them.

“Hey Timbre, could… could you come out here for a minute?”

Timbre looked at him, at his expression, and studied him, trying to figure out what was up.

“Sure,” He said. “Melody?”

She nodded, and Timbre walked out of the chamber.

When they got outside, Shadow turned around, and faced Timbre.

“Timbre… I…. I don’t even know how to go about saying this….”

Shadow paused; this was really hard.

A tear came to Timbre’s eye as he figured out what it was Shadow was trying so hard to say.

“It’s… it’s Tiru, isn’t it?”

Shadow nodded and looked at the floor.

“Is…”

Timbre looked down, choking back tears, because in his heart he knew what Shadow’s next answer would be.

“Is she…”

Shadow nodded.

Timbre sighed heavily, as the burden of this news settled on him.

“How?” He asked.

Shadow sighed again.

“I’ve…. Timbre, I’ve never seen anything like it… Melody shouldn’t see her…”

Timbre interrupted him.

“Well I want to.”

Shadow nodded.

“Just…. just let me go tell Melody that I’m leaving for a minute.”

Timbre turned around and walked inside the chambers.

“Melody?” Timbre said.

Melody looked up at him, smiling.

“Hey Timbre.”

Then her smile went away, as she saw his face.

“Timbre, what’s…. what’s wrong?”

Timbre sighed.

“I’ll… I’ll tell you when I get back. I’m going to go with Shadow for a bit alright?”

Melody nodded.

Timbre sighed again and walked out of the chamber.

“Oh my God…” Timbre said as he stepped out of the cave.

“I told you it was bad.” Shadow said.

“It… It doesn’t even look like Tiru anymore…” Timbre said.

Shadow nodded.

“At… at first we thought it was a bear, but…. but the bite marks are too small for a bear.”

Timbre looked back down at what had once been his daughter.

“God Shadow,” he said, “she…. she died out here alone.”

Shadow just hung his head.

Timbre sighed.

“Let’s go, I’ve… I’ve got to tell Melody….”

He paused, as if unwilling to leave his daughter’s side, then spun around and ran back into the cave.

Shadow sighed, and slowly walked back inside.

When Timbre walked into the chamber, Melody could tell that something was horribly wrong.

“Timbre?”

Timbre kept walking toward her, head hung low.

When he stopped, he looked up at her.

His eyes were full of tears.

Melody took a step back.

“No…” she said, “It’s…. it’s not….”

She began to cry, because even as she said it, she knew the answer.

“….not Tiru…”

Timbre nodded.

“Oh…. Oh my God!” Melody said, as she broke down into sobs.

She stepped forward, and laid her head on his shoulder.

After a few minutes, she asked.

“How?”

Timbre sighed.

“Mel… Melody…. She… she was torn to pieces, I…. I don’t know what… what did it.”

Melody just cried harder.

Timbre stood there and let her.

Balto walked to the entrance of the cave.

“Hey Aleu,” he said. “You wanted to speak with me?”

Aleu nodded.

Balto could tell she was upset.

“What’s wrong?” He asked.

“Tiru’s dead.” Aleu said flatly.

“What?” Balto said.

Aleu nodded.

“I found her this morning.”

“Oh no,” Balto said, “Melody…”

Aleu nodded.

“Timbre’s telling her.”

Balto sighed.

“I guess these humans are really putting the pressure on you now.”

“It wasn’t the humans.” Aleu said.

“Then… then what?”

Aleu sighed.

“I… I don’t know… or…. or at least I didn’t, now I think I do.”

“What?” Balto asked.

“Our first thought was bear, so vicious was the attack, but… but the bite marks were too small for a bear….”

Aleu paused.

“Well, why don’t you step out her and see it for yourself?” Aleu said.

Balto nodded, and followed her out of the cave.

“Oh my God…” Balto whispered, as he saw the horrific condition that Tiru’s body was in.

“Dad…” Aleu said, “… I…. I think it was Steele.”

Balto shook his head.

“No, I’ve… I’ve never seen Steele be this ruthless, this…. violent.”

“Dad, I’ve been thinking of something…”

“What is it Aleu?” Balto asked, turning away from the retched scene, and looking at his daughter.

