Unfinished Tale

Note: This story takes place a week after the event of ‘What Was Lost in Past’.

Chapter One: Before the Storm

Seen the passing of the horrible diphtheria epidemic, Nome returned to its normal state, as a small town located a little too far up to the north to a human’s comfort, the normal meant constant struggle against the cruel climate. However, as if the passed danger was a new start for Nome, the days began to get warmer, and the town got more lively, something that did not happen at all when the contagious disease is around. The townspeople of Nome worked together as they always did and hope to build a brighter day for their town. Repairing old buildings, cleaning the streets, but there was one thing they always overlooked; an old, wrecked boat just outside of the town. It had been there for nearly a decade, with no one ever thought of removing it. It might be just another broken boat, one of the many around the coastline, but it was home for a special mix of animals, a goose, two polar bears, and a once rejected wolf-dog, Balto.

It was a very beautiful evening, cold but not snowing. On the deck of the old, broken boat, Balto was having two of the most beautiful things around him at once; a sunset in the winter, which was dazzling as well as rare. The other, was his mate, Jenna, no doubt the most beautiful creature he ever seen. They were lying side by side, admiring the sunset and probably a northern light show at night peacefully.

Normally there was hardly peace on the boat, but Boris, the old goose who had raised Balto up, was ‘brought away’ by the polar bear cubs, Muk and Luk for a ‘hide and seek’ game. With the general noise-makers gone, the boat was actually a quiet place, unless someone interrupts…

“Hey Brother!”

Both Balto and Jenna jolt to their paws, turning their heads toward the source of the voice.  There, over the edge of the boat stood Kirdo, Balto’s twin brother who was just reunited with him. Balto and Jenna welcomed Kirdo warmly onto the ship, “What brings you here?” asked Balto, “Is something wrong with your pack?”

Kirdo smiled as he settled down, “Must there be problem before I can visit you?”

“Well, no.” Balto smiled back, “But you told us you’re going to be very busy with your pack.”

“You bet!” Kirdo proclaimed, “We have to locate a permanent den site, locate our prey’s feeding ground and their migration routes, and a whole lot of other things you can name for a pack’s survival. “

“Oh my, the works must be hard, and you can only share them between five wolves.” Said Jenna.

“Not really, we have Kamsa doing the tracking and locating part. He was one of the best trackers in our pack.” Kirdo paused, and continued in a low voice, “We’ve also left out one part in establishing a pack, the summer den for breeding. But it’s not likely we will have pups, don’t we?” He put on a strange look.

“Who knows, maybe you might fall for someone in your pack…” Said Balto slyly, but changed the topic quickly as he noticed the annoyed expression on his brother’s face, “Speak of which, how’s Mista?’

“Oh, Mista,” Kirdo‘s mood changed almost as fast as the topic, “Her physical injuries are not even scars now, the problem is her heart… You knew what happened. She’s quite fine now, but still more quiet that before and always seems to be day-dreaming.”

“Poor Mista.” Said Jenna with compassionately.

As Kirdo was about to reply, Balto suddenly became serious, he turned to Kirdo and said, “Brother, there’s something I want to ask you. Humans reported a large wolf pack has gathered somewhere in the forest around Nome. Do you know them?”

“A large wolf pack?” Kirdo repeated, interested, “Strangely neither me nor my friends saw any other wolf during our journey north. So no, I do not know them. Why?”

“Because the report was brought to other towns, and many hunters are getting interested in the wolves. You and your friend may be harmed too when they arrive.”

“Oh my…” said Kirdo with a grim expression, “I’ll ask Kamsa about this, if anyone among us would know about those wolves, it would be him.”

Chapter Two: The Avengers

Karani stood in the center of a meadow, resting around him were eighteen wolves, all strong and battle harden, and this was only half of his pack. Their numbers was not as strong when they once started their hunt for vengeance, but more joined their course along the way, either from the other half of the pack, or brand new members they had never crossed path with the Eastern War Pack, either way, Karani made sure they were all good fighters with loyalty and honor.

They have been traveling for weeks, tracking the slightest scent of their foes, and now, even if their enemies did not know yet. Karani’s pack had cornered them against the sea, and now all they wait was the signal from their alpha, and the circle will slowly close in…

Karani watched as a black male wolf walked up to him, he was Dakea, the Beta of his pack and his second most trusted lieutenant.

“Sir, we’ve located some food source half a mile east from here, it’s a herd of twenty caribous, enough to support all of us with standard battle food supply for a long time.” Dakea reported in a flat tone.

 “Good…” Karani said slowly, his most usual tone, which sounded creepy and cruel, both to his subordinate and enemy. “And what about, our real preys?”

 “Reports from Siria, they’re still unaware of our presence, except maybe for the ‘Assassinator’.”

“Hmm…” Karani replied, but his mind had floated away. He thought of that mysterious black wolf that became one of the largest threats to his pack. That wolf is bizarre from the eyes of all his wolves, almost unrealistic…

And then his mind drifted to the reason he was here. The ‘Assassinator’ did not dealt the greatest damage to Karani’s pack; it was the wolf-dogs, one of the wolf-dogs…

“Sir?”

“What?” The alpha snapped back to reality, the Beta had yet to finish his report. “Go on.”

But Dakea seemed reluctant to deliver this piece of report, but under the cold, pressure-giving gaze of his alpha, he had to spit it out. “There are whispers among us, it says that the humans already know about us, and if it is true, they will certainly come for us with their deadly weapons and hunting hounds.”

“Right…” said Karani slowly, but inside him anger built up. “And who was the one responsible for this? You! You and all you wolves at the frontline! What did I told you? To kill everything that might be a threat to us! This is the survival way passed down from our ancestors, and you let that lonely human and his dogs get away?!”

Dakea lowered his head and flattened his ears, ashamed, but in his heart, he thought. Isn’t this ‘killing-everything-in-our-way’ tactic the old way of the South Valley pack?

“Now get moving! Move our pack a little further east, closer to the food source and away from the humans!” ordered Karani. He then said in a low voice to Dakea, “And if the human still find us, or they mess with our plan, you will be held responsible.”

The pack of vengeful wolves got up and started their trek east very quickly. Their scouts remained, in their ‘Danger Zone’, to report everything that happen back to Karani at dusk, and return to their post again until their alpha decide that their time of vengeance has come.

 These scouts were extremely loyal to their leader, as only such fierce loyalty can put a wolf willingly in the danger zone while the others far away from it, and among these scouts was Dakea. He was not a scout wolf, he did not possess the stealth and agility required for this job, but he stayed behind, as he knew, if he was responsible for putting his pack in danger, he will be the first to be consume by it.

 Chapter Three: Finding Out the Truth

Shadowfang set out at once after his best friend, Kirdo inform him about the large wolf pack. His memories were clear, there was no wolf pack in this area when he first scouted the land, and no wolf pack of such size can just appear out of nowhere without him notice anything… except if they were following from behind, pursuing.

What if my senses are failing me? Shadowfang thought, but he shook of this dreadful thought, his worst fear away the next instant. He was trekking the way they got into their now residing home, if that wolf pack was truly pursuing them, they would have follow the same path.  

Shadowfang looked up to the sky, snow had started to fall minutes ago and it was getting heavier. At this rate, I’ll soon be in a blizzard… To keep moving may be dangerous, but who would expect a spy in the middle of a snowstorm? He weighed the odds, and decided to push on.

After Shadowfang walked for another five minutes, the blizzard built up, large amount of snow flew from the left, accompanied by strong wind that blew off the snow on the ground. The flying snow blinded Shadowfang’s vision, but he was not really affected by it, as he was relying on his nose to find the trail more than his eyes. But still, Shadowfang knew he can only go on for another minute or two before he must stop, as the snow and wind were pounding on his hide hard, and the terrible, mind numbing cold froze his courage to move on.

He began to find a suitable place to rest, he look around but could not get a clue of where he was, so he estimated that he was not really far from his destination and about half a kilometer from his den site, based on the faint scent below the snow.

At this point, there should be a big rock somewhere around here, large enough to provide me cover against the blizzard… Shadowfang thought. Only If I can find it…

If Shadowfang was correct, he would be facing north, and the rock he needed to seek was somewhere on his left, but to find it in such a blizzard was as easy as finding a snake in a field of tall and lush grasses. If Shadowfang could not find the rock, he might as well dig a hole in the snow and lie there until the blizzard passes. But Shadowfang did not like the idea, although in a forest, he was in a quite open area, who knows what might be waiting for him when he digs out of the snow?

He decided to find the rock, and dig a hole only when he cannot stands the winds and snow anymore. And he went on the snow blasting trail, he caught a new but familiar scent around him, the scent of a wolf. Not one of us, but I have smelled this scent before…

Shadowfang got alerted; he wheeled around and used all his senses to try to detect any other livings in the area. Nothing… but whoever he or she was, he or she must be here before this storm. To find out whom the scent belonged to, he followed it.

The scent led toward north, and Shadowfang followed it with great caution. The snow might blur the eyes, and his tactic covered up his scent, but his fur color did not blended well with the snow. There were, too, many ways his presence could be uncovered by the wolf, or wolves he was following, like accidentally bump into them, or them into him. 

 The blizzard continued to rage, and heavy snow hit his hide ferociously, but this no longer matter to him now. He had found the wolves that might threaten his friends’ safety.

The scent led Shadowfang to an area he was quite familiar with, the site where the very rock he was going to take cover below was. He caught the scent of several wolves in the air, some fresh, some old. There were about sixteen wolves here… but there’s only three left. For some reason, they left, perhaps to the east… Suddenly, he caught a scent in the gust, a scent he could never forget. Siria…

When Shadowfang served as an assassin in the war, he eliminated many of his pack’s rivals without a second thought, knowing that they are all potential threat to his pack. However, Siria was an exception...

One and a half month ago…

Shadowfang was patrolling the eastern border of his pack’s territory when he saw a stranger wolf slipped into his side of the forest. These activities had increased since the war broke out, and Shadowfang had dealt with the intruders all the same way, this time would be no exception.

Shadowfang tracked the intruder, a female wolf with tan colored fur, and waited for the right moment to strike. He observed the intruder from the shadow; the intruder did not notice someone was following her and kept finding a way to somewhere in Shadowfang’s territory.

He positioned himself behind a rock and waited for the trespasser. The she-wolf walked straight into his trap, a narrow spot on the path she was sniffing out. It was between two big trees and anyone who was panicked and tried to turn would find themselves stuck.

Just as he was about to sprung out and kill his victim, he noticed something different about her. There was not smell of blood in her scent. The one special treat of all the members of the Eastern War Pack, Shadowfang’s rival pack, was the smell of blood mixed with their scents. The causes of this were marked in their history.

Shadowfang had seen this wolf with the other Eastern Wars before, so her scent mark could only mean one thing. This wolf never joined in the war, she never killed her own kind… She’s innocent. Memories of all Shadowfang did enter his stream of thought the next second, reminding him of all the wolves he killed for his pack. What she’s doing is such a small crime compared to mine… does she deserve death? Shadowfang made a decision unlike any he had made before.

As the she-wolf was right ahead of him, Shadowfang sprang out, but not onto her. Instead, Shadowfang landed a few yards in front of her. The she-wolf yelped in surprise and quickly shifted to a defensive position.

But Shadowfang just stood there, neither advance nor fall back. The she-wolf looked at Shadowfang for a while, and then exclaimed “You are the ‘Assassinator’! Why didn’t you kill me?”

Shadowfang did not answer, nor could he, he simply stared at her with his ember eyes, his ears and tail were at the alert position but he did not defend himself. If she attacks, I have no choice but to do what I must… he thought calmly, calculating the moves he would need to kill her if he must.

They stood still waiting for each other to make a move for half a minute, and finally the she-wolf said carefully “Why didn’t you kill me, aren’t you the merciless assassin?” Seeing that the black wolf in front of her was not going to talk or move, she let her guard down and Spoke in a kinder tone, “Are you better with me talking this way? Can you talk now?”

Shadowfang, still cautious, stepped forward. Of course he cannot answer the she-wolf, for he cannot talk, but he would tell her another way. As he was only a yard away from the she-wolf, he stopped and held one of his front paws to his own nose, and then to hers.

The she-wolf jumped back a little, and realized what Shadowfang wanted her to do, “You want me to smell it?” As Shadowfang nodded, she smelled it cautiously, never taking her eyes of Shadowfang.

She took a moment before lifting her nose from Shadowfang’s paw. “I smell… many thing, but little of your scent. I smell grass, soil, blood and many more.”

When the she-wolf said ‘blood’, Shadowfang pointed at her. He made a motion of shaking his paw three times. “Blood? Me? No? What?” said the she-wolf, she was totally confused, but when Shadowfang did not say a thing, she began to put the things together.

“Erm…” said the she-wolf slowly, “Are you saying that there’s no smell of blood on me?”

Shadowfang nodded, his face without emotion. He tried to harness all the power in his broken voice box and spoke, but his voice were harsh and hardly audible, “Right… you don’t… kill… you… innocent. Can’t…”

“Oh, you can’t talk! I’m sorry for asking you to do so earlier!” the she-wolf exclaimed. “So… you mean you don’t kill me because I never killed a wolf before?”

Shadowfang nodded, I hope I wasn’t wrong, if she ever killed a fellow wolf and I let her go, I’d suicide myself… he thought in his heart.

The she-wolf seemed surprised, but she confirmed Shadowfang’s view upon her, “It is true, I never killed. I am a scout, I don’t join the war. Oh, and by the way, my name’s Siria. But I’m now your enemy! Certainly you can’t let an enemy of your pack just walk away!”

