The Chronicle of Rallan

Books VII, VIII IX:

Reunion

Love’s Journey

Nothing Left To Lose

By: Balto5670

All characters, settings, and events involved in this story including its corresponding plotline are © 2007 Balto5670. Any similarities between any other characters and such are entirely coincidental. Cover-art is © 2007 whitewolf(uk).

Lupus non mordet lupum.

All I can feel is the cold around me… It shrouds my body and my soul; my very being in its frosty cloak… The cold of scorn, of despise… Of hate. All I can feel is the cold around me… No more warmth of comfort, of joy… Of love. It’s all gone. It has been gone for so long now, I can’t even remember… Was I ever happy? Was I ever wanted? Was I ever loved? I don’t recall… I see their faces, scorning me for being me… For doing what I knew was right… All I can feel is the cold around me… The world’s no longer warm with glee, the waters no longer pure with liberty… They were tainted terribly when I was convicted wrongly… My life’s been cursed by her… My own family hunts me down like a murderer… I am a murderer… I regret nothing… All I can feel is the cold around me… All I can feel… Cold…

Chapter 1

            The warm wind blew gently through the trees of the forests, over the grasses of the plains, and over the waters of the rivers and lakes. Flowers swayed back and forth slowly, multicolored petals taking in the Sun’s light. Birds sang their songs with blissful ignorance as to what was going on down on the grounds beneath them…

Through the trees, four wolves ran as fast as they could. Two were light gray in color, the other two a shade of earthly brown. The group’s leader’s piercing ice-blue eyes shot through the trees until the familiar sound of rushing water was heard. They group jerked left and ran through more trees until they came to the bank of a large rushing river.

The leader ran right to the edge, nose sniffing about for one specific scent. One of the brown wolves sighed heavily and shook his head.

“Rayne, just give up sniffing the water… You wouldn’t find him even if he has been here… His scent would be hidden by the water…” Rayne’s vicious glare turned on the wolf and he recoiled slightly.

“Listen Drake, I don’t give a damn about what you have to say about this… You’ll follow my orders until we find him and tear him limb from limb, understood?” Rayne snapped back, looking back over the water, “He must have drifted farther downstream… We cannot lose him… He’s a wanted murderer and it’s our law-bound duty to hunt him down… Let’s keep moving!”

The other three wolves nodded and stood fully at attention as Rayne looked over the river one more time. She followed its bends with her eyes before turning swiftly and dashing off through the forest. Behind her, her group quickly caught up and followed her lead through the forest. You won’t get away again, Rallan… Rayne thought bitterly to herself, eyes burning with determination.

            “Tell me, Rayne, can you sniff out a wolf through water? You’d better hope you can, or else you’ll never see me again!”

That was the last thing Rallan remembered saying before he did it. He jumped; he jumped off the cliff and fell, fell down and down until he hit the water. It had felt like thousands of knifes had hit his body all at once. Almost immediately, he’d lost all the air in his lungs as the raging river rushed him downstream. Kicking and sputtering, Rallan had fought to stay above the surface before getting pulled under again, taking short breaths of air whenever he could to stay alive.

That had been nearly half an hour ago… Now the wolf that was Rallan drifted slowly beneath the water’s surface, his body limp and unmoving. His gold and brown eyes were glazed over, the sure-sign that he was dying. The river’s current had been much stronger than he had anticipated and he’d lost the battle with it a couple minutes ago, and now he floated underwater as he had been rushed along.

However, the current had died down now where he was, but he didn’t have enough energy or oxygen to swim back to the surface. His eyes looked up at the reflecting sunlight on the surface, his vision beginning to blur and his lungs burning from lack of air. This is it then… Rallan thought dimly, To die… like this… I’d never thought that…

But before Rallan could finish that thought, his body drifted onto a shallower part of the river. He could feel the gravelly rocks of the river’s bottom beneath his paws. A short burst of adrenaline shot through him at this feeling. Slowly, his paws gripped the rocky floor as he pushed himself upward; praying to God that he’d made the right move. Fortunately, he did…

Rallan’s head burst above the surface, gasping desperately as air began to rush into his lungs once again. He began coughing terribly, swimming weakly to the shore of the now-calm river. Even this seemed to be a challenge for him though, since he was still trying to regain his lost oxygen. A few moments later, Rallan’s paws touched the dry bank of the river, a feeling he first thought was a dream. He looked up, half expecting to see Heaven, but only saw the trees of the forest.

He panted heavily, golden eyes staring intently at the treeline of the large forest standing before him. Slowly, a weak, triumphant grin spread across his muzzle at the sight before him. To anyone it’d seem like a rather plain sight, but to Rallan at this moment it looked like the most brilliant thing he’d ever seen in his entire life. Rayne was nowhere to be seen and her scent wasn’t anywhere either. In fact, there were little to no scents around here, something the drenched wolf was very thankful for.

“So maybe… luck… didn’t abandon… me…” Rallan murmured frailly to himself, chuckling softly before sighing and falling to his side. He was utterly and completely spent from the struggle for his life with the river.

Rallan’s vision was beginning to blur and get darker once more. He knew that this time, however, he’d at least live once he blacked out. Yet despite his lack of strength and energy, Rallan kept that victorious smile on his muzzle, feeling like the luckiest wolf on the whole damn planet. With his final few seconds of consciousness, he laughed at the thought of Rayne’s stressed-out look once she’d have lost him. Then Rallan’s eyes slowly closed and his body relaxed as he passed out.

Rallan merely lay there like that for close to an hour, completely unconscious from his lack of energy. The river’s waters gently lapped at his tail and rear legs. The sounds of the gentle breeze and songbirds around him were drowned out and lost, as if they were never there to the wolf lying sprawled out on the shoreline of the brook. A few moments later, the birds stopped their singing as something below on the ground moved.

A gray-pelted wolf slowly made its way through the forest, a distressed look on its face. From a glance at the figure, one could easily tell it was female. Her gray and white coat looked nearly perfect to Rallan’s and they could probably have been mistaken for twins. As she walked on toward the river, she let out a soft sigh of discouragement. So far, her search had gone terribly. Rallan, where on Earth are you? she thought to herself.

As the female wolf approached the river, her gaze drifted up and saw something, or more accurately, someone lying out on the shore. It was another wolf… a wolf with a similar pelt to her. She gasped sharply as her amber eyes scanned the wolf’s body. It was indeed a male, and one that seemed like he’d seen his fair-share of battles. But he wasn’t the same… His body was more defined, as if he’d been trained specifically for battle… or leading a pack.

“No, it can’t be!” she said softly, trotting, and then running up to the unconscious wolf. Though he was completely soaked, his scent was clear and oh-so very familiar.

“It is… It has to be him! Please, tell me I’ve found you at long last…” she said in a very excited and eager voice, gently shaking the wolf. Rallan groaned softly, his body shuddering and his paws twitching slightly as he was woken up. He blinked several times before his eyes opened halfway, showing just how truly energy-deprived he really was. His head rolled slightly so he was now looking up at a gray and white shape, unsure of who or what it was.

“W-who… are you…?” Rallan asked weakly, his voice a little hoarse and very soft. The female gently placed a paw over his muzzle to stop him from using anymore energy that he had to.

“Are… Are you… Rallan…?” the wolf asked. Even though Rallan couldn’t see her, he knew the soft voice was female, and it had a tone that made several bells go off inside his head. He got a confused look as his vision slowly began to clear up.

“Y-yeah… Yes, I am…” Rallan replied wearily, still trying to see who the wolf was.

“It is you! It really is you!” the female said, her voice filled with joy and excitement, “Oh, I can’t believe I’ve finally found you after all these years!” Now Rallan was beginning to get a better idea of who this wolf was. Suddenly, it clicked in his mind. He knew the voice so very, very well. His eyes widened with surprise.

“Krystal?” Rallan asked, his vision finishing clearing up and he could now clearly see an older Krystal sitting beside him, amber eyes filled with happiness and a wide smile on her muzzle.

“Yes Rallan, it’s me…” Krystal replied softly, gently stroking his forehead, “Look at you… You’re not that young wolf I remembered anymore, huh?” She could feel the tears of happiness welling up in the corners of her eyes now that she’d found her dear long-lost friend once again.

“W-what’re you… doing all the way… out here…?” Rallan asked a little louder now, shifting his body slightly, “Shouldn’t you be… back home…? With your… father and mother…? Back at the… Lylrite Pack…?” Once more, Krystal covered his muzzle with her paw to keep him from speaking.

“I’ll tell you once you wake up, Rallan…” Krystal responded, stroking his head gently again, “Now, you need to rest… Go back to sleep…” Once more, Rallan’s eyelids began to drift down to a closed position. The last thing he saw before darkness enveloped him was the smiling face of Krystal, feeling her soft paw gently glide across his forehead.

“Krystal……” Rallan whispered softly, his body beginning to relax for sleep once again, “…… Thank you……”

And with those last few words, Rallan was gone, back into his subconscious dreams while he slept. Krystal smiled down at him as his breathing became somewhat heavier, still petting him softly. Finally, her search had come to a close as she sat there beside the one she’d been searching for, for two long years…

“You’re welcome, Rallan……” Krystal whispered back in the same soft tone. Her paw fell back down to her side as she stood up and lay down beside him, curling her body around his to help him dry off faster and keep him warm from his damp fur. Krystal gave a small smile to his sleeping form before laying her head down next to his and falling asleep as well.

            Rallan’s eyes slowly opened up, his vision all brightly-colored blurs for a long while until everything began to settle into proportions, objects retaining their original values and shapes. He was lying in a large open meadow, wildflowers blooming all around him and filling the air with fresh fragrances. The bright sunlight warmed his body as he lay in the soft grass.

Slowly, he stirred and rolled onto his belly, eventually rising to his paws. The gentle breeze made ripples in the grass, causing his coat to sway in the air. He looked around for someone or something familiar, but there was nothing.

“Where the hell am I?” Rallan asked to himself, slowly trotting across the meadow in no particular direction. He sniffed about, but there were no scents besides the flowers.

“Rallan!” came a soft, sweet voice behind him. He turned around and saw Krystal running toward him. Rallan smiled widely and ran toward her in return, the two meeting halfway and Rallan tackled her. Both wolves tossed about in the grass for a while until Rallan finally got the advantage and placed his paws on Krystal’s shoulders, pinning her down to the ground firmly.

“I win…” Rallan remarked with a playful grin. Both he and Krystal chuckled softly as he got off of her. He opened his muzzle to say something else, but a very familiar and unwelcome scent reached his nose. His eyes darkened and widened as he looked up and spotted Rayne. He glared fiercely and growled threateningly at her, his white fangs bright in contrast to his gray fur.

“Rayne… What the hell are you doing here?!” Rallan asked in a furious and deadly voice. Rayne just grinned and scoffed softly.

“You know why I’m here, Rally… I’m here to bring justice to a murderer…” Rayne replied with a voice colder than the winter’s snow. Rallan growled louder and moved to protect Krystal- until he realized Krystal was gone. Rallan looked down where she’d been, but she was gone and all traces of her scent were gone. He glanced up again just in time to see Rayne tackle him.

The two sibling enemies tumbled backward and began to roll down a hill. Rallan and Rayne snapped at one another all the way down. The next thing Rallan knew, he and his sister went off a cliff and went into a free-fall, down and down and down into the infinite darkness below. Rayne lunged for him in mid-air, missing his neck by a few mere inches. He growled viciously and bit back at her, managing to grab her head in his jaws. The two wolves wrestled about as they fell, Rayne’s muzzle biting deep into Rallan’s chest while his fangs sunk into her forehead and partially into the back of her neck.

After several minutes of aerial combat, the two hit ground of a dark forest with a loud thud. Rallan lost all feeling and was forced to release Rayne and she had to do the same to him. They both slowly got back up uneasily, glaring at one another as they got their strength back.

“Just confess, Rallan… I promise you I won’t make you suffer if you do!” Rayne said earnestly. Rallan growled lowly at that statement.

“I won’t confess to something I’ve never done!” he snapped back at her, running forward and lunging for her. Rayne sidled to the side and Rallan missed his target, winding up falling to the ground.

“You’re making this difficult, Rallan… You could have just owned up to what you did and come quietly, but you didn’t…” Rayne said coolly, her eyes as cold as ice, “I offered you an easy way out, but you denied it… Now you’ll regret murdering Dad…”

“I didn’t murder Dad!” Rallan shouted and ran at Rayne. She charged him and they collided in midair. Once more, they began to fall for a few minutes until they hit a snowy ground beneath them. The sudden cold hit Rallan intensely, sending shivers through his body. They were now at a large cliff at the edge of the forest. The snow covered the ground and the trees, the sky above them a dreary gray.

“Give it up Rallan! You can’t win!” Rayne said in a deadly tone.

“I’m never gonna give up…” Rallan said determinedly and rushed at Rayne once more. The female wolf side-stepped at the last possible moment and grabbed Rallan by the shoulder, tossing him toward the edge of the cliff. Rallan almost went over the edge, managing to stop himself just as his front-right and back-right legs began to dangle over the brink. He slowly got back to his feet, glaring at Rayne while panting heavily. Rayne looked over Rallan and sighed heavily.

“Rallan, why the hell won’t you just say you murdered Dad?!” Rayne asked, a look of pure confusion on her face.

“Because I didn’t! I didn’t murder him Rayne!” Rallan shouted again. Suddenly, the ground beneath him shook and he and Rayne looked down beneath his paws. The snowy ledge he was on shook again and began crumbling away, sending Rallan falling off the edge and into a black oblivion far, far below…

            Rallan shifted about in his sleep, moaning and murmuring softly to himself. Krystal felt his tossing and turning and slowly woke up as well, looking around in the daze of sleep before looking down at Rallan. She sighed softly and shook her head, seeing him trapped in a nightmare like that. She gently placed her paw on his shoulder and shook him a few times.

“No… No… Aaaah!” Rallan cried out as he suddenly bolted upright, muscles tensed as if he’d been in combat. His gold and brown eyes scanned left and right for his enemy, but she was gone; she had never been there… Rallan sighed heavily and relaxed himself, sitting down once again. He felt a paw on his shoulder and yelped in surprise, falling backward and staring up at the upside-down face of Krystal as he lay on his back. She giggled lightly and flashed him a sweet smile.

“Sorry about that Rallan! I saw you were having a nightmare and I couldn’t help but wake you up…” Krystal explained in a calm tone of voice, “And it looks like I scared you, too!”

“You didn’t scare me Krystal… You just- startled me, is all… I’d forgotten you were here…” Rallan said in his defense. Krystal laughed once again, grinning humorously down at him.

“Startled, eh?” Krystal asked, “So is that why you yelped like a puppy and fell onto your back?”

“Hey, I did not yelp like a puppy!”

“You’re still lying on your back…”

Rallan stared back at her for a moment before he got back up to his paws quickly. He cleared his throat as if nothing had happened and looked back at Krystal, giving her that same good-humored look.

“What’re you talking about? I’m not lying on my back!” he responded, smirking teasingly.

