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The howling chilled his bones. As the Alpha of his pack, Raven was supposed to lead the hunt, but his younger brother, Aslan, was challenging his role. As the Omega, Aslan was the lowest ranking wolf in the pack, determined to kill his brother and become the Alpha Male.
The two wolves circled each other, Raven black as night and mysterious as the dark side of the moon, while Aslan was a chocolate brown and ridiculed by the rest of the pack. Aslan darted forward and nipped at Raven’s haunches. Raven retaliated by swiping at Aslan’s nose, taking off a patch of hair, droplets of blood falling on the forest floor. Aslan growled and leapt at Raven, aiming for his throat. The rest of the pack howled as Raven dodged out of the way, nimble and fleet-footed. He turned immediately and landed a bite on Aslan’s back leg, twisting and shredding the skin and fur. Aslan let out a howl of pain and he turned and grabbed Raven's tail in his canines, saliva dripping from their points. Raven tugged at Aslan’s leg one more time and he heard a crunch as the bone in the leg he held in his teeth shattered. Letting go, he backed away. Aslan hobbled away on three legs, whimpering.
Raven caught the eye of his Alpha Female, Slate. He did not wish to lose the rights he had to her. He was his, and his alone. Aslan would not get to her.
He lunged at his younger brother again, sinking his fangs into the fur at his neck. Aslan struggled to free himself from this hold, but all in vain. Digging further into his neck, Raven broke his brother’s neck, severing the veins leading to his brain. Then he released and walked away, the rest of the pack trailing behind.
The Omega was no more, lying in a clearing on the forest floor, dying in a pool of his own blood. He howled once more, the sound weak and mournful, then was silent. The last howl echoed off of the granite face of the northern mountains, penetrating the deep heart of the wilderness.
Raven never looked back.
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