Wolfsong

by Kodilynn Calhoun

  “Al!” Arii snapped her jaws at her brother’s ear. I was reminded of Shae and felt a twinge of sadness tug at my heart.

  Aliel grumbled and jerked away from her, shaking his head once before dropping it. “I’m headed back to the village. You know what Lady Sikta thinks of me.” He gave a derisive snort, then turned tail and padded away.

  Arii and I stood together for a moment in the silence he left between us before she shouldered up against me. “You ready then?”

  “For a fight against Sikta? She hates me. You know that. So no. Not ready. I don’t think I’ll ever be ready.” I plopped my rear end down on the cool earth and sighed, feeling stubborn, like a whiny five year old.

  “Scythe won’t let anything happen to you,” Arii said.

  “Uh-huh.” I rolled my eyes.

  Arii sighed, then locked eyes with me. With flattened ears, she butted her head sharply against mine, our skulls clacking together hard enough to make stars swim in my vision.

  “Move it, pal. Let’s go. Sikta might be a little cold, but she’s wicked strong. The best teacher you’ll find. Even if you don’t like Tallys, he’s picked you the best tutors.”

  We picked up the pace at a trot. The sun had begun its descent, casting deep reds on everything. It dappled the earth and warmed my fur. Up ahead, looking quite annoyed, was Sikta. She was in human form, perched perfectly on a large boulder, one hand extended as she examined her nails. Her crimson gaze was cold as she regarded first me, then Arii. Arii dropped back, sitting at the edge of the clearing.

  “So the princeling finally decided to show up,” Sikta said. I kept my eyes trained on her, though I wondered where Scythe had gotten off to. Had he not come? My heart felt like lead in my chest, pumping heavily. She waved a hand and shot me a look.

  “Don’t look so stricken, milord. I’m not going to kill you. Though,” she added with a simmering smirk, “I can’t promise you won’t be unscathed by the time the sun goes down.”

  I resisted the urge to glance over my shoulder at Arii. Sikta hopped down off the rock and arched her back, bearing the pale skin of her throat. Her dark hair spilled over her shoulders as she let her wolf out, a dark, sable beast. She was the biggest female I’d seen in the village, yet still small enough to look feminine. She shot me a glare, her bushy tail flagging high to show that she was over me.

  For now.

  Then, without warning, she was on me. I staggered to the side under her weight, her teeth piercing the thick ruff of fur around my neck, biting into flesh. I backpedaled and bucked, trying to dislodge her. Growls rumbled up my throat and I snapped my jaws at her.

  I caught her ear between my teeth and yanked, tasting blood as the soft skin tore. She twisted her head, easily flipping me to my back, and placed a paw atop my heaving chest with show of fang. She was smirking in my head.

  “This is gonna be fun…”

  Again and again, she attacked, relentless and not at all gentle.

  Fear leapt up my throat like a frightened cat as she caught me by the scruff, swinging me around until I was pinned against a tree. I scrambled back, thrashing and snapping at air, but I only got a mouthful of fur. She threw her head back, her laughter ringing out in my mind. “Not fast enough, princeling.”

  I swung to the side, feigning left and going right. My claws connected with her face and she snarled, fangs scoring my leg. I twisted out of her reach, trying to find a good angle. Every time I lunged, she was faster, her movements fluid, like this was an intricate dance that I didn’t know the steps to. I banked away from her, backpedaling. Her teeth caught my ear, tearing it, and I bit down a growl.

  Finally, my teeth sank home, deep enough in her shoulder to draw blood. I jerked my head once, then quickly released.

  She spun on me. Her teeth at my throat, she straddled me with a low growl. “Next time you sink a hit? Take me down. Had I been Kanzi, you’d be dead. But I’ll admit, I’m surprised you managed to hit me. Won’t happen again. I promise.”

  She made sure of that. By the time the sun sank beneath the trees, bringing the chill of night, my legs were so tired they trembled. I had gashes across my body, scratches that burned and throbbed with each move I made. My muscles were sore and my head hurt, but in a way, it was a good hurt. Sikta dismissed me with a toss of her head and Scythe came from out of nowhere, his tail wagging.

  I lifted my head as Arii came up beside me, her shoulder brushing mine.

