Dichali had noticed Cocheta before, all the boys of the tribe had, but most of the stayed away because she was differet. When Dichali saw her again after his change, he could not stay away from her if his life depended on it. Dichali had imprinted on this pale, beautiful girl.

Now, imprinting should be the happiest of times for a member of the pack, and though Dichali was happy, he could sense the dislike and anger that his brother Helaku had for his mate. Whereas Dichali saw beauty and goodness in Cocheta’s face and smiled, Helaku saw the greedy face of the white man reflected from her pale features.

As the resentment from Helaku grew and grew, so did the distance between himself and his brother. Though the other two members of the pack tried to talk to him and convince him that Chocheta was not the enemy, he still could not see her as a member of the tribe. But, Dichali and Helaku made peace for the good of their people and the pack continued to run together, though all the while, each was aware of Dichali’s love and Helaku’s hate.

Years passed and though the strong feelings were still there, they were buried in the background. Tribal concerns and the good of the people took precedence over everything else. Chocheta had bore Dichali two fine sons and a daughter. Helaku had never imprinted, but he too had a wife and son.

The pack was still necessary though since the threat of the cold ones was once again a problem. Several hunters that had strayed too far from the tribe had been found drained of all their blood and the pack knew that the cold ones had returned by the stench they left around the bodies. The members of the pack were forced to leave their families in the confines of the village as they ran patrols and searched out their enemies.

Their families did not see them for many moons and their wives were left to care for the children on their own. None complained, they knew that the duties their husbands performed were for the good of the tribe.

One night, Cocheta returned to her tent from checking on the other families only to discover that her youngest, her daughter, was not in her bed. Frantic and panicked she searched for her, but the girl was nowhere to be found. When she noticed the girl’s blanket laying in the outskirts of the forest she was sure that the cold ones had found her and taken her. Like any mother would, she ran into the forest, ignoring the scratches and scrapes as she tried to find her daughter, too out of breath to even call her name. She did not realize that her daughter had wandered off to the neighbors and that she had left her blanket on the ground along the way.