The Alpha Female

FIVE: RIVER CROSSING

CHPATER FIVE: RIVER CROSSING

            I leaped through the woods, the cool breeze playing with my fur, pushing and pulling it with every gust.  I hadn’t felt this good in ages.

            We weren’t traveling fast by any means.  My group was nothing more than a standard hunting party that was heading north.  My gut told me that north was the way to go, and so I followed it.  I could listen to my father when I came back, but for now I was in charge.  I was beta.

            I sidestepped a tree and continued on my steady uphill lope towards the river.  I could smell the deer, they were heading exactly where I wanted them to.

            Taima was bounding alongside me.  His wolf was a light gray in comparison to my deep brown.  He had long powerful strides that strangely enough resembled my fathers, whereas mine where quick and agile, preforming feats with my feet as I dodged branches and undergrowth as if they were nothing more than blemishes on the landscape.  This was my element.

            The strong familiar scent of deer wafted up to my nose and I swung a hard right, my party following close behind.  My stomach grumbled, as did the sky.  I didn’t even sneak a glance skyways for it was already raining.  The fat drops had rolled off of my fur at first, bringing with it a cooling refreshment, but it soon grew heavy as the sky darkened even further.  The deer’s scent would soon be masked and I couldn’t let that happen.

            Fully aware of the fact that I was faster than the rest of the party, I quickened my pace.  They would catch up eventually, but for now my growling stomach was in control.  A growl echoed in my throat.

            I broke through the clearing to see the deer, head lowered.  In an instant its eyes snapped up to mine, large dark orbs struck with fear.  It couldn’t move, but I would do the moving for it.  I was nearly on it too.  Then the thunder broke.

            The deer snapped out of its trance and broke off in a sprint in the opposite direction.  I followed it, nearly tripping over myself as my paws slid upon the damp ground.  I would not give up chase.

            I could smell the fear on the deer.  The sweet scent that coaxed me forward on so many hunts before.  It was my favorite part of the hunt, the chase led on by the animal before me.  It was as if the fear was palpable and I could already taste my upcoming meal.

            A howl sounded in the distance, and when I mean distance, it was distant.  It was Taima’s.  I had lost the party.  My mind quickly pushed that out of the way, not bothering to respond as that would be nothing more than a distraction.  I continued on my race after the doe.  If they needed me, they could wait a good five minutes until the doe was down.

            Mud flew up from her cloved hooves, kicking it up to my face.  I kept my head low, snapping at her hocks while keeping enough distance as to keep myself from getting kicked in the face.  I had seen far too many broken noses from ignorant hunters.  The deer swung a left and I followed, racing out after it and through the underbrush.  The small ferns and flowers were getting thicker here, still green, not yet touched by the dry season or the winter chills.  We were nearing the river.

            I could hear it now, the river that marked the border of our estate.  I could pin the deer against it if I could just gauge its next turn, correct it onto the path I wanted.  It was a talent that was often overlooked of our kind, controlling chaos.  I was beta, I knew all about controlling chaos, and more so, a lone doe.

            I snapped at its left hind leg, lunging out beside it and guiding it more right.  In an instant I was on its right side, keeping it straight.  I continued my pattern, sometimes losing the direct pursuit and hopping off of its trail to run alongside it to do some more fine tuning of its direction.  It was just me and the deer now.  I was at the top of my game.