his side. Hunter chuckled as he watched what his attack had done, knocking Rallan away from Drake.

Rallan snarled at Hunter and ran for him, making it look as if he were going for his right leg, but changed at the last second and scored a powerful bite onto Hunter’s chest. The large gray wolf howled as a fiery pain burned in his chest, Rallan continuously taking rapid, strong bites into his torso before he managed to push him away. Rallan quickly changed targets from Hunter to Drake, ramming Drake in the side and knocking the wind out of him before getting taken down by Valley. Drake slowly got up and laughed at Rallan.

“You can’t hope to win when it’s three on one, Rallan!” Drake said arrogantly, “Why don’t you just surrender and we’ll let your death be as swift as Krystal’s was…”

Rallan snorted angrily at Drake and looked around quickly. However much he despised Drake, he was right- Rallan couldn’t hope to win against all three… when they were together, that was… Rallan smirked and turned and bolted off into the forest.

“Quickly! After him! We can’t lose him now that we’ve come this close!” Drake cried out.

The three wolves dashed off after him, but Rallan was still faster than them. Besides, he’d been living here for half a year so he knew the forest better than they did. But Drake had been here just as long, so he had an advantage over the rest of his team. Soon they came across a clearing, Rallan’s scent seemingly going off everywhere. Drake growled in frustration and looked all around.

“Alright, we’ll have to split up… Keep your eyes open and howl if you need help…” Drake said coolly. Hunter and Drake turned and headed off in separate directions, leaving Valley alone in the clearing.

“Good luck guys!” he called off after them, suddenly feeling very vulnerable and scared. The forest was dead-silent, which didn’t help to settle his nerves any bit. He whimpered softly as he headed off in an eastern direction.

Everything was seemingly frozen in time as Valley progressed onward. He was beginning to get really freaked out and scared out of his wits by the stillness of the forest. As he passed by a bush, he heard a rustling within it. Valley turned around quickly and stared at it, slowly approaching the bush- only to find nothing within it. Valley sighed heavily with relief before turning around and bumping noses with Rallan!

“Rallan!” Valley yelped out and fell backward onto his back, trying to crawl away from the ferocious gray wolf. Rallan pressed his paw down on Valley’s tail and dragged him back toward him. Valley quickly opened his muzzle to howl for help, but Rallan pressed his face down into the snow and silenced him. Oh God, I’m gonna die! Valley thought fearfully,

“Valley, you were my friend… Why did you turn against me?” Rallan asked darkly, eyes reflecting the cold harshness of his tone of voice, “Why are you trying to kill me?”

“Because Rayne told us to do so…” Valley replied, closing his eyes and waiting for Rallan to kill him, “Just kill me now… I don’t regret anything…” Rallan glared down at Valley and sighed heavily as he let go of the wolf.

“You’re not worth my time, Valley…” Rallan said, turning and walking off the way Hunter had gone. Valley stared at Rallan for a moment, then silently got up and leapt at him. He landed on the wolf’s back and sunk his fangs into his back. Rallan groaned in pain and slammed his back into a tree, knocking Valley off of him and stunning the brown-hued wolf. Rallan spun to face him, growling viciously as he pinned Valley down.

“Rallan, wait!” Valley begged, but Rallan wasn’t having any of this.

“Why? So you can try to deceive and kill me again?” he snapped back, a violent growl vibrating from within his throat, “Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t kill you right now for all you’ve done to me and Krystal…”

“B-because, I… I… I…” Valley stammered, desperately searching for a good enough excuse to use, but couldn’t find one. He whimpered softly, knowing that his foolish move had cost him his life.

