The Alphess was quick to leave the lands she knew as home. She ran as fast as she could. It was for no apparent reason, just that she had wished to feel the air between her coat. She wanted to feel free and alive, much like before. Fenris had been out on many missions lately, hunting and collecting food for the winter. No matter how many hunters they had in their pack, Fenris always wanted to help out. He could barely ever stand still. The pups were in the well care of the Lead Autay. Quinn had not worried for their safety in months. The pack was at peace and all things felt perfectly well. The small Alphess made her way towards the neutral lands, seeking a place she had heard so many stories about. Azul himself had told her a story about these lands, a tale that had a very horrifying end. If it had not been for a young Warrior, Azul's best friend would have been lost to the water. Kenai, as he was so called, was the Elite at the time, but my how things had changed. As she pressed forward, her tiny paws crunched the dying leaves upon the floor. Soon she would be in a world where there were no trees, only rock and water before her. She closed her eyes as she slowed to stop. The smells of this land were filled with not only pack animals, but rogues. She knew this could be dangerous, but the young fae wished for adventure. Opeing her harvest orbs, she peered into the daylight. just as she expected, the towering cliffs laid before her. Their peaks were sharp and pointed, and soon they would be topped with snow once the winter passed through. The summer had melted it away, but it would return for the better half of this year and the beginning of the next. The small Alphes made her way forward, still wandering as she listened for anything that might come her way. During the daylight, no wolf would be so bold as to atack an Alphess, or so she thought.

Into the woods. The Alpha male held his head up high, his chest pressed as forward as possible, and his ears pressed tight to the top of his head. Emerald hues stared to the world, searching for something of importance. But he could find nothing. The lone male moved ahead, seeking anything. Perhaps a meal. Perhaps a fight. Perhaps even a brawl to the death. Looking around to the dens of the wolves who lived beneath him, Teren found nothing of interest. Instead, he found himself bored of such a place. He left the sanctum of his lands, leading himself far from the territory he claimed as his own. His tail curled over his spine, resting in a high position, warranting himself as ruler of any lands he stumbled upon. The large beast moved with a fluidity only he could provide. Sure he was not fast, but he was nowhere near anything called "slow". As he neared the borders of his home, he stopped dead in his tracks. His tail still stuck up along his body. His eyes gazed over the lands before him, and his ears now perched upon his noble dome. He scanned from left to right and then back again. The last time he had wandered from his home, he found himself being followed by minions and did not find solitude. He snarled to himself, hoping that if any wolves were near, they would hear his dismay and stay put. Teren was not a wolf to need accomplices to accomplish his true desires. After all, he had slain the mighty leader Steele, all on his own. He did not need help from anyone or anything.

One paw forward, he crossed the line of what was his to nothingness. The Alpha wandered away from the pack, heading for the neutral lands. Maybe he would be lucky and stumble upon the corpse of the wolf he hated more than the rest. Perhaps he would find himself a new pelt to bring home. Or he could find the fae a liar. She would die for such a thing, should he find Samael alive and well. He would kill the traitor himself, she and he. It would not be long before the scents of these unmarked lands allowed a story to be relived within his mind. He recalled a time when he and his most trusted wolf spoke in these lands. He was told a tale of the late Alpha, about a great battle that happened in this very place. There were a tons of smells, stories to be known. But most of them were old, perhaps days, weeks, or months just clinging onto the foliage and the rocks, the moss and the stone. But one scent was stronger than all the rest. One scent held his nose to stiffen and stand still. He breathed and allowed a beautiful smirk to ripple across his maw. He knew her scent as if it had been his own. He had smelled it for years, and he knew exactly who it belonged to, even with it mixed with smells of her mate. He knew them both. But what else did the Alpha find? Scents of young, fresh life which slept beside her, cleaned her, and played with her. She was a mother once again. He moved closer, wiping the smile from his maw, leaving a dis-tempered snarl to escaped from clenched jaws. He walked slowly, allowing his hulking figure to block out the sun for the small fae before him. A dark shadow fell upon her, and she was covered in a sheet of darkness. "Didn't you learn your lesson last time? Small faes like yourself should never be wandering alone. You never know when a monster will appear to gobble you up.."

