shriek.

Shadow stood up, as Aleu walked over to him.

“Shadow!” Aleu said.

The smile disappeared, as Shadow collapsed to the ground.

Aleu ran to his side.

“NO!” she said.

Shadow’s chest was sliced open, his neck had been hit badly as well, and he was almost missing one of his paws, among other various wounds covered his body.

“Shadow?” Aleu said, falling to the ground beside him.

Shadow’s eyes fluttered open, and he looked up at Aleu.

A smile crossed his blood stained muzzle.

“I… I did it…” He said.

Tears were streaming down Aleu’s face now, for she recognized the scene, and so, knew how it would end.

“Why?” Aleu asked, licking his chest, trying to get the bleeding to stop, to no avail.

“I… I had to…” Shadow said. “A… Aniu wa… warned me.”

“How?” Aleu asked.

“I… I had a dr…. dream… about… about your… de… death too.”

“Oh Shadow!” Aleu said, burying her head into his shoulder.

Shadow pulled her close.

“Don’t… Don’t be… be sad… Aleu. I… I just…. had… had.. to… do my… my du… duty.”

By this time, Aleu was covered with the blood that still ran in steady pulses from Shadow’s torn body.

Shadow put his paw on the side of Aleu’s face.

“Aleu… I… I love… you…”

Aleu swallowed her tears for a moment, and smiled.

“I love you too Shadow.”

“So… so… beautiful…. Al… Aleu.”

Then Shadow’s paw fell to the floor, and his head fell to the side.

Aleu couldn’t believe what she was looking at.

Shadow was dead.

She stood up, and took a deep breath, then turned away from the scene of death in front of her.

The tears ceased flowing down her face, and she looked up.

Her eyes blazed with a fire that none had ever seen, not even the most hated of her enemy’s, for they’d always attacked her, or her pack… now, it was personal.

She walked forward, but was unable to continue due to her wounds.

Aleu stood up straight, and howled.

“SHADE!”

The room filled with laughter, and Shade walked out of the wall, and stood in front of her.

“What?” He taunted. “You gonna attack me… you gonna kill me, you can’t even stand.”

He laughed again, as Aleu collapsed to the floor, proving his point.

Aleu closed her eyes.

“I’m as strong as I know I am…” She thought.

Aleu struggled to her feet, and closed her eyes.

“Please don’t…” Shade said with a sneer, “I wouldn’t want you to get hurt.”

Shade’s eyes widened in surprise, as a blue light emanated from Aleu’s wounds, and the bands of light began to merge.

When they faded, Aleu’s wounds were gone… in their place was her own natural gray fur.

Aleu opened her eyes.

“I… I don’t… don’t believe it…” he said.

“Shade, you killed my mother, and my mate, you… are… going… to… DIE!
Then Aleu leapt at him.

Balto turned and saw Jenna getting up.

He’d finally hit her… her blood covered is paw…

It had also almost killed him to do it.

“I can’t do that again, not Jenna…”

Balto turned back around, and saw a way to end this awful battle.

He ran at the cliff behind him.

“It must be at least three hundred feet to the cave floor…” Balto thought. “I’ll see you soon Jenna…”

Then he leapt off the edge and started to fall…

Kodi was sitting in the barn, warm and dry.

Wherever Dusty was, she was cold and wet.

He looked out at the inhospitable night.

“Stupid!” He said to himself.

“What was I thinking…”

He shook his head.

He didn’t know why, but all of a sudden, he was scared for Dusty, didn’t want her to be hurt anymore.

“I love her…” He thought.

“Mom was right.” Kodi said, “there’s only one…”

Then he stood up and walked out in the snow.

Aleu was doing quite well, and had pushed Shade back against the wall.

She’d gotten in more than a few good hits, and Shade was feeling it, she could tell.

… but Shade had hit her a few times as well.

Aleu hit him in the face, and then in the side of the head.

“You took Shadow from me!” She screamed.

She hit him again.

“You took my mother away from me!”

