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Description
The reek of death was heavy in the night air. I hid in a bush, trembling with fear, as I heard cries of pain in the distance. I also heard the sound of flesh ripping and bones cracking, dreadful noises that I wish I could block out of my mind. Poking my head out of the bush, I noticed the body of a wolf surrounded by a thick pool of blood. On top of that wolf stood another, with a cold look in its evil eyes. It was then I realized that the wolf that was being pinned down was my own mother! I watched in horror as my mother thrashed around, trying to escape from the grip of the other wolf. Taking a step out of the bush, I was ready to go and help her. But before I could save her, the wolf on top of her raised a paw. Its claws shined in the moonlight as it fell upon my mother's neck, cutting through her skin and slicing her throat out. With a tear forming in the corner of my eye, I wailed in sadness. I was too late. Suddenly, the cruel wolf turned its head towards me, hearing my cry of sorrow. My eyes widened in terror as it raced for me. Right when it was about to pounce...
"Wake up!" A paw gently shook my shoulder. My eyes shot open and suddenly I was back into reality, looking up at the roof of my den. Then, I turned my head to see my best friend, Venus. Her pale gray fur shined in the weak sunlight. Blinking the sleep out of my eyes, I noticed that Venus had a puzzled look on her face.
"You look like you've just seen a ghost, Lumiere!" She broke the brief silence, shaking her tail impatiently.
"I had that dream again." I sighed, memories popping up in my mind. Venus rolled her eyes.
"Don't worry. Hopefully that dream will stop haunting you soon. Seriously, that horrible event was many seasons ago; when you were just a pup. Your mother is in a better place now." Venus tried to help me feel better. However, I knew nothing would replace the whole in my heart. Pulling myself off the ground, I walked out of the den, signaling with my tail for Venus to follow. The sunlight warmed my fur as I breathed in the fresh air, forgetting about my dream. My father, Fang, walked up to me and touched my muzzle with his as a greeting. My comfort broke when I heard the cry of sadness in one of the dens. A she-wolf, who was heavy with pups, ran out of a small den and broke down in tears. The pack raced to her, frantically asking what had happened.
"Rocky... My mate... He died! Someone killed him! He'll never be able to see his pups when they're born..." She choked the words out. The pack of wolves gasped in horror. My father and I exchanged surprised looks before I ran up to the shocked she-wolf.
"Where is he?" I asked with a worried tone. She pointed with her tail to the den where she came out.
"I don't know what happened... I wanted to see him, but I faintly smelled blood and saw him on the ground, his fur stained with his own blood." She wailed. The leader of the pack, Blaze, came up to me and ordered me to investigate. I nodded to a few other wolves nearby and we went to search the scene. As one of the wolves stepped into the den, others followed closely behind. When I got in, the scent of blood was not as strong as I thought it would be. Then, I saw Rocky. He was covered with strong-smelling herbs, but I could still see his blood-stained pelt. The cuts on his skin were torn apart savagely and most of his claws were ripped off his paws.
"Rocky is covered in herbs...." One wolf sniffed the dead body.
"That's probably why I couldn't scent a rotting body in here... It looks as if all the leaves of a tree fell on him!" Another wolf pointed out. I nodded in agreement. But who could have done this to one of the pack's most loyal wolves?
"We should look for a strand of fur that the murderer might have left behind." I suggested, scanning the den. They nodded in agreement. A single piece of silver fur caught my eye as it shined in the dappled sunlight. I bent my head down and sniffed it.
"This fur belongs to Rocky's mate, Lily. She couldn't have killed him, especially since she is heavy with her pups. She would not stand a chance against a strong wolf if she tried to kill him." I murmured half to myself, a bit confused.
"It probably dropped off her while she was in here checking on him." A wolf called from behind me. As a small breeze entered the den, I picked up a familiar scent. However, it was too faint to tell who it belonged to. I quickly told the other wolves that I would report to the leader while they kept investigating. As I headed out the den, Blaze was already waiting patiently outside.
"Rocky was heavily covered with strong-scented herbs. That's why we couldn't scent the blood or decay." I reported to my leader as I approached him. He sighed.
