VOICES:

-Dakota: Zac Efron

-Anyu: Claire Danes

-Sitka: Ashley Tisdale

-Boss: Brian Blessed

* * * Three Months Later * * *

After Last Fan Fic

It was time. Boss needed to go. Now. The spring breeze felt warm, belying the fight that would come for sure in the next few days. My pack sat, tense, waiting for the word to run. I had planned it all out carefully… now the only thing left to do was to gather any extra wolf packs that would help us in the fight. I looked up and nodded. We all split up immediately and took off in different directions. The only thing I could hope for now was that everyone else hated Boss as much as I did.

I crawled forward, eyes on the little rabbit in front of me. Tail twitching, I moved closer. But before I could pounce, something knocked me over and sent me rolling. I giggled and tried to push Skyler off of me. I squeezed away, bounded a few feet and did a play bow. Skyler grinned and crouched. The second he jumped forward, I took off at a dead run. I giggled louder so that he could follow me until suddenly, I crashed into someone else. I shook my head and glared at my attacker, but when I saw who it was, I couldn’t make any words come out of my mouth. Skyler finally caught up and when he saw who it was, his smile twisted into a snarl.

“What are you doing here?!” He snarled. “This isn’t your territory!”

“I need your help” Dakota said, expression unreadable. “We’re getting rid of Boss”

“Why should we help you?!” Skyler sneered.

“Because you hate him as much as I do. And he doesn’t deserve to live”

Skyler narrowed his eyes but I had finally found the power to speak.

“Okay” I said softly, not being able to think of anything else to say.

My three pups, a little under three months old, tottered around, taking in the warm spring air. The oldest pup, named Midge, pounced on his younger sister that Mackenzie had named Janet. I thought Janet looked more like Jade…she was the same silvery color with the same yellowish underbelly, yet her tail, ears and paws were the same chocolate color as Mackenzie. Mitch on the other hand, was an almost perfect mix of both his father and mother. His coat was a shade lighter then Mackenzie’s but he had the same eye patch, tail and ear tips that were the same color as Mackenzie’s coat. My youngest pup, Halo, reminded me of myself as a pup. Her chocolate coat, a darker shade then my mate’s was contrasted by her white face, chest and paws, but she had the same black tipped markings as mine plus a black stripe running from her nose to her back. Mackenzie watched on proudly. I nuzzled under his chin, sighing happily. Ace watched on as well but there was no need to hide from him any longer. He must have known for a while, but it wasn’t until after I had my pups that he told us. So now, Mackenzie and I were the alphas of our new pack. Jax happily relocated with Aspenas his mate and Mudd as his beta. After Aspenhad her pups, he had promised to return, and he kept his promise.

“Hey everyone!” he called cheerfully.

Different shouts of hello greeted him and Ace went into a play bow when he saw his two new grand pups bound in. One was silver and the other was the same grey as Jax. I smiled when my three pups charged to meet their cousins. Could this get any better?

It had only been a few minutes before we heard someone else crashing through the brush. Everyone smiled, expecting another familiar face, but the new one caught us off guard. Everyone dove for the pups except for Jax and Mackenzie who rushed forward snarling. The brown wolf with bright green eyes halted, panting but smiled friendly.

“Are you okay?!” I blurted, rushing forward, noticing her obvious exhaustion.

The strange wolf nodded.

“I came with a message” she panted. “My name is Sasha and my pack and I are planning an attack. We need help though”

I could see my pack exchanging glances, but I took it seriously.

“Who are you attacking?”

Sasha thought about it for a second.

“Um, someone named… Leader, Controller…”

“Boss?”

Sasha nodded happily.

“That’s him! I thought Dakota was the only one who knew him!”

“Dakota?! What does Dakota look like?”

“He’s a black wolf with blue eyes and he has a sister named Sitka” Sasha replied curiously.

“That’s my brother!” I exclaimed excitedly.

“So will you help us?”

“Ye-!”

“No!” Mackenzie barked.

I looked at him, shocked.

“No” he repeated quieter. “You just got away from all of that!”

Sasha’s face fell but she nodded.

“I understand” she said quietly. “But I need to keep on going. Thank you for listening”

I smiled appreciatively and she took off again. Once she was out of sight, I glared at Mackenzie.

