Thank you for the reviews! I hope you keep reading. In this chapter there will be some new characters, so enjoy!
Chapter 2
"Move swiftly!" yapped Striding, standing proudly at the head of his pack. The other wolves- three tired-looking beasts- trailed behind. Only one replied to his barks of effort.
"Striding, I wish to hunt along side you for many suns, but please may we turn back?" The reply came from a she-wolf with a matching gaze like Striding. Her height was just right, and her tail was held high, for she had indeed a high rank. Her pelt was a blazing deep black, shot with streaks of white over the belly.
"Aye, Mortra. Yet hunting down the Lera will bring pleasure to our pack." replied Striding, swiftly passing over his mate's gaze. "For work and effort must come before freedom and full hearts."
"I agree, Striding." echoed a voice from the back. It shuffled its way forward to stand beside Mortra. The wolf was tall and had strong muscels under his brilliant coat of gray. He was Striding's noble brother, and he tried willingly to match his kin's words at all times.
"No! Turn back. I fear for Coli- and Mortra's pups. Leaving them alone in our cave was not wise." called the last wolf, a serious and grim looking she-wolf with darker gray fur then Striding's brother. Her eyes were mysterious and flecked with a gleaming green color to them.
"Fren!" Striding snarled at the she-wolf. "Kreen!" He now turned to his brother. "Silence from both of you!"
"Ah, Striding." murmured Fren, her head lowered in a mysterious whine of respect.
"Dear brother. Forgive me... and the elderly she-wolf." Kreen muttered, shooting Fren a look of distaste.
"Elderly?" hissed Fren, drawing her head upwards. Though gray hairs lingered by her nose, Fren hated being called an elder. She spat at Kreen who leaped back suddenly.
"Fren! Kreen!" Striding yapped for silence, and the two wolves stared up at him with their eyes still blazing. They hated each other so much, it brought anger to the pack. No matter how hard they tried, Mortra and Striding could not bring the two hating wolves to settle in peace.
A faint call in the distance brought all the wolves out of their thoughts. They leaned their heads onward, to search for the caller.
"Look, a wolf!" exclaimed Mortra, the first to spot Coli as she bounded through the dark grass. "No... Two wolves!"
"Coli, it is no doubt. What is she doing out of the cave...? The pups!" Striding hissed, and his dislike for the Sikla began to grow.
"But the other wolf... He is a familiar figure. And not one I'd like to see." Kreen spat, and for once he inched closer to Fren.
"Aye- It's Nekkro!" Fren said, almost in a whisper. Kreen pricked his ears and the drappa and dragga swung their mighty heads over to stare at the she-wolf.
Striding let out a howl, Mortra echoing him with her voice. The two stared at the moving wolves- Nekkro trailing behind at times, then Coli slowing down so that the two could remain together.
"Stridng, Mortra!" she howled as she neared them. Her sides were moving swiftly and her breathing came in and out with large gasps.
"Why do you bring this Lera-stealing wolf to us, Coli?" Kreen stepped forward angrily, and Coli whimpered, remembering her small rank compaired to Striding's brother. Her tail fell down between her legs, and she longed to run. Something about the way Kreen stared into her made her shiver. His eyes seemed to glow with horrible emotions for her, and Coli bit back the longing feeling in the pit of her stomach. She wanted to run from him... but she was his to control. He was a higher wolf then she.
"Kreen, no need to be angry." Nekkro spoke now, and he paced around the male wolf. Stridng took an uncomfortble step forward, as if preparing to spring to his brother's side.
"What is it, Nekkro?" spat Mortra, and Fren flattened her ears and growled.
"I wish to speak with Stridng... We must talk of an agreement, shall we?" asked Nekkro, turning to face the dragga.
"Whatever you wish to say to me will be said also to Mortra. Come- We shall return to the cave and then speak of agreements, or whatever you wish to call it." Striding's voice rumbled fiercly, and both Fren and Kreen moved in on Nekkro's sides. Fren shot Kreen a warning glance, and Kreen returned it with a bitter snarl.
