The walk back to the others was a quiet one, save for the occasional rumble of thunder. Before long, King could feel the cool droplets of rain falling on his body. After a few minutes, it was raining hard as streaks of lightning burst across the sky, followed by a loud booms of thunder. In that time, King, his fur now soaked by the downpour, reflected on what had just transpired. And with that, there was something Cain had asked him prior to death;
"How much blood do you have on your paws?"
Upon reiterating that question in his mind, King froze, his mind instantly going back to one of his most vile deeds; Caribou Mountain. It was then that the full extent of his past actions came back to him full force. Upon remembering the countless wolves that were killed under his orders, King broke down in tears, realizing how similar he and Cain were.
But the more King thought about it, the more he realized just how different they were.
And with how different they were, King realized he had so much more than Cain.
And it was all from letting go of the hate in his heart.
And for the first time in years, King felt as if a great burden had been lifted from his shoulders as all the hate he held within him flowed away with the rain. After a few more minutes of relishing this new feeling, King continued down the hillside. But, upon reaching the bottom, he was met with a somber sight. There, surrounded by the Omegas of Cain's pack, as well as his family, was Cody, bleeding profusely from the neck by the bite mark given by Cain.
Slowly approaching his family, whose backs were turned to him, King tentatively called to his son-in-law.
"Sam." Turning to meet the concerned gaze of his father-in-law, Sam sighed in relief, a smile on his face at the knowledge that King was alright. Walking toward the older wolf, Sam pulled him into a tight hug, which was happily returned. Pulling away from King, Sam's expression soon turned solemn.
"You killed Cain, didn't you?" King, after taking a moment to think over his answer, responded.
"I gave him a chance to flee. He refused and attacked me. I gave him a push, and in the end, the train killed him." Sam smiled at this, glad that Cain's reign was finally over, but more so that King did not carry out the deed.
He truly has changed.
But, there were still his followers to deal with, those of which were currently detained by the Alpha's that turned against Cain. As it turns out, a majority of the Alphas present had been conspiring for the longest time to overthrow Cain, but never acted on it as they didn't know who they could trust. But with recent events, it was finally revealed that the Anti-Cain Alphas outnumbered the loyalists four-to-one.
The difference between friend and foe was now apparent.
However, King's attention soon turned back to the group around Cody, now noticing Rex sitting by his brother's side.
"How is he?" King asked sadly, his heart growing heavy at the sad look on Sam's face.
"Not good," the cream-colored wolf choked out, trying hard to keep his composure as tears threatened to fall from his eyes, "not good at all. I have just spoken with Delilah...
he's not going to make it."
King's face twisted in shock and despair. After taking a moment to process the news, King walked with Sam as they rejoined the others. Although very weak, Cody looked toward King as he approached him. Mustering all the strength he had left, Cody asked King,
"Cain?" With a sad smile King responded as every wolf present, particularly his daughter, leaned in to hear the news.
"Dead."
Even though it was said with a very passive tone, the weight of the word was too much for the emotionally fragile Terra to bare. With a loud sob, she buried her face in her mate's chest, tears of joy streaming down her face as her mate comforted her, a smile on his face as well. Even Cody weakly smiled at the news.
"Thank you, King" he rasped out, a tear trickling down the side of his muzzle, although it was very hard to tell due to the rain. However, even though the news was most welcome, Rex couldn't bring himself to be happy as he watched his brother die in front of him.
"Please don't leave me, little brother," he begged through his tears, bringing his head down to rest against Cody's. With a side smile, Cody responded.
"There is nowhere you will go that I am not with you, Rex," he wheezed, finding it harder to catch his breath, "just promise me that you will look after Elise when I am gone." Pulling away from his brother, Rex, with a steadfast expression, nodded.
"I promise, Cody, I really do," he said with utmost seriousness before a thought came to his head.
"And, before you go, I have more good news...my son is alive"
Even though he was very weak, Cody was able to raise his head, his eyes wide in surprise.
"Humphrey," he inquired, a little more strength to his voice, "Little Humph is still alive." Rex, along with Sam, smiled at Cody's reaction.
