In the late morning with the clouds overhead darkening in preparation of the coming storm, Charles caught the faint scent of several deer. It might had just been the remnants of a bedding from the night before, but Charles could follow that, if they found it. He led them through the forest. The smell was getting stronger and clearer to his nose with every step. They quickened their pace but it wasn’t enough. The sky opened up and they found themselves in the middle of a hard cold rain. Something on this side of a torrential down pour.
Charles made his made way through the wet foliage, determined to follow the scent till it was washed away completely by the frigid rain. They moved at a run; the sound of their footsteps was masked by the splashing rain all around them. Charles led them to the recently used dear bedding. The scent was still strong here. Charles didn’t linger but took off in another direction. They were flat running now. William knew that it wouldn’t be long before even Charles lost the scent but Charles wasn’t ready to give up yet. It occurred to William that if the rain dampened and washed away the scent from the ground and the air, how would Charles be able to do his trick from yesterday? William also couldn’t help but wonder about the two does that they had left back in the corral. Would they wake up and bolt? Would they sleep through this frigid storm? William pushed these doubts and thoughts aside. If Charles wasn’t worried about it then what right did he have to question the abilities of his friend?
They moved through the storm like shadows. The rain being whisked from their bodies by the surrounding bushes and by the speed at which they traveled. William and Aceso could travel much faster than this on open ground, as it was, they were traveling as fast as they could in the dense forest. The rain blurred his vision from time to time and he had to shake water from his head almost constantly, but Charles still had the scent and they were getting closer.
Charles stopped. The rest of the pack flowed to a stop behind him. The rain was not as easy to ignore when he was standing still. The ice water dripped down his thick fur to burrow down and freeze his skin. The tiny pin pricks of cold pain were enough to drive anyone mad. But William fought that madness and remained motionless.
They moved forward one step at a time. William was able to see through the curtain of water to just pick out the blurred form of several deer standing in a well sheltered copse of trees. Without speaking they all turned toward Aceso. Through silent hand motions she explained what they had to do.
The pack spread out and, on a signal, they charged the enclosure. William was able to jump up and grab the large ten-point buck by the neck. He got a face full of hoof for his trouble. The massive male screamed out into forest but by shear strength and will alone was William able to hold on to the wild animal. The buck thrashed around and scraped at the ground with his horns, trying to get the large predator off him. William had the image of a bull rider in his mind as he clamped his claws around the animal’s neck. This only sent the buck into more of a frenzied attack to try to escape. William didn’t know what was happening with the rest of the pack, at that moment he didn’t care. All of his attention was focused on the buck and getting him to lie down.
Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.
The buck was strong and he gave William all of his money’s worth. The buck started dancing and bucking back and forth, thrashing at the ground and at the air. He charged a nearby tree and had it not been for William absorbing the entire impact with the unforgiving wood, the buck would have knocked himself out.
William rode around the deer’s neck, not wanting to break its back. His fur was coated in mud, branches and pine needles and whatever else the deer had scraped up with him. An eternity later the deer finally slowed down. In a final act of defiance, the deer stood up perfectly still. William braced himself for another collision with a tree. The buck stood like an enforcer sentinel and then dropped to the ground with the unsupportable weight of the werewolf around his neck. William maintained his grip for another thirty seconds and then let go and stood up. He watched the deer and saw it resume breathing. William let out a sigh of relief and turned to see how the rest of the pack was doing.
Not good by the looks of things. Katherine and Achelois were still wrestling with a doe. William’s first instinct was to go and help but there was no part of the deer left to grab onto. The deep brown fur of the female was almost completely covered with cream and black and white and tan werewolf fur.
Charles had a young buck by the neck. The buck was slowing down. William knew that it was only a matter of time before Charles had his quarry subdued. Aceso and Nicolas stood in the middle of the clearing watching the rest of the pack. William had counted five deer in this clearing and they were able to capture three of them, if Katherine and Achelois were successful.
Charles stood up from the young buck that was now sleeping peacefully on the forest floor and raced over to where the two females were having serious trouble with their doe. William watched as Charles placed his claw over the doe’s nose and mouth while Katherine held the terrified animal still. William watched with rapt fascination as the doe’s eyes glazed over. It was only through some basic instinct that kept the doe awake. She kept shaking her head and forcing her eyes wide and kicked out with her legs. Eventually, Charles was too much for the already exhausted doe and she fell limply to the ground.
Charles came over to William’s downed buck and placed his claw over the deer’s nose and mouth as well. While he was doing this William walked out of the copse of trees and found a small clearing where sheets of rain fell to the forest floor. He stood in the rain for several minutes wiping his tan fur free of mud and pine needles. It was the coldest shower had ever taken but it was a welcome one.