Snowflake's Great Adventure (part 3)

"Because I am Flame...your mother."

"Wh...what?" Snowflake stammered. "Yes," Flame replied, "Your mother." "It can't be!" Snowflake cried. "My mother was a sled dog!" "No," Flame said gently, "I am no sled dog. I am a wolf."

Snowflake stared at her blankly. "A...wolf?" Flame sighed and leaned over to her sister. "This is going to take a while for it to sink in," she murmured. Her sister nodded. "But...I can't be half wolf! I'm training for the Iditarod!" Snowflake said. "Half wolf?" Flame asked, sounding offended. "No, you are full wolf."

"What? B-but my father is a sled dog!" Snowflake gasped. "He was not always a sled dog," Flame said quietly. "He was once the alpha dog, the leader of the pack." "What happened?" Snowflake asked. "He was out one night, hunting. Unfortunately, he was not the only one hunting. So were humans. They shot him in the leg on accident. Then they took pity on him and took him home," her mother said sadly. "One night, he came back to see me. He said he would not come back. He liked the humans, he said they were kind. He told me to come with him. I was going to have you and your brother at the time, so I had to go with him. I was scared of raising you pups on your own. So, of course, I went. Then I gave birth to two healthy, beautiful pups."

"What happened then?" Snowflake whispered. Her mother stared down at her paws. "The humans were cruel to me. They hit me and yelled at me for no reason. Your father just stood back and watched. He didn't bother to stand up for me. If I hadn't left, they would have killed me."

"You mean you left us? Why didn't you take us?" Snowflake asked, sounding hurt. "You were too young and weak. I couldn't. Most pups die out here in the cold. I didn't want that to happen," her mother replied.

"Still, you left us!" Snowflake cried. She was getting angrier and angrier by the moment. "Buniq, I --" Flame began, but Snowflake cut her off. "Don't call me that!" she shouted. "I hate you! You left us! You don't care about me!" she sobbed. She ran into the woods. She did not look back.

Snowflake wandered around aimlessly. I don't need her. I don't need them, she thought angrily. She abandoned me! Then, she saw a shape in the corner of her eye. It was golden brown with giant paws. A cougar! Cougars weren't supposed to live here! Why was it here?

It crept closer towards her, growling. Suddenly, it pounced, its eyes gleaming, its claws outstretched. A large shape flew through the air, knocking down the cougar. The cougar yowled in pain. It spun around to face its attacker. It was a wolf! It was Flame! The cougar pounced again, clawing at Flame. Flame closed her jaws around its throat and held on. The cougar thrashed around and scratched, trying to break free. Snowflake was still frozen in shock. The cougar finally broke free and fled. Flame was lying limp on the ground, her breathing shallow.

"Mother!" Snowflake cried, and ran to her. "I love you so much," her mother gasped. "Tell...your brother..I love him." Snowflake could only nod. Her mother's eyes closed. "No! Don't leave me!" Snowflake howled. She curled up close to her mother and imagined being a pup again. But all she could think was, All my fault. If I hadn't run away, she would still be here! Soon, she fell asleep, and dreamed of when she was a little pup again.