That summer day would forever haunt my memories, that last look from Sulan before the light had been extinguished from his purple eye. Immeasurable guilt clenched my stomach whenever I thought about it, recounting in my mind the way I should have done things differently. My head lowered to my paws as I lay outside of the den where I had placed Emerald upon my return to the mountain. She had slept through the mournful howl that had risen from my maw, telling the pack of Sulan's fate and the mark that had henceforth been placed upon the white wolf called Zeus. For days now I had stood as sentinel, waiting for the girl to awaken from her slumber. What had he done to her, to invoke such a lengthy sleep? And what would I tell her, when she did rise once more? That I had let her father die so that I could save her? I could not help but wonder if she would hate me, though I would take that burden and wear it upon my shoulders in the same way I had supported her limp weight when I had saved her life.

No matter how many times I recounted the events of that day in my mind, I could never be sure that if I had aided Sulan rather than rescuing Emerald things would have ended differently. What if Zeus had proved too much for even both of us? Then three wolves' lives would surely have been lost. And if we had been able to overcome his strength, would I have been able to kill him? The probability that I would have let him run and hoped that he had learned his lesson was far greater, and then he surely would have just continued to come back for Sulan, for Voltaire....for whatever wolves of The City of Angels he so passionately despised.

I knew that I needed to seek out Voltaire, to learn what I could about his white wolf and perhaps to offer my assistance in hunting him down and righting the wrong that was his survival. Sulan had not deserved to die. Not like that, after so many years of loyalty to his pack and his family. But I remained just outside of the den. Lifting my head from my paws, I glanced into the den and focused upon Emerald's sides to ensure they still rose and fell with the breath of life. Reassured that she was still alive, my chocolate skull lowered to rest upon my ebony paws once more. I had heard the news about Heyel, too, and that Zeus had been at it again - this time attacking Voltaire, Amir, and a few others - but no news could pull me away from the mouth of this den. The last message I had conveyed to Sulan before his death was that I would take care of his daughter, and I would never forget that.