Mud Monsters and Pack ghosts

"Sparrow's heart was hurting, but she buried it in her work, in serving her pack to the best of her ability. The Alpha was the only person she could think of. He walked in her dreams, and she would wake happy, only to remember the chains of the promise she'd made to her sister. And so for months, whatever piece of prey she touched put her packmates in a gloom. There was a great heaviness within them. They dragged their paws in the dust, got drunk as they reminisced over old memories, over dreams long forgotten. They howled heartbreak to the moon, theirs and her own. But, slowly, the mood swings became less intense. Sparrow was beginning to think that she might be able to live without him, though she never fully believed it herself."

Mal stared into the fire. "The next year after their promise, the Alpha called everyone together for a meeting. He was pleased to introduce his new mate... and called Finch to stand beside him. He announced that she would be their new Alpha, ruling beside him. Finch thanked him, swore to rule with wisdom and fairness, and promised to protect her packmates, as well as the pups she now carried inside her. The pack was ecstatic at the news, and rallied around them. All but Sparrow. She could scarcely believe it. Finch had been meeting the Alpha in secret the entire time. She'd convinced him that Sparrow was a silly little girl with an unhealthy obsession. And she tricked her younger sister into giving up on her soulmate."

"The betrayal cut deep. That evening, as the pack hunted together in celebration, Sparrow performed well. She brought down their quarry with a single blow, fueled by white-hot rage. The pack ate well... but it wasn't long before her emotions set in. Nearly the entire pack broke into fights with each other. Tempers flared, old feuds became new, and blood spilled freely."

"And then, in her anger, Sparrow confronted the Alpha. Why had he abandoned her? Didn't he know that they were supposed to be together?" Mal shook her head. "He said that she was delusional, obsessed. That Finch had been right about her all along. That he could never love someone like her. So she walked away, eerily calm. It was the last she talked to either of them... until the day that Finch went into labor."

"The woman gave birth to a healthy litter. After she was rested, one by one, the pack came to present their gifts to the Alphas, as was the tradition. Pelts, relics, bundles of herbs. When it was Sparrow's turn, she delivered an elk heart, still fresh. It was a symbol of her own heart. Despite everything that'd happened, she still loved her sister -- still loved them both. Tearfully, Finch accepted, and as she bit into it, something took over her. Just as Sparrow's heart was laid bare, so was her own, and she confessed to the deception, to her mate's horror."

"But what could they do? In those times, mates weren't allowed to separate, once bonded to one another. So for five long years, Sparrow watched from the sidelines as Finch raised the family that should have been her own. Eventually, though, Finch passed from some disease. The arrangements were made, and Sparrow and the Alpha became mates, after all that time."

"Now, they were old wolves, by then, and they shouldn't have been able to have children. But, the pack hunted together, as they had done all those years before. Instead of anger, they were overwhelmed with love, and the next season saw Sparrow with a healthy litter of her own. It's said that her children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren and so on, spread out all over the world. And some of them carried that same ability with them. So if you ever feel funny after you eat...."

She reached across the space between them to poke Mort's belly, snickering all the while. "How was that?"