Running with Wolves

Bringing Rainer forward once more, the boy sat silently crying as his fate was told to him by his Madam Alpha, her voice rising for all to hear. "Rainer, you are charged with stealing from the pack, destroying pack property, leaving the Den to go to the human city without permission, and covering for Lark and his cohorts in the rape and imposed dominance of nine of the lower ranking females of your pack.

"In light of tonight's events, it is clear you were coerced and forced into participating in most of your actions. However, this does not mean you will go without punishment. For your crimes, Rainer, you will be given the lowest rank of the pack. There will be none below you in rank or dominance, despite how strong you may become in the coming years. The only way you will ever be able to rise in status is if you prove yourself to the pack that you deserve a second chance.

"Five Rivers Pack. Are there any among you that find issue with this punishment?"

Sol's question was met with quiet deliberation and a chorus of "No, Madam Alpha."

Taking one last look around, Sol nodded and dismissed Rainer for the final time and called for Colt to take his place.

"He sure looks calmer." Jarod commented. His eyes were still wide from witnessing someone being killed right in front of him, but he was no longer hiding behind Ben. For some reason Colt looked calm, even relieved.

Samantha's voice was quiet as she answered. "He thinks because Rainer was given mercy, so will he."

Misty snorted. "Not likely." She glared at the relieved and slightly smug looking boy. He knelt quickly in the same spot as before and raised his head high to hear what would become of him.

"Colt, you are being charged with stealing from the pack, destroying pack property, leaving the Den to go to the human city without permission, being an accomplice to the rape and imposed dominance of nine of the lower ranking females of your pack, and attempting to bolt.

"For your crimes, you will be banished from the pack! You will be given one hour to gather your things and leave Five Rivers Pack lands."

Around them was an answer of approval from the pack. Obviously, they had no issue with her decision. Colt's smug look vanished in an instant as he was grabbed under the arms and pulled to his feet. "W-what?! No, WAIT! You can't do this! This is no fair you can't do this! I didn't do anything wrong!!" He never stopped shouting as he was escorted away and out of the clearing.

Ignoring the shouting they could all still hear, Sol walked back to the cage. Lark immediately ran at her to smash against the bars. She didn't even flinch.

"Spruce, you are being charged with theft, destroying pack property, leaving the Den to go to the city without permission, destroying human property, threatening our secret to the humans, coercion, rape, imposing dominance on lower ranking wolves, attempting to sabotage the current pack dynamic, and plotting the overthrow the current Alphas. For your crimes, you will be put to death by silver bullet."

"Five Rivers Pack. Are there any among you who find issue with this punishment?"

Again the deliberations among the crowd were quick and conclusive. From among them, a man with a long bundle came forward. He came within a few feet of his Madam Alpha before pulling the wrapping off to reveal a rifle. Sol grasped the weapon without ceremony. "I will be the one to carry out your sentence."

Ben let out a low whistle. "Damn."

"What is it?" Garrett asked, his eyes locked onto the huge gun.

"That's a .338 Winchester magnum rifle. Dad used to take out bears and elk with one just like it."

"Are they really going to shoot him? Just kill him right in front of everyone?" Jarod's face lost some of its color as Sol lifted the gun and pressed the butt to her shoulder. No one answered him, as it was pretty clear what was about to happen.

With a hard expression, Sol pulled back the bolt and chambered the bullet. Inside the cage, Spruce began darting back and forth to try and avoid his coming death. Lark, for his part, stayed far off to the side to avoid the aim of the rifle.

For a few agonizing seconds, time seemed to slow as Sol waited for her moment. Spruce spun from the left to the right as he met the bars, exposing his right side. With a deep exhale Sol pulled the trigger. Following the one loud

BANG

, Spruce's large wolf body fell limp to the ground, a large hole in his ribcage poring blood. He tried to draw in air, but blood flooded his throat and choked off his airway. With one last gurgled exhale, Spruce's last breath flowed out of him as his body finally shut down. From the pack, a woman wept.

Sol lowered the rifle and handed it back to the man who brought it to her. Her behavior was calm and collected, but the haunted look in her eye told Dominic of her pain from having to kill one of her pack: this was not enjoyable to her.

