Goodbye, Mace!

"There are far too many of them, Simon." As he struck down one of the rogues, Mace said. They'd been fighting for over seven hours, and it seemed like the rogues were never going to stop. The more they kill, the more rogues there are.

"We have to keep fighting, Mace. We can't give up now." Simon said as the two of them backed up against each other, striking down the oncoming werewolf. The wolves surrounded Mace and Simon, staring into each other's eyes and growling angrily. "If you get tired, tell your wolf to switch places with you." Simon added.

Simon's attention was drawn to the sound of rattled bones coming from outside the surrounding werewolves. Simon then heard howling and pawed the ground nervously. The scent of this particular wolf made Devil shiver. "What is the problem?" Simon asked Devil.

"The odour from Scarlett's school. Looks like he is here."

Simon began to recognise that smell. "You are right. It is really strong. Are you telling me that I have an enemy of this kind too?"

"You have so many enemies, Simon. It appears that you will not be partying any time soon. Switch with me. Let's get this out of the way."

"Are you sure?"

"I am the Alpha wolf, and this is my domain. Anyone who enters it will die." Simon transformed into his wolf in an instant. He observed Mace's transformation as well.

"You will be fine, Mace. I have an important werewolf to battle with." Simon said. He growled as he attacked those werewolves all at once, escaping the circle. Simon appeared in front of the werewolf whose scent made Devil fearful. "You." Simon was taken aback when he saw the colour of the werewolf. It was black. The Alpha is the only one with black fur.

"The Alpha. Finally." Simon was surprised to see white eyes when the werewolf turned around.

"You are not an Alpha, but you have black fur. What are you?"

"I am called Zeta. I'm sure you've never heard of it. I will enlighten you. I am rare and ten times stronger than you will ever be, Alpha. I could kill you right now if I wanted to, but that would be too easy. I want you to go through the pain first."

Zeta? No wonder Devil was afraid. "Why have you decided to fight me? I don't recall ever making you angry."

The werewolf started laughing. His upper lips curled over his razor-sharp incisors. "You have no idea how long I've been looking forward to this day. I'll tell you who I really am when you're on your deathbed."

Simon's growl rang out from deep within his throat. "Stop bluffing." Without another word, he charged at the Zeta, claws spread and ready to kill.

Simon and the Zeta collided, tearing at each other while avoiding each other. Zeta swiped at Simon, severing his ear. Simon barely noticed as he bit into Zeta's exposed shoulder. The werewolf howled, attempting to shake him off. Simon tried to hold on, but his teeth slipped and he flew back, crashing into the pack of wolves. The werewolves from his pack jumped back, snarling and encouraging him to get back up. Simon fumbled to his paws, his ears pressed against his head.

Zeta hunched his back and growled at Simon. "You are frail!" Simon snapped and charged at the zeta werewolf. Zeta smiled as he leapt over Simon and snatched his tail. Simon yelped as he was yanked backwards and hurled into a thick tree, and his ribs cracked. He landed with a thud, breathing heavily and wincing from the exertion.

Zeta strolled towards him, a smirk on his muzzle. Soon he was towering over Simon, who kept his head down but snarled in warning. Zeta paid no attention, raising his paw to finish the pathetic werewolf, when he was suddenly shoved aside. Simon's ears perked up, and he looked up to see Mace standing over him, holding a large tree branch. "I will take over." Mace said.

"He is far too powerful. I will face him." Simon rose to his feet and turned to face Zeta, who had risen from the floor.

"You're making me angry now." Zeta spoke as he ran very fast towards Simon. Faster than Simon has ever seen any wolf run. Zeta jumped instantly, his claws long and sharp. Simon raised one of his legs to guard himself, but then he heard a low groan. He moved his leg away from his face and could see Mace in front of him.

Mace fell instantly as Simon caught him before he hit the ground. Blood poured from Mace's mouth as he slowly reverted to human form. Simon fixed his gaze on him. "Mace," he called. More blood gushed out of Mace's mouth as he tried to speak. "Shh. Don't talk." Simon examined the wound Zeta had caused, and it was quite deep. "Why aren't you healing?"

"He can't. He is already as good as dead." Zeta began to laugh. He showed Simon a rib he had broken out of Mace's ribs. "Without this, he isn't complete. He'll die, Alpha, and I'll come back to finish you." Zeta began to laugh wickedly as he walked away with the other rogues who had survived the fight.

Simon returned Mace's gaze. "Hey. Look at me. Don't close your eyes, okay. I will save you. You won't die. I promise." Simon couldn't keep his tears from falling. "Just wait here for me. I will cure you." He doesn't know how, but he'll figure it out.

Mace held him back. "N-no. Don't go." More blood began to pour out of his mouth. "D-don't go," he stuttered. "H-hear m-me out." Simon sat back and waited. One hand squeezed Mace's wound, preventing more blood from flowing out. "Don't hate Scarlett."

"How could you talk about her in this situation?"

Mace coughed. "She is pro…bably waiting for my answer. Please tell her that I won't..." he coughed once more. "Please inform her that I will no longer be able to respond to her messages."

"You will respond to her message. I'm not sure what's going on between you two, but you'll respond to her message."

Mace shook his head. "You don't understand. She is madly in love with you. What...it's not her fault what her father did. Don't hate her. Make a promise to me." Mace raised his pinky finger. "Remember when we were kids? This is something we do all the time. Pinky swear," he said, tears streaming down his cheeks.

"How could I forget?"

"Pinky swear that you won't hate her and you will let go of this grudge?"

Simon couldn't help but reach out his hand. "For you, I will pinky swear. I will save you, Mace. Please give me a few minutes. Don't close your eyes. Okay?" Simon averted his gaze for a moment, looking for werewolves who would stay with Mace until he found a solution. He spotted Cypher and called out to him. "It won't take long." Simon said. When he looked at Mace, his eyes were already closed. "Dude. I told you not to close your eyes." Simon became more concerned when his hand became cold. "Why is your hand..." he paused. "Mace. Mace?" There was no further response.

Cypher saw his brother and joined them. "Mace," he called. Mace's face was starting to turn pale. He turned to face Simon. "He's gone."

Simon began to yell and shake his head. "No! That is not possible. Mace is perfectly fine. He is fine." As he looked at his best friend, his sob became more intense. "Wake up, Mace. Don't abandon me like my parents did."

Eventually, rain began to fall, soaking Simon to the bone. And soon, the Alpha's tears mixed with the rain as he rose to his feet, carrying Mace in his arms, towards the woods.