“Oh, so when I was looking down at you, you were sitting upright? I don’t think so…” Krystal retaliated. Rallan chuckled and opened his muzzle to respond to her statement, but froze, his black nose twitching slightly. His head suddenly glanced up the river, a serious look on his face. Krystal slowly lost her smile as well and approached Rallan, standing beside him.

“What is it? Do you smell something?” Krystal asked, but Rallan held up his paw.

“Shh…” he said blatantly, his ears pricked high and his nose twitching slightly every so often.

“What is it you smell? What’s going on?”

“Krystal, shh…” Rallan said again, still looking upriver. Krystal had enough of that response and gave Rallan an annoyed look.

“Listen Rallan, just because you’ve got all the better senses doesn’t mean you can keep all the information to yourself…” Krystal said in an irritated voice, “I have a right to know what’s going on around us as much as you do!”

“Damn it…” Rallan muttered and jumped into the river, immediately beginning to swim across to the other side as soon as his body hit the cerulean water. Krystal had no idea what he was doing, but jumped in as well and followed him across to the other side. Once they reached the other bank, Krystal looked at Rallan in confusion.

“Alright Rallan, what’s going on?” Krystal asked seriously, but was only answered by Rallan placing his paws on her chest and pushing her into a nearby thicket of shrubs and bushes. Krystal glared at Rallan as he jumped into the bushes as well.

“Rallan, I know I’ve missed you and I’ve been searching for you for two years, but from what you’re doing now, I’m beginning to-” Krystal began, but the rest of her sentence was muffled as Rallan swiftly placed a white paw across her muzzle and held her down, pretty much lying on top of her as well.

“Don’t make a sound or we’re both dead…” Rallan whispered, glancing through a small opening in the bushes out at the opposite bank of the river where the two of them had been lying on only a few minutes ago.

Within five minutes of hiding, Krystal had become fed up with Rallan’s behavior. Just as she was about to push Rallan off of her and yell at him, she saw a group of four wolves appear on the other side of the river. She recognized them immediately as Rayne, Drake, Hunter, and Valley. Rayne sniffed at the spot where she and Rallan had dozed off and growled lowly.

“He’s been here recently! His scent’s all over this spot, along with someone else’s, but I can’t tell who…” Rayne said, looking all around. Drake came up and sniffed the area as well.

“Hmm, I’m not sure who that is either, but that scent there is definitely, without-a-doubt Rallan’s…” he said assuredly, nodding in agreement to Rayne, “If anything, he’s probably jumped in the river and swam downstream, hoping to lose us…”

“The river does get calmer as it goes downstream… He’d have an easier time swimming down there…” Valley pointed out. Rayne thought for a moment then sighed softly.

“Alright, we’ll follow it downstream until we find his scent again… If worse come to worse, we’ll just backtrack here…” Rayne said, standing in her authorative stance, “Move out! We’re losing daylight fast!”

Without another word, she turned and ran southward, followed by Drake, Hunter, and Valley. Rallan waited a couple of minutes before sighing softly with relief. He looked down at Krystal with soft eyes and released her muzzle.

“I’m so sorry about that Krystal… But I couldn’t let them kill us… and if I took the time to tell you what was happening, I could’ve risked our lives by winding up short-handed of time…” Rallan explained softly, “Please forgive me…” Krystal sighed softly and nodded slowly.

“I forgive you, Rallan… I understood from the moment I saw Rayne why you did what you did… I just wish you hadn’t been so forceful with me…” Krystal replied with a soft laugh. Rallan laughed as well.

“Sorry, but I was kinda in a rush to get down and hidden…” he remarked, then looked her over, “I didn’t hurt you, did I?”

“No, you didn’t,” Krystal answered, smiling slightly, “Um, Rallan? Could you- get off of me?” Rallan blinked a few times and grinned sheepishly, his ears lowering in embarrassment as he climbed out of the bushes, followed by Krystal.

“Sorry Krystal… I just knew we had to get as low as possible to stay out of sight, so I-”

“WHERE THE HELL IS HUNTER?! I SWEAR TO GOD, I’LL KILL THAT RAVENOUS BASTARD IF HE MAKES US LOSE THE TRAIL!!!” came the vicious yells of Rayne just before she came into sight again, her back to Rallan and Krystal. From a nearby bush, Hunter came out, a hare hanging from his jaws.

“Sorry Rayne, but we haven’t stopped to eat in nearly five days and I’m starving!” Hunter complained, “Besides, it’s not like Rallan’s… just… gonna…” Hunter froze as he spotted Rallan and Krystal across the river. His jaws dropped open and his kill fell to the rocky bank beneath him. For a moment, everything seemed to freeze as Rayne turned and gasped sharply. Then time picked up again.

“DRAKE!!! VALLEY!!! GET BACK HERE!!! RALLAN’S HERE!!!” she yelled down the river.

“Run…” Rallan said to Krystal before the two turned and bolted off through the forest faster than if there had been a forest fire burning.

“No! Hunter, after them! Do not let them get away from us again!” Rayne ordered. Hunter nodded and growled softly as he dashed into the river, swam across rapidly, and took off after the two fleeing wolves. A moment later, Drake and Valley ran up to Rayne.

“Where’s the fire Rayne?” Drake asked. Rayne glared at him and ran into the river, swimming across.

“It just ran off with Hunter chasing after it! Let’s go!” Rayne shouted back, “We’re not going to let him go!”

“Um, I thought we always wanted fires to go?” Valley asked. Drake glared at him and bopped him on the head.

“It’s a figure of speech, moron!” Drake snapped back, rushing into the river to follow his Alphess’ lead, “Come on! Rayne will have our heads if he lose Rallan again!” Valley didn’t need to be told twice and he was soon across the river as well.

Rallan and Krystal panted as they ran off as fast as they could through the thick woods. Everything was nearly blurs as they ran on and on. After a few more seconds, Krystal looked behind them, then looked at Rallan.

“Rallan, do you even know where we’re going?!” Krystal asked. Rallan shook his head.

“Not a clue… But we’ve at least got to get away from those homicidal maniacs!” he said back to Krystal. After a couple more moments, Krystal’s paw got trapped beneath some gnarled tree roots and she tripped, yelping in shock and pain. Rallan skidded to a halt and ran back to her.

“Are you alright? What happened?” he asked, glancing at her paw before immediately setting to biting through the roots.

“I dunno… I just, kinda tripped…” Krystal answered, feeling completely foolish for messing up like that, “Can you free it? Because if not, just keep going… I’ll stay behind…”

“Nonsense… Just keep calm…” Rallan said, ripping through a couple more roots and gently pulling her paw free, “There you go… Now come on, we’d better high-tail it!” Rallan and Krystal began to run off, but Krystal yelped sharply in agony as immense pain filled her leg when she tried to put it down. Rallan stopped again and went back to her.

“I can’t run anymore… Just get out of here Rallan…” Krystal said, glancing back to make sure Hunter wasn’t nearby.

“Krystal, look at me…” Rallan said, staring into her amber eyes calmly, “No matter how many times you say it, I’m not going to leave my best friend behind… It’s not broken… You probably just sprained your ankle… Come on, I know where it’ll be safe…”

Rallan walked over to a tree and quickly leapt onto it, digging his claws into the bark. He climbed up a short distance and stopped, motioning to Krystal. She walked up to him and climbed up his body without using her hurt leg, Rallan helping her up slightly and soon she reached a branch just out of view. Rallan then dropped down and ran around the nearby area a few times before climbing up and laying on a branch next to Krystal. Both of them were now out of sight…

A minute later, Hunter dashed by beneath them and skidded to a stand-still as he suddenly smelled Rallan’s scent everywhere, but he was nowhere in sight. He searched all around, but the wolf they were hunting was nowhere to be found, despite his scent everywhere.

“Oh jeez… I’m in trouble…” Hunter said to himself as he saw Rayne approaching him with Drake and Hunter. She looked around and then gave Hunter a stern look.

“Alright Hunter, I’ll bite… Why are you just standing around here when Rallan’s scent is everywhere?” Rayne asked, staring Hunter right in the eye, making the larger wolf shiver slightly, “Think carefully… Your life may depend on your answer…” Hunter swallowed hard.

“Uh, w-well Rayne… He’s gone…” Hunter answered, taking a few quick steps backward, “B-but I checked all over! His scent ends here but he isn’t here! He just… vanished…” Rayne snarled furiously.

“That’s not good enough! No wolf just vanishes without a trace!” Rayne said, thinking to herself for a few moments before turning to the others, “Fan out and search the area… And for the love of God, keep your damn guard up!”

Drake, Hunter, and Valley nodded before turning and carefully and silently slinking off through the forest. Rayne also began to search, direly desperate to locate her murderous brother. Rallan and Krystal waited silently until the four wolves were gone before Rallan looked at her.

“Do you know of where we should go next?” he asked in a hushed whisper so only she could hear him. Krystal thought for a moment, and then nodded leisurely.

“Yeah… I have a den not far from here… If we can just sneak off toward the west again, I can lead you there… Hopefully, we’ll be able to stay hidden for a while…” Krystal said, glancing down at the ground.

“Alright… Westward bound it is…” Rallan said lowly, glancing down as well, “I’m gonna jump down, then you drop down onto my back, alright?” Krystal nodded in understanding and watched as Rallan stood up and quietly jumped to the forest floor below. He then positioned himself beneath Krystal as she dropped down, landing square on his back. Rallan bucked down slightly under her sudden weight, but quickly stood up again. Krystal didn’t seem to weigh very much to him, but then again he’d gotten rather strong from his years of exile.

“Ok, now hold on tightly…” Rallan said to her as he began to run back toward the river in the west. Though his speed was decreased very slightly from Krystal’s additional weight on him, he still ran pretty fast and stealthily. However, partway there, Rallan froze and quickly ducked behind some bushes, gently lowering Krystal to the ground. Having learned her lesson the first time, Krystal didn’t ask him what was going on.

Everything was dead silent for a long time… Then the sounds of pawsteps began to approach them, getting louder with each second. Within minutes, the light brown form of Drake came into view near the bushes they were behind. Rallan glared slightly and rose up, sneaking silently up to Drake. He tapped his former friend on the shoulder and glared right into his hazel eyes as he turned to face him, a surprised and frightened look on his face.

“Rallan!” Drake managed to say before the gray wolf hit him forcefully on the side of his muzzle, slamming his head into a tree. Drake stumbled and looked up at Rallan again as the wolf slammed his head into Drake’s, knocking him out and sending him to the ground. Rallan shook his head to clear the slight daze his attack caused and walked back to Krystal.

“Alright, he should be out for a short while… Come on, let’s get moving again!” Rallan said, picking Krystal up on his back and running off toward the west. Drake was still barely conscious, watching as the gray wolf ran off. His eyes then drifted slowly to the sky, spotting the afternoon sun. Their target was headed west. With a weak grin of accomplishment, Drake blacked out.

Rallan ran and ran endlessly, ignoring the burning in his lungs as he panted heavily. He knew that if he could at least get across the river safely, they’d be home-free and safe for a while and then he could slow down. Krystal just lay on Rallan’s back, marveling at his strength and stamina. Soon, they arrived at the river and Rallan wasted no time, rushing in and doing his best to swim across with Krystal on his back.

After nearly going under three times, Rallan finally reached the west shore and climbed onto the land, gasping for air as he rested for a few minutes. Krystal smiled down at him and chuckled softly.

“You really didn’t have to carry me all the way, Rallan…” Krystal said humbly. Rallan chuckled breathlessly before answering.

“Yes I did… You were in no condition to be walking anywhere…” Rallan said with another grin. Krystal smiled wider and sighed softly.

“Well, we’re safe for now… Just keep heading west for now… I’ll tell you which ways to go as we go on…” Krystal replied. Rallan nodded in accord and ran off again into the forest, but at a much more decent pace for himself. Now safe, he knew that he and Krystal would be able to have lost Rayne for a good amount of time…

Chapter 2

            It took Rallan roughly about six hours of nonstop running before Krystal finally led him out into a large clearing, a den set into the side of a small hill. To the west were the coastline and an overlooking to view the sea. Just a little bit to the south was a group of hills with huge assortments of wildflowers blooming all over, and to the north was a small river that ran into the larger one to the east. Her den was set at a clearing just at the edge of the forest, so there were trees, but not too many and enough variation of environment to make any wolf think of this place as paradise.

Rallan immediately took Krystal into her den and laid her down on the soft brush she had as bedding. It was easily large enough for two adult wolves and the den alone could hold about four. He sighed softly as he sat down to rest as well, staring at Krystal as she relaxed on her bedding. She glanced at him and locked eyes with him, laughing softly.

“What is it?” she asked, looking at him with interest as he shrugged.

“I’m just thinking about something…” he replied. Now he’d gotten her interested.

“Thinking about what? Me?” Krystal asked, clearly intrigued by what was going on his head.

“Yeah… I was just thinking back to the Lylrite Pack, and what it was like for us back then…” Rallan answered softly, nearly lost in the reminiscing, “We had such fun together as pups and adolescents… But I was always busy training, so we never did get to play much… I can’t believe it’s nearly been two years ago since then…”

“It’ll be two years- when? This winter?” Krystal asked, surprised by this fact as well, “Wow, time sure does fly… It’s mid-summer now and soon it’ll be fall, then winter again…”

“You’ve grown so much since I last saw you…” Rallan said, almost completely oblivious to what Krystal had just said, “An adult female wolf already…”

“Look who’s talking…” Krystal remarked, looking over Rallan again, “The last time I saw you I thought you’d been well-built, but now you’re even stronger than before! You’ve also gotten a couple new scars… But you’ve definitely gotten bigger… An adult male wolf already… Seems like only yesterday I was pinning a smaller you down in the snow…”

“I’ll get you back for that, too…” Rallan said, grinning playfully, “Count on it, Krystal…”

“I’ll keep my eyes on you then, hot shot…” Krystal replied in the same playful tone, “Once my ankle heals that is…”

“Just let it rest… It should be healed within a day to a week…” Rallan stated calmly, looking around her den, “It looks like this place has been used for a while… How long have you been here?”

“About a month…” Krystal answered, giggling at Rallan’s surprised look, “Hey, you haven’t been the only one doing your fair-share of traveling…”

“But why’d you leave the Lylrite Pack, Krystal? I thought you loved it there…” Rallan said, clearly confused by her actions, “How long have you been out in the world, and what caused you to leave?” Krystal sighed softly and shook her head slowly.

“I left the Lylrite Pack because my father and I had very different views on things and there was nothing left for me there…” Krystal answered softly, looking down at her paws, then back up at Rallan again, “And I’ve been out of the Lylrite Pack just a month after you had left…”

“A month after I was thrown out?! God, Krystal… I thought you’d only been out for a year!” exclaimed a very surprised Rallan, “What the hell did your father do that caused you to want to leave so badly?!”

“Well, granted, it wasn’t all my father’s doing… Most of it was because of me and my beliefs and feelings…” Krystal explained serenely, “But it doesn’t really matter anymore… I left and I’m out here… But at least I managed to find you again…”

Krystal smiled up at Rallan, who returned her smile as well. Everything was silent for a long time before Rallan glanced outside. The moon was beginning to rise and night was taking over the forest. He sighed quietly and turned to Krystal.

