LONE WOLF
The next few weeks went by quickly. Soon my pups were walking around the den with their small paws, wobbling around on their legs, too small for their bodies. I made sure to teach them not to go near the edge of the den especially if I was not with them. They were starting to explore their world, but they were still too small to go outside of the den. Angela's leg had healed, however, she seemed to have a tougher time wandering around than her brothers.
Everyday, at noon, I had Danny lay down in front of the den as I searched for a new place for the dens, but be still on our territory. It wasn't easy, but I soon found a suitable tree who's roots grew large and reached far. I dug my new den under it's roots, the advantage being that this den was closer to the stream and farther from the bears.
I made sure to dig out multiple dens as well, and in each den I put a pelt that my pups and I would use. That way, if the fox found us again, it would take it longer to find them and it would give Danny and I more time to get to them. As soon as I had most of our old pelts in each den and new pelts in the new one, I brought my little ones to the new den, not letting Danny touch them yet. I carried Angela and Caleb first, then as soon as I had them deep in the den, for I had made each den much bigger than the last one, I howl to Danny to switch positions.
We ran at the moment my howl died, meeting in the middle, and running past one another so that if the fox was listening, then one of us would catch it. I know that Danny tried to go and catch it, but he lost it's scent at the river. So when I arrived at my den, I was relieved to see that the fox was nowhere to be seen.
When I entered my den, Nathan waited for me exactly where I left him- hidden under the pelts as he slept. He was awake now, but he kept quiet until he knew that it was only me. I kissed him clean, then picked him up gently by the scruff. As I carried him out of the den, I caught the scent of the fox once more, and I growled. The fox showed itself, making me growl all the more as I knew the fox couldn't possibly be alone.
I gently put Nathan down, keeping my eyes on the fox the entire time. As soon as his body touched the ground, the fox attacked me, and I moved so that I protected my little one. With Nathan under me, I kept my movements restricted, but as the fox dodged to my left at the last second, I didn't follow the taunt and step away from my pup. Instead I crouched low over him, and kept my balance as the fox jumped around me trying to get me away from him.
As the fox jumped around, I did what no other Wolf would do: I strategiesed, watching it's pattern. The perk of having two minds in one body focused on protecting one thing; you get quicker to react, quicker thinking, quicker kill. My Wolf focused on defense as I counted the fox's steps. Left, middle, middle, neck, legs, neck, right, legs, middle, repeat. When the fox went for our front right paw, we lifted our paw just enough that it's snout went under, then we stepped on the fox's neck, halting all it's movements.
I growled menacingly at it as it tried to wiggle away, so I increased the pressure on it's neck. Slowly I watched as the fox shifted into a human form; a girl with red hair with black streaks, but before she could get out any more profanities, I ripped out her throat. She was trying to grab my pup from under me with her hands as she cursed me.
Fox shifters were not welcome in the shifter world for all they did was start wars and cause mischief to all those around them, even their own kind. This fox must have been very desperate to have wanted to get at my pups so badly. I checked Nathan carefully, nothing broken and he was not bleeding. I kissed him clean of the fox's blood that splattered on him, and lifted him up again. When I arrived at the dens, Danny was waiting for me with a worried look. I nodded to him as a thank you and went in my new den, happy that my little ones were now completely out of danger.
I kissed the lot of them to sleep and popped my head out of my den. The sun had set and the moon was up. The stars were harder to see from our new spot, but we could still talk. I told Danny of what happened to me and we both agreed that we should start up our training again in the morning. With that said, we have already been out in the woods for longer than a years' time. The days were growing shorter and colder, winter was coming, and we had to prepare.
We were now using bones that were sharp enough to skin our prey and get their skins, then we cleaned them at the river and let them dry in the sun. We cleaned out the skulls of the animals that we caught thoroughly in the river and we were now able to use them as bowls to hold small amounts of water.
