"Wake up. The moon is out tonight."

Misty rolled over, not telling him that she actually wasn't asleep. She couldn't. Not until she found the answers Hidden promised were awaiting her.

Cayden gestured with his nose, pointing at a huge mountainside with a yawning cave opening at the bottom. "I think that's where we need to go."

Misty jumped up, itching to understand the madness running wild in Samara's twisted mind. Everything was about to come clear.

She pushed through the last few trees and stood at the edge of the darkening forest, staring out across the landscape to the cave in the side of the mountain. It's all come to this.

Surely, she took one step after another, bringing herself closer to unknown threats, promised answers, and whatever else may be lurking in the constant shadows.

She didn't have to look to know that Cayden was walking beside her, his ears pricked and alert. His steps as light as a falling feather.

Misty didn't give herself time to think. She plunged into the darkness, and instantly the air shifted. Carrying a cool breeze through the tunnel that smelled damp and of the earth. The dirt path beneath her paws turned to stone, moist and cold to the touch. She suppressed the shiver that ran down her spine.

The moonlight behind them faded as they reached deeper within the cave. Strangely, Misty felt surprised to be relieved when the light turned to pitch black. She wasn't afraid or nervous. She embraced the gloom with a black heart.

Cayden, on the other paw, was about ready to have a come apart.

"Are you sure this is right?" The tone of his voice suggested that he was trying to conceal his fear, but Misty could smell it. His uneven breathing gave him away. But she didn't acknowledge the fact that her partner was on the verge of a mental breakdown.

"Yes." She replied, sniffing the air as she picked up her pace.

Cayden's footsteps fell much quicker. She knew he was trying his hardest to keep her with him. "Hidden say where we would find our answers. She only told us which direction to go in."

"My instinct is telling me that this is the right way, Cayden."

"Sure. Because you're the expert right?"

"Yes."

Cayden swallowed. "You're not scared?"

Misty paused and faced him. She knew they couldn't see each other, but she could easily picture the expression on his face.

"I'm done being scared."