“Well, it’s getting dark… We should probably get some sleep… After all, rest will help your leg…” Rallan said, beginning to lie down.

“Oh no you don’t… You’re not about to sleep on the floor when the bedding is big enough for both of us…” Krystal said with a smile. Rallan gave her a slightly amused look.

“Krystal, do you really think that’d be proper to be sleeping together like that?” he asked. She merely shrugged and smiled again.

“Why on Earth wouldn’t it be? It’s not like we’re doing anything else but sleeping, right?” she pointed out, then grinned slightly, “Besides, we used to fall asleep next to one another as pups and we did earlier down by the river. It’s nothing romantic or anything like that… We’re just friends.”

Rallan thought to himself for a moment, then nodded slowly. She was right, after all. They were just friends, nothing more. Slowly getting up again, he walked over onto the soft bedding of brush and lay down upon it. He sighed softly as his body relaxed on the vegetation, the soft feeling nearly putting him to sleep by itself. Krystal smiled at him and chuckled.

“Goodnight Rallan…” Krystal said before lying back down.

“Goodnight Krystal…” Rallan replied. His brown eyes slowly slid closed and darkness engulfed his mind, slowly pulling him into a deep, peaceful slumber…

            Drake had only been able to see an infinite void of black darkness for the longest time since his run-in with Rallan. At first, he’d thought Rallan had killed him, but when the bright light failed to appear, he knew he was only temporarily unconscious. However, the darkness suddenly broke into dim, silvery light as something cold, wet, and liquid-like was thrown across his torso and head. He coughed and sputtered as he woke up, seeing first the disapproving scowl of Rayne, following by the shocked look of Hunter, followed by another rush of cold as a clear liquid was thrown across him.

Drake quickly scrambled about on the ground before getting up into a sitting position, looking around at his new environment. They were all now beside the river they’d first spotted Rallan at. The sky had long-since darkened into a clear, starry night sky, the moon setting the forest into a silvery light. Valley stood in the river, throwing yet another wave of water onto the dazed and notably soaking wolf. Drake growled lowly and glared at Valley.

“Splash me again and I’ll personally tear your paws from your legs…” he threatened, looking around, “What the hell happened? Where am I?”

“I could ask you the same question, Drake…” Rayne said distastefully, the harsh tone in her voice sending chills of fright down Drake’s back, “Tell me Drake, did I not tell you to keep your guard up and stay alert for anything?”

“Uh… Uh, yes Lady Rayne, you did…” Drake responded sheepishly, his ears lowering back slightly in embarrassment. Rayne’s expression stayed the same dark, angry way it had been since he’d woken up.

“Then how the hell did Rallan manage to knock you unconscious and get away without any trace of him being found?!” Rayne nearly shouted, her voice causing a flock of nearby birds to evacuate a tree and fly off in fear. Even Drake swallowed hard and nearly fell backward.

“H-he snuck up on me, Lady Rayne! He and that friend of his! They jumped me form behind a bush and knocked me out! It wasn’t my fault, I swear!” Drake said quickly, taking a few slow steps backward. Rayne growled and advanced on him at the same pace.

“I don’t care whose fault it was! All I know is that you let my damn murderer of a brother get away!” Rayne said fiercely, her white fangs bared as she pushed Drake to the ground and placed a paw on his chest, her muzzle dangerously close to his throat, “That bastard always got everything in life and I would have gotten nothing had Dad not trained me somewhat as well… I refuse to let him get away with murder as well…”

Drake whimpered softly as he heard Rayne’s deadly growls, signaling she was just about ready to kill him, as well. His eyes closed tightly as he waited for her to just lose all self-control and kill him- but her fatal strike never came. After a few minutes, the growling subsided as well. Drake opened one hazel eye slowly, and then the other as he saw Rayne still holding him down, but she’d now reared up to her full height again. Her cold stare burned holes into his face, like orbs of icy fire.

“Be thankful for your impressive fighting skills, Drake… They’re the only thing keeping you alive right now…” Rayne hissed lowly, climbing off of him and pacing back and forth, “This is just perfect… Now we have no idea where to even begin looking for him again!”

“I do!” Drake said, sitting up slowly, his guard up in case Rayne did anything again, “He went across the river… That way…” Drake pointed off in the direction he’d seen Rallan run off in. Rayne followed the path with her eyes and a grin slowly spread across her muzzle, her eyes lighting up again.

“Perhaps you’re not as useless as I thought you were, Drake…” Rayne said, both complimenting and condescending, “Alright, at daybreak, we move out! We have no idea where he is and it could take us a while to find him again! But mark my words; we will find him again…”

Drake, Hunter, and Valley all nodded. They then curled up and fell asleep on the soft grass on the bank of the river. Rayne, however, stayed awake a little while longer, her icy-blue eyes glaring off through the forest where her brother had run off. All her intentions ran through her mind even as she lay down and fell asleep as well…

            Rallan tossed and turned about in his slumber, shaking and shivering, whimpering with fright. Once more, he was locked in a subconscious battle with his father, a battle he was somehow, once again, losing… He yelped both in his nightmare and in real life as Typhoon’s fangs sank into his left shoulder and he pulled him to the ground. Rallan lay bleeding on the dark forest floor. Typhoon growled and rolled Rallan onto his back, exposing the weak wolf’s vital spot.

“Why are you doing this Dad?” Rallan asked faintly, sorrowful and remorseful looks in his brown and gold eyes. Typhoon smirked and growled again.

“Rallan, you killed me… and now, I’m going to destroy your life as well…” Typhoon answered evilly before biting through Rallan’s neck. Rallan gasped and went limp, his vision going completely back as he heard his father’s triumphant laughter ringing in his ears…

“No!” Rallan shouted and shot to his feet, spinning around frantically as he searched for his enemy. Krystal woke up as well and began to look around for any trouble as well. When none was to be seen, she sighed softly and looked at Rallan, who was panting heavily with a look of pure terror on his face.

“Rallan, are you alright?” Krystal asked softly, her eyes warm and empathetic, “You look as if you’ve just seen a ghost or something…” Rallan exhaled heavily and shook his head, lying down again and facing away from Krystal.

“I may as well have…” Rallan murmured sadly, sounding on the verge of depression, “Why does he keep torturing me like this?” Krystal was now greatly confused.

“Who keeps torturing you, Rallan?”

“My father…” Rallan replied neutrally. Now Krystal felt completely lost. Rallan’s father had been dead for years!

“You mean your dead father?” Krystal asked, giving Rallan a strange look, “Rallan, he’s dead… He has been for years now… Someone killed him, remember…” Rallan was shocked beyond belief now. She had been there at his trial and yet even she seemed to believe he didn’t kill Typhoon. But by now, Rallan’s conscience had taken over and had convinced himself he’d been to blame…

“Not someone, Krystal… I did…” Rallan said, not daring to look at her to see her reaction to his words, “I killed my father… Me… I did… I’m a murderer… And if it wasn’t for my mother voting me as Innocent, I would have died that night…” Krystal sighed and shook her head.

“Your mother didn’t vote you Innocent, Rallan…” Krystal corrected. Rallan’s ears and head shot up, staring at Krystal.

“What do you mean?” he asked, clearly perplexed, “So she voted me as Guilty?!” Once more, Krystal shook her head in disproval.

“No Rallan, she refused to vote that night… She didn’t know what to belief and since she had the power of Alpha Female, she refuted her right to vote…” Rallan was flabbergasted by this information, but proceeded to question Krystal.

“Then… Then who voted me as Innocent?” Krystal looked away for a moment, then back to Rallan, blushing slightly.

“I did…”

Rallan stared at Krystal for a long while. All this time, he’d thought everyone except his mother had voted him Guilty. Now that he heard this, he knew that he’d been sorely mistaken in his assumption. He wasn’t saved by his own family, but rather condemned by them! Instead, his life had been spared courtesy of his best friend, the female lying just literally two feet away from him. Krystal hadn’t just been a loyal companion, but now that he knew the truth, she had also become his savior.

“Krystal… Y-you voted me Innocent? You saved my life?” Rallan asked, still bewildered by the sudden burst of information. Even though he asked it, he didn’t need Krystal to confirm it. He knew she was telling the truth, since out of the year he’d known her, she’d never lied once. Krystal’s ears lowered in slight embarrassment as she nodded slowly.

“Yeah… I did… I guess I did save your life, huh?” Krystal replied with a small smile. Rallan didn’t know quite how to react to this.

“Why Krystal? Why did you vote me Innocent?”

“Because I believed you… I believed that you had never intended to kill Typhoon and that it had all been an accident…” Krystal answered softly, “I know you, Rallan… You’re a kind, sweet, gentle wolf who’d never harm anyone unless it was in defense… That’s why I voted you Innocent… Because out of the entire pack, only I could see you were telling the truth…” Rallan stared at Krystal, then beamed widely and pulled her into a grateful hug.

“Thank you so much Krystal… You have no idea how much it means to me that you believed me… That you followed me… That you trust me…” Rallan said softly. Krystal hugged him back, smiling happily to herself. Finally, both their lives were beginning to look up… But it wasn’t easy Rallan… Krystal thought to herself, memories coming back to her…

            “Well, at least justice has been done to that ungrateful little bastard… He’ll get what he deserves: a swift, painful death out in the wilderness on his own…” Talon said as he paced back and forth inside their den. A year-old Krystal sat against the wall, giving her father an upset look.

“Dad, how could you say such a thing? Rallan’s been my friend since we first met and I know him! He’d never do anything like that!” Krystal argued. Talon shot her an angry look and turned to face her.

“He was turned into a power-hungry little monster by his father! Typhoon had the boy’s best interests in heart and look what the fiend does to him! He’s dead now because of him!” Talon snapped back, “Rallan may have been your friend, but Typhoon was mine and I know him as well! Typhoon would never harm his own flesh and blood like that devil said he did!”

“Stop calling Rallan a devil! He’s not evil or anything like that!” Krystal shouted back, eyes reflecting sorrow and misery, “Rallan didn’t do anything! Why won’t you see that?”

“Krystal, hold your tongue! You’re still young… You have no idea what the world is like!”

Krystal couldn’t believe this was happening. Her own father didn’t believe her either! With tears running down her muzzle, Krystal turned and ran out of the den. Talon watched her and sighed heavily. Desert looked up at her mate and gave him a stern look.

“Talon, that wasn’t right… You shouldn’t have done that to Krystal…” she said, shaking her head.

“Well you know I’m right! You voted Guilty as well!”

“Yes, but I didn’t go yelling at my own daughter for what she thought…” Desert remarked, looking up at Talon again, “Well aren’t you going to go get her back?”

“No… She needs some time alone… Besides, she can’t runaway… The border guards would stop her before she even got past them…” Talon said, lying down beside his mate, “She’ll be back by morning… Trust me…”

Krystal continued running until she came to a stop at the river where Rallan had been so brutally trained for six months. She’d sometimes hide in a tree downwind of them, watching as Captain and Typhoon turned Rallan into the wolf he had become. She collapsed beside the water, tears dampening her fur where they fell. She lay there sobbing for some time before she finally gathered up her strength and stood up again, raising her muzzle to the sky.

“RALLAN!” she called out, desperately hoping he would hear her somehow, “RALLAN!”

The bright orange sun broke through the darkness of night, bringing another warm summer morning across the land. Rallan’s eyes fluttered slightly as he began to wake from his slumber again, a soft, cold feeling pressed against his muzzle. His brow narrowed slightly as he tried to see what it was, his vision finally settling to see it was Krystal! The two wolves had fallen asleep in each others paws and now they were lying nose-to-nose!

Rallan gasped softly and quickly pulled back, his face going hotter than fire in embarrassment, his heart racing as well. He slowly and silently slipped out of Krystal’s grasp and walked out into the morning sunlight, stretching out his lean body before walking off toward the stream again. The day was bright and the air was brisk, the sounds of songbirds filling the air. Rallan smiled widely.

At least that means Rayne’s nowhere near… he thought to himself with a smirk and a chuckle. A few minutes later, he arrived at the small, slow-current river. He sighed softly and dipped his muzzle to the clear surface, lapping up the water. A soft giggle reached his ears and his head shot up, glancing all around. No one was nearby… He shrugged and continued drinking until he heard the soft sound again, grinning this time.

“Come on out, Krystal…” Rallan called out, not lifting his head from the water. A moment later, someone barreled into him and both of them came crashing into the cool water. Rallan shot to the surface and coughed slightly, looking around and spotting a drenched female gray wolf near him, a playful grin on her face.

“Krystal! That wasn’t funny!” Rallan said with a smile, tackling her and dunking her under the water again before pulling her back up, “Now that! That was funny!”

“Oh, you-” Krystal said before Rallan pushed her under again, pulling her back up after a couple of seconds, “I’ll get you!” Krystal laughed and tackled Rallan back, both wolves plunging under the water again. They came to the surface a moment later, both of them swimming to the bank. Krystal got on land first, glancing back at Rallan as he gave her a playful grin. She grinned back and placed a paw on his forehead. Rallan’s grin vanished as he knew what was coming next- and it did. Krystal pushed him back into the water before shaking herself off.

“Betcha can’t catch me, Rally!” Krystal said before bolting off, laughing to herself.

“Hey! Only my sister calls me Rally! You don’t wanna be like Rayne!” he shouted after her, getting onto land and shaking himself off before rushing off after her. He followed her damp scent through the woods until he came to a grove, where her scent just ended. Rallan looked around, tilting his head in confusion until a snap above him caught his attention. He grinned and looked up- only to see a squirrel milling about on a branch above him.

“Gotcha!” came the triumphant cry of Krystal as Rallan felt something knock him off his feet and pin him to the ground. He blinked a couple of times before identifying the wolf once more as Krystal. He grinned and grabbed her shoulders, rolling about so he was holding her down now.

“You’re not very strong, Krystal… That was almost too easy!” Rallan said teasingly, grinning victoriously, “How are you gonna get me off now?” Krystal smirked and placed a back paw on Rallan’s lower stomach, dragging it up and down swiftly, her claws lightly running across his skin. Rallan’s face broke into a huge smile and he began bursting into fits of laughter.

“K-Krys-Krystal! S-stop! I’m n-not t-ticklish!” Rallan said, words broken by laughter.

“Oh yeah? Then why are you laughing?” Krystal asked, continuing to tickle him mercilessly until she felt his grip loosen on her shoulders.

With all her strength, she pushed forward and knocked Rallan onto his back. She leapt onto him and continued to tickle his vulnerable belly. Rallan writhed about, both wolves acting as if they were pups again, but neither of them cared. Krystal grinned as she watched Rallan’s facial expressions. After a few moments, Rallan placed his paws on her chest and pushed, landing on top of her again. The two of them lay panting softly for a few minutes until Rallan went to look at Krystal and Krystal to look at Rallan. Their combined actions were timed just perfectly and their noses met once again. The two wolves froze for a few moments before they pulled away, blushing with lowered ears.

“Er, sorry  about that Krystal…” Rallan said sheepishly, climbing off of Krystal and taking a couple steps backward, “I… I didn’t mean to… I kinda just… Sorry…” Krystal could tell by the way Rallan was beginning to stutter that it was an embarrassing accident. She had felt just as embarrassed, but she had kind of enjoyed it.