Shadowfang had enough of this, he bared his teeth and growled, and, “Leave!” he demanded in his raspy voice.

Siria looked at him for a moment, and turned. Her face showed confusion, sadness, seriousness and sympathy. “I’ll remember this day. I know I owe you my life, an honorable wolf will repay this.” She said before leaving.

Shadowfang never seen Siria again since that day. Soon his pack fell, and he left his territory. Little did he know that it was Siria, and her fellow scouts who led the rival pack into Shadowfang’s territory’s weakly defended spot and helped them win the war…

Present

It is no time for memories! Thought Shadowfang as he snapped himself back to reality, Siria’s presence could only meant one thing; they’ve come for us, the same pack that fought us! They’ve come to finish the job.

Chapter Four: Pending Danger

Shadowfang felt an urge to warn his friends of the incoming doom, but he hesitated. Why are they coming back? Don’t they have all the food they need? Best I find out…

The blizzard had not calmed down, but it was to Shadowfang’s advantage; the remaining wolves curled up into balls and stuck together under the rock for warmth. There were several smaller rocks around the larger one and Shadowfang could hide under one of them until the blizzard passes, by then he would start listening to their conversations.

Back in Nome, Balto and Jenna, and their dog friends watched in silent as two sleds, pulled by nine dogs each, entered the town. On the first sled there was a man, bulk compared to the residents in Nome, his skin showed that of a native’s. In the basket of his sled were packages, one of them was longer than the others, popped out from its opening were unmistakably gun barrels, two of them. The other sled was generally equipped with the same inventory, it also had a man sitting in its basket. Hunters.

The sleds stopped at the middle of Main Street, one of the men started to ask around for lodging while the other two inspected their equipments. The dogs, however, did not go as easy as their owners, they remained still, like a troops of trained solders, they kept sniffing the air, and more than one glanced at Balto.

Normally, the dogs of Nome would be welcoming them warmly and talking like friends by now, after all, any dogs that came to Nome from land had endured the merciless arctic weather condition, and would really appreciate a heartening welcome from the locals. But they stayed still. Balto especially, did not want to go near them anywhere within ten yards. They had sensed that these new dogs in town were not ordinary sled dogs, they were hunting hounds. They smelled wolf on Balto.

“The thing about the wolves out there is going to be a lot messier!” Nikki said even if it was so obvious. The trio, and Balto and Jenna were on their way to the boiler room, the new arrivals was certainly a topic to talk about for days and they were going there now to discuss what the future might bring.

“Quiet!” snapped Kaltag, he laid his voice as low as possible, “Those are hunting hounds out there, they are not as easy-going as the mailing teams’ dogs. You saw how they regarded us back then, as if we are enemies they are going to fight in a minute.”

“What? You mean they might backstab us? In our own town?” Nikki chuckled.

“Did you notice how they look at Balto?”

“Well… I did. Couldn’t blame them though, they’ve been hunting wolves for all their lives out there. But Balto isn’t a full wolf even if he has some wolf blood in him; with us sticking by his side, he should face no problem.”

Kaltag shrugged and look at Balto, but Balto seemed to be deep in his thought, he did not even seem to notice the conversation. He must be worrying for his brother, thought Kaltag.

The discussion in the boiler room was much more intense, but also quite controlled, all because of Kirdo’s present there. The wild wolf dog was there to collect news about the hunters and share some discoveries. Compared to what the dogs could tell him, he had little to give, as Shadowfang had yet to return from his investigation. “He is probably caught in the blizzard that rages on east of Nome.” Kirdo said.

The discussion in the boiler room continued as the blizzard slowly expanded and covered Nome and of all the while, Balto kept his silence, caught in thoughts to the point he did not notice Kirdo had slipped to his side.

“Don’t worry about us, brother. We survived the war; the hunters will be not much a threat to us if we are cautious enough.” Said Kirdo in a cheery tone.

Balto looked at his brother in the eyes hard, and asked “Have you really met a hunter and survived before?”

“Nah, just heard some scary tales told by the old ones in my pack, those stories were exaggerated and don’t really make sense in certain parts, I doubt how much truth are there in those fantasies.” Said Kirdo smiling as if this was a discussion about whether to go out and play in the snow or not.

“Just what have you heard?” asked Jenna.

“Well, they said the human hunters are unlike any other hunters in the world, they don’t need to get close to you in order to kill you. Some said they are able to harness the power of lightning and kill you from afar with a loud thunder.”

Balto sighed, so this is why wolves keep getting themselves killed by hunters. “Kirdo, those tales are real enough. The ‘thunder and lightning’ stuff is actually a device they invented called, a gun. It looks like a stick and it fires projectiles at high speed that the projectiles bury themselves deep into your hide and kill you.”

As Balto talked, Kirdo listened with great interest, but did not seem worried, which frustrated his brother who tried to put the idea of just how dangerous guns can be into his head. “What of another story about the hunter can bind the surroundings to their will and capture you with nature’s aid when you are least cautious?” he asked when Balto stopped for breathe.

Balto hesitated before answering the question, as if he was not sure about it, but he spoke nevertheless, “well perhaps they meant the traps the hunters set that blend kind of well with the nature, like nets on the ground or ropes that hang from a tree. There are many types of these traps, and if you aren’t careful when they’re around, you might just step right into them.”

“Most interesting, but what other tricks do the hunters have?”

And so Balto and Jenna, with some help from the others, explained the long list of ways the hunters would use…

Chapter Five: Order of a Mad Being

While the blizzard started raging in Nome, the blizzard in Shadowfang’s area was slowly subsiding. Shadowfang stirred, he shook off the snow on him back and began to keep a watchful eye on the wolves under the rock.

Out of the three wolves, Shadowfang knew two, Siria of course, and another black wolf, which he remembered as the beta wolf of his rival pack, Dakea. They had just come out of hiding and were talking about something, Shadowfang’s ears perked up to hear clearer, but all he could make out of the faint voices were something about food and report. I still don’t get it.

Soon, Dakea, and the other wolf, a tan colored one, left the camp, one went toward the east and the other to the north, leaving Siria alone. At the same time, it left Shadowfang to have no conversation to drop his eaves on.

As Shadowfang was about to curse in his mind, another thought entered his head. If I can’t hear what I want, I’ll force them out.  

Shadowfang crept silently towards Siria under the rocks, which filled this field. Siria did not seem to notice his approach; her eyes looked solidly towards the opposite of Shadowfang. When he was within range to leap, Shadowfang jumped. He bumped the tan colored wolf off her paws and stood upon her.

 Her scent filled his nostril.  Still no smell of blood, she is as pure as she was… Shadowfang hesitated.

This hesitation could well cost him his life. Siria caught her chance and threw her attacker off her body, and she took on a defensive posture. Her eyes widen as she noticed who just attacked her. “You!”

 Shadowfang cursed himself. His action was supposed to be swift, totally unpredictable, and cruel, yet he executed it like a soft hearted fool—at least he thought he was. What’s done is done. He thought as he got on to his paws, growing as he shifted his body to a defensive posture.

To his surprise, Siria relaxed. She looked at Shadowfang, who was still growling, for a moment and spoke, as kind as the day they first met, “I think I know why you are here, reasons, right?”

Shadowfang’s eyes still glowed with vigilance, but he nodded slightly. Seeing this sign, Siria spoke.

“After the war, our pack found out that we suffered a lost, but it’s not just something small, it can tear our whole pack apart.

“The Eastern War Pack, my pack, was form after a war. Two packs clashed over a piece of territory, we fought until both side lost about half of their numbers. Our alphas concluded that both packs would be destroyed if this war doesn’t come to pass. So they decided to unite the packs, as the food in the territory was able to feed both crippled packs now.

“Still, after such a long time of rivalry, they found out they can hardly trust each other, and suspicions led to lots of fights. The main reason of this? The balance of power. After the war, the alpha of the South Valley Pack was appointed the alpha of the new found pack; this unbalanced the power sharing and authority of the packs, as the Moon Rock Pack didn’t have one who shared the same power as the other one. The alphas were wise, they thought of a simple way to stop all the quarrels, the alpha male of the South Valley Pack would mate with the Moon Rock Pack’s alpha female. Since the packs members were all very loyal to their original alphas, the quarrels stopped naturally.”

Shadowfang growled lightly, this history meant nothing to him, Siria was wasting his time. 

“After our triumph of the battle with your pack,” Siria continued, “We found out our alpha female was dead, slew by a wolf-dog. This, again, made our balance of power dropped to one side. Fights and quarrels and even murders were everywhere, and our remaining alpha male, weak and inexperienced in politics as he was, unable to keep the peace. Until the pack broke into two, a huge lost to what’s left of the Eastern War Pack.

“Our alpha, slightly unhinged by the lost of both his mate and half of his pack, went what I suppose a little mad, he gathered his remaining followers, and intended to hunt down this wolf-dog who started it all.”

Shadowfang stood still, trying to absorb what he had heard. So they are indeed coming for us… He shook as a flashback of sad memories hit him, the memories of his former life in the pack.

Siria did another thing that surprised him; she seemed to know what he was thinking, though he was known for him skills in concealing his emotions and thoughts. But what she spoke did not please him at all.

“Hey, its okay you lost the war, it’s only how things should be. Whoever survived the war long enough to see the packs’ unite are all veteran warriors, expertise in their own skills. On the other hand, you pack had never fought any major battles before.”

Shadowfang felt anger rising inside him; that was his territory, his pack should win! But before he can say anything, or try to say anything, a howl pierced through the sky and echoed around the forest.

“You have to leave,” said Siria urgently, “Quick! They are coming!”

Shadowfang did not need the tan wolf to warn him, he knew what that howl was, a call for battle, certainly not from his side. He dashed away like a black wind into the forest, retracing the path he used to come here. A crazed rival pack leader, the ridiculous reason for attacking, and the story of a broken pack… Kirdo has much to hear.

Siria watched him depart, awed by his speed and agility, it was until two minutes later that the wolves who howled reach her. “Anything new?” asked the leading wolf, a light grey wolf called Semas, a strong fighter with a nasty scar down his back.

“Nothing,” Siria lied. Fortunately, no one could smell Shadowfang, if not, her lie was going to become more than obvious. “Kilza went for a hunt and haven’t come back, nothing more.” 

“About the enemy wolves? Any sighting of them?” asked Semas. 

“No, there was a blizzard and we couldn’t see too well, but we did not pick up their scent either, so no. They appear to be closer to the sea than we have expected.”

“So are we still blind to them?”

“Should be. They wouldn’t have expected us.”

Semas licked his muzzle, a savage grin appeared on his face, “Then we will put our order into action.” The two wolves behind him nodded in agreement. 

“Wait, wait, wait.” said Siria, “What order have you got from the leader?”

“The alpha said, ‘if all of us march into their territory might cause unexpected casualties, then a small group of elite fighters would be a better choice.’” Said Semas, he emphasized the word ‘elite’, to indicate the word meant them, or him only.

“So the three of you are going into their lair. Catch them and kill them in surprise. And return to the pack full of glory.” Siria concluded.

“Precisely!” beamed Semas as he and his gang trotted towards the west, where Shadowfang and the remnants of him pack would be. Siria watched as they disappeared into the woods.

This is wrong, this is so wrong. But what can I do, he’s my leader, my alpha, I have to obey his orders… or have I…?

Chapter Six: Double Actions

This must me the worst day I ever have ever since the epidemic. Balto thought with a very grim expression.

A moment ago, he had just finished ‘lecturing’ his brother with the tricks and traps hunter would use to catch preys, he did not even know if his brother was listening; Kirdo’s face was ever-cheerful during the whole part, even when Balto and Jenna described some of the most bloody traps.

Kirdo had excused himself and went back to the forest to warn his friends about the hunters. As soon as he entered the forest, the hunters emerged from their lodge with all their hunting equipments, mostly traps.

Luckily, they only unleashed one of their hunting hounds, apparently they were not going to hunt this time, just set the traps. Still, it might prove a great danger to Kirdo and his pack mates. Should I warn him? Balto asked himself, going into the forest would be dangerous now, even if the hunters might not be on the hunting mood today. He shared his doubt with Jenna.

“Are you sure you want to go in? Is it a necessary risk to take?” asked Jenna, she looked so worried.

“I can’t decide, that’s why I’m asking you,” Balto said, he looked thoughtful, “The hunters aren’t going to hunt today, they are just building up the traps and dig the pits. Still, there’s no telling what they would do if they spot a wolf right on.”

Before Jenna could reply, Kaltag chipped in, he had left the discussion ring and joined them, and with him were Nikki and star. “Hey Balto! The talk is all about your brother, and you keep your silence for so long? What troubles you?”

Balto and Jenna related the conversation they had with Kirdo and then what they saw with the hunters to the trio. “I’m thinking if I should go after him or not.” Finished Balto.

“Well…” Kaltag said thoughtfully, “I don’t think your brother would be in serious danger, if the hunters are just going into the forest to set traps, they won’t be ready to use their guns, more probably they don’t even bring one with them.”

“Yeah,” Nikki agreed, “Instead of that, we should pay those hunting dogs there a visit. See if we can persuade them not to hunt down your bro out there.” Star nodded vigorously at this suggestion.

“But this may backfire!” Jenna protested, “It’ll reveal their locations to the hunters and tell them they wolves are in contact with us. The hunting hounds might use this to their advantage, whatever it might be.”

“The chances are fifty-fifty!” Star cried out suddenly and scared Kaltag and Nikki, then quickly received a bonk on his head, from Kaltag. “Ow!”

Balto sighed, he did not know if the other dogs will approve their actions, but he would rather not ask about it. “So Kirdo will be safe for now, but why go to the hunting dogs? Who knows how they will react to this?”

