brownfurred put some real effort to utter that), but harder to do. Aniu was seeing much more than wolf should – thanks to astral point of view she was every, even smallest move of enemy. So each time malawolf prepared some unexpected manoeuvre, she countered it instantly.

“Dad!” thought January. “Your help would be nice.”

“I know that!” yelled Steele, being again sent to the floor by Shade. “I’m working on it!”

*

Tan was still pinned down and trying to break free. He was shouting commands, but in general chaos no one listen to him. Stardusters tried to stay in one group, but pressing crowd of frantic wolves, that was cheering the fight, simply rammed the pack and mixed with it. Rose and Black were taken out from rest of crew, but somehow also pushed closer to Sheik.

Aleu’s son tried to get to Fighting Pillar, to assist Maya, but soon learned that was useless. If Teele would even let him go, chaotic mass of watchers would squeezed him in process. So mates met.

“Where are pups!?” asked shocked Rose.

“There!” Sheik pointed a hummock with muzzle, because he was unable to raise his paw. “They are safe… until they are in place.” Then he looked on Black. “Hey… thanks for that.”

“We are pack, after all.” Replied darkfurred. “Whatever happens.”

And then Tenu entered the scene.

He slid down from slope of valley and stopped but before creek. Then continued his run, panting heavily. In that condition, he didn’t look as dreadful commander, but simply weak wolf who tried to run fast and failed. However panting voice of mercenary was still powerful.

“Stop it! Stop that fight!” Unfortunately almost no one heard him, so he decide to do the job himself. He started to pierce through crowd to the pillar.

Aarre and his vanguards entered clearing about two miles east from Main Cave. Old commander and Ea looked ahead to see not prepared ranks of enemies, but unexpected gathering, swirling and bursting in chaos.

“Are all wars looking like that?” asked whitefurred wolfess.

“I don’t know.” Replied Aarre. “For the very first time I see one from some distance.”

And then two shaped entered clearing too. All black and second – all white wolfess ran through Pack’s rank. No one identified their as friends, so few wolves rushed to stop enemy, but they were too fast to get caught. Soon they disappeared after gorge’s bend.

“And who the heck was that?” asked confused Flame.

“I have no idea.” Murmured Ian. “And if we didn’t have to retrieve Jan, I would advice sir Aarre to wait until they finish… Whatever they are doing now.”

*

Tenu managed to move inside the crowd just thanks to unbelievable luck. No one recognised him as general and even if few creature did, it was much too less to make him a way. So furious mercenary started to bite at random encountered Talbourne.

“Crack off, buddy!” growled some brownfurred wolf, bitten in paw.

“Stop that duel, you morons!” was screaming Tenu. “Maya can’t die!”

“Calm down, pal!” growled another wolf. “You shut off my view!”

“Damn you!” snorted general and hit side of sergeant Cayce.

“And where do you think you’re going!?” asked soldier with irritated tone.

“Up! To stop them!” panted Tenu. “They can’t fight! No wolves should! Now we are far beyond it!”

“He’s mental.” Judged brownfurred watcher. “Throw him to last row.”

“Let he thought!” screamed Tenu and when Cayce didn’t move, he bit his paw, reaching the bone.

“Holy crap!” yelled Cayce, looking on his wounded limb.

“Hey, he bit sarge!” called private Mike and pounced on intruder.

Tenu never knew what happened. Suddenly several wolves standing and crowding there turned to him and started to bite him at random. He fought back, hitting few of them. Finally they let him go and hoaryfurred moved on. His muzzle was dripping with blood and whole body was overcome by weakness.

“No…” he panted, entering the spiral path up. “Stop them! They can’t fight! It will ruin everything.

Blood of wound he inflicted dropped to the ground. General was running, taking another and another serpentine, but still some warm liquid was dripping on the rock. Hoaryfurred didn’t looked down and didn’t see the torrent of red, floating down from him. To be exact – from his bitten throat.

“No!” he called, coughing with blood. However he felt no pain and was looking ahead, to the top of pillar. “You must not fight! Unite! Let’s stand together and win!”

His step became slower and slower, while more blood was running down to his paws. His hoary fur slowly turned to red on chest and front paws. But general was running still.

“Weak, always too weak!” he thought, making another step and trying to focus his sight. Yet, the world slowly was fading to black.

“No! don’t fight!” howled with desperate might. “We are beyond it! We are far beyond it.”

And then he fell down on path, dead and late.

