"The Dancer"

She hates going to the dances, the preparation, the longing, the exhilaration and the realisation. Each dance she goes to, her heart breaks a little more.
Dressed as ever in a blood red dress, contrasting so prettily with her white skin, the dress a prelude to the end. She is ushered into the hall, dozens of young men await her choice, desperate to be the one she chooses this time.
She knows not why they still come, even after all this time, surely they have discovered by now what happens to those she chooses. Surely they should know this, and yet they still come, desperate to be her chosen.
Uncaring, she steps forwards, and chooses one at random, it’s so much harder if she lets herself care. A young man, brown hair that falls to mask his guileless blue eyes. He’s tall, and handsome, the perfect prince, and yet she hates him. He’s so pleased to have been chosen, so eager to lead her into the dance. She wishes she could make him understand.
Across the hall she sees him, dark, blending in the shadows, across the heads of the hopefuls he shares her pain. As she dances with her chosen her eyes stay on him, drinking him in, the closest she will ever get. She knows she cannot choose him, and it’s tearing her apart.
She whirls around the floor, guided so well by the young man, she neither knows, nor wishes to know. A fleeting moment of hope, that tonight will be different, that tonight she will resist that tonight her heart won’t have to break again. A fleeting moment, that all too quickly passes.
The nameless faces look on, jealous of the man she dances with. Its almost laughable, their pitiful envy. If only they knew.
The dance is coming to an end, too soon, yet the dance has lasted forever. She knows what will come now, no matter how she resists, it will come, and she will fall again. One last look towards the shadows, to him, and she turns and leads her chosen out of the hall.
He comes, eagerly, hurrying after her, she can feel the compulsion strengthening, and soon she will be unable to fight it, too soon. She can hear his heart racing, his breath increasing, and she knows it will not be long now.
She stops and turns, his body feels too warm next to her cold skin. She leans towards him, and his lips part in anticipation, his warm breathe flows over her face. He closes his eyes, as they always do, foolish.
Her lips meet his skin, parted slightly, he shivers, and she bites down.
His eyes fly open, too late now he begins to struggle, as the blood flows she can feel his life force draining away. He grows limp, pale, and falls, he wont wake up now.
She is sated, the compulsion fades, the tang of the blood still present in her mouth. She looks down at his face, without blemish, his blue eyes, now cloudy, covered by a few strands of his brown hair. So different from Him, and as she watches, in her mind the hair morphs to black, the eyes become silver, his face more angular. She screams, backing away, turning and running, too afraid to look back.
The body will be gone by morning. And by the evening it will be time to repeat the dance.
She surveys the crowd of young hopefuls, and as she selects one, this time blonde, with hazel eyes, her eyes meet His across the room, her pain reflected a thousand times. Another piece of her heart breaks and she once again begins to dance, his eyes always following her.
And she wishes, how she wishes… but a vampire can never love a human.

"Werewolf Love"

"No,please. Don"t hurt her, don"t lay a paw on her,please." Ben pleaded with the humans. He was in human form, but she wasn"t. He noticed much they had changed from pups. No, he thought, Not now, her now, she"s in trouble. The humans pressed the gleaming knife closer to her neck, smirking. This enraged Ben, and he changed forms and raced towards the twolegs. He killed them all instantly with his in-human strength. "Now." she said,"We need to find Lupin." she licked Ben"s face in thanks and sped off.

"No. Oh,please,no. " Tonks cried as she spotted Lupin lying on the ground. "Ben, help!" she choked... Ben stared down at the pitiful scrap of fur.                                                                      "Why didn"t I die instead?! Why him?!" Tonks screeched. She flung herself to the frozen forest floor. "Tonks, I"m so sorry...." Ben started to say." NO! YOU JUST DON"T GET IT,  DO YOU?!" Tonks screamed. "I HAVE LOST BOTH OF MY CHILDREN! YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT I AM GOING THROUGH!" she screeched.  "Tonks, please stop yelling...." Ben started to say, yet again.  "I"M NOT YELLING!" she yelled. She dashed away, crying.    Ben knew that there was nothing more he could do. Alone again, he thought gloomily. He began to walk through the white winter forest, thinking to himself. Suddenly the snow-covered ground gave way underneath him, and, with a yelp of shock, plunged into a deep pit of darkness.

     Tonks lied down in the cold dead grass, tears staining her now-disappearing fur. It just wasn"t meant to be, she thought.  She heard Ben"s frantic yelp. She shook herself. What was she doing? Tonks knew she had to help him. She stood up and ran towards his familiar scent, which smelled like crushed fall leaves. Do this, she thought, Do this for him. You must. He"s special.  She saw the human-made hole and, without hesitation, dived in. She saw the dirt ground and gracefully landed on her paws. This adrenaline rush had caused her to become a werewolf again.

    His scent was getting harder and harder to follow.After what seemed like forever, Tonks saw his limp body sprawled out on the ground and rushed towards it. Stupid humans, she thought.

   His deep,beautiful, brown eyes opened and she let out a breath of relief. She closed her eyes to keep tears from being coming and put her muzzle on his thick, furry chest. Ben put a weary hand on her heart and felt it slow at his touch.

 He hugged her and she seemed to be comforted by his warm embrace. "It will all be OK," he soothed her," You and I, we"ll go somewhere, alone. Away from it all, and we"ll live there. I know where. You"ll love it. It"ll all be OK. I"ll do whatever it takes to make you safe again." She looked at him and smiled weakly. "Please."  They climbed out and Ben let her to their log cabin Ben had built. Tonks gasped. Lupin was sitting on the bed with strips of white material over his wounds. "Shhh. He"s sleeping." Tonks looked in his sparkling eyes and smiled."Thank you." she said. They packed and they left, Lupin on Ben"s back, their once-home in the small village of werewolves, most of which had died, even the young werewolf, Jacob, an outsider from another tribe, staying there shortly. Tonks had once been attracted to him. Ben had always admired Jacob before he had learned it. Then he hated him. He had died with honor in battle. Or that"s what he had heard, anyway. Tonks was happier now, so don"t think about it. Ben led Tonks to a small wooden canoe, and they pushed off. Ben started rowing with long strokes that made ripples in the frigid gray water that Tonks think of her fur in the free wind.

 There was little left to do. It was really pretty boring. With no humans in pursue, no starvation problems, nothing at all but rowing, Ben soon found himself dosing off. When he woke, he saw that the canoe had drifted into a foggy wetland. Thick moss covered the trees. Dragonflies zoomed overhead. The full moon glowed brightly above. "Tonks" he called.

 No reply. "Tonks!" he yelped. Again, no reply. A cold feeling of dread began to creep down his spine. Not again, he mumbled to himself. Suddenly, he heard a screech come from farther down river. "Tonks!" he screamed. He grabbed Lupin and began to row faster than ever, following the faint  yelps. Ten minutes later, the current began to go faster. And faster. Faster.  Faster.

 Soon, he was going faster than a rampaging horse. The canoe lurched to one side.  He, Lupin, and all of the supplies came flying out. "No!" he yelped, but his yelp was soon cut off as he hit the water. "TONKS!" he choked as his head went under.....

