The Light Dark Wars

The Light Dark Wars
PROLOGUE
ONE DEATH THREE BIRTHS

A warmth that hugged her kindly amongst her siblings was the first thing she felt, her body enjoying it quietly . Around her, two other pups whined as they scrambled to get to their mother’s warm belly, smelling sweetly of milk. The brown she-pup tumbled forward until she could suckle and fill her hungry stomach for the first time in her life, making her sleepy. Her brothers curled up too, and the three were a twitching bundle of newborn life, a sweet package of joy.

“They are gorgeous…” her mother spoke, a ginger she-wolf with black and white splotches, rounding the pups together better before setting her head on her paws, exhausted from the birth and yearning for rest. Besides her, a pitch black female nodded, her dark eyes shining with pride for her friend. She sat down besides the current mother, visibly vibrating with joy.

“Are you going to give them a name? Or will they remain “Your Joyful Bundle” for all of their lives as pack members?” the black one joked, the ginger female lifting her head and snorting weakly. She was not in  the mood for staying up and joking with Crow, but the pups did need a name. Dapple shifted her eyes over each of her children, admiring their colorful pelts as she struggled to decided which name would fit them better.

“How about Sage for this one?” Crow suggested, pointing with her snout at the smallest of the pups, a ginger male with black spots on his pelt, sleeping huddled in a tight ball. “A Fox for him.” Dapple said, her gold-brown eyes fixed on the other male, a ginger furred pup with black paws and tail. The two females laughed  briefly before laying eyes on the last pup. 
“She looks like Chestnut…” her mother observed, clenching her teeth as memories of her mate came back to her, his smile, his boldness… and the gleam in his eyes as she first observed the rock giving away under his feet, unchanged as he went down in the canyon to be swallowed and taken away by the water.
Crow saw the tension in Dapple’s face, pitying her for all she had been through, the death of her mate so tragic and sudden for her. “How about we name her Oak?” she suggested, hoping that finishing the task of naming the pups would let the ginger female sleep and forget about her dark thought. 
Dapple nodded briefly at the name before herding her pups and even closer together and curling down for sleep amongst them. The black female understood the silent dismissal and padded away from the dug out nests where females who had given birth to pups or were nursing them rested, quickening her pace to a trot as she was hurrying to report these names to Alpha. She spotted him in deep conversation with Beta,  by his normal name, name most wolves were forbidden to use, Koda.
“Sage, the smallest one, Fox the biggest, and Oak, the female.” She reported to him, knowing he was already waiting for her words, and at his nod, she walked off. Her ears perked as she caught a piece of the two males’ conversation. Their voices seemed strained, and Beta spoke first.
“It seems another good soul has been taken by the dark side, sir.”
“Are we talking about…?”
“Lilly. She was ambushed by foxes while with her brother, Falcon. I kept him to his den to heal, but he got away lucky.”
“The others know?”
“Vaguely, sir. Only gossip.”
“Then go and make the official announcements. The new pups, the death.” Alpha commanded Koda and the gray male padded of to the center of their sanctuary, a dusty hollow.
Crow gritted her teeth as she walked off from her eavesdropping point, not wanting to look like she’d been listening on the two wolves’ discussion and be punished for it. Another death… Life seemed to drain from the pack, one member at a time…