The mass of bodies on the horizon only grew wider and wider, until it seemed to darken the sky. Bronze stood next to me, stiff. On the other size of my flank, Storm's muzzle wrinkled.

"Wolves."

"No..." Midnight meows in distress, and I hear some cat gasp.

"There's so many of them!"

"Is it really?" I've been looking away, refusing to believe this. Refusing to believe that after traveling so far it had come to this. Refusing to believe my mother was wrong about this place and that wolves could in fact easily reach it like any other determined animal.

"This isn't good. Have they been tracking you here?" By now the wolves scent was strong and carried on the breeze, causing some cheetahs to burst out into nervous chatter.

"Not that we know of. We lost three that captured us in a fire," I mumbled. "And never saw them after we escaped."

"But Ash was already on his way to us then. He's been following all along!" Hannah wails, causing me to grow desperate for some control.

"We're going to die," Fallan yowled, so different than she'd been just ten minutes ago. My breathing picked up as I came to terms with all the turmoil we were about to face.

Wolves were here, and this time it was a whole pack. A huge one.

"What do we do?" I asked, and every cat in my Pride looked at me expectantly. I knew I was the leader, but I needed help this time.

"What Spirit is trying to say is, do we want to run or fight this time?"

Well spoken, Midnight.

"I want to fight," Storm said with a growl. He swiped a large black paw through the air, tainted with black thorn-like claws. Whatever the majority of my Pride wanted, was what I was in for. Secretly I knew it was wiser to run and gave us a better chance of survival. But where else could we run after this, and for how long would it hide us?

"We aren't going to have our Pride-lands taken over," Bronze stated. The dark tan cheetah with yellow eyes had a deep voice compared to his two sons, who stood beside him and spoke their agreement. One whose name I didn't know, probably the second in command, commented further.

"We're going to need help from all the cheetah Prides. I'd say there's about forty minutes before they reach us."

"Good. Then you take Daisy with you, while Leap and Prowl head for the opposite direction. Hurry, so we can share the plan when we get back."

"So it's decided and we're really fighting?" Hannah interrupts their conversation. She looked frantic, digging her claws into the ground. Diamond stared towards the mass off dark bodies and turned her head.

"We have to or we'll just keep running our whole lives. Right?"

Her bright blue eyes sought mine for approval, and I nodded, proud of the now-grown calico cat. She had come farther than a lot of cats I knew, and still didn't know her real mother like so many in our Pride.

"If we have to fight for anything, it needs to be here. For our own territory, and with other cheetahs around us." I hoped my words brought faith to those like Hannah and Fallan, but just then my younger sister let out another whine.

"I can't fight. What do I do?"

Storm moved forward. His gaze was dark and worried.

"Fallan, you should probably go towards the river with Diamond now. It's the safest place to hide, in a tree near the opposite side of the waterline. Roll in something to hide your-"

"What? I'm fighting!" Diamond growled, lowering herself and testing anyone around her to deny.

"No you aren't!" Hannah hissed but I know she's so fearful for all of us that her over-protective side is showing again.

"Yes I am," Diamond argued.

"Stop it!" Midnight scolded. My best friend strolls up to them, lashing her tail and settling beside my legs. Her sleek, slender frame matches her purple eyes as she slits them to look more serious.

"Spirit is the one who decides what fighters get to fight. We've all trained for this, for many moons, so that our skills are sharp. It's Warm-Paws and are all well-fed. The wolves need to be stopped once and for all! Their weaker than us!" She yowls, but nobody yowls with her.

Midnight's speech had quieted everyone, until I knew I had the attention. Bronze had turned away to speak to his own Pride of cats, which was larger than ours. The pregnant she-cat was standing to the side, clearly waiting on instructions. I swoop my tail around Midnight to show my support and stand up.

"Fallan, you don't have to fight. I want you to take her to the tallest tree on the other side of the river-bank that you can find." In the distance, the light glistened off the water. I could see a few straggly trees and one tall one, just a dot of hazy green and brown.

"Make sure you stay there until some cat comes to get you." Fallan was going to protest, but I stepped forward to talk to her more quietly.

"Make sure you protect those unborn kits. And... If nobody comes to find you by tonight then head for the forest at the top of this territory and disappear."