Ben forced himself to the surface. With Lupin on his back, he swam towards her screaming. Killing the human holding her down instantly by snapping his neck, he dragged her up  to the shore. She was alive. As soon as she opened her eyes, she screamed,  "Where is Lupin?" Panic tore at Ben as he felt the empty space on his back. She passed out and, out of fear from seeing her faint, and fear for Lupin, Ben  passed out beside her.

    Tonks woke up. She stood up and, as gracefully as a real wolf,  ran to a cliff.  Looking down, she said to herself," It"s the only way I"ll ever see him again."

    Ben was watching from the bushes, and he thought she meant Lupin. He watched in horror as Tonks jumped off the cliff just a millisecond after he dashed out of the bushes to stop her.

   Tonks dived in headfirst. She let herself sink. She made no effort to pull her way up. Her lungs burned like someone was stabbing them with a flaming spear. Then everything went black. She felt the smoothest, gentlest, most muscular hand grab her arm and pull...

    Tonks opened her eyes and saw a blurry figure with short blac  hair. He came into

 focus. "Jacob!" Tonks yelled happily as he leaned towards her. "What the h*ll  were you thinking?" he asked gently, but there was a hint of anger in his voice.

Tonks did not reply.

    Ben had been watching from more leafy coverings at this time.

  Jacob had shiny, thick, brown black fur, the kind he knew Tonks found attractive. He

 was halfway in werewolf form when he saw him.                                                                             That"s weird, he thought, I thought only Tonks and I could do that.

     "I... I though you were dead." Tonks stammered. She had become lost in  his brown eyes. They were unmasking beautiful. "Come, I"ll take you to camp."

    With that Jacob pulled Tonks onto his shoulders and ran off with her with speeds of the likes that Ben had never seen,  were- or human.  Ben followed silently.

  "Let me show you my house." he said to Tonks sweetly as he went into a  wonderful cottage. He lied her down on his bed. "Rest." he commanded. "Wait,"  said Tonks  as she sat up. Jacob came to sit very close to her, so close that their bodies were touching. Not even Ben was that close to Tonks. "Yes?" he asked  with a  voice as calm as the universe before humans. "Where is he?" Jacob  understood. "You do not have to worry about him any longer." He reached for her  hand  and she gave it to him.

    Ben, now watching from a small window, saw, on Tonks"s hand, the bracelet he ha given to her, so long ago, it seemed.

    Jacob unfastened the clasp and took off the small bracelet and,without looking away from Tonks"s eyes, put it in a small basket beside the bed.

 Tonks seemed to trust him more than she ever trusted Ben. "He"s gone? " she said weakly."I

 know what he did to you, and I will never hurt you, I promise."

Jacob looked her in the eyes. Tonks nodded. He leaned in closer and closer to Tonks. So

  did she.

  Ben forced himself to look away, because he knew that this would cause him much pain.

  Maybe he should just leave now. She was happy. He should of seen this coming...

   About an hour later, he saw Jacob walk out of the house. He crept

 inside. He needed to talk to Tonks. "Tonks," he said as he entered the

 room. She jumped.

 "What"s happening?" he asked. Tonks sighed. She knew she wasn"t getting out of this. "Listen, Lupe, my first pup, you weren"t the father, Jacob was."

  Ben stared at her in pure shock. "Y..you cheated on me! How could  you?!" Ben

 said in a startled voice. "I mean, I know you admired him, but you cheated on me?!" "I"m so sorry....I-I never meant it to be this way. When I became pregnant, I knew that there was going to be problems if it turned

out to be his. And it did." Her eyes clouded with sorrow and

 regret. "There was nothing I could do." She glanced onto his now-unattractive eyes. "I have a new mate now." she continued. "I don"t need you anymore!" she started to yell. She chased him out of the house.

   Ben walked the forest all night, sticky tears dripping down his face.

    Tonks walked back to the house. Jacob was there on the bed, reading.

 He smiled at her. "Tonks," he said, " I love you. You did right. Would you like to  take a  walk

 with me on our territory"s beach?" "I"d like that very much." replied Tonks weakly. Jacob took her in his arms and he sped off.

     After an hour walk on the short, rocky beach, Jacob took Tonks"s hand  in his own

  and said," Tonks, I love you. And I want to be with you forever." he

  knelt down on his knees."I ask you, today, will you stay with me forever?" he produced a

silver ring with a single, round piece of amber embedded in it. "Yes. I will love you forever. " Jacob kissed her gently.

    Jacob brought Tonks back to the village. He brought her back to the

  house and gave her a black, sleeveless dress. It fit her perfectly. Then he brought

 her  to the biggest cottage. "This is our leader of the pack. Renis, the Father of all Werewolves." he nodded towards a large, muscular wolf." I have taken Tonks as my mate, and you accept?" he asked Renis."Yes. And your new name, Tonks, is Tonks Ember." he said approvingly, "Treat your new mate well. Do not make her unhappy." Renis told Jacob.

   " The wedding will be soon. Tonks, you are now a part of the Emberlupin Tribe."

  Jacob took her back to his cottage. Our cottage, now, Tonks thought happily. The

  young couple took turns getting lost in each others eyes. Tonks Ember,

  Tonks thought, what a fine name...

  Ben couldn"t sleep that night. He had heard what had happened. He had

  thought about trying to impress her, but that would mean divorce, and

she was already torn apart between him and Jacob. No, Ben thought, not

 me. Jacob is her one-and-only. He found the canoe and started rowing. An

 hour later, he heard a familiar voice come from the bushes. "Daddy.....I"m

  over here!" came the voice. Ben turned to look. It was Lupin. Lupin! "Come

 on over!" Ben called. A few minutes later, Lupin climbed into the canoe.

 "Where"s mommy?" Lupin asked. The question broke Ben apart. He had to

  tell  him. "She....she has a new daddy now. We are never going to see her

  again". "Oh..." Lupin sounded crushed. "I"m going to find her!" Lupin

 said. He jumped out of the boat and ran off. "Lupin! Come back!" Ben

 called to him desperately. He knew what could happen. In the Emberlupin

Tribe, if a she-wolf were to have a child, then marry someone else, the

 marriage would not be complete without the slaughter of that child. 

Tonks put on her sleeveless brown dress and Jacob put on an incredibly

 handsome brown suit." Oh!" Tonks yelped in surprise as Jacob pulled her towards his

 body.  Tonks smiled. Jacob sighed. "Well, there is this dance, and I thought it would be a good chance for you to meet the tribe." he said. They maneuvered  gracefully around each other. "Of course!" Tonks squealed.

  That night, they went to an eloquent winter ball filled with all the

  Emberlupin werewolves. Tonks met many new wolves and was happy until she  saw...him...standing under the mistletoe... caressing the cheek of ANOTHER WOLF!!!!!!!!!!!!

 She blinked. It was still there. Anger swept through her body. How

dare he! she thought to herself. She stomped over to the scene. "What are

 you doing?!" she screeched. Everybody froze. Jacob had a scared look in

 eyes. "Uhhhhh...." he started to say. Just then, Lupin burst into the

ball. "Mommy!" he yelped in delight. But then he froze in horror at

 the sight of Jacob"s eyes. They had a cruel, murderous look. "Ahhh...

this  must be Lupin." he chuckled. "Ben"s only son. He was never meant to

be born." He looked at Tonks. "As you know, when you married me, you

agreed  that I was your only mate. That also meant that all previous children

 were considered a mistake, and must be slaughtered in the most cruel way

 as  possible". "What are you talking about?" Tonks asked. "I never heard

 Renis say that!" she exclaimed. "Look in the writing" Jacob said. She

looked in the book. Sure enough, it said everything he had said. "Urgh. I knew

that  I should have read this!" she muttered. "But it won"t matter now." she yelled. "Honey...don"t make  such a big deal. It was only one thing..." Jacob said with a little

 bit of  nervousness in his voice. But it was no use. Tonks had trusted him,

and he  blew it.

