Little Wolf

Ch 57 The Pack Hunt

I sprung ahead, moving away from Sister, quickly slowing down to give others the time they would need to shift. I could hear Mac behind me...

"Do your damn shifting elsewhere ya idjit wolves! She's a thirteen year old girl who don't need to see... I don't care if you're a frigging wolf! I'll cover your eyes myself, ya impertinent little..."

I laughed at Mac. I truly had no idea how he ended up with babysitting duty. Between him and Lone Wolf, no one would be bothering Sister.

Dad had agreed to stay with Anna and Running Elk, so he wouldn't be hunting with me tonight. I pitied the wolf foolish enough to challenge dad. I didn't think any would, but you never could tell. With both dad and Mac left behind, I had no worries for the human members of my pack staying at Wolf's Pointe.

Max came, the second wolf I had fought moving in front of him. Cherokee and the Arctic matriarch were on either side of him, close enough to nip him back into position if needed. Each of them had their packs ranging along their respective sides, just as Max's two guards ran behind him. That troublesome wolf would cause no harm tonight.

I gave a satisfied rumble when I saw them. I lifted my snout, my body raising up and partially shifting. I motioned with my arm for the first one I had fought, who was hanging in the back behind the troublemaker, to come up closer to me.

"Go to the tent," I told him, "empty the orange backpack and bring it so we can take meat back to Sister." I watched him move off, knowing he was also my omega.

My pack, I thought with satisfaction as I became aware of the wolves who joined me. Not all did. Most groups sent at least one member. A large pack of real wolves would number between fifteen and twenty. I had forty to fifty wolves ranging around me, another ten to twenty who were so incompetent as wolves they were quickly being left behind as we headed into the night.

We ran, the run changing into that mile-eating lope. The going was slow sometimes, while I gave the following wolves a breather and a chance to catch up.

The sun was up when I let loose a howl, summoning my trackers. A dozen wolves jumped ahead of the bulk of the pack. My vision swam, focusing on the herd of elk lifting their heads. It was a big herd, enough for this big pack to feast on.

I snarled, part of me wondering how it always seemed like I was more wolf than I had ever been, yet at the same time, more human while wolf, enough to appreciate the men who strove to understand what they were, keeping pace, but having no idea just what they were supposed to do.

"Experienced hunters to the fore," I growled out loudly, "and you who have never hunted, watch for hooves and antlers. Take turns at distracting the beast being hunted, first one side, then the other."

The herd came into view, moving through a long valley. I fell back toward my captive omega, motioning the others onward. I drove him forward, as if he was the beast I was hunting, until he was running behind an elk.

I moved along side of him, leaping and snapping at the elk's hindquarters, breaking it away from the herd. I rounded on it, sending it back toward some of the stragglers from the pack of werewolves that had followed me, giving them the opportunity to join in a hunt.

More wolves joined my hunt. My omega, so completely wolf at this point, couldn't stop chasing the elk.

I demonstrated to these first-time wolves how to harass the elk, and watched in contentment as they let wolf instinct rule them for the first time in their lives. I also watched as the elk I was after almost escaped from them.

I laughed, running in and quickly going for the kill. I rushed it, smacking into its shoulder. As fast as my feet hit the ground, I leapt again. I aimed for its throat, my jaws wide, my teeth finding their mark. I used my body weight to help rip open its throat, even as it was falling on its side. I sprung far enough away so the falling weight didn't land on me.