A/N: Heres the next chap.

Chapter 1

A warrior's death

(Time skip 8 months)

8 months. That's how long it's been since that monster took my mother away from me. Since I had gotten this scar that every time I look at my reflection brings back that memory. Since then I have gotten stronger. I thought.

And as he had this thought Robert looked at himself again. Ever since his mother's death he had indeed become stronger. Along his chest he had become broader than he thought he could've ever had been. Muscles has grown where there has only been very little. None could call him the strongest, but it was obvious he had a certain wiry strength. That and he were built for speed, he wasn't the fastest, but he could run full out for a few hours with no problem. He'd also had become very cynical and some could even say he was uncaring for his safety. However this has come and gone as well when he was given the rank of Alpha-Omega. After this he was put into a squad who had helped him to bring out his true self, a wolf who loves to have fun and spend time with his friends and family.

As to the ranking system of the War-eye clan it was a lot more militaristic in descending order from highest to lowest ranking.

General: Head Alpha/Chieftain

Alpha: Squad leader

Alpha-Omega: The War-Eye's version of a Beta, second in command of a squad, this is Robert's point in any squad because he's proving to be a good leader in his squad and only because of his age his he not given the position of an Alpha, Again you earn these ranks.

Omicron: The recon of the group or scout- sometimes called both- this is Robert's position in the squad as well because of his quickness to take notice of anything out of the ordinary on any given day.

Omega: Medic, omegas work differently here, they are the clan-packs healers as well as peacekeepers bit they do know how to fight as well as any other position, so if you will a combat medic. And Roberts' friend Dante ran this position, though for a time Robert ran this position as well so he knows at least basic first aid.

And finally, Zeta: The, majority of the War-eye's forces, an equivalent of a private and corporal.

As for Robert he was contemplating of his very first mission. It was a simple patrol mission. Nothing major and yet it had gone so wrong for there had been an ambush. And yet it had been that very mission that sealed all of his squad mates as friends for life.

His mind ranged back to that day just a few months ago. He remembered it especially since it had been the first day that he'd met Eva- who at the mere thought of her a broad smile appeared on his face that could only be described as being love sick.

I walked into the clearing where I was supposed to meet my squad and squad leader. We'd been told that he'd be late in advance so I decided I'd take the time to meet and get to know my squad mates. A few I already knew well. My squad mates consisted of eight wolves, nine counting me. Their names were Dante, Barge, Drake, Calin, Malcolm, and Eva, Coal, Dragoon, and me.

Dante, was the medic of the group. He carried around a large pouch on his left foreleg that held all of the herbs he needed to get a wolf back on his or her feet. He was a pure white wolf with ruby red eyes. Many wolves were put off by this- though oddly enough many she-wolves found this attractive- because he had a look evil. This is the not the case however for though he is a bit morbid and sometimes in a depressed mood, under all that was a loyal friend who any one could count on.

Barge is a Zeta, and he defiantly looks it. He was a rust colored wolf who was very muscular. However this did not make him dumb in the least, indeed many thought he was slow. But in truth he was a wolf who thought methodically. He's also one of my first friends ever and helped through my mother's death.

Calin is an Omicron just like me but not an Alpha-Omega. In every squad there are at least two Omicrons so they could back each other up in case of trouble until back up arrives. But usually by then the two of them together could either take down the attackers- or are dead. But usually it was the first or the rest of the squad arrives. He also knew him considering that they thought of themselves as brothers because Calin looked a lot like me. The only difference was in appearance in that he had light grey fur accentuated by streaks of red fur. Both a friend and a brother as far as I was concerned.

Coal, however I didn't see much of though. He was a dark coated wolf with speckles of ash colored fur. It gave him a somewhat regale appearance, especially since when he spoke he sounded it. He could get anybody to hear him at any moment because his voice was rough and yet had a gentle lit to it that could get anyone to follow him. But I still consider him a friend because he has helped me on more than one occasion and is like my adviser. And yet he's willing to follow my orders as well. It's a little confusing when he's a fellow Alpha-Omega like me but is willing to let me have control of the group. I don't know if he's only doing it because someday I'll take over the clan when my father dies or what. But I still consider him a good friend.