“We will break it to them slowly cautiously.” Kaltag promised, “If this turn out to be a success you won’t have your brother’s safety to worry about. Even if it fails we can still ask your brother to take a temporary leave. This is the most brilliant, the most appropriate, the most logical plan!”   

Balto wasn’t so sure about Kaltag’s plan, it seemed to hold too big a risk, the hunting dogs might still track them even if they got away far, then again, the hunting  dogs were controlled by their human masters, who might not go that far to get just a few wolves.

“Fine,” he finally decided, “Let’s hope the hunting hounds are easily persuaded.”

Meanwhile in the forest, Shadowfang was running in top speed toward the den site of his friends. It was too late to tell them what is going on now; they must fight without knowing who or why they are fighting. Luckily, there was one among the remnants of his pack who would love to do this. Rokal, you’ll get all the honor you want this time. Shadowfang thought grimly.

The den site was a very beautiful place to stay. It was located in the middle of a clearing, which the floor would be filled with grasses and flowers in spring time. A small, half frozen stream ran through the clearing, cut the snow covered clearing in two like a black shooting star.  

Only Rokal was around the den when Shadowfang rushed in, just as he expected. Kirdo would be in the little human town by the frozen sea to visit his brother. As for Mista, she was curious and emotional, wherever she wanted to go, she went. So she would probably in some strange place now. And Lyya? Who knows what that trickster would be doing this day? Only an old wolf would stay back at the den in this beautiful day… or what seemed to be a beautiful day.

Rokal pushed himself onto his paws when he saw Shadowfang charged into their den site full of alert. “Hey, what happened, lad?” He demanded in his aged, harsh voice.

Shadowfang gave the seasoned warrior a short growl and looked around like he was surrounded by phantom enemies. Rokal understood this gesture, it was a call for defense. He knew that something was coming after them.

After a moment of standing still, Rokal asked impatiently, “How many?” Shadowfang twitched his left ears three times, meaning ‘three’. He never took his eyes off his surroundings.

After a few minutes of unnerving waiting, Shadowfang thought he heard something like fur brushed against leaves. As the same time he felt some very faint vibrations from the ground. He jumped into the nearest shadow and hid.

Rokal took the message; he stood up as straight as possible to maintain an authoritative posture and said aloud, enough for everyone out of the clearing to hear, “Come out now, my worthy enemies. Show yourselves so we can fight honorably!”

And there was a silence, a bird chirped. And suddenly, three wolves sprang from behind some bushes and charged into the clearing, they quickly surrounded Rokal, showing their teeth.

“Any last word, old dog?” sneered one of them, a light grey colored wolf, clearly their leader.

“I may be old, but I’m not helpless, Semas. Glad to see you again.” Rokal stayed as calm as ice.

“Ooh… Look at you… Rokal, son of none. As old and weak as you are now, have you ever think that all the glory you once possess… are now all but part of the history?” taunted another wolf.

“Tell us where the others are and we will let you live a little while longer.” Said the last wolf.

“Your offer is very tempting,” Rokal said, he studied the three enemy wolves for their weaknesses, “But I must live an honorable life. I will not betray my pack mates.”

“Ooh… But you will die, and we will find them, the end is the same.” Said the second wolf, he was sneering under his breath.

Finally the leading wolf, Semas grew impatient. “Talking time’s over, you’re going down.” He lunged at Rokal.

However, before he could reach Rokal, Shadowfang tackled him from the side with surprising force and sent him flying a few yards in the opposite direction.

The second wolf was smarter, he saw what was going on and charged toward Shadowfang as he land and pinned him down for a fight. At the same time, Rokal attacked the third wolf, slammed into his neck and wrestled him to the floor.

The fight was not going well for Shadowfang’s side. First of all, he was not as good at fighting as his opponent when it comes to a pinned down close combat, and on the other side of the clearing, Rokal was struggling with his enemy, trying to bite him at the neck, but his old age was wearing him down… Worst of all, Semas was getting backed up again, despite that he still looked quite stunned and dazed.

We can never win them if I don’t get to the shadows, or Semas join the fight. They will tear Rokal down before I can do anything. Shadowfang thought as he slapped his snarling opponent on his muzzle. He took the chance and dashed towards the shadow.

Despite Rokal’s state, he held out impressively well against his much younger rival. He managed to scrap a long wound on the young wolf’s side and not receiving a single wound up to now. However, he would not keep the upper hand for long as soon as Semas join the fight.

Shadowfang lunged at his former enemy, who was looking around in confuse. As Shadowfang hit him, he grabbed his opponent by his neck and bit hard. His enemy howled in pain and tried to escape his grip, but he did not let go. However, he saw Semas charging at him out of the corner of his eyes…      

Then a song echoed through the forest. Its presence was so unexpected that everyone, even Shadowfang, was stunned. They stopped the fight and listened to where it came from.

Out of distance, from the beyond, a song that misses home! Over the woods, across the hills, a wolf that walks alone! With a tired mind, with a missing heart, the traveler returns home!

Semas recovered the quickest, but he did not dare to make an attack, “What trickery is that?” he demanded. The two wolves under Semas’ lead were surprised too, but they stayed alert.

The good news for Rokal and Shadowfang was, they knew whom this voice belonged to. The bad news was, they were not sure if this being could help them get out of the fight.

A wolf burst into the clearing from the left side. He had the same shiny black pelt of Shadowfang, but that all they had in kind. He had a cheerful face that was constantly smiling, and a pair of woody brown eyes.

He gave a wink to Shadowfang, and started talking, “A nice day, gentlewolves. But why is this mess in such a nice place?”

Shadowfang knew this hint, it meant strike when it is time, and to do this, he remained motionless and looked at the new comer with fake caution.

 Semas and his two wolves took the bait, as he asked, “Who the heck are you?” His two followers listen attentively. At that moment, Shadowfang slammed into the wolf he was biting and bit Semas’ neck from the back. This time, he bit hard, Semas screamed in agony as blood oozed from the wounds.

Rokal saw what was going on too, he but the wolf he was fighting and pulled him off balance. He clawed ferociously at his enemy’s chest once he fell down. The black wolf that interrupted the fight bumped into the wolf that Shadowfang slammed into, keeping him from attacking the others.

Finally, piercing scream filled the clearing, after that an abrupt silence. Shadowfang dropped the dead Semas onto the ground, fresh blood kept flowing out of the deep wounds. He had broken Semas’ neck, which killed him almost instantly.

The two remaining wolves who intruded the clearing looked at their fallen leader, frozen by shock and maybe fear. They looked at the three wolves with widened eyes, and then rushed towards the exit of the meadow. Shadowfang snarled at them, prepared to give chase, but Rokal stopped him, “They’ve fought well, not very honorable, but still acceptable. They deserve to live if they admit that they lost. Besides, we have a much more important thing to talk about.”

If you know the reason they are here, and that they will not stop until we are all reduced to a pile of bones, you won’t be so sure about that! Shadowfang thought angrily. Still, this old wolf had a point; he looked at the new comer, whom he knew well.

“Curse you! Finally willing to show yourself up huh? If you have show up a week or so ago, you could have save us from so many damned troubles! Do you have any idea how that poor girl feels?” Rokal barked in anger.

Before the black wolf could answer, a flash of brown charged into the clearing. Rokal and Shadowfang hardened, ready to face a new enemy. But they did not have to, for it was just Mista, shaken and obviously stunned, her fur was wild as well as her eyes. She walked slowly towards the new black wolf, and rushed to his side and pressed her neck against his.

“You’re alive! I was worrying to death! I… I thought you were dead! We thought you were dead! Where have you been, Mukhas, Where have you been?”

Chapter Seven: Striking a Deal

The hunters returned to the town at evening, the bags they were carrying were obviously lighter, and they have tired grins on their face. As for the hunting hound they brought along into the forest with them, he looked weary, but still on alert, as he still eyed Balto and his friends, who were watching him from an alley across the street.

Balto felt his hackles rose when the hunting hound met his grace, he had a feeling that the hound’s eyes must be anti-wolf, and he was not doing it non-intentionally.  Still, he had to talk to this hound nevertheless, if he wanted to make a deal. Beside him, Jenna shifted this position in unease.

Kaltag was with them, too, since he was the one who suggested this. The other two members of the trio, however, were not present. In fear for Star might upset the hounds with his suddenly blurt out words, which were strange and often in high pitch, they decided not to bring him along. Surely Star was not pleased by this decision, so in the end Nikki had to stay behind to calm him down and accompany him.

The hunters must be very tired, as after they fed their hunting hounds, their room went dark. Balto listened attentively for any sound that came from inside the building, but all he picked up were mice crawling around and water dripping against something.

“What are ya’ doing here?” said a raucous and deep voice from beside Balto, and all three of them jumped away, Jenna yelped in surprise. The hunting hound, a Lurcher, was looking at them from under a light source, he was not in a defensive posture, but Balto could see wariness in the hound’s seasoned eyes. He was not a very tall dog, but he had strong legs, built up in countless pursuing creatures for his master. His fur was a light shade of brown and white on the belly. He had a darker strip down his back, starting from the nose. His eyes were brown, but it was a color that was close to red, which gave him a savage look.   

“We need to talk for a moment,” Balto said to the seasoned hunter, he was not very sure about this. What if he smells the similarities of scent with his brother? What if he brands him an enemy for being a wolf-dog?

“Talk? Talk, sure!” said the hound, with a dry chuckle, and suddenly his expression harden, “I don’t talk to strangers, this isn’t my style. Tell me the names before we move on.”

And so the three dogs from Nome introduced themselves to the hunting hound. And for all the while, the hound listened with an amused face, as if their names are funny foreign languages. “You have some great names, huh! Anyway, Hunter is my name. Not the one my dead mother gave me, but that’s what they called me, but that’s not important! Say, what’s the little talk you want with me.”

“Now, why are we chatting here? This is not a comfortable spot! Come along.” Balto was about to speak, but Hunter cut him off again, he felt irritated for that but Hunter obviously did not notice it.     

“I’ll speak first; we need a more cautious approach.” Kaltag whispered to his two companions, they nodded.  

He led the two dogs and one wolf-dog into the shed beside the main house. The other hunting dogs and sled dogs were all resting at the far corner of the shed. Some of them woke up and stared at the new comers, but did not do anything as their leader, Hunter, was with these new comers.         

Hunter settled down at the corner beside the door, “We will have the little conversation here,” He said to the three canines. Balto looked around the room, there were around eighteen dogs, a large crowd, in the room and only a few were awake. At the right side of the wall were two sleds, hunting equipments and wilderness survival kits were placed around the sleds. Two dim bulbs were hanging loosely on the wooden ceiling.

Once the three visitors were all seated, Hunter signaled them to bring out the business. “We are curious about what you did in the forest with your masters,” Kaltag started, “Mind telling us what you did in there?” Balto and Jenna nodded simultaneously.

“Huh? Ha-ha!” Hunter laughed, his body leaned to one side, “What more can I do in those trees under the name Hunter? Other than tracking prey?”

“So… did you picked up any scent of what you are hunting?” asked Jenna.

“Yes!” Hunter said immediately, ready to tell his audience what he did, “I find more scent of wolves than I ever think I would in my hard life! I was just simply walking around, not really focus in my job, and then I got this wolf’s scent there, I followed it and it led me and my masters to a random spot in the forest. And there I smell more than seven wolves! It must me a whole big pack! Fortune really takes a damn good care on my masters!”

“You like to hunt wolves?” Balto probed.

Hunter shook his head, “No, No I don’t. I’m just doing my job, nothing more than that.”

“Why don’t you like it?” Balto pressed.

Hunter hesitated, he thought for a while and answered, “The things, creatures I’m always tracking, they are stronger than me all the times. If, one day, my masters do not find me in time, only my bones will be left.

“Not only that,” he glanced at the dogs lying on the far end of the room, “We, the hunting dogs, got the same treatment with the sled dogs, yes there’s quite a few over there, all they need to do is run and run and got the same pay. That’s totally not fair.”

“Don’t you get anything extras?” Jenna asked.

“Well, maybe a few extra meal before or after a hunt. And those are completely not suffice!”

 Balto saw that it was not a good way to bring Hunter to the topic they desired, as it was bringing the topic further away from hunting wolves. “Do you hate wolves?” Balto asked hastily, “Or any other animals you are hunting?” he quickly added to prevent suspicion from Hunter, but it did not seem necessary.

“Wolves? Wolves! Oh I love hunting them! They are just the most cunning things to go after in all of this freezing cold land!” Hunter answered sarcastically, chuckling as if Balto just spoke of the most hilarious thing in the world.

“So in conclusion, you dislike hunting wolves,” Stated Kaltag.

“I think it is… inappropriate… to hunt them,” Hunter hesitated, for the first time Balto and the others saw doubt on his otherwise calm and calculative face. “They are our relatives, ya’ know that? We of the canine family. A veterinarian told me once when I wounded my left front paw, He said, dogs, wolves, foxes and some other creatures are one, big, unhappy family!”

“If you can avoid hunting more wolves, would you take the chance?” Balto pressed on, seeing that the success is near.

Hunter tensed, “What do ya’ mean, take the chance?” He asked in low voice with his reddish brown eyes narrowed. Both Jenna and Kaltag shivered a little, suddenly the air in the suddenly became colder than snow and wind of a blizzard… Balto, too, saw Hunter’s reaction, but he did not falter, it was too late to back down now, he thought.

“Would you spare the lives of five wolves, if you are given the chance?” Balto repeated, his eyes, as determined as the day he decided to look for Steele, looked right into the near crimson colored eyes of Hunter. For a moment, it seemed to Kaltag and Jenna that the wolf-dog and the hunter were having a mental struggle, seeking to read each others’ thoughts.