"I better tell this to the pack that we don't know Rocky's murderer... Did you at least find a clue to who killed him?" Blaze said to me, worry in his dark eyes. I looked down to my paws and started to think.
"Well, the murderer must smell like herbs since he's been using a whole lot of them... But we still don't know why someone would kill...." I whispered into Blaze's ear, not wanting anyone nearby to hear. He quickly nodded to me before leaping onto a large rock and howling to the pack.
"We all know that one of our strongest wolves has been killed, but we don't know who murdered him." Blaze began to speak as the pack gathered to listen. However, I noticed that one wolf stayed in the far back of the crowd. His name was Meteor. I narrowed my eyes at him as I slowly worked my way through the crowd and sat down next to him. Breathing in his scent, I noticed he smelled a lot like herbs. Before I could ask him a question, Fang sat next to me and let out a loud yawn. Annoyed, I rolled my eyes.
"Lumiere, don't you ever think about becoming leader of the pack someday?" My father randomly asked. I looked at him, confused. Why would he ask me that kind of question during a situation when a loyal wolf recently got killed? Suspicion quickly rose inside my thoughts. Could my father be the murderer? I shook my head, clearing away the dreadful thought. It couldn't possibly be my own father.
"Also, I wonder who killed Rocky. He was loyal, strong, and one of my best friends." Fang changed the subject as I shrugged in reply. I sighed in relief. My father wouldn't harm another wolf in the pack. My thoughts went back to Meteor. But before I could ask him something, Blaze dismissed the pack and ended the report. The sun had vanished, leaving the moon to take its place in the sky. A cool breeze ruffled my fur and I slightly shivered. Many wolves were already heading back into their dens, along with Meteor. Frustration filled my whole body.
"Good night, Lumiere." I felt my father's warm breath as he murmured into my ear. A smile formed on my face and I let go of my frustration. The moon's weak rays covered the forest and the chirping of birds slowly died down. As my father left to sleep in his own den, I headed towards mine. Once inside, I collapsed with exhaustion. Breathing in the cool night air, I slowly closed my eyes and drifted into sleep.
...
It's been many seasons since Rocky was killed. His murderer is still unknown to this day. Sadly, many others have been murdered too, along with Meteor. I thought he had been the killer, but I was wrong. Venus approached me with the limp body of a rabbit in her jaws. My mouth started to water as I breathed in the delicious scent of prey. She dropped it to my paws and sat next to me.
"Here. You can have it. I already ate." Venus pushed the rabbit closer to me. As I took a large bite out of the rabbit, feeling its soft fur in my mouth, my father walked up to us. He stared directly at Venus.
"Venus, Blaze wanted more wolves to go hunting since the food is running low for the pack. He wanted us to go hunting." Fang explained to her. Venus sighed but got up and nodded. Right as they left to hunt, I finished eating the juicy rabbit. Licking my mouth, I decided I would go and help them hunt since I had nothing else better to do. I lazily got up and headed for the woods, hearing the tiny footsteps of prey running through the forest floor. As I followed the scent of my father and Venus, I heard a faint shriek from my best friend in the distance. Worried for Venus, I started sprinting across the woods, ignoring the pain of sharp thorns as I raced past them. I stopped behind a large boulder as I heard voices from my father and Venus.
"You've been the killer the whole time!" I heard Venus's shocked voice behind the boulder. My eyes widened in horror and instantly I was lost in thought. That wolf in my dream... the one who killed my mother when I was a pup...
"Yeah, it was easy. Pretend to not be the killer." Fang chuckled. Rage grew inside me, making another whole in my heart. First, my mother dies and now my own father betrays me. I peered over the boulder and watched as Venus got cornered. Before I was about to pounce on my father and save my best friend, he leaped towards Venus and sunk his teeth into her throat. She was about to wail in agony, but she started to choke on her own blood. He opened his jaws, revealing his blood-stained teeth, and threw Venus onto the ground. She was trembling with pain before she went limp, blood gushing out of her neck.
"You murderer!" I growled as I leaped onto my own father, my teeth bared in a snarl. He was about to dodge my attack, but I was too quick for him. However, he was much stronger than me and easily threw me off. I landed on the hard ground, slightly twisted my paw.