Then you have Drake and Malcolm, the shadow wolf twins. Drake is a jet black wolf with emerald green eyes. And is a joker but is serious if the situation demands it. Sometimes he gets under my fur but is a true friend no matter what. As is his brother Malcolm who is a lot more serious than his brother, he has the same jet black fur as Drake however his eyes almost are gray almost going into white. Their roles were different to the rest of the group in that they were shadow wolves. Assassins, who had no problem of letting their opponents never, know that they are there. I'm actually glad that there here because not to many wolves get the positions and those that do are very good in a fight.

There's also Dragoon our squad leader. He was a grey wolf who had seen a lot of action. I was also glad to have someone like him leading us because if something does go wrong he had no idea how'd he react to the situation, and liked the fact that this wolf experienced in all kinds of situations.

And finally- Eva, the moment I saw her I swear my heart skipped two beats. She is a light grey coated wolf who had a jet black glossy stripe going across her whole back from the base of her neck to the tip of her tail. She has sea-green eyes, which to me were absolutely stunning. Along with this is that she was a Alpha-Omega wolf as well, though at the moment I could've cared less if she'd been a Zeta. In the most classical of terms it was love at first sight. And of course that's the moment our squad leader shows up finally.

"Form up recruits!" I heard a wolf yell out in a loud parade ground baritone voice. And I quickly got in line and found myself next to Dante and Barge. Our squad leader walked up down our line inspecting everyone of us.

Then stopped in the middle of the recruits, turned to us and yelled out "Recruits, what is the goal of the War-eye!?"

This is easy, even a War-eye pup could answer this. We all yelled out in complete unison "Sir, to serve and protect our fellow War-eyes sir!"

He just nodded and said "Dang right you lot. But remember that you are not alone in this. Look to the wolf next to you." He said. I looked to both my right and left at Barge and Dante and we both nodded to each other. We knew each other- and I wanted to know more about Eva but knew that wouldn't happen now because, one this was a mission and two I was a an Omicron so that meant I'd be ahead of the group with Calin ready to spring any traps that maybe waiting for us.

"The wolf next to you is your life blood; if he or she dies you die with them. So watcheach others' backs out there. Understood?" Dragoon said.

"Sir, yes sir!" we yelled out with renewed vigor. He nodded in satisfaction at these recruits. They understood it.

"Now let's move out!" he yelled out once more. And together the eight of us stood up and marched out following our commanding officer. We weren't to know what would be waiting for us on this patrol mission.

We were already halfway done with the patrol and not a single sign of enemy movement. I thought as I padded fifty meters ahead of the group. Right now we were in the middle of the forest in our territory. The same forest that was where the worst day of my life started, he pushed the grim thought from his mind and focused on scanning with his eyes for any sign of movement in the undergrowth and shadows of the oaks and pines.

I look to my left and see Calin coming over to me. Has he seen something? I thought. But by the way he was walking and his body language he was calm. That and the mischievous smile on his face told me enough.

"So what do you think of her?" he said with a smile.

I looked at him suspiciously, he was up to something, I knew him well enough to know that much.

"Who are you talking about?" I asked deciding to play his game. They were almost out of the forest and the rest of it was a plain and then once we'd cleared that we were done. That and I wanted to get my mind off my grim thoughts seemed to come from nowhere.

"You know, Eva!" he said. That caught me so off guard that I actually stumbled a bit. I wasn't really expecting that kind of a question to come from my friend. How the heck does he know I have a crush on her? I asked myself. Duh, because you just told him smart guy! My mind answered for me.

"Ha-ha, so you do have a crush on her! I knew it." He said with a self satisfied expression.

"So what, get back to your position before the Alpha reprimands us will you?" I countered. It was the best I could come up with. Calin just chuckled as he got back into position.

But before he did that he had a few more questions. And he knew id answer them. "Do you plan on asking her out?" he said with an innocent smile.

