DEOLYKOS

Chapter 4.

The tension in the air was so palatable, she slowly began to feel like it was choking her. Sunken eyes were cast down to the ground, avoiding the gaze of the alpha that stood before them, little children were shushed and told to be still as devastating news fell upon the entire pack. She couldn't imagine how it felt to be her father, his teeth gritting and his fists balled as he struggled to keep his composure and address the pack. Her whole body tensed up as she struggled to remain stoic before the crowd and keep her emotions in check as bereaved mothers, wives, siblings and children fell to their knees in agony as the news that over 300 of the pack's soldiers had fallen victim to the war. She steeled herself and willed the tears that threatened to fall back, there was nothing she could do. These people she'd grown up with, that had equally nurtured and persecuted her, they were her family.

"This news is devastating, and I know that the pack will need some time to heal, but we must also understand that acting fast is our only way to survive this. We can't afford to lose even one more soldier to those brutes, we can't afford even one more tear shed on the matter of the war. The council and I have agreed. As a pack, we cannot resist the rogues on our own."

She stood before the pack, as part of the royal council, her white ceremonial dress with slits up the sides as high as the gold belt that sat on her waist billowed in the wind. The weather had been almost perfect for the atmosphere, with dark clouds covering up the sun and a light drizzle muddying the grounds they stood on. Her hair whipped around her, and she watched in pain as the pack slowly began to realize how significant the war had damaged them.

"My people, it is with a heavy heart that I stand before you to share a truth that shapes the course of our nation. In our darkest hour, we've entered into a pact with the North Pack, accepting their aid as our last recourse. In return, we ceded a measure of our sovereignty, binding ourselves to their guidance and oversight. Though it pains us to submit, we have chosen, for the sake of the people, to forge a future anew. Let us move forward with courage, honor the sacrifices made and stand resilient under this new dawn."

Cries erupted from the crowd anew, murmurs and whispers of resilience and a fight to understand what was to come filled the setting. The people were enraged, furious at what they saw to be a submission that would end their freedom and destroy their legacies, and she couldn't blame them. She herself couldn't help but feel as though the pack merger would be the end to the long and beautiful history of her homeland, forging a new South with the rugged influence of the North. And just like that, almost in the blink of an eye the pack began to shift.

Days passed and everywhere she looked something was changing, significantly, and she barely knew what was going on, much less had an influence on it. The familiar banners that once lined the streets were hauled down with no remorse, pilled high on the sides of the steps of the council house like relics from another life. The vibrant, beautiful emerald green and bronze colors she'd grown up with, the very ones that had shaped her view of the world, torn down and torn up.

By the third day, soldiers and volunteer workers had already begun replacing them with North Pack colors, the pitch black with silver banners hung up proudly, mocking all who passed by them with its imposing effect. She watched helplessly as people passed by, their expressions turning sour, and their fists balled tightly with rage as each new banner went up. The pack their ancestors had fought build up in pride, tradition and resilience, pulled away from them with little time for recoil. The head of guard barked orders in rapid succession urging the process on faster and faster as the arrival of their new pack alpha loomed over their heads like a dark cloud.

She walked through the communities, finding homes where the lives of their loved ones were lost and extending a hand to aid them in processing their grief, but their disgust at the changes to their home overshadowed their pain.