There was nothing but him and the rabbit.

Silver eyes latched onto the furry body as he crawled forward. This was not the sort of prey that he usually hunted, but it was worth a shot. After all, what could he lose? Nothing apart from his dignity and pride, but no one was here to see him anyway.

His prey had no idea that he was there, just feet away, hiding in the thick brush that lay scattered across the Fen. The Pitch Pine Guardian leaped forward as sudden as a bullet and pounced on the rabbit, or where it had been. Looking up, he spotted its furry behind and growled softly to himself before taking off, chasing after it.

Ace’s large bulk made chasing after the rabbit quite difficult, as well as he wasn’t much the runner. His forte was in attacking and defending, more brawn than brain, although he was smart. His strides were long and soon he could feel himself begin to tire. He didn’t have much stamina either, so chasing after a fast rabbit was way out of his comfort and skill zones.

Just as he was about to pounce on its fluffy tail a howl rang out, albeit a weak one. It called him, Spectre and Anastasia to call them for a meeting. The howl was from Shade, but something was clearly wrong. Immediately, Ace slid to a complete halt and turned in a one hundred and eighty degree angle and ran back to the den. The rabbit was forgotten.

The Pitch Pine Guardian was panting heavily when he arrived, and slowed down to a fast walk, eagerly searching out Shade. He had missed his old friend and leader while he went on a journey past the mountains to meet up with someone. An old friend perhaps.

He froze when his Silver eyes picked up a dark shape that had seemed to collapse on the ground. Rushing forwards, he stood about a foot away. It was then that he realized the dark form was Shade. His neck was torn and the outer edges crusted with dried blood, and yet more steadily leaked out of the wound. There was also a scar running across his eye and many other bumps and bruises.

Staring at his leader and friend in disbelief, the Pitch Pine Guardian sat down on his haunches. ”Shade. What….What happened? Who did this to you?” Fury replaced his shock. Whoever had done this to Shade would pay hell. No one got away with hurting his close friends and allies.

Ace made no movement as Spectre came into view and curled herself around Shade’s back. His eyes were on his leader’s crumpled form, but as Spectre spoke, his ears swiveled forward. When soft, whispered words were spoken, the Pitch Pine Guardian’s ears pinned back against his nape and his jaws opened in a growl, although he forced himself to keep the growl silent. However that….she-wolf was, she would pay for what had happened to his best friend. What would happen to her? That was a mystery, but it would be painful.

There was a gasp behind him and a brief twist of his head confirmed that Anastasia had arrived upon the grisly scene. Her shocked words mirrored his, and Ace moved back a few steps to stand next to her; attempting to be comforting, although he probably wasn’t doing a very good job.

Silver eyes rested on Shade as he began to speak. Elettra was her name. He would not forget it, never in a million years. Ace listened to the story attentively; not making a sound or movement. A small frown came over his face when his leader mentioned the Pitch Pine pups. It must have been hard to tell them that he would die, and how hard it would have been on them. They were only four months old, not even old enough to hunt with the pack.

The Pitch Pine Guardian drew in a breath when Shade mentioned his name. Padding forwards a few steps so that he was just more than a foot away, he listened to what his leader had to say. Under different circumstances, Ace would have been overjoyed at the thought of becoming an alpha of a pack, but instead, all he felt was sorrow and anger for Elettra. Even the mention of him find a lady friend to lead beside him didn’t bring a smile to his face.

Looking at Shade with sad eyes, Ace nodded. "I will step up as Alpha Male when the time comes, and as for finding a lady friend to lead beside me, you don’t have to worry.” Taking in a deep breath, he gazed into Shade’s eyes before speaking. "Silver will gladly lead with me.” There. He said it. Now they knew that he and Silver had deep feelings for each other. Hopefully they would think that she would be a great leader, because he certainly did.

Ace could see the love and pain that showed in Spectre’s eyes as she stared at Shade. He knew what he was feeling was only half of what the white female felt, as Shade was her mate. She loved him like he loved Silver, and he knew that he couldn’t bare to see Silver laying on the ground, dying. The Pitch Pine Guardian –now leader- had the urge to comfort his ex-alpha female, but he had no idea how to act, or what to say. Learning the ropes of being alpha would be challenging, as he would have to learn what to do in extreme situations, but he hoped to learn from Anastasia, who he would be leading next to until she either left, or was beaten in a dominance fight for leadership.

A gasp was heard from Anastasia as he mentioned having Silver lead beside him, and his left ear twitched. He didn’t know what was wrong with her leading beside him, but if she had a problem with it, then Silver would have to sort it out when the time came. He didn’t want to get in the middle of a cat fight if one happened, for sometimes it was worse than two males fighting. Well, that was what it seemed like.

At Shade’s last words: "I’m sorry” The new Pitch Pine Leader turned to Anastasia and dipped his head in farewell before heading off. It was too much to watch Shade suffer, and he didn’t want to show any weakness in front of his pack mates. As he had taken about ten steps, one sole tear slid down his check as he disappeared into the fen. Even though he didn’t show it, he could be compassionate about things, and this was one of those times.