“Can I talk to you privately?” I asked coldly.

The rest of the pack moved off awkwardly, and Mackenzie and I stepped away.

“That was my brother’s pack mate! For all I knew he could’ve been dead!”

“Anyu please! You have a mate now! And pups!”

“He’s getting rid of Boss! Do you understand how important that is for me or him? He killed or father! And he almost killed my mother and siblings!”

Mackenzie shook his head stubbornly.

“You don’t know Dakota! He doesn’t give up! He… he might die!” I cried, lip quivering.

“I don’t want you to get hurt” he said in a small voice.

“I left my pack because I wanted to get away from wolves that controlled me! You can’t control me now! I’m going to help my little brother!”

I whipped around, ignoring the sting of my words and stormed back in the direction Sasha had come from.

“Anyu! Wait!” Mackenzie cried

“You can’t stop me!” I yelled.

“I don’t want to” Mackenzie said, running to catch up to me. “If it means that much to you… I think I should come along…just to make sure that you’re a little safer”

I smiled and nuzzled him.

“Then we might as well tell everyone else”

Once we returned, we explained where we were going and to our delight, Jade, Jax and Mudd decided that they would help too. We left our pups in the care of their grandparents and Aspen, and then set off. The whole way back, I blabbered about all the fun times that I had shared with my siblings, making everyone else smile because I was usually very quiet. But I had the chance to undo all the wrongs that Boss had committed! And I wasn’t about to let that chance slip away!

Two days later, we reached a path that widened into a huge trial, smelling much like Dakota. The trail brought us to a huge clearing, full of wolves I had never seen before. I glanced around and shocked, my eyes found my sister.

“Sitka!”

“Anyu?!”

We ran for each other and I nuzzled her.

“Are you okay?!” we asked in unison.

“I had pups!”

“I have a mate!”

“Anyu?!”

My brother, smiling from ear to ear ran up to me and nuzzled me. Sitka shrank away and lowered herself to the ground in submission.

“Is this really happening?” I asked, smiling.

Dakota puffed out his chest.

“I’ve been planning this for a long time. It’s going to happen!”

I smiled and nuzzled him again.

“Well I’m glad to see you’re okay!”

“Come on!” Dakota said happily, nodding to a raised rock. “We’re going to attack tomorrow!”

Happy as ever, I led my two sisters up to the tallest rock and stood boldly on top. I couldn’t believe that it worked! The rest of my pack had already returned and they rested below with the other small groups of wolves we had managed to round up. Our new group wasn’t that big, but added to my father’s old pack, we might equal Boss’s. I cleared my throat and everyone below stopped talking and listened.

“We all know why we’re gathered here!” I announced. “Boss needs to be taken out of power and we’re the only ones who can do it! There are already other wolves in Boss’s own pack that will help us fight! We attack tomorrow as soon as night falls! And we will get rid of Boss forever!”

The wolves below me cheered and the noise filled me with pride.

Dakota turned around and headed back towards us. Anyu smiled and nuzzled him.

“Dad would be proud of you” she said warmly.

He smiled wider and headed past me without acknowledging me. Anyu looked between us, confused. Once our brother was out of site, she turned to me.

“What’s going on between you guys?”

I felt my own ears fold back and my eyes went to the ground.

“It’s kind of a long story… mostly embarrassing on my part. And now Dakota hates me”

“He could never hate you!” Anyu said, nuzzling me.

“He said I was like Boss!” I said, feeling my eyes get watery again. I wasn’t going to cry again!

Anyu just smiled warmly.

“Don’t worry… you know Dakota! He’ll have forgotten about all of this by tomorrow after Boss is gone”

I smiled back at her and we went down to the joined pack together.

The next morning, I woke up before the sun started to rise. We would be moving into our old territory in less then a few hours…Most of the other wolves were asleep but McKenzie was awake. He must have been thinking the same things I was. I walked over to where he was gazing up at the stars.

“Hey” I crooned, nuzzling him.

“Hey” he replied faintly, nuzzling me back.

“What’s on your mind?”

“This whole fight” he said softly. “I thought we would be done with it once we got you away from all that, but I guess I was wrong. And I heard some other wolves talking about this… it’s not just some little fight. We could die in this Anyu”

I nuzzled him again.