Autumn was a colder season, but not the coldest of the whole year. Every wolf knew that. But not too much longer after standing there, she felt a darkness wrap around her. A shadow blocked her delicate form from the glimmering sunlight. The Alphess stayed still, but she could feel the fur along her spine stand at its tallest. Her tail hung gently between her legs, no need to raise it, for she knew the voice of the monster behind her. She knew what he was capable of and she knew that he could easily dispose of her. The tiny Alphess merely turned her body to face him, not allowing any fear to show in her stance. He would not win this little challenge and she would not want any to get into the way of the happenings here and now. She glared up at him, their eyes meeting and snarls escaped from her lips. She was afraid of Teren, afraid of all those years he spent by her side. He was trusted in her pack, more so than most of those living within Maple Woods. But here he was, an enemy now. He was a monster, he claimed he took so many lives, even those that were of no importance to him. He killed young, old, weak, strong, agile, and brave. He did not care who was in his path, they were all just marks, tallies in his mind of endless trophies. Quinn knew she was a target, and had been for more years than she had ever known. She stood her ground and snarled to the beast, "There was a time, Teren, when I trusted you. There was also a time when I feared for my life near you... But not anymore. The last time we met, you wanted to fight me, I could feel it. But we were interrupted by the Alpha in the south. We are alone now. Fenris will not come for me. Nobody will come for me. After all these years, you will have me completely alone." She lifted her head and snapped her jaws at him. She forced her weight back on her hind legs and forced her little frame towards the beast before her. Her jaws stretched out wide, hoping to snag on the coat of the midnight monster and seek her revenge for her family, for her loved ones, for those who could not defend themselves. If she landed her attack, she would pull him as hard as she could and hope that he would topple to the ground. There, her quick paws and light frame would be more than helpful taking this demon back to where he came from. But Quinn had also once fought a creature much larger than she, and that bear had forced her body against a tree. At the time, she had tightened her form and the pain from such an act was more than she ever imagined. This time around, she would be loose and free. Her muscles would only tighten if they were needed. Whatever Teren was to do, she would counter and never give up until she had given her last dying breath.

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He laughed. It was not long before the fae turned to see him in his majestic form standing before her. His brilliantly colored orbs glared down at her, clashing with the harvest hues she so loved to gloat about. There had been so many times that she acted as if the world revolved around only her. He hated this about her. For she did not deserve such a right. Instead, she deserved death only, like many others. The onyx male stared down at her, laughing as she went on her little tangent. He did not care for her words, only her actions. He wanted a fight. He wanted to bleed. He wanted fresh blood in his mouth. He wanted to drape himself with her coat. He wanted to bring her to her last breath, to sever the ties to this realm for Quinn. There was nothing more in this universe that he wanted than to do such a thing to her. He wanted his revenge, his final wish before he allowed himself to die. But even then, he would take his precious time with life, and he would allow his body to wait patiently. He was nowhere near his deathbed, and he had every intention of keeping it that way. He wanted to thrive and be as young as he could. He was the Alpha. No wolf was going to take that away from him.

As the attack came to him, it was quite clear that she was serious. She wanted to fight him. A stupid and very foolish move, one he would be quick to take advantage of. The largest wolf in all the lands versus the smallest wolf he had ever seen, in adult form. The male was quick to see her attack and spun himself in an attempt to keep her from his neck. She latched onto his shoulder. Her teeth gripped tight with all her might, but the wolf did not speak. He didn't even grimace. It was as if the bite itself was bringing life to him, like he was finally living again. It's one thing to fight your brother, but entirely another to fight the wolf you have wanted to kill for the last three to five years. Teren was quick to react as she dangled from him. Her body wiggled and squirmed, trying to make it hard for him to react. But still he did. A massive set of jaws turned on her, opening wide to reach across her back. It was a spot he knew she would have a difficult time protecting, especially as she clung to his side. The great Alpha bit as hard as he could, hoping to do as much damage as possible. How would she react to such a thing?