I decided id humor him. "I planned on getting to know her a little bit before I did that." I replied. At that he raised an eyebrow and started chuckling. I shook my head "You know Calin some days you can be a real pain in the tail." I told him

"Yea, but at least I can fight just as well as you oh mighty Alpha-Omega." He said with a snort of laughter as we walked back into position. Though in reality Calin was and is the better fighter than me. I preferred to use stealth as an ally, whereas he used blinding attacks. It is one of the main reasons why we worked so well together as a recon team, because we know each other's strengths and weaknesses.

(Eva's P.O.V)

Meanwhile back at the squad Eva was somewhat beside herself. That wolf, she tried to remember his name…Robert that's it! She couldn't understand why her mind kept going back to the handsome wolf no matter how much she tried not to think of him. Did I just think he's handsome!? I couldn't believe I'd even thought that! I'd never seen a guy that get to me like that. Gha! Girl focus on the mission! When suddenly Barge- the wolf I was walking beside- tensed up in alarm then immediately relaxed. I then noticed that the rest of the group did as well and what'd I missed.

"Barge, what'd I miss?" I asked wanting to know and also wanting to start a conversation with him to know more about Robert. He started, not expecting the question. He'd thought everyone saw is whatever it was apparently.

"You didn't see it?" he asked. I shook my head no. "Oh, well Robert stumbled that's all."

"Oh.", was the only answer I could come up with. "Say Barge can you tell me anything about Robert at all?" He paused and then said "Alright what'cha wants to know?" he asked.

I thought real quick and asked "What is Robert's past like? Is all I know is that he is the son of the General."

"Well I do know that he's had it rough in the first few months of his life but that's up to Robert to tell you sorry." He said with a shrug.

"No problem I was just wondering that's all." I said this as I was moving up but then Barge said "However, one thing I don't have a problem with telling you is that I'm certain that Robert has a crush on you." He said with a mischievous smile and made his way over to Dante who was carrying a herb pouch on his left forearm. This had everything he needed to get a wolf back up on his or her feet.

I was caught off guard by this. Robert may have a crush on me? Was all that went through my in head. And that settled it for me that if he didn't make the first move I would. And at that moment was when we heard Robert yell out "Calin lookout!" and instinct took over and we raced to help out squad mates. Only to find ourselves surrounded. A wolf was running at me for the kill. Damn it! Then Dragoon got in between us and took a nasty blow to the neck.

(Robert's P.O.V)

I yelled out "Calin lookout!" This was actually a code system for Omicrons. I had noticed some movement in the bushes and realized that it was a wolf heading towards me! But not Calin, though that wasn't to say that there wasn't one about to attack him, but that was what the code was for, to do three things. One to get your fellow Omicron to know there is danger, two to get your squad to know there was danger, and three to prepare the Omicrons for the fight. It was never a good idea to go into a fight tensed up. And I knew that this wasn't going to be an easy fight either and braced myself as two wolves charged out at me. Well this will prove interesting. I thought grimly.

As the faster of the two ran at me and lunged I dodge and ran my claws along his side as he moved past me. It was far from a fatal wound albeit it'd be painful. Then Calin took him for me and now I only had one wolf to contend with. He made a quick swipe at my throat which I dodged without much effort. He then made a desperate lunge at me, which was both his first and last mistake. He'd mistimed the lunge and, as he came down to earth in front of me, I reared up on my hind legs and used the momentum of my forelegs to push his head onto the ground to, stun him and get him on my level, and bit into the base of his skull killing him instantly. I quickly turned around to help Calin only to see him finish off his enemy with a swipe of his claws across his throat.

