Chapter 4
A/N: All right, you lot, thanks for the reviews and alerts and stuff. Really, they're brilliant and so are you!
I have to warn you that whatever I write here about wolves and their behaviour is FICTION. I haven't got a bloody cue on how they'd act, I' m just guessing. Nobody likes a cleverclogs, so please don't go correcting me on it. As for everything else: correct all you want (my real-life, kind-of-really-smart beta- a.k.a. a friend- is busy with college-life)! Reviews are reviews, right?
Enjoy.
It was early summer when the pack encountered the strange black wolf for the first time. One of the pups had run away in search of an adventure and hadn't returned yet. The pack was quite worried, when suddenly, he was back. The young pup was yipping excitedly, running to all the wolves to show he was back again. All family members hudled around him to see how he was. Beside the scratches and wounds, the Alpha immediately noticed something off on him, very faintly. Something he'd felt once before in an abandoned druid camp (though he of course didn' t know what the site was called): magic. How could that be?
The pup seemed to be pointing at something beyond the edge of the clearing they were in. Alpha turned and looked. As if on cue, a big black wolf trotted into the light. His eyes were a brilliant blue and his fur was smooth and well kept. He looked strong and healthy, even though he was alone. He emanated magic and enormous power already, yet his instict told Alpha that it was not all free yet. Alpha quickly stepped between him and the pack protectively, though he knew that a wolf as big and strong as the one before him, could beat him easily. Yet, the stranger bowed before the Alpha, showing his friendliness. The Alpha accepted the stranger's request. The stranger slid past him and towards the pup. The pup stepped out of the circle the worried pack had formed around him and nuzzled the stranger's neck thankfully. The stranger licked the pup's scratches, bowed once more to the Alpha and left.
The second time they met, it was in far dire circumstances.
The bear had surprised them when it had interrupted them right after a succesful hunt, but it was not a new occurence. Bears did sometimes try to steal prey by scaring off the wolves, when they were not numerous. Upon seeing they would never scare the bear itself away instead with only two adult wolves, they had given up the just-caught prey (a young deer) from the hunting-lesson. They had backed off, but stayed near. The bear had only taken one careful bite before it roared and attacked them furiously, for seemingly no reason at all.
Alpha growled defensively and then lunged to bite the bear. He missed and got a swipe of the threatening bear's claws for trying. Behind him, the pups he'd taken with him to learn how to hunt where cowering. They had good reason: the bear was bigger than any Alpha had ever seen. The second wolf attacked and he, too, got hit by the bear for his effort. Both wolves laid dazed on the ground, struggling to get up.
It was no good. Without the rest of the pack, they were vastly outnumbered. Alpha howled for help and signaled the pups to run. Maybe they could get away without catching the bear's attention. The pups did as asked, but only got halfway into safety before the enormous bear turned to them. As one, the two wolves attacked the bear's turned back to protect the young ones. The two were not at full strength after the hit they had both taken, though, and it shrugged them off easily. They could hardly move after that. It was over.
Then, out of nowhere, a loud growl sounded from the bushes behind the cowering whelps, and an enormous shadow jumped over them and pounced the bear. The cry for help had been answered. The bear roared and fell on his back from the momentum of the leap. The shadow went for the bear's neck immediately, scratching and growling. The fight was over within minutes.
Panting, nuzzle soaked with blood, the shadow stood up from the corpse. One of the pups barked happily. He went to their saviour and nuzzled the strange shadow's neck. It turned out to be the blue-eyed, black-furred rescuer of said pup a while ago.
This time, Alpha did the smart thing. He asked the stranger to join the pack. The stranger agreed. Without a fight, for the better of the pack, the stranger became Alpha soon after.
A/N: The bear attacked because its jaw was infected. He couldn't eat and the pain and hunger turned him stir-crazy. It has happened before with a lion somewhere in Africa. Blame NGC for inspiring me to use it.
Also, I have noticed my chapters aren't as long as I'd thought they were. I'll try to make them a bit longer in the future.