She lowered her nose to the cold ground and attempted to search for their scent. She had to hurry. Where were they?

She was growing desperate. Why hadn't they followed her? Where could they have possibly gone to? She finally caught on to a familiar scent and followed it.

Finally, she was getting close. There was a hint of blood in the air, and she grew worried. What had happened? She started running, following the scent further.Upon arriving at the scene, her heart went to her stomach and back. Her puppies were there, alright, but they weren't moving. She felt a whine come from deep within her throat, and tried to nudge the unmoving pups to motion.

No movement came from the pups. She sniffed them over, and found that the blood she'd scented, was theirs. Her heart broke, her spirit shattered into millions.

An earth-shattering howl pierced the air, telling the forest of the sorrow of a grieving mother. She sniffed out a spot, searching for the right one. Once satisfied, she started digging. She headed over to her pups, gently picking them up in her mouth.

She headed back to the spot, and laid their tiny bodies in the hole she'd dug. After laying their bodies to rest, she covered them up with the soil of the earth.

She howled once more, pouring her heart and soul into the cry. As she did so, she prayed to the spirits of the earth to guide her little ones into the afterlife so they'd know pain no more.

Closing her eyes, she could almost hear them, her children, singing with her their last cry to the heavens above.

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Anger, because the wolf that had killed her pups had gotten away with murder.

Endless grief, because no more would she have the chance to be a mother to a pair of bundles of joy and innocence.

Pain, because now, she swore she could see them everywhere she looked. She tried to think about the fact that it was impossible for them to be there. That they were in heaven, with a kind being watching over them. But something wasn't right. Why did she keep seeing them? Was she seeing ghosts? Or was she simply hallucinating in her grief?

Who knew? Who could say what went through the wolf's mind as she kept trudging on. It would be spring soon, so she kept on the hunt, hoping for some glimpse of life as she tracked a particularly large elk.

She kept going, simply trying to get through the day as she continued to follow the elk's scent trail. Suddenly, a strange scent mingled with the elk's. One that didn't seem right. A scent she never thought she'd ever forget.

The scent smelled an awful log like a wolf's. She wondered why this particular one was important. Why did it seem familiar?

Then it hit her like a ram.

That particular scent was the one of the wolf who'd murdered her pups.

She growled, eyes wide with rage. Her pupily dilated with the sudden rush of adrenaline. Yes! Finally! She licked her lips, eager for the kill.

She still needed the food. This time, not simply because she needed to survive, but for the energy.

She would rain down divine judgement on the wolf who'd murdered her beloved children.

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After catching the elk, and killing it, she finished her meal with a lick of her maw.

Now, she'd bring him the same hell she'd been put through because of him.

After all, eye for an eye, no?

She growled, thinking it rather unfair that the wolf would dare try to get away from justice that easily. Spilling innocent blood? Hell no, he wasn't getting away with it.

She kept her nose to the ground, tracking the scent trail to a clearing with a small pack of wolves.

There, in the center of the pack lay the target of her intended revenge. Her cold ice blues focued on him, the black wolf not apparently noticing, or if he did, caring that a strange silver white she-wolf was there at all.

She thought of her innocent pups, and the blood that had tainted their soft, down fur as she had stared down at them. She thought of their bodies, laying there, tiny and unmoving. She thought of how she'd not wanted to stare them in the eye, spirit already gone, but their tiny faces forever locked in terror. And the grief she'd suffered through, burying them both.

All because of him. The murderer.

Rage filled her heart as she looked at him. A low, menacing growl rumbled from her chest, eminating from the deep hatred she had for the cold-hearted monster who didn't even care that he was about to die.

"Taima! Do you recognize me?", said Ankou. Hatred filled her raging ice blues.

He turned his head, directing his gaze to her. Golden eyes stared emptily at her, and recognition lit in them. He smirked lazily, and stood up.

"Lupa, nice to see you again. Didn't think you'd come this far. By the way, how are the pups?"

His voice suggested he knew very well how the pups were. "Six feet under, thanks to you. And it's not Lupa anymore. It's Ankou." Her voice suggested she was under control, yet her body struggled to stay that way, seething with an undercurrent of a ravaged mother's fury after losing her pups.

A simple tilt of the head suggested his confusion as if he didn't know, and Taima, the clever fool, bid his time before replying.

"Ah, so now because your pups are dead, you become death itself. Very appropriate for a grieving mother, eh?"

He chuckled. "Let me guess, you're here to avenge their deaths, aren't you?"

He stood up, same lazy smirk and empty eyes directed towards her. He licked his lips, feeling very excited for the opportunity to kill her as well.

She bared her fangs, ready to sink them into his neck, drooling in anticipation of the warm blood that would soak her beautiful fur once she ended the murderer's life.

Taima grinned.

"Let the fun begin."