Kimmik

Kimmik, arise.

Kimmik. Now is your time.

The whispers filled her head, their insistent murmur creating a buzz that Kimmik could not shake free. Blinking the drowsiness from her eyes, Kimmik unfurled her tail from where it lay wrapped over her nose. The den was dark and silent, the cold stone floor pressing against her belly fur. Scraps of feathers and bedding clung to Kimmik's fur as she shifted her position.

I have woken, she said, listening in her mind for the shadows. What moment is this that your herald?

A single voice echoed in her mind. Scent. Gamma Death is no longer here.

Instantly, Kimmik's fur rose as though she had fallen suddenly through rotten ice and plunged into the dark water beneath. An unpleasant tinge coated her skin, a feeling that she attempted to force away. Straining her senses, she listened in the darkness. The breathing of the pack filled her ears. The shadows were right; Death's scent was fading rapidly. Kimmik stood, shaking stray bedding from her coat. She crouched, pulling herself through the narrow opening of the den. As benefitted a wolf of her rank, she held the second-last den, requiring her to walk past the other wolves in order to reach the exit. Kimmik drew herself to her full height as she entered the Warrior's quarters, the heavy breathing and sleepy musk of the wolves hovering on the air around her. Kimmik's eyes flowed as she surveyed them. So helpless, she could kill them all in a second. She was untouchable; the helm had made it so. They were so still, so unsuspecting...

The Gamma, the shadows reminded her. It is her blood you wish to bathe in.

Yes, Kimmik reminded herself. Her eyes landed upon the puppy-like form of Ambassador Garwen. If all went as planned, she would pin Death's murder upon him. It would easily remove him from his position, giving Kimmik greater comfort.

As she passed, she caught the the bright gleam of reflected eyes in her peripheral vision. Kimmik stopped, her muscles poised for action as she glanced at Garwen's form. She watched his face, but it seemed peaceful, the uncomplicated visage of a pup. After a few moments, she continued, exiting the den quickly.

Within minutes, Kimmik located Death's scent, unmistakable. Another shiver coursed through her body, but this one was pleasant. An itch that began at the base of her skull, traveling to the tip of her tail and making her feel alive. Making her want to follow the Gamma. Making the desired sensation of her teeth meeting in the throat of another wolf the farthest thing from her mind.

Head and tail raised, Kimmik took a few steps towards the scent, succumbing to an urge that she couldn't explain.

Beta Kimmik, you are weak. The shadow's voice was dripping with sustain, scornful. It's very words scorched her veins like acid. Kimmik froze at the sound, far more venomous than anything she had ever heard the wraiths utter. Far from being coaxing, the voice showed her the contempt that she normally felt for wolves below her station, wolves that were too afraid to do anything they could to get what they most desired. It was as though a wall in her mind was swept away, allowing her bloodlust and her burning hate to surround her placid thoughts, choking the life out of them as though the positions had been reversed. As though it was another wolf that had its jaws around her throat, stealing the space until there was no more room to breathe and all she had left was malice.

Her eyes narrowed, and her muscles spasmed, sending her blunt claws deeper into the dirt. It was as though liquid adrenaline was running through her veins. She wanted to bite into the thick muscle covering Death's body, tear it from her bones in the way the she sheared the meat from the body of fallen prey. She would roll in the Gamma's entrails, watching as the bat-like wings slowly soaked in the rising red tide of blood.

Yessssss, the shadows hissed, Now is your time. Go.

Kimmik didn't hesitate. She bunched her muscles and sprang forwards into a run, her icy blue eyes blazing as she covered the earth on silent paws. Death had made no attempt to hide her scent, and Kimmik followed it like an invisible map through the trees. Why should the Gamma conceal her traces? She believed she was safe; here in the centre of the WUFM pack's power.