She continued on after locking eyes with her mate.

"Lark, it is now time for your sentencing." The wolf snarled and his father echoed him with a growl. "It was your punishment that decided my mate and I over whether or not we would be having this public trial."

"Here it comes." Flint mumbled, his eyes glancing to meet his sisters fleetingly. They both looked to be filled with nervous anticipation.

Turned once more to face her people, Sol paused to make sure everyone was paying attention. "With the charges of theft, destroying pack property, leaving the Den to go to the city without permission, destroying human property, threatening our secret to the humans, coercion, rape, imposing dominance on lower ranking wolves, making a false mating claim, attacking pack members, attempted rape, campaigning against the current Alphas, attempting to sabotage the current pack dynamic, plotting the overthrow the current Alphas, and now murder, you will be sentenced to Run!"

After a fraction of a second of utter stillness, the entire clearing exploded. The tension that had been building between the two definitive sides released into a volcano of shouting and threats. It was impossible for Dominic or his people to understand what was being fought over, but whatever it was, there were many that had strong opinions of it. The anger escalated until the entire gathering was going to turn into a brawl, and Dominic could feel his wolf responding to his fear for his people. He was gathering his family behind him and scouting the escape route Hale had pointed out to him even before the reddish brown wolf he knew was Kate stepped out of the trees to act as their safeguard.

One howl rose above all of the voices. Sol stood in the exact same place as she had been before, her head thrown back and body rippling as her wolf showed itself just under her skin. The pack silenced themselves as they waited.

Once everyone was back under control, she finally cut off her howl. Her head fell back forward to reveal her bright-lit eyes. "I told you all before what was expected during tonight's trial." Her voice was icy enough to make even the strongest man shrink back, but emotions were still hot enough that a few brave souls stepped forward to speak anyway.

Gray was the first of them. "You have got to be joking! How in Luna's name can you sentence a wolf to Run when he has not even been given the chance to defend himself?!"

Sol stared at him coolly. "You brought forth no issues when I put a bullet into Spruce's heart. He had defended himself just as little as Lark has."

"I was not that boy's family. If they were willing to put up with this abuse of power, then that was their choice. I plan on making sure my son has a fair trial." From the crowd, a man and a weeping woman snarled at Gray, but he only snarled back before continuing. "I do not care what Alpha Orion says; my son has yet to be able to shift and until he does, he cannot be sentenced, especially if it is to Run."

"You only want to put off his sentencing so that you may be able to gain more supporters, Gray." A woman stepped forward from the opposite side. She was tall for a woman and broad shouldered, but even so she was significantly smaller than most of the men there. It made her no less intimidating. "There is no way you will ever be able to gain enough support to overrule the Alpha's decision, no matter how long your son plays feral. Besides, he has made it abundantly clear by his actions tonight that he is aware of what is happening, and is choosing not to defend himself."

The two werewolves continued to argue between themselves over whether or not Lark was fit to be punished, but the more they spoke the less Dominic understood what it was they were fighting over. He leaned slightly towards Misty. "What does it mean? To be sentenced to Run?"

Without taking her eyes away from the two men arguing, she answered him in a low tone that would be hard for the humans in the group to hear. "When a wolf has done something to harm the pack as a whole, the Alphas can decide to let the victims hunt down the perpetrator themselves to exact revenge either by teeth or by silver. We call it a Run because the accused runs within a secured space as the ones they harmed tear them apart and burn them with silver."

"That's fucking gruesome." Ben shuddered. He, like the others, had moved in tighter to hear what Misty had to say. She shrugged at his comment.

"Many of our punishments are violent; it is the way of the wolf. In some ways you are correct, though. This punishment is one of our most violent and involves many of the pack. As you saw, almost all of our punishments are doled out by the Alphas. With a Run, it is pack members. And normally, this punishment is reserved for outsiders that are captured for doing something to harm the pack. To hunt down one of our own like this, it could have some psychological repercussions for those involved."

"But I thought all of those girls are Omegas? Is Sol seriously planning on letting them try and take down Lark?" Samantha's disbelief wasn't unfounded. Most of the girls looked like Bambies, not killers.

