The Pack

Chapter One

He ran, not bothering to look behind him, not daring to turn back. Snow flurried all around him and coated his thick black fur. His noble green eyes watched the forest all around him with quick, darting glances.
Keep moving. Don't turn back. Don't turn back.
His paws slammed against the snow in a rhythmic motion, sending bright white flakes dancing into the air.
He could still see the teeth, the jaws snapping in a blind fury...
He growled and pushed forward, faster and faster.
The pain. The searing pain of fur and flesh being ripped away...
Blood ran down the side of his face and dripped onto the clean white snow below. He stayed silent even though all he wanted to do was howl his pain to the sky.
He could hear the faint sound of paws thudding behind him.
Only a few more moments... I just need to get across the river...
"Keep running! Get out of my territory, you ungrateful runt!"
He wanted to turn, face his rival with some shred of dignity. He couldn't leave his family to a strange wolf. He was supposed to be the next Alpha, after all.
He could hear snarling behind him and he quickened his pace even more until he thought his legs would give out underneath him.
I need to make it. I must survive.
"Your sisters are going to make excellent mates and mothers to my pups!"
That was it.
He turned so quick that his paws nearly flew out from under him. He bared his teeth, which were startlingly white against his black fur.
His rival stopped suddenly. The rival was a large wolf with rusty brown fur and scars lining the length of his muscular frame. The wolf smiled crookedly, his teeth longer and more varied than the average wolf.
"Come here, you little runt. I should end your bloodline. Right here, right now."
"Bring it, you mongrel."
He readied himself, his eyes locked on his rival.
The wolf snarled and rushed at him, their bodies colliding with a painful crash of tooth and claw.
He fought with all of his strength, trying to wrestle his muscular opponent to the ground.
The wolf snapped blindly at him, his teeth just barely missing his face and throat.
They rolled in a writhing ball of snarling fur, teeth, and claws, neither wolf realizing that they were moving closer and closer to the river.
He managed to get his jaws around the rival's leg, which made the wolf yelp and snap at his neck, causing him to let go. The rival sunk his teeth into the side of his neck, only just missing his throat.
The rival thrashed his head back and forth, either trying to break his neck or tear another chunk of flesh out of his body.
He cried out and scratched at the wolf's face. He felt his claws hit home and the rival jumped back, howling in pain and throwing his head to and fro. Finally, when he could get a good glimpse of the damage that he had done he saw that he had scratched one of the wolf's eyes, nearly blinding him.
He smiled triumphantly and got up to run again. This time, he did it with pride.
He could hear his rival dashing clumsily behind him, snarling and howling threats at him while tripping over rocks and stumbling in the snow.
He could see the frozen river now and he nearly leaped with joy. He could still survive. He still had a chance.
He ran off of the bank and skidded onto the ice below. He turned his head to see that the wolf had stopped and was now glaring and growling at him.
His rival started to take a step onto the ice but then he seemed to hesitate. He stepped back onto the snow.
"I'm going to kill you for this, Eclipse! I will find you again one day! Never forget that."
He growled at his rival, his dark fur bristling and his teeth bared.
"No, Drakk. One day, I will kill you. I'll always be watching over my family, and don't you ever forget that."
With those final words, he turned and ran to the other side of the river, disappearing into the forest just beyond the banks.
The wolf howled after him for awhile until he gave up and vanished into his new territory.
All that was left were the scars on each wolf to show that the fight had ever even occurred.
Scars that would last a lifetime.