Broken Dreams

Chapter 12

It was gone midnight when my eyes stretched open of their own accord. Bodies lay littered around me, and a gentle hum filled my ears. The him took the form of singing and I panicked when I recognised the words.

I rolled over and pushed myself up. Wolves were singing the songs of death. The humans were sobbing, running away with their wounded. I got to my paws, coughing and wheezing.

There was nothing anywhere. I stood in the ground of red snow and death, fog swirling around me and silhouettes of grieving wolves and humans surrounding me.

There was a pitiful cry and I looked beside me. A hawk, a mess of crumpled feathers and blood, lay half under a dead human archer. I quickly gathered her up in my jaws and looked around.

A shadowy figure of a wolf turning human hung in the distance. Muffled moans of pain could be heard as the figure clutched his arm. I started running to him and caught him as he fell.

"Oh god, Juniper you're still alive." he said flatly. I wagged my tail and gestured to him to sit on my back. He did so, bravely hiding the intense pain I his arm.

With Domino on my back and Aurora in his arms, we made good pace. Soon though, the songs of death reached me. Through the fog I walked, limping heavily on my injured shoulder. A group of maybe half a dozen people stood in a circle, singing softly.

"They are the silver wolves we found." Domino whispered. I flattened my ears and walked up to them, my paws making no sound against the deep snow.

A young woman about fifteen laid a body to rest. It was the wolf with the shredded ear that had saved me before. Almost instinctively, as the others lowered the heads I did to.

The young girl shuffled over and started stroking me. Domino and Aurora, both wolf, went to lie at the feet of the other silvers. I sighed, closing my eyes as she stroked me.

"We are leaderless now, Juniper. We have no one." she whispered, putting her arms around my neck. I licked her face and howled quietly. The circle was made bigger for me and the girl.

Belle, Max and Starling drifted up at one point and joined in the song, tears running down their faces. All those in human form sank to their knees and held hands. Those of us as wolves lay with our noses touching the body.

"Tim, you were a brilliant alpha. We came from all over Nightingale to answer the call of distress from another, but it was you who led us here." an old woman whispered. She collapsed in tears on the person next to her.

"Tim was my brother. He was an amazing alpha, he brought his pack and silver rogues together. For Domino's love." Another man said.

I am Domino's love, I put in quietly. Tim was noble, and saved my life. This pack here of silvers, they depended on you for safety. I- They are alone now. A pack without an alpha cannot function.

See, I know this. My pack broke up after the death of one member. We were loosely held together through love and loyalty, but as time went by and the odds of finding out pup faded, we drifted apart.

Which is how I came to be on the ground in the middle of a war. This war was caused by the kidnapping and escape of my pack's sole pup. And you gave your life to help me.

Thank you.