She had been dozing in the rare Autumn sunlight when cracking open a lazy eye just in time to see her sister leaving the pack's clearing alone. It had been such a long time since Lark had seen the alphess by herself and she couldn't even try to deny the curiosity burning bright inside her within seconds. She was always getting into trouble for that, her curiosity. After a few moments of silent debating, she had decided to follow her, ignoring the little twinge of guilt twisting deep inside her. She only wanted to catch up with her so she could talk to her, she hadn't in ages. There wasn't anything bad about that, was there? It wasn't like she was spying or anything, Quinn was her sister! However as she followed the familiar scent of her sibling into the colourful woods, she found herself hanging back at a steady trot rather than sprinting to catch up. Her hunter instincts were instantly kicking in as a small bird hopped about at the roots of a large oak, soon Winter would arrive and every piece of prey would be extremely important for the pack's survival. Yet she felt a strange urgency to keep going and forced herself to pass by the small creature, blinking as it suddenly pulled itself into the air in obvious alarm upon seeing the predator. 'Don't worry little birdie, I am not here to end your life today. Enjoy your freedom' She thought quietly as it quickly flew off in the opposite direction.

Shaking herself, she continued after her sister's scent trail, hopping across the border and into the neutral lands. Now the small wolf did feel something, some weird sense of dread. It was exactly the same feeling that had come across her as she had approached the scene of the bear attack, where her sister stood mentally torn apart by the remains of the physically torn apart pups. She felt her pace quickening until she was flat out sprinting, forcing her body to remain at a fast pace despite the dramatically changing terrain beneath her paws. The sky above her was thick with dark clouds, looming and ominous. Finally, after what felt like much too long a time, she reached the location of her sister. But she was not alone, and the scent that hit her was the scent of the unfriendly pack that she had come to know were Helidos' rivals. And here, this beast, she had been told so many stories about was the one and only Alpha Teren. She knew it instantly, the descriptions she'd heard fitted him perfectly. Giant, draped in darkness, and two flints of green much like a snake's glittering with continuous cruelty. She grit her teeth, paws stuck in place- neither of the two wolves had noticed her yet, both caught up in their own battle but Lark knew all too well that Quinn didn't stand a chance against this beast.

He would slaughter her, sure he could crush her skull with one massive paw. But, maybe if there were two of them…Without a second of hesitation, the little hunter launched herself forward- fangs bared and an enraged snarl ripping itself from her throat. "Get away from her you monster! No one is stealing my sister from me again!" The angered words were almost howled out, honey coloured eyes shining with an anger that had never been seen on the face of the little grey wolf. She had lost her mate because she hadn't done anything about her treacherous beta, she wasn't making the same mistake again. Using her powerful hind legs to launch herself forward- she simply let her mind fall into the same trance it fell into when hunting. She had always been an extremely talented hunter, so this wouldn't be anything different. She had taken down prey bigger than her before, she was the hunter and Teren was the prey. She hoped to make effective contact, either somehow land on him or barrel into his side. Her actions were a little ruthless, not well planned out but extremely vicious and fuelled with hatred. She didn't care where she landed on or beside him, once her paws hit the ground or dark fur, she would scratch, bite and tear until the beast stopped moving.

Large fangs ripped into her delicate flesh. They startled and forced blood to emerge. With each hard bite, the male was quick to force the fae to whine and cry. She tried as hard as she could to bite and thrash her head from left to right. He was much larger and held her off the ground. She closed her eyes and tried the best she could. In this moment, she could feel her life flashing before her eyes. She saw the first moments when the Alpha's pups were born, watched them take their first breaths. She saw the pups take their first steps. She even recalled their first outing, their last outing, and the day her whole life changed. She remembered the running, running so fast and so hard, leaving everything and everyone behind.

Collapsing to the ground, she breathed in heavily. The rain was pouring down upon her back, but she did not stir. Heavy paws approached her quietly the best they could. The petite fae with tired eyes saw the feet before her nose. All of her memories of Kraven flashed before her. Training forced her to be her best. The pain forced her to show no fear. All of these things and more he taught her. But it was not enough, she was not enough. He left her and she was left to be alone and wither. He left her to die all alone. she left her home, moved across the woods and found shelter in the eyes of the beast himself. Promoted him to Delta and trusted this wolf above all others. She was welcomed home and allowed to be the Alphess. Leading her pack, she watched them grow and learn, promoted them and aided them. Maple Woods grew and changed. Fenris came to her, allowing Quinn to find love once again. Fenris. Images of him flashed before her, from the first moment she laid eyes on him. His heart was of gold and his mind sound, while his tongue spoke a language from the ancients. He was the perfect wolf to mend her tarnished soul. They fell in love quickly, soundly. He was perfect for her. He was to be the Alpha at her side. They had a litter, a gorgeous little litter. Just three darling pups, two girls and one strapping boy. Reese was just like his father, and the girls, a pleasant mixture of them both. Quinn was finally happy again, but soon after, it was taken from her. Fire struck their homes, consumed the trees and grass in flames. The leaves that littered the ground only added to the flames. Everything was consumed, lives and foliage. But she fled. She left the pack, forced to from the horrendous flames. Couldn't go back to the old home she knew. Couldn't go to Pine Summit. She had to completely flee, to find a new place to call home. Running once again, racing for her safety. She found her new home. Helidos. Azul, an old friend, greeted her and welcomed her with promise of a new foundation. Everything was a in a blur, but then Fenris came again. He found her, and she was happy once again. As an Alphess once more, she made another litter, a blessing to the pack. But here she was..

