Song : L. Stricagnoli - The Last of theMohicans (Guitar Cover)

The night breeze was cool, a welcomed feeling against my fur while I was running in an even pace through the vast forrest of grand pine trees. I could hear the others, their paws tumbling on the ground, keeping close to me without making me feel suffocated. I appreciated the courtesy, this was my first night run with the pack and although my wolf felt better about us being in their presence, the awareness that we didn't actually belong fully, still lingered. Our situation was unique, we knew this from the start, we have both felt it and it continued to cause a mayhem to my wolf and me at times. We were both better when I was human, it was easier after all those years living away from home and I had gotten used to their smell but in wolf form, everything around you intensified. I could feel and smell their intentions, I could sense their ranking in the pack, their body language betrayed their next movements. All of those things were so natural for me to see because of my very own existence. My wolfs good breeding origin had something to do with that as well.

She huffed and raised her head higher, she was very proud of our family and she did have reason to be although I always had to remind her that we both had spent years learning to become what we are with the gentle guidance of my father. It helped that we were in sync with each other from the start but potential that isn't nurtured and encouraged can be lost. My brothers were also present during family training time although their approach was more aggressive, always trying to make me snap while teaching me to fight. It was a necessary part of my education but I hated their taunting, always nipping me and biting my ears. I swear if wolves could laugh, my brothers would be the first to master it, they came pretty close to it. To me they sounded like hyenas and I informed them of that. They didn't like it.

Big, stupid oafs. I missed them.

My wolf whined, feeling nostalgic as well but she nudged me to pay attention to the present. Despite her being cautious in the company of so many others, she enjoyed the night stroll that would probably lead to a midnight hunt. The thought of a well earned meal after the exuberance of the chase, aroused the predator that she was. I felt her hunger rising and I let her follow her instincts.

I felt a wolf approaching me on my right and I let a warning growl coming out me. The wolf halted his speed but he didn't back down. His black fur was shining under the pale glow of the waxing crescent moon that managed to reach us through the gaps of the natural barrier of the trees. Pierce.

My wolf relaxed, she liked Pierce's wolf and she didn't have a problem with him coming close to us. A much smaller red coated female came up next to him, nipping his ear playfully and quickly running away only to come on my left, her eyes full of joy at her accomplishment of not getting caught by the dark beast. Danni.

We slowed our running and approached our friend, this was the first time that I was seeing Danni in her wolf form. My wolf got excited as well, she wanted to get acquainted with this cheerful female, we have been surrounded by too many males all through the years. We missed female company.

Danni's tail was waving left and right, showing that she too was eager to meet us. We rubbed our cheek to hers, licking her ears while she returned the favour and started circling over us, leaving happy barks escape her. I put my head over her spine near her head to stop her her endless circling. We had to keep running. We could continue playing after we filled our bellies. She stilled, getting the message of authority that we were showing and I released her with a final lick to her mouth.

Pierce towered over us as three more male wolves came to where we had stopped. Ian's brown wolf stood commanding amongst a lighter brown one, who had streaks of gold along his fur coat and eyes that resembled Ian's but not quite the same. Kenneth. The other had a dark coat, almost black with grey fur that started just below his eyes and extended to the whole front of his body. I didn't recognize this one.

Ian gave a low growl and came to me, rubbing his body against mine, showing his claim to the other males. I stood still, allowing him to demonstrate what his nature demanded of him to do to his mate. After we marked each other again, it seemed that he was more inclined to put his scent on me every chance he got. Not that anyone could have mistaken to who I was bonded to, we lived together and we had been practicing quite a bit this past two weeks in the intimate aspects of our mating. I wanted to be able to deal with the heightened emotions that came with the libido of wolves without feeling the need to sink my teeth into his neck every time. Ian didn't mind, he said it was the most enjoyable practice he had in a long time. His self control was admirable but I guess it came with the title and the experience. I got annoyed every time I thought about that but I would be a fool to close my eyes to the obvious, he had more years than me and the past was what it was. I was here with him and that was all that mattered.

