“Where are you?” Wren howled. It carried on the winds until every-wolf in the area could hear it. Although by now the pack wolves had come rushing to his side. They wondered why he had collapsed to the floor and wouldn’t wake up. Hearing Wren shout out louder than last time, Will spoke to Wren hopelessly “We are here Wren. Right by your side, we’re here for you.” Warclaw’s voice was so dominant in Wren’s head; he could only hear Will’s voice in the background. Wren couldn’t make out what Will was saying as Warclaw’s voice was so dominant. “I’m somewhere where you can’t get to me Wren. Anyway weakling, I didn’t just come here to just taunt you, as much as I enjoy it. I came here for a different purpose. Is Wibeke there at all? I need to give her a little message.” There was a pause. It was as silent as the grave. There was nothing but silence. Then suddenly, the silence was cut short when Warclaw spoke, “Oh I forgot she isn’t.” then he started cackling again.
“What have you done with her Warclaw?” Wren growled.
“What have I done? Listen to yourself, Wren!” Warclaw’s voice turned harsh “I have done nothing. You are the one who has done something! You are too arrogant to notice what you have done. Then you are just pathetic when you find out that you have. You couldn’t even notice when she went to the lighthouse! That’s how pathetic and useless you have become!” His voice softened but there was a hint of sarcasm and evil in it. “I have to admit it though, Wren, I never saw that one coming. And to be honest I had never expected it either. That was something I never expected to happen in my plan but I will say bravo and give you a round of applause when I see you… soon...” Then there was nothing. Wren’s vision steadily returned. The headache slowly faded away. Sound started to head its way back into his ears and when he heard the odd bird tweet their chorus in the background, he was relieved. Wren was back in the real world… not that he had ever left. Warclaw’s voice was gone and gradually all the pack members faces appeared in front of his face. “What happened?” Will asked helping Wren up.
“I don’t know Will, but I think Warclaw has done something with Wibeke.”
“Why would he? It makes no sense for him to have done something to her just yet” He questioned.
“I don’t know. But I think we need to start preparing for war, NOW!” Wren cried.
All the wolves gasped in shock and fear. They kept swapping looks at each other, knowing that this could very well spell the end of the pack. “Wren let us go to a quieter area.” Will said before helping Wren recover his balance, before he fell back down to the dirty ground. As they walked to a quieter area, other pack members moved out of their way, allowing Will to carry his friend. There was gossip as they walked past. Word had travelled quickly that war was coming. And it was obvious that Will and Wren would be talking about it. Eventually getting to a quieter area of the pack, they could finally talk about this new information that had landed firmly into their lap.
When they eventually stopped, Will turned around sharply, “What the hell were you thinking? Shouting that aloud?! They are already scared stiff about this war as it is, never mind knowing that Wibeke isn’t coming back. Hell, they don’t even know that she has gone missing! They just think she is busy and is not to be disturbed, as she is planning the whole attack! Have you any idea how much damage you have caused now? How the hell am I going to calm them down now?! They’re going to need someone to comfort them and now? Hell knows!”
“Will, I need to go get her! I cannot stay around here waiting for Warclaw to suddenly kill us all!”
“Wren, did you even hear what I said? The pack needs a leader and I can’t be that wolf! You have to be! You are too arrogant to notice when you have done something wrong, especially something like that! Now look at the mess you’ve caused?!” Will sighed before shaking his head. “You just need to calm down. You need to think this through! You can’t just run into the distance and leave us all to face Warclaw! We have already lost one wolf, we can’t lose another!” Will shouted at Wren angrily.
“Yes it was something about the pack and the mess that has been cause. But I CAN’T calm down! I can’t stop thinking about what happened between me and Wibeke before she left. That was my fault. I shouldn’t have pushed her! I should’ve admitted it to her but what choice did I have? I would’ve been publicly humiliated. But I can’t just sit around waiting for something to happen! I need to find her!”
