Forgive me for throwing Age into a sudden confrontation, but this murderer is no joke. He sort of reminds me of the SS Men from the Holocaust. I mean come on, dark red, blood stained fur, huge, sharp fangs that drip blood, and not even mentioning the glowing yellow eyes. Whew, this guy even creeps me out, and I made him, all in all, you'll get an answer to a number of questions you'll be having, just sit tight and don't throw up. It's already too late for me…lol.

Better Than This

Chapter 6

Solution By Blood

Age faced down the creature that stood over him on the rock. It was still an early dawn and the rest of his friends hadn't woken from their slumber yet. He wouldn't let them anyway; they'd die if they faced this monster that stared down on the little peripheral. Since Age was standing on a mountainside about half way up, and murderer was higher up and gazing towards Age with a look that didn't seem like it was seeking death. More like a face that wanted to talk, and use blood shed only if necessary.

"Like I'm glad to meet you, you mass murdering dog!" Age yelled at his observer. The blood wolf just smiled, every time he grinned, more blood dripped down his fangs. Age thought either his mouth was bleeding, or he had a storage of blood sealed in his maw.

"You should be, I'm actually not feeling a need to kill you." The murderer said, the ground still quaking at the vibrations of his deep, malicious voice.

"Under no circumstances would a wolf like me ever be happy to be a slaying, bleeding…mutt as yourself!" Age continued to yell at him.

"For now, just call me Blood, it's only appropriate." He sneered and licked up more blood from his fangs and paws. Age closed his eyes in disgust.

"Fine then…Blood, why don't you feel a need to kill me; am I not as underlining as everyone else?" Age asked. Blood smirked, and turned to his side as if he was gesturing for Age to follow him, and then he leaped up the mountainside, leaving Age far behind. "Hey, get back here!" Age demanded and followed him on foot, jumping and gliding up the rock on his bare paws. Once he reached the top, he was met by another down-looking from Blood. A sharp rock stuck out from the top, and it was here Blood placed himself, and from here he still looked down upon Age.

"Can't we just…talk? I'm not going to hurt you, I need your help." Blood said, and he started pacing back and forth on the rock.

"You need my help? Why in the hell would I ever help you?" Age screamed at him. But the two were high enough on the mountain top; his voice was lost in the wind.

Blood didn't make a facial gesture; instead he just jumped down in front of Age and slowly walked towards him. "Hmm, you didn't go on the defensive I see, how come?" He asked looking like he knew the answer.

"You weren't going to attack me; I could tell by the way you jumped." Age declared watching Blood circle around him. Blood continued to walk around him and smiled, but didn't show his teeth this time.

"You see, that is why. I won't kill you, because you're just like me…" He said and walked away from him, trailing up the ice that lead to the summit, but stopped and turned around to look at Age.

"How am I even possibly like you? I don't kill wolves for pleasure!" Blood lowered his ears and frowned.

"You think I kill for fun? Wrong Age, you are very wrong." Blood nobly stated.

"Then why do you kill them? I find it hard to believe they actually did anything so bad that they deserve such gruesome deaths." Age questioned his rival.

"I only kill wolves who aren't like us my friend. I kill wolves…that are inferior." Blood told him as he returned to his little perch above Age's head. Age looked back up to him, again, and asked in a curious voice.

"What do you mean wolves that aren't like us? What is so special about us?" Age asked not understanding Blood's logic.

"We, my friend, are a superior race of wolf. We are direct descendants of the first wolves themselves. And as they continued to mate with lesser dogs, their knowledge and perfect senses slowly faded away. We however, are still enhanced with their abilities, we can think, we can surpass any of these pathetic Alphas, and we are all known amongst ourselves. Look at me Age, and tell me you don't know me…"

Age looked right at Blood in a way he hadn't before. He stared very closely into his eyes and over his body, the image was shook from his head, and he snapped back. "I don't care if I'm a special wolf, I have friends down there, and I'll fight anyone to defend them. But you're right; I do feel like I know you from somewhere." Age didn't want to admit it, but he did feel like he recognized Blood, somehow.