  "Come on, Lupin. Let"s go find your father". Lupin grabbed her hands and  they  raced off into the forest.

 Tonks saw Ben in a limp pile of fur. "Stay." she commanded Lupin. He obeyed her.

  She ran over towards him. He stood instantly and she ran into his arms. After a second of sweet caressing, Tonks screamed and became limp in his

arms. Renis had  shot her . Ben pulled out the spear to see something glistening in the

sun on the end. Silver! ben thought. Then another screech and Lupin collapsed.

He"He"s dead, Ben thought, I cannot save him now. He is in the paws of the Great Spirit  Wolves. He raced through the woods and leaped into the canoe. Could he make it and

  save his beloved wolf"s life?

Ben tried his best to row away, but canoes were never meant to go

 fast. Soon, Renis caught up and shot the canoe. It sunk quickly. He dried

 desperately to swim away, but

  Renis was getting too close. This means war, Ben thought darkly.

Soon,  they washed up on the shore of a small island. He fought all night

 trying to save Tonks. A few hours later, Tonks woke up. She could hear Ben

 working outside the small hut Ben had put together. She opened the door

 and peeked outside. The sight she saw made her gasp. Ben was dragging

 in a huge Fir tree."Merry Christmas." Ben said with a small smile.

 Tonks"s chest exploded with pain. She doubled over onto her knees.

 Her heart ached. Jacob, was the first thing that raced through her mind.

They had the wedding planned for Christmas. "Tonks? Tonks!" She heard Ben

 scream. Then everything went black...

     She saw Jacob transform into a wolf; he was red. Tonks saw a

 giant black wolf stalk up behind him. She tried to yell to him, but she had

 the feeling she was under water. The wolf scooped Jacob up in his

 mouth and shot through the forest.

      Tonks woke. "Tonks?"  She jumped up. She explained Ben what she

had seen.  "I have to save him." she said. "Don"t go, please, for me?"

 "I"m sorry, I have to go."  With that she jumped into the boat and

 raced off towards the island.

 Tonks dashed through the forest. I"ve got to find him, she thought.

 After what seemed to be hours, she burst out of the thick forest and into a

 clearing. Around her was huts made of bamboo and leaves. A totem pole rose

high up into the canopy. There was waterfalls leaping down from a mountain, and a reef connecting with the ocean. Seems like a village, she thought. Suddenly, the ground rumbled. Rocks began to fall from the mountain. Water tumbled from the waterfall. Then it stopped, just as fast as it had began. A familiar face appeared in the rock. "Jacob!" Tonks

 whispered. Sure enough, Jacob was in the rock. IN THE ROCK?! "Jacob! How

 the heck did you get in the rock?" she asked in a quivering voice. "Ah,

 Tonks. I see that you have heard my message and came. Come, there is

 much to say". Then he jumped out of the rock and came up to Tonks. "Follow

 me" he said. They both began to walk into a hut.

   "The werewolf in your dream was Renis." Jacob said. " He got upset with

 me,because the tradition of the Emberlupin tribe is that once you reach

 the age of 16, you must take a mate of 13 or older." "I"m 14. But you

 know that." Tonks said, but all she could think about was being with

 her true love.

   "You never truly were  that bloodsucker"s mate, you know that. When you

 took me as a mate that one night in our old village, you knew what all

 werewolf tribes know, you took me as a mate... for life." Jacob"s voice

 was calm and gentle, except for the part about the "bloodsucker".  But he

 was right. She never felt this way about Ben, and she knew she never

 would.

  " Also last night we had a terrible loss. Renis was shot and killed by a

 hunter."  Tonks gasped. "Does this mean you will stay here and keep my

 name?"Jacob asked pleadingly. Tonks hesitated. "First get some rest."

 Jacob said. "Wh..." she began, but Jacob swung her onto his back and

 raced off to the Emberlupin mountain. The top looked like a howling wolf.

 Jacob raced up the mountain, and into a large cave in the eye of the

wolf. Deeper into the cave they run, the air beating against her face.

 Finally, he reached a small den. He set  Tonks down on a thick quilt that

 looked like it had been around for centuries. She looked up. Tonks could

 see the entire village. "This cave has been passed down from leader to

 son for generations." Jacob whispered. "You mean... you are Renis"s son?"

 Tonks asked. "Yes." with that Tonks curled up and Jake curled up around

 her.

  Soon she was asleep... happy.

Ben, on the other hand, was not. Soon after Tonks had left him, a storm had brewed. He was heading off in the other direction, towards a valley. He was just curios about the area beyond the river. After all, being a loner, he didn"t have a tribe to support. But that also meant that he didn"t have a tribe to support him. He kept a quick pace through the valley. A shiny object to the left caught his eye. Heading towards it, he soon found that it was a plaque. That"s odd, he thought. The symbols were not the language he was familiar with. But he knew the language. "Attention: you are trespassing onto Fayta Tribe land. Proceed and die..." Ben read. Fayta Tribe? That"s impossible! The Fayta Tribe existed thousands of years ago. And the tribe was made up of Dire Wolves, which are extinct! This is so mysterious, Ben thought. But I can"t resist entering...

    Ben watched from the brush as a white female , probably 14, dropped a fox on a large stone table topped with impressive kills. She turned, and Ben saw the front of her. He gasped. She was breathtakingly beautiful. With a slim face and deep violet eyes, she was amazing. And her outfit, it was of brown leather, that showed more of her fur than necessary. Just then he heard a deep growling behind him. He turned to see a black muscular wolf behind him. "Get...off...my...land." he growled menacingly.  Ben backed into the clearing slowly, the wolf following him. When they were in the middle of the clearing, the black wolf prepared to strike, when the female jumped in front of him. "Thayer! He has done no harm! What reason have you to start ripping him apart?" her voice was as smooth as the river that ran calmly around the village. She turned to look at Ben. They stared at each other for a long time. "I"m Clarice."  the female told him. "I...I"m Ben. And...er... thanks." Ben said, obviously still in shock. She laughed, which just stunned Ben even more. Thayer cleared his throught. " Oh." Clarice said, with a long blink. "This is Thayer, Protector of Our Race." she said, never taking her eyes off Ben. Thayer stared at him for a long time, then his mate trotted over to him, her belly round with pups. "Give him a room." she said to Clarice. With that, Clarice quickly winked at him and zoomed off, expecting Ben to follow her.  He raced after her, not because of the room. When they finally got to a hut, she led him inside. The hut was roomy, but Ben could only tell because he wasn"t bumping into walls looking at Clarice. When she finished giving Ben the tour, which Ben hardly heard, she looked at him. They started slowly walking towards each other.  She swiped her long tail across his muzzle, and whispered, "I"m single." And then she was gone.

Tonks saw nothing. She knew she was dreaming. A strange, too-perfect voice started to speak;

After the second howl into the air she sent, 

No reply, no bark, no howl, what is wrong, what could this of meant? 