“I… I know, Rallan… I’m sorry too…” Krystal replied. Rallan smiled slightly and chuckled weakly.

“Don’t be… It was just an accident, right?”

“Yeah, just an accident…”

“Yeah…” Rallan said in agreement, sighing softly and smiling warmly at Krystal, “Come on, let’s go get some breakfast…” Krystal quickly got back to her feet and followed Rallan off into the forest, also ready for some breakfast.

            For an entire month, Krystal had strayed from her den at night and whenever she got a moment alone to call for Rallan, searching desperately for him. Every time she would call his name, she would listen with high hopes of hearing his voice call back, but everyday nothing came… At night, she’d dream that Rallan would come back and everything would be fine again, but she’d wind up waking up in tears when he never came back… Heartbroken and distraught, Krystal began to eat less and sleep less, instead keeping to herself and her futile search.

Desert had known about Krystal’s sneaking away at night for two weeks and had at first considered scolding her for doing such things. But when she did go to confront her one time, she found her daughter in complete sobs. She didn’t have the heart to do anything. She had always thought Krystal and Rallan were close friends, but the way she was taking Rallan’s exile, Desert guessed that Krystal had never merely wanted to be friends.

On the night just after the monthly anniversary of Rallan’s exile, Talon had caught Krystal down by the river, calling out Rallan’s name. In a fury, he had yelled at her to come home, and with a low head and heavy heart, she did. She went right to her bed and lay down, pretending to be asleep. Talon advanced on her and sat down, glaring at his daughter.

“Krystal, what the hell do you think you were doing up, let alone calling out that traitor’s name?!” Talon asked in a gruff, stern voice. Krystal refused to move. Desert had woken up and was now watching the whole thing. Talon was beginning to lose his patience with her.

“Krystal, I asked you a question… Answer me!” he nearly shouted. Krystal glared at him, tears in the corners of her amber eyes.

“I was looking for Rallan…” Krystal answered, “I want him to come back… I want him to come home again…” Talon growled angrily and lowered his voice so only Krystal could hear him.

“Now listen here young lady, you will no longer leave this den at night, understood? You will forget all about that demon and you will go on with life, do you understand me Krystal?!” Talon hissed. Krystal growled back and stood up.

“Damn you…” she muttered back, proceeding to walk past her father. Talon grabbed her by the scruff of her neck and forced her back down.

“Krystal! You will do as I say and you will not go looking for that brute anymore!”

“No Dad, I won’t! I’ll keep looking for Rallan!” Krystal snapped back, tears now falling down her muzzle, “I love him, Dad! Why can’t you see that?!”

“No you won’t! You won’t love him!” Talon shouted, looming over his daughter and baring his fangs, “You will not love a despicable traitor like him! The bastard’s dead by now anyway…” That was as much as Krystal could take. She pushed Talon out of the way and ran to the mouth of the den, casting one last glare at him through tear-filled eyes.

“You’re wrong Dad! I will love Rallan and I will find him alive!” Krystal snapped back, “I will find him. I WILL!”

With those last words to her family, Krystal turned and ran off into the night. Though she wasn’t very strong or muscled at all, she was fast. She ran right past the border, missing the guards’ attention and just kept on going. She followed the direction Rallan had taken, mind now dead-set on finding the wolf she cared so much about…

            Rallan and Krystal lay out on the top of a hill, devouring their breakfast. Rallan hadn’t eaten since the day before and he was utterly ravenous, digging into the deer he’d managed to kill. Krystal ate along with him, making light conversation between bites. After most of the carcass had been eaten, the two wolves lay out, basking in the warm summer sunlight. Rallan glanced over at Krystal and smiled.

“I guess your ankle’s healed then, huh?” Rallan asked. Krystal flexed her paw and smiled while nodding to him.

“Yep… It healed overnight… I guess it was just a slight sprain…” Krystal replied, rolling over onto her side and staring back at Rallan, “Rallan, what did you do after you were exiled? Where did you go?” Rallan swallowed slightly and sighed heavily.

“I ran south for a long while, following a river… Then I found this female who took me to her den… I stayed there for a couple months, but it was all a setup…” he explained, “Then I went wandering again and I wound up somewhere to the north of here, where it was always cold and snowy… I would still be there, but Rayne tipped off the Alpha and I was driven out… Then I ran southeast and found another wolf who was so friendly to me… I’ll have to go visit him again sometime… Then Rayne caught me and I eluded her by taking the river however far south I was when you found me…”

“But how did you wind up in the river in the first place? I mean, surely Rayne would have followed you in, right?” Krystal asked, giving Rallan a confused look when he laughed.

“I jumped off a waterfall, that’s how…” Rallan explained coolly, raising his paw to stop Krystal as she went to speak, “I know, it was crazy and stupid, but it spared my life… Although I did kinda leave Kalgorn hanging… I’ll have to tell him what happened as well…”

“Who’s Kalgorn?”

“That wolf I told you who was so kind and friendly to me…” Rallan answered, closing his eyes and letting the memories rush back to him, “But yeah, that was my life… Wander, happiness, tragedy… wander, happiness, tragedy…”

“Well, maybe the wandering and the tragedy is over now…” Krystal suggested, “I mean, the summer’s almost over and if Rayne can’t find you all the way out here, then perhaps she’ll give up when winter comes around…”

“I highly doubt that!” Rallan said with a slight chuckle, “Rayne pursued me like her life depended on it for nearly two years! It would take some kind of extreme length to convince her I’m innocent and that I didn’t intend to kill Typhoon!”

“Well, you never know what will happen, Rallan…” Krystal said softly, rolling onto her back once again and staring up at the clouds as the sun began to sink past the point of mid-day.

“Krystal?” Rallan asked, looking over at the wolf lying a few feet away from him, “Why did you follow me out here? You could’ve been in another pack easily by now… Why did you risk your life to track me down?” Krystal gasped softly, heart racing and her mind frantically searching for an excuse to tell him.

“Well, I just thought that maybe since we’re close friends and all, we’d maybe last longer if we were together…” Krystal said, praying that Rallan would accept that as the truth. He seemed satisfied with that answer and went back to watching the could roll by.

“Krystal… Thank you…” Rallan said softly, smiling happily. Once more, Rallan felt truly happy and content. Now, despite all logical thinking, he prayed that Rayne would give up and leave him alone to live life with his best friend…

            Rayne raced across the forest, Drake, Hunter, and Valley close behind her. Her ice-like eyes darted left and right as she scanned for some trace of Rallan, but nothing could seem to be found or picked up. Even his scent seemed nonexistent. Almost as if he’d vanished from the face of the Earth… No, don’t think that way! You know that’s impossible, so keep searching for him! Your family has to be avenged! Rayne thought to herself.

She skidded to a halt in yet another clearing. As was her routine, she sniffed about for anything that had Rallan’s scent on it. Nothing again… Drake sighed and shook his head.

“You know Rayne, just a thought, but what if we all split up? We could all search different directions and meet back every so often…” Drake suggested, looking at Rayne. She thought for a long moment, then sighed and nodded.

“Alright… That’s probably better than what we’re doing now…” Rayne said in a low voice, looking back at her team, “Alright, I’ll head northwest, Drake you keep going west, Hunter you head southwest, and Valley you head south… We’ll meet back here at the beginning of winter… Listen, make sure Rallan doesn’t know you see him and he’ll stay where he is… Then we can move in on him, understood?”

“Yes, Lady Rayne!” all three wolves said in unison. Rayne nodded.

“Great. Move out!” Rayne ordered. The group then split up, shooting off in their given directions. The hunt for Rallan had just expanded and gotten more extensive…

Chapter 3

            Soon the air had gotten slightly cooler, summer ending and autumn moving in to take its place. Rallan and Krystal got closer and closer to one another with each passing day, their relationship growing and strengthening with every sunrise and sunset. The lack of Rayne’s group’s appearance settled Rallan’s ever-uneasy nerves and he began to adjust to his new life again. For the rest of summer he’d been waking up thinking ‘this’ll be the day they appear’, but when they didn’t and autumn came he was nearly certain Krystal had been right about Rayne.

It was now mid-autumn. Since the moment she’d found Rallan unconscious on the bank of that river, she’d tried to think of the perfect way to confess her deep feelings for him to him. Now she knew her chance would be coming up… Krystal’s eyes opened slowly as she woke up, the morning sunlight shining into her den. Rallan lay fast asleep, murring softly as he dreamt on. She smiled and nuzzled him gently like she did whenever she woke up before him. It just felt so right to be nuzzling him, even if she did have to sneak it every so often.

Krystal sighed softly, a small smile on her muzzle as she walked out into the bright, warm sunlight. The day was warm for autumn, which meant the night would be warmer as well. That worked just perfectly with her plan… Tonight was a full moon and she was determined to tell Rallan tonight, by the sea. She’d been too shy to tell him before, but now she knew she had to before anything else happened.

Krystal walked toward the west, to where the ocean was. Tonight was going to go smoothly; it had to. She had put so much thought and planning into this, everything just had to go right! Please God… Please let everything go the way I want it to… she mentally prayed, looking up at the sky as she pleaded to the heavens. Without even knowing it, the soft sounds of the waves came into earshot. She’d arrived at the ocean.

Krystal smiled as she walked across the soft grass up the hill to a cliff that looked out over the clear cerulean sea. At the top of the cliff was a various medley of sweet-fragranced wildflowers. She and Rallan had been up here once before, during the summer. Krystal was about to tell him then, but she’d shied out of it. But this time would be different… Things would go right… Smiling in satisfaction with the setting, she turned and began walking back, not wanting to worry Rallan with an extended absence.

Rallan murred softly again as he began to wake from his sleep. He blinked several times to allow his vision to adjust to the new light streaming gently into the den. He stretched and stood up, groaning lowly as he cracked his back and glanced over to see Krystal was gone. He walked out into the warm morning air and smiled as he took a deep breath. The day was going to be great in terms of weather, and probably better in terms of events! Krystal had come back just a few moments ago and grinned as she saw Rallan standing out in the open, guard down. She silently snuck up close to him and pounced, taking Rallan by surprise and pinning him down to the ground.

“Gotcha! Are you sure your father trained you well enough, because I’m getting too good at sneaking up on you?” Krystal asked teasingly. Rallan chuckled humorously.

“Wanna see what my father taught me to do?” Rallan asked playfully in return, placing a rear leg outside of hers and swinging it sideways swiftly, tripping Krystal and causing her to collapse on top of his body. A second or two later, Rallan had rolled over and was now on top, using his superior strength to keep Krystal held down firmly. A conquering grin slid onto his muzzle as the gray female beneath him struggled for a few moments, and then lay still in defeat, smiling back up into his gaze.

“See? You can’t even get up again! I’ve just perfectly immobilized you… and if you were a hostile threat to me…” Rallan said, lowering his voice slightly as he placed his muzzle near Krystal’s neck, “… then I could have killed you and won the fight…”

He smirked, then lightly licked her chin before climbing off of her. Krystal felt her heart speed up slightly from that simple lick and at having Rallan that close to her again. She swallowed slightly, knowing that tonight would be the night she’d confess her love before anything happened that she’d regret forever. Rallan walked off to the stream to get a drink, Krystal following beside him all the way.

Rallan watched her once he began returning to the den, smirking at the way she followed in near-perfect step with him. He decided to test if she was doing this intentionally or not. He took two quick sidesteps to the right, watching with amusement as Krystal repeated his pattern.

“What are you doing?” he asked with a soft chuckle. Krystal looked up at Rallan and blinked several times, embarrassed that she’d been caught following him perfectly.

“Oh, um…” Krystal said, mind racing for an excuse, “Just playing around with you.” Rallan stared at her for a few moments, then smiled and laughed good-heartedly.

“You know Krystal, you and I may be older, but together we’re the same young wolves that were frolicking about in the snow two years ago…” Rallan said, smiling widely and flashing his white fangs in a playful way. Krystal smiled back and continued to walk onward back to her den. She then broke into a run in her usual ‘catch-me-if-you-can’ game. Rallan shook his head, grinning. Even though she lost every time, she still loved to run from Rallan.

“You asked for it Krystal…” Rallan said to himself, crouching to tense his muscles and gather his energy. In one fluid motion, he launched forward and shot off at incredible speeds, following the scent trail that Krystal had left behind.

Krystal continued running forward, darting in between trees and through bushes to lead Rallan as long as she could. Panting lightly, she shot off into a grove and skidded to a halt, looking for a good place to hide and try and surprise him again. She spotted a small cave off to the side and silently snuck into it. She lay low in a crouch right by the entrance, amber eyes sweeping the grove to spot the gray wolf pursuing her in fun sport. Everything was dead silent for a while until a voice broke the silence.

“Hiding from someone?” came a low, almost sinister voice. Krystal practically jumped out of her fur and spun around. Her eyes had adjusted to the dim lighting, but even with the sunlight streaming in she could see the form of a jet-black wolf slowly advancing on her. From the tone of the voice, she could tell it was another male, but she’d never run into him before.

“W-who are you?” Krystal asked, trying desperately to hide the fear in her voice as she took a slow step backwards. The wolf laughed and continued advancing on her.

“My name’s Saren, my dear… What would your name be, beautiful?” Saren asked, getting closer and closer to Krystal with each passing second. As he stepped forward, Krystal stepped back until she was back out in the sunlit grove. Soon Saren was in light too. She could see he was easily stronger than her and knew whatever this wolf wanted from her, he most likely would get.

“Krystal…” she answered, amber eyes fixed on his dark green eyes, “I… I don’t want any trouble, Saren… I’ll just be on my way now…” Saren laughed once again, his voice cold, as if his heart were ice and his words were chilled by its stinging freeze.

“Be on your way? My dear, what’s the rush? We’re two young wolves, single and in a private recluse…” Saren said, a malicious gleam in his gold and green eyes, “Stay a while… Enjoy what fate gave you…” Krystal whimpered softly and backed up until her back was pressed against a tree, Saren moving in until he had her trapped.

“No thank you… Please, just leave me alone…” Krystal said, still scared out of her mind that this wolf would harm her in some way and then she’d never tell Rallan what she had to say. Rallan! That was her only way out of this one! But unless he’d arrive soon, then it may be too late for him…

“Are you kidding? Who would ever leave you alone, my beautiful companion?” asked Saren, placing his paws on either side of her torso and bringing his muzzle close to hers, “Just relax… I know of a perfect spot… Romantic, and more importantly, secluded… Now, let’s be off…”

“I believe the lady said to leave her alone…” came a stern voice that made Krystal’s heart lift. Both wolves turned to see Rallan glaring at Saren, growling lowly as he approached him. Saren growled back and bared his fangs, dropping away from Krystal and going toward Rallan as well.

“This doesn’t concern you, wolf!” Saren snapped back, finishing his advancing on Rallan, “Get out of here before I tear you apart!” Rallan just glared at Saren and walked past him, right up to Krystal.

“Come on Krystal… Let’s go home…” Rallan said softly, beginning to walk off with her. Saren, not willing to give up his temporary partner, snarled loudly and rammed Rallan, knocking him sideways into the tree.

