The Fight to Rise

1.

It was chaos. Complete and utter chaos. Snarling and growling could be heard from all sides, and in the distance there was howling, telling of the ones yet to arrive for the fight. Wolves everywhere, jumping at each other's throats, scratching, biting, whatever they could to stay alive. Others running around in panic, trying to find their families or their mates, though all the fighting made it difficult to get anywhere fast, especially since any enemy wolf would then quickly tackle them to the ground, taking them by surprise, before murdering them in cold blood. The cold autumn breeze carried a foul stench of blood, filling the nostrils with a heavy, sickening smell of death.

I wanted to help them. But I could only watch as more of my pack mates were slaughtered while I was stuck, surrounded by five wolves while giving support to my brother, Joel, who's front paw had been badly injured by the attacking pack. Even though he was injured, I knew he would be able to watch my back as I went to attack one of wolves who had surrounded us. He was standing further away, but while studying the five, I had noticed this one was limping, so when I attacked, he was overcome with surprise by my choice of target, and too slow to be able to dodge. My teeth and claws made quick work of him, dropping him to the ground, blood staining my blond fur and the ground, blending in with fallen red leaves.

As I turned back to Joel, I realized that there were now only two wolves closing in on him, and looking around I spotted my husband, my mate, Fred, and another warrior fighting the other two wolves that had previously been surrounding us. I assumed that they had noticed the danger Joel and I were in, and somehow managed to get the two wolves far away enough, so I wouldn't have to worry about being ambushed. Quickly making eye contact with my mate, and though he didn't take his concentration away from the attacker, he slightly nodded his head towards Joel, letting me know he would handle this, leaving me free to protect my family. I nodded back at him and gave him a look that let him know that I was glad he was okay. Hearing loud growls from the direction my brother was in, I turned my back to Fred and saw that one wolf had pounced on him, and was trying to get to his throat, digging his claws into Joel so he couldn't shake the wolf off. The other wolf was sneaking up behind them. I froze. This was when my instincts took over, because I knew, that if I didn't get moving, then Joel would be another corpse laying on the ground. I unfroze after coming to this realization and bolted towards them, collided midair with the other wolf, who had snuck up on Joel.

I was merciless, using my paws and weight to hold him, I wasn't letting him get away. He scratched around wildly, managing to leave a deep gash on my underbelly, soaking him and myself in even more blood, matting our fur and dyeing it a dark maroon. He was still fighting to get free, desperate to stay alive, when I dug my teeth into his throat and ripped the flesh out, effectively ending his life. I didn't linger over the body long, quickly turning my attention towards Joel, prepared to help. I was surprised and relieved when I saw that he had somehow gotten the upper hand, and had managed to kill the last wolf. However, he was badly injured, and in no condition to continue fighting. Spotting a group of warriors, I decided that Joel would be much safer with them, than alone with me. Using my head, I slightly nudged him in the direction of the group, and he complied, for once. Reaching the group, they immediately figured the situation and one stepped forward the steady my brother, who could barely stand anymore. I could tell they also wanted me to stay, the need to protect the pack strong, but I shook my head. I was fine, focus on him, as I turned away from the group, back towards the fighting.

I had been so absorbed in protecting my brother, that I hadn't noticed the situation around me. Looking over the battlefield, there were mangled bodies wherever you looked, our crops had been trampled, fields littered with bodies, and the fallen willow leaves were stained red with blood. A few from my pack were standing on the outer edge of where the battle took place, most had been here when it all started, others were arriving back from work in the nearby city. some of them were nudging and whining over what I can only assume be their deceased mates. It pained me knowing that there were many who had lost their life. It was a truly horrific sight, but the worst of it all, was seeing my mate, standing over one of his dead comrades, severely injured, backed against a willow at the edge of the field. My heart dropped. I didn't have a chance to react before two wolves pounced, tackling Fred to the ground. One got his powerful jaw around Fred's throat, and clamped down.