“What happens if neither of us go back to see the pups? They would grow up without us… orphans. And I’m not brave enough to do this!” he added, voice cracking a little. “I’m not brave like you or Dakota”

“Of course you are” I said, looking into his eyes. “You wouldn’t be here right now if you weren’t and you know I’m just as scared as you are”

He sighed.

“We’re doing this for our pups too. They could just as easily be pulled into this as I was. And no one should have to go through that”

“You’re right” he said, licking my forehead. Then glancing at the sky that was starting to lighten up, “We should probably sleep a little more then if we’re going to be ready”

The sun was high in the sky… I barely noticed though. All day, I felt like I’d been in some kind of fog. This was happening for real. And I was the cause. If this failed, all blame would fall on me…but if it actually managed to work, I’d be a leader of a pack. What would happen… both ideas were nerve wracking.

A few other wolves greeted me, but I barely even noticed they were there. Instead, I went off by myself and stopped in a clearing. I needed to seriously meditate or something. I looked up at the sky, thinking of every bad thing that could go wrong. I planned out our attack. But I still didn’t feel ready. I wonder if this was how my father felt before his first attack or plan.

I fidgeted nervously. Skyler and I had already made up for any fights we had gotten into, making me feel a little better, but I still wanted to smooth things over with Dakota. I had seen him go into the woods a little bit after noon, but he still hadn’t come back. The sun started to set… I needed to find him before the fight started.

I picked up his scent and tracked it. It led me through unfamiliar woods, but finally, his scent got stronger and I found him sitting, facing away from me in a clearing. I walked up quietly and sat down next to him. Both of his eyes were closed, but I could bet he knew it was me that was sitting next to him. For a while, we sat in uneasy silence.

“Dakota?”

“Um-hm”

“I just wanted to talk to you” I said quietly, folding my ears back.

My brother opened an eye and gave me a sideways glance.

“I know I’ve said this like a million times, but I’m sorry”

Dakota didn’t say anything.

“It was really hard for me to control myself… I just came back from dog –fighting and it was really hard to get used to being in a pack again”

Dakota still didn’t say anything.

“I just thought we should make up in case something happened to one of us…” I said faintly, voice trailing off.

“Nothing’s going to happen to anyone on my watch” Dakota said determinedly. “Especially not you”

He nuzzled me and smiled. Then he looked up at the darkening sky.

“We should go now”

I nodded and we went back to the pack silently.

Adrenaline made me move in quick, jerky steps. Dakota led the way: his group, one of the four, would be the “bait” and start the fight in the open northern territory. Tanner, his best friend, would come from the south, to make sure they couldn’t escape, and Sitka and I each led our own groups, and it was decided that we’d come in from the east and west. With a quick nod from Dakota, the four groups split. My heart thumped. No one made a sound… I wasn’t sure if it was just because they meant to be quiet or if they were as nervous as me. In the distance, we could see two of Boss’s scouts, but before they had even seen us, two wolves from my pack rushed up and silently knocked them out. Then we continued on as if nothing had ever happened. We came closer to the northern territory, but everything was still silent. I halted the group for a second and looked up. It was bright and sunny… belying what was sure to come. And as if on cue, Boss’s voice rang out when he saw Dakota. The fight was on…

“So you decided to come back and fight me?” Boss cooed. “Like a big boy?”

My temper was drowning out the fear.

“With your little pack?”

Boss hadn’t seen Anyu or Sitkaleading their packs yet and I hoped he’d cry like a pup when he saw that we almost out numbered him.

“Look who’s still ugly!” Sitkalaughed darkly.

I smirked. Every hint of her being shy and sorrowful was gone. Boss frowned when he saw the other two packs, but didn’t say anything. His eyes rested on Anyu for a second longer, but I never let him finish surveying his rivals. I darted and made a leap for him. Instantly, everything was in chaos. Boss’s wolves and wolves from my old pack turned on each other and my new pack rushed to help. As for Anyu, Sitkaand I, Boss was our only target.

