{"sf1_id":2073843,"sf2_id":"rn9pvl5m","title":"The End: Chapter 20: Murder, Myths, and Meilo.","author":"Mojotheomegawolf","words":2906,"posted_at":"2023-11-19T17:42:00.000Z","tags":["Canine","Feral","No-Yiff","Wolf","Wolves","alpha and omega"],"url":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/2073843-the-end-chapter-20-murder-myths-and-meilo","original_url":"https://sofurry.com/s/rn9pvl5m","image_url":"https://cdn.sofurryfiles.com/submissions/thumbnails/7e/46/7e460a40-b475-4ff7-bf8a-7cde36a3c332","description":"#20 of The End\n\nChapter 20","content":"Chapter 20: Murder, Myths, and Meilo.  \n  \nKate's P.O.V.  \n  \nThe journey home afforded me about an hour worth of silence in which to  \nthink and reflect upon my interview with Detective Gaites. Obviously,  \nsince they were the reason I even went to the North that day, my mind  \ninitially centered itself around the facts:  \n  \nName: Elias  \n  \nSex: Male  \n  \nAge: Two Years  \n  \nClass: Omega  \n  \nOccupation: Indentured Servant  \n  \nDisappeared: 3 March  \n  \nRecovered: 18 March  \n  \nLocation: Western Territory, Sector 7, Prairie  \n  \nStatus: Deceased  \n  \nCause of Death: Unknown  \n  \nOther: Origin Unknown. Resident Alien- Northern Republic.  \n  \nBut as my paws carried me farther from the North, my mind began to drift  \nback to my husband, and in that moment, I understood. Humphrey always  \nwas much more perceptive than I, even though his quirks and various  \nsocial shortcomings often prevented him from making those perceptions  \nknown, but I quickly learned that what he would not or could not tell me  \nin words, he would often reveal through his actions. Even though I  \ndidn't realize it at first, Elias was no different. I had always found  \nHumphrey's bizarre obsession with the previously unidentified wolf to be  \nquite unsettling, but as I reflected upon the past several months, and  \nupon his odd fascination with the body we'd recovered, I realized what I  \nshould have known all along.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp;In this moment, it occurred to me that I, much like those ignorant,  \nbackwards alphas up north, never actually saw Elias as a wolf. To me, he  \nhad always been just another body. I didn't care who he was, who he  \nloved or who loved him. All I cared about was what happened to him, when  \nand why. Up until that point, I had always thought that the Artist was  \nthe one who erased him from existence, but in that moment I realized  \nthat all they had done was kill him. Sure, they took his life, but by  \nfailing to see or care about the individual who once occupied that  \nmangled corpse, I took his name, his memory, and everything else that  \nmade him him and tossed it aside as though he was no more valuable than  \nthe refuse that I bury near the back of my den.  \n  \nThis moment, for me, was one of epiphany, and as the light of  \nrealization shined down upon me, something inside of me changed. Finally  \nI saw him as he was, as my husband had always seen him, and it was then  \nthat I truly understood what his case should have meant to me. Elias was  \nsomebody's son, and, much like the lives that had once grown in me, his  \nwas taken before it ever really had a chance to begin, and that pissed  \nme off.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp;Previously, I had poured so much effort into solving his case because I  \nwanted the glory of unraveling what had become the greatest mystery of  \nmy generation, and because I wanted to prove my worth as an alpha to  \neveryone who doubted me. But as I saw Elias through my husband's eyes, I  \nfelt a fire begin to burn inside of me. I had to find the Artist and  \nbring them down- not for glory, or in order to prove myself, but in  \norder to give Elias his name and his dignity back- to give back the  \nnames and dignity of every victim they'd claimed.  \n  \nElias, Janice, and Candu: Three different wolves, three different lives,  \nthree different stories, all brought to the same, violent end by the  \nsame, vile paw. The light that their tragically short lives cast upon  \nthose who knew them had been shrouded by the veil of their fate. And by  \nthat merciless paw, and by that tragic fate, they would be bound until  \nthe light of justice set them free. I vowed on that day that come hell  \nor high water I would be the one to cast off the shackles that the  \nArtist had set upon them. I would not rest until I brought their reign  \nof terror to an end.