Unsevered Ties

7. Chasing Strays

Chapter 7: Chasing Strays

Naki stared at the gigantic wolf, who looked like a demonic shadow coming to consume them alive. He was afraid to look away, lest his life be over that quickly. He'd rarely seen a wolf this size, his father perhaps, or even the king—but never this close. Liathan shifted closer to him, his thick fur standing on end as green eyes bore into their captor.

"No one owns the mountains!" Naki was the first to speak up. Silence stretched in the darkness between them as nothing more than the gleam of their eyes and the primitive form of their shapes could be seen. Molten eyes turned to him, the dark depths were so rich with color that Naki found himself momentarily mesmerized.

"I own them," the guttural voice that came from in front of them sounded less than pleased, "now answer the question."

"We don't have to answer to some random stray!" Liathan positioned himself in front of his friend and bared his growing teeth at the bigger males. If it came to a fight, at least it'd be two-on-one but he'd rather it didn't. "We are rather busy people, so if you could get your giant mass of fur out of our way, it'd be great."

"Sorry pup," the male said with a flash of his own far larger teeth, "I can't do that until I know what your business is here."

Naki's ears perked up, he could hear movement and the muffled sound of Cerise's voice. He tried to maneuver around the rock, but the moment he budged, a shock of gold blocked his path. He huffed as he stared down the other male. "Who are you and what do you want?"

"The name's Aiden," the mountain of a beast said, "and I've already told you what I want. Why are you trailing those rogue wolves? Shouldn't you two be somewhere with your parents?"

Naki's ears perked up again as he heard what sounded like claws raking against the rock. His mind immediately went into a panic, they were moving, and here they were stuck between a rock and an overly gigantic wolf. "My name is... Kyle, yes, Kyle and this is... Lenard and we are guards in training. Our friend, who is of very important social status, is now being kidnapped as we speak, and if you don't move, we are going to lose him. Those creeps came to our town and took him, and we don't know what they plan on doing to him." Naki tried to peer around the man in front of him. "That's why we are in your mountains, and that's why you need to move!"

Aiden's eyes narrowed at the two little runts. He didn't know how much of that story he believed. Still, he glanced behind him at the flash of people who were even now sprinting away from them, a figure sitting atop one's back. The guy in tow could indeed be getting kidnapped, or perhaps these two were the ones trying to kidnap him.

"Pack," he said gruffly before glancing back at the other two, "what pack are you from?"

Liathan glanced at Naki, who in turn nodded his head. It couldn't hurt too much to tell the other what pack they came from. Help had to be on its way either way.

"We're from the Field Pack," Liathan growled out, "so can you get the hell out of our way now before we lose our friend for good!"

He really didn't have to ask. None but the Field called their main place of living a town. The quaint pack refused to renovate and grow with modern technology. The Field hated unnecessary human creations even though they shifted into the very image of their worldly counterparts. 

"No," Aiden answered without looking at them, "but I can escort you to your friend." He turned back to them, "and if you are lying to me, I can properly punish you both for wasting my time."

Naki and Liathan glanced at each other, both giving each other a confused and worried look. It seemed they had an unwelcome fellow traveler. Still, if the giant wasn't currently a foe, they'd have to take him as aid, the male made sure they understood.