Silence had settled over the pack, spreading out into the land around the reclining wolves. There was a certain calm surrounding them all as they participated in their nightly ritual, grooming each other's fur and just watching the world settle in for the night.

Hephaestus, the proud alpha of the Acropolis Pack, knew the calm for what it was.

A calm before the storm.

His amber eyes facing but not seeing the brilliantly setting sun, the huge black a rust colored wolf remained as still as stone, taking only mild comfort in the warmth of his mother's body pressed against his left side, and of that of his son's on his right. They, in turn, took the same amount of comfort from him, feeling his tension and trying to quell their own. Leto and Kajahli nursed each other's wounds, fear making their eyes dart as they looked to their alpha, and back towards the trees, over and over.

They should have been safe from her. He should have kept them out of harm's way. He had failed them as an alpha, but to him, failure wasn't an option.

It wouldn't happen again. No matter what he had to do.

The sound of running paws reached them, but Heph only swiveled one pointed ear towards the noise, otherwise he remained silent and unmoving, pretending to not see the look that passed between Ciirsyn and Dione.

The storm had arrived . . . And today, it all would end.

~~~~~

She could still taste the warm copper sweetness on her tongue, the feel of the wriggling flesh against her fangs. The tribal marked femme had felt such satisfaction at finally taking out her frustrations on the obsessive compulsive Leto and the cowering little b***h male Kajahli.

It was too bad she hadn't finished the job.

But she would now. And Hephaestus would be hard pressed to stop her.

Athena had finally fallen off the deep end, but in her mind, she had finally seen the light. If she couldn't escape the curse her father had placed on her at his death, then she would confront that which kept the curse alive.

Which meant her brother had to die.

Her paws pounded the grasses of the den clearing, every rationale thought fleeing from her mind. In that instant, her obsessions took hold, leaving her mind a barren place, devoid of everything except the desire to kill the last thing standing between her and freedom.

The dying sun stained the sky bloody, and she knew it was time.

Time for Hephaestus to die.

~~~~~

Kajahli and Leto were the first ones to move, and though he didn't know where they headed, he knew that they would be out of danger.

Hephaestus felt relief at that, knowing that he wouldn't have to immediately worry about their safety.

It also meant that he couldn't fail.

Dione and Ciirsyn exchanged another glance, but when he remained unmoving, his gaze still looking but not looking at the swiftly fading sun, they too got to their feet, albeit more slowly and with more reluctance.

"My son . . . "
"Father . . . "

He heard them, but nodded only once. And then they were gone, leaving him to his duty, and they to theirs, in keeping the pack safe.

The sound of the paws grew closer and closer, panting breaths accompanied by a sudden, savage snarl. Only when the sound of the heavy, erratic pawsteps vanished did he move.

With a snarl of challenge, the siblings crashed, and the fight was on.

~~~~~~

Athena saw them flee, and the sound that left her throat was bestial and dripping with hate. But there he sat, facing the dying sun, looking so very much like the father that had cursed her with his last dying breath. In that moment, she couldn't have hated either of them more.

In that moment, she leapt.

The two bodies clashed with a thick, meaty sound and more then one bony crunch, their fighting snarls ricocheting throughout the clearing. When blood stained her tongue, Athena let out a triumphant, cruel laugh, her eyes crazed and tinged with red.

The two broke apart, leaping away from each other and starting the circle of challengers. Though he tried to hide it, Athena's keen gaze caught the sudden tension in the leg she had ravaged, and the predator in her whispered that it was a wound that meant the end of any prey animal.

And in her mind, that was exactly what her precious brother had become.

Rearing on her hind legs, she let loose with a victorious howl before lunging for what she believed to be the last time, intent on the killing blow.

"Brother! Today I will be free! Today, you DIE!!" The last word was swallowed by a snarl as she bared her fangs, aiming for that most important lifeline, that vein to which all blood flowed and to which it would all leave as soon as she tore it out.

This was the end.

And it would be her new beginning.

~~~~~

Searing pain shot through his right front leg and he fought down the need to take his weight off the limb. Any sign of weakness would be his ending, and he knew it, but the amount of blood running in rivulets down his fur worried him.

