AUTHOR'S NOTE: Durant's name has been changed to Ray. All previous chapters have also been revised. Happy Easter!!!

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Chapter Eleven: Fight

Diego's first reaction to the threat of the pack was pure sabre; his claws extended and he began to snarl, a warning sound deep in his throat. His eyes narrowed to glowing emerald slits, piercing the darkness around the herbivores. The sabre pack were lurking there, prowling restlessly around the edge of the edge of the clearing. Alexia was still sitting primly in the middle of the dazed animals, her gaze locked on the sky above.

Diego lowered himself to the ground, crouching and watching intently, waiting for any of the others to make a move. If even one of them moved, he'd attack them. For the first time in the last six months, he was focused. He knew exactly what he had to do and when he had to do it.

Time passed, agonizingly slowly, and a light snow began to fall. Diego blinked, straining to see through both snow and darkness, when something hit him from behind and he lost his balance, falling into the middle of the herd's clearing. He immediately snapped back up to his feet, whirling around to see who had hit him.

A smug-looking Shi landed lightly behind him, looking totally casual except for the madness in his eyes. Ray took a wary step back, butting into a warm body behind him. He spun back around, meeting Silver's liquid grey eyes, the same insanity glowing from them as from her brother's.

There was an unspoken law in the sabre world; no two unallied packs or sabres could share a meal. If one pack had staked out their prey and another sabre or pack tried to defend their right to it, it was a fight to the death.

Lars and Damian slowly started circling the now-trapped sabre, both of them softly snarling. Akira and Ray were nowhere to be seen. Diego growled threateningly, backing up against a dazed Manny.

Manny… Forgive me…

And with that one last thought, he threw himself directly – at – Damian!

The startled twin let out a shocked whimper as Diego painfully collided with him, knocking him off-balance and flat onto his back. Lars immediately went to help his brother, but just as Diego had predicted, the twin's twisted paw was more of a hindrance than a help when it came to a fight. Shi leapt at Diego, bashing him out of the way, leaving him open to Silver's not-so-tender embrace. She slashed him across his back, leaving five bleeding wounds, and he howled in pain, twisting away in an attempt to escape it and her. In that second he had of clear vision, he saw three things.

Alexia was sitting up where Diego had been moments before, watching the fight with a disinterested look. Alexia was beside her, tightly keeping herself in check, waiting for an opportunity to strike without hurting or hindering any of her pack members.

And then there was Ray… Under cover from the fight, he'd sneaked around to where Peaches was sitting, soundly asleep. Now he was salivating, hot spit dripping down his gleaming white fangs. Now he was tilting her throat back, sliding out his claws and about to slit it.

Diego felt a sickening sensation of horror sweep through him, and ignoring all the others, he ran straight at Ray. He vaguely felt all sense of reason leave him, replaced by terror and an overwhelmingly protective instinct. Everything sped up.

Diego was halfway through the air, claws extended –

Ray's paw was going closer and closer to Peaches' throat –

Diego was too far away, too far away –

Ray's paw touched her throat, and then – !