The First Time
His blood boiled with need. He didn't truly understand why though? His mother usually brought him, his father and his brothers and sisters out every night of the full moon, but he had never truly thought of the reason why his parents and siblings always felt like howling, or gorging themselves more than usual.
Now he did, but he could not figure out the reason why. He panted as the need for food, the need to run, the need for meat came washing over him, as the moon rose higher in the sky.
His mother rose her head and gave out a joyous howl and before he knew what he was doing, he was lifting his head and howling along with the others.
Thirteen. He had just turned this age a few days ago and had been told it was his year for changes, for him to truly join in these family hunts. This night was his, for him and he was to be the first to take down prey...or so he was told. As of yet, on these nights when the moon was full, he would eat the leftovers from everyone elses hunt.
What if he failed to catch anything? What if he couldn't catch the scent of anything he might want to eat? Mother had said to just try something smal, like a rabbit this first night and he planned to. Anything else just seemed too...big to bring down, to eat...to kill.
The thought made him stop mid-howl. Did he want to kill anything? Even if it did taste good? He knew the rest of his family did, but he didn't think he was ready for that yet.
But his blood boiled for meat, freshly caught and juicy. His mouth watered for that rabbit, for lamb...for a horse if he could find one!
He knew he would get into trouble if he didn't at least try tonight. With this thought in his head, he sniffed the breeze, trying to find a suitable scent in all the wilderness about him. Luck had it that a rabbit, the very creature his mother had practically ordered him to hunt, was nearby.
With a lick of his lips that he could possible find his own meal for the night, he took off, following the scent of the long legged creature, only to find it hiding in some bushes not far from where the rest of his family waited eager to see if he was wolf enough to hunt properly.
With his sensitive hearing and excellent sense of smell, and his thirteen years of learning to walk silently when needed, he slowly stalked up to the rabbit, making sure thhat he was downwind so it couldn't smell him.
Excitement and hunger clashed inside him and he pounced, landing on top of the creature. It squirmed beneath him and his ready hands brought it up to his mouth and bit into the soft juicy neck and pulled.
His teeth hadn't grown in yet, that would come later apparently, but his eyes glowed red at the small victory. He trotted back to where the rest of his family were waiting, probably impatient to hunt themselves. The rabbit was still hanging limply out of his mouth where he had it tightly held.
His mother looked proud of him then and with a growing sense of accomplishment, he was sent back to the home they had made in the side of a hill and to enjoy the spoils of his victory by himself.
Happily, he did as he was told. He didn't know or realise then that it would be the last he ever saw of his family. That night, poachers had also been out hunting and his mother and father had been captured. The other cubs were shot by arrow or bolt.
He only learnt the next day after waking that his parents had been burned. All about the stake they had been tied to when he had found it was ash. In the background far off in the distance he could hear the baying of hunting dogs.
He never did find the other cubs, his brothers and sisters annd he wonded if they had been buried, eaten or kept as amuzing 'pets' for some rich nobles?
Either way, his blood boiled and the thought of revenging his lost family was very strong. A wolf had to eat after all. Why not let his next hunt be human meat?
The End?
A/N - Hmmm, well here I am at a brand new faction! As you may have guessed I love the character Wolf. I especially like him when he is in the middle of his monthly cycle and going all wolfish on people.
At first I was thinking of writing about the life of Virginia and Wolf's child, but that has been done quite a bit. So! When were his parents killed? How did he survive when the rest of his family didn't? Where was he? Why was he there and not with the rest of his family? Is anyone else other than me plagued by these questions?
I will have to start reading other 10th Kingdom fics again to find out.
Anyone want me to continue on with this? Be warned that it might jump forward more into the present. At the same time, it might not.
Hope you enjoyed this first 10th Kingdom tale of mine!
SilverWolf7