The Main Den

Broken, lonely, wounded, hungry, fragile; those were the words that described Shun as he padded through the forest. he was exhausted, he was weak, he was worried and scared. During the last few months he had camped near a hunting ground, having Aura with him and meeting this female he became closer with.
However, during the last month Aura had gone missing, and Yuki had died during another hunt. She had died in front of his eyes, a female Shun felt so close with, a female he had loved, but he hadn’t felt the courage to tell her. Now he was all alone again, he felt sadness for the loss of Yuki, and worried that he might find Aura back… dead.
The male stopped and sniffed the air; he realized he had entered the territory of a pack. He knew he had been a territory, too, when he was near those hunting grounds, but they had been so far away back then. Now he was way too close to these wolves. Yet Shun didn’t care; he was too hungry, wounded and weak to even care.
As he moved on he limped, his head was lowered and his heterochromia colored eyes focused on the ground, dull; there was no single light in them, no sparkle. He was like a zombie, a shadow, a lifeless wolf, a soulless one. He wasn’t scared about finding these wolves, barging in on their lands; if they were hostile and aggressive, he would even be glad; he felt like he was done living, there was nothing left for him to do here. His adopted child was lost, his secret love dead. he had nothing, no one left.

Shun stopped, standing there, his ears pressed backwards, his eyes still on the ground, filled with sadness and grief. That death, that loss, it reminded him once more of his former mate, his true love he had lost in the snowstorm. Oh gosh, how much e missed her, and how much he felt like a bad father not being able to take care of his children, to ever see them. Because he had never seen his pups in his entire life.
He was now four years old, they were probably already two years old; adults, roaming the world, having a family on their own, mate and pups. And Shun would never meet his children nor his grandchildren, he would never get to see them, he would never see his mate again. He didn’t even know for sure if they were all still alive, his mate and his children, his other family, mother father, brothers… And he probably would never know.
‘’I feel alone… I feel lost… I’m like a wandering soul searching for its body, which it will never find back. I will never feel love again, I will never see my family again…’’, Shun thought, a tear rolling down his face. He sighed, shaking his head in disbelief. ‘’I can’t keep going on like this, I can’t keep on living like this. Why can’t I just die? Right here, right now? Just… die?’’
The male continued to walk, the ribs along his side and within his chest visible, his black coat rough and dirty, like he was going bald, his eyes dull and hollow. As he walked he limped and shuffled, with each step his paws became heavier, with each step it looked like he would fall over and land on his side in the dirt.

The male stepped into an area, he didn’t care where he was, he just barged in. That’s when he looked around and saw all those wolves sleeping, talking, playing, and he realized he had entered the heart of the pack; their den.
Now they had to see him as a danger, as a threat. Now they had to kill him. However, they appeared to be rather friendly, those smiles, those happy faces, those bright eyes, they didn’t seem like aggressive wolves that would murder him. Shun felt… at home.
‘’Their souls feel kind and warm… like a family. Would they accept me?’’, he thought and he stepped forward, moving closer to those wolves, his eyes fixated on them, he bit his lip. ‘’I smell a familiar scent…’’
The male stopped and perked one ear forward while the other stayed down. He recognized one of the scents, but he didn’t know from where. But it was enough to make him feel at home and comfortable. Shun opened his mouth, ready to say something, but there was no strength left within him; he was too tired to even stand any longer, he couldn’t speak anymore.
‘’I…’’, he mumbled, but that’s when he suddenly felt his head become dizzy, the whole world spun around him, his eyes rolled around in his eye sockets. And then everything went black. And Shun came crashing down to the earth, landing in the sand and grass around him.

