Three Clans Three Heroes

Chapter Two

Echo smirked as she stared up at the two wolf brothers she had kidnaped. She had tied them together and hung them from a tree by their feet.

One of them, Koda, she decided was the oldest because he was bigger. Koda glared at her with a look that could kill and she returned his glare.

The other one, Bliez, stared at her with his eyes shining in awe. It bothered her, the way he looked at her as if she was the only person that existed.

She dropped to the ground in a sitting position and leaned against the base of the tree, sharpening the point of her arrow head. Finally, Bliez spoke.

"My lady, would you please do the pleasure of blessing us with your name?"

"It is Echo. You shall not call me "my lady", for I am the furthest thing from royal blood. I live the furthest from the castle and my house is nothing but a den made from mud."

"Someone as beautiful as you shouldn't live in the mud," he declared. "You must be of some significance!"

Echo looked up at him in surprise. She had never been called beautiful. She considered herself far from it. Her hair was silky, yes. Her skin was black as night, sure. Her eyes could cause anyone to get lost in them forever.

However, most of her bones jutted from her skin. Her body was coated in scars and she was bleeding from several cuts with battles from her prey. Bruises lined her arms and legs as a remembrance of her previous battles.

She looked up at the Wolf boy that had complimented her. He had a sharp jaw, and alert blue eyes. He was dressed in thin clothing made from rabbit fur. His former sleek hair was now hanging upside down from his head. It was white, but streaks of gray were visible in the moonlight. A few freckles dotted his nose and she smiled at him in a way that surprised herself.  

"Exactly why are we hanging upside down again," snapped Koda.

"I shot you both in the leg. I can hardly carry both back to camp and I can't leave one of you unsupervised. We will wait for the night border patrol and they will be more that happy to lock you both up."

Koda grumbled to himself while Bliez gasped whilst he was looking at her.

"What?" She snapped.

"Your eyes, they're green!"

"Yes, young wolf. At night our eyes change from tawny to green. 'Tis a specialty we possess."

"Well, it looks amazing on you. To be honest, I think you could make any eye color work," he sighed.
Echo blushed slightly, but the night sky made it hard to tell. It was obvious fro the way he spoke he was no practiced charmer like many criminals that were known to try and woo the ladies. The wolf boy was simply speaking his mind honestly. It was only too clear the sight of her besotted him.

Echo shocked herself by staring at him with a gaze almost reflecting his own. She snapped out of it with a curse at herself. He was a wolf. A mangy mutt that had no better need than to be put down.

She jumped up as she heard the sound of the night patrol approaching. Her best friend, Clim, was in the lead followed by Adisa, Clim's brother. A third member was with them, some one rich because Echo did not recognize him.

Clim stared in horror at the wolf boys and helped. Echo rolled her eyes.

"Caught these two trespassing. A night in the cells should do them good."

"How on earth did you capture two of them? They're both twice your size!" Adisa exclaimed.

"Um, you under estimate me and my trusty bow here. Plus, they were unarmed and hardly posed a threat. I shot them both in the leg to keep them from running and tied them up so they wouldn't crawl away."

"I have to say, I'm impressed, Echo!" Clim chided.

The rich cat man with them gave Echo a pouch of gold coins and they lowered the prisoners to the ground. Adisa threw Koda over his shoulder while the aristocrat threw Bliez over his. Clim and Echo followed while walking side by side.

Clim has dark skin, but it was more of a tanned look compared to Echo's skin. Clim had chocolate brown hair with black highlights streaking through her hair. Adisa looked mostly like his sister, only in male form.

They came upon a small pond, one typically used for drinking. Cat people took no joy in swimming like wolves did. They walked to the edge of the pond. In order to cross, they would have to travel over a a thin log to the other side.

Clim took the front, the aristocrat was after her and Adisa with Koda, then Echo trailed in the back. Koda glared at her furiously from his position and before she knew what was happening, Koda lifted his arms and struck her so hard across the face she tumbled at first through the air but she flipped gracefully towards the water, her eyes gleaming with panic.

Cats didn't swim, nor did they know how to in the slightest. She wailed and hit the water, sinking immediately. Bliez screamed in horror. The most beautiful creature he had ever seen was dying in front of him!

Clim was trying to catch her friend's clothing on a stick, but they couldn't see her below the icy depths. Bliez knew she would either freeze or drown. He kicked frantically again st the aristocrat.

"Let me save her,"he screeched.

The aristocrat dropped him and he swam towards her tiny body. Echo felt strong arms press around her and she was pulled to a muscular chest. She clawed and gasped frantically for air, but she only injured Bliez with her claws.

He winced but ignored her panic, knowing it was only because she was drowning that she would attack him. He brought her to the surface and laid her on her back gently and pumped against her chest. He sighed in relief as she coughed and he drew her on his lap hoping to warm her up. She shivered and grasped him in a tight hug, desperate for warmth.

He wrapped his arms around her tightly and her friends came racing over quickly.

"Let her go", Adisa snapped.

"I'm keeping her warm! My body will produce more heat than yours!" Bliez argued.

He saw pure rage in Adisa's eyes and immediately understood he had feelings for her. He cursed himself mentally for not realizing it before. The Cat man had had pure horror on his face when she fell, and cat people were known to be mainly void of emotion. Adisa looked willing to jump in the river himself for a second.

Echo looked up at her rescuer and smiled. She hated admitting it, but she was falling for the wolf, and hard. He may have been an arrogant brat, but one look in his eyes and she knew he had genuinely concerned she would drowned.

Bliez looked into her eyes and sent a shiver down her spine. He hugged her tighter, stroking her hair. She immediately realized that familiar smell most wolf people wore, the stench of wet dog. However, it was hardly traceable since he just came out of the pond. She moaned in contentment and closed her eyes.