When the White Wolf of the Forest rescues a new born wolf pup from sharing the same fate as her family, she takes it off to her secret den. However, that is not the end of the story. Demi grows and grows, making friends (and enemies) along the way;...
"I won't tell my entire life story to you, Demi. But I need to tell someone - not even Lara and Shadow know. If you don't want to be my friend after this tale, then I won't blame you; I mean, it does make me a....you'll find out soon enough. You won't believe this, but I was once best friends with Holly - back when I was eight weeks old; before I knew you, Lara or even Shadow." "I thought that Holly was my true friend. But how wrong can one innocent pup get? Anyway, at the time, I had a sister - but she was weak. Nothing brought her down - except her illness that is. Her name was Sunny and she was the most adorable thing in the world - a little white pup with the most gorgeous heather-purple eyes that sparkled whenever she was happy. But she never was meant to live to teenage-wolfhood. When she was around three weeks old, Sunny had been bitten by a venomous snake and she would've died had my Mother not grabbed and taken her to Greenleaf - the medicine wolf that saved YOUR life, Demi. That's how I met Lara - when I went with my Mother to get Sunny's one last chance at life. She was a fighter though; and Greenleaf was able to get the all poison out of her - at least...that's what we thought."
"We thought wrong. One day, me and my sister were playing when she suddenly cried out in pain. Immediately, Mother ran out the den and snapped at me; telling me off for hurting Sunny; when it hadn't been my fault. Brave little Sunny, though, stood up for me - telling our Mother that her back right leg was painfully crippled and she couldn't put it on the ground. Mother looked at her back right leg and, sure enough, it was crippled so that Sunny couldn't use it - like a lame pup has a lame leg. So, Mother apologised and we took Sunny to Greenleaf - Lara wasn't around - she was in the nursery, sleeping. We had become firm friends by then - but not best friends because of Holly, who always grew jealous when I tried to make anyone else my best friend as well. Demi, it was horrible - what came next...it was just...life-changing for me."
"As soon as Greenleaf saw Sunny walking on three legs, with one hanging off the ground that was crippled, she gave us an immediate diagnosis. It was bad news - on a dramatic scale. Sunny had snake-venom disease - a disease which ends in a slow and painful death. Apparently, Greenleaf had been mistaken about getting all the venom out of Sunny's leg and now it had sunk into her bones. This had been what had crippled Sunny's leg. Mother and me asked frantically if there was a cure but, Greenleaf just shook her head at us. There was no cure, Demi - no matter what any of the past medicine wolves had rustled up, it had remained an incurable disease. We thanked Greenleaf and went back to the den; with heavy hearts."
"I started hanging round with my sister more than ever; now that I knew that she wouldn't be alive for much longer. Holly began to grow spiteful; telling me that I should just let Sunny wither and die like the flowers in autumn. Demi, hearing her talk like that, made me mad - so I lashed out at her. We became close friends but not best friends after that. Eventually, we became sworn enemies.That's why Holly and me have such bad blood - not just because she bullies newcomers like she did with you but because of what she did to me."
"One day, Sunny asked me to go for a walk by the Star Falls - that's a place where there's three waterfalls and they glitter on a clear night sky. I can take you to them if you want, one night Demi. Or maybe I'll leave that to Shadow. Anyway, I agreed and that's what happened - we went for an innocent walk up to Star Falls. But, when we got there, Sunny became serious. As soon as we got there, the disease went into her other leg and the bottom of her spine - which meant that only her front end was off the ground. Her tail was immobilised, as were her back legs. She looked up at me...and asked me the impossible question that I had thought I would never have to hear..."
Lupin was silent for a moment. Then continued - I saw her eyes had filled up with tears.
"Sunny looked at me - right in the eyes to show me that she meant it. We were both eight weeks old - about a few days after our meeting with Greenleaf. She asked me, in a serious tone, to put her to sleep. The question had stunned me - I had not expected her to ask that; she was too happy and innocent to even think about death yet. I didn't reply yes or no to her question; instead I said to her that I couldn't - and I stupidly tried to reassure her that she would get better when we both knew this would never get better...the only time it would get better for her was when the disease reached her neck. I knew this...she knew this. So, she asked me again and forced me to promise to tell Mother when I got back that she was in a happy place. I started crying then - but it was clear that I couldn't resist - to do so would've meant in either her killing herself without anyone knowing or having to watch her slowly die in pain. So, I made the critical decision. I said I would do it, as long as she would promise to watch over me from the stars at night."
"She promised."
"So, she lay her front end on the ground in front of me - her neck outstretched. A tear ran down my cheek at the time. I mean, wouldn't you cry Demi if your own family member asked you to put them to sleep? I closed my eyes for a moment, then I opened my jaws and closed them around her neck as hard as I could. I opened my eyes as I heard her gasp for breath beneath me, as I strangled her; my tears falling in floods onto her fur. I saw a tear roll down her cheek as she went stiff and her eyes stayed wide. Then, her eyes closed for the last time and her body went limp. I dropped her on the stone as soon as I felt her go and burst out sobbing. She had only been eight weeks old Demi; she should've had a life and future ahead of her. Like we used to play at when we were smaller. I pushed her body into the bushes; then I dug a hole and put her in there. I nuzzled her body one last time before I covered it and ran off."
"I didn't run home, Demi. I couldn't - what would my Mother have said if she knew that I had killed Sunny because she had asked me to? Instead, I made the stupid mistake of running to Holly's separate den - outside the Pack camp. I had lived with my Mother in the nursery with Sunny. Holly woke up as soon as she heard me crying outside and came over. She asked me what was wrong and I told her what I had done. She comforted me and said to me that she was sorry for what I had gone through in making that decision.
*But, later, I learned the hard way that she had just been playing with me - acting like she cared when she didn't. Yes, she was living with Adeline at the time."
"The next day, Holly went to the Alphas and asked them if she could make a special announcement. I had gathered round with the other adults and pups - with my Mother next to me. Holly greeted everyone and thanked them for coming to the announcement as she had wanted EVERYONE in the Pack to hear it. She had grinned maliciously down at me before telling everyone who was listening about what I had done - about me killing my sister out of spite. Demi...the humiliation...the looks I got...it was horrible. My Mother had looked down at me that day; asking me if what Holly had said was true - I didn't deny it. I couldn't - I was so shocked at the betrayal. My Mother turned away from me then; and muttered that I was no longer her daughter and that I was banned from the nursery. If I so much as put my head inside, she threatened to snap it clean off my shoulders.The den that we took you took to when you blacked out the first time? That is my den now."
She stopped, unable to continue for a bit and I let her rest her head against my foreleg as she burst into tears. Then she finished it.
"I was taken to the Alphas before I went to that den. They asked me what had actually happened because they knew that Holly was living with Adeline and no one trusted either of them. I told them the true story and they said that they would talk to the Pack to get the story straight. They did, but nothing changed the way that the middle ranking wolves looked at me and it didn't change the fact that my Mother had disowned me and was never going to take me back. The Alphas respected her decision and the female Alpha showed me the den that you first woke up in - when you blacked out. She said that I could live there and that's where I try to spend most of my time."
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