She hit him again, and he stumbled backwards, his back paws meeting the edge of the drop off behind him.

“Burn in hell!” Aleu said.

She hit him, once, twice, three times.

Shade was stunned, and shook his head.

Aleu turned, and kicked him in the side of the head.

Shade flew backwards, and off of the cliff.

He fell to the ground.

Balto felt something grab him, and he stopped falling.

He was floating in the air, and looked down.

The drop was a long one.

He looked behind him, and saw Jenna toss her head, thereby throwing him into the far wall.

The rock cracked, and he fell to the ground.

He looked up at her, as Jenna walked over to him.

“I’m not gonna make it…” Balto thought. “I can’t... can’t even get up.”

Jenna drew nearer.

Aleu couldn’t believe it.

Shade stood up.

“That’s impossible…” She thought. “that has to be at least two hundred feet…”

She looked up.

Shade laughed.

“You think you could kill me that easily.”

Aleu jumped, and hit the stalactite that she’d seen.

It cracked and Aleu sprung off it, and back to the ledge… but she missed, and fell…

Kodi was walking through the streets, looking for Dusty.

The wind had erased all traces of her scent.

He looked in the old building he was beside.

“I’ve got to find her.” He thought.

He ran to the next alleyway.

Dusty sat in the moderate protection of an old overhang, that probably stood more chance of falling on her head, than protecting her from the elements.

“It’d be just as well.” Dusty thought. “About all there is for me now is death, without Kodi and the kids… God, I never realized how much I loved them, but things always happen for a reason… maybe we just aren’t meant to be with each other.

She paused for a moment.

“In that case I’m not supposed to be living anymore…”

She sighed, and shivered.

“It’s cold…”

She curled up in a ball, and laid her head in the snow.

Aleu knew she was going to die.

She fell through the air.

“Wait a minute…” She thought. “Shade survived.”

She closed her eyes and thought about landing softly on the ground.

An image of her splattering on the ground came to mind, and Aleu had to force it to the back of her mind.

She closed her eyes, as she hit the ground.

CrasH!

Aleu opened her eyes.

The rocks had cracked around her.

“Whoa!” She said.

Her paws burned a bit, but otherwise, she was fine.

She looked over at Shade.

“You continue to impress me.” Shade said. “but unfortunately you won’t be able to do that anymore, seeing as you’ll be dead.”

He jumped at Aleu.

As Shade reached the peak of his leap, the stalactite that Aleu had broken fell lose, and plunged downward.

It struck Shade in between his shoulder blades, and burst through him, imbedding into the ground, and pinning Shade.

Shade howled in pain.

Aleu walked over to him.

He was going to die, of that Aleu was sure, but it wouldn’t be fast enough for her.

She looked down at him.

“Impressed again?” Aleu said coldly, “or just surprised?”

Shade growled in anger.

Aleu felt her paw start to burn, and looked down.

It was glowing, a blue aura surrounded it.

Aleu swung her paw as hard as she could, into the side of Shade’s face, again, and again, and again.

She pummeled him with strikes, his neck began to give way, and with each strike, more of his blood splattered on her fur.

Aleu drew back her paw for one last strike, and felt her strength increase a hundred fold.

“Aniu…” Aleu said.

Then she hit Shade in the side of the neck.

It snapped, and the wolf’s head separated from his body.

It skipped along the ground, leaving a grisly red trail, until it smacked into the wall.

Blood gushed from the stump of the demon wolf’s neck.

Then the body, and the head, disappeared in a flash of red light.

The red light that had illuminated the cave, went out, and Aleu found herself in complete darkness.

She looked upward, and thought about it, then leapt, straight up.

Balto was sure he was going to die, Jenna stood over him, jaws open wide, ready to end his life, and then…

She fell over.

Like a puppet cut from its strings.

Balto stood up slowly, anticipating her to jump up and attack him again…

…but she didn’t.

A white light surrounded Jenna, and then went into her.

Her eyes fluttered open.

“What?” Balto said.