Kenneth's wolf eyed us with an amused expression, obviously enjoying the show that his brother was putting on for the males. I wanted to growl at him and tell him to mind his own business but I refrained and focused on Ian. My wolf was ridiculously happy, her mate was giving her all the attention that she wanted and she reciprocated with affectionate licks to mouth, rubbing her neck to his while satisfied growls vibrated through both our chests. He had left us an hour ago to run with his pack without him, his way of helping us overcome the mental discomfort that we felt. We had separated into two groups and he nudged me to follow the one that he wasn't in. At first I was confused but then his voice could be heard through the link."Run" he said and nudged me gently again to the others."Safe". The link worked in wolf form but it wasn't like you could have a proper conversation, it was more like two or three word sentences. We relied more on our instincts to help us communicate.

After he was satisfied with the display that he put on, Ian turned and started once again running through the dark forrest. We didn't need further invitation, we followed him as other pack members joined us, reuniting the two divided groups into one and turning this run into a hunting party.

We easily caught up to Ian and took his left, keeping the pace he held without difficulty. We might not be so physically equipped as the females of his pack but we were firm and fast, traits of our pack. Ian glanced my way and his eyes shined with the specks of  gold that seemed to appear more in his wolf form. I turned my attention to the trail that we were following while Kenneth was at his brother's right.

We split again as we came upon a clearing, into groups of four or five. I followed Ian as did Kenneth and the black-grey wolf. We were near the river and a great male elk could be seen at the middle of it. It seemed to be guarding his harem of females that could be seen closer to the river. It was the middle of the summer which meant that there would be calves amongst those females. While we were beasts and the calves would be the easier target, we refrained our wolves from hunting them, this was about satisfying our instincts as predators and not our survival. These elks were not our main food source, we wouldn't starve if we didn't eat them. It helped keep more prey wherever we resided and keeping nature's balance. Normal wolves didn't share our morals but that was the way of nature, we were more than them and could hunt more efficiently but the outcome would be devastating for all down the line.

Ian was fixated on the male elk, his deadly antlers were almost three feet long and held the promise of a potential lethal injury. I could see the other groups going for the females, leaving their Alpha to claim the big prize. He started to move closer while we kept close to him and then suddenly he sprinted down the clearing swiftly, alerting the elk that started running while we flanked him left and right. Ian caught up with it, jumping on his back and biting it, close to his neck, making the elk turn his head to get him with his antlers. Ian relished his fangs and moved off him while Kenneth and the other wolf took a bite of his hind legs giving me the chance to take a bite to his front leg from the side. The elk was bleeding from four sides of his body but he continued to run. Ian moved faster and got alongside with it, keeping his distance from those antlers. Kenneth latched on his backside with the back wolf biting down on his hind leg. The elk turned his head and gave a moment of opportunity to Ian to seal his jaws into his neck without getting hit. I attached my snout to his belly and the elk came down. It was over.

We were all feeling primal, our snouts were covered in warm blood and it awakened our spirits. Ian growled at me and I let the belly go from my teeth, reluctantly I might say. As the leader, he would eat first, despite this being considered in human eyes a team effort. He tore out the heart and ate it in  two bites, greedily going in for the other organs. The liver was next, he took a bite and tossed the rest to Kenneth who wasted no time in eating it.

After his wolf was content enough to let us approach, we all dug in, hungry to be rewarded with the delicious meat. Ian took a bite out of the elk's back, getting a good portion and presenting to us. My wolf accepted his offer and we happily continued our meal.

After we were done, she started licking his snout from all the blood that remained there. His wolf was sitting on his hide, making it easier for us to reach him. He did the same to us once we were finished, licking more areas than didn't really need cleaning. Our wolves were familiar with each other and as our connection as humans grew, they got to have more freedom as well. It was mainly my apprehension at the beginning rather than Ian's, he was always more instinctive. Now I let my wolf to do as she pleased with his wolf and she was thankful for that.

A sudden commotion that seemed to come from the river followed by angry growls disrupted our grooming. Ian was instantly up and sprinting to the area with all of us following his lead.

