Fall of the Packs: Void

Prologue

"Xera. Xera. Stay with me, please."

Draco pawed pleadingly at his mate's flank, desperately willing her to live. Her skeletal frame was curled in a bed of dry, crackling leaves, and her dull brown eyes stared up at him forlornly. Draco felt panic rising in him; he knew that look. That was the look she gave him when she gave up, usually when he was being too bull-headed for his own good. For the past weeks as the food had dwindled and she'd gotten weaker and weaker, there had still been a fire in her eyes, the burning determination that he had fallen in love with. But seeing that fire replaced with this dejection, Draco knew what was coming and he wouldn't let it happen.

"Sundae!" he snarled, whipping around to face the dark Bulldog who was sitting close by. "She's dying, don't you see?! Do something for her, now!"

"I'm sorry, Draco," Sundae said, her voice quiet. Like every other dog in Night Pack, her pelt was hanging loosely off her bones and her eyes were clouded with weariness. "There isn't an herb that cures starvation."

Draco turned back to Xera and terror seized him as he saw that her eyes had closed and he could no longer hear her shuddering breaths. "No," he whispered as a mix of grief and fury slowly welled up within him. "NO!"

His shout sent birds flying from the nearby trees. Draco felt his legs shaking. He closed his eyes, unable to look at this lifeless body that wasn't her anymore. Without another word he stormed out of the cave where the healers and sick dogs stayed into the forest clearing where Night Pack lived, tucked under the shelter of an overhanging cliff. The moon was nearly at its height in the sky but not many dogs were asleep. They all looked at Draco as he came out, their eyes holding a mixture of grief, pity, and wariness.

Draco could only return their looks with an unhinged expression which he couldn't have described. His pack that he loved, that he was so proud of and who he would fight for to the death, was such a pathetic sight that it filled him with shame and greater anger. His mate was dead, and he knew other dogs were dying all around. Xera had given all of her food to their two pups so that they could survive, but what was the point?

We're all going to die. Not fighting, like Night Pack should, but slowly withering away into nothing.

Someone cleared their throat. Draco stiffened. He already knew who it was.

"Draco. I'm sorry."

He slowly raised his head to see Pawnee, Night Pack's alpha. He had a solemn expression on his face, with sorrow thinly veiled behind it. Draco felt his previous anger leap into a fire of murderous rage that he couldn't have held back if he tried.

"You," he snarled.

Pawnee sighed. "Draco, don't--"

"THIS IS YOUR FAULT!" Draco roared. "You and your cowardice! Because of you, MY PUPS DON'T HAVE A MOTHER!"

A wail suddenly arose from across the clearing, where Draco had left Gannon and Jas, his son and daughter, with his sister, Desert, while he had visited Xera. He knew deep down that he shouldn't be behaving this way in front of them, that he should have broken the news to them more gently, but right now he was far too enraged to control himself. All of his focus was on this disgusting coward in front of him.

"If you hadn't given up that territory because of your own weakness," he continued, "then she would be alive! This is all your fault!"

Pawnee returned Draco's gaze challengingly. "And what good would one strip of territory do?" he asked. "We would be no better off if I had kept it."

"We should have pressed for more, like I told you," Draco spat. "We should have SAVED HER!"

Pawnee shook his head and turned to walk away, but Draco leaped forward, looming over the much smaller dog. "You can't walk away from this, you old fool!" he shouted. "Look around you! Your entire pack is dying while you sit and sigh. Do you know how many dogs have died? Five. And now there's six. Do you care? Have you even noticed?"

Pawnee turned back around, now with a fury in his eyes to rival Draco's own. "How dare you?" he growled. "I buried all of those dogs and spoke over their graves. I had known all of them their entire lives. I ask you, Draco, how many of those dogs died as a result of this pointless war with Wind Pack? The war that you incited?"

"The war that I incited so that we could eat!" Draco bellowed. "I tried to find a solution while you decided to sit and wait until the prey came back. While your entire pack starved around you!"

"What else could I do?!" Pawnee demanded. "Throw away their lives in a pointless war? There was no point." He shook his head and his voice grew quieter. "There is no point. I can't think of a solution. I can't save their lives."

"Then you admit it," Draco growled. "You are a failure of an alpha."

These words were followed by a painful silence in which Pawnee said nothing. Looks of despair flickered across most of the dogs' faces as the last shreds of faith they had in their alpha disappeared. Draco felt rage and disgust roiling in his gut as he stared at this dog that he had once respected, who he had once been honored to serve. Now he was nothing more than a coward watching his pack die.

"Leave," he said suddenly.

Pawnee stared at him in surprise. "What?"

"You heard what I said," Draco snapped. "Leave. You are an unfit leader. You have done nothing to help us. You don't deserve to be alpha anymore."

"I... may be willing to surrender my position--" Pawnee began slowly, but Draco cut him off.

"No. You don't deserve to even be one of Night Pack anymore. Get out. Leave and never return."

"You can't say that to me," Pawnee growled, some semblance of his old pride returning. "You can't banish your alpha."

"Why not?" Draco challenged. "We elected you. We should have the right to depose you."

Pawnee appeared speechless. He looked desperately at his packmates, but the faces of the watching Night Pack dogs were hard, ranging from simply unsympathetic to outright scornful. Draco knew that they were all feeling the same frustration and rage and grief that he was, and Pawnee had not done anything to help.

He now looked desperately at the pack preceptor. "Tansy, surely you won't accept this? This can't be the will of the Hunter Dog!"

"The Hunter Dog has said nothing to me," Tansy replied flatly. "I believe he trusts us to govern ourselves when we must."

Pawnee at last looked at his mate, Chloe, who was huddled in a corner of the clearing with their two young sons. He said nothing but his eyes were beseeching. Chloe held his gaze for a few moments before silently turning away.

"I believe there is nothing more to be said," Draco growled. "Pawnee, you are banished from Night Pack and may never return. If you are ever seen in these woods again, you will be treated as an unwelcome intruder."

"And who will be alpha, Draco?" Pawnee asked, his voice cold as his previous despair was replaced with resentment. "You?"

Draco looked around at his packmates. Emma, one of the defenders, spoke up first. "Draco fought for us. You didn't."

Her words were followed by nods and murmured agreement. Pawnee hesitated for a few more moments, then turned and slowly walked away without looking back. Draco watched him go without a shred of remorse.

"Behold the new alpha of Night Pack."

Tansy's voice was quiet and joyless, but as Draco looked around he only saw respect and faith in the assembled dogs' eyes. He slowly dipped his head. "Thank you," he said. "I promise you, Night Pack, we will fight to live. This will not be our end."

He felt a sense of satisfaction that was quickly overrun by a fresh wave of grief. He was alpha, which he had dreamed of for years, but Xera was still dead. He could still hear his pups crying. His anger had cooled and now all that was left was a throbbing ache in his heart. She should have lived to see this. She should have lived to raise Gannon and Jas with him. She should have died fighting honorably, not wasting away to nothing. She shouldn't have died at all.

Unable to restrain himself, Draco fell to the ground and started sobbing.

Why hello there, it appears I have finally posted the next book. This one is all about Night Pack and what a hot mess they are, so I hope you enjoy reading that. Overall the whole book is... uh, it's something, so you'll just have to read it and see. All of it is here for you, so sit back, grab a snack, and enjoy!