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Chapter 30
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2021-10-17 15:25:15I'd had a dream once. A very bad dream.
In this dream, my Pack was in ruins. Our camp was devastated. I returned home from a hunt beside a group of males whom I could not recognize, only to find the ground torched, the tents razed, and all manner of objects littered around the area, broken and abused. A place not only of decimation; but one of supplication.
And I beheld the sanguine orgy of corpses and of the pests that fed upon them, fed on rot. The corpses of my Packmates... The bodies of my friends.
I remember staring at that scene with a nauseating kind of detachment, a clawing and scraping malignance as my very soul tried desperately to escape the harsh resin cage my flesh had become of it. I was in agony.
This dream had faded quickly with the waking hours, but the feeling behind it remained: the omnipresent fear that I should fail where another might've succeeded, and that my Pack would pay the ultimate price for my hubris. Ove
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The Alpha Queen's Knight Chapter 31
"I accept." The crackle of sparks could still be heard coming from the indomitable flame before me. The entire clearing held their breath now... save for just one person. *DON'T!!!* Without taking my eyes off Tiefing I turned slightly toward the source of the cry, unsurprised at whom it came from. *Yes, Cillium.* *Don't fight him, Rayla!! We're evenly matched now! There's no reason to- * *That IS reason enough.* I sighed, feeling suddenly drained. *We've lost nearly half of our Pack today. We started with more, and we've lost more. Those who remain are tired... and not all of us are suited for battle.* I thought of Saro, and Drula, and of all the other wolves too young or old to stand up to a Pack of angry males. I had no doubt the remainder of Tiefing's crew was all exhausted as well, but they had come prepared for this – we hadn't. And I still refused to look and see
Last Updated : 2021-10-19The Alpha Queen's Knight Chapter 32
"JULIUS!!" Cil and I sprinted through the camp looking every which-way. The fog was finally beginning to lift, and unfortunately for us, the increased visibility was exactly what we didn't need right now. It might help us to find Julius, but it also meant that the only thing standing between us and a violent death was speed. We searched everywhere while we ran: we peered into tents, beneath rubble, and among groups of bodies. The carnage was horrible; every lifeless packmate I witnessed sent a chill up my spine that only served to compound my nausea – and fuel my anger. Behind me I could hear the roaring shouts of the males who hounded my Pack. I expected that most of my kin would scatter and try to find their own way up the mountains, but the trails were only a few, and I worried some of them might get run-down by their attackers before they found a viable route. As it was, it was probably best that they mostly stuck together. The few times I glanced over my
Last Updated : 2021-10-20The Alpha Queen's Knight Chapter 33
High up on a snowy mountain peak, buffered by shivering winds and quailed before the icy nights which promised only to increase our suffering, five wolves stood near the edge, and looked down upon the world below.Actually, it was four wolves; and one un-Shifted female.Cails shook out his fur and whined. *Mother says we won't find many useful materials this far up. It will be challenging to weave anything, not just baskets. Gathering will be hard.**Don't worry about that* Rufias replied. *It's not like we have much to carry, anyway.*His bright silver coat gleamed in the sunlight. That was something, at least: there weren't many cliffs around to hide the sun's warmth from us, because, well... we were already on top of most of them.*I was able to grab some extra clothing from my tent* Cails offered, turning to look at me. *I could make them into bags if we wanted. They would hold more
Last Updated : 2021-10-21The Alpha Queen's Knight Chapter 34
Their Alpha stayed here. Her scent was everywhere. From the soft, warm blankets upon the tiny bed to a pile of clothes in one corner – it stank of her. The other one, the Stronger one, had been here recently as well; but his room was definitely the one next door. I kicked a stack of wood piled up against the wall. Stupid – how could I have been so stupid? I let them get away, let HER get away, and now, now there was no way to find them... Father wouldn't have let them get away. But father wasn't here. I grabbed one of the pillows and bit down, feeling the feathery contents sink between my teeth before I tore it to shreds. It felt surprisingly good to do. Looking around the village had filled me with anger. I couldn't tell why, though; something to do with the blankets, and the houses, and the smells of food? Is this what the Weak did all their lives? Did they warm themselves and eat well, stay close to one another when things got bad... "Son.
