Alcmene

I was born into my pack, a leader by right. My mother and father respected me, and so did the rest of my pack. I was a playful pup, willing to learn. There is one line that my mother once told me that has stuck with me since I became the Alpha of the Midnight Pack; "Do not expect loyalty or kindness from all, earn it. Even if you have to earn it the hard way." Those words, they stayed with me, and they will never leave me until I die.
When I was an adolescent, I learned many things from my mentors. I learned about hunting, pup watching, stalking, scouting, and more. It was fun. I always loved lessons with my mother, she taught me how to be the best leader I could possibly be.
On my birthday, when I was a year old, my father took me hunting and I learned a lot. Then, when we returned home with lots of prey, my mother took me out exploring. We found so many animals! I loved it. Then, that night, we all went to bed but Mother passed that night. When I woke, the pack was in disrepair. But I remembered what Mother had told me and I stepped up. "I can lead this pack, Mother would have wanted that," I barked. My pack was willing to follow me, I was their Alpha's daughter, they needed me and I stepped up.
A few days after I became the Alpha, two wolves came to me, having been cast out of their own pack. I soon learned their names, Lunar and Freki. Lunar and Freki told me that their last pack had tossed them out as soon as they were adults, because of a program called the "Raise and Chase" program. But that made no sense to me, not that it mattered. I realized that not long after I said the two wolves could stay, I fell in love with Freki. Soon, Freki confessed he shared my feelings for him with me, and we began to hang out a lot more and soon were mates. Fenrir, the breeding male, was jelous but shame on him, he's the breeding male, he dates everybody anyway.
Fenrir, I knew, was a wolf who would never truly understand the meaning of respect, no matter how hard I pound it into him. But I understand that, I never truly understood the meaning of it myself, not until I lost one of my pups to the flu. You see, loyalty is one thing, but respect is yet another. Respect comes with learning the ways of others, listening to others' ideas, putting others ahead of yourself at times. I might not be all that friendly, but I know respect. And when my pack needed me, I stepped up. When I needed my pack, they stepped up. The system can be trusted, just like rules are sometimes meant to be broken.
No one threatens my family; my pack; my home; or my honor. I'll fight until I die if I have to, but I will always protect my pack. If it rains, it rains. If it snows, it snows. If my entire pack's camp burns to ashes, we rebuild. When life gives you a snow storm, you make snow wolves, it's that simple. Respect those who respect you, but be loyal only to yourself unless the fates say to do otherwise.
(Written by Thunder_ALPHA(#40131)