Deyanira lay, as she had been doing, for months. She'd hardly spoken to any toher than Verine, who had become her closest, and near only friend in the pack. Upon seeing Dukane walk towards her, she lifted her head, perhaps he had forgiven her? No, her thoughts returned to negativity when he stalked past, growling. She felt his pelt move hers, in a rather shove-like way. She stood instantly, he'd touched her for the first time in months and it was nothing like she'd hoped.
The fae snapped her head towards him with a snarl, “Dukane Nightingale you get your butt bongle back her right now! I am done with your shniz! Treating me like I don't exist. Who do you think you are?” She dashed forth and stopped, spinning to face him with the grace of an assassin, “I am not one to be ignored and shoved past. You should know me that well Dukane.” She bared her teeth and faced him, nothing in her eyes but a challenge. Her affection had been a failing spark since he'd killed Shadow and blamed her for his own demise. It wasn't her fault he'd turned into a jerk. “Do you have something you'd like to tell me, Dukane? Something that you'd like to blame on me? Do it.” Her eyes burned with an icy-blue rush of flames that wanted nothing but destruction. “DO IT YOU COWARD!” The fae screeched at him, tail raised and pelt bristling.
If the male were to ignore her now, it would only be proving her point. He'd be showing the pack that he was a coward. If he wanted to talk to her, alone, she'd follow. At this point Deyanira had nothing left but a broken heart and one friend. She'd done nothing the past few months but practice her skills, she'd let herself go when she'd joined the pack. The warrioress had evolved into a mass of pure muscle, toned and durable. Deyanira had been preparing for a war that threatened to abandon her. She didn't release Dukane's gaze, she wouldn't, she was holding every nerve in her existence still and ready to release their rage upon the chocolate male, whom she had loved and been loved by.

Shun’s eyes moved to the sound of a female voice. He didn’t know who it was, but her voice sounded familiar, almost like… Haya’s. though, he knew in the back of his mind this wasn’t the same voice as his mate’s; it sounded slightly different. And yes, Shun knew the difference.
His eyelids moved open slightly to her words. He blinked a few times, rolling his pupils up to the one that was speaking to him; a big female, she seemed rather strong and well-muscled. Probably a warrior of this pack. but then again, her scent was strong, very strong, she smelled like the leader of this pack. There was the scent of pups lingering around her. Shun smiled faintly; he loved pups.
‘’Excuse me? Sir? Can you hear me?’’, the female asked and Shun looked up at her, his head lifted slightly, but he was so weak that his head immediately dropped back on the cold sandy earth. The smile faded when he saw the female; she was tense. Shun could guess why; he was a stranger wolf barging into their territory and collapsing onto the ground like he was close to dying. Well, maybe he was, he wasn’t sure about that.

‘’I… I’m sorry miss.’’, he whispered, a faint smile once again creeping on his face. ‘’I had a rough 2 years…’’
Shun tried to get to his paws, but he was way too hungry, thin and weak to even stand or keep his head up. With effort he rolled onto his belly, staring up at the female with dull eyes. He cleared his throat, but the cough sounded faint and weak, as well. ‘’My name is Shun Hasu.’’, he said, a groan escaping his throat as he tried to stand up once more, pushing himself onto his four paws. He stood there fragile and like he could fall again any moment now. ‘’I’m a four years old wolf that has traveled for two years, looking for my lost mate and possible children…’’
He gulped, the word ‘possible’ made him feel like a terrible father. He had lost his mate, never seen his real children, he had lost his adopted little sister Aura, Yuki had died in front of his eyes; he felt all lost, and like this was all his fault.
Looking back up at the female he cleared his throat again, now and then glancing at the ground. ‘’I’m sorry, um… I was wondering if you had seen a female called Haya; darkish brown coat with a lighter brown face, muzzle, chest and belly. her eyes are a bright amber…’’, he continued, gulping again. Trying to picture his mate in front of him made him feel lonely and sick. ‘’I’ve been looking for her for so long. I really miss her and want to find her back, you see…?’’
He almost fell down again but could just in time keep his balance. he stared back up at the possible Alpha, panting lightly. ‘’Excuse me… I’ve been rather hungry for a long time now…’’, he mumbled, licking his lips; his mouth was dry, his tongue was dry, his lips were dry as well. ‘’Anyway… have you seen such a female? If not, then I’m on my way again…’’

The female didn't allow her guard to lower as Dukane began to walk, she heard his words and followed him stiffly, checking to be sure they wouldn't be followed. The silver pigmented warrior stalked forth and walked in uneasy step with the hunter. He was larger than her, probably about equal in strength, since she'd been testing and training herself, and she was easily more agile because of her form. They'd probably be close to equal in a fight. Oh, how she hated fighting her equals.
She followed the familiar path that she'd followed nearly each day, worn in by her paws, to see the lake, to swim as she'd learned from Dukane, and to see Shadow. She'd have sat by his grave for ages, always leaving her secrets, worries, fears and joys with him. She would remember each time, his qualities of honesty and courage. He'd been so brave through everything.
Deyanira shook away the thoughts, she grew cautious of Dukane once again, keeping her eyes on him, ready to contradict any action he may have.

