Chapter 9: A Hollow Victory Part 2 (written from July 20th to July 25th, 2022)

At the farthest point in the cave, Winston found Sanja in a circumstance that reminded him of the fissure where she was found. A nest of feathers cradled her, but instead of two rock faces trapping her, it was two wolves, Ross and Gloria, that impeded her with fear. The owl was practically naked. The two Alphas had scattered her plumage to every square foot of the den. It was the most humiliating sight as if a brutal slaughter had taken place without a drop of blood spilled. Her bizarre disk face was reduced to something even more bizarre, and all that remained of her wings were the primaries and secondaries that couldn't be easily plucked since they were attached to her wing bones.

"Sanja!" Winston cried. "Oh, my goodness... I'm so sorry..." The pup couldn't think an owl's eyes could get any larger, but the trauma was clearly visible within the quivering lakes of blackness. The golden halos flanking her chestnut beak seemed to flutter to and fro.

"You know, I once thought wolves were anything less than the demonizing fables my parents often told. I once thought that, Winston."

"Surely, you know I'm nothing like my father... or his new mate."

"But you will be a ruthless leader," the pensive owl retorted. "You will have to be in order for your pack to survive. Is that not the way of the wolf?"

Winston wanted to cry. This poor young creature had tangled herself into his unstable world. Maybe it was the way of the wolf. Maybe he had to accept it. Although arrogant and brazen, his father was effective as a deterrent, and if war broke out, Winston believed he had the will to succeed but was despotism worth such a victory? He was certainly proud to be a Western, but the Omegas of the pack were Western too. What did their misery add to his father's campaign? The inferior rank was designed to be ridiculed, but his cruelty didn't seem justified. When the day would come for Winston to succeed Ross, Winston had to make a change. The pup thought about the horrible conditions that Lilly and her family endured each day and night. He then remembered what Randall had told him about the stubbornness of society, especially of those in power. Could Winston really fall victim to the same temptations that reoriented his ancestors? The answer to that question depended solely on his ability to commit. But why could he not commit?

"C'mon, stand up. I'm going to get you out of here."

"How?" said Sanja, her tone bereft of hope.

"My father and the second-in-command are convinced that I'm here to interrogate you further. I can't leave this den without something to satisfy them nor can I either do anything that would induce a war—as that would mean your death—or anything that would immediately endanger you—as that would likely also mean your death. The only option I see is that we have to make some sort of pretense. We'll pretend that I've gotten through to you, and the information you told me will be something that will buy us time. Perhaps I can say that you'll only talk if my father removes his forces from the Dividing River. That would prevent my father from forming a pretext for war if the Eastern leader decides to secure his side of the border. That would hopefully make my father less likely to kill you."

"This is just delaying the inevitable. If I'm a spy, your father would want to kill me. Why don't we just tell them the truth?"

"What?! How would that even work?"

"Have them take me to a high place where they'll see me fall."

"Sanja!" Winston exclaimed. "Are you crazy?! That's suicide!"

"I've fallen safely once; I can do it again."

"You got lucky once."

"Look at me! Do I look lucky?!"

"Point taken. But think for a second! My father knows you can't fly because you're featherless."

"But I'm the first owl anyone's ever met," she replied. "I can just tell him we owls are capable of flying without feathers."

"No wolf would buy that. They would see right through you. Wait... My father knows you can't fly..." Sanja tilted her head as Winston gasped. "That's it! I'll turn you into a traitor! I'll tell my father that you're willing to spy for him instead of the Eastern leader but only if he removes his Alphas from the river. Since he knows you can't fly, he won't be expecting you to until your feathers grow back. That will allow you to live long enough so I can..."

"So you can do what? What is it?"

"So I can find the grove where your family is. I'll go there myself and tell your family where you are, so they can find you and take you home."

"Really? Don't you remember what your personal trainer said? It's too dangerous!" The pup stepped closer to the bird and placed a forepaw on her talons. If Sanja had her plumage, there would have been ripples of wonderment across her chest.

"I know the words of a wolf might not mean much right now, but I promise I will get you home. If that means climbing a stupid mountain, it's worth it." The owl returned the kindness by rubbing her bare head against his muzzle. Despite the soreness of her skin, the pup needed all the support he could get if he was going to venture out into perilous lands.

"I trust you," she replied.

Once the owl formally agreed to the plan, Winston exited the cave and met his parents again. Gloria, in her typical condescending fashion, was eager to use Winston's failure as a means of validating herself.

"Aww, it's okay, little Winston. If I couldn't get through to her, no one could've."

"As a matter of fact, I have," said the pup, shattering the she-wolf's ego.

"What?!" Ross exclaimed. "How?!"

"It would have been helpful to know that she doesn't respond well to intimidation, and it's hard to be intimidating when you're as small as me."

"Nonsense! I should've intimidated her more! Fear is reliable!"

"With all due respect, Father, you cannot argue with my results." For the first time, Ross took a step back.

"Is that so?" His son presented a measure of confidence that challenged his own. If any other Western had done so, he would feel compelled to give their face an unforgettable scar, but Winston was made an exception. Ever since Winston could walk, Ross always regarded his son as too soft, too much like Winslet. The memory of his original mate was so painful to see in his son that he couldn't bear it. The pack leader wanted his pup to follow in his footsteps and his footsteps only, so he gave Winston an opportunity.

