Second to Last Chapter

Forrest cuddled Axel, reminding him to stay near the back of the troops to be safest. Axel kept assuring his mate he didn't forget, but Forrest persisted after a minute or two. He was obviously paranoid, a part of it due to only being together for a year. Lavender and Violet only had 4 months together before her death.

"You don't even have to figh—", Forrest quickly blurted out, though interuppted by Axel.

"Not fight?! Forrest! All this training to not fight?!", Axel was bewildered that Forrest's paranoia came to this extent.

Nevertheless, Axel dropped his tone and comforted his mate as Forrest's face fell into defeat and began tearing up. He waited too long to only have one year to be with his lifelong mate. Axel continued to comfort him, knowing the whole pack was like this: fragile. Nearly a quarter of the pack didn't have mates due to the last war. Imagine this war.

~•~

Gilbert lied down outside with some wolves, keeping watch. His sight and hearing were incredibly sharp, and with the other wolves, they obviously surpassed Lavender. Among those wolves were Sally, Claude, John, Eli, Josh, Esmerelda, and Mixen. He may have been old, but he was stronger than an Alpha in all seriousness.

William brought tea to them every 10 minutes or so, he was drained from anxiety for Sally. Their relationship hadn't really progressed ever since they found each other. Sally was too brainwashed by previous packs to give any thought to even William, her mate. William, on the other hand, had all the feelings contained in his body for the two of them. He drank plenty of calming herb teas as being mates with Sally had drained him to great lengths.

Sally didn't want to join this pack in the first place, however, everyone respected William and his pleading to allow his mate to stay was too pitiful to deny. Nevertheless, they were a reminder that even true love didn't equal a happy ending.

John had nothing better to do. He spent most of his time among the guards in Light Claw, and definitely found some mental cures to a wounded heart from them. He no longer obsessed over Axel.

Claude was anxious as well. It was only him, his uncle, and Claudia, his little sister. He didn't feel satisfied unless he was part of watch, wanting to be able to detect any enemy movement to protect what's left of his family.

Everyone else sat further into the camp, quietly, no words forming anything more than a whisper for comfort. They all grieved the death's in the foreseeable future.

Then a small wisp of a scent came. Mixen's instincts first detected a presence, second came Gilbert as he stood alert. They all stood up, alerting the rest of the packs that the enemy was here.

Everyone rushed into formation, Lavender looming threateningly at the very back. Her white fur couldn't conceal the raging muscles tightening. Axel behind Forrest's large frame, only a foot away from his Alpha's. With 4 large beasts on their side, the enemy's scent stayed at bay for a few more minutes until they pounced.

The undetected wolves that managed to sneak closer caught the front row by surprise. Night Claw's army of 689 combined with Light Claw's army of 3,038, still threatened the enemy's alliance of 6,837. All opposing wolves couldnt keep their eyes off Lavender, in fear they'd lose sight of Her only to find Her right by them. Despite it all, in the first three hours of the war, a total of 2,382 wolves were killed.

Totem Tears, Crow's Death, and the last, Starr pack. Together they all made 5 packs, the only packs in the area ever since the first war.

Forrest killed quickly. He didn't go back to make sure they were dead because he knew they were. He only attacked those who got close to him and Axel, never moving forward.

"TRAITOR!"

Several  Starr wolves would yell at him before having their necks meet his claws.

"YOU COWARD!"

As the insults built up, Axel began losing focus.

"YOU ABANDONED U—"

Axel quickly turned to look at the wolf that said that, only to see her gurgling away at her own blood before Forrest. Axel looked up at his mate, but he was looking behind him and he pounced.

"Axel!", he growled, "don't let them distract you!"

Axel would've bit his cheeks had he been in his human form, and continued to fight.

Suddenly, Lavender barked out, "They're leading us deeper into the forest! Focus on keeping your ground!"

As the wolves looked up, they noticed they were under the trees instead of in their camp. From above, eyes stared back. Totem Tears. They highly specialized in silent tree climbing. The jumped off and killed much of what remained of the front lines. Death count rose to 2,786.

