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WolfPack

The first thing Henry hears is the bugle call of an elk from the next valley. A powerful odor of service berry and wet wool shoves Henry out of his dream and into the fall afternoon. He snorts and his eyes open, and he is momentarily startled to find he can see the individual hairs on the warm bodies snuggled near him, four young wolves all asleep. He forgets why this is a surprise and instead nudges the nearest warm body with his nose. She complains, but then she snuggles back down and goes back to sleep. But the Alpha pair will be returning soon, and Henry knows he must have the pups up and awake before they get there. He nudges Rusty again.

Rusty is the first of the pups born five months ago to the Alpha pair; she is called Rusty for the color of her coat. The others are Gadfly, who annoys all of the others in the pack; Speckled, for the coloring around his nose; and Meek, who is afraid of everything and every wolf.

Henry pokes his muzzle out of the nest and cold air blasts his nose, cold air scented with the metallic taste of blood and the musky odor he associates with the Alpha Pair. He peers out over the landscape, newly decorated with a light fall of snow. From his vantage point under the service berry shrub on the south-facing slope of this valley he can see a great deal; but much of it is wooded and he gets no visual cues as to where the Alpha Pair might be. But he can smell them. They’re close.

He growls warningly in the back of his throat, turns his head and briskly nips the nearest furry butt. Rusty yelps in protest and then in turn nips her brothers awake. Gadfly is the slowest to respond, as always, but all four are awake and yawning when the Alpha Pair crosses the stream and climbs the hill. With them is Henry’s sister, her brown coat shining in the approaching dusk. She is beautiful.

Henry whines as the Alpha male finally reaches the nest. and licks the Alpha’s muzzle in deference. His name was once Snowy, but Henry hasn’t thought of him as Snowy since he became Alpha. For a second Henry recalls that he hasn’t always been always a wolf, and the fact that he’s not the alpha causes a wave of resentment within him. He warily licks the muzzle of the Alpha female, once called Daisy. She recognizes his reluctance and bares her teeth with an aggressive growl. Henry drops to the ground and whines until Daisy lets him up.

Next: HumanPack



Story Directory:

Part I: ManWhoWantsToBeAWolf
Part II: WolfReferral
Part III: WitchOffice
Part IV: WolfBoomer
Part V: WolfMethods
Part VI: WolfPack <--You are here
Part VII: HumanPack
Part VIII: MarkingTerritory
Part IX: HumanTerritory
Part X: TheKill
Part XI: CocktailParty
Part XII: BreakAway
Part XIII: SundayMorning

Created by KKris. Last Modification: Friday 19 of December, 2003 11:18:06 EST by KKris.