Notes: Set in my Predators AU (it's such fun!) but what if the wolves hadn't returned to Konoha? Grew out of chatting with fruitysmellz and reiyaame. Reiyaame made the cover image!

They crouch in the shadows of the trees, near the bend in the path towards the packgrounds proper. Naruto is whining - Tenten, looking miserable herself, nudges him to quiet before Neji can snap at him. They huddle together, even Neji, taking comfort from their physical closeness.

They are on their home grounds, but there is nothing of home to find. There are stranger two-legs everywhere, and their big, unnatural structures dot the land. Gone are the plains and forests that should make up the packgrounds - gone are pack and clan, huntbrothers and family. There are dogs somewhere, their scent strong on the wind, but entwined with two-legs scent and that of leather and metals - two-legs trappings, collars and leashes.

Neji gets up, Tenten following in almost the same moment so they look as if they'd done it in sync. Naruto is still for a moment longer, staring in grief at Konoha. Then with one last strangled whine he gets to his paws, shaking himself all over once as if to fling off water.

Neji takes point, and the little three-wolf pack - now the last of the Konoha wolves, it seemed - lope away in the mile-eating, easy-moving pace of the wolf on the hunt. They head towards the sunset.

They roam, on the look-out for their lost packmates. But, wolf-like, their immediate priority is the here and now. The past is done, and the future is yet to come. Water and sun and rain on their wet fur, the deer moving south or a rabbit leaping in the grass - those are all more immediate concerns. If they'd truly lost all their pack, if any of them had been forced to be lone wolves - so antithetical to their natures - perhaps they would have mourned. But they aren't. They are their own little pack, Neji the alpha male and Tenten the alpha female and Naruto the outlier, somehow both omega and above alpha at the same time, and they are pack, they are family. It's enough. It's more than enough.

Naruto sneezes, the force of it throwing his head back. He lowers his head so he can rub at his nose with a paw.

Tenten has been smelling - strong, lately. It's hard to describe. It's not strong the way a skunk is, or a deer carcass when it's been left alone too long, or the way flowers are in the high summer when even humans can smell them from far away. It's strong in that it's hard to ignore, but it's not sharp, or pungent. It's not good, it's not bad, it's just - very there. It makes him sneeze.

Well, that's how it feels to Naruto. Neji seems to have an entirely different opinion. He seems entranced by it, his sharp wits turned to liquid by the scent. His conversation nowadays is remarkably inane. He lingers near Tenten, brushing past her when he can, obviously enjoying himself as he breathes her in deep. When he does, his tail wags low and slow and happy.

Tenten does not welcome his eager proximity, at first. She snaps and snarls and whirls so she's always facing him, fangs bared. Naruto is surprised by two things: first, by Tenten's enmity - she had always been the level-headed mediator of their packs, not only between him and Neji but of the twelve young hunters who had made up their yearmates. And she'd always been Neji's loyal shoulder-wolf, always his flanker. To see her snarl at him is strange.

And, second, how well Neji takes it. He is positively fawning, to be honest. He minces and wags his tail appeasingly. He whines and whimpers puppyishly, and bows low, his forequarters lowered, to invite her to play. He has never seen Neji ever invite anyone to play. If Tenten's fangs find their mark, he yelps and backs away, tail between his legs, but only curves his neck to lick at whatever wound she had inflicted. And then, soon enough, he's sidling closer again, crowding her, eyes bright with wonder and interest.

He's constantly bringing her food, dropping dead rabbits and squirrels at her feet, now and then even dragging an entire deer up to her with an eager air. Although he is Alpha, he never eats before her now. Sometimes Tenten accepts the gift. Sometimes she snaps and growls that she is still a good huntress and doesn't need his help to keep fed. Neji accepts both reactions with wagging tail, although when she accepts his gifts he is visibly pleased.

If Neji is all goodwill and tail-wags to Tenten, he makes up for it by being even more snarly and growly with Naruto than his already snarly-and-growly usual self. Naruto can't even go near Tenten without Neji going berserk and attacking him. For friendly and companionship-loving Naruto, who craves the closeness of his pack, this is very upsetting. Naruto fleeing with Neji snapping at his tail becomes a very common sight, as is the image of Neji with his jaws locked in Naruto's flank. It's a good thing Naruto heals fast.

