After the mother died Rocky and Black Betty decided that the pack needed to go out and hunt together for a meal. Shortly after they departed Rocky found a few drops of blood that had dripped into the grass. The heat from the blood made it clear that the blood was still fresh and the animal was in the area. Now that the pack had got its first smell of blood they were all anxious and ready to go, which was not good news for Shaq. They were going to hunt at an even faster pace, a pace which he could not keep up with. Rocky, the most dominant of the pack, led the charge to kill. He led a fast aggressive hunt trying to make a kill before nightfall. The pack was in hot pursuit of an injured cow elk. As they come to the top of a hill they look down and saw what they have been looking for. The elk had taken an arrow in the back leg from a bow hunter earlier in the day. The adrenaline of the pack is soaring since they can see and smell the elk better then ever. This injured cow was no problem for the pack of wolves, which worked like an assembly line to make the kill. A group of smaller speedy ones ran her down, while the stronger ones came and took her to the ground. The cow was down but still alive. It was then that Rocky made the final strike to finish the elk by clenching the neck of the beast until it laid there lifeless.

Once it was dead, along came the weakest of the pups. Shaq had been trailing behind trying his hardest to catch up. He got many long, angry stares as he approached the elk and tried to eat some of the fresh kill. It’s understood among all wolf packs that those that aren’t part of the kill, don’t eat. Shaq knew this rule, but his mother made them keep a pact to take care of him. His siblings had obviously forgotten what their mother had told them. As the rest of the pack ate, he had to sit there and watch them enjoy the delicious meal. To be cocky one of his brothers called him over to have some, but when he got there all that was left was bone and fur. This continued for weeks and Shaq was starting to get weaker. If not for a few weak rabbits and some left over scraps he would surely be dead.

It seemed there was becoming a little problem of agreement between Rocky and Drago. Drago was the 2^nd highest ranked male behind Rocky and appeared to be the best hunter of the pack. When Rocky would get tired Drago would take over and lead the way with Black Betty. One afternoon while they were tracking a caribou he tried to lead them on a short cut to where he thought the animal would be. When they arrived at that spot they came to find out the caribou went totally the other way and salvaged his life. This didn’t settle well with Rocky. He chewed Drago out and gave him a piece of his mind. Drago wasn’t in the mood to take and gruff from Rocky on that day. The whole pack was hungry and starting to become impatient. He had finally had enough of getting bossed around by Black Betty and Rocky, he was just as big and powerful as they were, yet they tried to rule him. He then left the pack and went to hunt on his own. Shaq was so far behind that when he caught up he was so tired he didn’t even notice Drago had left the pack until they all began to move on. If there was a member of the pack that somewhat respected him and still talked to him it was Drago, but now he was gone to try and fend for himself in the Yukon winter.

A few days later the pack was chasing a doe that appeared to have been spooked by something else besides the pack of wolves. She was moving exceptionally fast, like she had an adrenaline rush that she has been running from flying bullets. She went through one valley and was heading for a clearing up ahead. She had about a forty yard lead on the pack but was losing ground rapidly. Shaq, well he was back about two hundred yards trudging through the snow with all his might. As the deer appeared in the clearing a shot was fired, Shaq abruptly stopped, but he could see none of the other members of the pack did way in front of him. They may have been breathing to heavy and barking too much to hear the shot. Shaq heard one shot and the deer dropped, but the pack kept running. He then heard a few more shots and saw two of the wolves go down. He then saw that the field was surrounded by hunters and the pack was boxed in. It was the first day of deer season and it wasn’t unusual for hunters to shoot predators like wolves and coyotes while hunting deer. For most were farmers and thought the wolves were a threat to their livestock. The shots continued to rain out and Shaq could hear the sounds of his brothers and sisters getting pelted with the bullets from high powered rifles. The firing continued for about a minute. After the firing stopped the hunters gave out yells that echoed across the wilderness, as if they had just won a battle and were celebrating. Shaq tried to be optimistic wishing they may have survived, but in his head he knew all his mind that all his brothers and sisters had been slain in that clearing just ahead.

Fearing the worst for himself he began to run away from the hunters as fast as his weak legs could carry him. For now he was alone in the wild, hungry and weak, the future didn’t hold a bright outlook for Shaq. The only hope he had was that his one brother Drago was somewhere out in the wild still alive. He was the brother who had broken away from the pack because he couldn’t get along with the other brothers and sisters. He hoped to meet up with him somewhere along the line and maybe try to survive with him. While looking for his brother, a very old bull moose came up and noticed the weak wolf. He asked him what was wrong and they talked for awhile. The moose knew he was going to die in the next day or two so he made a deal with Shaq and granted him a very special gift. This moose was the king of the wilderness, everyone looked up to him and did as he said, but he was very well liked. He said "I’m going to die in a few days, I’m very old, and when I die I want you do eat me so you can get some nourishment." Shaq was shocked by this statement but he knew if he didn’t take this offer he would die. The moose also made him another deal that none of the other more powerful animals would leave him alone and not pester him.

"Whenever an animal is the wild is going to die I will tell them to come to you so you can eat them. I would much rather a good hearted young wolf like yourself, then some big mean bear."

As the moose died Shaq was saddened but at the same time happy cause he knew he had a good chance of surviving. On top of the hill he noticed what appeared to be another wolf. He looked harder as the wolf came closer and closer. When I got to the bottom of the hill Shaq recognized this wolf. It was his lone surviving brother Drago. They were both happy to see each other. Drago was quite amazed at what Shaq had in front of him.

"Did you kill this yourself?"

"No, he was old and going to die; he saw I was in a time of need, so he said that when he died I could eat him. Thank god he let this happen or I may have died. I still don’t have the strength to get food on my own yet."

"Yeah I was worried about you, I didn’t like how Rocky and Black Betty wouldn’t let you eat. Mom said to leave nobody behind and those two didn’t honor her wishes. Speaking of everyone else where are they at? I haven’t heard them barking for a few days now, did they pack up and go to a different area to hunt?"

"Well they are no longer with us. They were all following a doe through the valley, she ran up into the field over by the old clearing. There must have been about 15 hunters in that field. As soon as everyone of them got out of sight the shots started raining out. Fifty or so shots, until none of them were left standing." Drago who didn’t necessarily get along with his other siblings was saddened by the news of this.

"I broke away from them cause I couldn’t get along, this saddens me deeply to know that all our brothers and sisters have been killed. Lucky for me I wasn’t with them. I guess heaven just wasn’t ready to take me."

Shaq ate the moose king and slowly over time started to grow and gain some strength. Over time he grew into one of the biggest, most respected wolves in the whole wilderness, gaining the respect of other animals and helping them when in need. He wanted to make sure no animal had to go through what he had to go through as a pup. One day when Shaq was getting old and knew he only had a few days left to live he came across a baby fawn lying in a ravine whose mother had died. He lay with the fawn keeping it warm until he found another doe to take it in as one of her own. As he lay there keeping the fawn warm the wolf that everyone had loved so much finally passed away, doing exactly what someone had done for him - helping a struggling animal survive and allowing it to live.