Gilbert, Lavender, Forrest, and our Beta had the highest kill streaks, thus they were heavily targeted. The weakest of them, our Beta, was piled on. He snarled in panic as they ripped him flesh off quickly. Gilbert and Forrest were quick to aid him, but by the time they got the wolves off him, our Beta was just a bloody disfigured dog. He was left to lay there, the two did their best to protect him, but they couldn't for long. Gilbert clenched his teeth, and in a rage, went off to attack more enemies. Such sentimentality wasn't a friend of His.

Lavender, on the other hand, looked ahead. Her eyes  were locked onto the Starr pack's Alpha. The killer of Her Violet.

Axel was at the rear of the pack. He saw wolves dragging their wounded allies to the back in order to treat them. Many couldn't move and were a wheezing pile of bloody death.

"Axel!", William called, "I know you are quick! Please, heal as many as you can, here!"

He handed Axel his medical pouch, he had an extra. Axel didn't waste his time as he bolted in the midst of the war. He'd run past the wolves, slapping on a goop of his creation onto unsuspecting allies. This grabbed the enemy's attention. Though the pasty substance was like glue to the fur, it did offer some protection and stopped the bleeding of the open wounds. Death count was at 2,967.

Violent roars, dark red floors, eyes never to see the end of the war as they stare, dull, into nothingness.

The battle was taking a turn, as Axel coated wolves with the goop. Sharp enemy claws that accidentally coated their claws with the substance had their attack decrease dramatically. It wasn't soon for medics of the Light Claw and Night Sky to catch up and follow Axel. Of course, Axel attracted attention. The Alpha of Starr pounced before a frightened Axel, raised a bloody paw and—

Forrest was dealt the blow in defending his mate.

"Traitor," He growled at Forrest.

Forrest stood his ground before the massive Alpha. The Alpha's fur was matted with dried blood, his breath foul from ripping the deep insides of wolves. A true bloodthirsty man. Axel ran off to continue his duty, despite how much it hurt him to leave his mate, it's a war.

Forrest was about to attack when a large frame landed near him. Lavender. Her white fur was red and brown, a plentiful amount of damage done to her.

"Can't even allow some time between," He looked at Forrest, "a father and His son...?" He scoffed, "that's too high a title for the bitch you raised him to be."

Forrest's eyes clouded with tears at the unbelievable anger he felt towards what he was forced to call a father.

"Go," Lavender gently said. Forrest seemed frozen to the ground. It took another gentle command from Her until Forrest obeyed.

"It ends here, Lavender," He grumbled in a low voice, "if I can kill the infamous Violet the Liberator, I can kill you.  "

Her expression didn't change, yes She was angry, but She needs to stay strong. She took a deep breath before attacking Starr's Alpha.

Forrest fought his way to Axel and protected him as he applied the hoop on wounded soldiers. Soon, the main focus were the medics. It got to the point where Forrest would continuously grow more and more enraged as he isn't able to protect Axel from every wolf.

It raged on. It was night now. 4,490 are dead. The enemy had around two thousand, the same with our pack. The war took too many wolves, Totem Tears and Crow's Death retreated. The Starr pack suffered the most losses as their Alpha forced them to fight. Exhausted, frightened, and feeling anger at their Alpha, the Starr wolves would retreat on their own.

Starr's Alpha was furious and even killed some of His own in an attempt to rule the others into staying through fear. That worked unsuccessfully.

"You've lost, again," Lavender murmured almost gently.

Doubly enraged, the Alpha looked around in desperation, and in seeing Axel, He charged.

This time, Forrest couldn't stand his ground when protecting Axel. Starr's Alpha roared in anger at seeing His traitorous son be so enslaved by the mating curse. He slashed at Forrest's fore arm and was about to deal another blow had Axel not stood in front of Forrest.

He was merely grazed by the Alpha's claws. Lavender had pulled Him back by the neck, forcing him harshly onto the ground. He hurriedly stood, "No...defeated again...?"

Lavender slowly approached Him.

"I am the Alpha of the Starr pack! My peopl—!"

"What people?", she continued her slow approach.

"...right...only I...I'm the strongest. Me, alon—!"

The Alpha was shaken from His thoughts as Lavender towered over Him. He stumbled back with a shuddering gasp. Lavender reclaimed the space between them with a step forward. It went on until the Alpha ran deep into the forest, Lavender on the pursuit.