Had a fang nicked something important beneath his flesh?

Ears flattened and fur bristled, the huge male once again caught his sister's frenzied gaze, and he wondered what had happened to her. What had happened to destroy such a sharp mind, to send his proud sister into this killing madness?

But then fangs flashed and he had no more time to think.

Again, the titan wolves clashed, fang meeting fang as the alpha ducked his head to protect his jugular. He heard something snap, and a new pain stabbed throughout his muzzle, blood spilling onto his tongue. The sharp clacking of fangs gnashing together suddenly ceased, and he leapt away at the first opportunity, spitting the broken fang into the grass, a glob of blood and saliva following it.

And then Athena was on him again, her fangs locking around his neck, a growl of frustration rumbling from her throat as she caught only thick fur. Shaking and shaking her head, his sister tried to rip the fur free, but to no avail, a scream tearing from her throat.

Trying to shake her off his back and failing, he took a page from her book and reared onto his hind legs, beating down the instinct to correct himself as he started to topple backwards. Landing hard, he heard the breath whoosh from Athena's lungs as she suddenly found herself trapped beneath her much larger brother, her claws suddenly focused on trying to push him off.

And then he was gone.

~~~~~

Athena screamed in fury, and then suddenly, a huge weight collapsed against her, trapping her between it and the ground. At first, panic tore at her and she clawed at the body atop her, desperately seeking freedom from the crushing weight.

But as quickly as it had appeared, it was then gone, and she realized what had occurred.

New fury waged within her and she spat out a curse, hating her brother even more for using her own move against her.

Rolling to her feet, she peered around, but of her brother, nothing could be seen.

And then the natural, deceiving snap of a tendon . . . the rush of a body moving towards her . . .

Roaring, she whirled, diving low beneath her brother's leap, her jaws snapping forward onto his hind paw at the same time she pivoted on her own heels. With a yank, she stopped his forward movement and his own weight slammed him into the ground. Another triumphant howl and she was on him, her jaws clamping around his neck, claws digging into his stomach as she fought to keep her hold on her twisting, dying brother.

Today, it would all end . . .

~~~~~~

His wounded leg gave him away, the joint cracking as he leapt off of it. His sister proved too fast, and suddenly, he was flat on his back and fighting to draw a simple breath. He tried to roll, but his sister's strong leg crushed down on his wounded limb, sending bolts of searing pain throughout his body, causing him to gasp away the last of his breath.

"A . . . the . . . na . . . "

He couldn't fail . . . Not now. Not ever again. He was alpha, and it was his duty, his pride, to protect the ones he loved.

He couldn't fail . . . Not now.

Not ever.

Even as his vision swam, his lungs burned, the big male drew upon the strength of his determination, a snarl bubbling from his ruined throat.

"I . . . will . . . protect them!!"

Burying his pain, he rolled his exhausted body, kicked his legs against his sister's form, and managed to push her away, his strength proving more then her's as it surged with desperate, determined adrenaline. But her fangs still ripped through his skin, opening him from chin to chest. She snarled at this sudden defiance, but he didn't give her the opportunity to take advantage of his flagging strength.

Letting out a battle cry, he rammed his bloody body against hers as hard as he could. Their skulls cracked together with a sound like thunder, and he felt his legs crumple. He seemed to fall in slow motion, the image of Athena, a sister he had always loved and respected, falling to the ground, her eyes glazing over, forever burned into his mind.

"Hephaestus!"
"Papa!"
"Father!"
"Heph!"

The voices were muted, distant. They seemed to waver, and he tried to swivel an ear towards them to better catch the sounds. But even that was too much effort.

Tongues on his fur, paws against his chest. Bodies nudging and rubbing against him.

Tears on his parched tongue . . .

He was so thirsty . . . so . . . tired . . .

So cold.

So . . .

"Father!!!"

He hadn't failed, and the realization made him smile.

The last rays of the dying sun disappeared beneath the horizon, the world plunging into black . . .

Just as the proud alpha of a pack who danced among the mountains went tumbling into his own darkness.

FIN . . .