When winter finally came, my pups were big enough to start shifting between human and Wolf. I did my best to keep them from doing so though, unwilling to have the little ones freeze out in the snow. Since they were big enough, I allowed them to explore the small area outside of the den, Danny loving to play with them. They were a bit skittish around Danny at first, but soon they warmed up to him as he let them chase his tail around. Their curiosity for everything made them adventurous, which gave a lot of trouble to Danny when I left him alone with them.
My little ones were prefect angels when I was around though, so when Danny complained one night that Angela would be the death of him, I had a great laugh. When I told Danny their names, I had written them down in the dirt and pushed each pup up to their name. He also agreed that these names were much better than the ones that he had chosen for them.
The snow fell late this year, but my pups were happy to jump around in the soft whiteness that fell from the sky. They yipped happily as they rolled around, then gave a cry as they changed in their skins to find the snow much too cold. Laughing, I had them change back to their fur and they were fine again. When they were starting to get cold, I brought each one in the den again, and let them warm up in my fur. Their small Wolf teeth had me stopping them from feeding from me when they are in their furs, but they quickly caught on that they would be fine if they changed to their skins since they didn't have teeth yet in that form.
Last winter, When it was just Danny and I, we did not have any pelts to keep us warm, but now we had plenty. Danny could keep his own den warm and I was able to lay with my pups in my skin in peace.
When I awoke the next day, I made sure my pups were asleep before leaving my den so that Danny and I could get in some much needed practice. Now that we had been staying in our furs almost constantly, we were much more in tuned to what we could and couldn't do as a wolf. When we put on some clothes that I had made from the pelts, using strips of leather to sew the pelts together, we used bone knives and daggers to attack one another.
My dark hair had grown out long over the time that we stayed in our furs, so I tied my hair up with a piece of leather. Danny asked me to cut his hair with a knife, but it was a lot easier said than done. We could only get our tools so sharp; if there was enough force in the hit, our tools easily cut flesh, but hair was altogether a different substance. It took a while, and a lot of pain on my brothers part, but we got his hair cut.
When we were both ready, we crouched down and circled one another slowly. We each had a dagger in our hands, poised for attack. Soon we circled enough so that the rising sun was at my back, and when Danny got blinded, I used my chance to attack. Taking him off guard, I growled as I jumped at him, ready to place the dagger at his throat. Instead, Danny rolled out of the way, and came up to my right, swiping at my arm. I jumped back and we then resumed circling each other, both of us growling at one another. I tripped then, and Danny used my fault to attack, but I turned my trip into a roll, and used it against him, getting behind him and grabbing his arm. I twisted it behind him with my left arm, and held up the dagger to his throat.
"Check mate." I said, making him growl at me. I waited until he nodded his defeat to release him.
When I turned back to the den, I saw that my pups were watching the fight carefully. I smiled at them, putting my dagger and my pelts in a different den and I quickly changed back into my fur as I made my way back to them. When I did, they jumped up happily in greeting, the three of them yipping at me. I went into the den, the three of them following, Angela tumbling down as she tripped on something. I picked her up by the scruff before she could hurt herself and placed her carefully on her feet.
Caleb and Nathan were nipping at my paws as we moved in the den, so I growled a warning at them so they'd stop. When we reached the soft pelts of the inner den, I lied down for a short nap as the three of the played around me. I felt a soft small hand touch my snout and opened my eyes to see that Angela had changed into her skin. She has beautiful dark blue eyes that I am sure would change to a darker color later and a beautiful head of dark brown hair that curled.
She smiled at me as I changed to my skin and picked her up. The boys had settled down on a soft rabbit pelt, and I leaned Angela down in my arms and let her drink as I examined her leg. It seemed to have healed alright, because while she is in her skin her leg looked just fine. A small scar seemed to have formed on her hip where the bone had fractured, but other than that she looked fine.
When she starts to learn to walk, it will probably be painful. I gave my baby a sad look as she fell asleep in my arms, so I put her with her brothers, who also changed to their skins before they fell asleep. I kissed each one on their foreheads and changed into my fur as I heard Danny come back. I got out of the den and greeted him, then ran off to the stream for a bath.