Kimmik slowed to a stealthy prowl as the scent grew stronger, mixing with the humid sweetness of running water. She was nearing the river now, and she needed to hurry. She would loose Death's scent among the rocks if she hesitated. Slowly, silently, Kimmik dropped to a crouch. Her tail was still and close to the ground, her powerful body seeming to lengthen as she drew herself across the ground. Her ears were fixed forwards as she silently pushed past a thicket of ferns.

There she was. Completely oblivious, her beautiful fur shining in the moonlight. Death's back was to Kimmik, her long, furry tail relaxed as she bent her neck to lap a few droplets of water from the lake. Saliva flooded Kimmik's mouth, lubricating her canines for slicing. Death's unprotected flank was an invitation, her wings languidly folded across her back so that she could not fly away. It was perfect. Kimmik could almost taste the sweet, salty tang of her blood as it ran past her tongue.

Slowly, she lowered herself even further, digging her rear feet into the ground as she prepared to spring.

"Death!" A tiny voice, sounding like that of a pup, slammed down upon Kimmik, shaking her concentration. A small blue ball of fur bust out of the bushes to Kimmik's right, catapulting itself towards death. Ambassador Garwen leaped onto the Gamma's head, perching there as he proceeded to gnaw on one of her ears. Kimmik's concentration was so broken that she did not seem him cast his gaze around, surveying the clearing with a glance too knowing for what a pup should be capable of.

The noise startled Kimmik, causing her to stand. Immediately she was noticed by Death, the Gamma turning to face her. "K..Kimmik," she sputtered, but Kimmik's eyes were drawn to Garwen's face.

"Kimmik," he said evenly, his eyes cold. A burning madness raged just beneath the surface, it's fire adding to the heat of Kimmik's rage.

Kill her now! The shadows wailed, their voices a ceaseless tornado in Kimmik's head. Take the Ambassador with her. Neither of them deserve to live.

Kimmik's eyes narrowed, the corners of her mouth turned up into a feral smile that was concealed all too well by the metal of the helm. Garwen seemed to sense her change in demeanour. He leaped down from his resting place on Death's head, planting himself firmly in front of her. The action was unneeded; Kimmik knew Death was a formidable fighter. Formidable, but not strong enough to counter the Helm's abilities. She never stood a chance.

"Îglisk, this is for you," Kimmik snarled, her eyes alight.

No, the shadows crowed, this is for you.

Kimmik tensed her muscles and sprang, her claws unfalteringly aimed for Death's throat.

Time seemed to slow as she sailed through the air. Almost against her will, flashes of memory came to her, cutting through the fog that clouded her mind.

Death's dark form curled against a rock, her fur shining and her delicate wings folded against her body. Death's snarling form as she stood over Beta Iode, her red eyes alight and fury seeming to blaze from within. Death's protective growl as she challenged Kimmik, the threat to her pack. Death's obedience to the Alpha. Death's beauty. Death's strength. Death's pain.

Kimmik skidded to a halt a paw step away from Death. Their eyes locked, Kimmik's wide with shock, Death's steady, resignation hidden at their depths. For a moment the two wolves stared at her other, frozen, dark bodies tensed to flee at the sudden threat. The shadows were a maelstrom in Kimmik's mind, their voices overlapping into a cacophonous shriek of anger.

It was Death that moved first. Anger flared into her eyes, mixing with betrayal as Kimmik searched her face. It was as though she was a pup, laid bare and vulnerable before the Gamma. "Kimmik..." Death said. Her voice was tight, hostile. She took a step away from her, revulsion clear in her ruby eyes.

Kimmik didn't wait. She turned and fled, the shadows and their voices chasing her away from the river, away from the pack, and away from Death. Kimmik's breaths heaved in her chest as horror filled her. No matter how fast she ran, she could not escape the feeling of Death's hostile stare, the look on her face burned onto Kimmik's mind forever.

GarwenTheBlueWolf WolfLover1670

Both of you were featured in this chapter, I hope you liked it! Sorry it took me so long, this one was rough...