"Unfortunately you'll have to swim across, and find the shallow water by reaching the scent-marks. Over there is Pool's territory and she'll welcome you. Just explain the situation, she stays alone and won't be fighting either," Blaze advised.

Fallan's eyes were watery and unsure, but soon she pressed her muzzle into my fur and turned to everyone else. It was sad to watch my sister go, maybe for the last time, but I had to make sure we were prepared.

"Does anyone else not want to fight? Hannah, or Aspen?"

Immediately the orange-and-white tabby stood up, determination in his gaze. He came to sit beside his mate, close to me and Storm.

"Oh, I'm definitely fighting."

"So am I," Hannah said after a moment of hesitation. "I won't let Diamond fight alone."

"But I don't see how we're going to gather enough cheetahs in such short time. Is this just a death wish?" The green-eyed cheetah looked very distressed, her head and shoulders lowered.

"Of course not. When we fight, we just have to fight like them."

"With our teeth?" Some cat from Bronze's pride asked, causing a growl of annoyance and one snort of laughter. I ignored it and swished my tail.

"No. You fight to cause damage. Go for their eyes first, so they can't see you. Attack the soft parts, like a neck, ears or muzzle."

"Wait. You're sending the... Human-cats to fight, too?" One of Bronze's sons looked confused as he asked, so I sighed and glared him down.

"They can fight well enough, trust me. And they're wild cats now." Bending down close to Diamond, Aspen and Midnight, I added "be fast and ruthless." Hopefully I wasn't crazy to let the small, domesticated cats fight. If one of them got too hurt- which I couldn't think about, I would deeply regret it.

"I think we need some sort of system that gives us an advantage," Storm spoke up loudly to steer us back on track. I flick my ear in embarrassment and step closer to him.

"We should fight in pairs," Diamond advised and I was proud for the second time as I considered the other cat's throwing in ideas.

"We could surround them."

"We don't have enough cheetahs for that."

"Maybe we can lure them into a trap?

"Both good ideas, I suppose." Bronze says with a nod. His eyes are smaller and have grey around them, but still the old cat looks healthy and capable.

"As we know, the river isn't far off. Fallan and Hazel are on the other side of it, but just out of our territory it rises into a cliff. We could push the wolves off that cliff and into the water below."

"That's only if we start loosing too badly."

"We'll need someone to watch from higher up so we can tell if we're loosing or not!" Diamond blurted, but was obviously happy at her idea when Bronze nodded agreement.

"Daisy will do that." The smaller sandy cheetah nodded and studied her paws from next to her mate. She looks very dainty, so it was obvious that she was relieved to be selected and excluded from fighting.

"I'll yowl really, really loud if we need to do that."

"Make sure every cat spreads the word when other cheetahs get here. Now go get in position," Bronze said to the lithe female with the white chest, Daisy, and she padded away.

"There's more cheetahs coming!" Yowled Diamond, her ears and neck stretched far. I could see a group of orange, yellow and tan pelts, most with sand-yellow eye colors. When the group finally reached us, I realized there was two cheetahs standing to the side, a larger middle group and only four cheetahs in the last group.

"We've got three Prides, including Sand's pride." That must have been the largest one in the middle, with a sandy faded pelt and eyes.

Bronze stepped forward and dipped his head, while I lowered mine respectfully. A tall, muscular yellow cheetah stepped forward, her eyes narrow and frame tense.

"Why have the wolves come here again?" As Bronze explained, the cheetah turned her head towards me. I would of shrunk under her gaze if she had been older, but this cheetah was my age and not intimidating in anything but being loud.

"Great job, feline. Now we all have to fight for our territories!"

"There's no point in blaming another," Storm growled as he spoke up, before I could shoot a retort about nothing being done on purpose. "If you don't want to help then leave." I felt proud for Storm handling the situation, but had to push aside the need to speak up for myself afterwards.

"My Pride is going to fight. Is there a plan?" Behind her, cheetahs fanned out. The differences of all of them fascinated me, from smaller ears to long tails and blotchy markings like Blaze had.

"Well, we can reach out to Coral's pride if I send a messenger. I'm sure he wouldn't want to miss out on this."

I came to find out, after waiting, that Coral's pride had three male cheetahs in it and one female who seemed distant from them. The short, stocky cheetah leader seemed full of himself as he boasted about how easy the battle would be.