"That is another issue with giving this punishment to Lark. The victims will have to ask stronger wolves to represent them and take vengeance on Lark in their place. Hurting the one who hurt you is one thing; hurting someone because another asked you to is another. Though I doubt there will be a shortage on willing volunteers."

"This was the real reason Mother wanted the public trial." Flint pitched in. "With everyone fully educated on why Lark has been given this punishment, it will give them the opportunity to make a fully informed decision."

For some time, the pack continued to argue over what to do. The decision when it came to if Lark was of a state of mind to be sentenced was pretty clear, even if Gray continued to fight it. His frustration and panic were beginning to show as he lost more and more of the ground he needed to save his son. The real issue being debated was deciding if sentencing him, or anyone of the pack for that matter, to Run was the right thing to do. Neither side was giving up an inch, and the longer they fought, the worse the tension became.

It took nearly twenty minutes of shouting and arguing before one sentence killed all conversation.

"I challenge the Alpha for the right to lead this pack!" Gray stepped farther forward, watching the reactions of those around him as they gasped and began chittering amongst each other. Some looked upon him in awe and excitement, most were with repulsion. "For years you have been leading our pack into the ground. You have become weak; too weak to guide this pack any longer. I will not allow you to make even more bad decisions concerning the Five Rivers Pack." Sol and Orion stood silently listening to Gray as he ranted. Once he was done, Sol addressed him calmly.

"If you believe I am unfit to lead this pack any longer, then so be it. I will accept your challenge."

As Sol grasped the hem of her dress to strip, Gray corrected her. "I did not challenge you,

Madam

Alpha. I challenge Alpha Orion in the battle for dominance of this pack."

The disbelief and disgust that crossed Sol's face was repeated in the tone of the whisperings of the pack, and Dominic could understand why.

For one, Orion looked exhausted. He had been joining minds with pack members all night, making sure their confessions and grievances were truthful and without embellishment or grandiose. Second, just from the way he said

Madam

, it was clear Gray thought less of Sol because she was a female.

Feeling suddenly uneasy, Dominic looked over to see Misty on the verge of shifting, she was so outraged. Flint looked to be in the same position, his muscles rippling inhumanly under his skin.

"And why," Sol asked, "would you feel the need to make such a distinction, Gray?"

Gray was quick to give his reasoning. "You only act as our primary leader because Alpha Orion is too incapacitated while he uses his gifts to get inside minds. During a one-on-one fight there is no need for you." His arrogant stance was only outmatched by his superior smirk; he believed his argument infallible, even if everyone knew the real reason: he was going after the weaker opponent.

Sol was about to snap back and say just that, when Orion's big hand gently grasped her shoulder from behind. She spun her head to meet his calm eyes. His smile was strained from anger and fatigue. "If he wishes to fight the weaker of us, then so be it. It will not change the outcome." She looked like she wanted to argue, he looked seriously drained as it was, but he shook his head minutely and stepped forward, unbuttoning his shirt as he faced with Gray. The entire pack moved as one to surround the two, creating a circle of bodies. In order to watch, Dominic and the others had to leave their spots and join the rest in the makeshift ring.

Dropping his shirt and jeans to the side, Orion cracked his neck as Gray threw his clothes towards his mate and younger son. He was already starting to shift as they went to their places, claws and dark gray fur growing from his body. A hybrid stepped forward to act as referee, his voice half growl. "On my mark." He raised one clawed hand just as Gray fell to the earth on all four paws, "Begin!"

Gray wasted no time. He immediately lunged forward with teeth bared and claws extended. Orion barely got out of the way to avoid the assault, and continued to have to dodge as the large grey wolf continued to come at him. Very quickly the werewolf landed glancing blows on the big man's body, drawing blood and causing him to wince. Orion slowed significantly as he was continually put on the defensive.

"Why isn't he shifting?" Dominic questioned, flinching as Gray landed another blow on Orion's right leg. He stumbled forward but made a quick recovery, just fast enough to dodge another snap of the wolf's jaw at his hamstring. He had at least extended his claws and his natural body hair had grown thicker and spread a bit, but he was nowhere near being the hybrid bad ass that had broken into Dominic's room only a month before.

