The Living Wind in the Forest

Chapter 8

"What? You nearly got eaten?" Drizzle's voice came from behind Snow.

"Calm down, Drizzle," Rain pleaded. "You're scaring the pups."

Snow opened her eyes drowsily and stumbled up, her stiff limbs aching.

"Don't tell me to be calm! My pups could have died! And you're telling me to be calm!?" Drizzle half growled half howled.

"Before the fire, the fox would turn tail after seeing our claws, it's not that bad."

"That was before we were separated!" Drizzle shrieked, pressing closer to Hail.

Snow padded stiffly to the pups, "Come on, let's let them howl their heads off," she sighed.

Nudging them away, Snow heard the furious voice of Drizzle, "Send a patrol to clear the fox, now, I don't want my pups to die."

Snow shook her head and sighed. Mothers are always overprotective.

"Hey, Snow," Bamboo called. "I think we have visitors."

Snow whipped around. Another attack?

Bamboo leaped into the bushes and dragged a furious wolf out. More burst through with their teeth bared, claws glinting in the sunlight. Bamboo shrieked and threw herself onto a wolf, biting its neck. Surprisingly, the wolf didn't react, and Bamboo kicked him. The attacker let out a howl, but to Snow's ears, it seemed hollow. Squinting, Snow realized Bamboo wasn't making the wolf bleed, she was covering her teeth with her lips! Confused, Snow backed away from the fight.

"Moon!" she whispered. "I think this is a trick."

As soon as she said that, Bamboo released her grip on the wolf and turned with a blood-thirsty look in her eyes.

"Too late," she snarled.

Leaping, Bamboo tumbled into Snow. "What are you doing?" Snow shrieked, thrashing.

Bamboo tossed her head, and her skin seemed to evaporate. Green mist came off of her, making it hard to see. As the mist faded, Snow realized Bamboo had turned into a living, real wolf.

"Wa..." Snow muttered, still.

The new wolf laughed. "It was all a trick!" she snarled with glee.

"W–what do you mean? How is this possible?" Snow stammered.

"We were illusions! Fakes, whatever you call them." The wolf explained with a sneer.

"But, how?"

"A friend of mine, a Spirit, or whatever you call them, helped. Not all Spirits are good, and the dead are more powerful than the living."

"What about the other wolves? The ones who first attacked?"

"They were just some rogue friends of mine. I promised them wolf blood and territory."

Snow gasped. "Then, what about my dreams? About father?"

The wolf's eyes flashed when he heard the word father. "They were real, but after I realized that you could contact your dead ones, I blocked them from the living world." The wolf grinned with malice in her eyes.

"Blocked them?"

The wolf nodded. "They're trapped in a magical universe, almost impossible to get in or out."

"How did you do it?" Snow asked.

The wolf shrugged. "I already told you, my dead friends helped."

The wolf backed away, not in fear, but with malice. "Look around you, Snow. This is a battle you cannot win."