“Why are you telling me this, do you have any association with wolves?” Hunter demanded loudly, drawing the attention of several dogs of his team.

“Smell, Hunter, smell my scent and you will know.” Balto suggested, but even then he began to question his actions. He sneaked a peek at the awaken dogs; he was so sure than they were all on Hunter’s side.

Hunter leaned forward cautiously and took a deep sniff on Balto, a look of recognition appeared on his face as he tried to remember when and where he picked up this scent before. “I have smelled this scent before, just this day morning, but it has a slight difference with yours. Was that ya’? In the forest?”  

“Most dogs around here, especially us, the sled dogs, have entered the forest countless time.” Kaltag pointed out.

“Kaltag is right,” Balto said, “But the one you smelled wasn’t me, I haven’t been into the forest for a few days. But I do know whose scent that is.”

“Ya’ have a family member out there somewhere?” Hunter asked, but to Balto, it sounded more like he was being interrogated.

“I have a brother out there, with the wolves.”  Said Balto, his face showed neither fear nor worry, but plain determination, to get Hunter to help him.

Hunter focused, his face became unfathomable and his eyes seemed to pierce through Balto. “I have underestimated you, wolf-dog,” he said slowly, “You know more about the residents there than you let on.”

“Wrong,” Kaltag chipped in, “Most of the dogs in this little town know just as much as Balto, his brother had showed himself to us a couple of times.”

Hunter turned his attention to Kaltag, his face showed a little surprise, “The dogs here know? And they know about the wolves too? And they are not afraid of it?”

“I cannot speak for all of us,” Kaltag answered, “But at least half of the town’s dogs don’t care much about those wolves, since they trust Balto, who was willing to be the guarantor.”

“What can you guarantee from the wolves?” Hunter pressed, turning to Balto.

“I guarantee that the wolves of my brother’s side will not hurt a single dog, and evade human at all cost. I also guarantee that they won’t steal from the human.”

Hunter went silent, his had a frown upon his face as he tried to absorb all these surprising news, and perhaps decide what to do. The other hounds that were awaked by their leader’s speech stayed silent, and the three visitors waited anxiously, for him to make his decision.

 Finally, the thoughtful veteran spoke, “Ya’ said five wolves, but today in the forest, I swear I picked up more than seven different scents of wolves, what can ya’ make from this?”

“We are not sure about the motives of the much larger pack of wolves,” Balto admitted, “But one of my brother’s friend and pack mate had set out to investigate, he should be back at his own den by now.”

“Can we hunt them?” Hunter asked, “We cannot lead our master to nothing, that would cause them to suffer a great lost, and kick us out of service, maybe.”

“I do not know…” Balto hesitated, he did not wish for the loss of more lives, but he did not expect Hunter and his hunting hounds to have problems too, now he cursed himself for unable to see this truth.

Luckily, Hunter seemed to understand Balto’s dilemma, as he said, without much joy, “We will try our best, to prevent them from being killed, but I make no promise about it. You can’t blame me if our masters skin ‘em all.”

It was not the best deal Balto could get, he would prefer if no one would be harmed. He thought hard for other mean that may save all the killings. He thought about perhaps spread the news that the wolves had left, but humans would not understand them, it would be a futile way. What about convincing those wolves to actually leave this place? Yeah, that might work…

“I will do what I can to find out the motives of that pack of wolf and if possible, persuade them to leave.” Balto said, he stood up, ready to depart for the forest. But Jenna blocked his path before he even wheeled around.

“Balto don’t,” She said softly, “You don’t know what the wolves would do, they might not treat you the same way Kirdo’s friends did.”

“I have to,” Balto replied, “If this concerns their lives I believe they will listen to me.”

“No, Balto please, it’s too dangerous.” Jenna said again, this time close to pleading.

“There’s got be another way to find out.” Kaltag added.

Balto looked back, Hunter did nothing to stop him, although he heard the brief conversation, his plain face and lazy eyes suggested that he was thinking, ‘I don’t care what you do, it is not my business.’

“Okay…” He said slowly, having a change of mind, “But I still have to go into the forest, I am visiting my brother’s pack instead. They should’ve found something out by now.”

Before Jenna or Kaltag can say anything, Hunter spoke again, “If ya’ are going into the forest, avoid the route ya’ often take, my masters set multiple traps there, ya’ might not want to try them out.”

“Got it,” Balto said with a nod of his head. But as he wheeled around, he noticed Jenna was still in his way, but her face no longer showed objection, just plain caring that, as Balto thought, would melt any determination that was left in him. “Just… be on your guard, okay? I wish to see you back alive and unharmed.” Jenna told him and looked at him as if he is the most precious thing in her world. Which was true.

“I will.” Balto replied with an equally loving voice, he stepped forward towards the door, and this time, Jenna moved out of his way.

Just as he was about to place his paws onto the icy snow outside of the shed, Kaltag called, “Hey Balto, mind if I tag along? Jenna would want an extra pair of eyes to keep you out of hunters’ traps.”

Balto turned to Jenna, whose eyes was shining with approval. “Alright then,” he said over the chilling breeze, “Come along.”

Chapter Eight: Consumed By Vengeance

This is wrong, this is so completely wrong. This was the only thing Siria had in mind as she walked the path back to her previous scouting point, the words of her alpha still rang in her mind.

The snow fall brought by the blizzard stopped about two hours ago, and through the temporary harmonious woods, a massager came bearing an order from the alpha to recall every wolf of his back to their main gathering site.

Even before the last snowflake joined its fallen brothers and sisters, Siria knew there will be something big happening, as just not long ago, two of the three wolves sent by Karani for a ‘secret mission’ ran pass her scouting point furiously, without the lead of Semas. Judging from their fur, which were in a mess, with signs of fighting on it, and their eyes, which were widen with shock, their mission must have failed miserably. Siria let them pass without asking anything, for she also knew that she would know what happened eventually.

True enough, Karani the insane alpha’s speech was an enraged one. He briefly related the three wolves’ order in the enemies’ territory, how they met a seasoned warrior of the enemy side, their fight, the new wolf who interrupted the battle and finally, he exaggerated the part of how Shadowfang, or in their tongue, the Assassinator, killed Semas dishonorably when the latter was not ready.

His words had succeeded in raising the anger in the pack, and finally, gave them a truly logical reason to chase down the deserters. Karani knew that well and easily persuaded his pack members to undergo the old, imprudent custom. He soon gathered his followers and ready to move out the next dawn, but he sent Siria back to her scouting point to gather more information, as even in his unstable state, he still remembered that no one can make Siria kill another wolf.

He might be unhinged by the lost of his mate and half of his pack, but his cunningness that inhabits the depth of his mind remained unchanged. Siria thought as she arrived in the rocky terrain where she stayed. She double checked the surrounding, made sure there was nothing hostile to her around, and laid down below the biggest rock, pondering.

Originally, there were many wolves that were against the idea of hunting down the rest of the Valley’s End Pack… because there was no reason to do so. Siria thought, she was one of the most loyal follower of Karani, but she did not follow him blindly, she clearly knew which of his decision was right and which was wrong. As for this one? There was no right or wrong, this was downright insane.

But now… they have… to avenge Semas, who was actually sent by Karani to wipe out the survivors… Siria thought as she watched a bird flew over her head. All Karani said was ‘Semas and his two comrades were ambushed by the Assassinator’, he did not tell why they were there… and he raised the anger in the pack quick enough to make the wolves forget about it…

The alpha just crushed the remaining hesitation in the pack, Siria realized to her dismay, this must be the reason Karani sent Semas and the other two wolves! Surely he would not believe that three wolves, stepped into the Assassinator’s territory, can make it out alive!

Karani used a trick and blinded his wolves from the truth, he just wanted the culprits of his mate’s death dead. It might not be the first time Siria disagreed with her alpha’s plan, but it was the first time Siria felt she needed to do something. Despite her fierce loyalty to her alpha, she felt that it was just plainly wrong and evil, and for the first time, she would go against her alpha that she so loyally followed…

Not far west from Siria’s scouting point, in the lovely clearing where the remnants of the Valley’s End Pack reside, Balto and Kaltag were being introduced to a new black colored wolf who has got a constant smiling face as if he could not feel anything but happiness. The other wolves and wolf-dogs were all there; even Shadowfang crept around the corner of the den.

This black wolf, named Mukhas, as Kirdo said, was the brother of Shadowfang, and he was the one who was thought dead by all except for Rokal, who insisted he saw Mukhas fled the battlefield. His fur was shiny, as if it was covered with oil, just like his brother’s. However, that was the end of the similarity. His body was a more elegant build, and his eyes were a beautiful woody brown. The greatest different Mukhas had with his brother was their demeanor. Mukhas was always cheerful, or so as Balto and Kaltag seemed, while Shadowfang hardly ever smiled.

The two did not get the chance to know more about this new, friendly wolf, nothing more than a few enthusiastic courtesy. As Kirdo informed him of a much important thing, which was inevitably the reason Balto came to them.

Kirdo explained what Shadowfang had found out in his investigation, his entire encounter with the wolf he spared in the past, the breaking of the Eastern War Pack and finally the insane pursue ordered by a crazed alpha. Everything Kirdo told was in great detail, to the point Balto began to question, just how Shadowfang related this all to Kirdo without saying a word, and just how Kirdo translated Shadowfang’s gestures into this detailed information. There must be a strong bond of friendship between the wolf-dog and the shadowy wolf, Balto decided.

It appeared that Kirdo had translated the gestures of Shadowfang into words and told them to the rest of his pack before Balto arrived for his share of the information, as some of the wolves were already argue over this matter, especially Rokal, who was having a fiery conversation with Lyya.

“Blast it! Blast them! There is no way we can fight an insane wolf with a whole pack of blind, mindless, retard wolves at his disposal!” Rokal completed his lines with a few curses. His voice was rising, and he sounded more angry than worry.

Even though a furious Rokal was a pretty scary thing, but Lyya stayed as cool as ice, as if she did not pick up the trace of anger in Rokal, “Calm down, warrior. If you do so you might figure a way out besides killing your way out of this.”

“Calm down?! Calm down when we are pinned between the great water and a pack of bastard wolves that follows him blindly? Are you out of your crafty mind?”

“You are out of your mind, old grandpa,” Lyya shot back with equal force, “I really want to see how long you can hold a whole pack of wolves! Five seconds? Ten seconds?”

Balto turned his head away with disappointment as the wolf-dog and the wolf went for another round of argument. He found himself facing Kirdo, who was listening to the argument with amusement on his face. Beside him, Mukhas seemed to be day-dreaming with Mista leaning against him. As for Shadowfang… he was again nowhere to be seen.

“Is this how your pack settles disputes? By putting two headstrong pack members and let them argue to see who will triumph?” Balto asked his brother jokingly.

Kirdo chuckled a little, “Not really, our alpha was a wise wolf, he could always talk sense into us. But he is no longer here to help us…” The brown colored wolf-dog lowered his head, saddened by the thought.

Balto was sympathetic for his lost-and-found brother, but he also knew that it was not the right time to be drowned by the past while the present was about to crumble down upon them. “Is there anything we can do?”

Unexpected by Balto and Kaltag, Mukhas spoke, “We need a plan, and I have one... but I need everyone here to make it work, including you, Balto brother of Kirdo, and you, Kaltag master sled dog of Nome. And I need Lyya to help me improve it.” Even when he spoke, he still had a small smile on his face, which made him quite charming. No wonder Mista fell for him… Balto thought.

“However, I said everyone.” Mukhas continued, “And that means including my brother.”

“Kamsa won’t go anywhere without a clear reason,” Kirdo said, looking around in case that Shadowfang was around, “I am sure of that.”

“Perhaps Lyya can make some adjustment to your plan so we can exclude Shadowfang if necessary.” Balto commented.

“If you have a plan, we best hear it now. There’s not much time left.” Mista said, finally giving out her opinion. She only seemed to be comfortable with Mukhas’ presence.    

Chapter Nine: Of Trust and Duty

Fighting a battle was easy, you kill your opponent, and he was dead and would never get up again. If you were strong, you would be rid of enemies as soon as you knock them all senseless. However, fighting your own thoughts was a totally different thing. You struck a thought that hurt your mind, it would simply get up again with another reason and hurt you again, it took a great deal of time and vitality to overcome the thoughts and memories that went against your will, and this was what Siria experiencing now.

 The tan colored she-wolf was trailing the way deeper and deeper into the territory of the feared ‘Assassinator’, as her pack called. She had made the decision to alert Shadowfang and his friends about the oncoming onslaught a moment ago. Putting her tracking and scouting skills to use, she followed the path the survivors of the Valley’s End Pack took about a week ago to reach their current home.                 

Even if she had decided to try and help the survivors, her mind still struggled against her loyalty to Karani. She remembered everything she did under her alpha’s command, and how she did them without hesitation. She felt worse and worse for her action now to ruin her alpha’s plan, as ridiculous the plan was, she felt as if she was betraying her alpha and joining the rivals of her alpha and her pack.

However, her alpha was no longer wise, but a maddened devil, consumed by hatred, sadness and the lust for vengeance. He pursued a debt that was never made, and his anger blinded him from a fact of battle, that is a battle or a war, no matter how high your rank was, you were another enemy ready to be put down in your enemies’ eyes, they will not avoid you even if they know how high your rank was, and it was actually the direct opposite; the higher your rank, the greater the danger you were in during battles and wars.

Even with so many strong reasons supporting Siria’s action, her fierce, almost unwavering loyalty towards Karani was so strong that the rational reasons could barely kept her paws going forward and not turning back. Thus, she wrestled with her minds all the while she walked the way into Shadowfang’s territory.

