Howl! “Elwin! Why so few of you return?”

Elwin ignored the young pup. Corym didn't understand how cruel the forest could be. Rather, he nuzzled up against Vanima seeking comfort from his mate. She licked his wounds before lying down by his feet.

“Know your place, Corym! Do not question your betters,” Edon snarled, baring his teeth in a challenge.

Corym whimpered in fear. Tail tucked between his legs, the pup backed away in supplication.

Gael stepped forward in challenge. “Elessar never should have been allowed to go! You are not fit to rule us.”

He had noticed Gael arguing with Elessar before she joined the hunting party. They were born at the same time, but Gael lacked Elessar's dedication to the pack.

Elwin stepped between Edon and Gael before they came to blows. “I accept your challenge.”

He found Corym hiding in the background and held the young wolf's gaze. “Pay attention pup, remember this lesson well.”

Elwin circled the challenger, vaguely aware of the pack's movement as they surrounded them. Neither of them could escape now. Trying would only result in their death as they were torn apart by everyone present.

The challenger had the right to the first attack and Gael wasted no time.

Howl!

Claws lashed out at Elwin’s flank but missed their mark when he sidestepped the attack and bit down on Gael’s tail. Unwilling to let it go, he yanked Gael off his feet and used the momentum to toss the wolf to the ground.

He raised his paw and raked it across the wolf's face. Gael growled and rolled to the side, dodging the second strike. Elwin closed the distance slamming into the wolf before he could dodge. He took the advantage and pinned the challenger to the ground.

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Gael lay helpless on his side now that the alpha stood over him. When the subdued wolf growled in protest, Elwin bit down on the wolf’s throat hard enough to draw blood. It would only take a small effort to tear into the wolf.

All tension dissolved in Gael’s body. He whimpered, “I surrender.”

Elwin released the wolf returned to Vanima’s side and addressed everyone. “Anyone who feels the same may step forward. Know this, death is always an option and I have never lost a challenge.”

Edon howled in reverence causing a chain reaction that spread through the entire pack.

Vanima leaned in and cooed into his ear, “Join me, Elwin.”

Edon, the pack’s new omega and highest rank below the alpha’s, noticed their departure. He would lead the pack while they were absent.

When Elwin and Vanima were alone drifting between the trees, she spoke. “It’s time that you know the truth about me.”

He got lost in her soft white fur and shades of tan brown. He thought any chance at love had vanished when his people had cast him out, but that had been before he met her. Fierce, loyal, and determined.

Torvar found her wandering the woods years before Elwin’s transformation and had taken her in. When Torvar’s mate died giving birth, she earned the right to lead next to the alpha’s side.

All this had been revealed after Elwin took over.

“You are not the only one who has been touched by the gods.”

Elwin’s mind shattered with the possible implications.

How does she know? I never told them I used to be an elf.

He fumbled with his thoughts, only managing to ask, “How?”

She moved next to him and sat down before saying, “I lived in an elf village far to the East. I fell in love with a warrior. He was my everything and they exiled him.”

Tears welled up in Vanima’s eyes.

“He claimed that the forest god had spoken to him. It told him to send aid against a foe shrouded in darkness to a village we rarely heard from. They tossed him out, and against my own family's wishes, I found a way to escape and run after him.”

Vanima nuzzled up against Elwin’s fur. “My love had found the magical beast and tracked it. I managed to find him before it attacked. None of our efforts made a difference. Only one of us had a chance to survive. After it devoured him, it came for me.”

Elwin placed a paw over hers and let her continue. “I never stood a chance, but before it delivered the killing blow, the forest god revealed itself and forced the creature back until it fled. When he offered me the chance to live as a wolf, I took it.”

She stood up and began to walk, Elwin not far behind.

“Torvar saved me and I owed him everything. I let the spirit wolf inside me take over so that I could hide from my responsibility, but not anymore. You set me free Elwin.”

Elwin nuzzled up against his mate and vowed, “Together, we will find a way to defeat this dark beast.”

She bared her teeth in a fierce grin. “Yes, we will."