"Alright, son, you've piqued my interest. What has this agent imparted?"

"Actually, she didn't exactly give me the relevant info."

"I don't understand. You said you got through to her!"

"No, you misunderstand, Father. She will give us the intelligence we desire but on her own terms."

"What the heck does that mean?!" Gloria blustered.

"While she is in your custody, the East can do nothing to punish her. She wishes to be on our side." Both adult Alphas were stunned. Neither of them ever expected their spy to be a traitor. It seemed too good to be true, so Winston told them the thing that could make it seem less so.

"She has one condition though. You must remove your Alphas from the Dividing River."

"WHAT?!" his parents exclaimed in unison.

"Since you removed her feathers, she isn't going to be that useful until they grow back. We need to postpone the battle."

"How dare she?!" yelled Gloria before she threw herself down at her mate's forepaws. "Ross dear, allow me to butcher this owl. If it pleases you, I'll leave alone the best and largest portions."

"You have two options, Father," said Winston. "You can either kill her now and wage a long war of attrition with the East, or you can use her and likely have a swift victory."

"A swift victory," the pack leader repeated under his breath. "I cannot dismiss that." Ross believed the greatest victories were ones that were definitive and speedy. Blitzkrieg operations installed a durable level of fear into a conquered populace which discouraged them from resisting. Ross did not think a speedy offensive was possible since the East had competent fighting skills, but if those skills could somehow be undermined without the East noticing, a victory worthy of Joseph's grand dream was feasible. Instead of a yearslong battle, it would be a few weeks at most before the East and West are reunified under Western rule. The only way this was possible was by having a decisive advantage, and that was where the owl could come in.

However, the second-in-command was skeptical of the spy's potential loyalty to the West. The fact that the spy was bold enough to demand a Western withdrawal did not sit right with her. In response, she decided to give the most submissive posture imaginable, exposing her entire throat and abdomen to the pack leader. Winston was shocked. He never thought Gloria was capable of making the lowest of displays, ones that even the Western Omegas were not expected to do.

"Ross dear, this hideous bird was disrespectful. I say every kind of victory is great with you as our steward."

"Sir," Winston added, "my grandfather, our founder, was no weakling, yet he could not defeat the East due to the prolonged length of his efforts. If we have the option of avoiding a similar fate, we should take it."

"Ross dear," said Gloria, "Don't risk the entirety of your plans over this. How would we even watch this owl?"

"I volunteer for the job of watching its every move. Thanks to your appointment of Randall as my trainer, my legs are strong, but if I feel at any point that she may betray us, I will notify you first, and a kill squad will attack the second she perches anywhere!"

"Ross dear, please reconsider!"

"Enough, Gloria! Get up!" the pack leader ordered. Begrudgingly, the she-wolf ended her embarrassing submission. "Winston is my son... I will trust his judgment. Hideous or not, the spy could prove useful. The Easterns need to suffer. That's why they must fall."

"And they will, dear! But please—!"

"I SAID, ENOUGH!" he snarled. "Notify my frontline troops. Have them fall back to their previous positions."

"Yes, sir... Forgive me." The ash-colored she-wolf shot a piercing glance at the pup, squeezing her green eyes until they were mere slits. She then proceeded across the log bridge, muttering curses to herself.

"Thank you, Father," said Winston, bowing his head.

"No... Thank you, son. I see now that I was a fool. All this time, I should've just given you a chance to prove yourself. From now on, we shall do things together. We will make those Eastern devils pay!"

Ross, for the first time, then hugged his son. It was an awkward, uncomfortable hug at best, but Ross enjoyed it regardless. If only it could've been genuine from both sides, Winston thought. The pup finally got the appreciation he always wanted from his father but it wasn't the kind he was looking for. He wanted Ross to love him as himself, not as him acting like Ross. "So... with my plans postponed that means the Great Wolf Games are back on schedule." The pack leader then turned to the gold pup who had been quietly watching Winston from a platform near the log bridge.

"Goldstar," he summoned. She stepped close to the Alpha and submitted professionally. "Is it in your medical opinion that my son will be well enough to compete by the time the Games begin?" Eve took a glance at Winston through the pack leader's legs. The male pup nodded his head as a signal to say yes, but Eve couldn't.

"No," she answered.

"No? What was his injury exactly?"

"Father, she is a pup like me," Winston cut in. "She's not a certified healer. I will compete."

"He fell and a tree root stabbed him," said Eve. "He almost died. My medical opinion is that he should return to the Pack Healers' Den for Males and rest."

"Eve! What are you doing?!" Winston yelled. His father then turned to him.

"And you expected to watch the spy with this injury? That's reckless thinking! I should slap you off the cliff for risking my plans like this!"

"Don't worry, sir. I'll watch the spy," Eve recommended. "Your son is right. I'm not a certified healer, but my mentor who you may know as Freya will be at the Healers' Den to care for him. Who knows? With her experience, she may heal him to the point where he can compete by the first day of autumn."

"Hmm... You are indeed clever. It was wise of my son to choose you."

"Father, I did not choose her."

"Nonsense. The sparks of love between two wolves don't arise from free will. You chose her without knowing you did." Eve then burst into laughter.

"Ughhh," Winston groaned.