Chapter 1

A loud creak echoes through the abandoned cabin, tearing Blade away from his deep sleep. His emerald eyes flew open as he scrambles to sit up. Peering around the cabin he blinks the sleep out of his eyes. He looks down at the mahogany floor resting peacefully under his light black paws. An old dining room table sits above where Blade had his slumber. The black wolf crawls out from between two broken wooden chairs and extends his limbs into a much needed stretch. A yawn escapes his mouth, revealing his white fangs and pink tongue.
The sun beats down on him through a hole in the wall where a window once resided. Under his left eye a scar is engraved, now perfectly visible due to the change in lighting. Three defined slashes etched into the ridge of his cheekbone. The irritated flesh occupies where fur once covered. It’s thickness showing off the depth of the imprinted wound. He received the scar when he was a pup. During a fight with the Pack of The Mountains, the camp was raided. Blade’s scar was a result of his father’s rage. Rapier was furious at the loss and swung at the nearest wolf. How unfamiliar his father looked to him in that moment.
Another creak echoed through the house, pulling his attention back to what awoke him in the first place. His ears perked as he waited for another clue of the location of the sound-maker. A squawk sounded through the broken building with a following thump. Blade made his way through the hallway until he found the stairs that were broken halfway up.
Curiosity sparked in the wolf as he heard another thud from the unreachable domain. His eyes stared down on the step he inhabited. The wood was splayed in all different angles. The stairs originally continued forward and then turned left to reach the second floor. Where they once were is now barren and the pieces lie splintered on the ground sixteen feet below. The side of the cabin no longer remained standing up, for it was lying demolished somewhere on the lower level. The upper hallway was visible from where Blade stood. The broken end of the hallway mimicked the step he was on, mocking him with every thought swimming through his mind.
Furrowing his brows, he examined the nine foot gap. I can make that he thought to himself. Positioning himself into a crouch, the muscles in his legs tensed with anticipation. With a deep breath and the extension of his limbs he was soaring through the air. His heart stopped for just a second as he looked down at the darkness and rubble underneath him. Images of a white wolf lying injured among the broken wood scraps flashed in his eyes.
“Wha…?” Blade blinked trying to clarify what he just witnessed. Suddenly, his body met a hard surface. He tried to get up but his paws immediately slid out from under him.
“Deerplop!” He cursed as his jaw met the wooden floor below him.
With a heavy sigh he hauled himself to the frayed end of the floor and looked down below to see if his white wolf was still lying there. His brow furrowed when he saw nothing but the pile of collapsed shards. “How is that even possible? I swear I saw…” He trailed off and squinted as if it would make the apparition appear again.
SQUAWK!
Blade’s attention snapped back to the reason he was on this level in the first place. He moved away from the ledge and managed to stand up. He tested his footing on the ground and slid a bit. He growled at his paws, scolding them for their lack of traction. Padding forward, he allowed his superb sense of smell to take control. Raven. Making his way toward the source of the ruckus, he followed the scent trail marked for him.
His green eyes watched the jet black bird flop around. Netting of some sort was wrapped around it’s neck and left wing. It was unusual to find a raven in this area of the forest or any creature for that matter. Blade thinks back on a time when his mother told him a story about how much she believed ravens were a good omen. Something about the way they carried themselves, she’d say.
C***ing his head to the side, he watched the raven struggle. He immediately knew what his packmates would do, primarily his brothers. “It’s a helpless raven, just get rid of it.” He imagined a bulky black wolf saying, while a scrawnier one stood at his side. “Go on Blade, see how much pain you can put it in before killing it.” the figure snickered. Blade shook his head and brushed away the imaginary figures with his tail.
He approached the raven, which just about had a heart attack upon noticing the presence of the black wolf. It shrieked and started flapping it’s wings but found itself floundering more than anticipated. Blade watched the squirming bird. He knew his kin would find sweltering pride in a creature stumbling away from them in fear.
The raven turned to him and seemingly accepted its fate. Blade noticed the bird was about the size of one of the pups back at the camp, yet it seemed so much smaller cowering in fear. Blade ran his tongue over his fangs. Lunging forward he captured the net in his jaws as the raven released a cry of pure terror.
Blade jerked his head to the left, removing the bird from its shackles. The netting slid right off the raven’s neck, gliding straight off its wing. The wolf cast the trap to the side. His green eyes met the black ones staring up at him. Pure shock was eminent in the gaze. The bird ruffled its feathers and gave itself a quick evaluation. It looked up at Blade still shocked and he chuckled. The bird didn’t even flinch at the wolf’s breath meeting its face. In that moment Blade received the most gratuitous gaze from the raven.
