***

By the time she returned to the Main Base, Jewel was burning with both rage and exhaustion. But she wouldn't allow herself to rest, not quite yet. First, she had to settle something.

"ROU!" She roughly pushed aside the guards keeping her out of his den as she entered.

Rou looked up, his hair looking wild. He blinked, his eyes half-closed. "What?"

Seething, Jewel bared her teeth at him. "HOW COULD YOU? You let Taima get away with that!"

"Oh, you're talking about the incident with Starlight. Yes, we have my best trackers on the case. She'll soon be found."

"Incident? That's what you're calling it? Your homicidal homophobic cunt of a mate tried to kill an innocent wolfdog!" Spittle flew from her lips and onto her brother.

Rou got up and frowned. Jewel didn't like his look at all. "I am your superior, Jewel. I will not be spoken to like this, and you will NOT address my mate like that!"

"Superior? You're my brother, and a brute who is letting his power go to his head! Do you really think any of this is good for the Clan? Ever since you became leader, you've been doing very little but sitting on your lazy ass doing nothing but enjoying your power trip, while Taima is going haywire executing who-knows-what kind of atrocities for the fun of it!"

Jewel felt a sudden burst of fear as Rou pushed her over and roughly pinned her to the ground. "TAKE THAT BACK! All of that! Take that back!"

"Or what?" she growled. "You'll let your pet loose on me? You know what, I'm done with you, Rou! I'm done with you, and I'm done fearing Taima!"

"I would never let Taima harm you, but you are very close to being permanently demoted!"

"Demoted? Like I give a shit about my rank in this circus you call your Clan, Rou!" Jewel got up, forcing her brother to back down. "I'm done with you."

***

Am I really doing this? Is there no other choice? Jewel knew deep down what she had to do. She'd wept, she'd debated, and she now knew. Rou wouldn't be reasoned with, and even attempting to do the same with Taima would probably yield death or severe injuries as a result.

She felt weak, dirty for stooping as low as her brother had ever stooped, but she knew what she had to do.

Two months had passed since her last argument with her brother. With her newly-gathered followers at her side, she made her way through the forest. Among them were Ximena and Wolfie, two wolfdogs who had pledged themselves to her soon after her big argument with Rou. They knew she'd helped out Starlight, and Jewel trusted them, as she did with all of her followers.

Carrying a bunch of sharpened sticks in her mouth that resembled stakes, Jewel made her way to the Main Base. It was dark, pitch black. Clouds covered the usually bright-shining moon.

With a signal of Jewel's tail, Wolfie and Ximena leapt onto the guards of Rou's cave, bringing down the guards quietly.

Jewel looked inside and carefully placed her stakes on the ground. She knew she'd only have one shot at both of these.

Taima and Rou lay curled up, but Taima soon knew that something was wrong and got up. Rou seemed to be fast asleep.

Taima faced Jewel. "The traitor returns," she whispered menacingly.

"To finish what she started," Jewel said, before rapidly grabbing one of her stakes in a fluid motion and driving it deep into Taima's throat. The brown wolf let out a horrid coughing noise as she choked on her own blood. She then dropped to her death.

It's no more than you deserve. Jewel got her second stake ready.

Rou, meanwhile, seemed to have been woken up by the coughs of his mate. He soon found her body laying just outside the den, and tears jumped into his eyes.

"TAIMA!" he cried out.

Jewel, who had taken her hide in the shadows of the den, stepped out of them.

"Jewel, what's going on?" Rou seemed utterly lost and confused, overwhelmed by grief.

Jewel didn't wait. She dived forwards and, with another horrible sound, drove the stake into Rou's throat arteries. He gasped, coughed, and then fell down, moving no longer.

"This is my Clan now," Jewel proclaimed, both to herself and her followers. "And this has been the final murder in the Clan. No more killing. Forever."

She looked up at the stars, hoping Starlight would one day find out. She had kept her promise.