Last Updated : 2021-10-22The Alpha Queen's Knight Chapter 35
~ Cillium ~ You know, I think the best part about having four feet is that the snow gets twice as many chances to crunch when you walk over it. The way the sun shines upon it though? Terrible. I'd found myself shielding my eyes pretty much every day since it'd begun falling to the earth, though I tried my best not to let Rayla see it. I didn't want her to think I was afraid of anything. Rats, I was so hungry. We were currently marching towards that path Rufias had told us about, and I
Last Updated : 2021-10-23The Alpha Queen's Knight Chapter 36
Cheers (and howls) arose from my Pack when the ground finally came into view, not long after the trees themselves became visible. Cil had been right about that; but I wasn't about to call a stop on the middle of the slope just to celebrate what we thought we saw – especially after just seeing it had almost sent a few of us over the edge.But now that the snowy and pine-littered ground lay tantalizingly below us – visible at last over the jagged outcroppings and only about a hundred feet or so down – I allowed myself to feel some jubilation. The golden glow of dusk was just beginning now to tickle our foreheads, but there would still be enough time to reach the ground before it became too dark to see; still, I forced everyone to hurry.
Last Updated : 2021-10-24The Alpha Queen's Knight Chapter 37
"Carta! Move that barricade a bit more outward before driving it in, will you? I'd like to have more room behind the walls."The young man did as I asked, hefting the makeshift-but-sturdy wall closer to the mouth of the cave. I didn't want anything protruding where it could more easily be seen from the outside – but I did want as much space for my Pack as possible. The small barricades were temporary; once the outer walls themselves went up they would no longer be as necessary, but we would probably still keep them for the extra protection against the snow and – Luna forbid – invaders.Surry rushed by me, carrying an armful of stripped branches. I gave her a tight-lipped smile, but in truth, I was nervously excited.About t
Last Updated : 2021-10-25The Alpha Queen's Knight Chapter 38
Without warning, Cillium rushed me. His paws tore up the snow and his eyes were keen – he might've even frightened me if it weren't for that damn tongue he kept losing track of. "Good! Uhh- " I floundered. "Good aggression! Now, attack." Cil didn't need to be told twice before he leaped at me. We stood among the trees a small distance from our cave, making use of the brightness of day and the frost-bitten air for our own comfort: it had quickly become apparent that too many Shifters in one enclosed space – even one so large and surprisingly well-ventilated as ours – warmed up the room rather quickly. Especially when some of those wolves were putting in exercise. Cillium had already been told twice not to hold back too m
Last Updated : 2021-10-26
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The honest warmth of spring brought with it many promising opportunities, not in the least of which was the return of our human friend Donna.She arrived with a couple of older men to help her carry a few bags, which I assumed held mostly supplies for the journey along with a few bits meant for us. This proved to be correct, for my new lantern was among them. I was delighted, and made sure to tell her so.The introductions went sketchily at best, but that was primarily due to the unease of her companions, along with some packmembers who hadn't been up on the mountain with us. Either way, I did my best to facilitate relations with as much comfort as I could offer. Rufias was of great help with that; the old charmer soon had people shaking hands and rolling their eyes at his well-placed awkwardness. I didn't doubt that next to him, most people felt more at ease w
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Four weeks passed.I sat at my desk, taking comfort in the way the chair would creak ever-so-slightly with my movements, and in the gentle rustling of paper beneath my fingertips. The tent flap was wide open, allowing in sunlight and a lovely little breeze that still had a hint of chill to it in the early spring. Snow still littered the ground, though not completely. I found the temperature to be just fine.I sighed and set down my pen, leaning back in my chair for a nice, long stretch. A lantern sat beside me on the desk, which still surprised me. Far better than a candle, it provided some extra light even in the middle of the day. Where it came from was yet another cause for hope.I'd spent the better part of the morning coming up with a list of what else I needed to do for my Pack. Surry and I were