"Yes," Rex responded, "Sam says he's been in Jasper all this time." Cody relaxed again as he heard this. With a small sigh and smile, he spoke again.
"Oh, Rex," he began with a laugh. But soon, his eyes began to fall close as he continued to speak. "Now I wish I could stay, there is so much I want to tell Humphrey..." As Cody spoke, his voice trailed off as his eyes closed.
And as he said Humphrey's name, Cody succumbed to his wounds.
Rex, upon realizing his brother was gone, clenched his eyes shut as tears fell from them, his breath shaken by this tragic loss. After a few moments of silence, Rex suddenly lifted his head to sky as he let out a howl filled with all the pain he was experiencing. He was soon joined by Sam, then Terra. Before long, the entire pack, save for Cain's Loyalists, were howling with Rex. As the howling continued, King continued to look at Cody's lifeless body.
It was at that moment he knew he was nothing like Cain.
Lifting his head high, King, with great strength, completed the chorus of howls. The period of mourning continued as the rain fell, slowly being replaced by the snow that came in with the cold winds.
Anna was pacing the den as Elsie sat near the back, whimpering softly as the worry for the others grew. But luckily, the worry quickly vanished as Samuel, Terra, Rex, and King entered the den. Stopping in her tracks, Anna's face immediately lit up upon seeing her parents, especially her mother, who ran to meet her daughter halfway as the former bolted toward the group.
"MOMMY!" Anna squealed, tears of joy streaming down her face. She was quickly pulled into a tight embrace.
"ANNA, MY BABY GIRL!" Terra cried out, overjoyed that she was once again with her daughter, who, after seeing her father walk up to them with a limp, gasped at the bite wound on his leg.
"Are you OK, daddy?" she inquired worriedly. Sam, smiling lovingly at his daughter, placed a tender lick on her forehead, earning a giggle from the pup in response.
"I'll be fine Anna," he said softly, before being joined by King, who was promptly tackled to ground by his overly excited granddaughter.
"Well, I missed you too," King laughed as Anna nuzzled herself into his chest. The mood soon turned solemn, however, as Rex walked towards Elise, her expression filled with worry as to why her father was not with them.
"Is that mean wolf Cain gone?" the small pup whimpered. Rex, with a smile, nuzzled his niece lovingly.
"Yes, sweetheart," he responded. Her spirits slightly lifted, Anna decided to inquire about Cody.
"Then where is my daddy?" Looking to her parents and her grandfather, Anna's ears lowered at the solemn expressions they held, silently confirming her suspicious of the answer to Elise's question. With a sad sigh, Rex pulled Elise close as he responded.
"He can't be with you anymore, Elise," he said sadly, his voice cracking from the emotional stress he was under. Catching on to what Rex meant, Elsie buried her face into his chest, her sobs echoing around the den.
"Listen, Elsie," Rex continued, succeeding in getting the pups attention on him, her cheeks wet from her tears, "I know I can never replace your father, but I want you to know that I will be hear for you." After a moment of thinking it over, Elise nodded as she continued to cry, resuming her position of crying into her uncle's chest. After witnessing this, Sam, with a sad smile, spoke.
"Why don't we all get some rest," he suggested, "it has been a long and trying day." The suggestion was well received, and before long, the group of wolves had fallen asleep, the days events a distant memory.
As the sun began to rise the next morning, the small group of wolves, secluded in Rex's den, were awoken by a new presence.
Delilah had arrived with troubling news...
Cain's loyalist's had died.
"How did this happen?" Sam inquired, deeply disturbed by this sudden turn of events.
"It was shortly after you left," Delilah began, "that the wolves, quite surprisingly, killed themselves by slitting their own throats." The group was quite disturbed to hear this.
"Did any of them say anything before they died?" Rex inquired. Taking on a contemplative look, the messenger's face suddenly took an expression of recollection.
"Yes, as a matter of fact," he answered, "before he died, Killer said 'Long Live Cain.'" Upon hearing this, Sam sadly shook his head as he realized what had happened.
