Hope

Copyright © 2011 by Reena Bakir.

Library of Congress Control Number:       PENDING

ISBN:         Hardcover                               978-1-4653-1029-3

                   Softcover                                 978-1-4653-1028-6

                   Ebook                                      978-1-4653-1030-9

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

This book was printed in the United States of America.

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CONTENTS

Prologue

Chapter 1 Hope

Chapter 2 Still A Long Way To Go

Chapter 3 The Sanctuary

Chapter 4 Trouble

Chapter 5 The Leopard

Chapter 6 The Howl

Chapter 7 Adopt Me

Chapter 8 Runaway

Chapter 9 A New Life, A New Beginning

Chapter 10 Easy Meal, Hard Catch

Chapter 11 Wildcat

Chapter 12 Finding

Chapter 13 The Cubs

Chapter 14 The Pack

Chapter 15 The Fight

Chapter 16 Outsiders

Chapter 17 The Search

Chapter 18 My First Hunt

Chapter 19 Akita

Chapter 20 Pack Rivals

Chapter 21 Secrets

Chapter 22 Raventail

Chapter 23 Meeting

Chapter 24 War Has Begun

Chapter 25 Leader

Epilogue

PROLOGUE

Soft rays of sun shone on the way along the cold big mountain, warming it with its presence. Little birds, perched up in trees, sang a beautiful song to welcome spring. Rabbits scurried blissfully along the grassland, nibbling and grazing at the daisies and daffodils. Bees buzzed happily a tune to set the weather, as butterflies fluttered beside them. The lake flowed with magical, cool water—making it a perfect home for fish, turtles, and frogs. Its warm, loving voice of spluttering water filled the mountain and made it seem safe and secure. No lion, tiger, or leopard in sight. There was nothing to ruin or disturb this safe haven for all blissful creatures. Deer, rabbits, hares, rodents, and moles all lived in the underlayer of the mountain, as the predators and carnivores lived on the upper layer.

Bears, mountain lions, and especially wolves lived up there, making food of any misfortunate lost prey that wandered in their area. The mountain was not a safe place there, nowhere close to safe to be truthful; it seemed like a totally different place. Insecure and filled with bloodthirsty beings, almost everyone with sanity kept away from there, unless they were unfortunately strayed or hazed. It was normally cloudy and cold from the cool weather up there, near the summit, where foxes and wolves lurked the most, fighting for the land to claim theirs.

Blessed with lovely white fur and ocean blue eyes, she trotted tiredly across the underlayer of the mountain, trying her best not to be seen. Her footsteps were like silent prayers, hardly heard by a rat. A wolf in this area was a huge threat; she would be chased away at first sight. She longed for shade, not the cold and lonely kind of shade, but for the warm and sweet type, the one that made her feel welcomed and loved. She sat down beneath a huge maple tree with shade like a shelter for her, and her bloated stomach urged as ever. It wasn’t that she ate too much or that she was too fluffy; it was that she carried a pup in her belly, a blessed one indeed. Echo was too careful to give birth in the upper layer of the mountain; the pup would be devoured by some sort of predator like a lion or fox. Here it was safe as long as she keeps away from sight, which she was doing right now.

Soft grass brushed through her back, as she urged to fix her position away from the heating sun. The end of her final month, it was, and finally her pup will be born into this world and safe by her side. Her paws scratched on a rock in front of her; they stayed marked there. She closed her eyes to hear the songs of the birds; how peaceful it was here, how different from where she was raised. She had no pack, for she was a lone wolf; and her mate, Epacka, had not been found since days. A beautiful husky, she imagined her child, just like his father. Beautiful blue eyes and a magnificent coat, she wondered and dreamed until she finally rested in peaceful sleep.

FEW MONTHS LATER…

CHAPTER 1 HOPE

It was cold and scary, and the only thing you could hear was the moving wind in the mountains; the snow was overpowering and far too deadly. The wind raged across my ears, like a distant yell, coming closer and closer. I was too scared to move and too cold to even eat the dead bird that had collapsed in front of me. I knew I was too weak to survive the following hours, for I hadn’t eaten in a few days; I was only a puppy, not yet an adult husky. My eyes were beginning to shut down, and just when I was about to give up and take my last breath, I saw some sort of light. I could barely make out what it was, but I knew it was hope.

Hey look! It’s a puppy! I heard a man say as he picked me up and walked to his van. His hands were warm and dressed in gloves. I could feel the ice melting off my light gray fur and warming off to my paws, as I sat there in the corner of the van. My blue eyes were sparkling with fear, and my fur was shivering with coldness.

I am a one-month-and-a-half-old male husky puppy; my name is Hope (given to me by my rescuer). I lost my mother to hunters and my father… well, I never saw him. Sometimes I wished I had, since Mom used to tell me all the sacrifices he did to find food for Mom and to make sure she was happy back in their shelter. I never really understood why Dad had to leave me and Mom alone.

In a few minutes the man slowly came close to me and petted me. I growled at first, but then it got comfortable, and I licked his hand knowing that I could collapse any minute from hunger. The man noticed I was hungry and gave me a dead rabbit he just caught. The taste was magical; I could feel my mouth watering as I took my first bite. He patted my head and said, You are going to grow up to be a great leader someday! I stopped eating and looked at him with big eyes that could have said a thousand words. Suddenly, the van stopped.

Dan, I think we are here! called the driver to the man who was feeding me. He stood up and moved toward to the door, his shoes tapping on the floor like a wooden stick. He pulled the door open, and a weird-dressed man came and took some dead animals from the van. I hid under the chair and wouldn’t come out, until Dan came and pulled me out later. He put me in a room with a man staring at me.

"So this is the dog you have rescued?" he asked as if he was unamused by what he was seeing.

Yes, he might not look like much, but he’s really sweet, Dan answered back as I licked his face. The weird-dressed man glared at me, as I brushed my fur onto Dan’s warm hands and closed my eyes.

Dan exited the room with me in his arms and walked down a long hallway. I could hear dogs barking, but I didn’t know from where. Then, we arrived at some outdoor place; it was filled with husky puppies and other kinds of wolf puppies. It was surrounded by a wooden fence so none of the puppies could escape. It had trees, bushes, and a vast ground too. He put me down on the snow and kissed my forehead.

Go on, boy, enjoy it here! This is your new home! he said as he patted my back and went in. As my paws touched the white snow, I shivered slightly. Soft snowflakes glittered on my face, like soft white sand. I was shaking as I walked past all the unfamiliar faces around me; suddenly one not-so-frightening face came up to me.

Hello, my name is Akita. Are you new here? she asked gleefully. I nodded, and she continued, My name means great hunter. I am a female husky puppy. My parents died in an avalanche, and then Dan came and rescued me! she said, still gleefully.

I am Hope. I am a month-and-a-half husky puppy. My mother was taken away to hunters, and I never really saw my father, I answered back, this time not so terrified. She had silk white fur that matched the snow she was standing in and adorable blue eyes that sparkle every time I look at them. She looked more like a wild mountain wolf than a normal husky, kind of what I look like. Her voice was sweet like music, and her tail was as fluffy as a pillow. Could I really be making a new friend? Is this the start of my new life? Could this be home?

CHAPTER 2

 STILL A LONG WAY TO GO

"Come on, Hope. Let me introduce you to my friends," she said to me as she skipped in the snow. I followed her, my knees shaking and my eyes turning to every corner; finally we ended up in a curve with two