Not far away, walking around aimlessly but generally going eastward, was a trouble fraught Shadowfang.  Doom is getting closer to us for every second we waste, and there they are, squabbling like a bunch of pups. Pathetic He shook his head slowly again in disappointment.

He knew that eventually the others will come out with a plan, but they did not actually know when or where their enemies would strike, so that would be dangerous if they did not act fast and swift, either they wanted to flee or to fight.

To sit and talk isn’t an option anymore, I must act. He decided as he fixed his course towards the east where his enemies lurked. To sit and talk was never his option, but this time, he thought, it would have to apply to the others as well, even to Lyya.

 As he was traveling quickly and silently towards the east, his mind considered about two things which he would do once he located the Wolves of the Eastern War Pack. He would try to take down some of the rival wolves, especially whoever seemed to be in control, so that the pack would be left without a leader and anyone who was capable to lead, thus crippling their force and make them turn back. Another option was, to sneak in around them and collect whatever information he can get before speed back to his friends so that they can further improve their plans.

To Shadowfang, the latter option did not look so realistic altogether. First of all, sneaking into the midst of so many wolves hardened and honed in battles without being notice would still prove a challenge to all the skills he possessed. Next, it seemed unlikely for the enemies to discuss about their order once it is given, particularly when they knew the shadows around them are not to be trusted. Lastly, even with half the enemies’ pack on the move, Shadowfang and his friends will still be out numbered about three to one. There was no need for a plan or strategy, they can crush the survivors with sheer number, so sneak around eavesdropping would not get anything useful out of them.

Killing them in the dark might not be on the honorable path like what Rokal insisted to follow, but this is what I do. Shadowfang thought darkly, already the chilling sensation of ready to do his job rushed through his body like freezing water washing over him.

Shadowfang broke into a silent run, jumping from shadow to shadow to stay hidden. Above, moonlights shone onto the forest woods, piercing through the gaps in the leaves like phantom pillars of light. As Shadowfang occasionally dashed through them, ghostly blue lights danced on his shiny hide, making him appeared dark blue, but only for a split second as Shadowfang was moving his fastest.

To anyone who happened to be wandering in the forest, observing and enjoying it, an accidental glimpse on the rays of light Shadowfang was passing would definitely frighten them off their paws, as it looked like something with a ghostly colored hide was running around, suddenly disappeared without a trance, only to reappear a short distance away.

However, the one who happened to wander in the forest just happened to not looking out for anything in it, she did not even watch where exactly she was going. She was walking so ever calmly on the forest floor, passing through rays of moonlight and defying every law of staying hidden in darkness.

Even if Shadowfang was moving fast and focus on his destination, Siria’s presence was still striking enough to halt his run. In his mind, multiple arguments about why she was here clashed together. What is she doing here? Is she spying? Is she here to scout? Is she leading her pack for an ambush attack?

However, Shadowfang was an assassin, a cold blooded profession. He quickly pulled himself together and ready to do the only thing logical to anyone at the time. During this crucial time, any enemy that entered the territory should not be shown of any mercy.

However, hesitation took hold on Shadowfang as a thought brushed through his skeptical mind. He was not going to listen to it again like he previously did, as it almost cost his life. Still, the cold hard sense found its way into his mind, halting him. She helped me before, so what makes her an enemy this time?

Shadowfang leaped out from his hiding place, and landed in front of Siria just like the day they first met. He was not going to kill this she-wolf whose allegiance was shook and might even possible shifted, especially he thought he owed her one for not killing him after his hesitation during his attempt to struck her down. But no matter how much Shadowfang thought he owed Siria, he had to stop her in the path for the safety of his pack.

Siria yelped and stumbled back a few steps, she almost fell, but when she saw who was right in front of her and realized that it would have been her last breath, she somehow found the strength to stand up.

“I am not here to cause harm.” She said with her stern eyes stared into Shadowfang’s.

Shadowfang growled, and lowered his body, an obvious sign of ‘You are not welcomed.’ Shadowfang made it clear that if she took one more step closer to Shadowfang’s pack’s den, she would meet her end.

“I am here to help,” Siria continued, ignoring the threatening posture of the black wolf. She knew she was no match of this shadowy being, but she also knew that Shadowfang would have great need of her information… provided that he permits her to live a while longer.

Shadowfang made no move, he kept growling to show that he was still on alert, but he tilted his head a little to the right, his gesture of saying ‘What do you mean’. In his calculative mind, he considered the possibility of every possible scenarios in his mind.

“I am here to help,” Siria repeated, that was all she could say under the glance of Shadowfang, but she managed to push out her reasoning so she could, by any chance, convince the cruel assassin in front of her, “Please, I am not blind, I am not deaf, I know what my alpha is doing and I know it isn’t right. And I want to stop him.”

Shadowfang growled louder and pressed his body lower, the word ‘lies’ screamed in his mind and echoed in his head. What the tan-colored wolf said was far from convincing, and it might well be just a trick to get inside Shadowfang’s den and gather information. She thinks I am an idiot? Why would she try to deceive me with such lowly trickery? Her pack recognizes me as the avatar of shadow, and here she is, using the simplest trick one could think of! What guile is on her mind?

Siria cursed herself under her breath. Before she even started her journey west, she had a clear mind of who most likely would find her first. But her mind was so clogged by the memories and thoughts of her alpha and her betrayal, to the point she forgot to think about the future which was about to become the present.

“I am here to help…” Panicked, she repeated her words, but it did not sound so confident anymore. Shadowfang mistook this as a guilty conscience and started to walk forward slowly with his teeth bared and flipped back his ears, his eyes shore with a faint glow that look very offensive…

Siria knew she should dodge, or at least step back as Shadowfang lunged at her, but it would only make her more suspicious and guileful. She stood still and firm, and await the incoming impact… or possibly death. It may convince Shadowfang that she was willing to help with true heart, or it may be her last.

She closed her eyes as Shadowfang slammed into her. The impact knocked her over and she could feel Shadowfang standing upon her body, his claws touching her hide, his hot, humid breath onto her face and… nothing.

Siria opened her eyes slowly; Shadowfang was still pressing her against the ground, but he was no longer growling, nor did his eyes look unfriendly anymore. Siria raised her head up a little and looked into Shadowfang’s eyes, the black wolf’s eyes move a little as he noticed Siria looking into them, but Siria still saw something within those ember eyes, confusion and alertness.

Recognizing her chance, Siria spoke, “I am really here to help you all out,” She spoke in a small voice that was close to a whisper, but ensured that Shadowfang could hear her clear and well, “You will need my information, and you may need my help to escape my mad alpha and his loyal followers. Please, let me help you.”

Shadowfang let out a low growl, a sign of he had not put his trust in Siria yet. Siria felt that the black wolf’s over cautiousness was starting to annoy her, as there was clearly no point she would be here if she still clung onto her alpha’s side. It’s time to put some sense into your overly vigilant mind, Assassinator! She resolved.

“Come on, Assas- whatever you name is, do you actually think, with your oh-so-smart mind, that I would still be here if I am still working of my alpha? He knows your den site’s precise location, and he has eighteen wolves, all hunger for vengeance and ready to move out any moment the order is given. Why would he need me here? They can outnumber you easily, or surround you and pin you down. Lastly, all of them, especially my fellow scouts, can sniff the way to you even if you run now.” Siria explained with a hint of annoyance in her voice, although she did try to hide it.

Shadowfang appeared to be thoughtful for a moment, although his still pressed on Siria hard and he still had his wary eyes on Siria. For Siria, the short moment seemed to be torturous, as the result of Shadowfang’s consideration will decide her fate, as well as the fate of those who lived through the war.

Finally, after what seemed to Siria an eternity of silence, Shadowfang slowly, cautiously walked away from Siria, his eyes never looked elsewhere but focused on Siria’s every moment. Siria got up back to her paws just as slowly, eyeing the mute wolf who once pinned her on the ground with mild happiness and pity.

Without uttering a word or any gesture, Shadowfang turned towards the west and headed back to his den as if Siria was not there. Siria caught that as a silent signal for her to follow on. She rolled her eyes as she realized that. Well, every movement has a meaning to a wolf that cannot talk… she thought with a small smile as she followed Shadowfang into the deeper woods.

Chapter Ten: A Plan within Plan

Everyone, including the very calm Lyya, was dumbfounded as Shadowfang step into the clearing, a stranger tan wolf who unmistakably bore the scent of an Eastern War. A few of the wolves jumped to alert position and others growled lowly with grudge in their eyes, but Shadowfang walked in steadily, and shook his head to the angry and confused crowd in annoyance. Behind him, the tan colored wolf walked in nervously.

 “Who are you, wolf of the Eastern War, what’s your business here?” Rokal demanded, anguish emitted from his tone.

The newly arrived she-wolf flinched as she heard the furious old wolf, “I… I am Siria…” she uttered, hardly audible, which only added to the grey wolf’s displeasure.

“Speak up you coward! Dare walk into our territory so bravely and now you can’t talk like a wolf to this elderly here?”  He roared, his paws clawed the clearing floor with fury.

For a moment, Siria was lost in words, and Kaltag, who was sitting silently on the side of the den, was thinking that this wolf that just came in would not live the sun of the next dawn.

“Why did you bring her here, to die?” He whispered to Shadowfang, who was sitting motionlessly two yards away from Kaltag. Shadowfang jerked his head towards the currently speechless she-wolf in response.

“Observe and listen.” Kirdo, who was by Kaltag’s side, translated. His sight was firm on the newcomer, “Kamsa never do things without a good reason, and that reason must be able to convince him. If he feels it’s safe to bring an enemy into our midst, a great chance that the enemy won’t be our enemy for long.”

Kaltag turned and looked at Siria, she was steadier now, and managed to say, “I am Siria,” this time louder than the previous, “And I am here to assist you all, by giving information and maybe more depends on what I can give.”

“What can you give, Eastern War?” Rokal growled, “What else can you offer other than the total destruction of mine pack?” A deep hatred seemed to flow out from his eyes, but he was able to contain himself from attacking.

“I don’t know what I can give other than information,” Siria replied reluctantly, “But I will do anything in my power to help…”

Rokal opened his mouth ready for another sentence of mean words, but Lyya cut him off with a soft smack on the side with her tail. She stepped elegantly into the center of the crowd and spoke with her cunning voice, “Why argue upon what you aren’t sure about? Why not just give her a chance to prove herself worthy to be trusted?” She then turned and whispered into Siria’s ear, “Now, I think you have a little sharing to do… but, a piece of warning for you, Siria, not all of us are as hot-headed as that old oaf over there, we know much more than we let on.” She left Siria a little startled. “So, let’s get started, we don’t have a whole day to spare.”

 After a few seconds of unnerving silence, Siria spoke. She started softly, related the reasons of the attack she told Shadowfang earlier in the night to the rest of the wolves, earning a few angry comments and snarls from her audience. Next, in a louder, but more hesitant voice, she broke the plans of her pack, and the newly confirmed attack to her shocked audience.    

Another unnerving silence filled the air in the clearing. And the Valley’s End wolves exploded into a mess of shouting and roaring, everyone were panicked and desperate, even for Balto and Kaltag, who had never witness the strength of the rival.

Eventually, Balto had enough of the chaos. Screams and complaining about the problem will only make the matter worse, and what’s important is that time isn’t on our side. Upon thinking this, He shook his mind clear and shouted loudly. “Calm down, stay calm! Complaining isn’t the solution! We need a plan!”

The chattering voiced down a bit, everyone looked at Balto with expectations and maybe, a little confusion. “We must decide what we will do before time runs out.”

“Balto is right.” As expected, the sole white wolf among the crowd voiced herself, “And I do have a plan.” She added in her attractive yet cunning sounded tone.

Without the agreement of the other wolves and wolf-dogs, and ignoring the angry protest of Rokal for laying out the plans in front of a outsider, Lyya laid out her plan. Everyone was involved in her plan except for Kaltag; even Siria had gotten a small role to play. It was a quite complicated strategy, and very daring, however, there is one very obvious flaw in the plan; it was utterly meaningless as it would most probably end up having them all surrounded with no escape.

“Why should we do this, there’s no reason for it! This is not a plan, it’s suicidal.” Kirdo stated, and the other wolves nodded in agreement.

“Of course it is pointless,” Lyya replied with indifference, “Because it is only part of the plan, leave the rest to me and do your own parts.”

“And you’ll just leave us to die like the last time?” Rokal growled, he instinctively lowered his body, “We all know what you did in the last battle, don’t ever think we don’t! A high risk plan like that one would be impossible to come out from your damn clever brain, if you truly want to do your duty!” He spat as he finished his sentence.

“I must say that Rokal is right,” Kirdo continued, a small hint of anger, which was rare for a wolf-dog as magnanimous as him, “Almost everyone saw the flaws in your plan, but none of us questioned it due to our late alpha’s trust in you. But they never would have thought that you would buy your own escape with the lives of the whole pack.”

If Lyya was surprised by the accuses of Kirdo and Rokal, she showed no emotion. Her face remained calm, “Just do what I said.” She said quietly.

Rokal and Kirdo’s reaction was predictable, and well understandable, but before they could bark out anything, Mukhas stopped them. “Stop it guys, time is against us, this is no time for suspicion within our own rank!”

“But she betrayed our pack!” Rokal roared, “Leaving her alive and untouched is already against the rule! If only there’s someone with the authority to judge, she will be sentenced to death and I swear on my hide that I will execute her myself!”

“Woah woah,” Balto said calmly, “Take it easy Rokal, don’t get out of control. Perhaps Lyya has something to say about this?”