Reality set in as she heard the cries of her sister. Lark. The sound was well known to Quinn, and her eyes shot open. Harvest hues stared as everything played in slow motion. Lunging towards the brute, Lark did her very best to save the sister she had loved so dearly. Quinn jerked her head, trying to stop her sister, crying out in a loud bark, "Lark, no!" She could not stop her sister, she could not save the wolf who had been trying to save her now. She released her hold on the monster, and no longer tried to bite him. Instead she tried to move for her sister, she tried her best to end this bloodbath which could possibly self-destruct before their very eyes.

harder and harder he clasped his jagged teeth across the backside of the fae. He held her close. This was possibly the closest he had ever allowed a fae to be. Or any wolf, for that matter. He snarled and growled angrily as the saliva dripped from his jowls and fell to the ground beneath him. His saliva covered her back, forcing her to seem as though she had been swimming for at least five minutes. Finally she stopped struggling. But this was not weird to him. This was not strange. Many wolves had easily succumb to their master, releasing the fight and resistance to his power, to his abilities. She held her grasp on him, this much was certain and he could feel blood seeping from his own flesh. It did not hurt, however. In fact, it felt nice. He had not bled for some time now and sometimes wished to experience the feeling once again. As he was feeling it now, he thrashed his head from side to side. In the distance of everything, he could hear a sound. A single voice among the pair that belonged to neither. Turning his head, everything seemed to slow down to a pace where he could see the individual flapping of a hummingbird's wings. There stood a figure. It was a small wolf, no smaller than the Alphess in his grasp, but nowhere near the height of the Alpha male himself. She snarled and spoke her words of nothing important. But before the great brute could react to her foul words, she lunged. She ripped into him, she pulled as hard as she could. Unfortunately, the small Alphess had been covering his stomach, so her attack landed to the flank of his body.

The Alphess released her target and instead chose to speak to her "sister". Only then did Teren try to see the comparison in them to one another. She did hold the similarities in her looks and she was slightly smaller, making Teren believe that Quinn was in fact the runt of her litter. As she released him, he released her. The other fae held tight to his flank, gripping with her jaws and teeth, trying her best to hold at him. Grinning from ear to ear, Teren stared to the fae clinging to his side. The male was much larger than them both, but he felt as though he only wanted one of them dead at the moment. It's one thing to kill your enemy, but it's another to take the light of their life away. To leave Quinn alive, taking her sister to the other forest, then the fae would crumble and bend to his will. He would get everything he had wished and more. Soon the grin would fade and the snarl would take its place. The lips rolled back from his maw, exposing his jowls and short flicks of his tongue. His snout shriveled in size and held a look of distaste. Pushing the tiny Alphess out of the way, he reached for her exposed neck. If he ripped her off of his side, and he spilled more blood, he did not care. He would be in pain, but it would heal and all would be well. He would risk anything to get what he wanted. He grasped around the back side of her neck, close to her scruff, he ripped her from him and held her above the ground. Tossing her to the floor, he was quick to step his paw on her. He pinned her down and bit the underside of her neck. He pressed a paw to her ribcage and held her there. There were no sounds, no noises. Everything was silent as the great predator stood upon his prey. The warm blood trickled from her throat, and he could see her fleeting breaths. Instead of finishing his job, he lifted his emerald gaze and stared upon the fae he hated more than anything in the whole world. For the first time in his whole years with Quinn, he smiled to her. The blood of her sister dripped from his maw, covered the nose to the middle of the fur between his eyes. The monster was covering himself with her life blood. It would not be long before she would be fleeing to the other forest.

