Moon, Fire, and Whispers

Chapter 1

Hade's dark gray paws stepped across a scorch mark in the earth. It was black and still smelled of fire. The Lupus remembered with a shiver the events that had taken place here, where the forest was once dense and alive. A shadow cast over the earth, then a flash of light before the flame began to hungrily eat at the trees. Animals screamed in terror as they fled. Some weren't lucky. It doesn't help that we were in a drought. Even now, the pup could feel cotton in his mouth. He hadn't gotten a good drink of water for a long time now. A few days before, he had drunk out of a small pool, but it was thick with ash and burned his throat. Hade never told Farren. She had enough to worry about.

Hade had heard that all of this fire and death had been caused by a war, long before he had become a part of it. Now, a memory of seasons before played in his mind:

"Well, who started it?"

"Who started what?" Farren asked calmly as she pressed the crushed-up balm onto his bleeding paw.

"The war." The pup struggled not to yelp in pain, feeling it throb.

Farren paused, not looking him in the eyes for a few seconds. Then, her gaze met his. "I don't know."

A snap cut him from his thoughts and the dark-gray wolf whirled around, green eyes peeling the shadows for any movement. He reminded himself to keep his tail steady. If something was watching him, he didn't want to alert them to his presence. But they may already know I'm here.

As though to prove his fears true, something moved, and Hade thought he could see eyes. Without waiting another moment, he spun around and ran, zig-zagging across the blackened mark. It may be one of the Gray. I need to warn the Pack. He swiveled his ears back as he put on an extra burst of speed, feeling the earth flying effortlessly beneath his paws. But first, I need to lose them.

The young wolf sprung over a log and felt his paws splash into a small trickle of water. He looked down at the gray swirling around his paws. Might as well use this. Barely taking a glance back, he began to run again, careful to stay within the narrow beam of water, before bunching his muscles and gliding out and onto the top of a tall boulder. From there, he landed silently on the leaves and slipped between two thorn trees, glad for his lithe size. When he emerged on the other side, Hade noticed a rocky outcropping. Behind it were distant mountains and sky. He froze with a jolt. This is on the northwest side of the territory. He'd never actually been here before, but had been given descriptions on the borders and important landmarks. Feeling inquisitive, he cleared the first few boulders and nearly lost his footing on the strange black rock as he landed. Ahead, on one of the larger chunks of rock, he could see a huge coiling spiderweb and lichen dotting the surface with green and orange.

The dark gray wolf made a wide berth around the web, shivering as he saw a broad-backed spider creeping along with a tremble. He walked up to the edge of the cliff, carefully testing his steps, and craned his neck to peer over. He nearly fell over out of dizziness at the sight.

Beyond, there was a great valley of green and brown, silvery-blue rivers criss-crossing over the map of it, with rolling hills and stretches of pine forest. Hade could see a bunch of deer ambling peacefully along the trees' edge, grazing. The smell of fresh, clean air billowed up from it and he sucked it in hungrily. His bewilderment turned quickly into confusion. Why doesn't the pack just move down there?

"Want to see it up close?" A voice sneered from somewhere behind Hade, and he barely spun in time to parry an attack. He adjusted his stance to take the impact, but as the enemy's paws slammed into his shoulders, Hade felt the breath get knocked out of him and stumbled back. Looking up, he could see a brown and black wolf staring at him with sharp yellow eyes. Hade thought it was the biggest wolf he'd ever seen. Then, with a snarl, it launched itself at him unexpectedly. Hade had no time to dodge, stepping back and feeling his foot get stuck in a small crevasse. The bone snapped audibly as the hulking Lupus forced Hade over the edge.