“I told you, this doesn’t concern you! She is mine, so beat it!” Saren said threateningly. Rallan shook his head and sighed softly like nothing had happened.

“Last chance, wolf… Leave us be and let us go or you may not live to see another day…” Rallan said coolly, an icy glare shot straight at Saren. Not knowing the true extent of truth in Rallan’s words, Saren didn’t see him as much of a threat and stood his ground. He grabbed Rallan by the scruff of his neck and tossed him to the side. Rallan stood up and gave the black wolf a narrow-eyed stare.

“So be it…” Rallan muttered, leaping forward and ramming his head hard into Saren’s chest. The wolf choked as the breath was forced out of him and he collapsed to the ground. Rallan looked up at Krystal.

“Krystal, get back to the den… I’ll see you shortly…” Rallan said.

Krystal didn’t need to be told twice and quickly turned and ran off. Rallan watched until she was out of sight before turning his attention back to Saren. As he glanced down, he saw a black paw fly up and slice right across the right side of his muzzle, down the side of his face.

Rallan cried out in pain and stumbled backward, reeling from his opponent’s surprise attack. He could feel the sharp stinging of the sharp, precise cuts down his muzzle, feeling the warm liquid he knew was his blood flow down his face. He glared at Saren, thanking God his eye hadn’t been hit or else he’d be in some trouble. Saren was already up again, panting lowly from Rallan’s first attack. The gray wolf leapt forward and tackled his black-furred adversary, the two wolves tumbling about on the grass for a moment, struggling for an advantage over the other.

After several moments of thrashing about, Saren got the upper hand by landing a powerful blow to Rallan’s stomach. He groaned and curled up slightly from the assault while Saren placed his paws either side of Rallan, all intent on finishing this fight and finding that female again. But he never got that chance, because as he tried to crush Rallan’s throat, the wolf kicked him backward, hurling Saren into a tree. As he collapsed once more, Rallan was up and upon him, a paw placed on his throat and his fangs sinking into his shoulder before ripping out painfully. Saren yelped loudly and looked up pleadingly into the merciless gaze of Rallan.

“P-please… Don’t kill me… I’m just like every other wolf… I saw a beautiful female, so naturally I went for her!” he pleaded, trying to appeal to the wolf’s instincts, “I was just trying to get what I wanted!”

“Unfortunately for you… that ‘thing you wanted’…” Rallan started, his voice sounding as deadly as a thousand knives, “Was my best friend…”

Before Saren could begin to plead any further, Rallan slammed his paw down on Saren’s head. The black wolf’s eyes rolled around for a moment before they closed and he slipped out of consciousness. Rallan sighed heavily and contemplated killing him, but decided he didn’t deserve that… He really was just trying to hit on Krystal, but Rallan couldn’t stand for that, especially when she’d told him to back off… No, he didn’t deserve death, but at least Rallan had made his point clear…

Turning and walking off, Rallan was destined for the den he knew Krystal would be waiting anxiously in for his arrival…

            Time seemed to utterly freeze to Krystal as she paced back and forth inside her den. Her stomach twisted and turned; she felt like she was going to be violently ill at any moment. For all she knew, Rallan could be badly hurt, or worse- dead! She shivered terribly at that thought. It wasn’t just her fearful imagination that was making her sick, but also the fact that Rallan’s fate was unknown to her.

Did he win?

Did he lose?

Is he alive, or-

No, don’t you dare think of that Krystal! Rallan’s alive and he’s coming back, you know that! You know him! Krystal thought sternly, shaking her head as if to rid something foul in the air. She collapsed onto her bedding, continuously glancing toward the mouth of the den. Half of her expected Rallan to be there, the other half expecting her eyes to fall upon Saren. Yet every time she looked, the entrance was thankfully and frightfully barren. Then she heard someone approaching and whimpered softly in fright.

“Krystal? You here?” It was Rallan’s voice! Krystal felt her mouth curl up into a huge smile and she bolted right out of the den, almost crashing into the gray wolf she knew so well just standing outside.

“Rallan! Oh, I knew you’d be able to do it!” Krystal said, voice and eyes full of relief as she pulled him into a tight embrace. Rallan chuckled softly and hugged her back just as tightly.

“Shh, it’s alright Krystal… Everything’s better now… You’re safe…” Rallan whispered softly. Krystal slowly pulled back and saw the blood on his muzzle, her heart sinking slightly.

“Oh Rallan, please tell me you didn’t…” Krystal said softly, but Rallan held up his paw to stop her.

“No Krystal, I didn’t kill him… I just bit his shoulder pretty hard… That where the blood’s from… I left him unconscious at his den…” Rallan explained, “By the time he wakes up, our scents will be long gone and he’ll more than likely just give up and stay at home for a while…” Krystal smiled slightly.

“Well, why don’t you go lie down for a bit? You look a little beaten up…” she offered. Rallan laughed and then sighed heavily.

“I’ve been in worse shape… Believe me…” Rallan stated with another light laugh, but nodded in agreement, “But yeah, you’re most likely right… I’ll just take a nap and be back up before nightfall…”

Rallan licked the blood from his muzzle, then nuzzled Krystal in a friendly manner before walking off into the den. Krystal smiled at Rallan as she watched him walk inside and fall to the brush bedding. Shortly later, she could hear heavier breathing coming from him and knew he’d be out for a long while.

“Sleep well Rallan…” Krystal whispered quietly into the den.

Krystal turned and walked off into the forest. With Rallan asleep, she figured she’d go for a short walk. After all, she wouldn’t stray too far off, especially not after what had just happened to her. But still, a quiet stroll never harmed anyone… Krystal walked into a nearby grove and smiled as she looked around at the various flowers and plants around her. A few feet away she spotted something that would be perfect for tonight: a red rose bush. She grabbed a few of the bright crimson flowers in her jaws before turning and heading back off to the coast.

From the shadows, another wolf watched as Krystal gathered up the flowers and trotted off. His hazel-colored eyes followed her every move until she was out of sight. He growled lowly as her scent made its way toward him. There was another scent mixed in with hers though… and it was very familiar to this wolf.

“So female, you’ve run into Rallan… And pretty recently as well… Well maybe you’ll just lead me right toward him…” the wolf said silently to himself, a smirk playing on his face, “Then maybe Rayne will forgive my blunder… I may even be promoted… It’s all just a matter of time now…”

The wolf then quietly slunk through the shadows and undergrowth, vanishing from sight.

Krystal laid the sweet-fragranced roses out amongst the other flowers. She took a deep sniff of the air around her, beautifully perfumed by the various flowers. The scents were enticing, delectable, and slightly seductive without being too overpowering to the senses. Everything was now set for the night to come and just in time, as well. The sun was beginning to sink downward toward the western horizon. With a smile, Krystal sat and watched the sun go down for a while before she turned and walked back toward the den.

Once Krystal had arrived at her den, she took a deep breath, trying to prepare herself for what to say to Rallan for the next hour or so. This was it… it was now or never, and Krystal knew she would do it now. Nothing was going to stop her. She’d almost lost that chance before in her life and she wasn’t about to lose it again!

Walking silently into the den, she smiled down at the sleeping form of Rallan, the wolf seeming so calm and at peace with everything. It was so cute, as was he. She hoped, oh how she hoped, that he could be hers and that she would be his. So, mind dead-set on finding out the answer, she nudged him gently until he murred and opened his eyes slowly, staring groggily up at her.

“Krystal? How long was I asleep for?” Rallan asked with a yawn and a stretch of his legs.

“All day… The sun’s going down right now…” Krystal answered. That seemed to make Rallan wake up and shoot out of bed. He dashed outside and stared up at the deep orange sky in shock, surprised he’d been able to sleep so long! He chucked softly and smiled at Krystal.

“Sorry about that… I really didn’t mean to sleep all day…” Rallan said, ears folding back against his head in embarrassment. Krystal giggled lightly and approached Rallan again. From the shadows, a wolf watched the two, a large grin on his muzzle.

“It’s alright… It gave me some time to prepare something for us…” Krystal replied, smiling at the intrigued look he gave her, head tilt and all, “Follow me… I think you’ll like it a lot…”

Krystal began to head off west again, toward the coast and the setting sun. Rallan watched her for a couple seconds before following a little bit behind her. So many questions ran through his mind now. What did she do and why would he like it so much? Soon all his questions were answered as they stepped out of the forest, the sounds of the sea greeting his senses as Krystal led him to the cliff where she’d set everything up. The scents of the flowers filled his sense of smell, Krystal occupying his sight and the waves taking his hearing.

“This is it… I thought we could watch the sun set and stargaze again, like before… But this time I thought it’d be nicer with a bed of flowers…” Krystal said, smiling sweetly at Rallan. The gray wolf was in awe, feeling his heart skip a beat as he gazed around at the romantic setting. Krystal seemed to glow in the fading dusk sunlight, entrancing Rallan even further. Ever since she’d found him on the bank of that river, he’d felt something for her, but now he was certain it was a complete attraction to her.

“You were right Krystal… It’s amazing… I love it!” Rallan stated, padding up beside her and staring out over the sparkling sea. He resisted the urge to just add ‘Almost as much as I love you’ to the end and confess his secret right there and then. He hadn’t known if Krystal liked him like that or not, but now from the scenery she’d taken time to set up, he’d guess she did. He’d tell her tonight.

“I’m so glad you do!” Krystal replied joyfully before lying down on the grass amongst the flowers, “Care to join me down here?” Rallan smirked.

“With pleasure, milady…” Rallan responded, lying down beside her.

The sun had vanished by now and the full moon was just beginning to make its nightly rounds across the sky, starting from the eastern horizon and rising up over the forest. Everything was cast into a veil of silver, stars sparkling overhead like a billion floating luminous diamonds. The two lay in peaceful silence for a long time, just watching the stars and enjoying one another’s company, both trying to gather up the courage to speak their hidden feelings. The moon was halfway to being in its midnight position when Krystal finally spoke up.

“Rallan… There’s something I have to tell you…” Krystal said softly, “Something I should have told you years ago…”

“I never thought I’d be able to be like this…” Rallan said suddenly, catching Krystal’s full attention as she stared at him staring up at the sky as he spoke, “Lying here by the coast, a warm breeze, soft grass, being this happy…” Rallan then rolled his head to stare back into Krystal’s amber eyes.

“Being with you…” he finished softly, “… Krystal, for years, I’ve looked for a new life… You’ve given me that… Krystal… I love you…”

There was a long silence between the two as both wolves stared into one another’s eyes. Rallan’s heart froze and Krystal’s skipped several beats. After the long silence, she leaned closer and licked his nose affectionately.

“I love you too, Rallan…” Krystal said back in a soft tone. She licked his nose once again, Rallan too stupefied to say or do anything at the moment. After a couple more moments, Rallan licked her muzzle back. Within minutes, they were embracing one another, licking, nuzzling, and kissing one another voraciously. All their locked away feelings were now able to be expressed, their love for the other being shown in the fullest.

From the dark shadows of the distant forest, their stalker watched with sickening glee as his hazel eyes fell over the gray pelage of his target: Rallan. He laughed darkly, his voice low so as not to catch any attention, though it seemed like the apocalypse couldn’t tear those two apart at this point! Rayne’s gonna eat this information up! he thought to himself, knowing all he needed to know. Now he just needed winter to arrive, and to him, it couldn’t come fast enough…

After both wolves had finally run out of breath and energy to continue their fast-paced loving, they settled down to cuddling and reminiscing. Rallan told stories of what he’d gone through after exile and his childhood with his father. Krystal told of how she searched for him and called to him though he never came. Soon the sunset turned to twilight, then to dusk, then night.

“I’d sit out every night… I’d call your name and pray to hear you call back…” Krystal whispered, tears in the corners of her eyes, “I’d dream about you every night, about you and me… I always wished that I’d find you, but when I never did, I was so afraid that you were dead…” Rallan gently licked the tears from her eyes, holding her close.

“I’m here now Krystal… I’m never going to leave you alone again… I promise…” Rallan whispered back. Krystal nuzzled him lovingly, resting her head beneath his chin and running her muzzle through the soft fur on his neck and chest. She let a soft, drawn-out sigh escape her muzzle as she lay there, finally together with the wolf she loved so much. Slowly, Krystal’s eyes slid closed and she fell into a deep, peaceful slumber beside her beloved mate.

Rallan lay awake for a little while longer, eyes staring up at the stars above the two wolves. He heaved a sigh, his chest rising and falling heavily as he gazed at the star-covered canvas of night. Memories hounded him like waves crashing onto the beach below, some good, and most bad. He didn’t know what to think of himself anymore. He’d become so convinced that he was a murderer that he’d begun to think himself as guilty for his father’s and brother’s deaths. But Krystal didn’t see him that way. She’d seen him as innocent and fought even against her father’s will to see him through. Perhaps… Perhaps he wasn’t as bad as he’d begun to think of himself as?

Rallan sighed heavily once again before closing his brown and gold eyes, blocking out the world around him. All he was left with was the soothing sounds of the ocean, the feeling of Krystal’s head upon his chest, and her light breathing as she slept on. Soon, he too joined her in the land of sleep…

Chapter 4

            Life was definitely good for Rallan now. It was late-Autumn and he still had yet to be discovered by Rayne or her cronies, his ex-friends. He had settled down into a peaceful co-existence with the forest, living life happily alongside Krystal. No longer was he terrified of Rayne coming charging over the hill after him. By now, she was more than likely hundreds of miles off-track! Everything was, as it seemed to Rallan, perfect… What more could a wolf ask for? A wonderful home, a beautiful mate, all the time in the world, and finally he had his peace of mind again. But this time, it seemed like it would finally last…

But Rallan was not quite relieved of the burdens and pains of his past. Although he had begun to think of himself less and less as a true criminal and more of a falsely-accused innocent, he was still tormented by his father subconsciously every so often. His nightmares became more and more harmful to Rallan, depriving him of sleep for days in a row sometimes and other times causing him to cease eating in worry. He knew he couldn’t live like this, but every time he’d try to go up against his father, he’d lose in a manner more gruesome than the last! Rallan was seemingly at the end of his rope.

Yet he was far from helpless… Krystal had long since begun to worry about her mate. Ever since he’d awoken one night, whimpering that his father was going to kill him if he slept she’d grown more and more concerned by the day- or more accurately, by the night. This would go on, sometimes twice or thrice in a row! Finally, Krystal couldn’t stand seeing Rallan in so much suffering and distress and knew she had to find some way of helping him with his dilemma.

It was one night in late-Autumn when the solution finally came to her…

“Rallan, what is it your father does to you, exactly?” Krystal asked softly, staring calmly yet seriously at the gray wolf lying before her. It was storming pretty heavily outside, the rain and thunder drowning out everything else outside the den. Rallan glanced up at Krystal and sighed heavily.

“He keeps mocking me, saying I’m pathetic and that I’m a worthless murderer… and then…” Rallan swallowed hard, placing a paw to his throat as if to feel for a wound, “… He kills me…” Krystal sighed heavily and glanced down at her paws for a few moments. Then she looked up at her mate once again.

