Wolves of the Falling Stars Book 3: The Fall of the Pack

Chapter 25

Apologies for the delays! Doing my best to get back on track :)

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The air felt strange to Lily Petal. She wasn't quite sure why. Perhaps it was because it was cloudy again, though it was cloudy most often in the winter. Or maybe because the piece of prey she had this morning hadn't sat with her well. Either way, the white she-wolf felt a bit more on edge today for some reason, and she wondered if it had to do with her ongoing feuds with her friends and family.

Either way, it did not matter much. Because Lily Petal still had Jay's Tail, and she always would. Today, especially, she was excited to see him. As she rose from her den and went to greet her mate at breakfast, she nuzzled up close to him.

"You're a bit clingy today, aren't you?" he said with a chuckle that implied he wasn't that bothered by it.

"Am I?" she asked, feeling giddy with excitement. Some days Lily Petal felt like she was falling in love all over again. "Well, maybe it's because I have good news."

"What kind of good news?" Jay's Tail asked.

"Well," she said, leaning toward his ear. That was when Lily Petal felt the most perturbed of the day, because a sense of restlessness suddenly came over the pack. The air became silent, save for the wind moving the clouds across the sky. A grotesque scent flooded Lily Petal's nose, and from behind her, she heard footsteps.

Jay's Tail growled suddenly and stood, shielding Lily Petal with his body. Coming toward the dens were a dozen or so wolves, wolves that looked battered and beaten, wolves that looked like they had seen hell, wolves that looked like they knew how to rip another wolf's throat in a matter of moments and had done so before.

"What do you want?!" Raven's Wing growled as he rushed toward the wolves. 

Lily Petal had always felt safe in her pack. But never had she realized how small Raven's Wing, a dog, was compared to these wolves. A shiver went down her spine as a black wolf looked at her with his yellow eye, and suddenly, she let out a yelp. She had seen that face once before, and it had been in the meadow when Morning Dew was bleeding out under his claws. The wolf, however, did not seem to recognize her.

"These must be the rogues we've been catching whiffs of for so long," Lily Petal heard whispers go around. Indeed, they had been moving around the Pack of the Falling Stars' territory for a while, considering Lily Petal had first run into one of these wolves as a mere pup. And now she...

"Indeed, you may have caught our scent before," the black wolf, supposedly the leader, announced to the whispering crowd. "We have heard rumors of this pack, where dog and wolf live together."

"Unnatural! Abhorrent! Disgusting!" These howls rang out from the wolves around him.

"And you must be the alpha male, then?" the black wolf asked.

"I am. My name is Raven's Wing," he growled.

"And where is your alpha female, then?"

"Here!" came the growl of Maple Leaf as she ran forward to join her mate. "Get out of our territory."

The black wolf chuckled at this sentiment. "Your territory? I think you must be mistaken. The forest belongs to wolves, and you, my dear, don't appear to be a wolf." The wolf's eyes gazed forward, before they landed on Copper Rock. "My, my. The alphas even have appeared to reproduce. That is quite disgusting. More dogs, and what next? Wolf and dog mixes?"

"Enough," Copper Rock growled.

"Who are you, then?" Raven's Wing asked. "If you are not a pack."

"We wish to be a pack, but territories are limited these days. My name is Flint, and I am alpha of the Pack of Rogues, a group of wolves who have been outcast, who have been through hardship, and who want a place to live. And your pack seems like a good place to start," Flint growled.

Lily Petal was shaking now. She had nightmares about this wolf as a pup, but she had thought she would be able to face him the day they met again instead of cowering behind her mate's fur.

"It's him, it's him," she kept muttering.

"Who?" Jay's Tail asked quietly, but Lily Petal was too afraid to answer.

"We will not give up this territory," Raven's Wing growled.

"Then, you will be prepared to fight," Flint said. With a flick of his tail, the wolves were off, and the area descended into chaos.

"Go protect the pups in the den," Jay's Tail told Lily Petal. "Gather some others with you!"

She nodded, rushing that way, while she caught sight of her brother running toward the omega den. Good, he would take care of them. She caught a few spare wolves, including Small Fox, who, even though still didn't care much for Lily Petal, managed to come with her anyway.

There was chaos everywhere. Lily Petal could hear the gnashing of teeth, ripping of fur, and sound of growls as blood spattered onto the ground. She closed her eyes for a moment and begged, begged for her pack to be safe, for everyone she loved to be safe. It was at that moment a wolf approached, and though frightened, she launched herself at the wolf, knowing she could not let him get to the pups.

With the help of Small Fox, they managed to fight him off, but there was still bloodshed, and wolves dropping to the ground. In all the chaos, Lily Petal couldn't quite tell if the wolves belonged to their side or not.

That was when she heard a scream that made her blood run cold. It was Jay's Tail. He had been fighting with one of the other wolves, when she saw his body plummet to the ground. Without thinking, she burst toward him.

"Lily Petal!" Small Fox called out, but Lily Petal was already rushing to her mate, who was bleeding out on the ground in front of her.

"Jay's Tail! Jay's Tail!" she exclaimed, hysterically shaking at her mate, but his wound had been fatal, and his body only moved some when she nudged against him. She let out a cry, before realizing suddenly there was a wolf still above her, ready to attack. She almost let him, before Small Fox body-chucked him out of the way.

"Get to safety!" her friend shouted, but Lily Petal was too busy crying over her mate, watching as her white fur became streaked with red.

The battle appeared to be closing in, and all Lily Petal could do was watch. That was all she could with Morning Dew. Wolves were dying around her, and she felt useless. She hadn't changed after all. She was still a coward. She had lost everyone she loved. It almost felt better to die. Except...

Raven's Wing and Maple Leaf were succeeding with the other wolves at pushing the rogues back. The rogues had already taken too many sacrifices it seemed, and even Flint, himself, had a nasty cut on his shoulder.

"We will let you have this today, but these are not all our numbers. We will return in full force soon, and this time, we will not show such mercy. This is a warning!"

Was it over? It couldn't be over, Lily Petal thought, not when they hadn't gotten revenge. Not when they were leaving Jay's Tail to bleed out like this. Her paws were completely soaked in blood now, as well as spots of her pelt. She shook her mate again and again, begging him to open his eyes, but his body was limp and growing cold. 

The wolves were starting to gather and assess injuries, but Lily Petal instead let out a scream. No. This couldn't be happening. Not Jay's Tail. The one constant she had been guaranteed. Not Jay's Tail. He couldn't die. Not when...not when...

Not when she was expecting his pups.