Intruders
I fall into my hammock and tilt my hat down over my face. The sun pierces the skin on my chest and I take a deep breath. I need to cool down, take a breath from all the family drama. Clear my mind before going back so I don’t rip someone’s head off.
After my brother passed away, no one’s looked at me the same. No one’s treated me the same. They all expect me to step up and know what the right thing to do is, but how am I supposed to know?
Regan was raised to be the next Alpha. How the hell am I supposed to have those same instincts that were instilled in him from when he was a pup? I’ve always been looked at like I was third in line. And I’ve lived my life that way. I’ve always mess around and played jokes and taken things easy. And now, they expect everything from me.
My ears perk when I hear footsteps. Two pairs. Human. But they’re off on the public trail that leads to the lake. I’m pretty deep in the forest, so I’m not too worried about running in to people.
My mother and I used to come here when I was young. I think she could always tell I used my lighthearted attitude to mask how I was really feeling. And I think she knew I would get in trouble because I craved the attention.
With my brother, everyone was always testing him and putting their attention to him to make sure he was being trained and groomed. And that left me on my own most the times. That’s why my mother was my only friend. But that was only until my little sister Shay was born.
Our relationship changed after that, but things did get easier as I grew older and went to the pack school. I made some friends, made some enemies, got in trouble. A lot of trouble. Alpha Torak, my father, didn’t like that very much. He said I should hold more responsibility and earn respect, so when I turned 15 he gave me duties to carry out. Which consisted of helping the elderly. I hated it. To say the least.
Soren. We need you. I hear in my head, and I sit up quick and grab my hat as it falls from my face.
I swing my legs to the side and all my senses are heightened by a hundred. I take off running towards the pack house. It’s a pretty decent ways away, and I know I’d make it there faster if I was in wolf form, but I can’t risk that. There’s too many people in these parts, so I do my best on foot.
What’s going on? I ask back, trying to link to as many wolves as I can.
There’s an intruder on the East Entrance, near the bluff. They’re going South.
South. I make a right turn, and without second thought I shift into my wolf form mid jump and feel my lung take on more distance with each stride.
I’m headed that way now. I tell them, and I focus on my breath as I pick up speed. Even though I grew up being third in line, I feel like my senses have always been more heightened than the others. I’ve always had a good sense of direction, and good instincts. I’ve just been hiding them so my brother seemed the best at everything.
We’ve been having a lot of intruders on our land in the last few weeks. The pack in the northern Appalachians have been testing our boarders to see if they can trim off some of it, but we’ve been resilient with pushing them back to their land. They’re getting clever though. And they’re bound to make a bigger attempt when they get to know our lands more.
When the wind blows I catch the scent of four wolves. All of them are pretty big - I can tell by the breath that they take. Their lung capacity and how long their strides are. But that doesn’t worry me. Not only are my sense better than most, but I’m always bigger than most wolves I come across. And I have as much strength as I have speed.
When the wind blows across my face from the west I get a strong aroma of honey and sage and come to a sliding stop. I look around the area, my eyes wide and ears tuned to every sound nearby, but that smell. What is that smell?
There’s a human nearby. I tell my pack, and my ears perk at soft footsteps in the distance. I start to walk that way, but then I shake my head. No. I can’t stop to check on them. I’m a wolf. And I can’t leave my pack.
Are they out of the way? They ask, and I take a breath.
Yes. They should be. I tell them, but my body impulsively goes towards the scent. I shake my head again, this time a little harder, but I feel drawn to that smell. I’ve never smelt anything like that in my life.
When will you be at the clearing? I hear them ask, and I shake my head harder and force myself into a sprint in the opposite direction of the scent. Hopefully that scent doesn’t attract any other wolves in the area.
I’m here. I tell them when I trot into the open clearing. A little round bed of grass we call the met up since it’s between the pack house and the main road that goes to the town just below us.
7 members of my pack enter the field and look around to secure the area. They meet me in the middle and we listen to the silence around us, but I can still hear the footprints of the four wolves making their way through our land. They’ve slowed down, probably sensing us on their backs, but I don’t think they’re going to let up.
We need to cut them off before they reach the river. And we need to drive them out. I don’t care if we take one of them off the map.
I don’t think that’s a good idea. I protest. And they all stare me down. We shouldn’t attack them if we don’t have to. They’re big, and I don’t want one of us getting injured if it doesn’t need to happen.
There’s 8 of us, and 4 of them. And you don’t think we have a chance? They doubt me words, and I look among them all. I know these wolves are a lot bigger than they are anticipating. And I don’t want them getting knocked out.
I think we can take them out. No problem. They all start to chime in, and I just shake my head.
If you don’t want to be part of this you don’t need to be here.
Why don’t you go check on that human? Make sure they're out of the way. They tell me, and they take off without another word. Without me. I’m the next Alpha, and this is the shit I have to deal with.
