leaving, hoping that his only surviving child would survive.

X~~~~~X

A young female wolf was traveling through Enzeru Forest. She was a tan color with a gray head and tail, and snow white paws. She was venturing through a territory that was not her own, so she was on high guard. And since she had just recently come of age to mate, she had to be extra careful. Her scent during this time would attract males who were looking for mates.

She jumped when she heard a sound nearby. But then she dropped her guard, "That sounds like only a puppy!" she said with a strong but gentle voice. It was the tone of voice that you would hear from an alpha female of a pack.

The wolf then walked over to where the sound was coming from. It was coming from the hollow of a tree. When she looked inside, there was a young pup not even a day old. The fact that he survived the night was amazing. But the pup was near death as he was starving and freezing to death. And last night was an exceptionally cold night.

"Who could be so cruel as to abandon a puppy?" the wolf wondered. She then noticed the freshly carved piece of bark with something carved into it. It was carved in a hurry and she didn't have the time to look at it. But she took the bark and put it in her satchel. Then she grabbed the pup in her jaw, feeling a light crunch as a layer of frost had even accumulated on him.

With the pup secured in her jaw, the female wolf headed back to her home territory at full sprint.

X~~~~~X

After an hour of running, the female wolf arrived at her home territory in the Luminescent Plains. There she was greeted by her father, who had an inquisitive look in his eyes, "I'm glad to see that you're back, Saibor," the wolf's father said, "Although I did not expect you to return with a pup so soon after you've come of age."

"Dad..." Saibor said once she set down the pup, "You know I won't mate until after I find the male that I intend to be with. And besides, you can't get pregnant and have a child in just three days."

"True...normally that's true. But it wouldn't be the first time you've surprised me," Saibor's father said as he watched his daughter curl around the pup like a mother would her child, "And it seems this is no exception."

"I found him abandoned and freezing to death!" Saibor exclaimed, asserting her opinion, "You didn't expect me to leave him there to die, did you?"

"No, of course not," her father said, "It's just that your parenting instincts appear to be quite strong." Saibor then looked down at her paws bashfully, "Let's get that pup home and get him in a warm skin."

X~~~~~X

Later, the pup was wrapped in a nice warm dear skin. Saibor was also wrapped around him to give him her body heat. But the pup was still shivering. This was a sign that he must've gotten sick.

Saibor's father had just returned from speaking with the alpha male about the pup, "Well, the pup can stay in the pack. But on one condition," he said, "Since you are the one who found him, you must be the one to take care of him as if he was your own pup."

"But what about feeding?" Saibor said, looking up from strip of bark that was with the pup when she found him, "He's too young to eat solid foods. And only a mother who has had pups can feed a pup."

"That's where the alpha female, Quil comes in. She just recently had a litter of her own. And she is willing to feed the pup along with her own."

"Just as long as he's fed," Saibor said, "I think I figured out what's written on this strip of bark. I think it's his name." Saibor then showed the bark to her father before looking back down to the shivering pup, "What do you think little one? How do you like the name...Akkime?"

The pup cooed an irregular coo, the sound becoming distorted from his shivering.

X~~~~~X

It took the pup, Akkime four days to recover from his sickness. But once he recovered, he was just as energetic, if not more so, as any other pup. And that meant that he was a real pawful for Saibor, not giving her a moments rest.


~The Wolf of Shadows, Alec~