Pack of Wolves (Part One)

Running through the undergrowth, branches smacking the three
young creatures. Their panting is sharp, the night is young. The most youthful
misjudged the jump and snagged in a bramble patch. Fur ripped from his side.

With the yelp from the pup, the elder two stop and look at
their youngest pack member, brown-furred with blond streaks through the coat,
piercing blue eyes and even in this predicament the cub’s tongue lolls out in a
wolfy grin.

The Alpha, Mariah, standing over the cub, covered in dark
fur and deep black eyes. With a yip, a wiggle of her ears, an understood
message was sent to the youngest. “Enough, Gamma, we must return soon or be
discovered.”

Benan, the young cub seeing his alpha reprimanding him,
tucks his tail between his legs. “Sorry, Alpha, I got caught in the thorns. It
hurt.”

The third wolf, Ruairì,
with a grey coat with a shock of auburn down the back with green eyes, aware
with nose to the air, checking for threats. “Alpha, we need to move, the herd
is reacting to our Gamma’s thrashing around.”

Benan growls at his Beta’s remarks. “So serious, it is our first hunt. Have some fun, Beta.”

Ruairì stares at Benan, his hackles rise with the challenge. Then Benan dips his head and rolls on to his back, showing his belly to the grey wolf.

With a whine, Benan cowls before Ruairì, “Um, I didn’t mean it.”

“Enough, both of you,” Mariah commanded. “We have a hunt,
eat and then back to the house.”

As she takes off, her pack follows in her wake. Dodging
around trees, the smells of the forest come alive as they run. The feel of the
moss under their toes, the hoots and calls of night birds swooping down to
catch their midnight meal. The scent of prey and fresh meat on the air, the three
plunge faster into the woods.

A glimpse of a horn, a crack of a stick and the chase is on.
Mariah drives forward to break off a weak member of the herd. Benan moves off
to the right while Ruairì breaks off to the left.

Spotting a young deer retreating after its mother, Mariah
pressures it, howling and barking to cause a mistake. Ghosting either side of
Mariah’s pursuit is her pack, making sure when it is time to attack, they are
ready.

The fawn trips and its mother bounds away, only the strong
survive. As Mariah comes into hamstringing the poor fawn, it jumps away
quickly. Now the real hunt has started.

Leaping over the underbrush, the deer narrowly misses
another bite from Mariah. Little does it know that she is just herding it to an
ambush ahead. A fallen log with a wide river next to it, an excellent place for
an ambush.

As the fawn reaches the log, it has three choices; jump,
duck or go around. All three possibilities have been prepared by the pack. With
the biting and barking from Mariah, the fawn tries to run around the log.
Waiting for it is Ruairì, with a leap and snaps, he bites down on the fawn’s
back leg.

Benan runs over and bites the neck and with a quick twist,
snaps it. All three wolves look down at their meal, their mouth-watering with
hunger.

Mariah bows to the fawn. “Thank you, little one, your
strength will be added to my pack. Know that your purpose in life has been
fulfilled. Be at peace.”

Then with a bite and rip, Mariah starts to eat. Benan and
Ruairì sit there panting with hunger, but the alpha eats first. After a few
moments, Mariah moves back, and Benan dives for the meat. With a growl, Ruairì
jumps on Benan biting his throat, dragging him down to the ground. His snarl
vibrates through Benan’s throat, the young cub swallows, knowing his mistake.

Leaving this to the Beta, Mariah trots over to the river and
starts to shake. Her fur starts to fall off in chunks, underneath fresh brown
skin. With a popping, her knees reverse direction. Her canine teeth begin to
fallout being replaced with human incisors. Ripping out of her wolf body,
Mariah the person screams to the night sky.

Her brown skin awash with goosebumps from the cold air, her
mass of brown curly hair still with an ear attached to it. Shaking her head,
the ear flies off into the woods. Stepping out of the pile of wolf flesh, she
walks over to the river to wash the blood off her body and to rinse out her
mouth.

Behind her, she hears two more sound of ripping flesh, as
Mariah turns her dark brown eyes on to her pack. Ruairì standing in his wolf
leftovers. Pale skinny body, face and hair with bright red hair. Benan, squat
with blond-brown hair, his blue eyes bright on his chubby face.

Mariah, tall and gangly standing naked in front of her two pack mates. “Wash off, we need to head back to our house, or our foster ‘parents’ will be pissed.”

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