Little Wolf

Ch 45 Challenge

I felt myself shift. There was pressure on my brain and my vision doubled for a second. I growled, shaking my head. My adversary took advantage of my distraction to attack.

I focused on his body, picturing joints and organs. The wolf isn't made to swing up into where organs are. When he came in, and he came in fast, I swung my head to cause a blow into his kidneys. I leapt away.

I circled, waiting for an opening to rush him. When it came, I knocked him over then made a short leap, watching for his teeth, bring all four of my paws down on one point. He yelped, even as he struggled up from under me. Soon we were circling again.

My fangs were showing in a silent snarl. He came in, ducking low, trying to grab a paw. I moved my head over his shoulders, giving a little pounce, bringing my legs up so I was on top of him, draped along his back. I stood on my hind legs for a second and brought my front paws up, wrapping them around his neck.

He reared up, trying to throw me off. Where once I shifted while trying to stay looking like a man, now I shifted to stay looking like a wolf. My hips moved so I could bring my hind legs in for a tighter grasp. I added my teeth into the ruff at the back of his neck to strengthen my hold and limit his head movement.

He tried everything to break my hold. He spun, tried reaching over his shoulder to bite me, even trying to fall backward so I was under him. My hold was secure. I was surprised when he started shifting to man. That made me let him go, pacing in front of him. I expected him to concede the bout since he had insisted it be all wolf.

He kept twitching as he shifted back, until finally he was upright, breathing hard.

"You've gone feral. Your ordeal underground was too much for you. These people who came to rescue you need to understand that killing you is actually a kindness. You and the black wolf over there. I don't think he can ever be man again."

I had a feeling he was the one who had come as close to being what he called feral as he had ever been. The wolf doesn't like being confined and had tried to come to the forefront to help. He had come up with a human strategy to keep himself from becoming a wolf within himself, if murder was a strategy.

He glanced toward the people with the guns. "I do not expect you to kill one who obviously means so much to you, but you need to understand he is a danger to everyone now. He cannot remain alive."

I hissed with laughter. He turned back to stare at me. He knew he couldn't take me, he knew it! He had no plans on submitting to me so he planned on trying to kill me. Good to know.

I did not shift. I spoke in my mother's tongue, so my family would understand and he would not. "All is well. Stay wolf, Father." The words were growled out. I doubted my opponent knew I had even spoken.

"See?" He pointed dramatically at me before standing tall. He looked at the wolves behind me, his wolves, nodding at them, then shifted to wolf once more.

While waiting for him to shift back, I spared a look behind my opponent at Mac.  He looked like he was snarling himself, ready to take on the man/wolf who was planning on killing me. Dad had moved his pacing to be in front of Mac, blocking him, proof that Dad was thinking as a man and not feral.

I faced this wolf who was only a man. He was filled with a human desire to murder. I was filled with a wolf's instinct to survive. More than that, I was filled with human cunning, and a certain amount of amusement that he actually believed the people here would believe anything he said.