Somewhere during her leap, she had shut her eyes. She knew very well as she sailed through the air towards the massive brute that chances of getting away alive were slim to none. She could only hope that somehow, her efforts would help Quinn live. She had nothing anymore while her sister had a mate, a pack and pups, it was obvious who needed to continue living. As her paws made contact, she knew already that her aim had been off. In an effort to avoid hitting her beloved sister, she had been forced to veer slightly and although she made contact, it would not have a good enough effect to save her. She could only hope it would save Quinn. She managed to draw some blood and her fangs sank satisfyingly into the flesh of the beast although all she wanted to do was spit out anything to do with this foul creature. It was a weird mix of satisfaction and disgust that came over her as the metallic tang of blood filled her mouth and crimson liquid stained her silver maw. It was in some ways so neutral, she had never properly attacked a wolf but it was rather like hunting. Although just knowing that this was another wolf, an equal (although she would never call this piece of dirt equal to her or her sister despite his rank) made it seem oddly different. Her heart beat raced, fueled by adrenaline as her forepaws came up, balancing on her hind legs in order to get a better grip as she clawed wildly through the dark fur, trying to reach skin. Her eyes were still squeezed shut however she thought she felt the alpha get lighter beneath her and she cracked open one eye to see that Quinn was no longer in his grip but on the ground. She only had a second of relief before the demon's attention was fixed on her again. She inhaled through her nose as much as possible, wincing slightly at the tang that came with it as the dark fur tickled at the the leathery skin. Her heart was pounding ferociously in her chest but what was the point? She knew it now. She was about to die and then it would be forced to calm and stop for eternity. She would not deny that she was scared.

Her eyes squeezed shut as tightly as they could as she felt his massive jaws make contact with her neck, she grit her teeth as hard as she could on the flesh and as he pulled her away from him she felt some of it tear. At least there was that. She could feel herself dangling in the air for a few moments and it was now that she opened her usually gentle honey like eyes that now burned with a strong hatred as they met the cruel green gaze of her soon to be killer. And from her maw simply came two words. "Curse you." Before he flung her to the ground where she gasped with the impact but otherwise remained silent. If she was to die she would die strong, she never ever cry out or beg for death in front of this monster. Never. She shut her eyes and had the cheek to force out a smile as his fangs sank into the delicate flesh of her throat. The pain was unbearable and she had to bite down on her tongue to stop from crying out. However the adrenaline took over and it began to numb, however that was almost worse. Already her heart was pumping blood out onto the grass, staining the innocent green with crimson liquid. She hardly felt his paw on her ribs as the fragile bones began to crack under the pressure. Her eyes were glazed, breathing shallow and raspy. Yet a strange feeling of peace and satisfaction washed over her. She could be with her beloved mate now, he would be waiting for her in the forest. She had served her purpose here on earth, she had been separated from her mate so she could fulfill her destiny and save her sister. Now she could join him, finally she was free...

As she lay bleeding out onto the Autumn grass, the small wolf lifted her gaze to her sister slowly. She was holding onto conciseness with a feeble grasp, her body no longer able to function and her soul ready to depart to the forest and be reunited with her love. Her breaths now came in shallow rasps but she forced herself to gather what little energy that still remained so that she could form words. "Y....You were al..ways a g-good sister Q-Q...Quinn. I can never thank you enough..." She breathed in as deeply as she could, body hurting all over with the effort. This could possibly be her last breath, she had to make it work. "D-Don't blame yourself for this...You aren't ready to d-die. You have a mate...pups...a-a pack-k. My true love is w-waiting for me...I'm ready to leave...I love you sister.." And then she was finished. She offered her killer no acknowledgement as darkness began to form at the edge of her vision. She had already said what she wanted to say to him. She was ready to go, she was finished on these lands. She never got to experience the joys of having both a living mate and pups at the same time, a family, which saddened her but she would rather be with her mate in the forest than with someone else living. She lay motionless on the grass, shutting her gentle honey gaze once more as a gentle sigh left her broken body. I'm ready... She thought silently and swore she caught the familiar scent of the male she loved before consciousness slipped from her grasp and she fell into her eternal sleep.




"I think the whole world is dying to hear someone say, 'I love you.' I think that if I can leave the legacy of love and passion in the world, then I think I've done my job in a world that's getting colder and colder by the day." - Lionel Richie