Mista, who was almost forgotten by the others, suddenly rose from her resting place and walked up slowly to Lyya, a strange expression was in her eyes, that of suspicion and hope mixed together. “We are not going to judge you now or maybe ever… But we need a plan that will success this time… will you help us? As one of us?” she pleaded with her eyes opened big and shiny, like what a pup would do.

To everyone’s disappointment, Lyya’s expression remained unchanged and cold as frost, “Just do what planned, if you do trust me, then leave the rest to me.” She repeated.

Perhaps the only one who was not cast down by the attitude of the white wolf, which just rejected the chance to redeem herself without a second thought, was Mista.  She just rolled her eyes, and turned to face the crowd, “let’s just do what she told us.” She said, surprising everyone but Mukhas, the brown eyes of this cheery black wolf widened for a split second, but smiled in comprehension right after that.

 “Wait...What?” Began, dumbfounded by what just happened between Mista and Lyya, “Are you out of your freaking mind, Outrunner? You actually believe in that sly fox over there? Who almost bought her damned life with your life as well, if it wasn’t for the fact that her filthy life was too cheap that our ancestors deemed that she wasn’t worth it, you’ll be some pale bones in the middle of nowhere by now!”

Mista turned around and faced the complaining old wolf in the eyes with insistence. “She will help this time. Besides, what are we gonna do if we don’t follow her plan? Do you have a better plan in mind?” She turned around, her piercing eyes scanned across the clearing and everyone in it, “Anyone here has a more decent plan? One that will have a better chance of success than this one?”

 Mista gave the other wolves and wolf-dog some time to make up their own plan, but, most to Rokal’s surprise, after a minute of silent waiting none of the plans of the others would give a better result than Lyya’s already mad and suicidal plan.

“It is settled then,” Mista declared on her own, “we do our parts and we don’t complain. Please do not let us down.”

“There’s nothing we can do other than that,” Mukhas added, much to Rokal’s surprise, “So why not give it a try?”

“Agreed…” Kirdo mumbled reluctantly, Shadowfang nodded before he left again, probably to do his parts right away.

“What say you, brother?” Kirdo asked, the question was directed to Balto. Balto knew that eventually it will lead to some sort of vote, so he had make up his mind halfway when his brother asked for his opinion. To him, there was one thing he always regretted, that Steele never got a second chance from the dogs in Nome, he clearly predicted he would not get that chance, or he did not want that chance, and snuck away into the forest before the town’s dog returned to his last appearing ground.  He did not like Steele, but everyone deserved to get another chance to prove him or herself.

“Although I do not fully understand the conflicts that happened in your pack, Kirdo,” he finally voiced his choice, his voice clear and firm, “But I agree, and I will help in her plan.”

After Balto made his choice, everyone turned and looked at Rokal, the old wolf was appearing uneasy, as if he was trying to convince someone but no one would listen to him. “Fine!” He finally surrendered, “But if anything happen to anyone here, I swear I will tear you into a thousand pieces even if I am reduced to nothing but a pile of ashes! Mind this, white fox…”  

Lyya’s expression remained unfazed as her friends left the clearing, mumbling, while getting into their own positions to undergo her plan. Mukhas gave another smile to Mista before he trotted off to his location of action, meaning that he knew what Mista was thinking. Soon, only Kaltag remained, as he was not given any task to do, he decided to go back town and share the grim news with the dogs of the town.

Just then, he heard Lyya called for him, in a weird tone. Before he can ask why, Lyya got into a string of nearly inaudible mumbles; Kaltag could notice the sign of her voice shaking as she spoke. Kaltag focused on his ears but could only make out random words “They… sorrow… hate… help…”

Of course, no one could understand what those pieces of a sentence could mean, but before Kaltag could ask, Lyya pulled herself together and, in an instant, back to her usual, mysterious and keep to herself state. “I didn’t mention you throughout the whole plan, did I?” she said with a calm voice, as if nothing happened, “But I didn’t say you are not part of my plan.”

“Sure, my part would be, get out of the way and let the wolves and wolf-dogs do the job.” Kaltag answered sarcastically.

“Then my answer will be surprising to you,” Lyya responded with a hint of seriousness in her tone, “You’ll play the major role…”

Lyya explained the part she planned for Kaltag, and as he listened, his face turned from disbelief to shock and to fear. At the end, Kaltag could hardly apprehend the risk of the plan or the insanity of the wolf-dog that stood before him.

“This is the only way,” Lyya insisted, “We have to stop it somewhere, or they will haunt us to the end of time.”  

“But…” Kaltag stammered, he could not imagine himself doing such a thing, “Is this really necessary?”

Lyya nodded with her eyes closed, “You better hurry, the enemies are on the way and no one knows how long you’ll need.”

“I didn’t sign up for this!” Kaltag complained, “It’s nothing I will ever do! It’s the most horrible, the most terrible, the most regrettable to do!”

“Balto is out there, one of your friends is out there,” Lyya pointed out, much to Kaltag’s irritation, “If you don’t want to do it, then he’s screwed.” And in a much lighter tone, she said, “Consider this an effort to save a friend; this will make it a lot easier for you mind and your so called ‘morality’.”

“You…” anger started building up inside of Kaltag, “You left me no choice!” He gave Lyya a dangerous glare, and ran off toward the town without looking back.

Lyya stood alone after Kaltag left, her face showed none but the void of expression. Softly, she said, “I hope you can all forgive me… in time you will know why…”

Chapter 11: A Flawed Plan

 Dawn arrived soon enough, and before the sun showed his face above the mountains, Karani had muster his pack, prepared for a massacre. Now he scanned his remaining pack, and was pleased; all the wolves looked as savage as they were in any battle, even in this one which they had the utmost chance of victory. If only I have the full pack back… we could have conquered this whole region, with our original territory under control… upon thinking this, he could not suppress a smile, but he shook the thought away. There will be other time for this, right now, I must savor the sweetness of vengeance.

“All is ready,” After what seemed to Karani an eternity of waiting, Dakea finally showed up with this most long awaited news. “Good… we march in there at first light. They should be wide awake that time, I want them to see it coming, I want them to know the WE killed them, and I would really love to have them knowing why we kill them.”

Unbeknownst to Karani and his pack of wolves was something that might send his entire pleasure taking plan down the river; one of his most loyal subjects betrayed him… and the traitor would be the one leading his pack in the attack…

A short distance due west, where Karani would thought his easy preys now dwell, was very busy with actions. What he once believed to be simple targets with no defense nor any knowledge of what was coming for them, were making some sort of plan, but Karani was blind to this all, of course, for he believed that even if they have preparations made for their arrival, his forces could well crush them with their number; Karani had got them outnumbered two to one. No… they will perish today.

“Alright!” Karani cleared his throat, as his followers quieted down to hear from their leader, “It is time, let us march into the enemies’ lair and teach them a lesson about messing with us!” A heartless smile spread on his face as the wolves roared, agreeing with him.

The first few minutes of their march for vengeance were uneventful; their quiet steps scared off nothing but birds and rodents. Every now and then, some of the more cautious wolves would start to wonder if they were marching right into a trap with their eyes opened, but their mutters of discouragement were cut short by the fearsome glares from their vengeful pack mates.

The first surprise was not one to their preference. As they approached a wide and seemly unwatched path, the ground beneath one of the wolf in lead suddenly gave way, and two of Karani’s most influential followers fell into the hole that just suddenly subsided.

The pit was not very deep, but the impact managed to knock one of the two wolves unconscious, the other was luckier, as she landed on top of her not-so-lucky friend.

The whole pack stopped to check on their trapped brethrens, “It is impossible for our enemies to make such a hole in the hard soil, and it is obvious that this is no natural formation.” Dakea stated, carefully not to slip on the edge and fall into the trap.

“Enough of talk, get back on the path and we march forth!” The wolves  unanimously looked at the source of the speaker, who turned out to be Karani himself, he looked not at one bit concerned for his own two wolves in the trap.

A flash of black.

A wolf yelped and fell unconscious. A deep scratch mark, flowed with blood, appeared on this back, just narrowly missed the neck. Before the other wolves could get what happened, another wolf fell.

Everyone was panicked, they turned from places to places, trying to find the one behind this silent yet deadly attack. The wolves’ pack disordered quickly, Karani and Dakea tried furiously yet futile to get the pack back to order. At first it seemed their number will go down one by one until no one is alive… or awake, but Karani was a great leader, he knew what had to be done in such situation, leaving the command to Dakea—whatever command that was still in effect—and ran to a higher ground.

He reached the top of a slanted rock that impaled on the ground like a giant icicle that fell from the sky in ancient time. There, he scanned the whole visible surrounding. At first he saw nothing but turmoil amongst his wolves, but then he spotted it. Under the tree just a few yards from the nearest wolf, a shadow was moving.

‘’Assassinator…” The alpha hissed the name with pure hatred. This demon had cause his pack troubles way too many, no more. Anger and near insane hatred rushed through his body, granting him strength to achieve what most others cannot.

From the top of the rock he leaped, flying through the air for an impressive length of time, and landed right on top of the ‘shadow’. A near impossible distance for a simple jump from a higher ground. The black wolf grunted silently, and slipped away so fast Karani could not catch up. Karani cursed, he would love to have that most sneaky wolf put down right now, but he knew he could have his pack search for him the whole month and never found a thing. If the black wolf did not want to be found, no one can even smell his presence. Besides, Karani knew that the ‘Assassinator’ will eventually appear, once all his other pack mates had been dealt with.

The black wolf did not return, and Dakea and some of the more influential wolves were putting the pack together, and calming those who freaked out while tend to those injured.

“None of them are killed, sir,” Dakea reported as the alpha approached, “They are just plainly unconscious, not sure what that Assassinator did to them, probably knocked them out with an extremely painful strike, but nothing more serious than that.”

“How many?” asked Karani, but it was as if he cared more about the number of soldiers he would have in the battle that would follow rather than the welfare of his own loyal followers.

“Including the two trapped in the hole? That makes it four.” Dakea reported, on his face showed concern, but his alpha intentionally chose not to notice.  “They are very vulnerable to our enemies right now, especially with the ‘Assassinator’ around. Perhaps we should get them to a safe place before we proceed on our march?”

“Nonsense!” snapped Karani without even considering, “We need all we can spare to take down our hated enemies, they are wicked, and skilled in running and striking in the dark – even if it is morning right now!”

“But sir, we can’t leave them to the enemies out here!” Dakea protested, another wolf that accompanied the Beta nodded supportively.

The argument last for quite a while, the Beta stood firm in his position, he insisted strongly that they must never abandon their pack mates even if they were to delay a greater course. Karani the alpha, on the other hand, thought only about the attack he issued and led. He wanted there to have no mistake on his entire raiding plan.

Wolves gathered around uneasily and watched as the debate heated. Just as some began to expect blood to be shed, their leader slapped Dakea, silenced him, and roared, “Shut up! This is getting ridiculous! We have already lost our precious element of surprise! The ‘Assassinator’ no doubt is racing for his collaborators to warn them of our presence, if he hasn’t reached them already!” He turned to stare his Beta with a pair of rage-filled eyes. “And, to satisfy your… concerns for our pack… pick two of the wolves of your wish, and stay. Watch over them, just like how you so wished.” He turned away and rallied the wolves himself.

Dakea wanted to help his alpha on the frontline, he was, nevertheless, a fighter worthy of his claws and fang, and he was the Beta of the pack, the second most influential wolf in the pack, his presence would be useful to the entire pack. But his alpha had made it clear.

He did not turn away from Karani’s fiery eyes. And within them he got the message. It was an order, and if he tries to object once more, his alpha would tear him apart. Confused, he sighed and went on to obey the command that was so harshly forced upon him.

Sighing, he chose two of the wolves that showed equal concern for their fallen comrades, one silver and the other dark brown, and left the main crowd.

Karani did not even spare a second to glance at the wolves his Beta chose to stay with him. “March forth!” He issued, and all had a shiver down their spine as they felt the anger and determination in his voice.

The Assassinator had dealt a serious blow to Karani’s force. Before the battle was even start, they had lost a big part of their number. But this only infuriate the crazed alpha even more, the expression he wore as he led his pack members into the enemies’ territory would scared away any birds on the branches without even making a sound.

They had a stealthy and uneventful march for the next few minutes. The surrounding woods were unnervingly quiet, but to the wolves that had gone through two times of narrow escape, the serenity only increased their anxiety. Every tree, every rock, seemed to house a hidden trap, and every shadow seemed to have an ‘Assassinator’ behind them.  But, trained soldiers as they were, they would not allow such pathetic reasons to stop them from their track and their orders.

It was six minutes since they had start off when something disturbed their quite march. One of the scouts that scouted ahead came rushing back, she urgently reported that she picked up two scents of wolf, but they had the unmistakable dog scent mingled in them.

“I suspect they are wolf-dogs,” reported the female scout wolf, “Also, their scents are highly alike, and it took me a good whole minute to decide that they are two separate beings instead of one. By this case, I also believe they are twins, or at least related to each other.”

Karani stepped forth, his eyes stared intensely at the scout and made her swallowed under his piercing graze. “Is any of the scents familiar to you? Are those you smell our targets? Or perhaps they are just some other twisted mutts happened to live in this place?”

The scout took a step backward under the iron stare of her alpha, “The scents were almost identical. But I was sure that I had smelled, at least, one of them back in our territory. If I am not mistaken, it should be the scent of the wolf-dog our rival’s alpha brought to us for negotiation before the war.”

The scout before his was one of the best in his pack even back in the days when his pack was a complete one. She had the enviable ability to remember all the scents she had ever detected and distinguish them in mere seconds; she was even able to recall the name or title of the owner of the scent.