“And when you find her and tell her this news, how do you think she will feel? What do you think she will do? You don’t know what she will do, Wren! Wibeke is her own wolf and with this news that you intend on telling her then I don’t know. You need to stay with the pack. Can’t you see that this is what Warclaw wants you to do? He wants you to go to him and leave the pack with no protection so he can obliterate us all! How else do you think he is going to get what he wants? You need to think this through Wren before you do anything! Besides how do you know for sure that Warclaw even has her? He never said that, did he?”
“Well... no, he didn’t actually say that he had her. But his voice made it sound that way, I am sure of it! I mean why hasn’t she come back already? She should be back by now Will. It’s been too long. She knows about the war, she wouldn’t just desert us like this. It’s obvious to me Will, that he has done something to her! I said and promised that I would protect her and now look?! I can’t even do that! If I can’t protect her, how am I supposed to protect the pack? Besides what do you expect me to do? Wait around forever knowing that she might be in danger?!”
“Wren, no-wolf is expecting you to do that! And I do agree that there is something most sinister about this connection but what can we do? For all we know she could be dead already! We need a leader. Wibeke is a strong enough to look after herself. She’ll be fine. You need to worry about the pack not Wibeke. If you don’t there will be no pack to come back too if you don’t help us! What would be the point in saving her if she has nothing to come back to?!”
“I know, I know. But how can I help? I am a wreck and can no longer think straight, so what use am I? I can’t teach them to fight in this state.” Wren sighed.
“Well at least you are starting to see my point of not going after Wibeke.” Will sighed. “Besides Wren if she is just getting away for a few days then she’ll be back soon. You need to teach the younger ones to fight. They haven’t got a hound in hells chance of surviving this if you don’t go and teach them! So go do that. Besides it will take your mind of things for a bit.” he expressed deeply. Will was going to have to advise Wren in one of the hardest things in his life. Wren would also need Will’s support. Wren looked up to Will and nodded. “Fine let’s do it your way, but if she doesn’t come back within the next few days, we go looking for her, agreed?” Will nodded reluctantly in agreement.
*****************
“I can’t believe I just did that!” Warclaw laughed with Mathew. “For once I am astonished about how much you guys know about the Atlas Crystal. I feel like we have met before. Have we?” Warclaw spoke with amusement to Mathew.
“No we haven’t, but we learn through our elders. They have been involved in many of the battles that you have created over the years. They know about the powers that the Atlas Crystal has.”
“But wouldn’t that make them ninety years old?” Warclaw asked. He was a bit confused as to how they had come to know about his powers and his ability with the crystal. Remembering through all his experiences, he knew that no wolves had ever survived any of the battles he had been in, as they had killed them all. And there is no way any of them had been around that long. Warclaw was certainly sure that he had never told any-wolf of his power and what he could do with it. Mathew saw Warclaws confusion and smiled. “Ah yes, you don’t remember telling any-wolf about these powers and how to control it. You also don’t remember any of the wolves surviving, yes?” Warclaw nodded. “That is because they were not there to be noticed. They were in the shadows where you had failed to look.” Mathew laughed.
“How can that be? I a
m the shadow. I am what they are not. I was there!”
“But you fail to see the obvious. They don’t have to be ninety years old, think about it.” Mathew smiled and the red pupil in his eye sparkled at what Warclaw didn’t know. ‘I’ve seen those eyes before in Marko. They could be genetic. Something doesn’t sit right with these wolves. He seems like he has a bolt lose, up in that crazy mind of his. And why are they this old? There is no way they can be this old. The crystal doesn’t have that sort of power to sustain my immortality and to create theirs. Maybe it has given the information to them. It could be a trap though. Better go with what he thinks.’ Warclaw thought to himself before speaking. “Of course that would make them just pups, but I searched everywhere and there were no hidden pups around.”
“You are half way there Warclaw. What do all the packs do when there is a war?” Mathew questioned trying to get the answer of him. “They hide the pups, but I searched every nook and cranny and they were never there.” Warclaw continued with his act. He needed to keep this wolf talking “Hmmm.” There was a harshness and rumble in his voice. Warclaw thought about it and although he was acting, it did seem weird as he had searched everywhere except under the ground. He had never dug up the ground beneath him to check. “They were underground weren’t they?” To Warclaw this made him sound stupid, which was good because he needed Mathew thinking that Warclaw was exactly that and by the looks of it, it was working. He felt like his mind-set was getting weaker and that’s when he realised that the crystal hadn’t been giving him the full energy. Warclaw thought this was a bit odd and he could feel tingling in parts of his body. Mathew laughed just as evilly as Warclaw had done to poor Wren. “Ah you see that wasn’t hard, was it?”
