Sam sat up straight in shock. Lynn had told him how her biological father, Norder, had mysteriously died when she was only a small puppy. Daniel had taken her in afterwards. “No, it couldn’t have been you!” he bayed.

“It was,” Daniel breathed. “I killed him back when I worked for the Clan. I had made an oath to never kill Lone Ones with families, but I broke it when I assassinated her father. After that, I fled the Clan and adopted Lynn.” His voice was becoming hoarser with each word he uttered, and the strain of sitting up and talking so much was making him pant. “I know our relationship back then wasn’t the best, and I tried to tell her but never did. And now…she’ll never know.” 

He sobbed. “It’s all my fault. I should’ve been there for her!” He turned back to Sam, tears streaking down his fur. “So no, I don’t deserve to move on and live. You leave this territory and stay safe. That’s what she would’ve wanted. But I’m staying here and I’ll resign myself to my fate. If these outlaws show up and kill me, I’ll just have gotten what I deserved.”

Sam’s eyes widened and his ears perked up. “You’re the last thing I have of Lynn! Yes, what you did was terrible, but I’m not letting you die !”

“You have no choice, Sam.” There was a hint of urgency in Daniel’s voice. “You can’t drag me out of here. I will fight you.”

The idea filled Sam with horror. Not just the thought of leaving Daniel, but also the thought of leaving his home behind forever. Being truly alone again without a friend or family. “No!” Tears started to blind him.

“Don’t endanger yourself for my sake,” Daniel rasped. “It would be foolish. My days are numbered, anyway. I am in no condition to go on the run for who-knows-how-long again. It’s fine, Sam. I accept this fate. You must, too.”

“But Lynn would’ve wanted me to–”

“You said it yourself, Lynn is dead!” Daniel’s words were harsh, but there was a very slight sympathetic tone to it. “Whatever she wanted you to do doesn’t matter now. Go west, away from where the rogues attacked Lynn. Live yourself a good life.”

“But I–”

“GO!” Daniel’s tone didn’t tolerate any further discussion. Sam reluctantly took a few steps backwards. He stared at the old wolf. 

Daniel  sighed and laid  down on the ground again, sniffing at Lynn’s grave before resting his head on his front paws, his ears drooping. He really seemed to accept whatever came next, no matter how bad it would be.

I’m sorry, Daniel. I’m sorry, Lynn. Sam closed his eyes and shook his head, then finally rushed into the undergrowth.

By the time he reached the western border of the territory, he froze, realizing that once he crossed it, somehow things would be permanent in his head. He looked up at the starry sky. I am a fool. Whatever comes next, I have to face it with Daniel, together!

With a growl of frustration, he turned around and went back into the depths of his territory, bee-lining to the rendezvous site. Yet by the time he got there, he slowed down. Unfamiliar canine scents entered his nostrils and his hackles raised. 

Crouching down, Sam moved forward slowly through the undergrowth. By the time he reached the rendezvous, he remained in the bushes.

A group of six canines, four dogs and three wolves, had surrounded Daniel, who still lay in place. A fifth dog stood in the middle and had placed a paw on Daniel’s hump. She was a large Kangal with a spiked collar and cropped ears.

“I ask you again, old mongrel, where is the last inhabitant of this territory?” the Kangal barked at Daniel.

The old wolf didn’t say anything. His blind gaze remained fixed on Lynn’s grave.

One of the wolves spoke. “Tell us!”

Daniel growled before finally speaking. “He is far away from here, safe. You’ll never get him like you got my daughter. Do your worst.”

“That can be arranged,” the Kangal said, before bowing down and biting deep into Daniel’s throat. The old wolf struggled briefly and let out terrible gurgling noises.

The large dog then dropped the body of the gray wolf. Daniel didn’t move.

Sam’s eyes widened, not believing what he’d just seen, a lump forming in his throat. First he’d lost Lynn, and now he’d been too late to save Daniel. 

With a whine of grief, he bolted west again. The enemy had won, taking his friends’ lives and his territory. Whatever came next, he’d have to face it alone.

***

Loneliness was the worst feeling in the world. Sam found as he spent the next months alone, traveling through territory after territory. He’d first lost his brothers, and then his best friend and her father. Being truly a lone Lone One now, his journey was a solitary one.

Yet there was a spark of hope. One beautiful winter day, when there was a clear sky, Sam found an unoccupied bit of land. It had sparse bits of spruce forest, clearings, a brook that made its way down the mountain, and was rich in prey-scents.

Exhausted from his journey, this was where he would settle down. Thinking that, after his long travels, he finally might’ve found it: a new home. And then, after making a nest of moss and listening to the chirping birds, Sam rested.