And as Tenten is in a perpetual bad mood and treats Naruto with the same angry disdain she's treating Neji, there's really no recourse. It's really unfair, Naruto thinks.

"Hey, Neji, Tenten, I found a herd of deer near the riv — owwwwww!"

"Hey guys, are we going anywhere tomor - owwww!"

"Good morn – owwwwww!"

"Hey Tenten, is Neji anywhere near h— ow, okay, guess he was, didn't see him lurking in the shadows just waiting to kill anything near you, hi Neji."

And then, one day, Tenten softens. When Neji comes near, she wags her tail and sniffs noses with him. Neji's visibly euphoric, and bounces around at her friendliness. She wags her tail and play-bows, her hindquarters high in the air, and Neji actually yelps with joy. They leap about together, frisking and playing. Neji rolls her over with a playful growl, pinning her, and she licks his muzzle. Naruto watches from a distance - once, he prepares to get up, hoping that he can play too, but Neji whips around and snarls the most dreadful and blood-curdling snarl he has ever given, and Naruto obediently sinks right back down.

"This is really unfair," he grouses to himself yet again.

He dedicates himself to a particularly juicy haunch of deer that Neji had dragged back for Tenten (and which she had rejected). When he looks up again, his jaws full of meat, he notices Tenten backing away, still wagging her tail, dodging Neji's attempts to pin her again.

Neji pounces; Tenten waits until the last moment, judging her packmate's motions to a tee, before whirling and running off. Her tail brushes against Neji's muzzle as she turns. Neji seems dazed for a moment, and stands stock-still; then he shakes his head and bounds after her with a yip.

Soon they're out of sight. Naruto sighs, feeling lonely, and chews on his dinner.

It's days before they return, looking very pleased with themselves and their tails wagging jauntily. Neji especially seems chuffed, prancing with his ears pricked up high and his tail like a proud banner.

Naruto, having been left to his own devices, is overjoyed to see them, and barrels right into them. He is happy when Tenten receives him with her characteristic good temper, smoothing down the fur on his ruff and nuzzling him. Neji allows it too, and even deigns to sniff noses and wag tails with Naruto.

Naruto is so glad they're back to normal, even if their scents have changed somewhat.

"Naruto," Tenten says, one night. "Neji and I have something to tell you."

Naruto cocks his head to one side curiously.

"We're mates, now, Naruto," Tenten says, pawing at the ground a little nervously.

"Well, I could smell that," Naruto remarks.

Tenten and Neji both duck their heads.

Naruto actually hadn't known, but it all makes sense now. "And that's why you're having puppies!" he concludes for them.

"Wait, what?"

Puppies! Naruto is ecstatic, as is Neji.

Tenten is a little more shocked, but comes around to loving the idea quickly.

She leads their little pack now, it's obvious. They range the lands, Tenten with the distinct air of looking for something. She sniffs and explores and pokes around. Neji and Naruto do their best to distract her and keep her well-fed. They try to stuff her, actually, never noticing their own hunger until they're satisfied she has eaten well.

They wander into a rich valley one day. It's surrounded by mountains. A river runs through, roaring into foaming white. The grass is thick and green and there's a woodsy area shading into true forest up the sides of the glacier-carved mountains. The deer graze in large, unconcerned herds. The wolves have entered paradise.

Tenten finds her den in the woods, in the tree-shaded areas where all three wolves feel most at home. It's a hollow underneath the thick, gnarled roots of an ancient forest giant, and the three wolves dig it out further. Naruto and Neji carry over rocks to line the entrance while Tenten drags pine-boughs into the den for a sweet-smelling bed.

The days pass by like an idyll, full of play and joy. The hunting is easy and there's clean, cold water close to paw. They walk the perimeters of their new territory, chase each other, chase ravens, jump into the river and splash. Sometimes Neji and Tenten will wander off together, but Naruto has enough to keep himself occupied, and they're always in great moods when they come back.

The puppies arrive at the height of summer.

TBC