Winter's storm beating
Browns to grays, hammer
Snows, heavy flakes
As big as fists, fall
Like rain on tin

Winds howl, wolves on the horizon
Singing a moonsong, love sung
Through strong jaws, long fangs
Made for tearing flesh,
And death

Eerily, they pierce the night
Through even the wind
Buffeting the house
Making it creak, bend
To the forces of nature

The hearth fire blazes
Scents of meat bring the wolves
Circling the house, desire
Keeping the dark at bay
A candle the only light

Around the home, wood retreat
Log cabin, built by rough hands
Stone chimney, mortared by the same
High, two stories, strong
Not a house, a home

In the winter, he hunts with the wolves
Pays tribute; he lives in their land
They see, understand, the relationship
Keeping distance, but protecting
On coldest nights, they shelter near

The storm, tonight, lasted days
Softening resolve and infecting
The man sits by the door, bolted
He knows what's come in the night
Unnaturally radiating the cold

The wolves stay close
Inside the treeline,
Even the woods now
Harbor the blight
Too close to home

They howl, nip and bite
At each other, restless, on guard
There will be no sleep tonight
All stay awake afraid to drift
One by one, shutters close

A sliding noise, the wolves ears perk
They've heard it before, many times
But it's unexpected, not at night
Not with danger so near
Look to the Alpha

Light creases still falling snow
The door opens, the man, a rifle
That tool of men, never without
A whistle, gestures, at the Alpha
Intelligence shines in bright eyes

The Alpha, hesitates, looks back
In to the wood, that thing; things
Feeling that something is coming
Back at the man, then at the Beta
Tosses it's head, a decision is made

They go in, positioned now
At windows, one by one
Sometimes two per
They spread out
Nervous, can't run here

The door is barred once more
Lights go out, but not the heat
Ice drips, snow melts on the floors
Heavy fur not needed here
At bay, the creatures of night