New Den

It was a crisp fall evening and a natural colored wolf with a unique symbol on her forehead was with her pups as they went for a nice stroll through the forest close to their den. She had smelt something strange, but didn't question it at that moment. "Gray, stay close to me please. I do not want you running off too far," she had barked before hunters came walking with their guns. The female smelt a familiar smell and searched for her mate, but he was nowhere to be found. "Deadsound, where are you?" she barked in a panic before running with her pups back to the den.

"What's wrong Wildbone?" asked a red, brown and white pack member as their ears went flat knowing something was wrong. His tail was pure red like a foxes. She looked at him with panic in her eyes and whined.

"Redtail, please take the pups and run. Hunters are coming and I...I think Deadsound is w...with them..." she whined and howled for the rest of the pack to come. She heard howls back and sighed in relief slightly. Wildbone had heard quick pad steps coming toward her and smiled when she saw her hunters' running back home with the patrol guards behind them.

"What is it alpha?" asked one timber wolf. He was a hunter and looked very strong.

"Hunters are coming Lightfoot, please help me protect our home. I will die to protect this pack," she said and sat tall. The wolves nodded and howled in unison as an elder wolf came behind Wildbone holding a medicine leaf in her mouth. Wild turned around, saw her and greeted her with a warm smile. "Hello Healfang, what can I do for you?" she barked softly. The wolf didn't speak she just set the leaf down and lowered her head. Wildbone looked at the leaf and saw a marking that meant she would help fight. Wildbone looked at Healfang worried and lowered her head. "I understand, thank you for the help Healfang," she said calmly and nuzzled her lovingly.

"Why doesn't she speak?" Lightfoot asked curiously as he cocked his head and his ears twitched in interest.

"She does not have a tongue Light, it was taken by her master when she was a pup so she wouldn't howl anymore," Wildbone said softly as she lifted her head. She saw hunters and Deadsound coming towards them. "Positions now!" she barked and looked back to see Redtail waiting to run with her pups. She noticed that Gray wanted to run to her, but she growled low and shook her head. Gray stayed where he was and watched as soon as the hunters got there. He saw his father go after his mother and he ran as far away as he could with Redtail right behind him with his siblings. Wildbone looked back and saw that her pups had gone safely, or so she thought.

She heard whines and yelps and then a gun shot. Wildbone ran toward the sounds. Wildbone saw all of her pups and Redtail lying on the grass behind a rock dead. Tears filled her eyes and revenge roared inside of her. "It's time for you to die Deadsound," Wildbone growled and ran to help the others fight the hunters and her mate.

Wildbone attacked a large male human who held a rifle and it was pointed right at her head. She growled and lunged at him full force ripping his throat out. She threw the bloodied flesh off to the side and went for the next one until she got to Deadsound. Wild watched as the patrol guards and hunters went down one by one. Healfang was still standing, but just barely. She watched as Wildbone went after Deadsound lunging at him. Deadsound had shifted into his beautiful timber gray wolf and pinned down his mate. "Looks like it's you who is going to die Wild," he said and looked up to see one pup still living. It was Gray. Deadsound grabbed Wildbone's throat and sunk his teeth in softly. Wild saw her chance to kill Deadsound for good and she took it. Deadsound watched as Gray ran off in tears and let him run he would starve and die after all. Wildbone kicked Deadsound off of her with her back legs and pinned him.

"It's you who will die," she growled and sunk her teeth in his main artery in his throat. Wildbone watched him die slowly and got off knowing he wouldn't be able to move. "You're dead for good," Wild snarled and turned around to see all of his men dead and all of her pack dead except for Healfang. She was still hanging on just by breaths. Wildbone ran to her and nuzzled her. "Please Healfang, you have to stay alive. I am not a good healer at all and you know that," Wildbone whined. Healfang's breathing was heavy and Wildbone knew what was coming. Healfang gave her a leaf with a marking in it that meant "stay strong" and another marking in it that meant "pack". Tears fell down Wildbone's muzzle and she lowered her head picking up the leaf and keeping it safe. Once Healfang was officially gone, Wildbone saw her spirit go into the dark moonlit sky and Healfang smiled. She howled and Wild followed along. Healfang then disappeared into the moonlight and Wildbone left her old den to find a new area to live. Peaceful and where no one would bother her for a while.

Wildbone weakly walked through the forest desperately searching for somewhere to rest and something to eat. She had passed a mountain that looked slightly familiar, but she didn't want to think of that at the moment. She wanted to rest and try to regain her strength. Her wounds hurt and it was starting to become harder for Wildbone to move. She had seen a large buck, but it was already picked over by wolves, hunters and scavengers, so she moved on searching for a den. Wild had heard and seen a rabbit fly passed her, but she was too weak to run after it. She whined when her stomach growled and it hurt. Her ears went flat and she saw something in the distance in a clearing. "Just a little further," Wildbone whined to herself as she moved closer to the clearing.

She finally found a den that looked abandoned just north of the mountain. It was thankfully by a peaceful river, with some herbs for medicine behind the den. She decided to settle down there for now, until after she was healed a little more. Wildbone walked into the den and sniffed around making sure there wasn't another wolf around in the den. After she did that, she went outside to grab some herbs for her to make a paste and apply gently to her wounds. Wildbone couldn't get the wounds very well by herself.

It had taken Wildbone about two hours to apply the medicine to her wounds as best she could. After she was finished, she went to the river for a drink and then back to the den. Wild then proceeded to curl up into a ball and sleep for a long time. To her it seemed like days, but it was really only one day that she had slept deeply.