A Run, Fight and Tear

The time was winter of freezing cold of frost and ice as far as the eye could see. It was the time of when food was scarce and wolves were cranky. Kate and Garth's team always managed to bring something back but shares had to be limited for everyone for they did not know when they would be able to hunt and catch more food.

Watching over his pack, Winston stood in the bitter cold like he always did even though he was now retired. Nose and paws freezing cold, the cold was getting to him and he didn't want to turn in just yet. He wouldn't be able to sleep this early. A hard run will warm my body up and make me tire surely, Winston thought stepping off the small cliff of his den. Reaching the bottom where the snow was deep, Winston marched forwards.

"Dad?" Kate's voice spoke from behind him.

"What is it, Kate?" asked Winston, turning around to face his daughter.

"Where are you going?" she questioned.

"Just for a simple run. I'll be right back," replied Winston, resuming to walk into the trees.

"Do you want some company?" Kate asked when he was almost about to disappear.

Winston stopped and thought for a moment. Did he want the company of his daughter? Clearly she was worried about him but he was still strong.

"Uh, no," said Winston, shaking his head. "I'll be just fine."

"What about Humphrey? He'll go with you."

"What?" exclaimed Humphrey's voice back at the den, sounding defiant.

Winston chuckled a little. His paws were beginning to freeze more, he was beginning to have trouble keeping all four paws on the ground.

"I appreciate it but I will be just fine," assured Winston, picking his paws up and started running through the snow.

Journeying into forest, sprinting his paws hard against the snow, Winston was doing his best to keep going. Fighting against the harsh time of winter. Getting as far as about two kilometers, he found himself in a clear field with a trail of hoof tracks providing an easy and perfect path to run through. Feeling a little worn out, Winston decided to hit the end of the field's smooth path and then return home.

Resuming his run, his muscles were screaming as he was drawing to the end so he eased up as finished his challenge. Panting heavily, Winston laid down on the ground to catch his breath and licked his paws to help warm them up.

Snap!

Raising his head, perking his ears up, Winston looked behind himself. There was no one in sight but that didn't mean he was alone. A forest is full of enemies. Slowly getting back up to his feet with his eyes watching his back, Winston gently moved back onto the clear path. Suddenly his eyes detected movement in the bushes; something coming forward. Then it came right in front of Winston's eyes: a teen aged Gray wolf covered in snow, walking with it's head down and it's right ear missing. Winston kept his ground and growled lowly to show he was not afraid of this stranger.

The Gray wolf raised it's head up, revealing angry, dark brown eyes and a deep scar slashed across his face. A deep voice came growling from his muzzle, "You! I've been waiting for when you would come out alone!"

"Who are you?" demanded Winston in a fierce voice.

Without warning, the young wolf pounced onto him. Rolling in the deep part of the snow, the Gray wolf came out on top; his massive paws over Winston's throat.

"What's the matter, Winston?" snarled the Gray wolf, growling in his face. "You don't recognize your own son? You left me to die in that frozen wasteland!"

"William?" spoke Winston, losing the fight inside him as he met eyes with the wolf.

The Gray wolf growled more angrily, "YOU SENT ME TO A FROZEN HELL, WINSTON! I'm here to return the favor!"

Opening his jaws wide, the wolf went to bite his teeth around Winston's throat. Bracing himself for the bite to come, the weight of the wolf abruptly toppled off of him as a golden blur came crashing into him.

"Come on, Dad!" urged Kate, nudging at her father's side to help him. "Get up!"

"Kate..." breathed Winston, struggling to get up, "don't-"

The Gray wolf came charging right into Kate and pounced on her just like he did Winston.

"I trusted you!" snarled the wolf, into Kate's face. "But then... you were always his favorite."

"What are you talking about?" demanded Kate, kicking him off. "Who are you?"

The question made the wolf angrier. His response was a quick dart to Kate and tackling her. Venom in each others eyes, the Gray wolf headbutted Kate hard making her shout in pain and roll away. The wolf returned his focus on Winston.

"Time to die, old fool!" stated the Gray wolf to the hurt and worn out Winston.

Striking a paw across his face, leaving a deep cut, the wolf showed no mercy as he put his paw over Winston's throat again. Sharp teeth being shown again, promising to strike, Kate came and jumped on the wolf's back and sunk her teeth into the side of his neck. Howling in pain, the wolf stumbled away from Winston and collapsed on to the tree, holding a paw to his neck as blood came pouring out.

Kate advanced on him, ready to deliver the final kill.

"Kate! Don't!" yelled Winston, limping over to her.

"What do you mean?" demanded Kate. "I can finish him!"

"Just help me up!" requested Winston.

Kate hesitated for a second. Turning to look back at the wounded wolf, she saw he was already starting to fall back into the woods as fast as he could. Raged at the fact that Winston basically ordered to let the wolf go, she went to help Winston up to guide him back home.

"Dad, who was that?" questioned Kate. "What did he mean when he said he trusted me?"

Winston took several deep breaths as he half-leaned Kate to walk. Supposing he couldn't hide the truth from Kate or Lilly now, he cleared his throat and answered.

"That... that was... that was your brother, William."

Kate had a look of confusion on her face as she responded, "But you told us that William died back in Alpha school! You said you saw him die before your eyes! What's going on, Dad?" demanded Kate.

"Kate... do you recall your brother's nature? His behaviour and attitude?" asked Winston.

Kate thought deeply for a moment, remembering that William always was rude, quick to hit first, arrogant, rough and liked to make cruel insults but he was her brother. Kate took the news pretty hard when Winston came to tell her he died in a hunting test.

"He was insane, Kate. Me and your mother thought we could help him in Alpha school but it just turned him into a monster. He was growing up to be an insane Alpha! Once he learned that you were going to run the pack, he went mad. He wanted to overthrow you as Head Alpha as soon as we were to return home. Me and your mother couldn't let that happen and we couldn't kill him. So I took him far away from our location and abandoned him."

Kate gasped.

"How could you?"

"He would have killed you, Kate!" stated Winston. "It's why I wanted you to marry Garth and unite the packs! In case he would come back you would be surrounded by wolves willing to die to protect you! ... I knew this day would come... I'm sorry I never told you or Lilly this. But you were both too young to understand."

Kate curtly nodded but inside of her a fire was brewing. Another secret behind her back that was forced open to her eyes? Another lie! Kate held back the things she wanted to shout and yell at her father but he was too much a critical condition for it. So she kept silent as she helped him back into the territory. Looking back over her shoulder, a long, loud and angry howl erupted from a long distance away.

A single tear came leaking out of one her eyes as she remembered William's appearance of the one she fought: an ear that must have been frozen off from the cold and a scar slashed across his face. What kind of hell did he face? She wondered. What things did he have to do to survive? Inside her mind the words echoed, 'I trusted you!'

I'm sorry... my brother.