  “Hungry?”

  I didn’t have to think about it: My stomach answered for me. They both laughed. My paws were heavy as we weaved through the woods, Scythe taking the lead and Arii and I falling behind. The village looked sleepy, though a fire was crackling at the fire pit. We reverted back to our human skins, Scythe resting a hand on my shoulder. I saw where he was staring—Melia stood near the fire, her dark hair in braids, looking expectant—and I shooed him off with a grin.

  I soon found myself with a plate full of food—wild hare, potatoes seasoned with chives, and a cup of strange-smelling soup—and Arii and I sat down to enjoy our dinner. The meal was plain, but after my strenuous day of work, it tasted amazing and filled the empty spot. Arii with her head leaning against my shoulder helped a whole lot, too.

  “Shall we tell stories around the fire?” Arii’s lips quirked into a smile, but my eyelids were growing heavier by the minute. She laughed, as if realizing this. “Or shall I tuck you into bed, my prince?”

  I swatted at her and missed, my arm dropping heavily to my side and hanging there. She cackled softly and together we walked through the halls until we stood at my door. I reached for the knob, then paused. “Thanks…”

  “For what?” Her head tipped.

  “I dunno. For accepting me?”

  “I’ll always accept you…” Her voice was breathy and suddenly, our lips were mere inches apart. I looked into her eyes, feeling her palms on my chest, pushing me back against the door. I stumbled, my back hitting the wood, and her fingers trailed up, past my shoulders and into my hair, twining there for a moment. “I mean it.”

  A shiver ran down my spine. I reached for her, my hands cupping her shoulders. Part of me wanted to crush her to my chest, to feel the softness of her lips against mine. Another part of me hesitated. It wasn’t like I’d hadn’t kissed her before, but… I gently pushed her back and her eyes darted to mine, quick, hesitant. I offered a smile, then gathered her in a hug.

  “It’s late,” I said, by way of explanation.

  She looked puzzled for a moment, but covered it up easily. “Right. Goodnight, Kia.”

  I turned the knob on the door and slipped into my room, shutting it behind me. I stood there, wavering on my feet for a moment, before I headed to the bathroom. I cranked the water to hot, soaked for about twenty minutes, and then curled up under my clean sheets. As soon as my head hit the pillow, I was out like a light.

  Chapter Twelve

  The following three weeks were the hardest I’d ever worked in my life.

  Every morning, after breakfast and a run around the territory to strengthen my stamina, I was paired up with Szarsa. He transformed from a kind and gentle trainer, to growing stronger with each passing day until his hits struck home hard enough to leave welts and bruises. But I was getting better. I even backed him against the rail a few times.

  Sikta, on the other hand, was never gentle. She attacked me with the brutality of an enemy warrior, sending me sprawling across the ground. Our fights were fast and furious and I limped home every night, cataloguing my various wounds. She’d managed a slice across my face that was deep enough to scar.

  “Now you look even more like your father,” she’d sneered and slammed me back against a tree. If anything, she seemed disdainful that she had to train me. Like I was contagious or something.

  Still, I could feel myself growing stronger. Whenever I wasn’t being trained or schooled, Arii, Aliel, and I headed out into the forest to romp and fight. Scythe always trailed us, to make sure we were safe, and sometimes we i
nvited him to horse around with us. A pup at heart, he’d join in with yips and grunts while we darted around the forest like four-legged woodland faeries.

  And I was beginning to make friends with the pack as their doubts about me faded away. Their frowns turned to beaming smiles when I’d pass them in the marketplace, chatting with me like they’d known me their entire lives. A couple of wolves were attempting to teach me crafting. A large group were even starting to accept Arii and Aliel, despite the whole Omega thing. I stopped the bullying whenever I caught it, despite Al trying to assure me that everything was okay. Because it wasn’t okay, and damnit, I’d do what I could to make their lives have some semblance of normalcy. I loved them.

  I was starting to love this strange, simple world.

  My paws halted their dance as a piercing howl rose up. Arii padded to a stop beside me, her tongue lolling out of her mouth. Aliel was sprawled on the forest floor a few yards away, his own breath coming in pants. We were all half-soaked from Lake Kalla, even though the air was crisp with winter and the water had been icy.