Ears perked and tail high, she pads lightly back to her home, 

If her mate was lost, every inch of forest she would comb, 

Worry weighed heavy on her heart, thinking of her mate, 

Wonders if he is out hunting, and is only late? 

Suddenly her nose twitches, hit with a familiar, yet poisoned scent, 

Growling fiercely, she knew what this meant, 

Her soft pad quickly moves to a run in one swift sprint, 

Arriving in a small clearing watching her mate being attacked by the one, who 

they call Bear, 

Her mate barks harshly, "You come no closer my mate, don"t you dare!" 

Out looking for food to feed them both the herds soon to come, 

Crossed the paths of an angry mother Bear, who had her young ones early, mind so 

careless and numb 

For food was a bit scarce this last winter, there was not one herd to be found, 

Moving forward, hackles raised, she goes to help her mate, but with one quick 

strike of the bears claw, her mate hits the ground, 

Growling even louder this time, she leaps forward, snapping and biting at the 

bear, standing in front of her mate, 

Knowing not of his health, or what is his fate, 

Snapping, teeth bared, she continues her threats, 

Finally fed up and well satisfied, the bear turns and walks away. "Let us go 

young ones, hurry now." The cubs nod and say "Yes, let"s.." 

Her hackles lowered some, baring teeth slightly disappears, 

Turning to her mate, only the worst she fears, 

His life blood seeping from his wounds, staining his fur coat red, 

One fatal blow to his handsome wolven head, 

Whimpering softly, nudging her mate, hoping he still has life, 

He moves slightly, lets out a soft whimper, "Take care of yourself..for my 

spirit will live on within the stars..I love you" 

Before he lies his head down for one final time, knowing nothing can save him, 

because of the wounds he bore, 

She whispers into his ear, "Soon I shall join you" to him, this she swore, 

The bear took his life she knows not why, she lay beside him while he starts to 

die, 

She carefully licked his wounds but knew the darkness would come to claim him 

soon, 

Then motionless is his body, the scent of his vital life, diminishes, 

She rears her muzzle towards the sky to sing of her lost mate, 

Soon she gets to her paws, knowing what was to be done, 

Running off into the forest, this time not for fun, 

Sprinting through her territory, memorizing every part of her land, 

Near a mighty cliff she approached, full speed, and off the edge she ran. 

Her and her mate now rejoined within the stars.. never to be apart.......

Tonks awoke with a gasp, tears dripping from her eyes. "Jacob!" her fearful howl broke the silence. "I"m right here, girl." she heard the husky voice and relief washed over her like warm water. "W...what... Jake... are we...dead?" she stammered. "Its all okay. Don"t worry. You were whispering in your sleep." he soothed. Jacob rested his muzzle on her head. The den was warm. "If you stay with me, this is where we"ll live." he said. "Don"t worry. You don"t need to ever doubt my loyalty again." Tonks said, a little stung. Jacob"s loud howling broke the silence. "Come." He swung her onto his shoulder and down the mountain he raced. When they got to the bottom, Tonks realized Jacob, now the alpha, was calling a meeting. "Attention. We, like all werewolves, will be attending the Full Moon Festival, like we do every year. We will leave at Sun up tomorrow. Be prepared."

They all go away, not knowing their fate.

But inside the tribe, there are clouds of hate.

Tensions are rising , anger a-bubbles

Only one true leader can lead them through their struggles.

Nobody knows what fate has in store

And nobody will "till death knocks on their door.

The reason for their journey; a gathering they seek.

Yet inside the the tribe, suspense rises to its peak.

Unknown is the fate of this ripped apart tribe.

Will they die in the end, or live or live on and survive?

The voice in Ben"s mind died away, but as soon as it was gone, a new one started.

The leader of the pack, 

Strong and true 

He holds his alpha head high, 

Knowing another night is almost through 

He lies beneath the moon, 

Stares up at the sky 

His dedication will always remain true. 

Looking through his eyes, 

One sees loneliness, 

A soleness that no one understands, 

But all accepts 

In my eyes, he stands alone 

He is simply God’s perfection 

Yet, people still wander in his direction. 

He pounces on the ice, 

He slams at his reflection, 

Why, when such beauty stands? 

To be alone is what he desires, 

However, to be understood is what it requires 

Let him be the King… 

To lead his own ring 

The leader of the pack, 

Has surely earned his pride, 

Let him relax, and enjoy his ride.

Then yet a third voice drifts into his mind.

A big, black wolf climes a hill in the fading light, 

so he can sing and howl throughout the coming night. 

 The dwindling sunlight plays on his eyes and face, 

as he stands there tall, a proud member of a noble race. 

 As the sun sets he lifts his head to sing, 

and his voice causes the very air to ring. 

 His music rises up to where the evening stars shine bright, 

silhouetted against the dark sky he makes for a beautiful sight. 

 Away in the forest, the wolf pack picks up their Alpha"s song, 

and they all begin to howl together - loud, clear, and long. 

 Then the black wolf hears an unfamiliar sound, 

he stops, pricks his ears, and looks around. 

 Suddenly a gunshot sounds out in the night, 

and down goes the Alpha-wolf before he can flee or fight. 

 Sprawled out on the hill, bleeding, the yellow fire dims in his eyes. 

He shudders, and whimpers, and with a final breath he dies. 

 Then the human walks up the hill, his gun held high, 

looking down at the dead wolf with a satisfied sigh. 

 He kneels down next to the fallen Alpha, his heart swelling with pride. 

Wondering how much money he"ll get for the wolf"s fine black hide. 

 Then he takes the wolf away, an animal he holds but does not love, 

not noticing the Alpha-wolf"s spirit watching him from Above. 

 Now the night is quiet, and silent, and still, 

and no more wolf-cries sound from the hill. 

 Then the dead wolf"s pack creeps from the trees, 

their thick fur rippling in the cool night breeze.                                                                                                                                                           They run to the place where their Alpha was slain, 

but all they find there is a big red bloodstain. 

 Then the Alpha-wolf"s mate, her belly full of pups, begins a new song, 

a lament for their noble leader and of his death that was so wrong. 

 All the wolves howl, then at last they go away, 

sad that their leader will not see the next day. 

 The Beta-wolf becomes Alpha and he quickly moves the pack. 

In case the wolf hunter wants more and decides to come back. 

 Yet soon they are happy again, for six wolf pups are born, 

and the dead Alpha-wolf"s mate ceases to mourn. 

 Two wolf pups are brown, and three are gray, 

soon all are playing about in the warm spring day.                                                                                                                                                        But the sixth pup, who is jet back, is at the center of their play, 

growling and bossing them around in a very Alpha-like way. 

 He has the same noble look his father had once worn, 

and the wolf pack realizes that a future leader has been born. 

 Now, years later, a new black alpha stands atop the hill and cries, 

while his father watches proudly from the Heavenly skies. 

 The young wolf leader howls long then boldly says; 

"No matter what happens, there will be wolves here - always!" 