"Lumiere! How much did you see?" I could tell he was shocked to see me.
"I saw enough to know that you betrayed me! You betrayed everyone!" I snarled with rage as I slowly got up to face him. I was getting ready to leap on him again but he stopped me.
"I'm your father. Don't attack me!" He ordered me. I glared at him and growled.
"You're not my father. You've taken away my mother and my best friend... Why?" Although I was still angry at him, I was curious to know why he had murdered so many innocent wolves. There was a long silence, the only noise was the faint chirp of a bird on top of a nearby tree and the ruffling of leaves as the breeze flowed through.
"Power! I need to kill enough wolves to get out of my way when I kill the leader, Blaze! You see, I was meant to be leader, but Blaze disagreed. I felt betrayed, rejected. You may think I'm stupid but I'm trying to fill my destiny to rule everyone! Once I conquer this pack, I'll lead an attack to the other packs and conquer them as well!" Fang explained to me, taking a weak twig in his paws and easily crushing it.
"Everyone in the pack is so gullible! I covered the bodies in strong scented herbs so no one would detect the decay so easily. Then, I go to the lake and wash the blood from my fur." He added.
"Never! You'll never take over the packs! You think you're so smart, but you're just blinded by ambition to become leader!" I quickly leaped on him once more. However, he threw me off and pinned me down, hy head inches away from being stabbed by a sharp stone. That evil look in his eyes as I looked up at him told me that he didn't care about me anymore. He laid a single claw onto my neck and slowly lowered it into my flesh, a drop of blood sliding out. The pain made my whole body tremble. I tried shaking my head away from his claw, but that only made it worse. He had slid his claw across my neck and the cold air made my open wound sting. Then, my hind legs kicked him off, causing him to slam into a tree. I quickly got up, blood oozing from my neck and staining my silver fur red. While he was still down, I aimed for his neck. As he tried to dodge me, I missed but still got his ear. I heard him howl with pain as the sound of flesh ripping filled the air and blood splattered across my face, stinging my eyes. Tasting blood in my mouth, I spat out his severed ear and growled.
"You'll never harm another wolf again. If you do, you'll have to go through me first!" I challenged, my blood-stained teeth bared into a snarl. Fang growled in return and leaped past me. He then tripped me from behind and raked his claws along my back, blood sliding down my back and dripping onto the ground. Howling in pain, I struggled to get up, but his weight was too heavy for me to lift. The stinging pain I felt was unbearable and I tightly shut my eyes. Soon, a pool of blood surrounded me and the smell was so strong it made me gag. Somehow, I managed to twist myself around and kick him off with my hind legs. Fang landed on the ground, twisting his paw.
"You'll never defeat me!" My father growled angrily, shakily getting back on his feet. Ignoring him, I pushed him to the ground and pinned him. With blood spilling out from my wounds, I glared at him. I let my sharp claws run deeply down his chest to his soft belly, tearing away his flesh and scraping his bones. I ignored his cries of agony as I felt his life melting away. All the pain he caused me made me forget that I was killing my own father. Blood splattered across my fur and the smell of death filled the air. His shrieks of pain had frightened all the surrounding prey. Then, I sank my claws into his throat. He started choking on his blood while attempting to kick me off. I couldn't let him escape; he betrayed everyone! He betrayed me the most... Growling with rage, I started to tear off the skin from his neck and blood began gushing out. He howled in agony as I grabbed his throat in my jaws, feeling his sticky blood drip into my mouth then onto the ground. I sank my teeth deeper into his flesh, feeling his body go limp. I didn't feel any sadness when I released the dead body from my mouth. Panting, I looked to Venus and limped towards her.
"Goodbye, my best friend..... You're in a better place now..." A tear formed in the corner of my eye as I remembered all our best moments together. Venus's neck was torn open, but the blood had already dried, staining the ground red. With the tear sliding down my cheek, I looked up into the cloudless sky.
"At least the pack is now safe from the killer that has been haunting us for many seasons." I whispered to myself, ignoring the stinging pain from my wounds. Peace had finally arrived...

