den. But Latch ended up abandoning the West side, and if he'd gone on a few hundred meters more then he would have found his sister. But no, he didn't trust Jeke. The thought of that moron creeping around Lei's den made him furious. Latch knew Jeke was trouble, he knew more than anyone. For it had been that hairball, that mutt, that cat, that had given Latch the ugly scar across his face. Never again would a she-wolf complement on his handsome muscles, or his teeth that shone like diamonds, nor would they see beond his temper. The scar was a curse. It haunted Latch wherever he went, and if a female ever looked at him, once he had turned to show her the left side of his face, the side with the three, blooded tears down his face and over his eye, they would yelp and shy away, never to approach him again.
 Growling with haterid, Latch pulled his tired legs into a sprint, following the feint scent of his enemy. It was true and fair to say, that Latch dispised of Jeke more than Kach. And if that two-sided wolf had harmed or distressed his sister in any way, shape or form,
 He would have all Caluk to pay.
 The den was in sight. Either Jeke was there already or he had beaten him to it. Latch looked down the entrance tunnel. Ther was no-one home. At least he was the wolf who would tell Kach Lei wasn't there. And he could manipulate his story too, on how Jeke stopped to feed himself intead of checking the den immeadiatly, for there was no scent or trace of Jeke.
 "Hey!"
 Latch pulled his head out of the tunnel. Jeke was above him, glaring. "Shouldn't you be checking the West side?" Jeke growled.
 Latch replied quickly: "I would never trust you around my sister, but thank the Bronze Canfa she'd not here, and I'm going to tell Kach that you were stalling, to prevent yourself from doing any work!" He conclued this with a serious nodd.
 Jeke grinned, and turned to the way he came and disappeared into the shaows. The lesson with this is to never give away your plan.

5

Treason

Back at the Bronze Canfa, Jo had returned, saying there was no trace of her. Difa and Toma appeared from under the bridge. "Not a sniff." he said. They were now waiting for Latch and Jeke. What if they'd had a run-in? It would only make matters worse.
 Suddenly a shadow came from behind the trees. A moment later once it had entered the moonlight, they found it was Jeke. He was panting hard, and he wheezed badly. "I came as quickly as I could," he coughed. Kach beared himself for the worst. Jeke continued, "I arrived at your den, but too late. Latch was already there, don't even bother asking me why he wasn't treking the West side, and when I asked, he told me it was nothing to do with me. Then I saw the blood on his lips."
 There was a deadly silence. Jeke was known to be a bit of a joker at times, so all were hoping he was about to say that Latch had eaten a squirrel, but no. The horrific news poured out of Jekes mouth like a river of black, overpowering water. "He suddenly ran off, in fear that I would kill him. And when I looked inside the den, she was dead. His own sister, he had ripped her throat out."
 Everyone froze. They knew Jeke was going to say it well in advance, but it still hit them, stabbing a milling knives through their hearts. Kach closed his eyes. The lower wolves looked at each other, trying to find some sort of reassurence in anther wolf's expression. There was nothing. It was as if the pack was cursed. But Jeke had well recovered. A small hint of a smile could be detected on his face. Toma stepped forwards.
 "No." he said aloud. "Latch has done some bad things in his time, but he would never betray his sister."
 "How would you know?" Jeke snapped "You two never talked, never mind were friends!"
 "I don't need to know him well, but I clearly know he would never do such a thing!"
 "You just can't accept that that sissy cat murdered our alpha female! He has just commited treason, and you are defending him." A sly smile slid across Jekes narrow face. "And I thhink you had something to do with it..."
 Toma was backing up against the rocks. Jo was shaking her head furiously, trying to collect her thoughts. Kach had fallen for the trick and he joined Jeke in cornering the trator. Difa was getting up too. Several times Jo cried out for her mate's mercy, but she was silenced by threatening growles.
 "Kach," Jeke whispered, "Let me deal with this." He put his muzzle to Toma's ear. "I've never liked you, and nobody is ever going to save Latch this time. So, any last words?"
 Toma trembled with uncontrolable fear as Jeke lifted a paw to give him the first strike. But suddenly, a light grey shape caught it in mid-air, pulling Jeke to the ground as he let out a whimper of pain. His right-fore leg was bent in an unnatural way. Latch stood above him, foaming at the mouth. Toma took this oppotunity to scramble back to Jo.
 Jeke werily stood up. His leg, twisted and damaged, could just about hold his weight. "Why do you persist to degrade this pack?" he spat at Latch. But his opponnt held his ground. Jeke's leg had bled for a moment, but was already drying up. But Latch still had the blood on his muzzle. Jeke half grinned and half winced.
 "See! This is what I told you! Look! He had blood on his lips!"
 Latch's eyes widened as Kach, Difa and Jeke closed in on him. He looked to his right, then his left, but there was no escape. The warm summer breeze blew at his fur. In his last moments, he thought of the good times, times when he and his three sisters were playful pups, ramboling around the great lawn. He remembered the plentyful food, and a time when the female pups all had a secret admiration for him. Smiling, he opened his eyes. They could take him, but he had done nothing wrong, no matter what they were saying. He would join the Bronze Canfa in the sunrise, and live forever more in paradise.
 The wind blew once more, but along with it came the soft howl of a she-wolf. Kach recognised it immeadiately. "Lei?"
 He jumped onto the rocks. It was her! She was alive! And he knew that call. "Everybody-" he started to say, but changed his speech when he saw it. "Jeke, no!"
 Too late. The brown wolf had cut Latch straight across the face. Latch was crying in pain. Blood trickled down his nose and into his mouth, forcing the victim to taste his own blood. Latch tried to see what was happening, but he was blinded by red. Jeke went for a second strike, ripping his fur down his right side. He was about to take another one, when Kach jumped on him and pinned him to the ground, shouting, "STOP!"

