Prelude: Ultimatum
Wild whispers echoed off the walls of the study, reflecting the hushed voices of my family. Yet, screaming and yelling would've been more appropriate. I had never felt so inadequate to a task, never felt so helpless to the hand of fate. So much violence laid at my feet, and nothing we did seemed to alter our destiny. Maybe Alice was right, maybe we acted too rashly.
Not that it mattered, my decision was nearly made. I had to make sure the family stayed safe; it was the least I could do after everything they had done for me. Without making a sound, I snuck out of the house, even with their ears trained on my room. Saying goodbye to my blood was the hardest, but I felt I had no choice. We had to make peace, or end one of the threats barking at our feet.
The woods were cold, not in temperature but in starkness. Unfeeling towers of dark gnarled shapes and textures coming up to interfere with the path before me. I made my way towards a new fate, furious with the seeming inevitability of things. Then in the distance I heard Alice scream, and I knew that soon she would be alerting the rest of the family of my decision. Only it was already too late, they couldn't catch me now. Not that they could've done much to restrain me. The only one that could've really stopped me was gone, and my withered heart was heavy without that presence.
I hardly noticed as rain began to fall from the starless sky, which thankfully masked my trail. Not that my destination was all that secret, Alice could see me until I got to them. Then I crossed the imaginary boundary line, and a chorus of howls broke the silence of the rain swept night. I stopped in place, just a foot into their territory.
Within seconds the wolves descended. Their anger was obvious with their gnashing teeth and stomping paws. After a long second, the second largest of the pack, a black furred monstrosity stood into a man shrugging off fur and claws as if they were nothing more than an unwelcome coat.
"Explain!" He wasn't courteous, not that I expected him to be. His expression was more than hostile, it was bordering on deadly.
"I want peace, or I will force war. I will not live with threats from all sides anymore. This ends tonight, in blood or in something new. Either way it's over." My voice was even, clear and without a hint of anger or malice. I needed to make sure I sounded practical more than threatening.
"War." He said without hesitation, and leapt at me shifting effortlessly back into an impossibly large black wolf. An instant later the rest of his pack charged with him, outnumbering me ten to one.