Description
The reek of death was heavy in the night air. I hid in a bush, trembling with fear, as I heard cries of pain in the distance. I also heard the sound of flesh ripping and bones cracking, dreadful noises that I wish I could block out of my mind. Poking my head out of the bush, I noticed the body of a wolf surrounded by a thick pool of blood. On top of that wolf stood another, with a cold look in its evil eyes. It was then I realized that the wolf that was being pinned down was my own mother! I watched in horror as my mother thrashed around, trying to escape from the grip of the other wolf. Taking a step out of the bush, I was ready to go and help her. But before I could save her, the wolf on top of her raised a paw. Its claws shined in the moonlight as it fell upon my mother's neck, cutting through her skin and slicing her throat out. With a tear forming in the corner of my eye, I wailed in sadness. I was too late. Suddenly, the cruel wolf turned its head towards me, hearing my cry of sorrow. My eyes widened in terror as it raced for me. Right when it was about to pounce...
"Wake up!" A paw gently shook my shoulder. My eyes shot open and suddenly I was back into reality, looking up at the roof of my den. Then, I turned my head to see my best friend, Venus. Her pale gray fur shined in the weak sunlight. Blinking the sleep out of my eyes, I noticed that Venus had a puzzled look on her face.
"You look like you've just seen a ghost, Lumiere!" She broke the brief silence, shaking her tail impatiently.
"I had that dream again." I sighed, memories popping up in my mind. Venus rolled her eyes.
"Don't worry. Hopefully that dream will stop haunting you soon. Seriously, that horrible event was many seasons ago; when you were just a pup. Your mother is in a better place now." Venus tried to help me feel better. However, I knew nothing would replace the whole in my heart. Pulling myself off the ground, I walked out of the den, signaling with my tail for Venus to follow. The sunlight warmed my fur as I breathed in the fresh air, forgetting about my dream. My father, Fang, walked up to me and touched my muzzle with his as a greeting. My comfort broke when I heard the cry of sadness in one of the dens. A she-wolf, who was heavy with pups, ran out of a small den and broke down in tears. The pack raced to her, frantically asking what had happened.
"Rocky... My mate... He died! Someone killed him! He'll never be able to see his pups when they're born..." She choked the words out. The pack of wolves gasped in horror. My father and I exchanged surprised looks before I ran up to the shocked she-wolf.
"Where is he?" I asked with a worried tone. She pointed with her tail to the den where she came out.
"I don't know what happened... I wanted to see him, but I faintly smelled blood and saw him on the ground, his fur stained with his own blood." She wailed. The leader of the pack, Blaze, came up to me and ordered me to investigate. I nodded to a few other wolves nearby and we went to search the scene. As one of the wolves stepped into the den, others followed closely behind. When I got in, the scent of blood was not as strong as I thought it would be. Then, I saw Rocky. He was covered with strong-smelling herbs, but I could still see his blood-stained pelt. The cuts on his skin were torn apart savagely and most of his claws were ripped off his paws.
"Rocky is covered in herbs...." One wolf sniffed the dead body.
"That's probably why I couldn't scent a rotting body in here... It looks as if all the leaves of a tree fell on him!" Another wolf pointed out. I nodded in agreement. But who could have done this to one of the pack's most loyal wolves?
"We should look for a strand of fur that the murderer might have left behind." I suggested, scanning the den. They nodded in agreement. A single piece of silver fur caught my eye as it shined in the dappled sunlight. I bent my head down and sniffed it.
"This fur belongs to Rocky's mate, Lily. She couldn't have killed him, especially since she is heavy with her pups. She would not stand a chance against a strong wolf if she tried to kill him." I murmured half to myself, a bit confused.
"It probably dropped off her while she was in here checking on him." A wolf called from behind me. As a small breeze entered the den, I picked up a familiar scent. However, it was too faint to tell who it belonged to. I quickly told the other wolves that I would report to the leader while they kept investigating. As I headed out the den, Blaze was already waiting patiently outside.
"Rocky was heavily covered with strong-scented herbs. That's why we couldn't scent the blood or decay." I reported to my leader as I approached him. He sighed.
