BLOOD DREAM (Ongoing)

12.1: Boys Will Be Boys

The challenger spoke his intentions in body language: lithe wolf head raised high, tail level with his spine and rising. Liam caught the moonlight in his brown, black, and grey coat as he prowled confidently closer, sharp hazel eyes on his foe, Theron.

The closer he came, the harder Theron's heart slammed. The onyx wolf stepped over his kill and bared his teeth, but Liam was unfazed. He stood a few meters away passing judgment that Theron could feel. Theron stared back, lacking any of his usual arrogance. The flash of his teeth was a superficial threat. Theron was bigger and far more dangerous, but it wasn't the physical altercation Theron was worried about.

A quick test of the wind revealed only Liam's scent. He'd come alone.

Liam bowed his chest like they were playing. Then he lunged at Theron, and Theron didn't reel back in time to avoid the teeth coming his way. Liam maliciously clamped his front right leg and ground into his flesh. Searing with shock, Theron stumbled back over the carcass, dragging Liam with him in a smear of blood. He threw his teeth at Liam's head and grazed his brow, prompting Liam to fling away. Instead of coming at Theron again, Liam leaped through the grass and held his ground, his ear on the side of his newest wound twitching. His eyes flickered, then he feinted and clicked his teeth in taunt.

Was this what Liam wanted now? A fight—a real one, not just foreplay? Fine.

Snarling, Theron launched forward. Liam abruptly darted away, giving Theron the next few seconds to reconsider how quickly he'd fallen to his angry impulses. He screeched to a halt and turned his flank to Liam, watching as Liam rounded back on him. Both wolves flared and arched, their pileated fur making them look bigger than they were. Theron's spine was razor sharp with black hairs, dread and fear and anger coursing through his veins. His mind raced to decipher Liam's intentions; Theron knew he shouldn't be fighting, he shouldn't be getting dragged into this...

But this was what Liam wanted, it seemed. The brown wolf daringly pushed closer and snapped at Theron's nose, close enough to clip him if he didn't pull back. Theron strafed away and Liam kept advancing. He didn't want to fight. He knew what it would result in. He kept baring his teeth and growling, but Liam was determined, snapping at anything. Finally, Theron bit down on a plush mouthful of Liam's neck fur in warning. Liam twisted his head and ruthlessly grabbed Theron's left ear, puncturing the cartilage with his long canines.

Pain blinded Theron. He uttered a shriek and swung his teeth at Liam, evicting Liam from his personal space. As the pain dulled, rage took its place. Rage, so easy to ignite. His ear was wet, his leg stinging, his betrayal mounting. Liam darted off again and Theron followed, compelled to retaliate. One good bite in the ass might get Liam to back the fuck off. Then again, he'd probably like that.

Liam fled in long leaps through the woods until they reached the edge, then emerged into the moonlight, under the clear night sky and stars. Scarlet leafed through his hackles and across his legs, but not as richly as it soaked Theron, looking blacker than black in the bloodbath. They went west until they hit the treeline, then the smells of human families and homes filled his head. Smells of Sadie faintly wafting through the grass. There wasn't time to follow her footpaths; Liam kept his pace ahead of Theron, leading him on a chase toward the nearby highway.

At 3 AM, they crossed the highway unnoticed. Liam slipped down a residential street with crisp lawns and big houses where Sadie's smell burned stronger. Was this one of her paths into the city? Hiding on the opposite side of the river, flitting through yards where the Tyndall Park Dire wouldn't find her? Liam burst from trees onto the wide, empty bank alongside the river, approaching a four-lane bridge, and didn't stop until he was nearly directly underneath it.

In a place where everyone and no one could see them, under the cover of darkness and the slope of the riverbank, Liam finally faced Theron, panting. The gentle lapping of river water against the muddy bank retreated under Theron's thunderous growl. He closed in on Liam, catching his breath too, cramping from all the meat he put in his stomach before. He ached. He was so tired. But he wasn't going to let Liam tread all over him.

This time, Theron struck first. His foe lagged with exhaustion, allowing Theron to barrel right into him. They flung mouthfuls of sharp teeth at one another, hard enough to bruise, to pierce, to rip flesh. Theron took Liam's teeth in his right leg, another wound opened above the first one. Blood spilled from a deep gouge in the back of Liam's neck. The fight was loud and unrestrained, Theron's anger irresistibly materialized, because this was what Liam wanted and he'd fallen right into his trap, but what else could he do? Liam would only provoke him until he got Theron's stench all over him anyway. Fuck Liam. Fine, you want blood? I'll give you blood!

The scrap ended with Theron looming above, Liam's paws pushing against his collar, nails digging into his skin. Theron's teeth were wrapped around Liam's maw. If he wanted to, he could leave more scars. If he just succumbed to his anger, he could destroy Liam permanently, break his nose, bleed him out. He kicked against Theron's underbelly and whined, squirming as Theron squeezed harder. One wrong move and Theron would open a gaping wound in Liam's face. Liam knew this.

So the battle was forfeit. Liam stopped resisting and whimpered, his tail snaking excitedly in the grass. And then he gave Theron full control, writhing as his transformation began.

Liam was helpless beneath him. If he wanted, Theron could just end him right now. But instead, Theron immediately underwent transformation too.