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26

"Oh no..." Danado whispered as some Wolves cheered and others stood stupefied. The Chieftaincy had changed hands four times in a single hour, twice to the same Wolf. This was unheard of. "Can he even do that?"

Lana snorted. "Wardo manipulated the system. He and Dorin must have planned it all in advance, just in case Hezzi decided to pull something stupid like this."

Danado sighed. Hezzi had fought so hard, but it was that blow to the stomach that had signalled the end. No amount of training, no matter how intense, could save you from something like that. It was probably useless from the start. He only hoped the kid would be okay...

Wardo suddenly burst out of the crowd and pranced to the centre of the circle with his arms in the air like a child who had won a prize. He seized the Chieftain's necklace and threw it over his head, smiling and laughing. It was a sickening sight to behold, but as much as Danado would have preferred to slink away, he was kind of stuck. Lana had his arm slung around her shoulders, and she was the only thing keeping him upright. His toes had burned like fire with every step they took to get here, but the snow was actually doing a pretty good job numbing the pain. Probably wasn't doing them any good, though, even with the extra-thick wrappings.

"Thank you, thank you once again!" Wardo said, bowing dramatically in all directions, probably just to make that damn necklace bang against his chest every time he straightened up. "And thank you, Dorin! My, my, this is so unexpected! I never would have dreamed that something like this could ever happen to me. But of course, you're a wise one. Just like Kadai, you know what's best for this tribe."

Dorin nodded his head, his wrist still dripping.

"Dorin should have kept that damn necklace," Lana whispered. "That's the major flaw in Wardo's little loophole, and yet that puppet just went along with it."

Danado thought about what his sister was saying, and watched the scene play out before him in very fine detail. There was Hezzi, lying in a puddle of blood and melted snow. There was Renna holding his hand, constantly talking. There was Shekka, pressing a bloody rag against her son's back so hard that tendons stood out in her neck and arms. There was Nilia, grinding her teeth, looking like she was about ready to kill somebody. There was Wardo, addressing his stunned audience, talking about how he would raise them all up to what they were always meant to be. And standing by his side, completely motionless save for the occasional nod, was Dorin, the Wolf who had ripped out his claws, one by one, in exchange for the promise that nothing would happen to his sister.

It had been so dark, and Danado thought he might have blacked out once or twice, but he could still remember the smile Dorin had worn, clear as day. It wasn't a big smile like the one Wardo always wore. It didn't show off any of his teeth. It was barely noticeable, really. It appeared just as he had finished cutting the first claw from his right hand. It was actually kind of funny. Danado couldn't remember the feeling very well, nor could he remember the blood flowing from his fingertips or the way he had struggled to scream through the ropes binding his muzzle, but he remembered that smile. It was a small little smile, only touching the corners of his mouth. It had been a smile of contentment, of peace, the smile of a Wolf doing something he had been longing to do for a very long time.

"It's because he likes it," Danado said.

"Huh? Likes what?"

"He likes what's happening, and so do the others. That's why he surrendered the necklace. He can see what's coming, and he wants to be a part of it. That's all."

"That's a scary thought. But you know what, Dan? Sometimes you're not as stupid as you look."

"Wow, thanks, sis."

"You want to know what I think?"

"What?"

"They've been held back. Their whole lives. There's been no war this generation. No serious crime or punishments. But then Banno was killed. That's what started it, I think, although maybe it's been brewing for far longer. Then came Ander's trial, and that only made things worse. Kadai managed to keep things under control for a while, but he's gone now. All these Wolves, there's something they've been craving so badly, something that's been missing. All it took was one taste, and now they can't get enough."

"What are you talking about?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Lana turned her head slightly, and Danado could see her haunted eyes, the way they were staring at a nightmare world becoming more real by the second. "It's blood, dear brother. Blood. That's all they want. That's all they care about. It doesn't matter if it comes from Banno, or Ander, or Garten, or Kadai, or Hezzi, or Dorin, or even you, some idiot who stuck his foot out at the wrong time. Just look at them."

Danado didn't have to look to know what was going on, but he looked anyway. No one was really paying much attention to what Wardo was saying. They were all too focused on the bloodshed, and now that the challenge was over, the line didn't mean anything anymore. Wolves were already crowding around Hezzi's prone form, despite Shekka's ear-piercing suggestions that they kindly back off. Others were more interested in Dorin and his shredded wrist, and there were even more sniffing around all the red patches in the snow.

"It's bloodlust, Dan. Plain and simple. They're just animals who want to slaughter."

Danado didn't like the look in Lana's eye. It was the same look she had worn when he had stumbled home, leaving behind an endless trail of crimson footprints. It was the same look she had worn when Chieftain Kadai came to talk. And, the most terrifying thing of all, it was close to being the same kind of look Dorin had worn as he cut Danado's claws from his hands. It was just as she described it. Bloodlust. Plain and simple.

"Lana? Are you all right?"

"Huh? Oh, I'm... I'm sorry, Dan. I'm just really tired."

"Am I getting too heavy?"

"Well, now that you mention it, ever since you started lying around our tent all day long you have been getting kind of pudgy."

"Oh, ha ha, very funny."

"Sorrin?" She reached over and poked the big Wolf in the arm. "Excuse me, Sorrin?"

"Hrm, wha?" He started a little at her touch, no doubt still grimly fascinated by Wardo's disgusting displays.

"Could you take Dan for a minute? I'm sorry, my shoulder's killing me and I really -"

"Oh, sure! Of course! Hand him over."

"Thanks, Sorrin."

After a bit of slightly awkward manoeuvring which made Danado feel like a piece of unwieldy luggage, they were able to switch places so that his arm now rested firmly over Sorrin's burly shoulders.

"I got you, friend."

"Sorry to be such a bother, Sorrin," he said.

"No problem at all."

"Hey Lana, when is this supposed to... Lana?"

She wasn't standing next to him anymore.

"Lana?" Danado looked over his shoulder, thinking that maybe she had been jostled back a bit by the crowd, but she wasn't there, either. "Lana, where did you go?" He looked left and right, hoping to catch a glimpse of her through the bustling bodies, but she was nowhere to be seen. "Lana, where are you?"

"Maybe she just went back to her tent," Sorrin suggested. "She said she was feeling tired."

"She would've told me!" Danado could feel fine tendrils of panic start to twist around his heart, and the worst part of it was that he had no idea why_he suddenly felt so frightened. There was just this overwhelming feeling deep inside that he had to find her, and he had to find her _right now. "Sorrin, please help me look for her! Lana! Lanaa -

*

• aaah!"

Lana bowed her head and squeezed through the crowd, working her way to the other side of the circle. She needed to get closer to where Wardo was.

"Lanaaah! Hey, where are you!?"

He knows something's up, Lana thought. She liked to make fun at her little brother's expense, calling him stupid all the time, but truth be told, he was probably one of the sharpest Wolves in the tribe. Although, considering his competition, that wasn't really saying much. Just take her for example. She was about to do something monumentally stupid.

"Lana!"

She couldn't afford to let her resolve slip now, so she closed her ears against his cries and continued on her way, easily slipping past the screaming Wolves like a spectre, slowly moving closer and closer to where Hezzi lay, where the crowd was bulging in towards the centre. It was there that she'd be able to get closest to their brand new Chieftain. It was there she'd be able to remain hidden until the very last second.

She placed her hand against the dagger on her hip, feeling the smooth, reassuring presence of the pommel pressing into her palm.

It was there that she'd finally be able to get her revenge.