"He is too exhausted." Flint watched with frightened eyes as his father fought for the right to lead, as well as his life. "If a werewolf becomes too tired, it can make it near impossible to bring their wolf forward on command. Even if he can, he won't be strong enough to keep his instincts under control. This is bad."

"Be quiet, Flint." Misty snapped. Dominic was about to snap back to defend his friend, but looking at his mate he could see the fear in her eyes. She was just as scared for her dad as Flint was; she was just better at keeping it under wraps.

Orion was able to land a hit only once or twice as the superior being he fought continually darted in and out of his reach. It was as if Gray was taunting him, asking him with his actions if Orion was truly that weak. They continued to dance around one another until at some point, Gray became bored. He circled his Alpha one last time as the man knelt, panting and bleeding in the center of the circle. Dominic could hear those around him letting out gasps of fear and words of encouragement to their current Alpha, but it was too late. The giant grey wolf lunged for Orion's exposed throat.

And missed.

Gray went sailing past his target, narrowly missing the top of Orion's head. He spun around, confused, then snarled as he lunged again.

Once again, he missed.

For two more attempts Gray tried and failed to land a killing blow on Orion's prone form, but each time he didn't even graze his opponent. Orion rose to his full 6'11" height slowly, his eyes glowing faintly. "I was getting worried; you weren't being as arrogant as I thought you would be. It took some time for you to lose enough of your rational mind so that I could slip in." Tilting his head ever so slightly, everyone watched as Gray suddenly fell to the ground as if being pinned, his legs kicking and voice coming out as panicked cries. "But the moment you did, was the moment you lost."

Letting out an unearthly howl, Orion shifted into his wolf form, his chocolate brown fur catching the light of the dying fires as he calmly walked towards his downed prey. Gray continued to try and struggle to his feet, making it once or twice but falling almost as soon as he got his paws underneath him. He tried to drag himself away, but even at his slow pace Orion caught up to him and slammed one paw against the side of the gray wolf's head.

The pack cheered as Orion paused to show off his dominance of the other wolf before he lunged down to finish off the challenger. Only a small group held back, mostly those loyal to Gray, and his family. Willow wept silently as she watched her Alpha sink his teeth into her mate's throat. Gray kicked out his legs as his body quickly used up what little oxygen it had in his lungs and began demanding more. It was a slow death, but soon his frantic legs slowed and then stopped as the light of life left his eyes. Holding his pressure for a few seconds longer, Orion finally let go of the dead carcass and released a howl of his own into the cold October night. The rest of the werewolves joined him, including Dominic. It was an amazing feeling to feel his victory through his howl.

The howls died down as Orion shifted back into his human skin. He didn't move until Sol walked forward and placed her hands on his chest. As their skin met, his knees suddenly buckled and he had to use his mate to keep from falling. She stood strong as she called Thunder and Storm to help get her mate to a place he could rest. Whatever he had done to beat Gray, it had drained him of whatever energy was keeping him standing. Now the man was practically falling sleep as he leaned against the hybrid twins.

Leaving the care of her mate to her guards, Sol stood in the center of the battlefield, Gray's dead body at her feet. "Is there anyone else who wishes to question my mate or myself?" Silence met her. "Good. Now, I believe we were discussing whether or not there are those of the pack willing to act as champions for Lark's victims."

From the circle, a man with light brown hair and a scar wrapping around his torso stepped forward. "To be sentenced to Run, to be hunted down and tortured until you are dead, is the most brutal punishment for both the victim, and the pack. To do this, there better be a damn good reason.

"What Lark has done, it is inexcusable. He deserves to be punished to the fullest extent of our laws, and I for one have no issue volunteering to represent for the Omegas." He glanced to the young girls Lark had been using for his sick pleasure and nodded. They smiled gratefully back.

"Are there any others willing to stand in for of victimized pack members?"

In response to their Madam Alpha's question, both men and women began gathering behind the scarred men. Each nodded to the Omegas, all of them gaining stronger wolves to do what they themselves could not. The one exception was Augustine. She was among the werewolves planning to hunt Lark. Those close laid encouraging hands on her and spoke reassuring words.