“And the other scent? Is it a familiar one?” asked Karani sternly, and not necessary in a kind tone.

A sign of fear touched the surface of the she-wolf’s otherwise emotionless face, “No, no sir. I have never pick up that other scent. Though they are highly alike, I can swear I’ve never smell scents that similar before.”

Karani eyed this scout wolf with renewed interest. He knew every wolf that followed him across the plain for the hunt, but this wolf just daringly suggested something that would well cost her life. “You are actually suggesting they have, somehow, found some distance relatives here?”

The scout gulped, “Yes.” Despite the pressure her alpha exerted upon her, she held firm to her view, she trusted her senses.  

“And perhaps this also means that we would have something… extra, to fight?” 

“Yes sir. It’s… it’s not for sure… but… it’s possible.” The scout stammered.

Karani pondered for a moment, if their enemies had somehow acquired help from the wolves or dogs or whatever canine that lived in this area, there would be no telling how many Karani and his remaining pack members would have to fight and destroy.

It doesn’t matter. Whoever sided with the demons that caused the downfall of my pack don’t really need to be punished the same way those Valley’s Ends must suffer. He decided after much debate with himself, all we need is to punish those who broke my pack, and leave.

“We march forth, no matter what.” He told the scout, “Pass the message down that we will only tend to those who destroyed the harmonic balance of our once invincible pack and ultimately caused its downfall, ignore the others as best as we could.” We can entertain them later… He added in his thoughts with a wicked smile.

The two almost identical wolf-dogs returned to cause disorders in Karani’s pack almost as soon as they start their march again. They leaped around and causing confusion among Karani’s wolves. Sometimes they got dangerously close and tried to land scratches on some of the wolves. But Karani’s battle seasoned wolves responded fast, they calmed down, and had their eyes focused on the intruders, all in mere seconds.

That was the time when the two wolf-dogs started to retreat back; they ran back the way they came, darting among trees and jumping around making Karani’s wolf having trouble locating them. But still, the wolves gave chase with great discipline and vigilance when as Karani gave the order to do so, splitting into two groups by an unvoiced understanding of each other’s notion.

The two wolf-dogs led them into the denser part of the forest, moving in tricky ways, swapping positions, running into bushes, trying to lose the pursuers. Karani’s wolves responded with supreme agility, swapping targets without looking at the other group at all.

Before they caught any of the two wolf-dogs, Karani ordered them to stop. Most of his wolves were confused by the order, but all of them reacted to the command immediately. Looking around, they found themselves in the middle of a dense forest, snow-covered, silent, and potentially deadly.

“Spread up into small groups of two and sniff out their dwellings! If you catch their trails going out of this region, send an alert, Dakea and his wolves back there should be able to take care of them.”

Chapter 12: Cornered

“They’re sniffing around our territory now, in no time they will find us. Does that go with your plan?” Balto asked rather harshly as he and his brother returned to the rendezvous point where the white wolf Lyya was waiting. Usually for Balto, he would not speak that way to someone he barely knew, but being chased by a group of highly disciplined wolves unnerved him.  

“Good. Now we just have to rally them and lure them to us.” Answered the white wolf, something told the brothers she was not joking, there was seriousness in her eyes, unless her lying ability had grown so strong that even her eyes could lie.

“What is it on your mind Lyya, I know you always have the plan, but this suspense is killing me.” Said Kirdo in a calmer tone, being a wolf-dog that had seen the slaughter of his pack mates, being chased by a pack of killers in his own territory was not enough to scare him… or so it seemed.

“You will see soon enough,” Lyya still held her mouth firmly, “I can’t promise everyone a good ending, but I am positive we’ll survive this.”

“Anything is a good ending if we survive,” stated Kirdo, appeared confused.

Lyya turned her head away, and for a second she looked unsure, but as soon as she looked back, the sly, skeptical look returned. “Just do what I said, and we’ll see if that good ending is indeed good for you.”

“So what now, lure them here and pin ourselves between the human’s town and pack of angry fangs?” Snapped Balto, this plan made no sense to him.

“That’s quite the part you are going to perform,” Lyya smiled one of her chill-sending smiles, “You won’t find much sense in it because you are but a part of the grand picture, play your part well and you may find yourself in a successful plan, deny it… then I am afraid, you’ll really find yourself quite pinned.”

Balto fought back the urge to growl, what she said was right, he would risk much if he turns away right now, but he could not help but felt being used by this white fox in front. 

Kirdo had a calmer mind—most probably he had gotten use to Lyya’s manipulation—and asked for the details. Now the two of them were to approach the enemies from their front and lure them to a clearing north of their den site, while Rokal and Mista approach them from the north, the Shadowy brothers would see to it than none of their friends get hurt.

“What is all this for?” Balto thought out loud as they moved into position.

“Same question here,” his brother replied, “Lyya isn’t one I would trust my life to, but right now, she’s my only bet. Besides, we are really tired of being chased again and again, it’s time we act.”

Balto stopped dead in the track and eyed his brother carefully, “What if this act is going to be your last?” he asked carefully.

Kirdo brushed off the serious question with a carefree chuckle, “I doubt we’ll be that down on luck with you in the team, Hero of Nome.” He teased.

Balto chuckled at his brother’s words, Kirdo surely had his ways to cheer up just about any situation. Balto could feel the atmosphere grew from the grim seriousness to a lighter, more comfortable one.

A howl ripped through the morning air, a rally call and definitely not on their side, they knew instantly that Mista and Rokal had successfully captured their rivals’ attention. They would lure them towards Balto and Kirdo’s direction and they would take it from there and bring them to that spot Lyya pinpointed.

The two brothers hid stiffly and nervously under a pile of rocks as the barking and snapping of multiple wolves got louder and fearfully closer. “I don’t think they are this foolish to think that we are merely running from them.” Kirdo stated monotonously, despite the direness of the situation, he still had his emotion perfectly under control.

“They don’t need a plan to corner us,” Balto agreed, “Come, we better start running so we won’t need to speed up that much when they reach us.” He stood up, beckoned his brother to follow.

They started out as a fast trot, but quickly sped up as the sound of crushing sticks and running paws on snow got closer and closer.

“Pick up pace you wolf-dogs! Use your petty dog paws the way wolves do!” They heard Rokal yelling at them from behind. They did not know if he was really close enough to see them, or he simply picked up their scent along the trail, but they did not dare to turn and see. Whichever ways Rokal detected them, the enemies were close, too close for comfort.

The destination drew closer as they ran frantically to put more distance between the pack of vengeance-driven wolves. A reddish brown wolf ran past them, it was Mista, running straight toward the meadow. She must be really scared… Kirdo thought, she was never the bravest wolf in the pack, and this situation would scare even Rokal the fearless. I just hope that Lyya did do something about that place that will miraculously, or magically, safe us.

Lyya was there, quite surprising for some of them. But sure enough, the white wolf-dog was sitting in the farthest edge of the clearing, shifting her body nervously.

Balto and Kirdo reached Lyya in merely a few seconds. To their dismay, the trees and bushes behind them were too thick, trying to go through them was impossible. They had pitted themselves against a dead end. 

“Now what?” Kirdo inspected the growth and confirmed no way out, “Why are we here? You do realize there’s no escape here, don’t you?”

“Shh! Quiet!” the white wolf-dog snapped without looking at him, “There’s a hidden trail to our left, but don’t move yet. I intended to end this once and for all.”

“But how--?” Balto did not have the chance to finish his sentence, as Rokal burst into the clearing, with a whole pack of hostile wolves close behind him, with their teeth bared and ears laid flat against their head.  On the lead was a dark grey wolf, he let out a sinister smile as he saw all his ‘prey’ trapped before him.

“There is nowhere to run, Valley’s End wolves!” He yelled as he stopped about two yards away from Balto and his friends, his wolves quickly surrounded them, “Now you shall face what you have done to my pack!”

“What is the meaning of this, Karani?” Lyya shouted as she took one step forward to look the fearsome wolf in the eye.

“Look at my pack,” The mad wolf gestured, “Missing someone you fought in the battle? Aye, that’s what you dogs done to my pack. By killing the alpha female in my pack, you wrecked my pack’s hard-built balance and eventually my pack broke into a half! You all have to pay for this.”

“Sounds not even fair compared to what you did to my pack.” Rokal spat.

“Ooh brave words, old bones. Be careful of what you speak, for it may decide how painful your end would be…” Karani growled. Some of his followers advanced, but he shoved them back.

“I do not see how we can tear your pack in two by attacking a single wolf, would you mind explaining?” Lyya shushed the old wolf away and asked politely.

“You tipped the balance of our pack, you insolent fool!” The maddened wolf roared, his wolves growled and barked in agreement.

“I don’t understand, nor do any of my pack mates, I believe.” Lyya said, she even managed to put on a confused face, which looked really weird on the white wolf to Balto, but nevertheless, Karani seemed to buy it.

“Well, I did say I want to let you know your crimes before I get my... reparation, didn’t I?” He spoke to himself loudly, and launched into a story spiced with a great amount of cursing and swearing. With the harsh words removed, his story sounded like an exaggerated version of what Siria told them.

Balto could see that Lyya was stalling, but it was really hard to tell if you did not know what was going on, she looked to be paying real attention to Karani’s twisted story, nodding and mumbling as the story went. But stalling for what? Is she expecting some sort of help, where can she get any help?

Karani’s story went on, and it was close to the finish, unless Karani would like to add some comments about the story, but it seemed unlikely, considering he had cursed all he wanted as he told the story.

“Now,” Karani cleared his throat and made a savage smile, his wolves stepped closer and readied themselves, and these brought Balto’s attention back to the impending doom he was going to face. He remembered what Lyya said about the hidden escape, but he did not know where, he silently cursed himself for not asking earlier when he had the chance.

“I believe you have now fully understood the reason of our action,” Karani continued, “Actually I’m feeling quite merciful today, so I will give you the chance to surrender yourself. It’ll make your death a lot easier.”

“You call that mercy? You weasel-minded warmonger? We need not a single bit of your honor-destroying lies!” Rokal spat, finally had enough of the nonsense he was seeing, if he had to die this day, he would rather it to be an honorable one, “Bring it.”

“You’ll have what you seek! Old dog!” Karani roared, “Get them!” He lunged.

Balto watched in panic as the hostile wolves approached, snarling and barking and they approach. On his left, Lyya was starting to retreat, Shadowfang leaped into the shadows, preparing to strike from his most advantageous locations, and…. Was that dog barks?

Chapter 13: The plan Unfolds

About a dozen dogs jumped out of nowhere and into the just starting fight, with Kaltag on the lead. Some of the hunting hounds sprung and attacked the wolves at once, and Balto could hear the voices of humans coming closer and closer.

“This way, hurry!” Lyya yelled, trying to get her voice into all her friend’s ears over all the chaos. She led them into a small path. The opening of the path was cleverly covered with leaves, and the bushes were thing on both sides of the path, it would be hard for anyone to notice them once they were under the cover of the bushes.

Just as the Mukhas, being the last to enter the trail, pulled the leaves back to the original position and covered up the entrance, they heard a loud ‘bang’, followed by a howl of pain, and another ‘bang’, and another, and another…

“So this’s how it sounds like…” Kirdo whispered, his eyes wide with amazement and fear.

Kirdo was handling a lot better than some others. Mista was completely freaked out, “Isn’t that only appear in myths?” She moaned weakly and ran away. “I’ll get her.” Mukhas said, he frowned as his looked at Lyya, and ran after the red wolf.

An anguish roar flew through the air, and for a second, Balto thought Karani had escaped and found them, but he soon realized the roar came out from Rokal.

“Savage they may be, but they do not deserve such death without honor! Lyya!” he spoke with fury in his eyes, directed at the white wolf.

“So, you would prefer being their prey, than to be rid of them in a clever way?” Lyya countered, she seemed unsurprised, even bored, as if she already predicted this conversation but was unable to avoid it.

“Bah! You merciless demon—” Rokal began, advancing towards the white wolf aggressively. Seeing the situation was going to be very bad for the pack, Balto stepped in, “Enough stop it. We are still within the danger zone, anytime now, the hunters may find you, especially when you shouted so loud, Rokal, no offense but it’s true.”

Rokal turned to face him with his face twisted with anger, and Balto feared he might attack him. Fortunately, the old wolf’s sense of danger seemed to override his rage, “I will settle this later.” He said, and walked to the far opening of the little path, the other’s followed him hastily.

Meanwhile, the only way Siria could describe the situation she was in was: Utter horror. It’s hard enough for her weakened pack to face fourteen experienced hunting hounds without being seriously crippled. But that was not the worst; the dogs were but distraction, the true dangers were the human hunters.

In the hands of the not-so-fearsome looking creature were some demonic sticks, they certainly did not look anymore scary than those humans themselves, but the look was deceiving. All around her, Siria could see her brethren fell under the sticks’ magic? Witchcraft? Voodoo? There was no way she could help her friends, those who knew better had ran away, but she doubt the number was big.

 Something swooped past her face. she turned abruptly to the source of the projectile, and saw a human, standing at about ten yards from her, with the doomsday stick pointing at her. Without a second thought, she bolted and ducked behind a tree as she heard another ‘bang’, once the sound faded, she took off into the deep woods faster than she had ever ran in her whole life.

“Hey one of them wolves escaped!” she heard the hunter shouted to his companion.

“Leave it!” the other replied in heavy accent, “These skins on the ground can get us quite a fortune already. We take what we need, that’s the law of nature.”

Siria ran without looking back, across the forest and up to a hill, where she could take a rest and think about what happened. All my friends… lost, who survived the humans’ wrath? Sadly, even here, the winds carried the fading yelps of her pack into her ears, of course it might only be her imagination, she could no longer be sure about it. Tears filled her eyes, and she let out an emotion-filled howl, a slow, sad tone, a wolf’s dirge.