"They revered him so much that they were willing to follow him even in death." Looking to the Delilah, Terra asked a question of her own.
"What becomes of the pack now?" With a sad expression, the messenger responded.
"We will need a new leader," she said, "which is also part of the reason I came here." Looking to King, the black-furred, white-striped female stood at attention.
"King," he began, "since you are the one who bested Cain, by the traditions of our pack, you are now our leader." Save for Delilah, every wolf in the den was speechless, especially King, who looked outright horrified at the idea of leading another pack.
"T-that is quite generous of you," King stammered, "but I think I'm going to have to pass you up on your offer. My family comes first." A bit taken aback by King's refusal, Delilah appeared quite confused.
"But, sir," she pleaded, "who will lead the pack. Surely you can't be suggesting we lead ourselves!" King, after taking a moment to think over what Delilah just asked, was suddenly struck with an idea.
"Rex," he said, turn to said wolf, "you could do it." And just like King, Rex was dumbfounded.
"But, King," he began, "I don't know the first thing about running a pack!" Upon hearing this, King smiled at his friend, placing a paw on his shoulder.
"Don't worry my friend," King said reassuringly, "I will be more than happy to help you learn how to be a proper pack leader." Looking to the other two adults in the den, Rex relaxed as Sam and Terra gave him reassuring smiles of encouragement. Taking a deep breath, Rex turned before nodding firmly, conveying to the others that he was prepared to take on this huge responsibility. Delilah smiled as Rex turned his attention to her.
"This way, SIR," she said, adding extra emphasis to "sir" as he did so, turning promptly on her paws to escort Rex and King to the pack. But, before leaving, Rex quickly turned to Sam and Terra.
"OH! Could you two watch Elise for me?" he inquired as he looked toward the still sleeping pups in the back of the den.
"Of course," Sam replied with a smile, one that was shared by Terra who nodded in agreement.
"Thank you," Rex said as he rejoined King and Delilah.
That evening, King and Rex returned to the den, each sporting broad smiles as they were greeted by the two other adults and two pups.
"Well?" Sam inquired eagerly. With his smile never wavering, Rex responded.
"You are looking at the new leader of the Tranquility Pack," he said proudly.
Sam and Terra, along with Anna and Elise, beamed brightly at the news. Looking to his niece, Rex addressed her.
"Come on Elise, it's time to go home." Said pup bounded happily to her uncle, nuzzling him fondly with the gesture being happily returned. Looking to his new friends, Rex smiled warmly at them before saying, "you are welcome to stay, my friends."
Although Sam was greatly appreciative of Rex's help, he knew that their home was yet to be found.
"This is your home Rex," he gently said, "ours is elsewhere." Although Rex was a little upset to hear this, he knew better than to argue. But, just as he was about to leave the den, he turned to King.
"Oh, King," he called, catching said wolf's attention, "I forgot to tell you that there is one last thing that we need to do before you leave." Before King could inquire what it was, Rex and already walked out of the den with Elise in tow. Looking back to his daughter and her family, King was met with equally confused looks and shrugs before shrugging himself as he followed Rex.
"I'll be back," he called before he was out of earshot.
Upon arriving at the new pack, King could see that already it was a better place with Alphas and Omegas living in harmony. As King walked alongside Rex, who at this point sent Elise off with Delilah to get to bed, he was a bit confused as his friend lead him to rather secluded part of the territory. The confusion only grew as they arrived a mouth of den hidden behind some dense foliage.
Looking to Rex, King was met with an encouraging nod. Stepping tentatively into he den, King was left breathless by what he saw; four stunning female wolves, two Alphas and two Omegas, each laying seductively on the ground as they cast their respective gazes on King, batting their eyelashes at him, enticing him to join them. King finally came back to reality when Rex stood alongside him, a sly smile on his muzzle.
"Just a little thank you for all you have done," he said teasingly. King after looking in surprise at Rex, returned his attention to the four beautiful females, each maintaining their lust0filled gazes, a sly smile slowly forming on his muzzle as well as he said,
"Alight then, who's first?"