At first, Boss tried to run away, but Dakota cut him off. Anyu was silent, but she knew what she was doing as well. I simply fired myself at Boss. I sank my teeth into his fur, but I might have just been a fly for all he knew! He snarled and reached back, grabbing me with his teeth and ripping me off. He tried to pin me, but Dakota dived forward and bit his nose. Anyu helped me to my feet and for a few seconds, we watched our brother skillfully dodge Boss, but every time the huge, ugly wolf stepped back, Dakota went in to bite. Boss was quicker to learn then we thought though. He knew how Dakota was attacking after a while until Dakota tried one last time. Boss caught him by the scruff of the neck. But Anyu was faster. I didn’t even see her move! She was as deadly as she was graceful. With a lightening quick dive, she knocked Dakota right out of Boss’s mouth. Every move she made was precise; she made it look like it was no effort at all, and she did something Dakota and I had failed at so far. She hit him so hard, he tumbled to the ground.

I had pushed Boss on the ground! Then with a sickening twist, his teeth grabbed onto the back of my neck, dragging me into a roll with him. When we stopped, he had me pinned.

“Very impressive” Boss smiled evilly. “I’d say something an alpha female could do. My mate ran away, after this, you’ll be my new one”

“You’re sick!” I snarled, kicking him away from me. “I already have a mate! And even if you were the last thing on earth, I wouldn’t go near you!”

Boss’s face darkened and he looked livid.

“Then I’m going to have to kill you”

He lunged, but I was ready. Too ready…I dodged right into him and one of his paws came crashing down on my head. Spots started to swirl around my vision… I tried to stand but my legs wouldn’t cooperate. I finally managed to rise, swaying. Then Boss hit me again and everything went black.

I frantically glanced around. Through the chaos, I could see my mother fighting someone, Bristol and Bear back to back and Xenia knocking a wolf off of her two brothers.

“ANYU!” Sitka screamed.

Horrified, I turned just as my older sister crumpled to the ground. Sitka propelled herself at Boss, fighting like I had seen her do the day that she had attacked Diego. For a moment, I couldn’t move. Anyu couldn’t be… could she? I walked stiffly forward, nothing distracting me from the white form. Slowly, I nudged my sister. She didn’t move. But she wasn’t dead! As carefully as I could, I dragged y sister away from the fight, under a tree. Boss was going to pay for this. I spun around and sprinted right into the middle of the fight, dodging friends and leaping over enemies. I searched for Boss and found him, just as Sitka fell to the ground like Anyu had. My blood ran cold. Letting go of any sense of good judgment I’d just had, I full out charged at Boss. I was losing control! But I’d lost so much I hadn’t even realized it! My teeth flashed, but never touched anything. Boss lunged, but never caught me. We fought so fierce and so fast, or teeth and claws were blurs. I couldn’t even keep track of my own paws they were going so fast! Boss was getting madder and madder. I didn’t notice. I was still bent on just ripping him apart! Suddenly, one of his forepaws finally caught me: right in the chest, knocking the wind out of me. I stumbled backwards, trying to get away, but Boss was stronger. With a final lunge, Boss had me pinned on the ground with both paws pressing his full weight down on my chest. Other wolves fighting nearby noticed and the younger wolves that had followed Anyu, Sitka, Tanner and I stopped fighting. I didn’t blame them… but that didn’t mean that they had to give up! But with a glance, I could see that was exactly what they were doing. Boss grinned evilly. I struggled and wriggled, anything to get away, but there was just no way out. The fight was over. We had lost.

Boss could hardly contain himself.

“Let this be a lesson to all of you!” He thundered. “Anyone who tries to fight me will be crushed! I’m unbeatable!”

Then he leaned closer to me.

“Too bad this lesson won’t apply to you. You won’t be alive…” he whispered in my ear.

I franticly struggled. I needed to get away!

“This is going to hurt you a lot more then it’s going to hurt me… actually, it won’t hurt me at all”

An uneasy quit had settled over the two packs. No one dared move. Everyone was watching us. All hope was lost.

“Don’t you dare touch that pup!” someone thundered.

I couldn’t see the owner of the voice, but it had a familiar ring to it. I couldn’t place it.

“Your fight’s with me! You touch one hair on that pup, I’ll make your life more miserable then you could ever imagine!” the voice spat.

Boss looked dumbfounded, but he let me go. I slowly got up and turned around. My eyes widened when I saw the figure standing all alone on the ridge of rock overlooking the northern territory. I couldn’t believe it…

Halo (c) Xion Fan and me

Boss (c) Tadie