~12 years later~
The breeze, faintly moves the leaves, bringing the smell of the intruder along with it. I crouch on my perch high up in a large tree, hidden by the foliage. My hand grips the trunk for balance, my other grasps a long staff, decorated with intricate carved, painted designs and ceremonial beads tied to colorful blue string. A feather of a raven also hangs from the staff, twirling in the wind.
My ears focusing, just to pick up the sound of crunching pine needles, not far from my position. I crane my head for a better view.
A wolf, brown in color, and the smell of blood now carries through the wind. I squint my eyes, to see him limping, but it's very faint. He trots under my tree, and passes without a second glance.
"Macario, What is your position on the intruder?" My mind linking to my war-chief, keeping my bitter tone to a minimum. "About one quarter of a mile to the left. Takoda and Lael about the same distance the other way." "Does he know your presence?" "Heart rate steady. He's oblivious." I grin. I stand, steadily on the branch, and step off the ledge. I land on my feet nimbly, and take off after him, careful not to make a sound.
The dense forest allows no echos to escape as I run harder and faster. "Are Bao and Makani en route?" I ask, for I am too far away to link with them. "They have arrived to the marked area of contact. Everyone is ready at your command." He finishes, a small smile in his voice as he says so.
"Move in slowly, wait for my signal." I cut off the link, my feet stop moving as soon as I do.
My eyes meeting cold blue ones of the wandering wolf. More than twice as tall in my human form, and canines larger than my forearms, he stands still at the sight of me. He leans and growls, his body shifting to face me. A smile dances on my lips. "Subdue him."
That second, a blur of grey comes bounding from, what it looks like, thin air and pummels into the intruder, knocking his head against a tree nearby. The wolf whimpers from the surprise impact. A red, lean wolf appears from the darkness of the forest and clamps her teeth on his neck, but makes no move to draw blood.
He lies there, not daring to move, breathing heavily. His eyes stare defiantly at me, as if challenging me to finish the job. Lael, the red wolf, waits for any type of signal, her ears perked in my direction.
I move dangerously close to the wolf, my eyes meeting his once more. "Change." I command. He lies there, unblinking. I laugh coldly," Change, or you will suffer a slow, painful, honor less death befitting one of your.... status." I finish dryly. It takes a moment of thought for him to make the right decision. His wolf gives way to a man, but his eyes never changing. His body naked. His hair askew. His left side bleeding.
"Bao." I call out through mind link. "Bind his wounds, would you?"
A black haired man walks from behind me, carrying a pack at his side. He pulls out a roll of bandages and a cover up. "Try anything funny with me, or my Chief, and you will regret it." Bao says with a sting in his tone.
"What are you guys supposed to be, modern day Indians? Are you Pocahontas?" the intruder asks, false awe in his voice. I smirk. "You bet we are, we cosplay Disney movies in our free time." I snap sarcastically. Bao finishes with wrapping him up and threw the cover-up at him, hitting him in the face. "I hope you didn't hit your head too hard for you to forget how to get dressed." Bao clearly doesn't like the smell of the guy, and I agree.
He smells like a rogue.
He ties the cover up around his waist, and Bao quickly grabs his hands and tie them behind him. "This rope is lased with silver. So good luck breaking it if you decide to fight back anytime soon," I say as I motion for Lael and Macario, the grey wolf, to follow as I lead the prisoner away.
"Where are you taking me? And how did you know about my rank?" His voice giving nothing away. I decide to oblige him in answering his questions, since I'm not as annoyed as I was earlier. "To the bridge, the edge of our territory, the same you took to get to this side of the forest. And as for your other question, that was a bluff." I snicker. I turn to see him visibly lose color in his face.
He stops abruptly. "You can't!" He says, fears intertwined with his words.
Now this was getting interesting. I smile.
"What have you done?" I ask, almost sounding innocent. He breathes, "I defied my Alpha when he asked me to kill a child in an enemy pack." My feet stop and I turn, my eyes wide. I was impressed. He has defied an order from his Alpha. For a child, no less. I smile broader as I turn to continue walking. "You are not thinking what I think your thinking, are you?" Macario almost growls through the mind link. I give him a warning glare, and he bows hid head in apology.
"Did you leave on your own accord?" I continue to ask. "Yes, but not before being chased down like some wild animal from a group of blood thirsty hunters." I hear his heart race. He was telling the truth, and he was scared out of his mind. I have come to a conclusion. I almost laugh out loud.
I step in front of him, his eyes gleaming with curiosity and speechless terror. "You have no desire to go back were death is imminent." I grab a fistful of his brown hair, yanking him closer. "But you want to live." I smirk. "I may have use of you, if you so desire to... live to see another day." I pause as I let go of his hair, kicking him to the ground. "If you have what it takes to become warrior worthy of living," I turn away from him, already knowing his answer. "I welcome you to Banes of the Mist."
YOU ARE READING
Frozen Blood
Teen FictionI step in front of him, his eyes gleaming with curiosity and speechless terror. "You have no desire to go back were death is imminent." I grab a fistful of his brown hair, yanking him closer. "But you want to live." I smirk. "I may have use of you...
