The Wolf and the Were

Chapter 2

Hialeah pounced on the rabbit, snapping its neck in her jaws. She quickly shifted to human form, the better to tear apart her breakfast. She'd just taken her first bite, when one of the fake wolves stepped out in front of her.

His eyes scanned over her body briefly before he grinned at her. "Hi, I'm Logan. What's your name, beautiful?" She narrowed her eyes at him, appraising him. Jeans, shirt, a stupid grin, a stupid desire to talk, and a keen interest in interrupting her meal. Time to speed up eating.

She growled at him and partially shifted so she could snap the rabbit down faster. "Hey, I'm not gonna take your breakfast. I just wanted to meet you." She ripped into the carcass, gulping down hunks of meat, then sucked down the organs in its belly. Her eyes never left the stranger who wanted to talk too much.

"Do you want a shirt to cover yourself?" For what? She chewed on a thigh bone thoughtfully. What good is a strip of cloth that won't fit me as wolf? Waste of cloth. She snapped the bone and sucked out the marrow.

"Can you understand me?" She nodded. Of course. You just won't shut up. Tossing aside the bone, Hialeah shifted and trotted back to the rest of her pack. Her eyes gazed over the young males, young females, and the various mates. Several were away, probably getting a small meal like she had. They would probably go after some deer later in the day.

She glanced back at the male. Small, like all his kind. Why is he following me? Does he think he can do well in the pack?

Gawonii stood and shifted. He inspected the runt. To his credit, the runt stood his ground, showing neither fear nor aggression. When Gawonii turned and left him, she noticed the runt released his breath. Wait until he has to stand against the other males, she smirked to herself.

She settled down to rest and let her eyes droop. Runt approached her, which was his right. I'm not ready to breed yet, but soon. Unaduti will probably win the right, though Rayetayah might win next time. Assuming I keep my position, of course.

A soft growl caused her to shift her eyes over to Runt. A young male had approached him with a soft growl. Hialeah's tail lazily started wagging in amusement as the runt stood to face his larger challenger.

The pup made a half-hearted lunge at the runt, who jumped back with remarkable speed before darting forward again, snapping at the kid. The kid circled the runt more cautiously, lunging now and then, but not leaving an opening. Suddenly, the runt charged forward, shifting to human to punch the kid in the head before shifting back to wolf and snapping at him. The punch landed, the bite did not.

How did he keep his clothes? The pup shifted to human, a red mark on the side of his face as he punched at the runt, who dodged. A swift kick connected, sending the runt skidding along the ground with a whine. Despite that, he stood up again and charged, shifting to human to tackle the pup, fists flying.

Hialeah's tail stilled as she watched the two exchange punches. Runt was faster, but weaker. Oddly, though, the punches he took didn't seem to affect him for long. The pup grabbed him and kneed him in the ribs, an audible snap finishing the fight as the runt dropped.

Finally. He should have quit earlier. Her eyes drooped, when she saw the runt stand again and charge. What?! Her eye snapped open as the runt grabbed the pup from behind, finally choking him out.

She glanced at Gawonii, who had stopped frolicking with his mate to watch. He was smirking in amusement, like he knew something she didn't. Hialeah eyed Runt more carefully. What happened in that fight?