Ben"s eyes slowly came into focus. He had no idea what these dreams meant, so he simply ignored them. It was a moon after he had finally been accepted into the Fayta tribe, and every night he would sneak out and meet Clarice in the forest. Then the meeting was called about the festival. He had asked Clarice to go with him, and she accepted. It was almost sunup. There were two days until they left for the festival. Ben jumped out of bed and raced into the forest. He searched as he had searched since he had this idea, and then the familiar glint of silver caught his eye. He grabbed it and started carving it. Then he continued searching. He searched and searched, throwing back the objects that were not the right color, shape, size, or age. Finally he found it; a pink diamond, just the thing he needed. He finished up and walked into his hut, jumped onto his bed, and faked to be asleep. Clarice ran into the room. "Ben!" Ben "woke up". "I need to tell you something you something." "Wait." Ben insisted. He knelt down. "Will you be my mate, Clarice?" Ben asked pulling out the ring of silver and diamond. "Oh, Ben! Yes!" She hugged him. "Okay. My turn." Clarice turned serious. " I"m pregnant with your pups."

Jacob turned to Tonks. "Since you are alpha of the pack now too, I made you this." Jacob poduced a small black diamond with a realistic wolf print on it. "Oh Jake, Thank you." Black diamonds were incredably rare. She hugged him and with that they set off on their long journey to the Full Moon Festival.

STAY TUNED FOR CHAPT. 2, COMNG IN JAN-FEB!!!  

 For people participating in the drawing contest:

 Character Descriptions:

Tonks: (wolf form) A skinny reddish-brown she-wolf with deep green eyes. With longer fur than most wolves, she has a light musical voice. During the first half of the story, she has a wooden braclet an her wrist that has MY WEREWOLF carved on it. (human form) Female with brown hair and usually wearing a grey tanktop and long brown-leather jacket.

Jacob: (wolf form) An extremely muscular deep brown wolf with dark brown eyes. With normally long fur, he has a deep husky voice. He has a small white stripe on his tail. (human form) Still extremely muscular, he has deep brown hair and tan skin. He also usually weares a grey tee-shirt and a red collar with a tag saying "Jacob" around his neck.

Ben: (wolf form) Smaller and less muscular than Jacob, he is a dirty-blonde colored wolf with light brown eyes. With shorter hair than most wolves, he has a light, easygoing voice. (human form) Pale skinned, and usually wearing a sleveless shirt and torn jean.

Clarice: (wolf form) A small, quick she-wolf, with light blonde fur and violet eyes. With longer fur than most wolves, she has a small, light voice. Unlike other wolves, she has a dark pinkish nose. (human form) Still small, this pale female usually wears a small top, showing more skin then necessary.

Renis: brown wolf with an earring

Thayer: large black wolf with menacing maroon eyes

 PS all WWs in human form still have their tails.

Tonight was the night of the festival. The Blue Moon rose high in the night sky, filled with stars by now. Thayer led the tribe hastily down a tall dark hill bathed in moonlight. He gasped. He had never seen so many wolves in one place at one time. Ben watched as a deep brown wolf with blue markings on its head caught and killed a small green salmon. He gawked, wathcing a small pack of ten to eleven cream-colored wolves with blue streaks leading down to their tails as they leaped from pine tree to pine tree in one, bird-like motion. He walked with his mouth slightly open as a wolf, black as a moonless night, revealed himself in the slightest as he stalked through the tall grasses. It amazed Ben how many tribes there really were. He looked down at the amazing crowd of  pelts and eyes melting into one living, breathing beast of companionship. Wolves from all kinds of tribes were doing the annual migration towards the one place that it not considered an owned territory.
     And they were led by their noble leaders.
      He glanced upwards toward Thayer longingly, imagining himself at the front of the tribe, leading his packmates into battle, gatherings, camp. He knew it would never happen. He wanted so much to have respect, love, and a family. He had earned Clarice"s love and respect. Yet he would never go without it, and he loved it so much, it just wasn"t good enough for him. He wanted a father to teach him how to hunt. He wanted a mother to be proud of him. He wanted pups to train because he just wanted to give away some of that love that he never received. He had been dumped, thrown out, rejected and tossed out into the jungle without a backwards glance. He then saved...her... from a small hunting patrol of a neiboring tribe. She had the same "tosed-out" story. He had saved her, not Jacob. He shook himself.
     Some of the pack liked him, but the other half hated the Half-tribe, the No-tribe, the strange blue-furred glowing wolf. Seeing the merging bodies of wolves ever where gave him hope, but the dream from the night before still bothered him.
"They all go away, not knowing their fate. But inside the tribe, there are clouds of hate." He said to himself quietly, repeating the words over and over in his frustrated mind. He had no idea what they could mean. He just kept walking, thinking about the hardships of his life, and feeling the tall grass that had grown there for seasons before him between his paws.
    As the festival began to assemble, Ben began to get a little lost in the horde. Soon thousands of wolves were doing thousands of things. "Clarice?" Ben called. "Clarice?" He called, a little louder this time. Fear grew like a thick, spiny bush inside him. He sensed her outside, and ran towards her scent. He saw her in the Garden of Forgiveness, with a muscular reddish she-wolf kneeling over her.
  "Breath. It"s OK. I"ve done this to. I know." The wolf was whispering to Clarice encouragingly, sympathetically, and fearfully all at the same time.
    Clarice was gasping for breath, and there was nobody except them three. Clarice layed in a small bed of orange leaves in the corner of the garden. The brown wolf turned when Ben stepped on a weak twig, and they both gasped. It was Tonks!
     "What did you do to her?!?" Ben screamed. A wave of hatred washed over him, drenching him in anger.
      Tonks seemed outraged at the sight of Ben. Her cream-colored teeth were bared. "Nothing! She"s giving birth!" Tonks screamed back equally as harshly. "Go. You"ll be no help. I"m the only one here with any medical expirience, or experience of any kind at that!" She ened her sentence with a snarl.
    With one last glance at Clarice, and Tonks, Ben trotted off.
    When Ben came back, Clarice cradled three pups in her arms. One was deep brown, one pitch black, and one stark white. "This is Tynan," She said pointing to the brown one. "Damian," nodding towards the black bundle of fur. "And Lyriva." She said looking at the white pup. Pride welled in Ben"s chest. He had a sons. His own sons. And a daughter. A beautiful, beautiful daughter. Tonks stared at Lyriva. She had a look in her eyes like she was hiding something, but ran off into the crowd of wolves before Ben could say or notice more.
    "Jake! Jacob!" Tonks yelled. He ran towards her, his long tail swaying from side to side. "We have to start now." She barked.
"Oh, yes," He said in a deep husky voice. He bid a small striped wolf he had been talking to, and turned towards Tonks. A smile spread across his face and he sighed, as if he has just been taken out of a pot of boiling water. "I never remember Renis looking stressed." Jacob laughed. "He had a lot of self-control." As Tonks nodded towards the cliff, Jacob straited up. "Well, since both you and I," Tonks liked the words " Are alpha now, you are coming with me."
   Tonks did not like being in the spotlight. She turned towards a cliff in the side of a black mountain and sighed. "Fine."
     All the leaders were gathering atop the ledge that had been carved out of the mountain years before. Ancient writing was etched into the ledge, and the elders sometimes told stories of when leaders sharpened their claws on it. The leaders went through, telling what happened to their tribe in the recent year. Tonks was only there sometimes. She was thinking. Thinking about him, thinking about Jacob, and thinking about life in general. She heard a tale about how the native wolf tribe , the Apalatacion, had discovered the way to heal Cranks, a disease were the victim became severely immaciated, no matter how much they ate. She heard a tale of how earlier in the year the Waterloo tribe would have been eradicated but the Emberlupin saved them in a "moment of crisis."
    Jacob had little to report, telling of Renis" sad death, which was responded to with many howls and cries from the crowd, and of his inheritence of the tribe. Apparently each alpha had a title, such as Renis, Father of all Werewolves or ThunderRock, The Wolf of the River. Jacob was loved by many, so after much deciding the Council of Elders called him Jacob, Heart of the Tribes.
     "The she-wolf will have one too." one of the older Elders rasped. The crowd gasped with Tonks.
       Fire light eminaed from the bonfire. "Me?" Tonks coughed out. "But he"s the Alpha!"
      "The girl is special." a gray Elder with a black spiral down his back wispered.
    "She will do great things." another coughed
     "She has already endured many hardships, we see." an elder mumbled.
      Light from the fire glowed off the black mountain, casting an erie glow against everywolfs" face.
     "Do they know everything?" Tonks wispered to Jacob.
      "Yes."
   
