Sands of Time: Book 1- Famine (Prologue Posted!)

Things used to be better than this. Water was abundant; prey was plentiful. We could watch our hatchlings grow up in a safe environment. We were happy. Now, if you look around you, all you can see is sand as far as the eye can see. Well, sand and faded skeletons. The dry season has been particularly hard on my pack this time around. I've seen many a packmate succumb to starvation lately, and only two of the hatchlings made it out of their eggshells alive.

Our situation has become so desperate that my mate Ebony, leader of the Pack of Red Sand, left to find new territory. That was thirty sunsets ago, and he still has yet to return. I hope with all my heart that he is still out there somewhere, dashing through the dunes to take us to a new place we can call home. I can't stand the thought of leaving this place without him, but Havoc, our pack's strongest hunter, grows more restless by the day, and something tells me he won't hesitate to leave our territory, our memories, and my chance of seeing Ebony again if it means he becomes pack leader.

My thoughts are interrupted by the cold voice of Havoc himself. "Willow, we're having a pack meeting. Get over here."

I don't mean to be disrespectful, but my emotions get in the way of logic. "You are not pack leader, Ebony is. Only he can hold a pack meeting."

Havoc snarled and responded with, "If Ebony's still our leader, then where is he?"

I could slash his stomach for making that comment. I could tell him all the heroic things Ebony's done that he never could. But I don't. All I do is look down and scratch at the sand with my claws.

"Yes, that's what I thought. Now come, there is much to discuss."

I follow Havoc, dreading every step I take. I know this meeting will forever change the fate of this pack, and I have no desire to attend. But what else can I do?