"I knew you'd remember, I also know that you're developing feelings for the Omega known as Hayley." Age growled fiercely at Blood for bringing her into this. "Calm down friend, I won't hurt her. Tribal traditions don't permit confrontation between wolves of the same pack. Since we are, I'd have to fight you to get to her, and I shall not kill you. I can't, we are all evenly matched, and it's just the way we were bred."

"You will leave her alone Blood! I don't care about pack laws, if you even go near her, I'll tear your throat out!" Age stepped closer to Blood's perch.

"Fine, I understand…" Age couldn't believe how nonchalant Blood was. He killed a handful of wolves, and he acted so laid back, despite his grueling appearance. "How about this, until you go on that date with her, no more wolves shall die."

"You're not serious, how could you be so understanding and self-controlled? You maim the bodies of those you kill so much we can barely tell who they once were! Why are you being so…so…" Age couldn't find the right word.

"Indifferent…? I know, that's because there's nothing wrong with what I do, it's for the good of the wolves that remain. The true wolves, not these mutts your friends call themselves." Blood rationalized his slaughter.

"Yeah, indifferent…why are you being so indifferent?"

"I already told you, I care not for the mutts I kill. I do the world a favor by getting rid of them…" Blood then perked up his ears and acted like he heard a noise on the wind being carried up from the ground. "Sounds like your friends are getting up." He said and turned to go, "Oh, by the way, for every day you don't go on that date, one wolf shall die, each more excruciating than the last." Blood chuckled and let one last drop of blood trickle down his fang and onto the rock he was standing on. He then vanished, Age didn't have time to yell after him, one second he was there, then the next gone.

"I'm not done with you! You hear me Blood? I'll fight until I die to protect this pack!" Age yelled to the peak hoping Blood was still listening. Now convinced that Blood was gone, Age sprinted down the rocks and ice, careful not to fall. He heard that his friends were indeed waking up, and ran even faster to them. Once he got to the bottom of the mountain he dashed through the forest and crept up to them from behind a bush and watched them.

"Hey, where's the freak?" Garth snooty commented. Kate growled at him.

"Show some respect Garth. Without 'the freak' we never would've found Lily. And I probably wouldn't have been found for a while. Geez, his senses are still boggling my mind." Kate recalled to everyone. Age thought now would be a good time to come out.

"Why would they do that?" Age asked aloud coming out of the brush. Kate stuttered back a few steps, and so did Garth.

"Oh Age, how much did you hear?" Kate asked him.

"Believe me Kate, I heard enough. And I really don't like being called a freak Garth. I can't help that I'm like the way I am. That would be like you ranting on Humphrey for having Alpha skills from playing games." Garth was speechless; he hadn't told anyone about that. "Yes Garth I know, you keep mumbling to yourself about it for some reason."

"Humphrey…is that true?" Kate asked her love. She knew nothing about his possible skills as an Alpha.

"Well actually, I never thought much of it until Age over here pointed it out. He noticed my hearing, my light footstep, and my smell capabilities. It was sort of strange when he pointed it out, but I don't really even think about it, I'm your Omega Kate, and that's all that matters." Humphrey said and gave her a lick. Kate smiled and out her head under his chin and the cuddled for a few seconds.

Age grew a smile on his face, the point of view he had of watching Kate and Humphrey show affection to each other like this made him truly miss Hayley. Garth was just worried he'd never be able to show love like that to Lily ever again. After Humphrey pulled away from Kate, Garth asked for some assistance getting Lily on his back so he could carry her. As the group walked back towards Jasper, Kate got curious to a few things.

"Hey Age…?" She asked him, and he turned around, "Where were you this morning? We all got worried for a second, except for Garth of course." Kate said and sneered over in Garth's direction.

"Will you promise not to freak out if I tell you?" Kate didn't understand why anyone would, but she gave him her word.

