Chapter 5

As i drew closer to the den i could smell more than my siblings scent. That wasn’t good. It was a high probability that I had just shit the bed. Accepting my fate I continued my path to the packs home. The forest was still as lush as it had been when I first opened my eyes to this new world. Trees so strong and tall I could almost feel their very pulse beating through the overgrowth. Birds chirping in their annoying away, as usual annoying everyone around them.

  Letting out what I considered to be a sigh I focused on the problems ahead of me. I had almost arrived and i could start to hear the yelping and playful sounds of the others pretending to fight. The strength I had felt earlier upon defeating my fearsome foe had already left me, I felt drain and exhausted. I continued to slink Until I saw the entrance, with father staring at me.

  Those gleaming eyes of his, always so intimidating. If I could just be allowed to sleep I would deal with this tomorrow. Before I knew it he had pounced on me, laying my body on its side. I could see his teeth shine in the dimming daylight, their threat imposing itself onto me. He knew when I was fully grown that I would be larger. It scared him and I knew that he was trying to imprint now, that he was the dominant one.

  I would accept this, at least for now. As expected, being the bottom bitch on this totem pole did not suit me well at all. His claws were digging into my flank. It wasn’t quite painful enough yet that I would be forced to cry in pain and accept submission though. I could feel my skin start parting from the pressure he exerted onto me, and it was all I could do to clamp my jaw shut and bear it.

  Suddenly, sweet release from the invading painbringers. He had released me and our eyes locked for only a moment. In that second I knew, that i would kill him. It may not be today, hell it may not even be any time soon but i would. I curled to lick my oozing wounds, the soft grass underneath a comfortable spot to rest. I would have to gain strength quickly to survive past this point.

  Feeling the bruise to my pride rather pointedly i dragged myself the rest of the way to the den we had in the cave. It was a decent sized entrance, maybe 4 or 5 feet tall and a little wider. Inside the light during the day gave enough visibility to see most of it, if not every nook and cranny. I had been sleeping here for quite a while now. Yet it only had a hint of home, not really feeling as if it was my home. Shaking my head to clear such useless thoughts I walked over to my normal resting spot.

  Mine was a corner, as I decided that the others of my generation could not be trusted. They all slept huddled together, keeping one another warm by contact. Accepting a warm enough sleep, for my own pride, foolish as it may be would not accept giving in to their weakness. Wrapping myself into a ball of fur i cuddled myself for the night. Tomorrow I would hunt again, Father be damned.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

  I awoke to the sounds of steps leaving our hovel. The moon leaving its remnants on the land as the sun fought its way up gave me some ability to see. The adults were leaving, probably to go hunt down more prey for the ver growing pups left in the den. Uncoiling myself from my slumber, I listened for the sounds of the adults. As they grew fainter until they couldn’t be heard anymore, I crouched and slinked my way out of the den.

  Once I had fully exited I stretched my body. Arching my back and pulling my legs taunt to wake them up. Going to scratch an itch next to my ear I flicked my hind paw against it. I took a sharp breath in, noticing an odd lump next to my ear. Slowly moving my paw across my head I felt two strange growths pushing against the skin on my head. I don’t think they were large enough to be seen, but this was without a doubt not a good sign.

  Not much I could do about it though… I hadn’t seen this on any other wolf though. Was it a tumor? Or a mutation? This was a rather strange world and for it to suddenly appear overnight felt strange, as they were symmetrical and the growth wasn’t rough or unnatural feeling. There was nothing more I’d gain from worrying about this

Moving into the forest I took up the hunt from where I had left it before. I sniffed listened and searched for more of those delectable rabbits. Scouting the area I could find only one within a reasonable distance. Accepting this, I decided that I would use the same technique as before, albeit without almost getting my eye gouged put in the process.

   I tried to improve upon my earlier technique, getting ever closer to my prey. I had already gotten within my striking distance, yet I decided to take the risk and get ever closer. If I could get close enough to catch it completely unaware I would sustain no wounds at all. My claws started to dig into the ground, preparing for the force to be shot through them. Diving at the feeble creature before me it barely had the time to squeak before I had clamped it's neck into my vice. I felt my teeth sink in further than they had on the other rabbit. But still even with full force I barely pierced its hide.

   Accepting my defeat I shattered the rabbits spine by breaking this one's neck, as I had done before. As I ravaged its corpse I found another stone in its heart. Was this a feature of the rabbits on this world I pondered. Or just something every creature had, because if that was the case I would also have one. Gulping down the morsel to finish my meal I felt refreshed. Full of energy even, I would continue my hunt.

Searching for what I thought to be hours, I found strange foxes with ever shifting coats, birds who shot their feathers as a weapon, which was quite a terrifying escape. Finally I happened across what looked to be an easy prey, unlike the tricky foxes, or the deadly birds.

A rather large but still smaller than me salamander basked in the afternoon sun. It's hide was an odd pattern of blues, it's spindly legs capable of lightning quick movements. The rabbit may of Been fast but I never chased it, and this lizards feet had rather deadly looking claws. They would without a doubt slice my beautiful fur to ribbons if I got into an unfavorable position. Crouching and approaching my new foe I prepared myself for combat.