I pace in circles for a while, listening to my group as the approach the intruders, and listen to their banters back and forth. Well, at least they didn’t attack right out of the gate. Maybe they can get them to back off without a fight. Maybe I should go check on that human.
I start my way back into the forest, but then I hear yelping and whining and I turn quickly. I tune my ears as finely as I can and I hear growling, lunging, and biting. And then there’s the smell of blood.
My body takes off faster than I can think and I find my pack surrounding one of our smaller members - Toma. They’re surrounded by the four large wolves so I leap in front of them so I'm between them and the intruders.
I ruffle the fur on my back and hunch my shoulders so I’m as big as I can possible seem and bare my teeth. I’m bigger than all of them, but I can tell they have the strength among us.
Get off our land. Now. I say in a deep growl, but they scoff at me.
You’re all weak. It’s only a matter of time we take your land for ourselves. If you think you can keep running us off. You’ve got the wrong idea. The biggest one says, and before I can even think about it, I lung at him.
I catch him by surprise and manage to get a flank of his shoulder in my mouth and I rip it out. One of his buddies tackles me on my side and I feel his skull make contact with some of my ribs, but I roll with him and kick him out of the way with my hind legs. Two of my pack members come to my side as they drag Toma off a little further.
We lung at the three remaining healthy wolves and snag two of them, but the other darts off towards the rest of my pack. They tackle him easy and pin him down to the ground. I can feel the big one’s blood still dripping from my mouth and I stalk my way up to the group of three. I puff up my chest, my body pulsing with energy, and I see them step back.
I let out a growl deep in my chest and step towards them. And when I'm little closer I lunge again and feel my teeth sink into one of their necks. My teeth go all the way through and blood pours out, but I let him go and watch him run back. I know if I rip skin out of there he’s going to bleed out and die. And that’s the last thing I want.
Get off my land. I tell them and they trot a few feet, but they stop and look at the wolf my pack still has under their paws. I walk over to the wolf and hear it whine and beg for me to let them release it. I stand over it, the blood from his friend dripping from my mouth onto him.
Let me ask you something. I say in a low tone, and his eyes meet mine. How many more times are you going to come on my land, before you realize I might kill one of you someday? I ask him, and fear strikes his eyes.
I pace back to the other three and walk back and forth. They’re watching me. Anticipating another lung to bite into the one that has no mark yet, but I don’t plan on it. I just want to see them squirm.
If I see you again, it’s not looking good for you. I say, and they bare their teeth at my threat. Release the kid. I tell my pack, and they’re hesitant, but they do what I say. The kid runs over to his group and they all run off once they check him for wounds.
I run after them and I can feel the blood flying out of my mouth at the speed I’m going. Two of my pack members trail me, but they don’t say a word. I know they would have been in trouble without me, but there’s really no need to say anything else. I just want these intruders off my land.
When we get to the boarder where our land meets theirs, I stop and trail along the trees to make sure they keep going. I pace quickly, my other two pack members trailing both sides of me
Is Toma okay? I ask them, and I slow my pace, but keep my ear open.
Broken leg. But he’ll heal. They tell me, and I blow out my nose so the blood comes out.
Are you good?
Fine. I tell them, but I can feel my ribs throbbing. It’ll heal with time, I just hope nothing is broken. And besides, I’m more worried about Toma. He’s too young to be going on a raid like this. I know they didn’t know what to expect, but still. They shouldn’t have brought him into this.
We should head back to the pack house. They tell me, but I still feel the adrenaline pumping though me.
You go back. I’m going to stay out here a while. I say, but they don’t budge. I let out a breath and pace a few times back and forth. I listen a long moment, but don’t hear anything. Maybe it’s good I bit in to them pretty deep. They’re in no mode to be fighting until they heal.
I turn and meet their eyes, then trot off towards the pack house and they follow at my heels. I feel my muscles in my legs adjusting to the pain in my ribs to take on more wight, but as soon as I get a few feet off, I focus on my surroundings.
We trail our way back to the clearing, pass by and head straight on to the pack house. I know most members don’t think I take things seriously. I’ve always been the prankster in the family, the one that doesn’t take anything seriously, but everything my brother learned, I ended up learning as well. Even if it never seemed like I was paying attention, or that I cared, learning alpha duties came easy to me. And all the times I spent in the forest by myself ended up being more ear and sense training for me, because I know I can hear and sense things most other can’t.
I come to a quick halt and turn my head towards the direction of the forest. That scent again. The human. My two pack members circle me, trying to see what I’m after, but I know they’re not as trained as I am.
What is it?
The human. I tell them, and they look at each other curiously. I’m going to make sure they're not going towards the boarder.
What are you going to do?
Humans aren’t that difficult to scare. I say, and I take off before they can protest. Because that smell - it draws me in. And I need to put a face behind it.
***Editors note: I am updating chapters as I write them without going through a second time. Please be patient with grammar and spelling through out the chapters! I hope you enjoy what's to come!