“Well, those wounds are too clean, to… sharp, to have been inflicted by Steele alone.”

Aleu paused.

“Remember the message that you were telling me about, the one from Shade?”

Balto nodded.

“What if Steele and Shade teamed up?”

Balto took a step back, realizing the implications of this, if it were true.

“Why would he do that?” Balto asked.

“Because he doesn’t have a physical body, I did destroy that, remember? But… but I guess I didn’t kill him completely.”

Balto thought about this.

“Dad, if Shade is helping Steele, you won’t be able to fight him, not and survive.”

She sighed.

“If you see him, the best thing would be to run away. I… I don’t even know if I can take him or not.”

She looked down at the ground.

“Dad,” she said, looking back up at him. “Watch out for mom, don’t let her out of your sight. She was Steele’s primary target last time, and there’s no reason that that should’ve changed.”

“She still hasn’t’ said a word since the…. since Dingo.” Balto said.

“I know,” said Aleu “that’s why it’s so important for you to watch her. She may not say a word, even if she sees Steele.”

Balto nodded, and ran back into the cave.

Aleu turned and looked back at Tiru.

“You were so young….” she said quietly.

Then she too ran back into the cave.

Chapter 11

Dash was walking to his friends chambers.

As he approached the doorway he saw Dalchei standing with his young mate June.

They were laughing.

“Hey Dash.” June said.

“How’re you doing June?” Dash asked.

‘Good, and you?”

“Fine,” Dash said, “just fine.”

He turned to his friend.

“And you?”

Dalchei smiled.

“I’m doing great!”

Dash smiled.

“You feeling lucky Dalchei?”

“What kind of question is that?” Dalchei asked.

“The pups are low on food again,” Dash said, “Arial brought it up at the council meeting. I’m going to set out here in a few minutes, and was wondering if you’d want to come with.”

Dalchei looked at June.

“Yeah, I… guess so… June?”

She smiled.

“It’s fine with me, just be sure you come back.”

Dalchei smiled back at her.

“I’m thinking that shouldn’t be a problem,” he said.

Dalchei turned to Dash.

“Let’s go then buddy.”

Dash nodded.

“Nice to talk to you June,” Dash said, as the two of them turned, and started to walk away.

“Always a pleasure Dash!” June called after him.

Arial walked over to the doorway into the nursery.

It was her job to take care of the pups of the pack.

She took her job extremely seriously and why shouldn’t she?

The pups, the future of the pack was right here.

She’d just come back from reporting to Aleu that the nursery was getting low on food.

She walked back to the small alcove that she watched the pups from.

Arial felt a shiver run down her spine, she didn’t know why.

She turned.

There was a black and white dog there

She started to scream, but it was cut off by the impact of the dog’s paw to her face.

She fell on the ground.

One of the pups, he was about six months old, walked in then.

“Arial?” He asked.

Steele turned around, and in one snap of his jaws, tore the young wolf’s throat out.

Then he threw the wolf to the ground in between them.

The pup wasn’t dead yet, and the blood from its shredded neck squirted out like some obscene fountain.

Steele sat to chewing the wolf’s head off.

It didn’t take long.

Arial was past screaming then.

She just watched as he looked up at her, his gruesome task finished.

Blood dripped from his jaws, and covered his face and chest.

He smiled at her.

Dash and Dalchei had been out hunting for quite a while, before they saw a deer.

It leaped out of the bushes and took off running.

“I got this one Dash!” Dalchei said, running after it. “I’ll meet you here when I catch it!”

Dash sighed.

“Dalchei always was hyperactive when it came to hunting,” Dash thought.

He sat down, and started to wait on his friend.

Aleu was staring in shock at the doorway to the chamber that the nursery was on.

“He hit us here, inside the cave.” Aleu thought. “How?”

Arial was very dead, as was the pup that lay in the floor.

The pup’s head was on the floor beside his body.

Arial’s head was gone as well… and so were her legs.

Aleu had never seen anything like this.

She threw up.

Blood was everywhere, on the floor, on the wall, on the bodies, even on the rock ceiling.

Aleu walked over to

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