Jeamesero had been through a long rough sleep last night. With a loud yawn he awoke and opened his eyes, blinking a few times before clumsily getting to his paws and stretching his limbs. He looked at the sky and yawned again, realizing he had fallen asleep at the edge of the den side. Ever since he had been demoted to Omega he had kept his distance from the others, he wasn't sure if they still hated him for what he had done, but he wanted to stay away from them, not cause any trouble. The only wolf he had been speaking to was Bright Fang, and dang, they were such great friends, it felt to him like they had known each other forever.
"Good morning everyone...", the Hudson Bay wolf mumbled, the words leaving his jaws with effort. He stretched a few more limbs again before moving closer towards the den. The pups were finally allowed to go outside, he wondered if he would get to see them, but he doubted it; who would want a murderer near their pups? No one, that's right.

But Jeames would try it anyway, because he was already the lowest of low; nothing worse than this could happen to him. The only good thing that had happened to him was that he hadn't had an aggressive attack taunting his mind for over three months, if it wasn't even more than that.
As he stood there close near the den he finally saw two of the pups, a huge smile crept on his face.
"AWWW, they're so adorable!", he said, but after that his smile faded; he saw the pups in a dominant stance, together with Verine and Cassiel doing the same. There was tension in the area, tension all around the wolves here.
There seemed to be a newcomer, but Jeamesero couldn't see them clearly. But that's when he smelled a faint scent, a familiar scent Jeamesero hadn't smelled in ages, but which he knew all too well; his half-brother. "No way...", he mumbled, only audible to him and he ran over to the wolves, finally yelling loudly: "Nii Nii, NII NII!"

He jumped in between Shun and his Alpha's, growling at Verine and Cassiel as he protected his brother.
"I might be an Omega but I won't stand and watch while you treat my big brother like crap!", he said angrily. "He's my big brother, he's a sweet wolf, he would never hurt a fly! Don't hurt my Nii Nii!"

Shun hadn't gotten an answer from the female yet, but soon enough he felt the air becoming tense; more wolves gathered around him, a male wolf and two male pups, both still so tiny, but yet so angry and defensive over their parents.
"Stay away from Mommy!", one of them yelled and a loud "awwww" escaped Shun's throat as he looked down at the kid. It seemed like it would be a very rough and strong wolf one day, but he still was small, and appeared cute in Shun's eyes.
He looked back up at the two woves, they both seemed to be the Alpha, the leaders of this pack. Shun had to be careful, he didn't want to be torn to shreds if there was a chance his mate was around here and alive.
He wanted to calm the others around him a bit, lighten the mood. So he smiled at the wolves, giving them a compliment.
"Are those little ones yours? They're so cute!", he said, his smile becoming brighter, but his heterochromea colored eyes stayed worryingly dull; he didn't look too healthy or strong even though he was big and dangerous looking. In fact he wasn't dangerous at all.

It was then when he suddenly heard someone screaming, someone called out the words 'Nii Nii', and the voice sounded really familiar. "That can't be...!", he thought, his eyes filled with shock, his jaws slightly dropped.
Between him and the wolves raged a blond coated wolf, his tail raised, a small black tailtip high in the air. It was exactly who Shun had thought it was.
"I might be an Omega but I won't stand and watch while you treat my big brother like crap! He's my big brother, he's a sweet wolf, he would never hurt a fly! Don't hurt my Nii Nii!"
"Jeames, don't say crap! What did we teach you about using bad words!?", Shun snarled, growling at the wolf that protected him. Their reunion was a bit harsh, but actually Shun was so happy to see his little brother again. Though, he still worried about the things the male had said.
"An Omega? Why...?", he thought and yet another wolf appeared. A female wolf who spoke to the Alphas and called Jeamesero her friend. The tired, hungry and sick Shun eyed the wolves around him a bit nervously.