     Ben sat in the garden with Clarice. "I love them." Ben whispered to Clarice. "And you."
    Clarice had a faraway and empty look in her eyes. "I knew her."
    "What do you mean?" Ben asked lightly after puting a pink rose in Clarice"s hair.
    "I remember her."
    "You probably just remember me discribing her." Ben was concerned now.
    "No. We remember hearing that howl. When I was a pup. Every night for a moon we heard the "lost" call, but when we went out to get her, she was gone."
    Ben was amazed. Tonks must have been tossed out by one of the neighboring tribes. She must have moved pretty far, because Ben remembered he met her in a dead forest. "Clarice, I think that you should rest a lit..."  He stopped in the middle of the sentence with a horrified choke. Far up in the mountains he saw a large black wolf...

    Jacob started to gather up the pack, and Tonks went to get some food for the long journey home. When she saw Jake again, she said, "I think that went well."
 "Yes. Shall we go?" With that they and started walking.
     Back at the festival, the grounds were beginning to clear.  Less and less wolves were talking and more began to head back to
 their  territories. Ben still sat in the corner thinking about the prophecy.  He couldn"t remember the whole part of the next two lines. " Wolf....hilltop...sing....." That was all he could remember. He tried  to make sense of it. The festival was over, so what could the " Big, black wolf" do? Who was this wolf, and what is going to happen to them?
   
     "Wait!" a big, black wolf called to Jacob. "I am Thayer, and I want
 to ally your tribe."
    "We..." Jacob was interpted by a loud noise. Suddenly, Thayer writhed on the ground. Blood spilled form a round hole in his chest.
     "Discusting humans." Jacob snarled, kneeling down and pulling out a small peice of fabric.
     "We need to help him." Tonks whispered urgently.
     "Call his pack, he"s Fayta." Jake said, and Tonks howled a summoning low moan. Blood seeped around
 the body.
     "I"m gonna have to pull the bullet out." Tonks said, wincing.  A familiar white shape ran up the hill. "Ben!" Tonks screamed. "What do you want?!?"
     Ben spotted Thayer. "Wh... What did you do to him?!" Ben screamed at Tonks, fuming and scared at the side.
Tonks was shocked. Thayer was trying to speak."B..." he said, "Ben... is alpha...  now." With that, Thayer heaved a final breath and went limp.
     In the dark gloom, Ben recited the words spoken by the ancient spirits that foretold this event. " Away in the forest, the wolf pack picks up their Alpha"s song, and they all begin to howl together - loud, clear, and long. Then the black wolf hears an unfamiliar sound, he stops, pricks his ears, and looks around. Suddenly a gunshot sounds out in the night, and down goes the Alpha-wolf before he can flee or fight. Sprawled out on the hill, bleeding, the yellow fire dims in his eyes. He shudders, and whimpers, and with a final breath he dies......" He mumbled mournfully.
    "What? You mean you knew this was going to happen?" Tonks said quizzically.
    "I....I had a dream....these voices told me something...a prophecy." He said.
   "Thayer! No!" Thayer"s mate, Rosie, ran over to him and dropped to her knees.
     "Let"s go. His pack is here." Jacob said, and there was concern. Tonks trotted after him, watching as Faytas ran up the hill, howling in mourning.

    Back at camp, Tonks sat in the Alpha Cave, and was cuddling up to Jacob. She knew she should of  told him this before.  "Jake, I had for pups on the journey. The black one is Hawk, the brown one is Eagle, the white one is Stark," Tonks paused, "And this one is Neon." she said, picking up a multicolored, who was green, blue, red, and purple and many other colors.
     "Amazing. Look at him." Jacob stared at Neon. "He...is amazing. How did this happen?"
     "I don"t know; he was born like this." Tonks replied mystically.
    The next 4 seasons went by well. Life was pretty normal, no threats, no fasts, no deaths. The pups had grown to the age of 14 (werewolf pups age fast). All three teenage werewolves were looking foward to the priorities of being grown. In fact, all wolves were looking forward to one thing in particular. Just a few weeks now...

     It took a while for the Fayta Tribe to accept the fact that Thayer was dead. Due to the fact that Thayer appointed Ben leader just moments before his death. Ben was still a little stunned; within a few moons he had went from a loner to a leader. Well, almost. There was wolves that went with Thayer"s choice and supported him. But most of the pack supported Palau, Thayer"s
 son.
    Jacob walked up onto the ledge where tribe meetings were held. He howled loudly to call the Emberlupins to the gathering. "As you probably know, this year we will be participating in the Young Wolf Mating Ceremony. Every four long years, teenage wolves still needing a mate travel to the Moonlight Hollow for the Full Moon Mate Bask. There the wolves will chose mates from any," Jacob stessed the word, "tribe. We decided that mates may be from any tribes after The War of Scottstale Den." Jacob smiled, and Tonks caught a glimmer of amusment in his eyes. "We will be hosting it this year. To all of the young males we will be giving out rings with the Emberlupin crest on them. And this year we will make no exeptions. Every male must take a mate. We are very short on pups this season." And with that Jacob turned around and trotted back to the Alpha Cave.
                                                                                * * *
    Neon was the center of attention at the Full Moon Mate Bask. Armed with the finest golden ring, he trotted around, admiring the longing glances of the other females. The Midnight Hollow was were a shining river ended in a beautiful waterfall. The moon reflected off the water and sparkled. Giant gnarled trees stood around the river. Neon went to go swim in the water, and spotted an amazing white fluffy coat lounging in the shadows.
     He stared at her, running his eyes along her female outline more than necessary, and what seemed like the fullest, most beautiful tail from the forest to the mountains. He wanted so much to run his fingers through it...  After being starstruck for a few moments, he stalked towards her, fluffing out his fur to make him look more muscular, which wasn"t really nessesary. He sauntered over to her, with the look in his eyes, and touched her cheek. She shivered and looked up. She smiled.
    "I"m Neon, if you didn"t already know. I just wanted to know if hurt when you fell from heaven? I think you are incredibly hot." Neon flirted. He figured she would fall as easily as all the other females. She lifted her eyebrows. "Well, I"m Lyriva. And I think your annoying." Neon was stung. He hung his head.  "But your still cute." She continued.
     "So, uh... do we... er..." Neon stumbled.
     "Are you trying to ask me to be your mate?" She asked, and Neon sensed waves of uncertanty and fear pulse from her.
     "Er...yea" He concluded blushing. She probably wouldn"t notice though, it would just blend in with his pelt.
    "Then I accept." Her light voice surprised Neon, and he was surprised at what she said.
     "Okay. You... er...wanna..." His question was cut off by her short but harsh reply, "No."  
     "I was gonna say dance." Neon replied quickly, slightly embaressed.
 