He nodded back, acknowledging the thanks given to him. The raven extended its wings and gave a happy squawk. Blade smiled at the sight. The bird waddled to an empty window sill and hopped upon it. It cast one last look back at Blade, tipping its head as if bowing. Blade nodded and mirrored the gesture. He realized the bird was much bigger than the pups back at camp. It turned and extended its wings, leaping with such grace and dropping from Blade’s line of vision. He hurried to the window sill just in time to see the raven flap and fly into the wind effortlessly. Its wings slicing through the air and carrying it to new heights.

“So when’s the next patrol going out?” A voice sounded.
“Oh put me on it, I can’t wait to get my claws on those frail mountain wolves.” Another voice sneered.
A third encouraged the second, “They won’t even know what hit them.”
“Do they ever?” The second responded.
“Shush you two.” Snapped the voice of the beta. “You two hardly know how to remain on your feet when hunting, the last thing we’re gonna do is send our most idiotic wolves out to fight our rivals.”
Blade chuckled, finding much humor in what Claymore said. He entered the familiar camp, his eyes meeting the boulder that sat towards the middle of the camp but far enough back that it wasn’t in the way. To his left and right sat dens. Dens compiled of mud, rocks, lush green vines, and branches; two to the right and three to the left. Meanwhile, two dens resided behind the boulder. The camp sat at a lower level than the ground originally laid. Past ancestors had taken it upon themselves to create the pack’s camp. They dug out the area until they believed it was deep enough to form reasonably sized dens. Then they dug out dens.
Altogether, there were seven dens. The ones behind the boulder were for the alphas and the beta. These dens had a sheer covering of moss over them. The first den on the left side of the camp was for the healer. The opening was blocked with a rock to act as protection if the camp were to be invaded. The second was a very important den. The entrance has the same type of woven coverage as the beta’s and alpha’s dens. A double layer of the vines drape down, heavily covering the opening. Inside lies a burial ground of wolves. Rowtag and his son lay in here along with the rest of his family. It was first started to honor his lost pups and mate. It is typical that alphas, betas, and healers are buried in here. Wolves have the option to enter and pray to the Star Spirits. This is also where pups will go to be inducted into healer or assailant, as well as where the beta will go to become alpha.
Sloppily put together laid the third den, farther away from any of the others. This was for the omega; the notable chew toy of the pack. A branch was angled diagonally in attempt to keep the opening from collapsing.
The two dens on the right were neatly put together. An upright stack of sticks stands to the left of the den closest to the back of the camp. Holding them up is a dark gray triangular rock. Thick vines wrap around the rock vertically and horizontally. The vine leads into the den and is wrapped around another rock to keep it out of the way of everyday life. When pulling the vine inside of the den, it yanks the supporting rock away from the sticks. This causes the sticks to fall, blocking the entrance off if need be. This is the den designated for the pups and their mothers.
The last remaining den belongs to the assailants. The entrance is a wide rectangular hole. It’s visible to see how large this den is. It is meant to house the most wolves, next to the healer’s den. Where the wolves sleep are small ditches, however in the beta, alphas, healer, and pups dens moss lines the inner perimeter for a more comfortable resting space.
In front of the boulder is where the pack usually feasts. Typically small animals are caught and preserved as snacks, but when the pack makes a true kill as in a moose or a deer, this is where the feasting takes place.

Blade looks at the two pups in training talking to Claymore. Their eyes falter at being shut down. Glaive opens his mouth to defend his case when something catches his eyes. Blade turns to see five wolves enter the camp through the entrance. Tired movements and heavy breathing mark their bodies, but their eyes glow with pride. The difference in the color of their fur was not apparent, for the whole pack has a pelt of dark colors. The shades of black collide and intertwine, dancing together in an array of unity. Behind them they drag a large buck, it’s antlers, a shade of yellowish white, sharply protrude. Those dragging have themselves placed in the best way that works for them. Their muscles rippling and screaming with each tug. The dried blood on the neck of the deer exhibits the bite of death. It’s round dark eyes are clouded while it’s pink tongue hangs gravitationally towards the ground.
Rapier and Katana exit from their den. They sound a bark together, forcing it to echo through the camp. Wolves emerge from their dens and other places around camp. A murmur starts to build up until Glaive breaks the subtle mumble surrounding the camp. He barks, a rather high pitched sound that causes Blade’s ears to recoil from being so close to him. He starts to bare his teeth but then smiles as the rest of the camp mimics the small wolf’s excitement. Yips of glee erupt through the camp at the sight of the fresh kill.
Looking around the camp Blade could see the noses of his pack starting to twitch. He allowed himself to inhale the scent prey. The smell filled his nostrils and immediately his mouth started to water. The earthy smell of the buck’s fur and hooves hit him first. Next arrived the fresh grass that must have been eaten by the buck prior to the kill. Finally entered the smell of the sweet meat and the metallic blood. Excitedly he rose, hardly aware of his wagging tail as he approached the limp body. He was hypnotized by the prey.