Deyanira stumbled as she reached the clearing, she was bleeding again. The trek had been longer than she'd anticipated with her wounds. She looked to Dukane and saw he seemed in abotu the same condition as she. “I-We-Help us. Something for the bleeding, for the pain, for everything.” Her voice halted and she stepped forward again. Her eyes met with a few of the other wolves and returned to Dukane.
He had lay down and Deyanira released the tension inside her as she copied this next to his head, once again, as she had been at the lake. “Duke, just because we're home, doesn't mean you can leave me. You've always gotta be here now, you said so.” She licked his ears and lay her head down beside him. The parts of her that he had bitten were throbbing, especially the broken scar tissue and the side of her neck.
She looked to Verine and whined, closing her eyes and delicately laying her chin on her paws. She couldn't bring herself to speak, but Dukane did. “Yeah, just a little one.” she breathed with a pained, pathetic laugh.

‘’Jeames, don't say crap! What did we teach you about using bad words!?’’, Shun yelled at him and Jeamesero turned his head to look at his older brother, his ears pressed against his head, a sad look in his chestnut brown eyes.
‘’But Brotherrr, I want to protect youuuu.’’, he said in a whiny voice, sounding almost like a little pup. From the corner of his eye he saw Bright Fang coming to interrupt the scene, telling the Alpha’s that she wanted to help Jeamesero. But Verine didn’t seem very pleased with their answers, she seemed rather pissed off.
‘’Jeames, step down, now. You will step down now, out of the way. You have no business here, and no authority to step in like this. Lest you be put in the same rank with your friend Jeames. Jeames, you will step away from Shun right now. Bright Fang, you will do the same, and you will never do anything of similar sort ever again. I will not stand for it.’’
‘’But Verine…’’, Jeamesero mumbled, his eyes filling themselves with tears. His ears were being pressed back against his skull even more now, he began to sob.
Verine told Shun to go eat and Shun went, giving him a sad glance before strolling off to the carcass they had hunted down not too long ago. Jeamesero sighed and shook his head, tears streaming down his face. He turned around and sat down, his tail curled around his body. His head was lowered, his eyes closed, he was crying.
It didn’t take long before Verine returned and spoke to them, she still sounded very angry and Jeamesero was scared, really scared. But he had to stay strong, he had to protect his brother, and he had tried, but it hadn’t been enough to convince them that that had been his true idea; to protect Shun.

‘’Let me make myself very clear.’’, she began, growling slightly. Jeamesero shivered all over his body, he was oh so scared of the angry Verine. Ever since she had been promoted to Alpha female she had turned angry and protective, she wasn’t all that nice anymore since the first day Jeamesero had met her. It made him feel so scared. ‘’Should either of you do anything like that again, I will not hesitate to go into action. I am your alpha, you are members of my pack. You listen to me, and more importantly, you listen to Cassiel. Should we get a beta, you will also listen to them. Jeames; You are an Omega. Maverick put you there for a reason. You have no authority, and you are in no position to speak to me like that. I'll have you know that I was being very friendly to Shun; Do not assume anything otherwise, ever again. Bright Fang; The same goes for you. I don't care what you are, you still have no authority over me. You may have your own opinions, and your own ideals, side with who you want, but physically stepping in is an absolute NO. Whether hes your friend or not, if you're going to be a part of this pack you will answer to me, and Cassiel. Next time, both of you will be punished.’’

Tears began to stream down Jeamesero’s face as Verine turned around and walked off. Like he often did, Jeamesero would just sit there and cry, but not this time. Verine needed to know that he thought they were scaring Shun, threatening him, and that he only wanted to protect him.
With tears rolling down his cheeks and his chestnut brown eyes sad he hobbled after the Alpha female, his voice shrieked; it sounded like a little pup’s, a sad pup’s voice.
‘’Verineeee, I’m s-sorryyyy…! You were all so tense, Cassiel was growling at him, I thought you were gonna hurt him… I just want to protect my Nii Nii, I don’t want him to get hurt… he’s already hurt…! I’m s-so s-sorryyyy…’’, he called out, his face was wet from the tears but he now looked even horrible, as wet boogers began to drip down his nose and make his face look all eew and sticky.