Dog Season (Discontinued)

Part I: Chapter Twelve

     Swallowing the last bite of her fat rabbit Forest caught for her, Charity watched her pack finish their meal.
     Normally, packs would eat by rank: Alpha, Beta, Nurse/Doctor, Hunters, Patrols, then Omega; but the Windhound Alpha let all dogs eat at the same time after dividing the prey.
     Charity licked the blood off her chops and jaws and leaped onto High Rock. Cori already laid there waiting for her, cleaning himself.
     "Hunters did a mighty fine job." The Beta exclaimed between licks.
     The Alpha nodded in agreement. "Definitely." She sat beside her Beta, careful not to get too close in case Forest saw them.
     Her pack began to break away from the prey pile until only Scarlet stood there eating. The Irish Setter had doubled her size and was due any day, according to Thyme. Her legs trembled from the weight of her pups as she finished the final mouthful of prey.
     "How's it going, Scarlet?" Charity called from High Rock.
     The pregnant dog turned towards the Leader, her eyes oddly wide. "Pretty well, Alpha."
     "I'm sure you look forward to those pups being born, right?"
     Scarlet's eyes stared at the ground almost guiltily. "N-Not really."
     Charity tilted her head. "Why not?"
     "W-Well...it's gonna hurt!"
     "You'll feel better when they're out." Charity smiled sympathetically.
     "Yeah, probably." Scarlet murmured under her breath which the Windhound could barely make out while she padded to the Medicine Den where she stayed.
     "That was odd." Cori grumbled. "Why did she look so...guilty?"
     Charity shrugged her brown and white shoulders. "Dunno. I guess we'll find out after Scarlet comes back."
     A painful howl from inside Thyme's den made both of the leaders jump. The Nurse erupted from her shelter, her eyes huge. "Someone fetch River! The pups are coming!"
     Charity leaped from High Rock and sprinted to the Patrol Den where she met River. "What's going on?" He gasped.
     "Your pups. They're coming!" The Alpha yowled.
     The Golden bolted out of his den toward his litter-sister's, Charity on his heels.
     Thyme stopped her at the entrance. "You better stay out here. We don't want Scarlet to get overwhelmed with too many dogs around her." Charity nodded and padded onto High Rock. Dogs began to gather around their Leader looking upon her.
     Forest bursted through the group of dogs, the whites of his eyes visible. "What's happening?" He demanded.
     "Scarlet is in labor right now!" Charity glanced over at the den where the two mates were. Their voices where unreadable through the thick walls of the Medicine Den. "She should have her pups any second!"
     River stumbled out of the den like he been pushed. His eyes were wide and his tail sticked to his flank.
     "River, is everything alright?" Charity barked worryingly.
     The Golden stared up at his Leader and nodded. "Thyme insisted that I should leave." Then his face brightened and his tail began to wag. "So far, there's a red girl and a red boy."
     "Congrats!" Suzie yapped while padding forward. "It'll be exciting to have pups in the pack! There hasn't been any before."
     Axe rumbled his agreement. "This is a splendid time for the pack. The next generation of the pack is being born."
     Thyme's golden head popped out of her den, her brown eyes looked like they've seen a ghost. "River...you might wanna see this." Her eyes skipped to Charity, then Forest, then back on her litter-brother.
     River rushed to his sister and they both headed into the den. A couple heartbeats later, the Golden bursted out of the den, a mixture of anger and hurt flowed from his body.
     "River, where are you going?!" Charity called out to the male dog while walking down High Rock towards Thyme's den.
What's the matter with him? She ducked her head and strolled in. Her eyes trailed across the Medicine Dog, then Scarlet. The Setter was sprawled out nursing two red pups, and three tan and black.
     A lump swelled in Charity's throat when her eyes laid on the three different colored pups. No...it can't be. They can't be his...
     The Windhound forced words out of her mouth. "Wh....Who's pups are those?"
     Scarlet wouldn't look up at her Leader. "They're mine and River's." She mumbled.
     Charity lifted her lip and revealed her thorn-sharp, white teeth. "Don't lie to me!" She snarled silkily. "Who's. Pups. Are. Those?"
     The Mother Setter stared down at her pups, still avoiding eye contact. "They're...mine and...Forest's."
     Charity's body began to tremble with red anger. She bursted through the entrance of the Medicine Den. Her eyes flashed where the German Shepherd stood before she disappeared in the den, but now his tan and black pelt was nowhere to be seen.
    The Windhound turned towards High Rock where Cori stood with his hackles raised and eyes wide. "What's going on?"
     "Where did he go?" Charity demanded digging her claws into the soft dirt under her pads.
     "Forest? He hightailed into the trees shortly after you-" The Leader smelled the air and scented her mate right away. She bolted through the brush, not caring about the twigs whipping her flanks and legs.