If you think it'll be easy you were gifted zero sense from the Sky-cat. Ash and his daughter will never give in, I thought in my head as I remembered the huge black wolf from my dreams, all those 'Paws ago. Her eyes had glowed in a sinister way, like the Howler's soul stood inside of her.

"Spirit, are you okay? Two more Pride's arrived and Bronze is handling the pairs now." Behind me, I could hear the cheetah yelling over the meows of many other cats. I hadn't realized I had sat down until now, or that Storm was here.

"I'm just worried. Whether Fallan and Shine got up that tree, how these wolves got to us, and if we're going to live."

"We will live," Storm murmured with a nuzzle. I nestled into his fur quietly, trying not to draw any attention and knowing I looked the opposite of a leader right now.

"Fallan will be safe and so will all of us, and we'll get our own territory and raise our own kits." Storm, for a second, purrs. Out of every problem we have right now, he purrs... And that makes me do it, too- because there's more hope than I ever thought before. More to fight for.

"You're right. Thank you." I press my head against Storm's, which is much taller and larger. He wraps his paw around my shoulder, pulling me closer.

"I'm afraid that I have to fight with Aspen and you have to fight with Midnight, so the smaller cats have more of a chance. But during the battle I'll look for you, and after."

"Please be careful," I breathe and touch him one more time. Storm's nose presses against mine once and then he goes to sit beside Aspen, in rows and rows of cheetahs and our Pride's cats.

Aspen bushes out his fur as a thick, heavy scent rolls over us. Storm unleashes his claws, looks at me, and lashes his tail. Hannah is behind him, with Diamond at her side. I know she will do anything to keep her foster-kit alive, and that a lot of cats here had a personal fued against the wolves.

Just like me. When Ash killed my mother.

"Leaders at the front with their partners behind them!" Bronze calls, while some of the cats yowl in excitement. Others look nervous, while a few even lash their tales with angry gazes like Storm. I wonder then what wolves have taken from them and what they went through to make it here, where cheetahs probably originated.

I'm told the names of the other leaders but mostly I'm not listening, because the Great Paw is brighter and the mass of bodies looks dark and intimidating when compared. The wolves are running now, swallowing up the golden color of the grass with their pelts. As they begin running up the side of the hill we're on, they swarm around rocks and over each other, snapping and snarling. They haven't reached Bronze's territory yet, and we're on almost the very edge. Bronze leads us forward with his tail high, so I lift mine.

"This is it. Stay in your pairs!"

"Spirit," Midnight whispers. I hear her somehow and crane my head to listen.

"We don't outnumber the wolves but we outweigh them in loyalty. Some of them must not want to fight under the black wolf's rule."

"I'll do my best," I say to her. With only a touch to the top of her head, the moment is over and Midnight's lips are peeled back in hatred.

You've taken so much from us. Now I just hope you soon won't be able to take more.

My pelt ripples as I imagine wolf skin breaking under my claws, and splitting some ears of those that tore my mother apart.

As the wolves began to appear in front of us on clearer ground, I see her. The large black wolf in the lead with red eyes howls long before she reaches us. Before she stops, several cat-lengths away, I can see that she is abnormally large and powerful.

"About time," she says. Her head is high, her tail-fur being blown by the wind. I feel no fear yet- and I can tell this wolf hasn't either.

"We've been tracking you cats since the fire that killed Rack! Loosing scent trails and spreading out to find you." She snarls, a throaty and threatening sound.

"But now there's actually a fighting chance for you! Since you pesky bird-food joined together like a swarm of vultures."

Hatred burns in the wolf's eyes, hard and sinister. If there ever were a Howler in a ground-living form, it would look like this wolf. She truly wanted to sink her teeth into flesh, and break the necks of every single one of us.

"That's nice. What's your name?" Bronze's son meows loudly as the ground vibrates with the wolf's paws, ripping through the ground.

Without a sign of Ash, (the old Star-wolf who is the previous leader) dozens and dozens of wolves spread out in a line that is longer than ours. They have tightly muscled bodies and let their tongues fall from running. Rows and rows of pointed teeth almost make me become nervous, but instead I throw the black wolf a look that she deserves.