"Okay, I promise." She then made Humphrey and Garth promise too.

"Alright, there was a voice calling me from the wind to go up the mountain. And well, once I went up, I met the wolf who's been the mind behind these deaths. Believe it or not, but, I met the murderer." Kate's maw dropped, but she kept her word and didn't freak out.

"You met him, and he didn't kill you?" Kate asked not knowing why.

"Are you lying to us?" Garth threw out; clearly he didn't believe what he told them.

"I promise that I'm not lying, I'll explain it all to the head Alphas when we get back, I honestly don't want to say it twice. It's a long and weird story." Age said with a heavy heart and walked back to Jasper.

(Back in the Head Den)

"So…you think she'll be okay?" Humphrey asked after they walked in the den. When Eve saw that Lily was in a coma and unconscious on Garth's back, she fainted on the spot and was dragged to a corner of the den by Winston. Humphrey, as much as she was afraid of Eve, still asked if she was going to be fine.

"She'll be up and growling again in no time. But still, tell me the whole story from the beginning." Winston asked the little posse.

"I'm really sorry Dad, but I'm afraid the only one who can do that is Age." Kate drearily said to her father.

"Fine then, Age…what happened? Everyone else you can leave." Winston told the others. Garth when to the back of the den and placed her down softly. Garth then sat down himself and curled into a ball next to his mate while Kate and Humphrey left the melancholy aura behind.

Age then told the entire story to Winston from start to finish. All the way from when he ran off after the tree incident, to finding Kate, rescuing Lily, and speaking to the wolf responsible for these deaths. Winston was having a hard time listening to it all without getting sick, and after Age said that the murders would halt until he went on his date, Winston just stopped believing him.

"Okay, that's just crazy. There no way that's what really happened, him stopping his killings just so you can go on a date with that Omega girl."

"But Winston I'm for real! I'm not joking, he really did say that! Despite his really weird and grueling appearance, he seemed to be very level headed." Age complained to Winston to believe him.

"Well then don't go on that date mister; never, under any circumstances!" Winston commanded him.

"Yeah, about that…he said that for every day I don't go on that date, he'll kill one wolf, each death worse than the previous one." Winston shook off what Age told him, it was in no way believable to him. Before Winston rudely shoved past Age he turned around and looked him in the eye.

"By the way, we did some snooping around with J-Dog; he's been under some close surveillance. We've determined that he couldn't be the killer, that he's been watched the whole time. I too had my suspicions that it was him, but if you talked to the killer while J-Dog was here, what more proof do we need than that?" He turned to walk out, but before he did he turned around one more time. "Also, Humphrey is your cousin." Winston said quickly and ran off.

"Wait, what!" Age yelled after him but Winston was long gone. Age didn't know what to say or think, but a sudden voice calmed his mind.

"Age...is that you?" It was Hayley, Age looked and it was her. Age smiled hugely and ran over to her and licked her cheek, and she licked his back. "I really missed you, where have you been?" She asked in a sweet yet concerned voice.

"Well…you're probably not going to believe it but…I met the wolf that has been killing your pack members. And he threatened to…"

"You met him!" Hayley shouted in a fully blown out panic voice.

"Shh…! Please Hayley, but he threatened to kill a wolf everyday unless we went on our date. I have no idea why, but that really what he said, honest truth!" Age said pledging he wasn't lying.

"I don't know why, but I believe you. How about tomorrow?" She asked, secretly wanting to take advantage of this.

"Sure, I'd love to, be careful though, I'm worried that he's planning something." Age said concern to her.

"I will Age, I'll meet you when you decide on a place." Hayley said and walked off.

Age had no idea what Blood was thinking, but regardless of what it was, he was determined to enjoy his first date with Hayley. It didn't matter the conditions of the environment, he would have a good time, or die trying.

That's it for now! Humphrey will find out Age is his cousin later, and if J-Dog isn't Blood than who is? Oh well, you'll see, later!