     
     "Let all wolves of the Fayta tribe older than 6 moons gather here for a tribe meeting!" Ben"s voice rung out from the Alpha Den. Mutterings broke out from the tribe, but they began to assemble beneath the den. "As you kno..."
      Ben was interrupted by Palau. "Who gave you the authority to call a meeting? Only alphas are allowed to call meetings!" He yelled with rage.
     Ben rolled his eyes. Palau was such a pain in the tail! "If you think that you are going to overthrow me, you"re wrong. Again." Ben said casually.
     "Think again, Half-tribe!" Palau shouted. Mumbling erupted from the tribe.
      "Half-tribe? That can"t be!" "Will he let him insult him like that?"
      "Silence!" Ben yelped. "You all know very well that I am half-tribe. Why is this such a suprise?" He demanded. "You cannot be Alpha if you are not a Dire Wolf!" Palau shouted. "Bu.." He was cut off by the growling of the tribe below. "Out...or die!" Palau yelled. Ben raced through the forest, Palau at snapping at his heels. Ben charged out of the Fayta Land. "And
stay out!" Palau said with a glimmer of triumph in his eyes. Ben walked away into a valley of unowned land. I don"t even know who my parents are, he realised.
     "Psst" a whisper came from the bushes. Clarice stepped out and put her golden arm around him. She looked in the eyes, brown meeting violet. "We are holding a vote," she said, sorrow still clouding her eyes. "If you lose, I"ll stay with you." Together they walked back to camp, tails twined.
  "I promise I will be the best leader I can, even though I am not Fayta." Ben swore, casting a sideways at Palua. "Well I," Palau started, "promise to bring our tribe to where we belong; as Alpha Tribe!" Palua ended in a howl. The vote took place, but Ben did not see it. He and Palau were taken inside the Alpha Den, which in the Fayta tribe was a hole in the ground leading to a large underground cave. When they came out, the numbers were announced. "Palau, 32. Ben....." There was a long pause. "40!"
Lyriva twined her tail around Neon. Other pairs looked on with envy. Neon and Lyriva"s howls joined in song as the tribe went their seperate ways. As Lyriva turned to see Damian and Tynan trotting off with mates of their own, going back with the Fayta tribe, she realized she would never see her family again. She loved Neon that much. As they trotted towards the Emberlupin Vilage.
"This is an outrage!" Palau shouted. "I am the rightful leader, and he is
 not!" "Would you just shut up, Palau?" Ben said, irritated. "One cannot
 judge the word of the tribe. I am the alpha now. You would be lucky if I
 assigned you beta." Palau leaped at Ben with full force when his back was
 turned. Ben swiftly twisted around and dealt a blow to Palau"s nose.
 Screeching in surprise, Palau fell back down the rock below the Alpha Den.
 "Gaurds, take him away!" Ben ordered. Some muscular wolves came and took
 Palau away, towards the hut of shame. That night, a celebration was held
 for Ben"s success. Palau, of course, was not invited. "Congratulations!" a
  wolf said. It was his son, Damian."Did you do well at the Full Moon Mate Bask?" Ben asked. "Very well. I have a beautiful black wolf, Jeania, and a pup named Penter waiting for me at home." Damian replied. "How did Lyriva do?" Ben asked, clueless. Sorrow clouded Damian"s eyes "She did fine. And... she"s not coming back." "Wha...What?" Ben did not understand. Damian explained how she was now an Emberlupin.  Ben was devestated. "I must go tell Clarice." And he moped off with his tail drooping to the Alpha Den.
The teens were just ariving back at the Emberlupin Village. Tonks and Jacob ran forward towards their children, looking at their beautiful new mates. "Congratulations!" Jacob told his sons, while Tonks met the new aditions to the tribe. Then every wolf, pelts brushing, began to go back to their cottages and log cabins.

About a season later, Neon, Eagle, and Hawk all had newborn pups waiting at home. All seemed well in the mountains, Tonks thought, as she accepted a mouse from a young wolf, glowing with pride.  Suddenly, Tonks heard frantic yelping in the clearing. Before she could say a word, Jacob had flung by, pulled her on his back, and was racing down the mountain. The meaty scent told Tonks that a hunting patrol had just gotton back, and she spotted Cloudjumper and Sparrow dragging a moose groggily towards the prey pile, which was quite empty, considering it was the middle of winter. "Jacob!" A male raced into the camp. Tonks recognized Flamefur, a fiery orange wolf who was in charge of hunting. "The Waterloo leader is here to see you!" he shouted to Jacob.
 Flamefur led them to the end of their territory, a large white rock split in half by lightning . He gave Jacob the I-told-you-so look, but Tonks had no idea what he meant by it.
 "Greetings, Jacob." A deep blue wolf said, who was appearently the leader of Waterloo. After a few moments, Tonks quietly remembered that his name was ThunderRock. And with him was his deputy, CoalFox. "Greetings, ThunderRock." Jacob replied. "Do you have a message?" "Indeed." ThunderRock replied. "Seasons ago, Renis helped me during a battle when we needed it most. I told him I would pay him back, " Renis paused, closing his eyes. Tonks guessed that the two leaders had been close. "But I never got to. So to you, Jacob, the Alpha of the Mountains, I have decided to join our territories, and become one tribe." ThunderRock finished.
 Jacob stared back at ThunderRock in shock. "I.....thank you!" he stammered. ThunderRock stared back with icy blue eyes. "No need to thank me. Your tribe helped me in a time of our greatest need, and it is only fair that I repay you." ThunderRock paused, and than signaled with his tail. A golden she-wolf padded out of the bracken. "This is Sunray. She will be your guide and show you around." Sunray dipped her head in greeting. "I am honored to serve you. The battle that your tribe assisted us in was the one that my brother died in.....I am grateful for all that your tribe has done for us."
  Clarice was devestated with the news of Lyriva not returning. "Can I visit her?" Clarice asked between the sobs. Ben called Damian into the Alpha Den. "Which tribe is she now in?" Ben asked tensely. "Er...Well...She"s in the Emberlupin tribe." Damian stammered. Ben was outraged. "Grrr! The Blacks! Keep the tribe safe while I"m gone, Cla..." Ben started to grab his pack. "Ben, no!" Clarice barked, "Listen to yourself! You have a tribe to protect. And you know I might have another litter soon. You can"t leave me." Clarice finished, her wet, violet eyes sparkling.  Ben studied the deep brown walls. He knew she was right, and he couldn"t leave his mate pregnant. "Alright," Ben sighed, "but I will find my daughter."
  Ben gracefully leaped from tree to tree. It was early spring, and the
  creeks ran full with ice cold water. Ben was thinking. He launched
  himself off of a large rock and landed perfectly on another nearby rock. With the
  green streaks of berry juice on his face, it was almost impossible to see
  him. He quickly morphed into human form. He signaled to Moss, a
 brownish-green she-wolf, one of the best hunters in the tribe, to
 follow him. She also morphed into human form. Ben handed her a scarlet
 red bow. "Take this." He nodded towards a large male moose. "That"s the
 target. Make it quick and painless." So little information passed
 between the two as they stalked through the undergrowth. Moss raised
 her bow, her light brown hair floating in the wind, ready to strike,
 when a cream-colored wolf exploded out of the undergrowth. The
 unmistakable scent of the Emberlupin Tribe hit Ben"s nose. The herd of
 moose scattered. More and more wolves padded out of the ferns. Then a
 huge, well-muscled wolf paced out of the brush. Jacob! Ben bristled at
 the sight of his old enemy. "Jacob! How dare you attack us in out own
 territory!" An snarl formed on Jacob"s mouth. "I am taking
 over this land. We know about everything! You have a traitor among you. Give us it back and we won"t hurt you."
 His band of attackers formed an attack formation. "Resistance," Jacob
 said, "Would be futile!" As if it was a signal, the formation began to
 encircle Ben"s small hunting party.
 "What are you takling about?" Ben was confused. A snarl also formed on Ben"s face.
 Despite the fierce looks, he saw how the odds stacked against him. Then
 a stab of fear sliced through his chest. Where was Clarice? Hadn"t she
 come with him? The wolves surrounding him were shoving closer. Panic
 began to flare in his heart. Out of nowhere, Clarice launched herself
 from the area behind them with a battle patrol behind her. At the sight
 of the battle patrol, Ben heaved himself up from the ground and howled a
 battle cry. The shocked and confused Emberlupin wolves began to assemble
 a battle formation.