The rest of the pack didn't bother with the slowly retreating wolves, they were most likely going to die on their way. Axel's wolf form lay next to Forrest's as he cleaned his face. Erick, a medic, was patching him up. He had finished cleaning the wound. Some were tending to the wounded. Some gathering the fallen for a proper burial. And the rest, dead. In the end, the battle was over, it had been won. What's next was to make an agreement with the other packs, declare the Night Sky an official pack.

But for now, Axel soothed Forrest.

"It's okay, it's okay." Axel would whisper.

"No, no it's not," Forrest would faintly reply.

"What's wrong?"

Forrest paused. He looked at nothing as a tear slowly slipped down, "You have me for a mate."

Axel nuzzled his snout in Forrest's neck, "As I should."

Silence.

"When I was a pup, I had to kill my siblings," Axel listened, "It was a tradition for Alpha litters in my old pack."

Forrest took a shaky breath, "I still taste their blood in my mouth, hear their growls, they were angry, we were all angry, we wanted to live. We were just pups."

It was Axel's turn to take a shaky breath, he stifled a sob to no avail. Forrest slightly moved his head to look at his mate. Axel looked back at his full yet worried eyes. Suddenly, Forrest looked away, feeling unworthy. He tried to get up, to get away, but Erick pushed him back down gently and Axel gently bit at his neck to urge him back down. Forrest laid back with a thump. He couldn't help but nuzzle at Axel's fur when Axel nuzzled at his neck.

"And then...?

The curious wolf's mate sighed, "And then, that was my life until that war. I saw...my father...fight against a much bigger wolf. No ones ever seen a bigger wolf than Him. She came because of what we did the day before. We held an execution for Violet, Her mate. No one but Him could kill her."

Forrest took inhaled and exhaled before continuing.

"When She came, She first set fire to our camp. My people would rush out of camp, only to be slaughtered by Her pack who have surrounded themselves outside the fire. My father fought Lavender, He almost died. I've never seen my father weak. That sense of justice, wanting of revenge, fueled me as I watched the glorious Alpha of the rogue pack overpowered my father."

"How did He escape?" Axel asked.

"He ran," Forrest clenched his jaw.

For the first time, Axel was learning of Forrest's past. Though the memories were painful for Forrest, both wolves felt relieved.

"I was still a pup by then. I was terrified, hid behind a smoking log, watched as Lavender killed wolves and pups. Even Her own pack was scared of Her. She howled, it was the most..."

Forrest looked deep in thought, "After it was over...I followed Her scent back to Her camp. She was a massive, intimidating wolf surrounded by medics. That's when I told Her I wanted to join the Night Sky."

Forrest was shaken out of the past as Axel's sniffle invaded his ears. His eyes met his mate's pitiful ones.

"Axel, don't cry," Forrest whispered, licking his mate's cheek, "I'll stop, no more stories."

"No," Axel rested his head on Forrest's neck, "I love you. I love you. I'm your mate, and I'm glad to be, cuz I love you."

Forrest swallowed and teared up. The weakness forced his body into a human's and he just hugged Axel tightly to him. Axel had him shift back due to Erick's panicking. Forrest groaned in pain as he felt all the wound all over him again.

Axel chuckled, lifting Forrest's heart. He chuckled too.

"Drawing used to help distract me from it all, but now you're here."

"I'll keep having you carry me around to keep you distracted, haha."

Forrest let out a small laugh and inched closer to rest his massive head on Axel's smaller body, "You helped me move on."

Axel gulped as he stared at Forrest. His mate had his eyes closed and it wasn't soon until he was sleeping. Axel thought of how in the beginning, he was terrified of Forrest, he heard stories of how he joined the pack, but they were vague distant memories compared to what he had heard just now.

The wolves of the Night Sky pack had gone through so much...he only had a slice of it. His parents kept the past in the past like the rest of the wolves here. And his mate, his beloved Forrest Starr. He carried that name, that blood, but it didn't matter...he was living proof of the good that could come from the bad. What Forrest did before may never leave him, but that didn't fixate him as it either. The Night Sky was for second chances, after all, learn from the past, live in the present, look to the future.

And in this present moment, Axel accepts Forrest for all that he is, and in the future, he'll continue to love him just the same.