*

January hit the rock after another Maya’s/Aniu’s throw. He felt several bruises on him that only miraculously hadn’t turned to fractures. He was bleeding with five of six deeper cuts and knew that at that rate he would faint due to haemorrhage. But he still couldn’t deliver the final blow. Each time he was watching on Maya, he saw her eyes, sparking with love and devotion. That was the strongest shield that Aniu could use.

“Jan… please… faster!” whispered brownfurred.

She was bleeding too. Wolfess was generally weaker and more fragile, but power of Aniu made her almost invincible. For every blow that January delivered to his love, she returned five. With every second of duel, dire state of malawolf was clearer.

“Why do you resist?” asked guttural voice that surely didn’t belong to Maya. “It’s never too late to give up.”

“Leave her!” cried January. “I don’t want her die!”

“I don’t want it too!” replied immortal. “So just give up!”

But in those words both Maya and January heard fear. Wolf-spirit was actually scared about her great granddaughter. When brownfurred sensed that, she made her head to bow slightly. Malawolf read the signal and pounced ahead, hitting her back.

They overturned and rolled aside. But Maya overestimated her might. Aniu quickly regained almost full control and pressed January down. She grabbed his neck and only to tension of muscles didn’t squash the spine. Aniu smiled with Maya’s lips, what clenched jaws even harder.

But hybrid resisted. He was holding with remnants of his strength, but holding still. He hoped that overusing of Maya body’s abilities would finally effect with some pulling or sprain. Aniu knew it to, so she changed her tactic. She started to pushing malawolf to the edge of pillar. Maya’s eyes blinked, as she understood what immortal wanted to do, but she couldn’t give any warning – her mouth was filled with January’s neck.

They reached the edge, in spite that hybrid tried to stop. Maya was looking into his eyes, or to be exact into his one eye – because her jaws were locked on his neck, their brows were almost touching. In wolfess’s eye she saw fear and determination. He read her soul.

“Jan…” heard hybrid. “She can’t hear it… I’m so sorry, that I failed… Forgive me, Jan. I love you so much… I knew we are destined to be together from the very beginning. When you saved my life. Took me out from river… Carried me on and…”

“Carry!” shouted January in mind. He was choking, so his thought started to fade too, but that one burst brightly. “Honey… you are at least ten pounds lighter than me.”

“I fend for myself… just for you.” Smiled Maya in heart.

“We must… stop Aniu.” Called January with his thoughts. “Are you ready for a trip? Down?”

Her thoughts came the same way and she knew what planned malawolf. To jump down with her, killing themselves. That was still cutting Aniu out of her earthly agent and still giving a chance for the Pack. And finishing their problem in the easiest way.

“I’m ready, my love.” She replied. “But this way I will make alone.”

January shook his body and threw Maya’s up. Two tangled bodies moved to the edge to meet the certain death. They were still looking in each other’s eye so malawolf saw as Maya is bursting with sheer power of her will. In spite that was impossible in earthly logic, Maya’s body was lifted up on January, but in spite to fell down the edge, it stopped and changed direction. Just a blink of an eye later it was falling back on the plateau and hit it hard.

Aniu ordered Maya’s jaws to clench even more, but it was not malawolf’s neck that broke first. In air sounded a crack of breaking bone and it was Maya’s spine. Brownfurred hit the ground, and slamming with backbone into sticking out rock. The kinetic energy of collapse, directed in that one point was much more that spine of wolfess could take.

And in that second the spell was broken – Aniu was pushed away from brownfurred’s body. She managed just to hold in rear part, behind the fracture. And when back of dying mortal coil was kicking hind paws with desperate hatred, front of Maya returned to her born-nature, to the nature of love.

“Jan…” she whispered, letting wolf loose out of her paralysed paws. “It doesn’t hurt… because I love you! Just be happy… and try to remember me! My love… my alpha…”

January joined with her in passionate kill, but just after he touched her lips, he felt as she was already away. He draw back.

“This is not, as it should be…” he uttered with breaking voice.

But then – with rest of his strength, both physical and mental – he stood up. He turned to the edge of pillar and looked down on Talbourne wolves and – what he noticed then – Pack’s army, waiting about half a mile east.

“Wolves!” called with shivering voice. “As a winner of duel… I killed your alpha…” he took a deeper breath and added. “And from now on, I am the alpha.”

That was a moment when all was to be decided. Crowd of wolves would run to him and tear him apart. Of course

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