Silver Claws

6. Carry No Fear

Akela

This would be difficult.

In the past few days I learned much about the wolf pack, especially the leaders. The blonde wolf in particular.

He was magnificent in every way. He seemed impossibly tall, at least my wingspan as an eagle, making him to be around six feet and a half. He was perfectly proportionate, wide shoulders leading to a slender waist, muscles moving smoothly beneath golden skin. Coal hair messily fell forward nearly in the way of blue flaming eyes I was surprised the wolf was sandy, when his hair was so dark.

I studied the way he moved, his power leaked out of him in every movement. I thought of any way I could take him on, and came up short in how I could walk away victorious. If I fought this wolf at the wrong moment, I knew I would lose. I had never had such a contender against me. A threat far greater than they who killed my father.

Somehow he was not the leader. No, the leader was certainly his father, the one they called their Alpha. White hair colored the sides of buzz cut black hair, he would be an aged fighter. He would also be difficult to take down, I would not escape that battle unscathed. The Adonis had not taken power, though it seemed to be within his grasp.

After observing them the whole day, centered around the boy. Their social interactions were so strange, showing their teeth often without threat or attack. They enjoyed themselves, and I looked on without empathy, grooming my glimmering feathers in the shadows.

As the sky began to pitch into darkness, they prepared a banquet. Their bounty spread across four long tables, forming a circle around a bonfire. several of the dishes new to my eyes. It smelled exquisite, my stomach rumbled. When had I eaten last?

I pushed the thought away. I would remedy this now. I took off, keeping inside the canopy until I was away from the patrol guards. Squirrels were easy pickings, ironic in the presence of so many canines. I feasted alone, satisfying my body.

I turned back to pack, passing the patrol with ease. They weren't used to looking upwards or I may have been discovered by now. Night had reached full glory, a half moon watching the world below.

I returned and sat alight upon the tree I spent most of my time in. The branches curled at the top unlike the surrounding tree growth. I was not here for fondness, the top was grown thickly enough to conceal me.

Beneath me the wolves hived around the Adonis. He was stationary, and faces buzzed towards him like flies to honey. The longer I watched the greater his threat to me seemed. I would need to get him alone.

I stepped backwards from the branch and dropped, only spreading my wings slightly to slow my descent to the pine needled ground. I landed silently, unseen and unheard. I morphed into the wolf form, my sense of smell growing sharper. Inhaling the combined scents of the pack members was dizzying.

Logan stood from his seat and went in the large house, looking irritated. Without him outside, I was the strongest present and I felt sure of my steps.

I approached slowly, cautious but unafraid. All at once the din of eating and talking was silenced whentheir wide eyes gazed upon me. All of them stood, and cowered away in terror, bending away at each step I placed on the muddy grass. Males stood in front of their females and children, their heads slightly tilting downward so they were glaring nearly upwardly. Ryan was thrilled to see me, I heard his gasp as he stood from his metal folding chair. His mother grasped his tiny arms and lifted him to her chest, holding him back from running at me full force. "Shiny!" He called happily, joy overcame his face. He squirmed in his mother's arms. "Mommy get off!" He whined, batting at her gently and starting to frown.