Take Heart

The howling draws closer.  Their breath comes in pants as they race across the fresh snow.  In a cozy den, she curls closer to her helpless pups while they pummel her belly, hoping for nourishment.  She has no milk, as many creatures are starving in this harsh Canadian winter.  
The cave they rest in is small, but warm enough.  The walls are draped with moss and water pools at the back.  She wistfully wishes her mate was here, but resentfully pushes the thought away.  He wants nothing to do with her or her pups.
A growl sounds just outside of her cave.  Harrowing memories come flooding back as she remembers a similar day.

~~~~

The sun is setting and she is back in her birth-cave, nestled next to her brother.  They compete for their mother’s attention, wrestling and nipping.  Her mother gazes down at them with warm eyes, but suddenly, her gaze darkens and her eyes cloud with dismay.  
The scents of three, muscular dogs waft in.  She feels her mother’s heart racing in her chest and for a fleeting moment, their gazes lock.  A pitiful whimper escapes her throat as her mother warily rises to her paws.
A warning bark is issued from the front of the cavern and her mother gallops to the entrance.  Fighting erupts.  She hears squeals and yelps, but can’t place them.
As she shakily stands, her brother whimpers, frightened by the battle.  She gently licks him between the ears before she silently pads to the mouth of the cave.
The scene she beholds is ingrained in her mind all her life.  A trio of dogs are attacking her beloved mother.  The courageous she-wolf fights back as best she can, but to no avail.  The leader of the three suddenly smashes her against the wall, causing her mother to lie still, stunned.  Their gazes lock for the last time as the dogs pounce upon her, dealing the slaughterous kiss of death.  
They howl in triumph, back away and slink through the pines, leaving the pups to die alone.  Her brother appears beside her and races to their mother’s body.  She follows.  As they mourn, the moon rises over the forest and she vows that her pups will never, ever, be without their mother until it is her time to meet the Mother Wolf.  She will not allow them to feel the terrible, lonely pain that she and her brother feel.

~~~~

Now, as the menacing pair of dogs waits just outside the cave, she feels the breath-taking courage of a bear rising in her, like nothing in the world can stop her.  She will save herself and her pups, just as her dear mother failed to do, so many moons ago.  This is sweet revenge.
With that valiant thought, she lets out a ferocious growl and leaps out to meet them in a savage battle they are bound to lose.