WEBVTT

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The silence of the high ridge was absolute,

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broken only by the sharp, crystalline snap

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of frost forming on the jagged shale.

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Kale stood at the very edge of the

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precipice, his thick coat matted with frozen needles

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of snow.

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Above him, the moon hung like a silver

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coin in a sky so clear it felt

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thin, casting a

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pale, ghostly light over the sprawling wilderness below.

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He didn't move.

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He waited until the air felt heavy with

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the scent of pine and distant prey.

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Then he tilted his head back, his throat

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vibrating with a primal, rising tension.

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When the howl finally tore from his chest,

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it was a long, mournful cry that defied

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the

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biting wind.

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It was more than a sound.

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It was a proclamation of territory, a beacon

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cutting through the dark.

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From the shadows of the lower slope, answers

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rippled back.

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One by one, the silhouettes of his pack

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materialized, sleek, dark shapes shifting against the brilliant

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white of the snow.

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They moved with a synchronized, rhythmic grace, their

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eyes catching the moonlight like embers

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in the dark.

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They gathered behind him, lowering their heads in

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acknowledgement as the call reached its

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crescendo.

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As the echoes faded into the endless expanse

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of the mountain range, Kale felt the collective

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pulse of the pack, a restless, unified energy

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ready to hunt.

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With a flick of his ears, he turned

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away from the moon and vanished into the

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blue -gray shadows

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of the ridge, his brothers and sisters flowing

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behind him like a river of smoke.

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The wilderness claimed them once more, leaving the

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high peaks to the wind and the watchful,

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silver eye of the moon.