Her breath rose in the air -- wisps of smoke that seemed to evaporate before touching the branches of the cedars that surrounded her. Pale moonlight danced in through the tree tops -- the forest, despite the darkness of winter, was always lighter when the leaves were gone.
But something in the air had shifted -- the air was cold, but the heat rose from her like an electric current. She knew now what it meant, and so she slunk away for solitude, avoiding the other males of the pack lest she give them the wrong impression. But she did not wish to hide from her beloved, and so with a short and clipped cry in to the air, she beckoned to him -- the excitement of the season thrumming at her chest.
Her paws would gingerly sway along the flat lands of the woods, her restlessness unable to keep her still. Her tail swung contently through the cool air, enticing the scent of her heat and what it meant for the pack -- the leaders would bring forward another litter, and Cut Rock River would further prosper. A year had come and gone, and their current brood would soon be of age to enter the adult ranks as yearlings. Aleksei was reserved and stoic in his own right -- Orren, adventurous and very much a scamp, despite his age. Karina was the most gentle. Each of them had stolen her heart over and over, and she anticipated the ability to produce further children to do just that once more.
Corinna, after all, had done so year after year. It was what the lead female of the pack was destined to do.
sparking up my heart