No wolf seemed to take notice of Coli as she trailed behind the cluster. Mortra and Striding took up the lead, and Fren and Kreen remained at Nekkro's sides. The poor Sikla felt her paws sink, and she felt the breeze ruffle her fur. No questions were asked of her, and Coli couldn't feeling relieved that she didn't have to answer. She knew she didn't do well under pressure, and ended up saying the wrong things if she were ever under dark stares.
The wind nipped at the necks of every wolf, and they looked up to the sky, wondering if Fenris and Tor could tell them their fate. All but Coli, who looked to the ground for answers. Her eyes lit up upon muddy tracks in the dirt. Her mind faltered for a moment, then cleared.
"Stridng, Mortra!" she called to the front of the pack. Both drappa and dragga turned to look at the Sikla.
"What is it, Coli?" asked Mortra curiously. She had always been intrested in the little she-wolf and took care to her as if she were her own.
"Look- Everyone, look!" Coli exclaimed, worry and excitment both fighting in her voice. The rest of the pack- and Nekkro- wandered over to see what Coli was barking about.
"See here- Tracks!" Coli insisted, and Kreen let out a groan.
"Of course, they are tracks." he growled. "But just tracks of you and Nekkro."
"No, no... Look harder, Kreen." Fren murmured, her nose sniffing at the paw prints in the mud. She could scent something- Not Nekkro, and not a wolf of her pack. "Nekkro has set a trap."
"What?" Striding turned to stare at Fren.
"A trap." the she-wolf whispered. But it was too late. The pack had been set for the trap, like fish on a hook. Nekkro and Coli had been followed all this way, Nekkro's army of blood-thirsty wolves hidding after him.
"Attack!" yowled Nekkro, and he lashed out a horrible howl of dread and fear. Several dark pelted wolves streaked out from the steep hillside. They all echoed his howl and charged forward to tackle the pack in a fight.
"Fren!" Mortra exclaimed as the huge wolf came charging toward the elderly she-wolf. The drappa raced forward and knocked Fren aside, just in time.
"I can fight, Mortra. I can fight!" Fren protested sourly, and leaped to defend her fellow pack mates.
Coli stared around desperatly, the heat of the battle growing all around her. Kreen was in thick combat with a scarred wolf that had fur missing from his body. Both male wolves tumbled in the dust, and soon were lost in a cloud of dirty air. Striding and Mortra were soon battling side-by-side at a thin but cunning wolf. The wolf seemed to be grinning as he weaved in and out of the drappa and dragga's reach. Fren was snapping her way from wolf to wolf, the old light in her eyes gleaming. She was glad to fight again, and she felt her claws dig into flesh, and return with blood at their tips.
"Coli!"
"Huh?" Coli turned to face Kreen, who had now knocked the scarred wolf to the side.
"Help us, you Sikla! Help us now!" Striding's brother called, his voice cut short as another wolf headed his way.
"H-help... How?" Coli whimpered. But before she could think any longer, a large and death-threatning male wolf charged at the little Sikla.
"Run, Sikla- Run!" he chanted, his wicked grin gleaming in the morning light. He plowed her over, and the two lay in the mud for a moment, the male wolf staring at Coli. For a split second, everything seemed to freeze. Coli gasped, and her eyes lit. This wolf... He was so handsome. His pelt was so smooth. His eyes... Time quickly unfroze and the two tumbled backwards into another pair of fighting wolves.
Coli suddenly felt the need to break from this wolf. She couldn't fight him- Never could she kill him. Releasing her grip on him, she snarled, "How can I do this? I can fight, but I cannot kill."
"You mean you cannot kill me." the wolf murmured in return, and both eyes locked. It was true- Coli couldn't kill this handsome wolf that stood before her.
"Enough!" shouted the voice of Striding, and both Coli and the wolf broke away. They backed towards their own pack mates, both lost in unexplainble thoughts.
Now what might Coli be thinking...? (ha ha ha!) Anyway, please review and I'll be sure to get chapter 3 up soon.