"I better tell this to the pack that we don't know Rocky's murderer... Did you at least find a clue to who killed him?" Blaze said to me, worry in his dark eyes. I looked down to my paws and started to think.
"Well, the murderer must smell like herbs since he's been using a whole lot of them... But we still don't know why someone would kill...." I whispered into Blaze's ear, not wanting anyone nearby to hear. He quickly nodded to me before leaping onto a large rock and howling to the pack.
"We all know that one of our strongest wolves has been killed, but we don't know who murdered him." Blaze began to speak as the pack gathered to listen. However, I noticed that one wolf stayed in the far back of the crowd. His name was Meteor. I narrowed my eyes at him as I slowly worked my way through the crowd and sat down next to him. Breathing in his scent, I noticed he smelled a lot like herbs. Before I could ask him a question, Fang sat next to me and let out a loud yawn. Annoyed, I rolled my eyes.
"Lumiere, don't you ever think about becoming leader of the pack someday?" My father randomly asked. I looked at him, confused. Why would he ask me that kind of question during a situation when a loyal wolf recently got killed? Suspicion quickly rose inside my thoughts. Could my father be the murderer? I shook my head, clearing away the dreadful thought. It couldn't possibly be my own father.
"Also, I wonder who killed Rocky. He was loyal, strong, and one of my best friends." Fang changed the subject as I shrugged in reply. I sighed in relief. My father wouldn't harm another wolf in the pack. My thoughts went back to Meteor. But before I could ask him something, Blaze dismissed the pack and ended the report. The sun had vanished, leaving the moon to take its place in the sky. A cool breeze ruffled my fur and I slightly shivered. Many wolves were already heading back into their dens, along with Meteor. Frustration filled my whole body.
"Good night, Lumiere." I felt my father's warm breath as he murmured into my ear. A smile formed on my face and I let go of my frustration. The moon's weak rays covered the forest and the chirping of birds slowly died down. As my father left to sleep in his own den, I headed towards mine. Once inside, I collapsed with exhaustion. Breathing in the cool night air, I slowly closed my eyes and drifted into sleep.
...
It's been many seasons since Rocky was killed. His murderer is still unknown to this day. Sadly, many others have been murdered too, along with Meteor. I thought he had been the killer, but I was wrong. Venus approached me with the limp body of a rabbit in her jaws. My mouth started to water as I breathed in the delicious scent of prey. She dropped it to my paws and sat next to me.
"Here. You can have it. I already ate." Venus pushed the rabbit closer to me. As I took a large bite out of the rabbit, feeling its soft fur in my mouth, my father walked up to us. He stared directly at Venus.
"Venus, Blaze wanted more wolves to go hunting since the food is running low for the pack. He wanted us to go hunting." Fang explained to her. Venus sighed but got up and nodded. Right as they left to hunt, I finished eating the juicy rabbit. Licking my mouth, I decided I would go and help them hunt since I had nothing else better to do. I lazily got up and headed for the woods, hearing the tiny footsteps of prey running through the forest floor. As I followed the scent of my father and Venus, I heard a faint shriek from my best friend in the distance. Worried for Venus, I started sprinting across the woods, ignoring the pain of sharp thorns as I raced past them. I stopped behind a large boulder as I heard voices from my father and Venus.
"You've been the killer the whole time!" I heard Venus's shocked voice behind the boulder. My eyes widened in horror and instantly I was lost in thought. That wolf in my dream... the one who killed my mother when I was a pup...
"Yeah, it was easy. Pretend to not be the killer." Fang chuckled. Rage grew inside me, making another whole in my heart. First, my mother dies and now my own father betrays me. I peered over the boulder and watched as Venus got cornered. Before I was about to pounce on my father and save my best friend, he leaped towards Venus and sunk his teeth into her throat. She was about to wail in agony, but she started to choke on her own blood. He opened his jaws, revealing his blood-stained teeth, and threw Venus onto the ground. She was trembling with pain before she went limp, blood gushing out of her neck.
"You murderer!" I growled as I leaped onto my own father, my teeth bared in a snarl. He was about to dodge my attack, but I was too quick for him. However, he was much stronger than me and easily threw me off. I landed on the hard ground, slightly twisted my paw.
