Teen Ink

Prologue

“Umberpelt! It's a girl! Rosxo's going to have a baby sister!”
A squealing, gooey newborn kit lay on the ground. Roseherb began
to lick the feeble creature. Umberpelt panted and whined.
“Where… where‟s the other one?” the mother breathed.
Roseherb nudged the laboring fox's fat belly.
“Umberpelt…” the herb fox's voice had an apologetic tone to
it.
Umberpelt lifted her and glanced at her two newborn kits,
Rosxo and the baby girl. She sighed and lay her head back down.
Roseherb pushed the girl to her mother's belly, and she began
suckling immediately.
“What do you want to name her?”
Umberpelt hesitated a moment, and with a weak smile on her
face, she whispered, “Kalai.”
A horrifying wail sounded throughout the fort. Roseherb
whipped around and Umberpelt perked her ears. Jaxxentail came
bounding into the nursery den, a terrified, shocked look on his face.
“Windpelt is dead!”
Everything froze.
Roseherb slowly looked behind her.
Umberpelt‟s ears fell back onto her head, her eyes lost the
twinkle of happiness that they always have in them, her jaw
quivered.
“Wind… windp-pelt… m-my mate…” She stopped and
stared blankly at the ground, her kits crying. A tear dripped down
Roseherb's muzzle.
Umberpelt let out a horrid, piercing wail.