     A flicker of tan caught her eye; Charity glanced left to see Cori keeping up with her. She nodded at her Beta and they both followed the trail to Forest. Up ahead, they spotted the Shepherd. He risked a glance behind him, then shot a short burst of speed.
     With anger powering her limbs, Charity covered the many dog lengths between her and her mate in less than a couple heartbeats.
     As soon as she could feel the nervous energy pumping through Forest, the Windhound leaped onto the male dog. With a yelp from Forest, they tumbled in the dirt. Charity ended up on top, snarling in her mate's face.
     "How could you do this to me?!" Her snarl quivered with pain. Behind her, Charity could sense Cori's confusion, but he said nothing.
     The black and tan male flinched under his mate's wrath. "L-Let me explain, Char-"
     "That's Alpha to you, Forest." Charity narrowed her eyes and a growl rumbled deep in her throat.
     "Okay fine, Alpha. Me and Scarlet were mates before I met you. But we got separated and I thought she died."
     Charity could smell a nervous scent coming from the Shepherd. He's lying! "You're lying, you fox-hearted coward! Tell me the truth!"
     "I am!" Forest barked, pinning his ears to the dirt.
     "No!..no you're not." Charity began to soften her voice, though it still was sharp. "Please, tell me the truth."
     "A...Alright. I left Scarlet after she told me she was pregnant. I...I wasn't ready to be a father so...I left."
     Charity felt a sudden stab of pity for Scarlet. It wasn't her fault. I need to apologize. But what will I do with this coward?  An idea popped in her head. She stared up at the full moon, a large, bright, white ball of light in the black sky. "Until the next full moon, you will perform Omega duties. You will clean out bedding and bring new. You're not allowed to hunt or do patrol. And to remember this, I'll give you a permanent scar."
     Forest's eyes grew wide. "Alpha, this punishment is enough. Please don't do this."
     Charity's heart turned ice cold. Without warning, she leaned forward and snapped off her mate's left black ear. His hot blood squirted everywhere, even Cori took a step back to avoid the red liquid. Forest squealed in pain, his head tipped back as he yowled. Charity crawled off the Shepherd and spat out his ear.
      Forest halted his howling and he gasped breaths of air. His tongue hung on the side of his mouth and his eyes were glazed with pain and shock.
     "C'mon. Let's get him back to camp." Charity grumbled while slipping her neck under his chest. Cori joined her on the other side repeating his Alpha's actions. They hauled Forest onto his feet and he leaned on Cori's shoulder. His tan paws began to slip on the dirt and he flopped down on the ground. He let out a low, painful groan.
     Charity shifted her shoulder under Forest's rib cage and flopped his neck over Cori's shoulder. He began to slip again. The Windhound growled with frustration. "Get up, you pathetic lump o' fur!" Her harmful words must've worked because Forest began to gather his weight under his paws and stand up.
Slowly, Charity and Cori helped the injured Shepherd back to camp. They headed to Thyme's den. Charity peeked her head into the cave-like shelter. "Thyme? We need your help."
The young Golden glanced over her shoulder and her eyes widened with concern. "What's going on?"
"We found Forest and he's lost an ear." Charity grumbled.
Thyme's eyes narrowed. "As much I really don't want to heal the bastard, I will. Bring 'em in." She turned and grabbed a wad of herbs and cobwebs in her jaws.
Charity turned and trotted out of the den to help Cori haul Forest. Together, they guided the Shepherd into the Medicine Den. Thyme carefully grabbed the herbs and chewed them. She stepped forward and licked a green goop from the chewed up leaves onto Forest's ear.
Charity widened her eyes in astonishment. "What does that do?"
Thyme frowned with focus. "It prevents infection." She licked the last of the green goop off her jaws and turned to the cobwebs. The Nurse carefully wrapped a thick layer of webs around the remainder of Forest's ear.
"By the way, has anyone seen River?" Thyme mumbled through the cobwebs.
Cori tilted his head in confusion. "What? He's gone? What happened? And why did you tear off his ear?" The Sloughi turned to Charity.
"It's kind of a long story..." The Windhound started.
Thyme laid Forest down on the moss bedding after finishing his ear dressing.
"So you did this?" She gestured towards the cobweb wrappings on the remainder of the tan and black male's ear.
"Yeah." Charity grumbled.
"Good. He deserved it." Thyme's snarl surprised both Charity and Cori.
"How about explaining what happened?" Cori barked.
The Alpha sighed. "Alright. You know how River bursted out of here after seeing his pups?"
The Beta nodded.
"Well, turns out they weren't his pups. They were Forest's."
Cori raised his brow in surprise.
"Yeah. And now..." Charity turned to her mate, who laid there resting. "I'm done with him. We'll never lead a pack together and have pups. That was my dream...and now it won't happen. My mate lied to me, abandoned me, and betrayed me. Now I need someone who I can depend on."