Now that my pups were almost a year old, I would be getting in heat soon, and I am not looking forward to that. Usually, a she-wolf would start her heat a day to a week after her twentieth birthday, so that the mating process between mates is certain to be completed. The heat is really just a way to give the mated pair more chances of having pups, and increasing the bond between the two. It is supposed to be a painful process that, without a mate there to sooth the heat, would last for longer than two weeks. Luckily it only happens twice a year, so getting through a week or more of heat should be a piece of cake, right?
I sighed as I entered the water, happy that the cold stream is able to cool me down after my run. I look around me before I shift into my skin, the water much colder now, but still bearable for a bit. I duck my head under the water, loving how the stream tugs gently at my body, and slowly release the air from my lungs as I resurface. I float on my back, closing my eyes and letting myself be lost in the current, watching the white clouds go by in the blue sky.
When start to feel my body slowly getting cold, my mind wanders back to my body and I change into my fur again. Feeling refreshed and cleansed, I trod my way out of the water and shake my fur to get dry faster. As soon as I do so though, I hear a low growl behind me. Turning around quickly, I see another Wolf standing on the other side of the stream.
He has dark grey fur like me, but with fur black socks and muzzle. I narrowed my eyes at him and growled back, unsure if he was a normal Wolf or a Werewolf. He took a bold step towards me, growling possessively, making my Wolf bristle in dislike. This Wolf was not acknowledging that we were stronger than him, nor that we are of higher rank. To make him this bold, he must be sensing that we are going to be on our heat soon.
When the wolf stepped into the stream, I growled louder at him, commanding him to stand down. If he were a Werewolf, then he would shift into his skin to show submission, and if he is a normal wolf he should stop where he stood. He did stop and he did not shift, but he did watch me carefully with his eyes as I went over to him. Every time that he tried to move, I made sure that he kept still instead.
What should we do with this little Wolf? I asked my Wolf. We can't have him near our pups, nor can we have him be with us during our heat. We could kill him, but that would be a waist of a good strong Wolf...
I felt my Wolf nodding her head in agreement with me. So we did the only kind thing that we could.
Growling, we put much power in our voice and forced this Wolf to submit to us, showing him who was in charge. He whimpered, going down on all fours, then turned his belly up to us in submission. He had just, literally, put his life in my hands. Happy with the outcome, I let the Wolf go. He got up quickly and left with many backwards glances on the way, like he expected me to stop him or attack.
As soon as he was out of sight, my Wolf and I both felt proud of what we were able to do. We went back across the stream and made our way to our territory. We made sure to run along the boarder and check everything, then I made our way to the pups. When I arrived at the den, I found a tired Danny with three pups jumping on him, pulling his ears and tail. When he looked up, he gave me a look of hope, but I just smiled and went towards the den. Danny whined as I went past him, doing nothing to free him of his uncle duties along the way, other than snicker. I had to fulfill my evil sisterly duties every once in a while, didn't I?
When I entered my den, I changed into my skin, and started to work on my rabbits. I was Happy that I caught them for the end of this winter. Spring was coming in a few days, so I didn't want to waist any good pelts to be made. When I was done, I changed to my fur and brought the pelts out of my den, then hung them up on a large tree root to be dried by the sun.
I then picked Angela up from up top of Danny head so she would fall and get hurt and brought her with me in the den. When I growled, her two brothers scurried to comply, leaving my poor brother alone. I distinctly hear him sigh as I put Angela down beside one of the rabbits that the triplets were to share. They happily started to eat it as I slowly started on mine.
When they finished, they played together until the food in their bellies made them tired, and soon fell asleep in a tangle of limbs. I smiled happily at them, and made my way out of the den. As soon I appeared though, Danny growled a warning at me. There was another Wolf nearby, and soon his sent reached me as well.
