Fallen Wolves #1: Dark Stars by Katie Radgowski (top novels to read txt) 📖

why she changed. Fang had to lie low and accept the charges. 

 Misty and him were meant for each other. 

Chapter 21: Falling

Fang followed Moon Leader through the undergrowth, with Mountain, one Defender named Tiger of Jungle and one Defender named Sun of Sky. Twig followed with Sap, one multi-colored female wolf Hunter, as they traveled to the creek. 

 One patrol came back with a report on something glowing in the water near the regular creek of Fang's Pack's territory that evening. Fang was thinking of it as those colorful fish that lived in the water, but Sand said those fish lived in deeper water regions. Now, the patrol was going to check it out, with the special leader of the patrol as Moon Leader.

 They reached the creek. The water was a bit rapid today, going swiftly against the shore as the cold water slammed into some jutting stones. The roar of the water was deafening. Moon Leader led the patrol near the wet, sandy bank where the sand met the pebbles underwater further down.

 "Ok, the creek seem's more dangerous then ever. We must be careful. Everyone spread out and check the deeper water on the pebble beds. Be careful." Moon Leader explained.

 Fang slowly stumbled into the creek. The icy water lashed through his fur and skin, making him shiver and chatter his teeth instantly. The pebbles underpaw that was the shallow part slid a bit from it's place in the mud. Fang carefully moved forward, going so deep into the water that the water was swirling to his shoulders. He saw the dark, shadowy end of the pebble bed, where it met the deeper and more dangerous part of the creek where the rapids were more active. 

 "Fang, be careful!" Sun warned from a bit further off. The golden colored female was belly deep in the water, her face wet from trying to scout underneath the surface. 

 "I will, Sun. Don't worry." Fang reassured her. But his mind raced. He felt nervous about even being in the creek, if he would explain. His Pack wasn't to good with swimming. The only part he could cope with about water was the part that he drunk it from streams and puddles. 

 Suddenly, Fang felt the pebbles underpaw sink into the mud before they raced down the underwater slope, bellowing into the rapids. Fang yelped in fear and surprise as he was sucked down into the rapids with the rolling pebbles. 

 The world turned dark and cold. Fang felt himself being brutally carried off by the rapids underwater. He could only see blue and black, mixed with bubbles and the colors of the pebbles. Pain reeked him as he cut his pads on sharp pebbles on the bottom creek bed. He slammed into several large boulders underwater as his lungs screeched for air. He felt numb and his bones felt like icicles. 

 Fang saw a large stick bending in the water. It waved side to side as the water pounded against it. Fang flailed his paws until he got into range before he dug his teeth into the bark, clawing his way up until he felt the warm, moist air of the forest hit his body. The water pushed his hindquarters back, while he stopped climbing the stick in exaustion. 

 Blinking water droplets from his eyes to see clearly, he saw Twig close to the stick, wading toward's him as the water hungrily swept around his pelt. 

 "Hold on, Fang!" Twig called. "I'm coming for you!" 

 Fang wanted to respond but his voice was frozen over with fear and coldness. His fur drenched to his sides as his wet ears plastered to his head. 

 The branch shook. Fang felt his claws giveaway from the bark as he got sucked down into the rapids again, howling in fear. 

 Fang felt to tired to try to swim in the strong water. The black water pumped around him and his lungs seemed to stop. 

 Suddenly, Fang heard a roaring sound as the rapids shot him through the water. He saw bubbles forming near the end of the creek and on the bottom creek bed. A black, huge gap was formed, sucking in the water into total darkness. 

 Fang howled in horror as the water sucked him through the muddy gap and into the endless dark. 

 

 

 

Chapter 22: The Marking Stones

Fang felt the air gushed out of him as he hit something hard and smooth. He coughed, spitting out river water and grit that was covered over the branch. His pads felt sore as his fur was coped to the sides of his body, making him look skinny and boney. He gasped in the fresh air to relax his hurting lungs. The air around him was chilly and the roar of the water echoed in his ears. 

 Fang lifted his muzzle weakly to see he was in a cave. The water from the creek that fell into the gaping hole plummeted into a large, crystal pool. The cave's walls were wet and misty as the floor was covered in sand. The cave was large sized, with puddles, branches, debris, and dead weeds. 

 Fang felt as if his throat was covered in ice as he tried to howl to the gaping hole in the ceiling. He fell into a river cave below the surface of the forest floor. His Packmates were probably on the bank of the creek, calling his name as they maybe were scouting the river's bed. 

 "Great," Fang muttered. 