Jeke staggered up. Kach hissed in his face, "If I EVER see your face again, I'll tear it off and feed it to Latch! Understood?!"
 "Is that a threat?" Jeke growled.
 "No," Kach replied, "It's a promise."
 And the shaking liar and bounded away to the North of the park. Kach turned back to the confused and frightened wolves. "Now, that howl came from the West side. Why din't you tell us Latch?"
 "Did I get the chance?" he spluttered, shaking himself.
 He was right, first saving Toma, then they had cornered him, then the fight, he had no chance. "Right, I'll help Latch get there if you three hurry ahead, and I mean hurry. If Jeke gets there first only he Bronze Canfa knows what would happen."

6

A New Addition

Akila lay in the den. She had heard all the commotion, the howls, the crying, the snarls and growls. She knew there had been a fight, and there was a large chance it had been between her mate and Lei's. Then Jeke appeared.
 "We have to move," he said quickly, nudging her to stand, "If we're found I'll be-"
 "You've been in a fight." Akila said. He nodded. She sighed. "Jeke, I'm tired of this. Ever since you scared Latch there's been a fude. And it hasn't affeted your life, but I can tell you it's ruined Latch's all together! And I can't live with someone who commited that crime..."
 And she got up and left. A number of thoughts whirled around in Jeke's head. Why was everyone turned their back on him? Especially Akila? There was one answer, Latch. Jeke's fur bristled in haterid. But he had to move on. Taking one final look at his home, he started to wander to the North-East.
 Akila sniffed the ground. Lei's scent was all other it, but had been covered by the trees and not blown away. Making her way down a slope, there was the smallest gap between two oaks that alowed her to see ahead. There was a patch of white. Akila howled a signal to see if it was a wolf. And there came not one reply, but two. One was from Kach, he was nearby, and the sceond came from Lei!
 Akila was suddenly blinded by a bright light. The sunrise...
 She raced franticly to the clearing where Lei lay. Akila was too busy telling her the sun was up to notice at first. Then she froze as her gaze fell on the sight.
 Kach appeared from the bushes to their left. He saw Lei, letting out a sigh of relief, but he quickly gasped again when he saw the seven pups.

"Kach," Aklia coughed. She shouldn't have pushed herself to a run, "The sun has risen, we need to hide."
 He lifted his head and closed his mouth. Then nodded. Lei shakily stood up, and took two of her children by the scuff of their necks. Kach picked up another, then set it down again. "Lei." she said sadly.
 "I know."
 Three of the pups weren't moving or breathing. Latch dug a shallow pit and burried them up with the remaining dirt. While this was happening, everyone else fled to their dens, leaving only the alpha's and Latch alone. He bowed his head with respects and also went to hide.
 Kach nuzzled Lei's neck lovingly before picking up two pups himself and started to walk back home. The night had been anything but successful, and he was in dispair. Moral was low, there were more mouths to feed, and less, AKila was ill, food was short and the sun hunted longer. The whole