When I got there, I saw a young brown reddish she-wolf snapping her jaws to two other male wolves that were cornering her. There was the carcass of a dead, rather small female elk near them and they seemed to be fighting over the meat. This was usual whenever there was a pack hunt and the wolves seemed to be all quiet young, a year maybe since they had sifted. The standard was that you didn't interfere, you just let it play out. You had to learn the rules and sometimes you had to learn them the hard way. An older wolf was at the sidelines, observing like us, probably the senior member of their hunting group, ready to intervene if it got out of hand.

Ian stayed still, watching as well. My wolf got restless, for some reason she didn't like how this she wolf was being threatened. I was confounded with her, she knew the rules, we both did. I turned my head, seeing Kenneth and the black wolf have a strange gleam in their eyes. Suddenly it all made sense.

I threw myself into the fight, biting one of the males on the hind leg and taking my position in front of the young female, growling menacingly to both of them. They snarled back, not backing down. I focused on them, sending one word to Ian.

"Heat ".

This female was probably in the very early stages of her heat, it could be well be her first which meant she might not have recognized the signs. With her being in wolf form and all the excitement of the hunt, these young males who apparently hadn't gotten used to the exhilaration that the blood of your prey brought to your senses, caught her smell and lost all rational thought. It was very subtle, I could hardly smell it myself but these males caught it. I would wager that they haven't smelt a female in heat before given their age.

Ian charged to both of them, quickly biting their necks in succession leaving a murderous growl to echo through the forrest. The young wolves lowered to the ground immediately, whining but not losing focus of the reddish wolf.

Ian shifted and turned to his brother.

"Kenneth, take these two back to the pack house and don't let them out of your sight. We will deal with them in the morning. Lock them in the basement for the night to cool off. Milo, go with him".

So Milo was the black-grey wolf.

Kenneth didn't hesitate to follow his Alpha's order although the gleam in his eye remained. He was an unmated male but he was older and could control himself. At least at this stage of a heat. I doubt that him and Milo had any time to register what it was they were feeling, the senior wolf that was guarding the young ones was probably mated so he stayed oblivious to the situation. That was probably why Ian stayed out of it as well, he was marked therefore not interested. Eventually they would understand what was playing out before their eyes. I just happened to figure it out first.

The males were removed with harsh growls while at the same time, Pierce and Danni broke through the trees coming to stand in front of Ian and me. The older wolf approached as well, his tail lowered between his leg, ashamed that he let them frighten the young female. It wasn't anyone's fault really. The female probably didn't know she was starting her heat or else she wouldn't have come to the hunt, we avoided them as a rule when we were not bonded and the young males were just starting to grasp their nature, coming in contact with all these new emotions. Heat was not a laughing matter for both genders, it drove us crazy when it was full on. No harm would have come to her at this point, the older wolf would have realized that this was something else. I just lessened the time of her ordeal. 

I turned to her and she was still on high alert, looking for another threat. She was a brave one, having wolves approach you with not the best of intensions was not something to joke about but she stood her ground, probably confused at to why her friends were coming after her.I don't think she knew, she could have mind-linked if she knew. Still, she stayed to fight it out.

She saw me coming near her and I saw the gratitude she held in her eyes for me. She approached hesitantly and lowered her head to me, giving me a quick lick to my neck, her way of saying thank you. My wolf gave her a little growl of approval and she came even closer, staying close to me. Danni came from the other side and together we shielded her between our bodies.

Ian watched with pride as he saw the young member of his pack seeking solace at my side. His looked at her with sympathy and then came to me and gently scratched behind my ears. I enjoyed the feeling, turning my head closer to him.

" We will escort you home, you have no reason to be afraid. It would be good if you visited the clinic tomorrow with your mother. Danni will explain it all to her."

The young female whined a little and Danni gave her a reassuring lick to her ears. Ian turned to me and gave my wolf a kiss to her forehead. I could see adoration in his eyes and it melted my heart.

" Thank you Vivian for protecting a member of my pack." He gave me another quick kiss and shifted, leading the way back home. 

I wanted to give a little of the spotlight to their wolves. I hope you enjoyed the chapter!As always, thank you for reading.