Tonks cracked the neck of a cream wolf and drew a neatly carved Emberlupin sword, slitting a wolf"s neck in the process. Hearing the crunch of unsturdy leaves behind her, she turned just in time to block the blow of a Fayta axe. Tha axe didn"t hit her, but it did put a large dent in her sword. Tonks spinned, raised her sword, and plunged down into the large grey wolf"s chest. She pricked her ears.
Tonks paused. A long, hollow, mournful cry echoed from the other side of the forest. The "help" call. She rushed towards it, carfully avoiding falling branches from wolves fighting in the trees. Ariving at the other side of the forest, she spotted a small black-and-white striped cub in the middle of the clearing. Tonks was alarmed. The pup could get hurt! She ran out, grabed the cub, dodged a poorly aimed rock, and returned to the shelter of the trees. "Are you okay, sweetheart?" she whispered to the wailing pup. It looked like its eyes had just opened a few weeks ago.
"Mother! Mother!" the pup cried in between sobs.
"Shhh. It"s okay. Who"s your mother?"
"Mother? Mother! Spots is my mother!!! She said Emlupes kill cubs... Please don"t hurt me! Mother!!!" the pup wailed.
"No no no," Tonks soothed, and the pup relaxed a little. "We would never kill pups. Emberlupins would rather kill nowolf. We only came here to get back what they stole a few nights ago."
The battle raged on outside.
"They stole a female from our camp." Tonks looked down at her paws.
"Who? Was she very special to you?"
"Yes... She was my son"s mate. She was from this camp."
"Why would you think it was us?"
"We found Fayta scent, pawprints, and weapons in our camp." Tonks was angry now.
"We just got back from the Festival a few moons ago. We couldn"t have traveled that far."
Tonks stood in confusion? What was going on?
"Who did it then?"
A figure spoke from the bushes. "I think I know."
Ben had been listening to the entire coversation. He knew it somehow. He had gotten flashes of Palau since he had won the election. Also, somehow, he knew exactly where Palau was hiding her...
The Cave of Bloody Rocks was just anoter place on the list of places Ben didn"t want to go to.
He leaped from the bushes from where he had been hiding. Tonks' eyes
 widened with surprise. She began to draw her sword, but it was clumsy
 and awkward due to the large dent. "Don't even pretend your going to kill me."
 Ben took a step forward. The small cub whimpered. His eyes focused
onto the pitiful scrap of fur.
  Raising an arm in the air, Ben prepared to jump into the trees.
  "Ben!" Tonks barked with narrowed eyes. "Bring her back to your camp!
 You can't just leave her here!"
  Ben grumbled, placing his eyes on the cub. He howled, and a few seconds
 later a small tortiseshell wolf hopped out of the fray of battle. "Moss!
 What is your cub doing in the war?" Ben's anger was bubbling.
   "I thought, 'should the Emberlupins," She threw a distastful sneer in
 Tonks's direction, "attack the camp directly, she would not be harmed."
   "Whatever," Benshook his head. "Do you no were the Cave of Bloody Rocks
 is told to be?"
   "Wha..."
   "NOW!" Ben yelped in frustration, anger, fear.
   "Yes... Er, it's told to be in the Volcano on the old abandoned Zoey
 territorry. Just past the river. But why..." Moss mumbled, now stroking
 her cub's ruffled fur.
   "Tonks, get the horses! It's a long way." Ben called already running
 away.
   "You don't rule me. Is there a please in that sentence?" Tonks growled.
  Ben turned. " I know that you have a hard time being real for a change,
but, if you haven't noticed, my daughter is being held captive. I am
 aware that your life has been nothing but lies, blood, and butterflies,
 but I need you you to focus right now. You've probably never heard this,
 but right now, lives are at stake." Be had taken a few steps forward
 during his lecture.
   Tonks was outraged. "Yes Ben, you're right. You are so right. My life is
 soooo easy. No hungry tribe to take care of, no pups to look out for, no
 land to fight over." Tonks rolled her eyes, her head following, smiled a
 sarcastic smile, and took a step forward. "Oh right! I was wrong. Almost
 forgot. I do have all of those! You think I've never heard those words,
 ' lives are at stake?' Nope. You're right. Never. Only those times when,
oh I don't know, my pups died, the 4 battles I've fought in, the prey is
 short in winter! And what do you mean when you say my life has just been
 lies, blood, and butterflies? You do less than I!" The two were circling
 each other.
   "You!" Ben sneered, "To start with, Your life has been nothing but, 1,
 lies, such as saying you were my mate. 2, blood, such as using the fray
 of battle to escape your worries. 3, butterflies, as in, you have no
 responsibility." They were feet apart.
   Tonks stared at the ground. I can argue for every one of those. 3, I do
 have responsibility, for I am part alpha of the tribe. 2, I only enjoy
battles because I enjoy fighting for what I think is right. And 1,"
 Tonks closed her eyes. "I did not lie. I said I was your mate."
   "But you said that moron Jacob was your mate." Ben was not following
 her.
   "That is true. I am his mate, and he mine."
   "You cannot have two mates."
   "True. Let me explain. Picture three circles: first you, then me, then
 Jake. I told you I was your mate, and never said vise versa. This is
 true. I am the first female you ever mated. You are not the first male
 that I have mated. Jake was. I was also the first female Jake mated, so
 we are Soul Mates. This is a rare bond. We both mated for the first time
 together. Because I had mated before, and you hadn't, I was your mate
 but you weren't mine. This is why You loved me, I never loved you, and
 you never truely loved Clarice. I told you."
   There was a long silence.
"Stop," Ben muttered and shook himself, "I need to go rescue my daughter." He leaped
 into the trees. Not even caring if she followed or not, he leaped from
 tree to tree. Soon he landed on the ground near the horse stable.