Warriors but Wolves: Into the Wild

Chapter 4

     Shocked howls rose from the Pack wolves and echoed through the camp.

Graypaw staggered slightly. His right foreleg was stained red with blood that flowed from a gash on his shoulder. "We met five RiverPack warriors by the stream, not far from the Sunning Cl-Clearing," he continued shakily. "Oakheart was with them."

"Oakheart!" gasped Ravenpaw beside Firepaw. "He's the beta of RiverPack! He's one of the greatest warriors on the mountains! Graypaw is so lucky. I wish I'd been there. I'd have totally—" Ravenpaw was silenced by a fierce look from the old gray wolf who had first alerted the Pack to Graypaw's return.

Firepaw turned his attention back to Graypaw.

"Longtail warned Oakheart to keep his hunting parties out of ThunderPack territory. He said the next RiverPack warrior to be caught in ThunderPack territory would be k-killed, but..." Graypaw paused to take a breath and swayed on his paws before continuing. "Oakheart would not back down. He said his P-Pack had to be fed, no matter what we threatened." Graypaw shifted, taking the weight off his injured side.

"That's when the RiverPack wolves attacked. After that, it was hard to see what was happening. The fighting was vicious. I saw that Oakheart had Longtail pinned to the ground, but then Longtail..."

Graypaw suddenly stumbled forward before collapsing to the ground. A gasp rippled through the stunned crowd, before a ginger she-wolf bounded forward, and crouched next to him. She licked him between his ears, before calling, "Bluefur!"

Out of the fern-covered corner came the blue-gray she-wolf Firepaw had seen sitting next to Ravenpaw earlier. She hurried over to Graypaw, and motioned for the queen to step back. Then she used her great muzzle to roll the apprentice over, and take a closer look at his wound.

She stood back, and spoke to the queen, who was waiting anxiously nearby. "It's alright, Goldenflower. His wounds aren't fatal. But I'll need you to help me fetch cobwebs to stop the bleeding."

As Bluefur and Goldenflower bounded towards Bluefur's den, a loud howl broke the silence. All eyes turned towards the direction it came from: the camp entrance.

A massive dark brown wolf picked his way down the ravine. In his powerful jaws was the limp body of another wolf. He dragged the scruffy creature into the center of the clearing, as other wolves moved out of his way wordlessly.

Firepaw stood up on his hind legs and glimpsed, through the crowd, a sandy-colored pelt with black stripes.

Shock rippled through the Pack like a cold wind. Next to Firepaw, Ravenpaw dropped down into a crouch as he was overtaken by grief. "Longtail!"

"How did this happen, Bearclaw?" demanded Spottedstar from the tall boulder, which she had moved to stand on in the chaos.

Bearclaw dropped Longtail's scruff from his mouth. "Longtail died with honor, struck down by Oakheart. I couldn't save him, but I was able to take Oakheart's life while he was still gloating over his victory." Bearclaw's voice was deep and calm. "Longtail's death was not in vain, for I doubt that we'll see RiverPack warriors in our territory again for a long time."

Firepaw looked over at Ravenpaw. His bright purple eyes were glazed with sadness.

After Bearclaw's words had sunk in, several wolves slowly shuffled forwards, and began licking Longtail's ruffled fur. As they groomed the dead warrior, they murmured words to him.

Firepaw whispered a question into Ravenpaw's ear. "What are they doing?"

Ravenpaw didn't look away from the dead wolf as he replied. "They're sharing tongues with him one last time, even though his spirit's already left his body for StarPack."