 Fang felt something glowing rustily on the right wall of the cave. He padded over, seeing it as something red smeared over it's smooth surface. The smell as he padded toward the wall smelled like cold blood and iron. His fur prickled with unease. 

 His breath caught in his throat. All along the wet, shiny surface of the stone lay hundreds of red pawprints. To small, large or crooked, all were the pawprints of wolves. They were smeared into the rocky wall. 

 Fang felt pain lay beneath the stone wall. His eyes slowly gazed over the markings. They seemed strange, made by wolves who were... well... slaved. 

 Fang suddenly whirled into a different dimension. He saw hundreds of wolves next to the stone wall. Their pelts were scarred and bruised. They all had dull eyes and their bones shown through their fur that they looked like skeletons. They all seemed half-dead, starved and dehydrated. 

 All the wolf slaves were in a line, one by one coming to the stone wall and printing a pawprint of their paw onto it. Fang realized that they weren't putting regular red markings on the wall. 

It was their own blood. 

 Fang could see Pups, Seniors, Trainees and all kinds of wolves in the crowd. They were all the same, almost bald with blank gazes.  

Fang stepped forward. His leg walked right through one small, young wolf. Fang walked forward and through the ghostly wolves until he stepped in front of the wall, marked with bloody pawprints. Fang rubbed his paw across it, feeling horror and pain through every marking. Some blood of the pawprints brushed into his fur, washing it red. 

 "Hey, stop staring at that pawprint and start marking, slave!" 

 Fang jumped around to see a dark, shadowy wolf near the middle of the cave, towering over one old male slave. The shadowy wolf had a black, hard gaze with long, needle claws and black fur that was flecked with swirling shadows. His black, snake like tongue flickered from his mouth as he opened his mouth to show sharp white teeth and golden liquid dripping from them. 

 Poison. 

 Fang steadied his breath. He thought at first that the shadowy wolf was talking to him. Fang reminded himself sharply that this was a flashback of something that happened, so no one saw or heard him. 

 "S-sorry, Shadow Lord." The slave stammered back as he placed his pawprint on the wall. The pawprint glistened as the pale moonlight shown through the gap in the ceiling. 

 "Sorry doesn't cover interrupted progress, mudbrain." The shadowy wolf replied. "This can't happen again, you know." 

 "Yes, I know, sir. I'll be more quicker next time." 

 "There won't be a next time with you, slave. So sorry." The shadow wolf hissed. 

 The slave let out a screech of horror as the dark wolf lunged forward, digging his front teeth into the slave's neck. Blood spattered the stone floor, as the poison set into the slave wolf. 

 Fang stiffened as his mind seemed to open up. It was Dark Shadows! He was using slaves to mark the presence of where they've been! To the Fallen Law, if any wolf marked it's pawprint on stone with it's own blood on purpose, was a disgrace and a immediate loyalty to Death Wolf. Dark Shadows wanted more wolves to join him. Cruel. Mindless. Bloody.

 Dark Shadows dropped the slave wolf. The slave twitched and went still. After some moments of silence, foam formed in the slave's mouth. The slave turned over, eyes glistening red. Fang gasped as he saw the slave's fur was now black. The slave's teeth turned crooked, long and yellow as it's paws were huge. It had shredded ears and a spiky tail with curled claws and gray fur along it's back. 

 "There." Dark Shadows murmured as his muzzle turned to an evil smile. "No Shadow Slave of mine has ever failed me." 

 The Shadow Slave barked. The whole stone cave shook and turned cold. Fang shivered. 

 The Shadow Slave turned and jumped forward into the crowd of slaves. It wrapped it's jaws around one wolf's neck, digging it's teeth in and turning it into a Shadow Slave. It spreaded quickly through the slaves, like a disease. 

 Fang suddenly knew what Sand was talking about. Dark Shadows's evil horde was wolves who were once innocent and had good minds. But turned into reckless monsters and having the crave for fresh blood. 

 "We will rule Graymarsh, kill wolves who refuse to join us and become rulers of Sky Lupus! Long live shadows!" Dark Shadows howled as he jumped on a jutting boulder that was raised above the other's heads. 

 The Shadow Slaves howled with their Lord, filling into Fang's ears until he couldn't take it anymore. 

 Fang jumped back into the present. He was lieing on the stone floor of the cave, his head turned to the wall of pawprints. 

 Fang felt fear lodge into his heart. Dark Shadows was stronger and clever then he thought. How would a tiny wolf, like him, defeat such a powerful Lord?