A smile cracks on her mouth, showing long yellow fangs that must have killed before. She's young, though, around eight seasons, judging by the minimal stains on her teeth.

"Spirit is the reason for all of this, really. And her litter-sister Fallan, and Hannah. In fact, I think the whole entire cheetah population needs wiped out!" She laughs, while several wolves laugh along with her.

Some cheetahs rose their voice in indignation, yowling or spitting anxious things that had happened to them.

"I came here to escape the wolves!" A cheetah from my line shouted, while a paw-full of others confessed their troubles, too.

I only glimpsed the leader's fiery pelt under the strong light before the wolf caught attention again with a bark that pierced my ears.

"Oh, and- by the way, my name is Mace. We've brought along some of your friends, I think- Spirit?" It's evil eyes are looking at me now, dangerous and taunting. What does she mean?

And then the knot of wolf bodies part to reveal Shadow with the rest of his pack. Shadow has a cut above one eye, while him and the rest of the dogs look harmed in one way or another. Before I can speak, the Alpha knashes her teeth together.

"Don't worry, they're going to help fight you with us! Just to show how much cats deserve to die. Sniveling little rat-like creatures, lazy and weak! Today is the-" I knew that Mace was looking at me as she spoke, and wanted to kill me more than any other wolf here, probably.

But that didn't stop me from looking at Shadow with pity. He searched my gaze, standing up tall with a saddened expression. I think I hear the old dog bark once, but I can't be sure because he's blocked from view just then.

"Shadow!" I yowl then, feeling a burst of confidence. I know what to say now.

"And your pack, and all of the wolves who get treated with hatred in Mace's pack, and from Ash's! Fight with us for freedom." I hope I don't sound pleading, but the wolves outnumber us. A few of them growl but some prick their ears and look nervous from this far away. Maybe some would choose to fight on the right side.

"Soon you won't be able to run your mouth. And all of your cheetah friends get to die with you! All at once. How nice is that?" When I look back, the she-wolf has her head lowered and paws planted like she's ready to strike.

"And where is your father? Ash?" I narrow my eyes in challenge, knowing he's in that crowd somewhere. Yelling has my voice hoarse, but keeping this she-wolf far away was good strategy for nervous cheetahs to calm down and let their blood boil at the words of a wolf.

Mace may want to kill me more since she's leader in the bloodline now, but Ash had killed my mother and Hannah's. He'd held a grudge for me blinding him in one eye, and for the three cubs that had been the only ones to escape his grasp.

"Ash has nothing to do with this fued. This has been coming for a long time, cats. Generation after generation, always fighting. Well, it's time for one side to win- and I'll go down in history as the wolf that avenged the Howler and my father!" At the end of her words, she lets out a blood-curling howl to which the rest of the wolves join in.

She sounds crazy.

Suddenly, all of the glaring eyes and mass of furry bodies are moving towards us. Some wolves skitter over or under others, tripping them to run the other way, while my heart leaps up in my throat. I can't even care that those few wolves that don't fight help our odds- I'm suddenly terrified for my Pride.

"Cheetah's and cats... Attack!" I yowl, my claws and teeth out. I feel powerful as well as scared- my adrenaline is at it's peak and my claws are fully stretched- ready to avenge my mother's death and face a battle that's been long coming. I just didn't see that it was destined to be before this.

I always thought running from the wolves was the answer. But it's not anymore. We were young and powerful, more so than them.

And I pray that we all make it out alive.

As the mass of wolves hurled forward, I already knew we were outnumbered. But, if some wolves and the dogs fought on our side, we had a much bigger chance. And a second plan if things went wrong.

The wolves were on us very soon, and I was surprised that Mace didn't come straight for me. She was lost in the throng of bodies, probably meaning to finish me off after I grew weak and tired.

Rolling my muscles, I bared my teeth and knew that it wouldn't be so easy to make me or the rest of the Pride back down.

When the wolves were close enough to hear their greedy, rasping breaths, Shadow and his dogs broke through and pounded towards us. I stiffened, wondering whether Mace's threats had scared them all into submission.

"This ends now," Shadow snarled, one of his long floppy ears ripped down the middle. It's beggining to scab up but still the stout old dog looks menacing as he flips around and lifts his tail.

"And we're fighting beside you."