"Lumiere! How much did you see?" I could tell he was shocked to see me.
"I saw enough to know that you betrayed me! You betrayed everyone!" I snarled with rage as I slowly got up to face him. I was getting ready to leap on him again but he stopped me.
"I'm your father. Don't attack me!" He ordered me. I glared at him and growled.
"You're not my father. You've taken away my mother and my best friend... Why?" Although I was still angry at him, I was curious to know why he had murdered so many innocent wolves. There was a long silence, the only noise was the faint chirp of a bird on top of a nearby tree and the ruffling of leaves as the breeze flowed through.
"Power! I need to kill enough wolves to get out of my way when I kill the leader, Blaze! You see, I was meant to be leader, but Blaze disagreed. I felt betrayed, rejected. You may think I'm stupid but I'm trying to fill my destiny to rule everyone! Once I conquer this pack, I'll lead an attack to the other packs and conquer them as well!" Fang explained to me, taking a weak twig in his paws and easily crushing it.
"Everyone in the pack is so gullible! I covered the bodies in strong scented herbs so no one would detect the decay so easily. Then, I go to the lake and wash the blood from my fur." He added.
"Never! You'll never take over the packs! You think you're so smart, but you're just blinded by ambition to become leader!" I quickly leaped on him once more. However, he threw me off and pinned me down, hy head inches away from being stabbed by a sharp stone. That evil look in his eyes as I looked up at him told me that he didn't care about me anymore. He laid a single claw onto my neck and slowly lowered it into my flesh, a drop of blood sliding out. The pain made my whole body tremble. I tried shaking my head away from his claw, but that only made it worse. He had slid his claw across my neck and the cold air made my open wound sting. Then, my hind legs kicked him off, causing him to slam into a tree. I quickly got up, blood oozing from my neck and staining my silver fur red. While he was still down, I aimed for his neck. As he tried to dodge me, I missed but still got his ear. I heard him howl with pain as the sound of flesh ripping filled the air and blood splattered across my face, stinging my eyes. Tasting blood in my mouth, I spat out his severed ear and growled.
"You'll never harm another wolf again. If you do, you'll have to go through me first!" I challenged, my blood-stained teeth bared into a snarl. Fang growled in return and leaped past me. He then tripped me from behind and raked his claws along my back, blood sliding down my back and dripping onto the ground. Howling in pain, I struggled to get up, but his weight was too heavy for me to lift. The stinging pain I felt was unbearable and I tightly shut my eyes. Soon, a pool of blood surrounded me and the smell was so strong it made me gag. Somehow, I managed to twist myself around and kick him off with my hind legs. Fang landed on the ground, twisting his paw.
"You'll never defeat me!" My father growled angrily, shakily getting back on his feet. Ignoring him, I pushed him to the ground and pinned him. With blood spilling out from my wounds, I glared at him. I let my sharp claws run deeply down his chest to his soft belly, tearing away his flesh and scraping his bones. I ignored his cries of agony as I felt his life melting away. All the pain he caused me made me forget that I was killing my own father. Blood splattered across my fur and the smell of death filled the air. His shrieks of pain had frightened all the surrounding prey. Then, I sank my claws into his throat. He started choking on his blood while attempting to kick me off. I couldn't let him escape; he betrayed everyone! He betrayed me the most... Growling with rage, I started to tear off the skin from his neck and blood began gushing out. He howled in agony as I grabbed his throat in my jaws, feeling his sticky blood drip into my mouth then onto the ground. I sank my teeth deeper into his flesh, feeling his body go limp. I didn't feel any sadness when I released the dead body from my mouth. Panting, I looked to Venus and limped towards her.
"Goodbye, my best friend..... You're in a better place now..." A tear formed in the corner of my eye as I remembered all our best moments together. Venus's neck was torn open, but the blood had already dried, staining the ground red. With the tear sliding down my cheek, I looked up into the cloudless sky.
"At least the pack is now safe from the killer that has been haunting us for many seasons." I whispered to myself, ignoring the stinging pain from my wounds. Peace had finally arrived...