  “Kia.” My name was sharply spoken and I glanced up, expecting Scythe, but seeing Tallys instead. A square, stocky red wolf, he glowered at our antics as if we were just a bunch of puppies. He gave a shake of his head. “Lyra and Chase want to instruct you on a hunt tonight.”

  I paused. Altehrei had a large group of hunters, lead by the Beta werewolf, Lyra, and her mate, Chase Haelfrost. It wasn’t something I’d ever been invited to, though I knew from stories that my father used to lead hunts, as had Tallys back when he’d been in his prime.

  “I’m guessing this is mandatory?” I asked with a glance over my shoulder to my friends.

  I saw Aliel roll his eyes behind Tallys’s back, then pick himself up and shake the water from his fur. It splattered everywhere and Tallys growled at the onslaught of flying water droplets. As the Elder turned to glare at the boy, the teenager took off at a gallop towards the village, leaving me and Arii to face Tallys’s wrath.

  “You’re going to be Alpha, so you’d better learn how to hunt. If you were ever separated from the pack for some reason, fighting skills would do you little good if you couldn’t feed yourself.”

  I hated to admit it, but he had a point. What good were claws and teeth if I couldn’t catch even a rabbit or a bird?

  Arii and I followed him back into the village, where a small group of wolves had gathered. Lyra stood at the masthead, clad in furs and warm fleece covering her rounded belly, a quiver of arrows at her back and a finely crafted bow in her fist. At her side was a fluffy brown wolf—her mate, Chase. Sikta also was also a bow-wielding human. The rest of them had shifted to lupine.

  Lyra’s pallid blue eyes locked into mine. She gave a small bow. “Milord. It’s a pleasure.”

  As she started to explain how a hunt typically went, I sought out Arii from the crowd. She was hanging back, ears docked against her skull. I looked to her and when Lyra paused, I asked, “You’re coming, right?”

  “Sorry, Kia. It’s not my place.”

  I blinked, and glanced across the hunting party as I felt their gazes drilling into me. I prickled. I didn’t know any of them besides Sikta, and she wasn’t considered a friend in my book. I was sure the feeling was mutual. I swung my head back to Chase.

  “She can’t come?”

  “She’s an Omega.” Chase’s reply was swift.

  I felt an annoyed growl rise up my throat. “So she has blue eyes. Lyra has blue eyes and she’s hunting.”

  I heard whispers ghost against my mind. Chase merely blinked at me. “Lyra was born of two talented hunters and has proven herself over the years. Arii was born an Omega and that is the rank she will stay at. Perhaps, if a stronger male takes her as his mate, she will grow in rank. Until then…” He shook his head and stood. “Let’s move out.”

  I wanted to stand and fight it, but the look Arii fired at me shut my mouth. With a sigh and a twist of nerves, I padded off after the pack. Sikta and Lyra took up the rear and I caught Sikta’s scorching gaze. It clearly said ‘Don’t mess this up, pup.’ I shot her a withering look and tried to keep up the pace, though my muscles complained.

  After several miles, Chase paused to test the air, his body becoming still as a statue. Then, “There’s a herd up ahead. Qwinn, go scout,” he said and one of the huntresses slinked forwards on silent paws.

  I felt Lyra’s touch in my mind. Although she was in human form, unable to change in order to keep the child in her swollen belly, she spoke to me in mindspeak.

  “You don’t have to do anything but keep up. Follow Chase and the pack, do what they do. In a moment, Qwinn will pick out one of the weaker deer. Then you’ll move as a group to break it away from the herd and ready it so Sikta or I can make a clean shot.”

  I nodded, my mind buzzing. My gaze flitted between the hunters, their excitement bubbling up around me. This was routine for them, but it was also fun. It got their blood pumping. I kept my eyes locked on the tawny-pelted Qwinn and the way she moved with soundless grace.

  A shout echoed in my mind and Qwinn lunged forwards. The doe she was after had a fawn at her side and was reluctant to leave it behind. The rest of the herd scattered and I was shoved by Chase as the pack of hunters leapt into action. I stumbled along behind them, inwardly yelling at myself for not being aware. The pack fanned out, skimming past the fleeting deer, moving ahead to try and stop her.