Warclaw started to black out, his vision going blurry. The tingling sensation had spread throughout his body and his legs became heavy beneath him. His hearing had become desperate for sound and his mouth desperate for breath. Warclaw could vaguely see Mathew’s mouth moving but he was unable to make the words out. He could see was Mathew walking past him before his own body started to sway from side to side. Sensing that his body had been drugged, Warclaw knew he was about to become unconscious. Warclaw knew he had to try to fight the symptoms, but they slowly restrained the power Warclaw had over his body and he collapsed to the floor.
Mathew watched as Warclaw fell to the floor unconscious. With his master plan working, he could now accomplish the next step of his own evil plan. And it was a lot easier with Warclaw unconscious. Walking into the cave, Marko noticed Warclaw on the floor. He looked up to his father and noticed that he was laughing. “Father,” Mathew jumped before turned around quickly, “What have you done to him?” Marko asked nodding over to where Warclaw’s body lay. “What have I done? I have done nothing except make him unconscious. He cannot be trusted with the crystal, not at this crucial time.” Mathew’s eyes glinted with delight before he paused. “You don’t object do you? After all I wouldn’t want my son making an enemy of me, would I?” He barked.
“No father, no you wouldn’t.” Marko looked to the ground submissively.
“Good,” Mathew smiled understanding the power of his dominance over his son “Now,” he ordered “take Warclaw to the back of the cave and put chains on him. When he wakes up we don’t want him to escape.” Mathew paused again. “Oh and do let him have a view of the area, so he can see all this land being destroyed.” Mathew laughed evilly again. Walking up to his son, he patted him on the back with his paw and then walked out of the cave, leaving Marko to look at Warclaw’s body trying to figure out what he should do.
******************
Warclaw woke up with a pounding headache. As he opened his eyes, he tried looking around but his vision was still blurry. The first bit of light his eyes had taken in had caused Warclaw to wince in pain. He shut his eyelids quickly before reopening them to his surroundings. He shook his head trying to get rid of the blurriness, but it wouldn’t go. As he put his front paws out in front of him to stand up, his balance was off and he fell back to the ground with a bump. As his hearing came back, he could hear the clunking of metal chains. He waited for a few minutes to make sure that his vision was clear. And when it was, what he saw shocked him. Looking down to his paws, he saw silver chains wrapped on them. When he got up, with his balance insured, he tried to move forward but he could feel something tugging at his back legs. All four of his paws had been tied with these chains and the thick metal chains were heavy. He looked up around him to see where he was and he saw that he was at the back of the cave. There was a hole to his left. Walking over to the hole, he felt the chains dragging behind him, pulling him back. When he got to the hole he looked out of it and as he scanned the area he realised that he was alone. There was no-wolf in the area.
Whilst he looked around outside, he heard some-wolf come up behind him. Turning around Warclaw looked at whom it was that had come to see him. He looked into the red eyes of the wolf in front of him and the wolf looked back into his eyes. “Why?” Warclaw asked confused.
“It’s simple really, Warclaw. We need you here because we want you to see the destruction of this land. Besides when they do find you, they will blame it all on you.”
“But how can they blame it on me if I am chained up like this?”
“Well don’t worry about that Warclaw, everything is in order.”
“But why would you want to blame it on me?”
“Because you have had all that power and have destroyed so many lives with it. So why should you continue, when some-wolf can make you have the comeuppance you deserve!” Warclaw stared blankly at the wolf in front of him. “Obviously you have been told wrong as that was not happened!” Warclaw shouted.
“Oh, you have a different side do you?”
“Can’t you see that you have been brainwashed?!” Warclaw shouted at Marko.
“I don’t know what you are on about Warclaw.” Marko plainly stated.