“When you fight him, Rallan, what do you feel?” she asked, analyzing the puzzled look Rallan gave her, “Like, do you feel angry, or remorseful, or… what are you feeling?” Rallan thought for a long moment. He’d never considered that before! After several minutes of intensive thought, he finally answered.

“I feel… betrayed… I feel like he turned on me, so I want revenge…” he responded, staring at the wall blankly as he recollected his many subconscious engagements with his father, “He keeps saying I’m a murderer, so I attack with the feeling of wanting him to just shut up and leave me alone…” Krystal suddenly got an idea, one she hoped would be the long-awaited solution to his sleeping problem.

“Hold on a moment Rallan. I think I may have found the answer…” Krystal said with a thoughtful look in her eyes, “You say he keeps calling you a murderer, right?”

“Right.”

“And then you attack him then to make him stop…”

“Right…”

“And you attack him feeling vengeful and betrayed, correct?”

“… Yeah…”

“Well there’s your answer!” Krystal exclaimed. Rallan now looked more confused than ever before.

“Um, what’s my answer?” he asked Krystal, clearly lost.

“You attack him vengefully when he calls you a murderer and you lose every time…” Krystal pointed out, a grin slowly spreading across her muzzle, “So the next time he calls you a murderer, don’t attack him with vengeance. You know the truth: that you’re not a murderer… So hit him with that! Attack him not for revenge, but for the truth you were deprived of! Instead of thinking about your own revenge, think about getting the truth from him!”

Rallan was a little uncertain about this plan, but it did have some good logic in it. He still looked uneasy about facing off against his father again though. He let out a long, heavy sigh and lay his head down on his paws, staring at the den wall in front of him. Krystal could see his worry and lay down beside him, gently stroking from his forehead down the back of his neck. Almost immediately, Rallan began to settle.

“Don’t be afraid… I’ll be right here the whole time…” she said softly, encouraging him greatly. Rallan smiled up at Krystal and slowly closed his eyes.

“Thank you, Krystal…” he replied, yawning sleepily, “Well, here goes everything…”

“Show him what you’ve got…” Krystal said softly, getting a gentle murr from Rallan before he went out completely. All the while, Krystal sat beside him, gently stroking him to let him know she was still there…

            Rallan was falling down into an infinite darkness, an abyss which seemed to have absolutely no end to it. After a couple moments of endless descent, his paws finally touched solid ground, but there was nothing there. Just more empty blackness. He looked around, waiting to see the wolf he was determined to defeat. He didn’t know why, but he somehow felt strangely empowered this time around.

“DAD!!!” Rallan shouted out into the dark void, his voice echoing all around him as if he were in a gigantic cave, “I’M BACK!!! COME ON, WHERE ARE YOU?!”

“Looking for me?” came a cold voice from behind him. Rallan gasped softly and spun around, eyes falling upon the gray-pelted form of Typhoon. His father grinned wickedly at him as he slowly advanced toward Rallan. Rallan glared at him and growled, a low snarl forming deep within his throat. Typhoon scoffed and kept up his approach.

“Ooh, scary! Someone seems a lot braver this time!” he remarked tauntingly, “What brought on this burst of valor, hmm?”

“It was the knowledge that this time I will not lose to you!” Rallan snarled and charged Typhoon, colliding with him at maximum force. Typhoon grunted and flew backward, landing on his back and skidding to a halt. Though wounded, he seemed like nothing had happened! He merely got up and shook out his coat.

“Was that your best? Tsk tsk, I thought I trained you better than that, Rallan…” Typhoon said in his chastising voice once again, “Perhaps it’s time for another lesson… Watch and learn…”

Typhoon growled viciously as he charged Rallan, leaping forward and clamping his jaws onto the wolf’s shoulder. Rallan yelped as Typhoon brought him down to the ground, then released him and jumped backward. Rallan grimaced as the sharp pain shot through his body, getting up a little uneasily at first. He glared lethally at Typhoon and growled back as he rushed forward, ready to attack him once again…

Krystal watched with worry as Rallan growled and tossed about in his sleep. Something was going on with him inside his subconscious mind, but she had no way of knowing what it was. As soon as Rallan let out a yelp of pain, Krystal nearly shook him awake, but stopped herself. This is something Rallan has to deal with… she told herself over and over, simply stroking Rallan’s body gently as he slept…

Typhoon grunted as he fell backward, four long marks across his muzzle where Rallan had managed to get a slice in on him. His torso and shoulders were bruised a bit, but nothing serious yet. He got up, glaring and smirking at his son.

“Wow, you really have gotten rusty, son!” Typhoon mocked, “Maybe a familiar scene will bring back some of your old strength back to you!”

Rallan suddenly felt the invisible ground beneath him disappear and once again he was free-falling. Typhoon had also begun falling, heading down the endless black to wherever he had chosen. Rallan had no choice but to go with it, so he just let himself fall, wondering where he’d end up. After a few minutes, he saw a patch of navy-colored ground beneath him and the two wolves landed in a nighttime clearing, dense forest surrounding them. Rallan gasped as he recognized the scene again. It was where Typhoon and Varim had been killed.

“You have a sick sense of humor, Dad…” Rallan said scornfully, his glare matching the tone of his voice, “Why don’t you go back to wherever you wound up dead?”

“I am dead, Rallan… This is just my subconscious form…” Typhoon corrected, smirking cruelly, “And as long as you can’t control how you feel about this moment, you’ll never win… I’ll haunt you forever, until the day you die…”

Rallan didn’t even have time to react as Typhoon rammed him full-speed into a tree. He cried out in pain and collapsed to the ground. Typhoon grabbed Rallan’s neck in his powerful jaws and tossed him backwards into the center of the clearing. Before the young gray wolf could get up again, Typhoon leapt forward and slammed down forcefully onto his son’s back, knocking him down to the ground hard. Rallan lay there, whimpering softly as Typhoon continued his assault, slicing and biting his torso until he had barely any strength left. He had been right… Rallan couldn’t win…

In the real world, things had also begun to look bad for Rallan. His breathing had become heavier and he was tossing about less, a sure-sign that he was losing. Krystal began to worry even more, now licking his muzzle and cheek tenderly.

“Please don’t give in, Rallan… You can beat him…” she whispered into his ear, “It’s your mind, not his…”

“It’s your mind, not his…”

These words echoed through Rallan’s head. It was Krystal’s voice, and suddenly he realized what they meant and what he was supposed to do. Typhoon snickered darkly as he came closer to Rallan with the intent to kill him once again.

“Any last words, murderer?” he asked in a snide voice. Rallan’s eyes slowly opened and he glared up at Typhoon.

“I’m not… a murderer…” he managed to say. Typhoon chuckled.

“Yes you are…”

“No, I’m not! I only think I am because you keep telling me I am!” Rallan snapped back, watching as his father’s confident, snide look vanished from his face, “You only keep beating me cause I believed I was a murderer… But I’m not! I know I’m not, Krystal knows I’m not, and that’s all that maters to me!”

Typhoon scowled, looking as if he’d just been slapped across the face. Rallan growled lowly and slowly and weakly rose up to his paws again. A more determined look gleamed in his eyes as he stood against his father once more.

“You don’t even exist! You’re dead! This is only how I see you!” Rallan realized, smirking slightly, “I kept thinking you thought I was a murderer and you kept telling me I was! In other words, you’re doing exactly as I say and feel!”

Once more, Typhoon scowled, glaring now as well. He took a few uneasy steps backward, suddenly looking weaker than before. Rallan took this to his advantage and began his advance on his father.

“And another thing, I don’t regret what I did to you! You were a terrible father to me and to Varim! You deserved what happened to you!” Once more, Typhoon looked weaker, “And you’re only afraid of letting me know this is because it’s true… You only thrived because I was afraid… But now I’m in control again and you’re no longer welcome…”

With that last sentence, Typhoon grunted lowly and fell to the ground. He panted heavily and glanced up at Rallan who now loomed overhead, glaring down at him. Typhoon opened his muzzle to say something, but Rallan wasn’t about to let him get anything in to make him lose. He quickly forced his father down and bit into his throat again, pulling back quickly and watching as his father’s body vanished in a cloud of smoke.

“Goodbye, father…” Rallan said lowly, “Don’t bother me again…” And then Rallan lost himself to a blindingly bright light…

Rallan grunted and coughed as he slowly came around, eyes flickering open slowly. Everything was a blur to him at first, but after letting his eyes adjust for a few moments, he could see Krystal staring down at him, a hopeful look on her face. Rallan smiled up at her, triumph shining in his eyes as he said,

“I think I’ll be sleeping a lot better from now on…” And with that, Rallan fell asleep again to rest up from all the nights he’d missed…

            Before anyone knew it, winter had rolled around again. The days got shorter, the air got considerably cooler, and Rallan and Krystal both got their fluffy winter coats. The first snowfall was rather late in the winter, occurring a couple days after Rallan’s birthday in mid-Winter. Rallan often sat out atop one of the nearby hills, just watching the forest around him. Without all the birds around, things had gotten rather quiet, and there was something serene to the white-covered forest. All that could be heard was the gentle blowing of the wind and the snowflakes falling gradually down to earth. This was the time of year Rallan loved the most because of its tranquility.

The nostalgic quiet of the world sent Rallan back… back in his life to times before now… How had this all started? He and Rayne had been best friends as small pups and now as adults they were the bitterest of enemies! The Lylrite Pack, so loyal to him and so vindictive… And Varim… Oh, Varim… The memories brought a few tears to Rallan’s eyes, which fell softly down from his muzzle to cut little holes in the undisturbed snow beneath him. Rallan closed his eyes slowly, trying to keep back from breaking down as more memories came back to him. Now his life reflected to him. His mother, brother, and father were dead, several other wolves were dead, his sister was hunting him to the ends of the Earth, and here he was, mated to Krystal in a place he could only have dreamed of…

Behind him, Rallan heard the soft crunching of pawsteps and sighed softly when he felt a muzzle gently run through the thick fur on his neck. He didn’t need to look or sniff the air to tell who it was. It was pretty obvious to him by now.

“Krystal…” Rallan said softly, closing his eyes as she nuzzled him again, “I’m always happy whenever you’re nearby…” Krystal giggled softly and licked his cheek affectionately.

“Well Rallan, I have a bit of a surprise for you…” Krystal said softly, “But you’re going to have to wait a bit to find out what it is…” Rallan smirked and opened his eyes again to gaze into hers.

“That just makes the surprise all the more worth-while to have to wait for…” he replied wittily, licking her nose before standing up, “I’m sure the surprise will be worth it all in the end for me, won’t it?”

“Oh believe me Rallan, it will…” Krystal replied as they began walking back toward their den, her tail curling around his, “It will…”

            Snow was kicked up behind him as he ran. The light brown wolf was panting heavily, running as fast as he could. He was already late as it was and he was surely going to have to explain himself for this one! At this point, he just hoped his tardiness wouldn’t get him exiled, or worse- killed! But they can’t do that to me, they need me! They need what I know! he thought to himself, grinning at the thought of the information he had held within his mind. Soon he came to a halt in a clearing where three other wolves lay. They glared at him, particularly a gray and white female.

“You’re late, Drake… Very much so… You’d better have a good explanation for this…” the female said coldly.

“I do… You see, I got held up at the river, because it was frozen, but the ice wasn’t very thick, so I-”

“I don’t care! Just tell me, do you have anything to report?”

“Yes I do, Lady Rayne… I found him… I found your brother…” Drake replied with a victorious grin, “He’s just to the west of here, five days travel, maybe less if we hurry!”

Rayne sat in silent thought for a moment. At last, they had Rallan. To the west was nothing but ocean, so he couldn’t run anywhere if he didn’t know they were coming. She turned her gaze back to Drake, her eyes dead-serious, as they usually were.

“Did he see you at all? Him or whoever he was with?” Rayne asked. When Drake shook his head no, Rayne went back to her thoughts. This could all work out perfectly… If she had Drake, Hunter, and Valley all go in at once, they might be able to kill him, or at least flush him out toward a trap, where she’d lie in wait- yes, that’d be perfect! And it could all work! Presuming she had the time to set it all up…”

“Alright, this is the plan… We’re going to get Rallan this time… Drake, I want you to take Hunter and Valley to wherever he is and engage him there… If you can’t kill him, at least push him back to the ocean… Get him no matter what!” she ordered, “You three go on ahead and I’ll catch up to you in an hour or two…”

Without any question needed to be asked, Drake, Hunter, and Valley nodded before turning to the west and bolting off. Rayne waited until they were out of sight before sighing heavily. She knew that Rallan would be her toughest challenge yet and she wanted to be prepared for him. She stood in a basic battle stance, facing off against a snow-covered pine tree.

“Always keep your eyes on your enemy… Balance your weight… Wait for an opening…” Rayne repeated to herself, going over her combat training she’d gotten both from Captain and some from her father, “Find their weakness… Analyze… Strike!”

As a blur of motion, Rayne shot forward and sliced the trunk of the tree. Four deep marks were left in the thick bark. Rayne sighed softly, watching her breath turn into a cloud before evaporating in front of her. Her ice-blue eyes turned out toward the west as she glared with determination.

“Get ready Rallan…” Rayne said softly into the wind, her voice as cold as the air around her, “It’s time to end all of this, once and for all…”

            Three days later, Rallan had begun to detect hints as to what Krystal’s ‘surprise’ for him was. Over the days, she’d become a lot more flirtatious and spent practically all of her time with him now, beside him every single second of the day. At first Rallan had thought that she was just teasing and playing around with him, but as this behavior progressed into its second and then third day, he began to wonder if this was a game at all…

On the fourth day of this, Rallan had begun to wonder what had been going on with Krystal. He’d managed to slip away for a bit under the ruse of going for a drink. Instead he’d taken a long walk through the snowy woods, pondering what was going on. After a long while of debate and decipher, Rallan came down to only one possibility- and it was the exact time for that theory to be in effect. It was mating season…

That’s what’s been going on with Krystal! Rallan thought, mentally beating himself up for not realizing it sooner, So then what is that surprise of hers? Unless it’s… Before he had time to complete that thought, Rallan had stumbled across their den again. Standing just at the mouth of the den was Krystal. Rallan heaved a sigh and approached her, nuzzling her in an affectionate greeting.

“Krystal… I know what’s been going on with you…” Rallan said slowly, still not sure of what he was going to say. But Krystal stopped him, covering his muzzle with her paw to cease his speaking for a moment.

“I knew you would sooner or later, Rally… You’re smart, plus it’s only instinct for you to notice…” Krystal replied, smiling slightly to him, “… I kinda have something I want to ask you… But I don’t know how to say it…” Rallan moved Krystal’s paw aside so he could respond to her.

“Krystal, you can tell me anything you want to…” Rallan said reassuringly, smiling lovingly at his beloved mate, “Now, what was it you wanted to ask me? If you can’t think of a better way, just say it as plainly as you want…” Krystal hesitated for a few moments, blushing slightly.

“Rallan, I…” she started, looking up into his brown eyes, “I… I wanted to know… if you wanted to start a family…” Now Rallan was taken completely aback. He didn’t know what to say, let alone how to react to those words! He just stood in stunned silence, blinking a couple of times to make sure he wasn’t dreaming.

