He made his way uphill against the blowing snow; his dense, thick, grey fur coat keeping him from freezing. He was a handsome wolf- large but lean, beautiful, piercing grey eyes, a long snout and smooth fur. There was pride in his every stride. Upon the hill, just short of the peak, lay his den- hidden by the deep snow. There, lying in wait was his mate- another beautiful, grey she-wolf, of a smaller build than him, surrounded by their two young girls. The small cubs, just about three months old, pranced around her in their extra-furry coats; ocassionally peeking over the edge of their den through their big, gleaming eyes, searching for their father. It was nearing sundown when they caught sight of him. Excited, they ran towards their mother and pulled her by the ear towards the entrance as though saying, "Look! There he is!". On seeing him make his way up the rocks, her eyes smiled. The three of them waited eagerly. A few moments later, he was inside with them. He was relieved to be out of the cold. He shook off the snow from his fur, ruffling it up and making it stand on end. He looked even more majestic now. His mate circled him before stopping by his side. She gently brushed her face against his. She then sat down and waited for him to too. The cubs took this as their cue and darted towards them, jumping on him and rolling around between them. He playfully caught one of them and flung her into the air and then gently caught her back in his teeth. The other one waited for her turn. They wore themselves out- fighting, playing, biting and running. Finally, they settled down, cuddled up against each other and fell fast asleep, snug in their mother's warm fur. She put her paw around them tenderly. She looked up at their father. He yawned slowly and blinked several times; tired from his long day. She nuzzled him and rested her head on his paw. He too snuggled up against her warm body and drifted off into a well deserved sleep.