The Year of the Horse (Book two of the Almair Series) (Completed)

Chapter 37 (Edited)

A/N: Hey, hey, hey, hey guess what? Here's chapter 37. :3

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My heart pounded in my chest, and I couldn't help but move closer to the entrance, curious as to what was happening. I was sure that one of the horses had "saved" me, but I couldn't quite comprehend why.

I could see a blur of black and white hair against what looked like chocolate as they clashed against each other. Hooves and teeth met at any place they could reach, making the other horse squeal.

Pounding hooves sounded against the ground before a shadow flew over me, making me duck back into the hole, hoping that I hadn't been caught staring out.

"What is going on here?!" a male voice sounded through the forest, causing a lot of birds to fly from the trees, cawing. The voice sounded familiar, as if I had heard it before, and I couldn't help but peek out from the hole to see a blood red horse standing in between the two horses.

The herd filled around them, and I couldn't help but scoot more into the hole, feeling slightly unnerved by how many horses there were.

"Well?" the leader asked, glancing at the black and white horse. "What do you have to say for yourself, Sauda?"

The horse, Sauda, came forward and bowed her head towards him. "Tasunke, Sir," she said. "Adrich was attacking the Almair. She didn't attack him like I would've." She glared at the other horse, named Adrich.

The leader, Tasunke, nodded his head. "Now, where is the Almair, or did you scare her out of the pasture Adrich?" He glanced at the other stallion, flicking his tail in agitation.

"Shows you how weak she is," Matt muttered under his breath, causing Tasunke to look at him.

"And what do you mean by that?" he asked, warning in his voice while Colt came to stand by him.

Both of them glared at Matt, and I couldn't help but feel a sense of pride because they were standing up for me.

"Well, she didn't fight Adrich," Matt replied. "She is too weak to do that."

I rolled my eyes and stayed silent. I seriously did want to punch him in the face, with a brick.

"Have you ever considered that the whole herd might turn against her, if she did attack him? I know that you have met her. Is your only problem with her is because she is a Wolf and not from our clan? If so, then I suggest you leave her alone. I'm sure you do not know anything about her." He paused and snorted, shaking his head. "Now, where is she?"

"She went into the fox hole, Sir," Sauda replied, nodding towards where the branch had created cover.

The blood red horse turned to look where I was at and started that way. He chuckled softly when he heard me gasp in surprise and move out of his vision. "It is all right, Almair. No one is going to hurt you, now." I could tell that there was a warning sense in his voice while he talked with his group.

I took a deep breath and thought out my options. I knew that I could hide out in the hole, but I didn't know how long they would stay waiting for me. I was all ready cold and shaking, even though I tried to make it look like I wasn't.

Finally, with a deep breath, I started to climb out of the hole, hoping that I would be able to live this night.

***

The blood red horse stood in front of me, and I could see a look of compassion in his eyes. He bowed to me, which surprised me a lot. "Welcome, Almair," he said after he stood. "I am Tasunke, the leader of this herd." He paused and glanced me up and down. "You are in the pack of Faolon, yes?"

I blinked and tensed when he said my Alpha's name. I could still see the saddened look in his eyes when he saw that I was running away, and I knew that he was feeling guilty. "Ummm..." I cleared my throat and rubbed the back of my neck, sheepishly. "For matters that I would like to keep to myself, for right now, I am not in that pack right now." I glanced down while whispers started to go around the herd.

"Silence," Tasunke called, stomping his hoof against the ground. He turned to look at me after everyone had quietened down. "Now, can you just say why you are not?" There was a bit of mistrust in his eyes, as if he was thinking that I was some sort of dangerous being.

I growled softly, remembering the smirk on Randi's face when she heard that I was banned from the pack. "Because some Wolfin thought it was funny to lie to our Alpha about me telling what had happened in our backyard to a person that wasn't of our pack." I growled again, ready to hurt her worse than I had.

"So, you didn't kill anyone in the pack?" Tasunke asked.

"I would like to kill her, the one that made run away, but I have not killed anyone." I paused, frowning. "Except for ten Dark Forces."

"Have you injured anyone?"

"Have you?" I countered, raising an eyebrow. "I'm sure that everyone has injured someone in one way or another."

There were a couple of shuffling hooves while Tasunke studied me. "I have, but I was wondering if you had."

"If you had, then I had," I replied. "I haven't lead anyone to suicide, which is good." I placed my arms around me thinking about my ex-best friends and hoping that there would be some way that I could get back with them, even if I didn't tell them what was happening with me.

Tasunke nodded his head. "Do you hurt for fun?"

I grimaced. "Of course not," I replied. "I am more of a person that will attack if you attack me first."

"Then why didn't you attack me?" the stallion, that had chased after me, asked. "Are you too chicken?"

I snorted. "I am not afraid of a horse that thinks he has a high ego," I shot back. "I ran, because I knew that if I did hurt you, then I would have to find another place to train. I don't have the time to keep moving around."

"And where do you have to go?" Adrich asked. "Bother some other group that doesn't need you?"

"Enough," Tasunke called, interrupting me from speaking. He glared at me, and I instantly closed my mouth. "Now, you both seem to hate each other's guts, so congratulations, you both are working with each other."

"What?!" we exclaimed while Matt laughed a weird ass horsey laugh.

"You heard me. You are working with them, also, Matthew." He glanced at the younger horse, causing him to stop laughing. He turned to look at me. "I'm sure Faolon was scared about you using your stone, so I will teach you after you practice with them. Do you understand?"

I huffed and nodded my head. "Yes, Sir," I muttered, knowing that it was useless to argue.

"Good, now get to work." With that, he cantered away leaving me at the mercy of the herd.

I turned to look at the two stallions that were glaring at me and raised an eyebrow. "Well, you heard him. Let's get to work."

Matt glared at me before he turned towards an area that was away from the group and started to walk that way. He was followed by Adrich, who also glared at me.

I was about to follow them when I felt a tug on the dress. I turned around and looked at the face that I had know for so long. I had been certain that it was her when Tasunke had said her name. However, now I knew that it was my friend from way back when. A grin appeared by my face, but I didn't say a word.

"We'll talk later," Sauda said.

I nodded before walking after them, glad that I did have a familiar face in a strange place.

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A/N: Well, how do ya'll like it. Do you hate Matt or do you think that he is just misunderstood? Let me know what you think.

Don't forget to vote/comment.

Thanks,

Rissa