“Y-you want to start a family? With me?” Rallan asked, still completely dumbfounded and shocked beyond belief, “Krystal, I… I don’t know what to say to that… I mean, I’d love to! I just… I…” Krystal could see Rallan was clearly confused and licked his nose.

“I know… I’m nervous too, but… You mean so much to me… I really want this… so long as you do too…” Krystal said somewhat timidly, still blushing a light shade of pink. Rallan’s mind finally caught up with the moment and he sighed softly, smiling sweetly at Krystal.

“If you do, Krystal, then I do too…” he replied softly, nuzzling her neck gently, “I am nervous… But so long as I’m with you, I have nothing to be afraid of…” Krystal beamed widely and nuzzled Rallan back, kissing him gently before motioning to the den, a grin on her muzzle.

“Come on… I think we have plenty of time…” she said, walking in, shortly followed by her mate.

A couple days later, Rallan was lying inside his den with Krystal. The beautiful female wolf lay nestled in his loving embrace, a smile on her face. He smiled back at her, unable to recall a time he’d been so happy in his entire life! Rayne had pretty much vanished into thin air and now he and Krystal were most likely going to be parents within a couple months! Finally, Rallan was able to relax, content with his new life and the fact that everything was going to be perfect from here on out…

“Rallan…” It was Krystal’s voice. Rallan slowly opened his eyes and glanced down into hers.

“Yes Krystal?” he asked softly. She licked his muzzle and sighed softly.

“Thank you…” Krystal said quietly, snuggling up against Rallan’s body, “… for everything…” Rallan smiled joyously and sighed softly.

“You’re welcome, Krystal… Thank you for helping me get my life back to happiness…” he replied. Everything was silent for a long while, even everything outside seemed dead-silent. Another thing Rallan loved about the wintertime. Slowly, Rallan groaned wearily as he stood up, shaking off his pelt and heading toward the entrance. He glanced up at the sky; dark clouds loomed overhead, signaling the coming snowstorm.

“I’m going for a drink… I’ll be back shortly, sweetheart…” Rallan stated, stepping out into the cold air, padding softly through the pure-white snow as snowflakes began to lightly head toward the ground. Krystal sighed softly and closed her eyes, nearly falling asleep from the remaining warmth of the den.

Not much longer after Rallan had departed, three wolves came over the low hill, hidden by the shadows of the trees surrounding the area. Down below them was a den, the scent of their target clearly emanating from within. The trio glared at it, silently sneaking down and surrounding the entrance.

“Alright, I’ll go in and get him out… Then you two jump him…” Drake said lowly, moving silently inside the den. Inside he saw not Rallan, but Krystal. He sneered a bit, frustrated that their target wasn’t here, but suddenly got a cruel, malicious idea. Krystal’s nose twitched slightly and her eyes slowly opened.

“Rallan?” she asked softly, staring at the sleep-blurred figure, then gasping when she saw who it was, “Drake! H-how did you get here?!” Drake chuckled darkly.

“Krystal? Well, isn’t this a surprise… I wondered what had happened to you after you ran away… But helping this traitor wasn’t one of my expected actions you’d take…” Drake stated, “But it doesn’t matter… Rayne’s orders were to get Rallan no matter what… And I think I know just how to bring him to us…” Drake chuckled again as he advanced on Krystal…

Rallan sighed heavily as he finally spotted the river. Why did this have to be situated so far north from the den? he thought to himself, walking up to the edge of the water. As he lapped up the cool water, he heard something overhead. Crows. He glanced up at them. They were flying north, away from the den. That’s odd… I passed that flock on the way up here… Why’d they just suddenly move? Rallan thought uneasily. Almost as soon as he’d thought that, a howl of terror and pain echoed across the forest. Rallan’s head shot up immediately as he recognized whose voice that was.

“Krystal!” Rallan shouted, turning right around and bolting as fast as he could through the forest, back south to their den. Something was terribly wrong, he could tell. Again, the same howl came, but this time it sounded weaker than before. Faster… Gotta go faster… Rallan thought over and over, forcing himself to go as fast as his body could possibly manage. While it had taken him ten minutes to walk north, it only took him three to run south.

Rallan darted past a thicket of pine trees and pushed his way out into the clearing where the den was- and froze in his tracks at the sight before him. Pawprints were scuffled out across the snow showing an evident struggle had taken place, the snow was splattered red in some places, and lying several feet from the mouth of the den was Krystal, a pool of deep crimson blood formed beneath her. Rallan’s blood ran cold through his veins, his heart pounding fearfully as he slowly approached the downed form of his mate.

“Krystal?” he called out to her softly, his voice barely audible from the fright, “Krystal? Can you hear me?” He finally made it to her body, able to see the severity of her wounds now. She’d suffered deep bites to her torso and chest, her muzzle was scratched up terribly, and she looked as if she’d lost most of her blood. It looked like she was going to die…

“Krystal, please move… Do something… Just let me know you’re alive…” Rallan begged, tears swiftly forming in the corners of his gold eyes, “Please Krystal… Wake up…”

Just as Rallan had been about to give up all hope, Krystal coughed, barely but she certainly did. Her amber eyes flickered open slowly, though they were glassy and looked distant as she stared up weakly at him. Rallan’s breathing froze for a moment as she stirred.

“R-Rallan? Is… that you?” Krystal asked softly, her voice choked and so soft. Rallan smiled and chuckled weakly.

“Yeah Krystal… it’s me… I’m here…” he replied, nuzzling her gently, “Everything’s going to be alright…” Krystal shivered, coughing once again.

“I-I’m… so… cold…” Krystal struggled to say. Rallan licked her cheek tenderly and sighed heavily, his voice coming out in short, raspy gasps reflected by his tears.

“Krystal… What happened?” Rallan asked quietly. Krystal lay, still, staring up at Rallan apologetically.

“They… came for you…” she explained vaguely, “I wouldn’t… tell them… So they, they… attacked me… I’m sorry, Rallan…” Rallan shushed her and gingerly stroked her cheek repeatedly.

“You have nothing to be sorry for, Krystal… You did nothing wrong… You couldn’t let me down…” Rallan whispered, praying that Krystal would survive, not ready to accept the fact that she might die, “You’re the best wolf in the world, Krystal… You saved me… You gave me my life back and made me whole… You could never do anything wrong…” Tears now flowed freely down Rallan’s muzzle, landing in the snow and making holes in the white powder. Krystal smiled weakly, her eyes dimming.

“I… love… you… Rallan…” Krystal whispered, then lay still. Her chest failed to rise again and she didn’t blink or say another word or make another motion. Rallan felt his heart wrench and fall straight down into his stomach.

“Krystal? No Krystal, don’t go…” he begged softly, his voice shaky as he nudged Krystal’s body gently, “Don’t die, Krystal… You can’t die… You can’t…”

And Rallan broke down. He collapsed beside Krystal, burying his face in her soft pelt and sobbing uncontrollably. Tears of the strongest sorrow cascaded from his golden lupine eyes and his body trembled lightly as he wept. Once more, Rallan felt as if his life had been torn down to the ground, but this time he couldn’t take it anymore. He had everything he could ever want and now it was gone… Gone… From behind Rallan, someone approached him, chuckling evilly.

“I was wondering when you’d finally show up…” the wolf said, the voice Rallan recognized as Drake’s, “You know, it took long enough before she finally gave in, but she still refused to tell us where you were… She must’ve really loved you…” Rallan felt his tears cease to fall and slowly lifted his head up, not bothering to turn to face Drake as he listened to him.

“She was some fighter… She kept going at us, even when she’d easily lost the fight… And then she went down and stayed down, right there, just like that…” Drake continued, relaying the fight to Rallan just to break him down even more, “I thought it would be easy to break her, but it wasn’t… But every wolf has his or her limit… and Krystal finally reached hers…”

“You… did this to her?” Rallan asked emotionlessly, feeling completely blank inside, “You attacked her? You… killed her?”

“Surprised? You really shouldn’t, Rallan…” Drake said snidely, “Well, she’s dead and there’s nothing you can do about it… Rayne actually gave us the green light to kill her, more or less… just like she gave us the green light to kill you… And that’s just what we’re gonna do…” At those words, Hunter and Valley came out into the open to join Drake behind Rallan.

“Rayne… let you do this…” Rallan repeated, letting the information sink into his mind, “You… Hunter… Valley… killed Krystal…”

“Oh, but before we kill you, I want to let you know one thing…” Drake said, bending down and whispering in Rallan’s ear, “Krystal was some fun to watch as she died…”

That was the final push Rallan needed. His eyes shot open and narrowed viciously, so many emotions running through him at once: fury, bloodlust, sorrow, vengeful desires consuming his will. With a roar of rage, Rallan spun around and pounded his claws into Drake’s muzzle. The sheer force of the blow sent Drake sprawling sideways, four deep cuts making up the length from his left ear down to his nose. He yelped as the stinging pain burned through his face and head, a sudden dizziness setting in, but it quickly cleared. Rallan slowly rose to his paws, breathing heavily as he fumed out his anger and turned to face his opponents, eyes burning with a revenge-fueled fire.

“Kill him!” Drake shouted as he got back up.

Hunter rushed him, leaping to tackle him, but Rallan sidestepped him easily and Hunter fell flat on his face. The next to try for him was Valley, a lot more agile than Hunter had been. He managed to get a bite in on Rallan’s shoulder, but being weaker than Hunter it barely did anything to faze Rallan. The gray wolf growled and grabbed Valley by his scruff, tossing him sideways and into Hunter as he was rising up again, both wolves now sprawled out on the ground. The only unfazed one left now was Drake, the most balanced of the trio.

Rallan now faced off against Drake, growled lowly at his former friend. The two wolves circled one another for a short period before Drake lunged for Rallan’s leg. However his opponent was smarter and lifted his paw in time, bringing it down square on the top of the light-brown wolf’s head and slamming him hard into the snowy ground. Rallan was then knocked aside as a heavy force rammed his side, sending him rolling twice in the snow before landing on 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, but he was moving too quickly and skidded off the edge of the cliff, rear half dangling over as his forelegs gripped the cliff for his life.

“Damn it!” Hunter cursed, glancing down at the rocks down below him, “I fall, and I’m through!” As he glanced up, he saw Rallan standing there, gold and brown eyes glaring judgmentally down at him.

“Rallan!” he exclaimed, a pleading look in his eyes, “Please help me… Please…” But Rallan didn’t move. He just stood there for a bit, glaring down as his former friend and current enemy hung on for his own survival. His eyes were cold, a vengeful fire burning within them. Such a look sent chills even down Hunter’s spine as he gazed up into them, for once in his life actually fearing Rallan’s power and skill. However he thought it would end, Rallan grabbed Hunter, wrapping his paws around the wolf’s neck to help hold him up. Hunter sighed with relief.

“Thank God! I thought I was gonna die for a second there!” Hunter said, relief filling his voice, “Thanks Rallan… I was sure I was gonna fall…”

“You’re not gonna fall just like that Hunter… No, you’re going to fall because of me… Because of all you’ve done to me…” Rallan said, his voice starting out warm, then getting colder as he went on, “Goodbye Hunter…” Before the wolf had a chance to plead like Valley had, Rallan moved his paws from his neck to his shoulders and gave a strong shove. Hunter’s grip came loose and he fell down, crying out in fear as he fell, his voice dying out into silence as his body hit the rocks and he died immediately. Rallan glared down at the body of his friend far below before turning and gazing back into the forest.

“Two down, one to go, Drake…” he muttered darkly before sprinting off into the cold winter forest.

Drake grunted softly as he fell down into another deep snow bank. Everywhere he seemed to step, he seemed to fall in a pile of snow! And he still had yet to find Rallan! What only made matters worse was that Hunter and Valley seemed to be having bad luck as well, since not one of them had howled to let him know they’d found Rallan! Did he just disappear into thin air?! he thought angrily to himself, trudging onwards. Finally he got to a part in the forest where the land leveled out, the snow not so deep anymore. But where on Earth was Rallan?!

From the edge of the forest all the way through to where Drake was, a gray-pelted wolf rushed, following tracks and scents of his enemy to guide him along. Having lived here for half a year, he knew the forest like the back of his paw and it didn’t take him very long to catch up. He finally came across him, padding along through the woods, alone and looking quite aggravated. This would be fun…

“WHERE ARE YOU RALLAN, YOU COWARD?!” Drake shouted out into the forest, his voice echoing around him, “WHERE ARE YOU?!”

“Right here, Drake…” came the voice of Rallan. Drake gasped and spun around as a gray blur ran at him, tearing through his left shoulder as it ran by him, then vanished into the forest again. Drake cried out in pain and nearly fell to the snow, his blood dripping down his leg. Fiery pains burned through him from the wound, making him wince and whine softly in agony. His hazel eyes darted left and right as he looked for the wolf again.

“Rallan?” Drake asked, raising his voice a little more, “Rallan?”

“Right here, Drake…” Again, behind him. This time, Drake didn’t turn around, hoping Rallan wouldn’t attack him this time.

“Rallan… So I found you, huh?” he asked, not even daring to glance backward yet.

“I guess you have…” Rallan said, his voice as cold as ice, “Lucky you…” Before Drake could even consider turning around, Rallan ran forward and bit down hard onto Drake’s right hind leg. Drake yelped loudly in pain and fell down to the snow, not even noticing the gray animal rush back into the woods. He whimpered lowly to himself, struggling to get up to his paws again. Not hesitating any longer, he let out a howl calling for assistance for Hunter or Valley. All around him, he could hear Rallan’s laugh echo.

“Howl all you want, but no one will come…” Rallan’s voice said, seemingly coming from everywhere around Drake, scaring the wolf even further, “They’re both dead… They were lucky like you and found me too… But then again, that made them unlucky, didn’t it? Then I guess it’s unlucky for you too…”

Fear now coursing through Drake, he knew if Rallan kept this up he’d surely win. I need to get an advantage… Close-quarters, maybe… Drake thought, glancing around quickly. His eyes fell across a cave not too far off. Without a second thought, he ran as best he could to the cave, limping slightly on his hind leg. Surprisingly, Drake reached the cave without any further trouble from his foe, panting heavily as he wandered further into the cave. The cave was huge and filled with winding paths made by ice walls. The density of the ice wouldn’t allow seeing through it well, but reflected his image all over the place.

Drake continued to walk on, ears pricked high to pick up even the slightest noise. As he walked on, he glanced around, looking for a good place to hide for a while. But as he moved on, he saw someone standing in front of him. A gray-pelted male wolf with a white muzzle and underside, a furious glare on his face. Rallan! Drake growled lowly and leapt at him- only to crash into a wall of solid ice. He groaned in agony as he slowly got up, watching Rallan’s many reflections moving around the labyrinth of frozen water. After a few moments of wandering about, he came to a circular room surrounded on all sides by more ice. He sighed heavily; perhaps Rallan wouldn’t find him here…

But those hopes were dashed as he saw Rallans all over the place again. He yelped in surprise and backed up against a wall, waiting to feel the cold touch of the ice against his back. But instead felt a warm, furry surface.

