Chapter 1- Triceratops and Pack
"Connor back away." Nick growled as the triceratops stared Connor down. It was patting the thick layer of snow covering the ground as it stared at him with angry eyes. He had followed Nick when he failed to return to the cabin an hour after he left, Stephen had come with him but Abby, Jenny, Becker and Sarah were left behind. They didn't know about Stephen, Connor and Cutter's… condition, aside from Becker who was one of them as well.
They suffered from lycanthropy, a condition that turned them into werewolves. Not the half-human ones typically displayed in movies but full wolves, with extra speed, strength and agility. They also had the heightened senses of their wolves and their strength in their human forms, but it was duller and less powerful than their wolf form.
Sometimes he felt itchy in his human skin, as if it should not be his true form. When the itch got too bad to ignore he had to sneak away and turn in the woods.
Nick was a wolf with grey, white and rusty brown fur and stood crouching on all fours beside him. Connor had not shifted into his wolf, fearing the movement would startle the triceratops. He could understand Nick though in his wolf form because he could understand wolf language, an added benefit of their other side.
Connor started to slowly back away as the 12 tonne herbivore started to stamp his foot and snort. He wondered if it could smell his wolf.
Connor braced for impact as the triceratops began to charge, but he was surprised when he was knocked over from the side. He opened his eyes to see the triceratops turned and crashed its side into a tree. The tree fell over with a resounding crack and he winced. Hoping Abby and Jenny could not hear it from the cabin.
When the creature had stumbled back up onto its thick legs Nick stood in front of it growling. The angry snorts of the triceratops were visible in the cold air Next to Nick was another wolf, slightly larger in size with thick pure black fur. Stephen! He thought. They had split up in order to find Nick.
"Hurry up and change." Stephen growled looking back at him.
He stripped out of his clothes so they wouldn't rip when he transformed, he would not like to explain to Abby and Jenny why he was returning naked. He shifted into his wolf form, smaller than both Stephen and Cutter's forms with silver-white fur.
As he shifted he could feel the world changing around him. He could see better in the dark and hear every rustle of leaf as the wind gently blew, but his best sense was his sense of smell. He could smell the musty and wet earth; the musky scent of his pack-mates. Stephens scent was stronger with a hint of pine and sea spray, while Nick was earthier and welcoming.
Both were slightly larger than him because of their alpha status. When Connor had first stumbled onto the pair of alpha's he was genuinely surprised. Usually it was rare to find two alphas of the same gender a part of the same pack as their conflicting natures would cause constant infighting, in order to find who was the top alpha, especially when he found out it was just the two of them in their pack.
But both Stephen and Nick were comfortable with the way their pack was, with Nick being the lead alpha.
The triceratops, perhaps deciding there were too many dangers out here, turned and fled backwards, movements slightly sluggish due to the cold. Being warm blooded, and light enough to not sink too deeply into the snow, Nick, Connor and Stephen kept easy pace with it at a light lope.
Soon Connor could see the anomaly through the gaps in the trees. Its bright light stood out in the dark forest, as if calling for attention. As a predator Connor knew about the importance of stealth, but the anomaly was the complete opposite. The anomaly had a white glow in the middle with tinges of yellow and orange, as bright and unpredictable as the sun. It looked to be circled by jagged, shiny pieces of glass, but Connor knew if you were to reach out and touch them your hand would go clean through.
The triceratops stopped just before anomaly and turned towards the three wolves. Looking around briefly it let out a long wail, a call of distress. An answering call sounded to the left, a high pitch wail of pain. A youngling, judging by the pitch compared to the female in front of them.
"Back up. She just wants to find her kid." Nick barked out and they backed away slowly. "Connor stay here and keep an eye on the mother, me and Stephen are going to try and herd her child back towards the anomaly." Connor nodded then Nick and Stephen ran off.
Connor laid down on the ground, muscles tense in case he had to give chase to the mother if she bolted. The dinosaur's unfamiliar scent would be harder to track. The mother stayed where she was calling out, a mournful sound that ripped at Connor's heart. Occasionally the youngling would call back, but the sound was getting weaker.
A few moments later however the sound grew very loud, and more fearful.
Connor tilted his head to the left, keeping an eye on the mother from the corner of his eye, and saw the young triceratops stumbling quickly towards its mother, its back right leg dragging slightly, as Nick and Stephen occasionally darted in and gave a little nip to the triceratops ankle. The young triceratops, a male from the scent, wouldn't be hurt by the nips as the scales were to touch for the fangs to pierce.
The young triceratops was green, slightly darker than his mother, which turned to brown near the eyes, tail and legs. Its scent was comparable to more modern reptiles, but there was a slight difference, something intangible that he could not quite place.
Connor joined Nick and Stephen as the male youngling reach its mother's side. Nick stood in the middle growling a warning at the mother, Connor to his right and Stephen to his left. They approached slowly appearing as if they were ready to pounce. The mother got the message and hurried her son through the anomaly and fled through it with him.
Collapsing from the chase of the mother and the sudden shift Connor laid down in front of the anomaly. Stephen sat next to him and gave him a little lick on the side of the head, tail wagging in happiness. Nick stood in front of them watching the anomaly for a few moments before turning back to them, a huge canine grin on his face. "Our first triceratops." He barked out happily. "And with a young one at that. Hopefully the young one will recover, it injured its back leg by falling into a small ditch. Stephen quickly changed back and hopped in the ditch and pushed the triceratops to its legs, then we chased it here, but Stephen got a gash on his arm from the youngling trying to get away." Nick let out a small whine and approached his right hand alpha, licking a gash Connor could see on Stephens front left leg.
Connor knew it would heal quicker than a normal human wound would, another perk of being a werewolf, but it still needed time to heal, most likely the rest of the night. "We should sleep here for the night, and go find the others in the morning and show them the anomaly, Becker is with them to keep them safe."
Nick nodded at his suggestion, but grumbled a bit at the mention of Becker. "Okay, but we should back away out of site of the anomaly, we don't want to become prey to any creature that may come through." As they moved to a large empty space nestled in the roots of an old upturned tree, Stephen leaned against Connor to alleviate some of the pressure on his leg. They fell asleep there in the slight warmth given by the earth, and the roots blocking out the wind, curled around each other. A pack, albeit a small one.
Well here is another idea I've been wanting to try out. Please read and review, and tell me if you're interested in anymore chapters. I will still continue my other story, but just do this one on the side. And also tell me if you want me to do several one shots that are roughly related or an actual story.