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp;More determined than ever before, my mind literally buzzed as I set foot  \nupon friendly, familiar soil. I had a name. I had a timeline. I didn't  \nhave much more than that, unfortunately, but I knew that I could at  \nleast combine that information with what we had gathered in the past  \nseveral months. Hopefully with all of this, I would be one step closer  \nto bringing the Artist down. However, my priorities changed when I  \nreceived some rather alarming news.  \n  \nHumphrey's P.O.V.  \n  \nI find that as time goes on, I remember less and less about what had  \nhappened to me on that day. Used to be, I could recall, in great detail,  \nthe who, the where, the when, and the what, but as time wore on, more  \nand more of these memories slowly slipped away from me. Now, I vaguely  \nrecall waking up in my den and being told by the alpha assigned to keep  \nme there that I had attacked my instructor. Aside from one harrowing  \ntruth that I discovered while I was under, the rest is lost in time's  \nblur, and lives on only through the word of our local fabulist.  \n  \nMuch to my chagrin, he took great interest in me once word of my  \nA-School experience found his ears. I couldn't even begin to tell you  \nwhy. Personally I thought it was all rather banal, and I have never  \nspoken about it to anyone other than my mate. So the information he  \nreceived was second, or even third hand, but, with all of this, several  \nmisinterpretations and endless creative liberties, he conjured together  \na far-fetched tale that enthralled the masses. In the beginning, there  \nwere some elements of truth to it, but Mojo never told any story the  \nsame way twice, so as the story continued to evolve, what were mere  \ndreams became metaphors, and words that somehow pierced the veil into  \nwhich I had fallen became loosely tied plot devices.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp;I don't know. At this point, it's just funny to me. I've accepted that  \nmy story had become his, and honestly I'm okay with that. Those are days  \nI'd rather not remember anyway. So if him taking my story means I can  \nimmerse myself in a world of fantasy when I reflect upon what was in  \nreality a terrifying near-death experience, then by all means: he can  \nhave it.  \n  \nKate's P.O.V.  \n  \nWhen I arrived back at my den that afternoon, I was surprised to find my  \ndad waiting for me outside. My dad always had a stoic, mysterious aura  \nabout him, and to this day I still find it impossible to read him. His  \neyes were always inquisitive, and they made it quite clear that he was  \nalways thinking, always analyzing, but they would never let onto where  \nhis thoughts took him or what emotions they stirred within.  \n  \nIt was these eyes that caught my gaze as I approached, and he, adrift in  \nthe depths of his mind, seemed completely unaware of my presence.  \n  \n\"Dad?\" I called, confused.  \n  \nMy voice seemed to shake him from his thoughts and he turned to me.  \n  \n\"Kate,\" he said, pointedly, as he turned to me, \"I've been looking for  \nyou all day. Where have you been?\"  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp;\"Chasing down another dead end,\" I lied as I walked past him, \"would you  \nlike to come in?\"  \n  \n\"Actually, Kate, I need you to come with me,\" he replied, \"there's been  \nan incident at Pointe West.\"  \n  \nMy stomach sank and I quickly turned to face him.  \n  \n\"What do you mean an incident?\" I pressed, nervously, \"is Humphrey okay?\"  \n  \n\"Actually, Humphrey was the incident,\" he explained, \"it's still unclear  \nwhat exactly happened, but the report I received states that he attacked  \nhis instructor.\"  \n  \nAs these words filled my ears,my mind was flooded with confusion.  \n  \n\"Wait, what?\" I asked him, befuddled, \"what do you mean he attacked his  \ninstructor?\"  \n  \n\"I mean he attacked his instructor,\" my dad stated, plainly.  \n  \n\"Is anyone hurt?\" I pressed.  \n  \n\"Thankfully no,\" he replied, \"but just so you are aware, Humphrey has  \nbeen detained, and he may have to stand before a judge.\"  \n  \n\"Gods...\" I said, breathlessly, as I collapsed to my haunches as shock  \nand confusion overtook my motor functions, \"I mean, like... do you have  \nany idea what happened?\"  \n  \n\"I've told you all I know,\" he stated, plainly, \"I received this news  \nearlier this morning, so I'm sure we'll know more when we get there, but  \nfor now we gotta go.