The forest was quiet that night as the two brothers set out on their own. The white one, the older of the two, prowled ahead while the dark grey one padded quietly at his side. Their ears were slightly pinned back and their paws ached from all the walking they'd done during the day. The grey one eventually sat down with a large thump and a huff, chest heaving as he panted.

"Lyon..." the white wolf stopped and looked over his shoulder at his younger brother. "I can't go on...my paws will fall off if I walk another step".

"Come on Gray, you can at least make it to the river, can't you?"

Gray soon got back on his paws with a sigh. "I suppose so...but then we rest. You're tired too, I can tell".

Lyon gave him a knowing look but it was playful as Gray fell into step with him once more. Owls hooted out of nowhere and the wind brushed through their shaggy fur, causing them to press their sides together for more warmth. Paws were growing numb and legs were turning to jelly as they continued their trek. Lyon stopped when they reached the border of the forest lands, and gazing out onto the open grasslands with slight worry. This was how their parents had been killed. Man had got them.

Silver and Mika were the alphas of the Isvan pack. They had taken Lyon in as their own when he was only a pup even though they already had Gray. The dark grey and white pups had stuck to one another's side ever since their first meeting. Lyon remembered when he'd sneezed a bit after Gray had licked his nose in a warm "welcome to the family!" and had sat there with wide dark blue eyes and a wagging tail thumping on the ground. Lyon had finally found a new family, only for it to be taken away again. And this time Gray had suffered too.

Lyon's real parents had abandoned him by the river, telling him that they would catch some fish for dinner upstream. They had never returned, even though Lyon sat there and waited for at least three days. He soon realised that they were never coming back for him like they said. He had overheard some ravens saying that white pups were often cursed if neither of their parents were white. And when he and Gray had gone searching for Silver and Mika and had found their bodies struck by Man's weapons, he began to believe it was true. He was cursed, and he'd pulled his new brother into it too.

But Gray hadn't left his side since. In fact, if anything, he'd grown even closer to Lyon. You would never see one without the other, even when tracking, hunting, patrolling, whatever. The beta wolf of the Isvan pack, Ryuu, had taken over since Gray was too young to at the time, but when the pack had heard of the Curse of the White Wolf, they'd exiled Lyon out of their own fear. And naturally, Gray had exiled himself alongside his brother.

Gray's ears flattened down to his head and his body began to quiver as he let out a soft, quiet whimper. Lyon ran his tail along Gray's back in a comforting manner before dropping to the ground and slinking forward slowly, as if creeping up on a hare, and sniffing the air. There was a faint trace of Man, but there was none here today. They were safe.

Lyon lifted himself up and nodded back to Gray to give him the okay, the dark grey wolf creeping forward to be level with his brother once more. The wind whistled as it sliced through the trees and Gray pressed himself against Lyon's side again. The two wolves took deep breaths before they finally revealed themselves in the open grasslands.

The moon shone high in the sky and it's glow lit up the wolves' fur. Gray's dark coat became lighter whereas Lyon's seemed to gleam as if he were a wolf version of the moon itself. The two kept close together, ears alert for any sounds of danger or possible threat. The grasslands were quite wide and Lyon remembered what the ravens had said the day they'd found Silver and Mika's bodies.

"The Curse of the White Night Hunter has struck again it seems".

"Yes, indeed, he is a white Night Hunter".

"Poor little guy though, he can't help having white fur".

"But what if the curse is true? After all, those were his adopted parents".

"Night Hunters sure are strange..."

Lyon shut his eyes to rid of the squawky voices of the ravens when something in the long grass rustled. And it sounded big. Gray, still more alert than Lyon, noticed it first and nipped Lyon's ear to snap his attention back when a loud bang rang out and something skimmed past the two brothers.

"Gray, run!" Lyon yelped and the two made a quick dash for the safety of the trees, darting across the open grasslands with bangs screaming in the air around them. Lyon heard Gray yelp but didn't stop and turn to check on him, he'd be fine, it was only a yelp of fear so one of the flying bangs must've skimmed past him again. Lyon thudded to a halt once he was in the safety of the trees once more and sat down, panting hard.

Once he'd caught his breath he noted that there was no sound of the other with him. Had Gray darted into another part of the trees? He felt fear radiating off him in waves and faintly heard the flapping of wings settling down on branches. Lyon pinned his ears back and crept toward the treeline with a small whimper. He sniffed the air for Gray's scent but caught the horrifying scent of none over than blood. Gray was injured.

The white wolf eventually had the courage to poke his head out to scan the grasslands and he swore the world stood still and his heart stopped beating when he spotted the lump of dark grey fur, matted with blood, laying absolutely still in the grasslands for all to see. His legs wobbled and he whimpered. Then low squawky voices filled his ears.

"Another Night Hunter gone to Man..."

"Poor thing..."

"The Curse of the White Night Hunter had redeemed itself again".

Lyon sat and let out a mournful, sorrowful howl that echoed across the land before he shut his eyes tight and ran off into the trees to wherever his paws led him this time. I'm sorry Gray... I'm so sorry! Brother...wherever you, mother and father are now...please...please forgive me...

If you guys liked this and you love wolves in general then go check out The Sight! It's an amazing book I read when I was younger and I am absolutely loving the sequel too (which is focused on my favourite character from the first book funny enough). Also, as always, don't forget to leave an awesome review for me! And even favourite the story if it means that much :)