I fully got out of the den, and gave a loud growl as I stood beside my brother, telling the other Wolf to show themselves. Slowly, he came out from behind a tree and came towards us, a badger in his jaws. Since the badgers were few in numbers and a lot of trouble to catch, Danny and I generally left them alone.
The wolf walked up to us and placed the dead badger at my feet, then backed away. He was asking for entrance in our small pack.
What should we do with him? I wondered with my Wolf. We glanced at Danny to see what he thought, but he didn't seem to mind. He was watching the wolf carefully, but at the same time he was not growling or holding hostility.
He's dangerous because we don't know him, I thought.
But he would be a valuable asset to have, even if he is a normal Wolf. My Wolf answered.
We won't be staying here for much longer though; our parents need to be avenged, we need to find our mate, and our pups might not be safe with him, I worried to her.
And we will be in heat soon. Perhaps he only asks to stay so he can try to be with us.
With that said, we walked away from the offering of friendship, making Danny growl, and, the other Wolf whimper. He walked away, leaving the badger were it was.
Everyday after though, the wolf came back, placing offerings at my feet. Each day I refused him, wanting for him to go to another pack, because Danny and I were not going to stay here for much longer. My pups practiced walking around in their skin, while Danny and I practiced more of our dagger work. If we were facing other Werewolves, they would be killed quite easily, so Danny and I made sure that we were each others counterweights. That way, no matter what happens, we always have each others backs, keeping each other from being consumed by blood lust and hate for our enemies.
The wolf came back again when my brother and I were fighting as humans, but it did not seem afraid when I changed back into my fur. The Wolf seemed curious even that we are able to change, but perhaps this Wolf had been helped by shifters in the past.
About three days after I had initially met the wolf, my heat came. Excruciating pain, worse than when I was giving birth to my triplets, came over me during the night, waking me up. I wanted to shift into my skin and cool myself down in the snow around the den, but that would draw unneeded male attention to me from the other Wolf. I would also wake up my pups who had been currently sleeping around me. With Caleb sleep shifting between skin and fur, it would be difficult to move anyways.
Usually what would happen is that the two mates would just get on with it, and that would be the end of it. If not, then the wolf and the human would work together to get out of the heat faster, but rendering them useless. In my case; I cannot be useless for not only do I have to help Danny keep the territory, but I also have my pups to look after.
I do not have a mate with me to help take half of my work, so my Wolf and I are going to have to take turns taking on the heat. By doing so, the heat will last longer than it would normally, but this way, we would still be useful to Danny and the pups.
So every hour, on the hour, my Wolf and I take turns taking the full heat on. This will make the heat last for a longer time than usual, but this way, we may still help with the territory, the pups, the normal Wolf and training. If things keep going this way, the pups were going to have to start to train too, and I was waiting for the end of spring in a few days. This way, they could try and hunt mice or other small rodents in the long spring grass.
By the time that my pups were going to turn two, they would know how to fight in Wolf form and human form since their bodies would be strong enough to support them while in their skins.
When morning came, I woke up the pups early and decided that they could take a run with me to the field that they would be training at. I would have to push Angela twice as hard than her brothers since she needs to be able to conquer her weakness. Because she got hurt and has a slight limp as she walks or runs, other wolves will try and take advantage of it to hurt her, and I will not allow that to happen.
My pups yip and follow me out of the den, and I wait until Danny pokes his head out to leave so that he knows that we won't be in our den. He gives me an annoyed look, since the pups were being loud, but I just gave him a Wolfish smile and took off at a slow trot so the triplets could keep up. I have them run along side me until we are half way to the small field.
Nathan was running along my side, keeping close to me with his ears forward as he would freeze for a moment with every new noise. Caleb ran in front of me, jumping over small branches and into mud puddles, his tail high in the air as he growled at any animals that crossed our paths. Angela ran behind Nathan with a small limp every now and then; she was watching her brothers and panting slightly, but she still looked like she was having fun. I chuckled at my little ones, they were having fun, but they were scared too.
This is the furthest that I have ever taken them from the den.