his reviling and his executioner for punished crimes. She had been the one who wronged him, not him who wronged her. At long last, he heard a return howl. She was close, very close… Muscles tensed, mind snapping to attention as his golden eyes scanned the forest’s edge for his opponent.

At long last, she appeared from the trees. Gray and white pelt, identical to his, standing out against the pure white snow, icy-blue eyes staring straight back at him. She stepped out into the open, looking out at the cliff before focusing back onto him.

“Hello Rallan…” she said coolly. Rallan tipped his head in greeting, still giving her a blank stare.

“Rayne…” he replied in the same cool tone.

“So, I guess you eluded by group again, hmm? Well, I guess I’m not really all that surprised…” she remarked, “Drake is so incompetent…”

“Drake’s dead…” Rallan cut in, ignoring the surprised look on his sister’s face, “He and Hunter and Valley… I killed them all…” Rayne scoffed and chuckled slightly.

“Wow, I guess when you get angry, you sure get angry, huh Rallan?” she asked teasingly, “So what, you just got fed up with them chasing you down so you killed them?”

“No… They hurt me in a way no other could get to me…” Rallan snapped back, eyes gleaming with fury again, “They took away the one thing I truly cared about, all under your orders…” Rayne gave him a genuine look of confusion.

“What are you talking abo-”

“They killed Krystal!” Rallan shouted at her, shaking once in anger and grief, “They killed her mercilessly… You gave them orders to get me under any circumstance… So they killed Krystal to get to me… I hope you’re happy… Another innocent wolf is dead because of this!”

“Well, this wouldn’t all be happening if you just came clean and admitted to what you did and accept your fate…” Rayne retorted carelessly.

“I’m not guilty!” Rallan yelled again, growling now at Rayne, “I was happy for once… I had a life with Krystal… She loved me and I loved her… We were mates; we were about to start a family together! And then you send Drake, Hunter, and Valley after me and I lose everything again! I can’t take it anymore!”

“Then just give up…” Rayne answered back, “Just admit to being guilty and we’ll end all of this…” Rallan stayed silent for a moment before shaking his head in the negative and giving Rayne a cold, merciless glare.

“No Rayne… I won’t ever admit to being something I’m not…” Rallan replied in a cool tone, eyes showing no emotion other than rage, they were the eyes of a wolf with nothing left to lose, “Rayne, I don’t know what I ever did to make you hate me, but I won’t let this drag on any longer… I have nothing left to live for… I won’t let another blameless creature suffer for our battle… This ends here, Rayne. One way or another…” Rayne growled back, both wolves assuming a fighting stance.

“Alright then Rally, you say you’re not guilty… Prove it… Change my mind…” she responded, a vengeful look in her eyes, “Come on… Have at you, brother!”

            Rallan and Rayne growled at once another, facing off like the bitterest enemies. Slowly, they circled one another in a counterclockwise motion, eyes never leaving the other one’s body for a moment. For the while, the air around them was calmer and the snowfall was softer. But soon the eye of the storm would move, and the two fighters would be engulfed in a blizzard once again. This was a timed battle, and whoever came out strongest by the time the blizzard hit would no doubted be the winner.

Rayne was the first to make an attack, lunging forward and scoring a light bite onto Rallan’s chest. It did barely anything to him, but Rallan still kept his guard up. Too many light strikes and it would be the same equivalent to a few strong attacks. Rallan growled and returned the strike with a more powerful bite, missing as Rayne dodged and wound up in a vulnerable position. Rayne took this opportunity and rammed into Rallan’s side, knocking him backwards a couple of feet.

Rallan shook off the blow and stood up again, resuming his circling with Rayne. Had anyone been watching them, they would have assumed they were blood-enemies rather than siblings! After a couple moments of analyzing Rayne’s movement patterns, Rallan caught onto her and leapt backwards, purposely missing her before springing to his side, latching onto Rayne’s back. He bit twice into her back before she jumped backwards and slammed him into a tree. His body went numb from the impact and he dropped to the snowy ground, unable to move for a few seconds. Once he’d gotten his movement back he was on his paws, staring at Rayne.

Rayne groaned lowly as two searing pains ran through her spine. She could feel the blood flowing from her wounds and knew Rallan had hit her good. Damn it all… she thought to herself, growling viciously at her brother. As he was getting up, Rayne charged him, sending him crashing back into the tree and placing a paw to his throat and holding him there. The sudden attack caught Rallan off-guard and the sudden loss of breathing shocked him even more! He’d known Rayne had been formidable, but she was holding him to the tree like a pro fighter! Choking and gasping for air, Rallan tried to push Rayne away from him, feeling his lungs ache for oxygen.

“See Rally? No matter how much you try to beat me, you just can’t…” Rayne said gloatingly, “I’ve always been better than you… You just never knew it… All those years you beat me at games and play-fights, they were just leading up to this… Finally, I win, Rally…”

Rayne chuckled and began to dig her claws into Rallan’s neck. He winced as the sharp pangs of pain rippled through him. His lungs burned for an oxygen supply, his vision becoming blurrier by the second because of this. But still he fought, trying to get Rayne off of him.

“Finally, justice wins… Justice is served…” Rayne added on, pressing firmer against Rallan’s neck and watching his struggling get weaker and weaker, “This is for Dad and Varim, Rallan…”

That set Rallan off. A fresh burst of adrenaline shot through his body and his eyes opened wider again, a growl forming as best as it could. His mind now focused as sharp as a blade, Rallan kicked forward, striking Rayne in her stomach. She gasped in pain and doubled over, releasing him from her grip. Immediately Rallan began gasping and panting heavily for air, feeling light-headed as he took several uneasy steps away from his sister. He’d nearly lost there; he’d have to be more cautious from now on…

The thought hadn’t left his mind for a second before he felt Rayne latch onto his back, digging her fangs and claws into his sides and back. Rallan howled in pain and thrashed about, trying to get his enemy off of his back. After several seconds of flailing, Rallan rolled over, getting Rayne off of him and a couple feet between them. Flaming waves of hurt burned through Rallan’s body, making him feel weaker, but still he stood. The blood that ran liberally down his back splattered onto the white snow beneath him, leaving large droplets of red against the white.

“I… did not… kill Dad… and Varim…” Rallan said between heavy breaths, still glaring at Rayne.

Rayne couldn’t believe this. Here Rallan was, fighting what could be his last fight on Earth, and he was still claiming he was innocent. Rayne still wasn’t buying into this act though. She ran forward again, trying to get her jaws around Rallan’s leg- and wound up feeling Rallan’s around her head. She glanced up, seeing Rallan’s powerful jaws gripping her head tightly, his warm breath hissing her nose. Before she could even react, he began to bite down, trying to crush her skull. Rayne reacted quickly and sliced across Rallan’s face, her claw scoring a hit on his eye.

Rallan howled in pain and was forced to let Rayne go. He stumbled backwards, the vision in his left eye going terribly blurry. Fortunately, she hadn’t punctured it, so he’d still be able to see out of it. But as he turned back to Rayne, he saw and felt her bite down on his front legs, pulling him to the ground. Already the strength was beginning to leave him and the adrenaline was losing its effect. Rayne wasted no time and bit down on the back of Rallan’s neck, drawing another howl of pain from her brother. As he struggled to get up, Rayne took a deep bite into Rallan’s chest, splattering the snow with even more of his blood.

Rallan now stood, bleeding profusely from several deep wounds, his left eye still useless to him. He was panting heavily and his exhales came out as slight wheezes. Rayne stood a few feet away from him. She lunged forward and he stumbled back, feeling the edge of the cliff at his hind paws. Rayne smirked,