And he didn't say anything in response to that.

~~~

It had felt like a lifetime. Walking in that dark, confined tunnel. Misty's paws began to ache. She longed to curl up and sleep, but she was determined. The drive to protect what family she had left was stronger.

Misty was thinking about turning around when the tunnel ahead was glowing with a faint silver light as the path steepened into an upward climb.

She had to squint against it after being in the dark for so long. Each step brought her closer to the glow, and it grew brighter as she padded faster, until she was running and closing her eyes against the searing light.

Cayden panted behind her, trying to keep up with as she ran faster with every breath.

She broke away from the darkness and found herself in a huge cavern. A hole in the upper walls opened up to a beautiful indigo sky dotted with shimmering stars. The window to the sky spilled silver shafts of light onto the stone floors, turning everything pale.

Misty couldn't believe her eyes. She was at the center of the mountain, tucked away from the rest of the world in this safe place.

She spotted a set of huge boulders that had fallen to create a mini cave: the perfect place for sleeping.

Misty approached it and looked inside. A bed lined with various pelts. Bones littered the floor, some snapped in half, some still together. It stank. Worse the anything she's ever smelled.

She bristled as she caught a whiff of an all too familiar scent: Samara.

"This is where she lives." Misty looked up at Cayden. "Why didn't we smell her coming up here?"

Cayden flicked his tail at the dripping walls. "The moisture washes the scent away. That and she must not have been here for a while."

Misty followed his gaze, but something caught her eye at the bottom of the walls. Scribbles or pictures of some sort.

Misty leaned in closer and they were indeed carving on the walls colored with mud or stones of other colors.

But they weren't just carvings.

No, they were carvings of wolves.

Most of them had a line through them.

"Dead." She whispered softly against the stones. "They're marked as dead."

She went through the rest of the strange marks. Almost every single one had a line through them. But at the end of the line, there were a few unmarked.

Misty cocked her head. Only the three before them had a line. Suddenly, it clicked in her mind:

There was a small, blue-gray figure, a dark brown one, and a black one...

"River...Jumper...Rascal...." Misty muttered, reaching up and running a paw over the carvings as she said the names of her dead.

"That's..." Cayden started.

"Me." She gasped, pausing on a white figure, shaped like her. But she narrowed her eyes. Her carving didn't have a mark through it.

She trailed over the final ones, swallowing back a startled cry.

The last four: dark gray, red, blue-gray, and white...

Had a circle around them...

Her lips trembled. "Storm...Ash...River... and...Clover."

"Your pups." Cayden exhaled. "They're..."

"Next." Misty finished. "She's going for them next."

"But why is yours unmarked? There's not even a circle?" Cayden eyed Misty's carving.

Misty gritted her teeth. "Because she plans on making me suffer. If I lose my pups, I have nothing left. And she wins." She whipped her head away from the wall. "She's just evil. There's no explaining her intentions. She has no soul, there's nothing she can do to redeem herself. She kills for the sake of killing. The thrill of blood, of bones breaking, of a long, painful death, brings her joy."

Cayden looked like he was going to be sick.

Misty closed her eyes, feeling the tears build up. She kept her chin lifted, refusing to shed a tear. She would only cry if she failed. Now was not the time.

"I need to get home to my pups. And beat her, before she can even touch them." Misty looked at Cayden. "You said you wanted adventure. Would you still want to join me on my quest for revenge?"

Cayden didn't hesitate. He blinked, slow, and steady. "No. And I'm afraid I can't let you leave."

He lunged for Misty, but she ducked away. She pushed herself into him, knocking him down and pinning him.

"I knew I couldn't trust you." She hissed grimly. "I knew the second I met you."

"Oh? So you were dumb enough to play along?"

"No." She leaned in close. "I was smart enough to play along because I fooled you."

"You won't get away." He growled, kicking her away. He jumped to his paws and let out a howl.

At his call, demon wolves melted out of the wolves, glowing with the death of years of sin. So many of them. There was no hope of escape. But she would fight.

Misty stood, preparing herself for a blood bath.

The demons made a move to leap at her, but a blinding light threw them back. Out of the swirling silver, three wolves appeared, strong and fit against the darkness and evil.

Misty blinked.

River, Jumper, and Rascal....

They were shimmering in silvery light, sparkles at their paws with an eerie mist that poured from the portal behind them.

Tall and proud, her most beloved friends and family stood with their chins lifted, unafraid, determined. The fire in their eyes gleaming with rage.

Misty backed against the wall, blinking until she adjusted to the light.

The demons snarled, spit spraying from their lips. Their hackles bristling as they backed away from the newcomers.

Rascal looked at Misty over his shoulder. And in that instant, her breath caught in her throat. How she missed his presence, his patience, his too-big heart full of mercy for those who will never deserve it.

"Rascal..." She started shakily.

Rascal smiled softly, eyes shining as he said. "Run, Misty. Get to the pups."

Misty nodded, fighting the tears building.

Following those words, River, Jumper, and Rascal attacked. Their movements graceful and steady. Sure and powerful against the demons swarming the cave.

Misty shook away the mesmerization. She had to get out. And fast. Samara was going to kill her pups...

She hurled herself into the tunnel, ignoring the cries and growls fading behind her as the darkness swallowed her. She bumped and tripped a few times, but made sure to keep herself moving. They bought her time. And she wouldn't waste it.

Misty noticed the light at the end of the tunnel, growing brighter with every bound. The pain in her chest and lungs was so great. But she refused to stop. She had to make it to the trees.

Paws thudding behind her.

She turned, just for a second but that was all it took for her to be knocked to the ground.

Gagging on a mouthful of dirt, she strained to twist herself around, to face her attacker.

Misty rolled. Dragging the wolf with her. Now on top she stared into the eyes of Cayden, who looked like he's just seen a ghost.

Misty pinned him, her paws on his throat, that she could easily damage with one swift movement.

"S-she made me do this!" Cayden wailed, squirming helplessly. "She promised me she wouldn't hurt me if I got you away!"

"I don't believe you." Misty hissed, baring her fangs. "You only wanted to save your own worthless hide." She curled her toes, claws poking the skin at his throat. "You're a coward, whether or not you were part of her plans."

Cayden swallowed. "Please, let me go! I can help you!"

Misty searched his gaze, carefully, calculated. With a grunt she let him up. "Get away from me. I don't care to see you ever again." She whipped around.

She heard his movements before she felt him. Misty jumped away as Cayden brought a paw down. She charged him, sweeping his paws out from underneath him, and digging her claws into his throat.

"I gave you a chance." She muttered, going deeper and slicing his throat open. Blood sprayed her.

Cayden gasped, gurgling, eyes wide. Mouth parted in a silent cry.

Misty didn't bother to stay and watch him suffer. She turned, running with every ounce of strength and drive in her body.