I quickly ran over when we heard a yell to us. We both saw the squad under attack! By a tree we could see Eva and Barge holding off four wolves while Dante was tending to a wound in Dragoon's neck. Coal and the others were attacked by other wolves but weren't having any problem holding them at bay. So we rushed to help Barge and Eva. Calin charged one wolf who was about to bite onto Barge's leg who was grappling with a wolf- and winning. I charged at the one that was attacking on Eva's left and pounced on his back just before he attacked her as she was busy fighting off the other wolf. The wolf's right shoulder broke under the unexpected impact and howled in pain before I bit him in the base of the skull, ending his pain forever. I quickly got up to see Eva dispatch the enemy she-wolf with a quick bite to her throat and a sharp retort of. "I would've torn out your liver out you swine if you would've given me the chance!" and that increased my opinion of her even more. I was about to say "Nice move." When I felt me going to ground from some weight and I voice saying "Time to die son of Warthorn!" the wolf whispered in my ear. I wasn't afraid.

(Eva's P.O.V)

Just when I kill the wolf that was attacking me I couldn't resist saying "I would've torn out your liver out you swine if you would've given me the chance!" When I look up at Robert who was about to say something, a wolf lands on his back ready to kill him! I didn't hesitate, I charged the wolf and hot him off Robert also killing the wolf with a slash across his throat.

"Thanks for the help." Robert said with a pained smile. He had a wound on his shoulder though it looked minor. "You'll live." I said with a smile.

"Hey I know that, it's Dragoon that I'm worried about!" Dante yelled out. And I'd remembered the wound to his neck had suffered, and we quickly ran over to them. The others were quick to get rid of the others, their blood stained the grass. "What's wrong" I asked and judging from the looks of both Robert and Dante it wasn't good.

"He's not going to make it." Robert said with a hitch in his voice.

(Robert's P.O.V)

I'd seen that wound before or something like it. "He's not going to make it." I said with a hitch in my voice. Eva looked at me in the eyes and saw the truth there, we all could see it right in front of us. Dragoon, our squad leader was dying. It's the only reason why Dante stopped trying to staunch the bleeding. Then we heard a cough and voice accentuated with pain say "Now don't you all start getting sentimental on me."

Dragoon said with effort, "I am not going to have you lot crying over my dead body."

"But sir-"Eva started to say but Dragoon but her off "No buts missy! You all did well out there. And let none tell you differently! You all watched each other's backs and got away with virtually unscathed!" he said fighting for breath. Which was true, the wounds that we did have were minor and nowhere near serious. " I … Can… say that I'm proud … to have seen you lot fight… and you Dante trying to help no matter what… the only thing I have to say is… your all dismissed recruits…" And with these words he passed with "recruits" a barely audible sound.

(Back to normal time)

After that I took command because I was the only one not in shock. We took Dragoon's body back to camp where he was buried with full honors. As for me, I'll never forget that wolf even though I only knew him that day. He showed courage in death where others would've showed fear. As for me and Eva we did go out- four times. That had been a month after the ambush. I still couldn't believe it. I'd been happier in the past three months than I can remember. And on his third date with her shed asked him about his past, he decided to tell her everything. That was when he broke down. Telling Eva everything in my mind from speaking softly to yelling into the night, letting out all my sorrow and grief and rage id been holding in me since that day that monster Grage took my mother from me. Until I was a shell, an empty shell silently weeping. And what did she do? She comforted me, hugging me until I had finally regained control of myself. That was the day life from the dark cloud that had claimed it. She didn't judge me or anything other than comforted me. And on our fourth date- I could feel that ridiculous smile at the mere thought!- they had finally kissed. When they did he had never more alive! It felt like all of the darkness that was left in him was dispelled only to be replaced by peace and joy. And it was all from just being with Eva! I couldn't believe that I had actually kissed the most gorgeous wolf in the whole clan!

Which then reminded me to step it up or id be late for our fifth date. As I hurried to where we had agreed to meet, I wondered how I was going to tell her my feelings for her.

I planned on telling her my love for me. I'd already have gone through my fears about this. I believed that she loved me back. For me the fact that she had stood there as I had emptied all of my feelings out of me, and hadn't said a word. She just listened to me with a completely understanding look. It was the only reason why I had revealed what I had been holding in my heart for that long. And know I was happier than I had been in a long time. And that was when I realized I was at the clearing where we agreed to meet. And I saw the most gorgeous sight ever.