A wolf’s dirge was a very long and beautiful song, multiple wolves howled one by one, each put their memories of the deceased into their songs. Siria’s song, however, was a lonely one, for she was the only singer, singing for an entire pack. She sang on and on, determined to howl for every slain member of her pack.

A lonely song was a silent one, but it was still audible for those who paid close attention to the environ.

Not far away, Shadowfang led his pack mates and friends to his secret hideout. It was a small clearing, roughly oval in shape. Not only was this clearing hard to find, but the terrain around it was treacherous. The surrounding ground was covered in a thin layer of snow, but it did a great job in hiding the uneven ground beneath. Every step must be probed carefully, or anyone would fall easily and risk being stabbed by the sharp stones hidden under the snow. Sinister-looking bushes with thorny sterns ringed the clearing, providing physical defense, as well as a mental warning to ward away those who might want to explore the region. Even humans might find this place defensible… Balto thought as he eyed the thorns of the foliage, these natural barricades reminded him of spiked iron wires which humans used for fencing their land.

Although the Bushes seemed to surround the clearing densely, without so much as a hole fit for a mouse to pass unharmed, Shadowfang seemed to walk through them rather easily. A closer look revealed the trick: the branches of that particular part of the bushes were carefully snapped, making them easy to twist, also, the thorns were patiently picked off the stern, rendering the plants harmless.

The clearing of which Shadowfang dwelled was nothing alike to the beautiful meadow where the pack made its den, even though the sun has risen and it’s golden rays filled the clearing, there was still a thin, thin veil of mist that just refuse to dissipate. In the center stood a dead pine tree that, even dead, was taller than other trees around the clearing. The dead tree was hollow, with an opening near its root, it provided the cover Shadowfang needed if he was to rest here.

Satisfied that no one uninvited was present in the hidden den, Mukhas started rather harshly, “Lyya, do you truly understand what you have done?”

“I prevented them from ever coming back to harm us in the most efficient way, yes, I think I do understand my actions.” The white wolf-dog replied defiantly.

“But there’s no reason to condemn them to such fate!”

“Indeed!” Rokal interrupted, he was under control, but barely, “If you slay them with your own claws and fang, there will be no quarrel, but this… this is outrageous!”

“If you are measuring this in your sense of honor, then I can say no more,” Lyya grunted in obvious distaste, “For there is no way that meaningless sense can approve of my actions, even if they just saved your hides.”

“Why didn’t you tell us the full plan before you put it to use?” as soon as the words escaped him, Balto regretted asking, for he knew that none among them would ever approve such horrible plan, “We could’ve change it and make it not as deadly somehow.”

“Are you suggesting that I didn’t think this through before I make that plan? What other way is there?” Lyya snapped, “Face it, one way or another, it still requires wiping the out, and I chose most painless one at the cost of our trouble.”

“This is absurd!” Rokal exclaimed and pounced toward the direction of Lyya, and it too both Kirdo and Balto to restrain him.

Chapter 14: The Aftermath

Logic would argue that walking away from his pack mates right now would not be a good idea, but Shadowfang wanted some peace and his friends was not giving him some. He silently walked away from his den, none of his pack mates noticed a thing, as usual.

Once out of the concealment of his secret hideout, he headed east, with no exact destination in mind. Should I hunt down the survivors, given there are? He shook this thought off almost as soon as it crossed his mind, the Eastern War Pack, enemies to him as they were, they had suffered much in mere seconds, it was not right to harm them any further.

His sharp ears picked up a distant voice, a heartbroken one, he instantly knew to whom the voice belonged. He stood still for a second to locate the direction of the song, and darted towards it.

As he approached the source, which was the top of a hill, he could now see the singer, the identity which he predicted: Siria. He never noticed it before, but now he realized that Siria had a beautiful voice. Disturbing a dirge was to meant disrespect to the dead and an utmost insult to the singer, that was certainly not on Shadowfang’s mind, so he hid in the shadows and listened.

As the broken she-wolf mourned her pack mates one after another, Shadowfang could not help but wonder if there were any survivors. There’s got to be someone who survived the massacre, surely the must be some who escaped once the first wolf fell. He felt compelled to look for survivors, not only to make sure if they still pose a threat to his pack, but also to ease the pain of the Siria a little, though he would never admit it.

Shadowfang turned to leave and start his search, his movement was but a slight shift in the shadows, but the tip of his tail brushed against some leaves. The tiny sound of the rustling leaves reached Siria’s ears, and in a near frantic state of mind, she turned and lunged at amazing speed. Shelanded on a much surprised and unprepared Shadowfang and yelled among heavy breaths, “Don’t kill me! Don’t kill any of them! You killed them! You! You! You!”

Calm your mind as well as body, Siria! Was what Shadowfang wanted to say, however it was not easy to express anything when he could not talk and could not make any movement. So he calmed himself instead and stared hard at the constricted eyes of the tan wolf.

After what seemed like hours of waiting with nothing but the panting wolf on top of him, the pressure on Shadowfang eventually lessened, but his captor did not seem any better, “It’s… only you…” She managed with shaking voice that was so soft that Shadowfang barely caught it.

Siria got off from him and Shadowfang got onto his paws quickly, but the she-wolf simply walked away and stared blankly at the sky, completely ignoring her surrounding and the black wolf.

Shadowfang walked closer to Siria and looked at her with concern, hoping she would be alright and not completely, helplessly insane. Seeing that she had no reaction, Shadowfang nudged her lightly, and this time she responded.

“They say we go to the stars when we die…” she said dreamingly, her mind seemed distant, “Maybe some of them up in the sky were my friends…  Maybe I can count their number by counting the stars…”

He nudged her again, it was not safe leaving her out in the open like this, he wanted to being her somewhere safe until she could gather her mind up. He made a ‘move’ motion, not too harshly, and pushed Siria on the side gently, urging her to stand up.

“Where are you taking me… where am I going?” Siria muttered as she got onto her paws, but otherwise refused to move. Despite the weird choice of words, she seemed to be pulling herself together and saw with clearer eyes, although they were red and watery.

“Safe… place…” Shadowfang croaked as he gently pushed Siria to face the direction he wanted her to go.

“There is nowhere safe… nowhere safe now…” She mumbled and refused to move.

“There… is! Please…” Shadowfang forced the words out of his mouth, the problem with gestures was that one cannot understand the meanings without a clear mind, and right now, Siria had a mind as clear as swamp water.

His words went unheeded, as the she-wolf sat down again and looked away as if he was not there at all. Shadowfang was planning on dragging her along until an idea stuck him, If she doesn’t want to leave, then I’ll just wait here until she changes her mind.

He seated himself beside Siria and made sure she noticed him, and he waited. Perhaps guarded was a better word, as he made the decision to protect Siria from any harm that could come to them, until she comes to her senses, no matter how long to would take.

After what seemed to be an eternity of silence that seemed so out of place after the earlier event, Siria spoke with a tearful voice, “Did… anyone survived?”

Her sudden question startled Shadowfang a bit, he had gotten used to the quiet and serene atmosphere of the hill and enjoyed it. This, when he came to think of it later, was indeed very, very rare for restless wolf like him. Sadly, the answer to Siria’s question was one Shadowfang would like to know as well, he shrugged and looked at her.

“There are none, isn’t it?”

He stood up and pushed her lightly with his head, prompting her to go check it out, “Maybe… there… are.” He looked to the east where not so long ago he fled for dear life. Actually he believed there were survivors based on two facts. The first being that the traps Eastern Wars walked into proved to be a non-lethal fall. Bruises and broken bones maybe, but not death. For the second, Shadowfang vaguely remembered seeing the beta of the Eastern War commanding a team of wolves before, and what struck the shadowy wolf the most about the second-in-command’s appearance was that he had the same sort of pure black pelt as he did. However, he did not recognize spotting any wolf of that color when he was surrounded; surely the beta had to be elsewhere…

To his relief, Siria gave a sigh of surrender. “Hopeful or not, it is my duty… as a member of the pack to seek out for anyone who escaped that… that…” she stood up, unwilling to finish her sentence, “In this case, you are right…”

Shadowfang escorted Siria down the hill and headed back to lower woods. He had suggested retracing the warpath Siria and her pack took, perhaps on the way they would meet some of the members of her pack, most probably the beta. The tan wolf gave no objection.

They deliberately avoided the spot where many were slaughtered, the stench of blood stained even the air distant from the spot of its orgin. Both Shadowfang and Siria tried not to think about what had come to pass on this path and devoted their attention more to the security of their surroundings. The forest was particularly quiet, no the chirp of a single robin or the noises squirrels made was heard, of course it may be the recent event that heightened their sense for anomaly.

The surrounding woods showed no sign of the humans that wield supernatural forces as they approached the spot where, According to Siria, the ground collapsed and two wolves fell inside it. The two unconscious wolves should have awaken by now, and would have been oblivious to their pack’s annihilation and gone trying to find them somewhere and rejoin them, or they may have heard the thunderous sound the humans made and fled to no one knew where. Either way, they would find them, they both refused to think that these wolves rejoined their pack before the pack met its end. That would be simply too horrible.

Shadowfang hid in the bushes while Siria did the inspections, as if the Beta and his friends was around and saw their enemy out in the open alone, the end would not be pleasant. Siria was sniffing and looking around, and each of her steps was carefully made to avoid sharing the same fate as her pack mates. The time needed for a careful look-around and the precautious made for each move took quite a lot of time, which gave Shadowfang to think matters all over again.

It seems that she doesn’t know what Lyya did to her pack yet, that is the only logical reason she hadn’t pounce on me and tear me to shreds… He concluded, and another question rose to his attention, If she is blind to that, will it be better if she remains oblivious to it forever?

She will know of it eventually, perhaps pretty soon from now if her surviving pack mates had already found out what happened. Shadowfang found it quite bizarre to address members of the Eastern War ‘survivors’. They were the deadliest pack in every known region just not so long ago, to think how fast things can change…

“I don’t get it… why?” Shadowfang’s thought was cut off as Siria approached him mumbling questions that did not make sense. Once she saw Shadowfang, she repeated her trouble, “No one’s here, but they were. I can only say that not so long ago, Dakea must’ve revived the poor wolves who fell into the pit, and for some reason I cannot comprehend, left for the east, even before…. That happened.”

Shadowfang started trotting towards the direction Siria spoke of as the answer. Together, they followed the scent trail of Siria’s pack mates, Siria walked out in the open while the black wolf hid here and there to avoid being spotted, he reckoned it would not be good if Siria’s pack mates saw her walking with an enemy of theirs.

It was not a long search.  

They found the five wolves moving at the speed the two unfortunate ones can run, certainly because they have found something they did not like. They stopped when Siria stepped out and called for them.

I am no longer needed then. Shadowfang thought. He watched in the shade of a boulder as Siria ran up and rejoined her pack, her emotion seemed much more stable and he was sure she could handle well from now on.

He had no interest in listen to Siria as she bitterly narrated the story that just happened to her stunned audiences. He left the scene silently and headed back to his territory. A walk alone would be best, I would hate to escape from one sad tale, only to enter another.

One Week later…

Siria looked over the unfamiliar landscape with eyes full of memories.

There, she did what was right, what had to be done. There, she turned against her pack. There, she lost all her friends.

Dakea had made the decision to take up residence near to the site where many of his pack mates had fallen to honor their deaths, and Siria, despite how much she feared that place and the humans near it, had no objection. She thought it was some sort of punishment, and she was willing to take it.

She looked at the view once more, before answering the call of her remaining pack mates. No doubt you will soon find us here, but when that happens , I truly hope the day can end peacefully.

 “The hunters have left, though Hunter warned me there’s a good chance they might return.” Balto stated grimly, recalling the day when the old veteran hunting hound departed with his friends and owners. ‘Ya’ better watch out wolf-dog. This time ya’ got lucky, none of ya’ friends got hurt. But mind ya’, next time you might not be as lucky then. Yes, next time. After ya’ tricks that gave my masters such a fortune they would love to return and try their luck again. I hope next time I don’t have to hunt ya’ down.’ The seasoned hunter personally warned Balto about this.  

“I hope what you say will not turn into reality, brother.” Answered the hero’s brother.

They were in the clearing where Kirdo and his surviving pack mates had made their den, exchanging news and thoughts that surround the incident Lyya caused, inevitably.

Everyone was there, but no one was especially talkative, even if it was a week after the incident happened. Rokal was sitting on the rocks that formed their den, for an old wolf it was hard from him to be on alert position for long, his bones would turn hard as stone, but he did it every day. Mukhas and Mista mourned for the loss of life, and plucked flowers --- whatever flower they could find in this time of the year --- and brought them to the site of slaughter. Lyya was forgiven, both by her friends and Kaltag, who once said she used him as a tool for murder, but still, she was shunned by everyone. Only Shadowfang seemed to have recovered from the impact of the incident and carried on his daily routine.

“Things weren’t always this way… ah, the good old days…” Kirdo looked up into the sky.

“Would you mind telling the story of your time with your pack now? I believe you owe me that story,” Said his domestic twin, “It would be good to cast away the grey fog that haunts our minds.”

Kirdo smiled, “That maybe is a good idea…”

Balto, Jenna, Boris, Muk, Luk, Nikki, Kaltag and Star belong to Universal Studio and Amblimation; I do not own these characters.

Kirdo, Kamsa(Shadowfang), Lyya, Mista, Rokal, Mukhas(Shadowsong),Karani, Siria, Dakea, Semas, Hunter belong to me and must not be used without my direct permission.