“Too late…” Rallan said lethally, swiftly gripping Valley’s throat in his jaws and biting down, hard. He could taste the bitter blood as it entered his muzzle from the lethal wound he left on Valley, dropping the wolf’s body to the ground before continuing after Hunter. Valley had, without a doubt, been the easiest of his enemies, but now he was left with Hunter the powerhouse of the group and Drake, the well-balanced one aside from Rayne. This was where the real fight began…

Hunter lumbered uneasily through the forest, leaving droplets of scarlet blood as he walked along. The several deep wounds Rallan had left in his chest had begun to take their toll on Hunter. Despite all of his strength and stamina, he had to admit Rallan had managed to get some good hits on him. If he didn’t find Rallan soon, then he’d surely pass out from blood loss within half an hour or so. And if that happened, he was dead for sure! He growled lowly, mentally cursing Rallan for being so skilled, as he trudged along.

After several more minutes had passed and no traces of Rallan had come up, Hunter had begun to lose patience. He slumped against a tree, taking deep, heavy breaths to regain his strength. As he glanced up again, he caught sight of a cliff- and the sounds of the ocean. He’d really gone as far west as the coast? Surely he must have passed Rallan then! With a loud snarl, Hunter slashed the snow beneath him.

“Damn you, Rallan! Wherever you are!” he shouted out, voice echoing for a short distance.

“You mean right behind you?” Rallan asked, smirking at Hunter’s shocked look, “Those wounds look pretty bad, Hunter… Shouldn’t you be resting?”

Hunter growled at Rallan and charged him. Rallan sighed and jumped out of the way, Hunter nearly winding up hitting a tree, but managing to skid to a halt just in time. He turned and ran for Rallan again, who dodged just as easily. This was beginning to get frustrating and tiring for Hunter.

“C’mon you bastard… You killed your father… Are you afraid of me now?” Hunter taunted. Rallan growled lowly.

“I… did… not… kill… my… father!” Rallan snarled and charged Hunter. Big mistake. Hunter, being much stronger, grabbed Rallan’s head in his jaws and tossed him about like a rag doll for a couple seconds before tossing him into a nearby tree. Rallan grunted, the impact sending waves of pain through his body which only intensified as he fell onto a log. He groaned in agony, slowly falling to the snowy ground before getting up again. The two wolves stared each other down, slowly circling one another.

“Why don’t you just give up Rallan?” Hunter asked, “Why do you keep insisting you’re innocent?”

“Because I am… I never did anything wrong…” Rallan retaliated. Hunter scoffed and shook his head.

“And yet you still continue to lie…” he mocked, “Even at Death’s Door, you still lie?”

“I’m not the one with five gaping wounds in my chest…” Rallan pointed out. Hunter bared his teeth threateningly and charged Rallan once more, deliberately missing the first strike so he could quickly pivot on his hind legs and grab Rallan’s neck in his jaws. Rallan gasped softly, thinking he’d made his fatal error, but was spared as Hunter, not quite thinking clearly, tossed him into yet another tree. Rallan cried out as sharp pains burned through his body, lying limply out on the snowy ground for a bit before getting up once more.

Rallan stared off against his enemy once more. He could tell Hunter was becoming weaker and weaker with every passing minute, but he still hit pretty hard and Rallan didn’t know how much longer he’d be able to last. Gotta remember my training… Rallan though to himself, What did Dad tell me about weakening enemies? Pressure points… something like that… Where was one… The forehead…  That might work! Now standing with a new battle plan, Rallan moved to position himself just right: between Hunter and the cliff leading off to the sea. Hunter growled and tensed his muscles for another charge.

“Come on Hunter… Show me what a slave of Rayne can do…” Rallan mocked. If there was one thing Hunter couldn’t tolerate, it was being taunted. Growling viciously, he hurled himself at Rallan, blindly rushing him in his rage. Rallan kept breathing steady, paws planted firmly in the ground as he stood against Hunter. Once the larger wolf got within range, Rallan quickly sidestepped out of harm’s way and delivered a swift yet powerful strike with his head against the side of Hunter’s head. The shock sent Hunter into a daze, the wolf not realizing he was still running forward. Once he got control of his actions again, it was far too late. Hunter hit the brakes and tried to stop himself,