\"  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp;\"Yeah,\" I replied, distantly as I collected myself and prepared to  \ndepart with him, \"alright.\"  \n  \nWith this, we began to make our way down the ramp.  \n  \n\"By the way,\" he began as we reached the base of the incline, \"when you  \nand I are done at Pointe West, I need you to report to my den.\"  \n  \n\"Okay?\" I began, confused, \"why?\"  \n  \n\"To receive a formal reprimand and NJP,\" he replied, plainly.  \n  \n\"What?\" I asked him, \"why?\"  \n  \n\"Kate, you're my daughter and I love you,\" he began as he seated himself  \nupon his haunches, \"but dereliction of duty is a very serious offense.\"  \n  \n\"But, I was doing my job,\" I argued, \"I-\"  \n  \n\"Kate, you failed to report to your post,\" he interrupted.  \n  \n\"Because I was working the Charlie case,\" I explained.  \n  \n\"Kate, by failing to report to your assigned duty station, you broke the  \nlaw,\" he replied, plainly, \"the reason why doesn't matter.\"  \n  \nI opened my mouth to respond, but before I could, he spoke.  \n  \n\"My paws are tied, Kate,\" he stated, \"Be an adult. Take the punishment.\"  \n  \nI opened my mouth to argue further, but closed it and lowered my eyes.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp;\"Yes, Alpha,\" I conceded.  \n  \nHe rose to his paws.  \n  \n\"Alright,\" he said as he began to walk once more, \"let's go sort your  \nhusband out.\"  \n  \nI nodded and followed. Initially, as we walked, I felt bitterness toward  \nmy father, but ultimately I had to admit that he was right. My  \nintentions didn't matter. I was not above the law, and if I acted like I  \nwas, what kind of leader would I be? I stewed over this for a while, but  \nthen every space in my head that had previously been occupied by my  \nimpending punishment, or by Elias and my drive to apprehend the Artist  \nwas conquered by thoughts of my husband. What happened? Who did he  \nattack? And most importantly: Why? I'd known Humphrey for my entire  \nlife, and I never once saw him deliberately attempt to harm someone-  \neven when that someone deserved it. Hell, back when we'd had that first  \nfight, he was angrier than I had ever seen him, and even then he never  \nthrew anything, broke anything, or placed his paws on me. He didn't have  \na violent bone in his body. So what in the world could have possibly set  \nhim off like that?  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp;\"You'd know if you weren't so damned scared to let yourself feel  \nsomething,\" my mind chimed in.  \n  \nRight on time, my mind came out of nowhere and sucker punched me in the  \ngut like it likes to do whenever I am in moments of great emotional  \ndistress. Ordinarily, I would fight tooth and nail to banish that  \nnegative inner narrative, but on that day, I couldn't even argue,  \nbecause she, like my father, was right. News about what had happened  \nreached my dad hours ago, and if I was at my post where I was meant to  \nbe, I would have already been by my husband's side to defend him, but I  \nwas nowhere to be found.  \n  \nYou remember how I mentioned increasingly reckless behavior? Well, my  \njourney north is a shining testament to exactly that. Not only did I not  \nreport to my post that day, I went up to a very socially and politically  \nunstable territory, half-cocked with no support and not a soul back home  \nwho could account for my whereabouts- all in order to chase down some  \nwild hunch, no less. And when their lead detective would not cooperate  \nwith me, I threatened him with castration.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp;I could try to justify it all I wanted. I could say that I was just a  \nproduct of my upbringing. I was trained to never feel, but at the end of  \nthe day, I knew that was bullshit. In spite of the lessons taught to me  \nby my mother and father, I'd seen them grieve and process traumas in the  \npast. This was done out of the public eye, of course, but regardless,  \nthey were capable of feeling, capable of managing their traumas in a  \nhealthy fashion. I, however, could not, and I had to accept that  \neverything happened the way that it did on that day because something  \ninside of me was broken.  \n  \nI was stirred from my mind when my eyes fell upon a small group of  \nalphas a short distance ahead. There were a few faces I vaguely  \nrecognized, mixed in with a couple that I knew very well, but above all,  \nthere was a face I had hoped to never see again.  \n  \nIn the center of the group, stood an alpha by the name of Meilo, and  \ncards on the table: I hated his guts. Honestly, I still do. When it came  \nto molding pups into soldiers, Meilo was the best there ever was, but as  \na leader, he was worthless. In truth, he was the worst commander I've  \never seen. He was petty, egocentric, and stubborn. He made it quite  \nclear that, to him, we were just bodies filling slots in the Western war  \nmachine. We would have resiliency briefings where he would act like he  \ncared about us.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp;\"You are more important than the mission,\" he would say, but we all knew  \nit was bullshit.  \n  \nIn spite of the beautiful words he spoke about mental health and morale,  \nnone of that meant ANYTHING to him, and he proved that when Flint's dad  \ngot sick.  \n  \nHis mother was murdered by fur trappers when he was very young and he  \nhad no siblings, so he didn't really have anyone else. When his father  \nfell ill in week three, a noticeable change overtook him. He became  \ndistracted... sloppy, restless. Where once he excelled, he fell behind.  \nWhere once he stood proud and tall, there stood a stooped, exhausted  \nshell, and his performance as an alpha went from top of the class to  \nwashout almost overnight. Of course this was all to be expected. His  \nfather wasn't doing well when he took ill, and he started to decline  \nfast. By the middle of week four, it was clear that his father wasn't  \ngoing to make it, so we all expected for him to be temporarily released  \nin order to go home and say his goodbyes. Sure, he would be washed back  \nand wouldn't graduate with us, but at least he would get to see his  \nfather before he passed.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp;Meilo, however, didn't care. In his mind, Flint was weak. Pain and loss  \nwere part of being an alpha, and we could not allow either of those  \nthings to distract us or shake our resolve. So, Flint was forced to  \nremain in A-School while, back home, his father slowly withered away.  \nI'll never forget the last conversation we had. He seemed so...  \ndevastated, and yet, oddly at peace. I thought he had somehow managed to  \nfind a silver lining in all of it. His father had been suffering for a  \nlong time, so at least in death, he had finally been delivered from his  \npain. Little did I know that the peace he'd found was in his own fate,  \nand that later that night, he would throw himself from the bluff.  \n  \nIf I'd known, I would have never left his side that night. His death  \nstill eats me up, and I knew, as did the rest of the students, that it  \nwas all Meilo's fault. How it was that he was allowed to remain in  \ncommand after Flint's suicide was beyond me, but his continued command  \njust further drove home the point that in the face of it all, we didn't  \nmatter. We really were just bodies and numbers. I had promised myself  \nthat when I assumed command of the pack, that would be the first thing I  \nwould change, but in the midst of my hectic life, I had completely  \nforgotten about it. Seeing Meilo that day brought it all back and it  \nignited a fire in my belly.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp;My father was well aware that I blamed Meilo for my friend's death, so  \nwhen his eyes fell upon the infamous base Commandant, he immediately  \naddressed me.  \n  \n\"Don't do anything stupid,\" he warned in a hushed tone.  \n  \n\"Dad, I'm fine,\" I insisted, though inside my stomach boiled with rage.  \n  \n\"Kate, you're shaking,\" my father observed, \"I know you hate Commander  \nMeilo, but blowing your top won't help your husband, so get a hold of  \nyourself and keep quiet, okay? I'll do the talking.\"  \n  \n\"All I need to know is where they're keeping him,\" I replied through a  \nsuppressed growl, \"soon as I know that, I'm out of here.\"  \n  \nMy father simply nodded.  \n  \n\"Okay,\" he relented.   \n  \n\"But, fair warning: You might wanna stay where you can grab me,\" I  \nwhispered sinisterly, \"because if he so much as mentions Flint, I'm  \ngonna rip out his throat.\"  \n  \nIt was clear that my father wished to respond, but, as I planned, we  \narrived before the group of alphas before he could.  \n  \n\"Alpha Winston,\" Meilo greeted, \"good afternoon.\"  \n  \n  \n  \n\n","series":{"name":"The End","previous":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/2062401-the-end-chapter-19-from-the-beginning-mr-gaites.json","next":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/2073849-the-end-chapter-21-time-and-trauma.json"}}