“Oh come on Marko. You’re supposed to be the smart wolf! Remember what we talked about earlier?!”
“We never talked earlier. How long do you think that you have been out for?” Marko laughed slyly. He knew he had one over Warclaw. Warclaw didn’t know how long he had been out. “How long have I been out?”
“You’ve been out for a few days.”
“Well, remember when you brought me here. About always wanting to know the answers? Well I can give you all of those answers. And remember the offer I made?” Warclaw felt like he was at the stage of begging for Marko to remember. “You only offered that because you wanted some-wolf to blame.”
“That was not the case Marko! You are better than all these wolves. You could be Alpha! Not some sidekick, who has to do all the dirty work, for some-wolf that doesn’t even care about his own son! You should be ruling the world or at least roaming free!” Warclaw shouted. “They do respect me!”
“Well then prove it to me!”
“And how do you propose I do that then?” Marko questioned.
“By you setting me free, telling the rest of the pack that it’s a mistake and that I am on your side.”
“How do I know that? How do I know that once I let you out of those chains, you won’t turn on me?”
“Well that’s a case of trust isn’t it?” Warclaw sighed, losing patience. Time was slipping away. “What about my father, Mathew?”
“Let me deal with him, Marko. Now are you going to set me free?” Marko walked forward towards Warclaw and undid his chains. Walking forward from the back of the cave, Warclaw looked over to Marko and spoke with kindness. “Thank you, now are you going to prove the pack wrong or not?” Marko nodded. “Good. Now let’s get going if we are going to catch up with them.” Marko nodded again. “You’re not saying much Marko.”
“Sorry Warclaw” Marko said deep in thought. “I just don’t know if killing my father is going to work.”
“Marko, if you don’t want to do this then that’s fine, but it would be better if you come with me just in ca
se any-wolf comes back here and sees me gone. What are you going to do then?”
“I see where you are coming from. I’ll come, but when you and my father do fight then I don’t want to be anywhere near.”
“That’s fine.” Warclaw started to walk forward and out of the cave. ‘Well at least I got him on side. He’ll do as an ally for now.’
******************
Wren looked around him. All the wolves that surrounded him were fighting against wolves that he had never seen before. What was he thinking? It was obvious that Warclaw was going to send these wolves to fight for him. Warclaw’s too cowardly to face them alone. “Hey! You!” Wren shouted to a wolf that passed him. The wolf turned around. Wren noticed its blood red eyes. “Why are you working for Warclaw?”
“We aren’t!” Then the wolf ran off to fight a wolf that had just killed one of theirs.
“What was he on about? ‘We aren’t’? So who are they working for?” Wren said to himself quietly before running off into another fight.
******************
Warclaw and Marko ran down the beach as fast as they could, heading in the direction of Wayland. As they ran, sand flew up behind them creating a small sandstorm. With the sea rustling quietly to their left, they were closing the distance between them and the pack. Over to the horizon, the sun was slowly falling down behind the sea and as it fell, they could hear the cries of wolves dying slow miserable deaths. “We better hurry.” Warclaw said distressed. Both Marko and Warclaw could hear the cries of the wolves in the sunset. The sunset looked like blood spilling itself over the land. Marko shivered as he realised by putting Warclaw in the heavy metal chains, he had doomed both his pack and Warclaw’s pack.
It was night time before they got to the packs. As they walked, they noticed that there was blood everywhere. But as they walked around they saw none of Warclaw’s pack, but only Marko’s pack. His pack littered the floor. As they both walked around the den, Marko looked down to the wolves he knew and had once loved. “Why hasn’t any of your pack died Warclaw?” Warclaw turned round and looked over to Marko. “I don’t know. It might be because my pack was simply stronger than yours.” They continued walking through the bodies that littered the ground below them. Warclaw walked round the corner when he noticed more bodies littering the floor. “Hey Marko, you might want to come over here.” Marko walked over to Warclaw. “Oh. My. High. Alpha.” Marko was shocked at what he saw. Bodies were laid on the floor as far as the eye could see. Warclaw walked up to one that was near him and noticed that it was one of his. The wolf was fairly young.
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