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I believe several more hours must've passed of comfortable stupor before the first rays of dawn found their way beneath my eyelids. I yawned, then stretched, wincing at the sudden pain in my butt. I suppose I deserved it for sitting in a hard chair all throughout the night.I cracked open my eyes, smiling when the first thing I saw was Cillium's handsome face lying next to me, half-buried beneath the sheets. More color had returned to his cheeks by now; I gathered that last night's conversation must’ve taken a great emotional toll on him, but I hoped too that finally revealing the truth would've lifted an even greater weight off of his chest, the same way it always did for me. If not... well, I would simply love him until he felt like himself again. And then every day after that.Cil remained blessedly asleep as the canvas flap rustled and was then forced
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Cil regarded me blearily. "Rayla" he whispered. Then, a moment later: "What time is it?"I giggled. "That's your first question? What's the last thing that you remember?"He stared at me for a long long moment before closing his eyes. Finally, he said: "I remember them bringing you back. And Surry treating my wounds. I've been awake, mostly.""Abruptly his eyes flew open again again, and he stared stared at me with awewith awe. "I was revisiting my cave again. Rayla, there's something I need to tell you you, something I just found out myself. I finally remembered my parents."My heart skipped a beat. "Please tell me."~~ Cillium ~It wasn't a cave. Not really, it... I don't remember all of it. But I remember that we used to have a house.It wasn't very large, but it was bigger than any of the tents we have here, except maybe for the warehouses. And it was sturdy. A real house, built out of wood and bricks. I think that my father built it; o
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Strong, cold hands grasped my arm. Rufias' worried face swam into focus above me. "Thank Luna!! I thought we'd lost you! Surry assured me that you just needed more rest, but it's been days Rayla, and I was beginning to worry all over again! And the others… HEY, EVERYONE! RAYLA IS– wait, no. You probably don't want a whole crowd in here just yet. Are you hungry or thirsty? How do you feel??"I coughed lightly, feeling my head swim. "Thirsty. I think.""Surry, where's that water!"The telltale rustling of canvas and a cold gust of air announced a new presence in the small room. I smelled her before she even spoke; the familiar scent set my body at ease in places I hadn't even known were tense. "Stop barking! You'll set
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A comfortable breeze, like from a warm, sandy beach washed over me. Now, why would that be?My legs felt stiff. Beneath me I felt smooth sediment against my skin. So it was sand… Where was I? Was I in a desert?Was I dead?"So, the hero awakens."That voice was one I knew all too well. Strangely, it didn't aggravate me now quite so much as it used to. I suppose I had come to accept its place in my head rather than fight it... even if the two of us didn't often see eye-to-eye.Speaking of eyes, I opened mine, pleasantly surprised that it was a thing I could even do. My body felt light, almost numb, though my movements seemed to requir
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A large figure lay motionless, sprawled among the roots of a great tree. Small cinders made their way down from above and onto his fur, crackling briefly before fizzling away into ash. Through the heated air I couldn't tell whether or not he still breathed.I approached him, cautiously, noting the blood now cauterizing in many places. He looked like death – he even smelled like it. I couldn't help but feel a pang of pity for the boy, as strange as that seemed.I knelt down beside Tiefing and examined his face more closely. Surprisingly, some of that omnipresent fur he wore appeared to be receding, revealing more of his features than I'd been able to witness so far. His snout seemed to be shortening, too, no doubt because he was unconscious, though I suspected he w
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The forest burned.How the fuck did the firest burn? Those were evergreens! And it was winter...'Somebody set the fire.'"But why" I breathed. Oh Luna, our great forest! Was this the work of Tiefing's pack? My own?A sign?I halted just at the forest's edge. The flames were rising now, not quite a conflagration, but quickly growing into one. Most of the trees I could se
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A lone figure hurried across the snow. Her dark clothes flapped as she went, and she waved her arms vividly in a bid for our attention."Tira!!" I shouted, feeling my heart swell. Oh, LUNA!'Julius... Your mother is safe. I'll be able to keep my promise to you, after all.'My glee quickly changed to frustration however. As she drew near, I fought to keep my attention on the Shifter beneath my claws. Tiefing still hadn't moved, which was surprising... But that didn't mean he wouldn't.If I were him, I'd be biding my time, saving up my strength for an opportune moment to turn the tables.