  “Move, Silverwind!” I heard a sharp cry and panic jerked my muscles to a stop. I stood there, hesitating for a single second before a heavy weight bowled me over. We tumbled through the field, my mind spinning and my mouth open in a silent plea. I glanced up—Chase had a hold of the doe’s hind leg. Blood matted her fur as she bellowed. Her baby hovered on spindly legs, its eyes wide.

  The wolves moved closer to the baby. It bleated helplessly and my heart ratcheted into my throat.

  No… No! They were going to kill the fawn! I scrambled to my feet just as something whistled through the air. I jerked to a halt, the arrow sinking deep into the shoulder of the doe. She cried, head thrown back in anguish. The wolves backed away to let her try and flee once more. She didn’t get far before her heart stopped pumping and she dropped to the ground, dead weight.

  My stomach dropped in time with her. Spying the fawn surrounded by a pack of hungry wolves, I did the only thing I could think to do. I tackled Chase.

  “You can’t kill it! It’s just a baby!” I whined as he knocked me to the ground with a show of teeth. I backed up, eyes locking onto the fawn, bleating for its fallen mother. My heart jammed in my throat. I had the urge to change, to take the baby in my arms and calm our racing hearts.

  “It may be an infant, but its herd is gone and its mother is slain. Sure, we could let it go. It won’t last two minutes out here on its own,” Chase growled at me, knocking me upside the head with his muzzle. His eyetooth slammed into mine, sparking stars across my vision.

  I sat back with a keening whine. “So it has to die?”

  “We’re wolves, Silverwind. Hunters. This is what we do. This is how nature intended for us to be.” Lyra spoke aloud as she knelt down beside the baby deer. The baby shuddered and wavered on pencil-thin legs. “Chase is right. If we leave it behind, it will slowly starve, or another predator will take it down.” She unsheathed a steel blade and it glinted in the sunlight.

  Nausea roiling my stomach, I turned my head away, but it didn’t stop the wet sound of the blade slicing across the fawn’s throat. Eat or be eaten…

  I shuddered and walked away from the pack, trying to catch my breath in air that didn’t reek of blood and death. Is this why Arii didn’t want to come? I never wanted to do this again, leader or not. My stomach ached and I felt filthy and I hadn’t even touched blood. I shook my head and continued to walk on stiff legs.

  “It will get easier, pup.” Sikta’s voice was soft, from a distance away. I felt a laugh bubble up my throat—strange that the one who hated me would try and reassure me. I turne
d my head to the left, to look for her and heard a shrill whistle near my ear. An arrow slid past me, cutting through the air and embedding itself in a tree with a hollow thunk.

  “Hey!” I barked. My heart thundered in my ears as I turned around. Holy hell. That had been close! I scanned the length of forest and caught the glimpse of a form retreating into the forest.

  I took deep breaths and hurriedly padded back to the rest of the group. They were dragging the carcass with them into the stand of trees. I saw Qwinn shoot me a scornful look, saw Sikta buried fang-deep in the neck of the little fawn and I quickly turned away.

  I made my way back to the village on numb paws, right into the waiting arms of Arii. That night, after skipping a hearty dinner of venison, I dreamt of wolves hunting down my mother and Shae, relentless in their kill. I saw blood splatter the forest floor and their bodies lifelessly drop to the ground. I dreamed that I cried at their funeral pyre and I woke up with tears in my eyes.

  ***

  Snow fell down around us, winter’s chill blistering my nose and cheeks. I’d wrapped up warm in a fur-lined coat and thick hide gloves, but it didn’t seem to ease the chill settled deep in my heart. Everywhere I turned, I saw my family, forgotten in another world. How long had it been since I was dragged over? Days had bled into weeks, weeks into months.

  But probably the worst thing about the situation was that I was torn. I almost enjoyed shedding my human skin, romping in the woods with pine needles in my fur, splashing into Lake Kalla just to feel the gasp of cold against my skin.

  And hell, I did enjoy the time spent with Arii and Aliel. Al was the little brother I never had—I found the sudden urge to stand up for him. Unfortunately for both of us, he didn’t feel he needed my help. And Arii… I smiled at just her name on my mind. Truth was, I’d miss this strange, simple world and the people I’d come to love.