“Rallan!” Drake cried out just before the wolf placed a paw to his throat and slammed him hard against the ground.

“Hello Drake… Miss me?” Rallan hissed out viciously, eyes burning with the desire for revenge. Drake was shocked and terrified. He’d never, ever seen Rallan like this before! He was completely uncontrollable, driven by a bloodlust and a thirst for vengeance. He looked and acted like a wolf with nothing left to lose. Drake gasped out for air, choking as he struggled for survival. His legs kicked about and he tried to push Rallan away, but the wolf held firm. He wasn’t about to let him go until he saw the life jerk out of him.

But Drake got lucky and scored a direct kick into Rallan’s unguarded stomach. Rallan grunted as the air was knocked out of him and released Drake, doubling over on the ground as he slowly got up. Rallan rose to his paws again and growled ferociously at his opponent. Drake growled back; now that he was facing off against Rallan in an even setting, he didn’t feel as intimidated by him as he had before.

“So Rallan, you’ve begun using guerilla tactics for fighting, hmm?” he asked patronizingly. Rallan snapped his jaws at him, still growling consistently.

“Only when I knew I’d be fighting someone as unjust as you, Drake…” he snapped back heatedly, “How could you be so heartless as to kill an innocent wolf?”

“Who, you mean Krystal?” he asked in his same taunting voice, “She wasn’t so innocent… She’d degraded herself to helping out a lowlife exiled criminal… AKA, you…”

“She helped out an innocent wolf… She was my mate, my mate!” Rallan snarled, white fangs glistening violently as his eyes pierced Drake’s head, “How could you just harm such a perfect creature? She’d never do anything to harm anyone! She was an example of how a wolf should live and you took her life away… You sick, disgusting savage!” Drake scoffed at Rallan.

“Do you listen to yourself half the time? God, you sound so weak! So foolish! Only an imbecile would give a damn about a criminal’s love-life!” Drake argued back, then got a wicked grin, “Oh, and by the way, I enjoyed killing her… I savored every second, knowing just how much it would hurt you…” Rallan froze in his tracks, his growling stopping and every part of his body freezing in place. Drake laughed evilly at Rallan. He’d apparently struck a cord deep in Rallan’s heart.

“It was so amusing, listening to her call your name desperately… At least, until I stopped her…” he continued, “She kept calling for you in vain… Up until I sank my fangs into her throat… And you know what else? I regret nothing…” That was the final straw in Rallan’s life. His growling resumed, but at a much fiercer level than before. His eyes looked as cold and as emotionless as a murderer’s.

“You bastard…” Rallan spat out before launching himself at Drake. The two wolves collided and rolled about on the floor for a while. Finally, Rallan got the advantage and landed on top of Drake, biting into the wolf’s right shoulder. Drake shouted out in pain before managing to force Rallan off of him. Drake returned the attack, bringing his claws down across Rallan’s muzzle and leaving four deep cuts from his cheek down to his nose. Rallan yelped sharply, but quickly turned and leapt onto Drake’s back. Rallan bit into Drake’s back over and over again, leaving six deep bite wounds when Drake eventually managed to slam Rallan back into a wall of ice.

Rallan was feeling rather weak and tired after having fought off three wolves now, but Drake was feeling even weaker. After all that taunting to get Rallan’s guard down, all he’d seemed to be able to do was antagonize him and get him to fight harder and stronger than before! As Drake turned to face Rallan, he saw the gray wolf collapsed on his side, panting heavily after being thrown into a sheet of solid ice. Drake knew this might be his only chance for victory and advanced on Rallan, getting closer and closer until he was within striking range.

But Drake’s glorious moments were all used up. As he went to sink a fatal blow into Rallan’s neck, the wolf glanced up and saw him, reacting quickly and grabbing his neck in his jaws instead. A fresh wave of adrenaline coursed through his bloodstream as he now held the horrified Drake within his jaws. His lust for revenge flamed up again and he roared with fury as he twisted his body sideways, smashing Drake’s skull into the walls of ice. Drake made no sounds and his body went limp in Rallan’s maw. Rallan released Drake and glanced down at his enemy. Drake was still awake and alive, but his breathing was heavy and his eyes looked hazy, as if he were about to pass out. Blood trickled down his head from where he’d impacted with the ice. There was no doubt about it. The fight was finished.

“This is for Krystal…” Rallan declared victoriously as he bent down towards Drake. The brown wolf didn’t even offer any resistance whatsoever as Rallan took his throat in his jaws and bit down hard, ending his life. Rallan held him there for a few moments, waiting to make sure he’d finished the job before letting him go and gazing down at the beaten, blood-stained body of his former friend. Though he felt no remorse in killing him for what he’d done, a lone tear fell down his cheek. Although they’d been his enemies, two years ago, those three wolves had been his best friends.

“I’m sorry…” Rallan whispered before turning and walking back out, navigating his way through the cave out into the forest. He slowly looked around the white-covered woods, sighing heavily. He slowly turned back to where his den was located and began to walk off. None would have guessed that this forest, as peaceful as it was now, had just played host to one of the most ferocious and gruesome battles between four former friends…

            Rallan slowly stepped out into the clearing where his den was located. Everything still remained the same as it was before, although now the light snowfall that had begun a while ago had covered Krystal’s body in a thin layer of powdery white. Rallan slowly walked toward the still corpse of the wolf he loved so much and once he reached her, he gingerly brushed the snow off of her before holding her in his arms once again.

“It’s over now, Krystal… They’re gone… You don’t have to worry about me anymore… I’m safe…” Rallan said softly, tears forming in his eyes as he spoke to Krystal, “I know you wanted to protect me… You did for so long, Krystal… I savored every moment we spent together… It was so great to see you again… I just…” Rallan shut his eyes, keeping them closed for several moments. When he reopened them, his tears ran down his muzzle.

“I just wished that I could have protected you… the way you protected me… I just wish I could have saved you so we could have been happy, so we could have that family we wanted…” he continued, his voice beginning to shake with sorrow, “I… I’m sorry, Krystal… You were… always there for me, when I needed you… But I wasn’t here for you… when you needed me… I’m sorry… I’m so sorry…”

With those words, Rallan broke down. He buried his face into Krystal’s soft chest, sobbing uncontrollably. He had felt alone in life before, but now he felt as if his life had been torn apart and left in little shreds, a great abyss now where everything else had been before. With every tear that he cried, Rallan desperately wished that Krystal would come back. That this would all be some sick kind of nightmare and it would all go back to normal, like it was… But this was no dream. Krystal wasn’t coming back.

“I loved you Krystal, and I always will… Till the day I die and everyday beyond that… I’ll be with you soon, my love… I swear to you… I won’t leave you alone… I promise…” he whispered, his weeping finally beginning to subside enough for him to speak coherently. He then dragged Krystal back into her den, lying her body out on their grass bedding. Rallan leaned over and kissed Krystal for one last time before turning and stepping outside.

“I’ll be with you soon, my love… I promise…” Rallan repeated one more time, “I just have to take care of one last thing…”

With those final few words he’d ever speak to Krystal, Rallan turned toward the east. That was where Drake, Hunter, and Valley had come from. That was where Rayne had to be. With a defiant, determined glare to that direction, Rallan began his final march against his greatest antagonist.

“Rayne…..” Rallan said to himself, his words being carried off by the wind which grew stronger every minute as the snowfall got heavier, “Here I come…”

Chapter 5

            The form of the damaged, degenerate wolf walked slowly through the forest. The snow had begun to fall heavier by the minute and the wind seemed to gain strength from his rage and his sorrow. A snowstorm was coming, and fast, there was no doubt about that. But his mind wasn’t set on finding shelter or cover from the imminent blizzard. All he cared about was finding his mortal enemy and ending this blood feud, once and for all. His eyes were as cold as the wind whipping around him, his gaze like steel as he progressed eastward through the forest. Every so often he’d stop and howl out to her, leading her along.

All around him, all he could hear was the wind’s sharp cries as it blew gales of snow throughout the forest. His instincts told him to get out of the storm, but his mind had already been made up. He’d either live to see tomorrow or he’d die today. As he stepped through the thickening snow, howling to lead his enemy to their battle location, voices filled his mind, vocal memories finding their way back to him.

“Krystal, I want you to promise me one thing…”

It was his own voice. He had been sitting beside Krystal, watching the sunset over the western ocean.

“If Rayne comes, I don’t want you to stay around… I want you to run… Run and don’t look back…”

He continued to push onward, the wind now offering quite a bit of resistance to his movements. But he wouldn’t be hindered. He wouldn’t be delayed. He wouldn’t be stopped. For he had nothing to stop for…

“No Rallan, I won’t do that…”

That look she had given him, it was one of devotion, of loyalty. Of love.

“Why not?”

He stepped through another barrier of snow, the wind beginning to die down a little bit. He’d reached the eye of the storm- as well as his destination. He looked around. This was definitely it. He was standing at a cliff at the edge of the forest, snow covering everything and every inch of ground. A huge drop led off the edge of the cliff. As he peered down the edge, he could see nothing but pure white. This was it… This was where he’d either be made or broken…

“Because I love you too much…”

The words brought tears to his eyes once more. Everything had seemed perfect… Why did this have to happen? He closed his eyes, not wanting to cry again. He’d shed enough tears for his lifetime. It was time for the final confrontation with all he hated, feared, and loved. Raising his muzzle to the heavens, he let forth one final howl to his enemy, letting her know where he was… It was time to end this…

Minutes passed as slow as physically possible, it seemed. He waited, waited, waited… Waiting for the enemy he’d hated for a long year now. She’d been the cause of all his trouble when he’d been happy. She’d been the instigator for 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, knowing she was the winner here.

“Rallan, surrender and admit to your crime and I’ll end your pain, swiftly so you don’t feel a thing…” Rayne offered, shaking her head slowly, “It’s over… Don’t put yourself through anymore pain… Just admit to what you did and it’ll all be done with…” Once more, Rallan shook his head in the negative, this time much weaker than before.

“No Rayne… I won’t…” Rallan replied as best he could, his voice hoarse and scratchy, “I can’t… because I never killed Varim… and Dad was killed in self-defense…”

Rayne stood there in stunned silence. Even when he was knocking on Death’s door, Rallan still stood by that as the truth of the matter. Something was amiss here. If there was one thing Rayne had always found true, was that dying wolves never spoke falsely. She blinked a couple of times, unsure of what to say. As she took a step closer to Rallan, a cracking noise could be heard. Both Rallan and Rayne looked around before they both glanced down at the ground. The snowy ledge Rallan was standing on had split off from the cliff! Rayne gave Rallan a startled look and he returned it just before it broke apart and Rallan went tumbling off the edge into the abyss of white far below.

“Rallan!” Rayne shouted out, watching as he vanished into the whiteness. She quickly glanced around, finding a few ledges at the side of the cliff that wound downward to the bottom. Hurriedly, she made her way to the bottom of the cliff, searching around for her brother.

“Rallan!” Rayne called out, searching about desperately, “Rallan!”

From a few feet away, a weak cough was heard. Rayne gasped and spun toward the source of the sound, gasping even more when she saw what made the noise. It was Rallan. He lay pinned beneath the snow that he’d fallen on, a small pool of blood formed beneath him from the impact he’d made with the ground. Rayne quickly rushed up to him, no longer seeing him as a mortally wounded criminal, but as her dying brother.

“Rallan… Please, say something… Anything…” Rayne said softly, trying to dig him out as fast as she could.

“Stop…” came a croaky, weak voice from Rallan. His eyes slowly opened as he glanced up at his younger sister, the lustrous glow dimming within them. A thin trail of blood ran down the side of his muzzle, showing that he was wounded both externally and internally. There was no hope for him now.

“Rallan, you… you weren’t lying when you said you were innocent…” Rayne said softly, “You really didn’t do anything wrong, did you? And I hunted you down like some kind of savage animal… Rallan, I… I’m so sorry… My ignorance did this… I don’t deserve to be Alphess of the Lylrite Pack… I don’t even deserve to live!”

“Rayne….. Shut up…..” Rallan said softly, just to quiet her down for a bit, “Don’t speak like that… You’ll be… a fine Alphess… You deserve… everything you have… It was my destiny to end like this… like it’s your destiny… to keep on leading our pack… Go home, Rayne… And let everyone know that I was innocent… Let them know… what really happened… And let then know… what happened to me…”

“Rallan, please forgive me… I’ve been horrible to you… I just… Oh, I just wish there was some way I could make this up to you…” Rayne said, tears now in her eyes as she stared down at her brother.

“There is…” Rallan replied faintly, “Kill me… Finish me off… End my pain and suffering…”

“Rallan, I can’t do that… I can’t-”

“Please, Rayne… I’m going to die anyway… Please…” Rallan said dimly, a pleading look in his eyes. Rayne, unable to deny her wronged brother his last request, hesitated for a bit and then nodded slowly.

“Alright Rallan…” she whispered, then bent down to deliver the final strike.

“Wait…” Rallan whispered back, “To the west… is a den… Krystal’s body is in there… Please, bury it in the… Lylrite Forest… where she belongs… And please… whatever you do to her… please do to my body as well…” Rayne nodded slowly again.

“I promise, Rallan…” she whispered, “I promise…”

Rayne then bent in so her muzzle was an inch away from Rallan’s throat. Rallan nodded slowly to her and closed his eyes one last time, waiting to feel the final strike to be dealt. Tears flowing down her face, Rayne parted her jaws and bit down on Rallan’s throat, ending his life swiftly. After holding for a few seconds, Rayne let go and pulled back, gazing mournfully down at the body of her brother.

“Be at peace, Rallan…” Rayne whispered softly before continuing to dig his body out of the snow to grant him his dying wish…

            Twelve months later, a cold winter breeze cut through the lands of the Lylrite Forest. From atop a large hill, a wolf with a gray and white coat watched over the forest. Activity amongst the pack had died down recently, but she knew it would pick up again soon. She sighed heavily and turned around, walking over beside a large den and gazing down at two snow-covered mounds in the earth. She sighed softly as a lone tear traced down her cheek.

“I’m so sorry, Rallan…” she whispered into the breeze. The wind picked up briefly, blowing the tear off of her muzzle as if to comfort her. She smiled slightly, then sighed again. From behind her, another wolf approached, this one about a year in age.

“Mom? Captain said you wanted to speak to me…” the wolf said. Rayne turned around, smiling at her son who looked nearly identical to her.

“Yes son, I did… I have something to tell you…” she said softly, walking over to the edge of the hill to watch the sunset, “Come join me… I have a story to tell you…”

“Alright, what’s this story about?” the wolf asked, sitting down beside Rayne and giving her an inquisitive look. Rayne smiled slightly.

“It’s about a wolf who was wronged in his lifetime, yet he didn’t harbor a grudge… About a wolf who, no matter what the trouble was, struggled on in his life… A wolf whose story deserves to be remembered by all for his nobility, courage, and strengths…” Rayne explained, turning to smile at her son, “It’s where you got your name from…”

“Rallan?” Rallan asked, “There was someone named Rallan before me?” Rayne nodded slowly.

“Yes… He was my brother… And this was his story…”

The story of a wolf named Rallan.

The End