I took a deep breath and listened to the old brag of my heart. I am, I am, I am.

The soft light of the grey dawn snuck through the thick bank of clouds, reflecting off the powdery white snow that littered the ground. The snow was light on the ground, the soft light of the grey dawn permeating the air with a frisson of heat but to the cold frozen ground of the valley, it tried but to no avail. The ground was frozen in the depths of the winter- and what a winter it had been. The snow had fallen thick since she had entered this place, her soul a desolate wasteland of grief and sorrow and sheer frustration. She was alone for the first time in her life, totally and completely alone.

And she was afraid, terribly afraid. So many things could kill her out here. Bears and such, other wolves even if she had the misfortune to travel through their lands. She was still young and inexperienced and on the whole? Definitely not ready to meet the real world.

And she was here, on the edge of a pack territory across the mountain but even now, she was terrified. She had no energy left to be brave, for she had been brave for almost six months. Ayita had never lived without a pack before and now she wandered, hungry and alone and confused about what the hell she was going to do now.

She bordered on the edge of a life both achingly familiar and excruciatingly painful in her memories, to belong to a pack and a place. She wanted to be accepted, above all else and she would try her damned hardest to find her place in this pack's hierarchy. The winter was harsh after all and prey on the short side of existence. There were hungry mouths to feed but so little to feed them with and any smart alpha needed all the wolves they could get. Ayita assumed she'd be accepted for the winter but who knew what spring would bring? It was a season of life and renewal.

What if they drove her off? Would she starve? Would she die from exposure, trapped in the open winter with no shelter from the inevitable snow storms? She didn't want to think about what would happen if she was left out here, broken and refused entrance to a pack that could give her most anything she could ever want.

But it seemed all her worries were for naught. The alpha had so easily allowed her in, with a gracious gesture of welcome and that was it. She was over the cusp of loneliness into the warmth of the pack once again. The mountains were cold and she had yet to see another wolf but it was good, once again, to be part of a system.