Chapter 8: Different Paths (written from January 28th to January 30th, 2020)
Kate never thought the first day of spring would be like this. Rocky was supposed to become an Alpha like her. Alpha School ended today. She didn't think her son was so mad at his parents that he would leave the pack. It couldn't be true. He was somewhere nearby. Maybe something happened to him! Kate wanted answers. She loved Rocky as much as she loved Jenny. Despite Humphrey's opinion, she couldn't let them go. Not yet at least.
His scent was here. After zigzagging through the territory, his unique scent reached her snout. A great sense of relief fell upon her. She was right! He was here! Now all she needed to do was find him. It seemed he was near...
She was close to the Northern Pack's border. The scent was getting stronger. She was surprised that she couldn't see him yet. The scent was getting stronger. Surely, he should be here. The scent was getting stronger. No Rocky in sight. No wolf in sight. The scent was getting stronger. Something didn't seem right. The scent was getting stronger. His scent never waned or varied in strength, as though Rocky wasn't even moving at all. His scent was only getting stronger as his mother drew closer.
Next to a log was a small part of the ground where there was no grass. The smell emanated from the grassless dirt, dirt that was clearly turned inside out. Kate was incredibly puzzled. She stuck her nose into the fresh dirt. It didn't make sense.
Kate then noticed a bone lying against the log. It had an inscription: "He was gone when I found him, reduced to almost nothing. If any of his family finds this—I'm sorry." Her heart dropped to the core of the Earth. She frantically dug. Tears collected at the bottom of her eyes. She frantically dug. The ferocity made her arms and forepaws ache to the point of numbness. She frantically dug. She strained her jaw muscles. She ground her teeth. She frantically dug. Then there was a layer of smooth stones. One by one she would take a stone with her mouth and deposit it. Soon a layer of pelts came into view. She frantically dug. She easily ripped the pelts and spat them out to a place outside of the hole.
There he was. A scrap of bones and mishappen, unrecognizable flesh. Kate never questioned what happened. All she focused on was the fact that he was gone. The heir to the Western Pack was gone. In the burial with him was a play bone. His play bone. The one he always played with Jenny when they were wee pups. Kate didn't remember Rocky taking the bone when he left, but she didn't question how. She only thought about what was in front of her.
It seemed pointless, but Kate wanted to say it, at least before her sobbing would overtake her.
"Goodbye..."
Later...
Humphrey was in the den talking to another wolf when Kate returned.
"Honey, I have terrible news..."
"What is it?"
"Our son, Rocky, he's... he's gone..."
"No... That can't be true! Kate, don't lie to me!"
"I'm not lying!" she yelled. "I know what I saw..."
"What did you see?" he asked.
"From the looks of it... he was crushed by a bear and torn apart by scavenger hawks. But that wasn't all... Somehow, he still had his little play bone, the one I gave him... Ugh! Why! Why! Why did this have to happen?!"
Humphrey merely cleared his throat. He wasn't quite giving the emotional response Kate expected, but she didn't care. Rocky was gone.
"Am I hearing this correctly? The heir to this pack is dead?!" said the other wolf.
"Yes, it appears so," Humphrey replied. "I'm at a loss for words... I must find Jenny and tell her the news!" The grey wolf briskly exited the den, passing by Kate who had collapsed. The black wolf gingerly went to her side to comfort her.
"Are you okay, ma'am?" Kate didn't respond. "Is it true that the heir is dead?" She looked up at him. Her wet face gave him the answer. "What is this pack going to do? Without an heir, there is no pack leader."
"What is your name?" she asked meekly.
"Uhh... Douglas, ma'am."
"I don't know a 'Douglas'..." The black wolf bowed his head in respect.
"I apologize. I've only been here for a few days."
"Are you a lone wolf?"
"No, ma'am. I'm from the King Pack," he answered.
"You're a Rogue?"
"Was... I've denounced King. I'm sorry if I never get to be seen as a good wolf in your eyes. I don't even forgive myself." Kate kept looking back and forth between Douglas's face and the pool of tears beneath her. Then she noticed the large scar over his left eye.
"Well, Douglas... have you ever seen a she-wolf become pack leader?"
Meanwhile...
In the Shadow Forest, the wolf known as Shadow was napping on top of his bloody butchering stone. But his nap was cut short when the sound of digging awakened him. He was confused at first, but he quickly noticed a random wolf digging only twenty yards from his own den. It angered him. He was very sensitive when it came to the land surrounding his den. He stood up and marched to the wolf.
"Hey! What's the meaning of this?!"
"The meaning of what?" The wolf turned to face him, and to his surprise, it was a she-wolf. He hadn't seen one in a long time. It wasn't just any she-wolf. It was the prettiest one he had ever seen. She was a mixture of different shades of grey, but two areas of her body were distinct. Her back was predominantly dark, and her underbelly was predominantly pale. As if she wasn't attractive enough, her eyes were lilac.
"Oh, umm... sorry... umm..."
"Well, whatever you gotta say, spit it out," she said. He tried to regain his composure.
"Umm... What are you doing exactly?"
"I'm building a den. What does it look like I'm doing?"
"But this my land..."
"Is that so?"
"Yes. My name is Shadow, and I would appreciate it if you would not build your den here."
"Are you the leader of some sort of pack?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Uhh... no."
"How are you entitled to this land?"
"I'm the only one who lives here, and I take care of it."
"I can take care of this land too. Maybe you can teach me. Regardless, I'm not leaving, buddy." The she-wolf looked away and continued digging.
"I will... I will make you leave!" The she-wolf proceeded to not take him seriously.
"Huh, you won't do anything." She was right. The she-wolf was very good at reading wolves. She knew she had him. Shadow was good at reading wolves too, but for the first time ever, he had met his match. She was too pretty to simply be relocated. Despite how stubborn she seemed, Shadow kept viewing her as delicate, and he didn't want to touch her, which frustrated him because he really valued his loneliness. He didn't want anybody to be living near him. The concept of trust was not something he was accustomed to. The only wolf he really trusted was himself.
"Fine, whoever you are. I'll let you stay for today, but tomorrow I won't be so nice!"
"Keep talking," she replied, trying to provoke him. She found him amusing. "And my name's Sasha."
"You will be gone!" he declared without sounding confident.
"Talk to you later, Shadow," she said casually. Shadow then walked back to his den, whispering curse words to himself. Sasha glanced at him and smirked. "Hm. He's cute."
Later...
Humphrey came to Den 1. He didn't tell Jenny that Rocky was dead. He wanted to go back to Matt to thank him.
"Whatever you did, sir. It worked like a charm."
"It was pretty easy actually," the Northern leader replied. "With the play bone you provided me with, I was able to make her think Rocky was dead by using his scent on it. There was a rotting carcass of a young lone wolf being torn apart by hawks on the northern outskirts of our territory. I made a burial where she would find it and left her a note saying that an unnamed wolf found him dead and decided to give him a proper resting place."
"Excellent. I can't thank you enough," said Humphrey. "She is devastated. I will use the opportunity to ask her to mate with me. I mean, she has to mate with me now. Rocky is the heir. Without the heir, there is no Western Pack."
Credit: Douglas is an OC created by Mike The Red Engine. Sasha is an OC created by xXShadowTheWolfXx. I have permission to use their OCs, but all rights are reserved for them.