paws on Rallan’s shoulder and gathered up all his remaining strength. As Typhoon pushed Rallan away with a tremendous force, Rallan’s bite tightened and a sickening ripping noise was heard. There was a gurgled gasp and Rallan fell backwards. When he got up, he saw his father with a large tear in his neck, blood flowing endlessly from the lethal wound.

"D-Dad? Dad?" Rallan asked nervously and approached his father’s corpse.

Rallan examined the body of his father, then looked back at Varim. Blood stained Rallan’s muzzle and a few tears began to fall from his brown eyes. A sudden rustling in a nearby bush caught his attention and Rallan began to feel very afraid. Suddenly, two wolves walked into the clearing, one was a guard and the other was Drake.

"Look, all I’m saying is why do caribou run from us if they have those antlers?" the guard asked Drake.

"Maybe because we have the speed, strength, intelligence, and teeth? Not to mention claws and all that," Drake answered and glanced up, freezing in his tracks at the sight before him.

The guard stopped as Drake stopped and followed his gaze out to the grisly scene and gasped. From another bush, Hunter stepped into view and looked around at everything at once. He glanced at Rallan and saw the blood on his friend’s muzzle.

"What happened here?" Hunter asked, his eyes narrowing slightly.

"I’ll tell you what happened…" Drake replied, his eyes narrowing as well, "We have a murder here…"

"What? No! I didn’t-"

"Save it Rallan! All the evidence is right here! Detain him!" Drake said and nodded to the guard.

Both the guard and Hunter ran forward and grabbed Rallan, tossing him to the ground and pinning him under their combined strength. Rallan struggled to get free, but failed miserably. Drake casually walked forward and examined the bodies before howling for some more guards and for the Council to assemble. Being a High Council Member, Drake had the power to summon meetings whenever he saw fit, and now was one of those moments.

"You’re getting it all wrong! I’m not a murderer!" Rallan protested and more guards arrived.

"Save it for Justice!" Drake said angrily and the guards took the bodies, dragging them to the Meeting Area along with Rallan.

It only took ten minutes from Drake’s emergency meeting call to assemble the whole pack for a trial. Every single wolf that made up the Lylrite Pack was in their seats, eager to find out what had happened to call for a sudden trial. Everyone gasped when they saw Rallan being dragged in, flailing about wildly as they tossed him in front of the High Council, Drake taking his seat on the Council. A few murmurs were heard throughout the ranks, signaling interest in what was going on. Justice walked up and took her seat on the large boulder that made up the Judge’s Stand.

"This court will now come to order!" Justice shouted, immediately silencing everyone, "Drake, present the case."

"The case of Rallan vs. the Lylrite Pack. Rallan was found ten minutes ago in a blood-stained clearing with the bodies of Typhoon, his father and Alpha Male, and Varim, his brother. Bring in the evidence!" Drake said.

Two guards carried in the bodies of Typhoon and Varim and lay them before Justice, the High Council, and everyone else. A large number of gasps and cries of surprise were heard and everyone took on a surprised look. Lily’s mouth dropped open and tears quickly formed in her eyes. Rayne, Snow, and Summer looked completely shocked and Krystal, Captain, and Spirit looked horrified. Rallan looked around at everyone, then back at Justice before getting to his feet.

"Rallan, how do you plead?" Justice asked.

"Not guilty," Rallan replied, causing a few more murmurs, but ignored them, "I committed no crime. You cannot punish me for what I did not do."

"Then why don’t you tell us what happened?" Justice asked, cocking her head slightly.

"I went to take a walk to clear my mind-"

"I can vouch for that!" Lily said quickly, interrupting Rallan, "He told me he was going for a walk."

"M’lady, while I respect your authority as Alpha Female, I must ask you to refrain from calling out in my court…" Justice replied coolly before turning back to Rallan, "You were saying?"

"Anyway, I went for a walk and saw my Dad yelling at Varim. They began to argue furiously, with my father chastising my brother. He then proceeded to attack my brother which resulted in him killing Varim. In defense, I then attacked my father, the struggle ending in his death…" Rallan said earnestly, "It was an accident though! I was only trying to restrain him and I accidentally tore through his throat…"

"Well, that seems a little unlikely…" Justice said with a sigh, "Why would your father want to kill your brother? From what I’ve heard, your family is rather tight-knit. Why would your father suddenly turn on your brother? If you ask me, your story sounds a little farfetched."

"I’ll tell you what most likely happened!" Drake said aloud, "Rallan’s training caused him to become power-hungry and attack his father in an attempt to become the Alpha Male and rule our pack! When he killed his father, Varim walked in and saw everything. In an attempt to keep this situation looking like an attack from an enemy, Rallan couldn’t have any witnesses, so he killed his brother! Then we showed up before he could make his getaway!"

"Objection!" Rallan shouted.

"Overruled!" Justice shouted back.

"I object!" Lily said seriously, "Rallan is a kind, sweet male! He’d never do anything like this!"

"Apparently he did!" Drake snapped back at Lily, ignorant of her Alpha status, "Look at the evidence! Everything points to Rallan!"

"Rallan, is there anything else you have to say before I turn it over to everyone else to vote?" Justice asked.

"No. Just vote…" Rallan muttered.

"Very well… Everyone cast your votes," Justice said and scrawled out two words in the dirt: "Innocent" and "Guilty". Every wolf took turns coming up and placing a pawprint under their vote. After everyone had voted except for the convict, Rallan, who wasn’t allowed to vote.

The final votes came down to 1 for Innocent and everyone else for Guilty.

"The votes are cast!" Justice said loudly so everyone could hear, "Rallan, my the authority vested in me by your father, Typhoon, I hereby exile you from the Lylrite Pack and their lands. Should you ever return, you shall be executed."

"You’ve gotta be kidding me…" Rallan said angrily, "My life was ruined by him and now you want to exile me? What’s next, executing someone for punished crimes?"

"I think you’ve said enough, Rallan," Justice said, narrowing her eyes to glare at him, "You are now stripped of your title as "Prince" and must now leave forever. I’ll have some guards escort you to the border."

"Don’t bother… I’ll be fine going on my own…" Rallan muttered and turned, walking away from his former pack and toward the border.

Along the way, Rallan glanced up at Drake, giving him an angry glare and then repeating that action for Hunter. He ignored the chastising shouts from his former packmates and just kept walking away, his head held low. Krystal tried to run up to Rallan, but Talon held her back. Before he left the clearing, Drake kicked a rock at him, nailing Rallan on his head and sending the wolf to the ground. Rallan quickly got up and ran as fast as he could away from everyone, their words still echoing in his mind.

Tears streamed down Rallan’s face as he ran from his old life. Everything he had once known and held dear to him was suddenly snatched away by the vindictive father he had killed to try and protect his brother. Because he tried to save Varim, he was now exiled and a loner, loathed by everyone in the Lylrite Pack except for the one unanimous voter who said "Innocent". Crossing the border, Rallan ran into unknown territory, the howls of the Lylrite Pack echoing across the land, signaling their banishment of a prince for treachery.

Dashing across a large plain, Rallan panted heavily, every event replaying in his mind. He saw his father murder Varim, he saw himself accidentally kill Typhoon. Then came the false trial. He saw his best friend stand against him and accuse him of trying to gain power through blood. He saw his pack vote against him. He saw his mother’s distraught face and her sadness in her eyes. Finally, Rallan crossed from his old life into his new life; a life marked by exile and murder, a life of a lone wolf.