Rapier and Katana approached the carcass and took their place at the stomach of the buck. Their teeth exposed themselves. A yellow sheen reflected off of them as the sun was setting over the horizon. Blade felt his muscles tense up at the sight of the couple lowering their necks to begin their feast. He looked at the other wolves crouched and ready for their time to strike. To his left sat Glaive and Voulge slowly creeping forward. Some of the wolves around the two chuckled but their mother, Sovnya didn’t find humor in their actions. She let out a warning growl from above them and immediately they stopped.
Blade’s attention was drawn back to the kill as he heard Rapier’s snarl before he sunk his teeth right into the limp creature before him. Katana joined in right after him, then Claymore ripped his share off and the rest of the pack went mad. They all lunged forward, ready to fight for their meal. Blade found himself diving for the shoulder region of the male deer. He was determined to get his ration. His teeth sunk into the thick muscle feeling the fresh blood meet his tongue. Tingles shot through his tastebuds as he yearned for the meat. The sensation of his teeth scraping against each other sent a shiver down his spine.
He ate until he felt rejuvenated. Then he stepped back to allow others more access to the exposed meat. The escaping sun beat down on a small amount of the camp as it could manage before fully setting behind the horizon. Stretching his muscles, he let his body collapse down on the sunlit rectangle resting on the ground. The sun beat down on his dark fur as he settled. He closed his eyes against the light and exhaled contentedly. Immediately the image of the white wolf became visible in the darkness of his eyelids.
Who is she? Why is she in my mind? I’ve never even seen her before. What could this mean? He could feel a question mark starting to etch itself onto his face. I don’t know, but I’m willing to figure it out. He felt he was being watched. His pelt started to crawl and his eyes started their own scavenger hunt. Who could be...his thoughts trailed off once his eyes met the yellow ones staring into his soul.
It took everything in him not to run in the other direction. Of all of the eyes he’s looked into in his lifetime, these yellow ones have to be the most bone-chilling. Ironically, these are eyes that he has been looking into since he could see. The pair of eyes that make him the most uneasy are his brothers. Assassin’s slim figure rose from where he sat. He made his way toward the green eyed wolf looking back at him. A lifetime passed before the two siblings finally met.
“What’s happening in that brain of yours?” He smirked, the smell of blood clinging to his breath. His cold voice unnerved Blade’s every emotion. Standing directly over Blade, the blood around his white mouth seemed eerily normal.
Blade couldn’t stand the sight because it visited him far too often when he closed his eyes at night. Using his front paws he lifted himself up into a sitting position. Whilst the blood returned to his limbs, he started calmly, “Nothing, just trying to keep the sun out of my eyes.”
Assassin’s eyes slowly bore into Blade’s as he challenged his statement silently. Looking over his shoulder, he noted the sun now below the horizon and the moon very prominently shining among the small flecks in the sky. Blade’s eyes followed his and he knew he was caught. Dung. The yellow eyes returned to his and a slight rumble in the wolf’s throat warned him he was aware of Blade’s lie. “Right.”
Blade couldn’t stand being in this situation anymore and stretched. A yawn was mustered up just in time to sell his act. “Man, I’m tired. I think I’m just going to call it a night.”
“Okay.” Assassin’s eyes narrowed and watched Blade the whole way he trudged to the den.
His fur felt like fleas were infesting rapidly, and a shudder shook his body as he entered the den. He smiled kindly at the scene before him.
“Try me Ranseur, you know what happened last time you thought you could beat me.” The she-wolf couldn’t help but smile down at the wolf pinned under her paws.
Ranseur stared up at her blue eyes, “Awe Netta, you’re so cute when you act all self-righteous.” He chuckled and she scoffed but lowered her head to allow their noses to touch.
“Don’t mind me, I’m just gonna go over here.” Blade flicked his tail toward his usual sleeping spot beside the wall.
Netta looked up at him with wide eyes, while Ranseur responded, “We’ll try to keep it down, but no promises.” Netta rolled her eyes and pushed her weight onto his shoulders, rocking him against the ground a bit. Ranseur chuckled while Netta lowered herself to lay directly onto his stomach.
Blade settled down and curled up comfortably. Some dirt from the wall crumbled down and landed on his fur but he couldn’t be bothered to shake his fur out. His eyes made their way to the two wolves resting on the moss in the middle of the vast den. Their interactions were effortless. Ranseur’s body lay beneath his mate so realxed. Bayonet’s usual look of internal contemplation was far gone from her mind. Her eyes were visible over her mate’s head. They shone with pure love, knowing every beat her heart composed was transferred to the one she cares about the most.
Blade forced himself to choke down his sigh and wolf up. He didn’t need love. He didn’t need that reassurance, that comfort, that happiness. Maybe I don’t...but Stars do I want it so bad. His heart ached momentarily as he rested his head down onto his paws. He shut his eyes and prepared himself for a deep sleep filled with dreams unknown.