Werewolf Experiment

Chapter 8

I uncovered myself from my snow den and proceeded to walk down to the middle of the clearing. I rabbit ran across my path and I killed it instantly. I picked up the rabbit and made my way down the rocks to the the clearing. I dropped the Rabbit in one of the fresh kill holes. I laid down in the sun and watched the hustle and bustle of the camp. Mother wolves where pushing pups around and guiding them into a den underground. Elder wolves sat in the sun on the sun beside their log den. Everything seemed so peaceful at the time.
Alpha came out of her den on the ledge and stretched high above us. She howled and all the wolves ,except for the pups, came and sat below her. I was shocked when she started speaking. "I have called this meeting because I feel like we need to discuss the new wolf that has come to our camp." She turned toward me and motioned for me to step forward so I did. "This large wolf has been with us a few days and I have talked to Thornpelt (beta). We agreed that if this wolf wishes to join the pack she will be mentored and renamed. do you wish to be a member of Thunder pack?" I bowed my head and spoke "yes please alpha." "I Mousestar ,Alpha of the Thunder pack, give this pup a new name and a place in our ranks. From now until you become a warrior you will be known as Sunclaw. Willowstream will be your mentor." I walked up to Willowstream and licked her muzzle and she licked my head. It was strange to be a part of a pack. I walked to wear the other apprentices where and they introduced themselves. A black wolf came up to me and looked taken aback at my size. "You will beat all of us at fighting." He said timidly. "Hi my name is Blackclaw and this is my sister Whiteclaw." He said flicking his tail toward a white, almost silver, wolf. She looked up at me timidly. A sand colored wolf also came up to me. He had strange black marks on him. "My name is Tigerclaw. I am the best fighter out of all the apprentices." "Its nice to meet all of you. Are you the only three other apprentices?" Blackclaw answered first. "Yes for now, Smallstripe's pups are about to turn 7 months. Which means they will be apprenticed. Their names are Dirtpup and Waterpup." How did they get their names?" I asked curiously. "Waterpup got her name because she fell into a stream when she was born and loved the water. Dirtpup on the other hand" he paused. "You will see when we get there." A pretty sorrel colored warrior approached us "Tigerclaw go show Sunclaw the camp and dont get in any other warriors way." The wold commanded. "Yes Sorrelwhisker." Tigerclaw barked out. "Come. I will show you the nursery, then the medicine den, and the elders den." We walked across the. Camp to a dusty part of the clamp that had a large hole in the ground. The hole smelled of warm milk and pups. We went down into the hole and in the large opening moss beds where set up. "These are the queens. Warriors that are expecting pups or raising them until they are seven months old. This is Foxface and her pups Dirtpup and Waterpup." Foxface really does look like a fox. Her coat was a deep orange/red color an she had an almost black mask around her eyes. Once I looked at Dirtpup I instantly knew why that was his name. He was covered in dust from the tip of his nose to the tip of his tail. He was also a deep brown color. He looked like a fluffy dirt ball. "Its nice to meet you all. " I said warmly to the older queen. "Now off the the medicine den." We backed out of the den and went to a den close to the nursery and under the cliff where the Alpha stayed. Inside the rock was a tunnel. We walked into the tunnel and the pungent smell of herbs struck my nose. A small grey wolf came out of a crevice in the wall. "Hello my name is Silverdawn. I am the pack healer. Aren't you the new apprentice in the pack?" "I am. Its nice to meet you."
"Sunclaw!" I hear Willowstream call loudly. "It was nice to meet you" I said to Silverdawn before racing out into the clearing. "Come. Me and Sorrelwhisker are taking you and Tigerclaw to see the territories" I jumped up excitedly and went to fetch Tigerclaw. "Tigerclaw, Tigerclaw! We are going to see the territories!" I called to him excitedly. He came running straight from the freshkill holes with a mouse dangling from his jaw. "Eat that and come on!" My human form may be 18 but my wolf form is still young at heart. Tigerclaw and I followed our mentors up the rock pile and out into the snow. We traveled in the snow for a short time before we came up to a river bank that had begun to thaw with the coming spring. "This side of the river is for our pack and on the other side is the Riverpack. They catch fish on that side and we catch fish on this side. Only Mousestar and Silver dawn know where their camp is. Take a good sniff because this is a smell that will need to remember." I breathed in deeply and took in the fishy smell of The River pack. " Lets keep moving before a patrol spots us this close to the border and decides to cause trouble." We turned and walked toward a cluster of oak trees. We had to cross a log above a stream to get to it. The trees where tall and there was a big boulder in the front with a clearing under it. I smelled River pack and Thunder pack and a few other smells I was not familiar with. " What are the other two smells? I can smell Thunder and River Pack but I don't know the others." "That is Shadow pack and Wind Pack. You will recognize the scent when we get to the other side of the territory." Sorrelwhisker answered. This is Great Oakes. Every full moon the packs gather here to discuss business and greet one another. We are under a truce and if we make our ancestors ,Star Pack , unhappy by fighting we will be punished." I looked at my mentor with wide eyes. "Lets keep going. Keep up Sunclaw." We past by a field of tall grass and moorland. the wind was strong up here. The breeze carried a strong scent of other wolves. "This is where the Wind pack makes there home" We turned back toward the camp but went the long way around. We came across a patch of grass that was coated with a shine of crimson. Tufts of soft rabbit fur and the stench of crow food (rotten food) was everywhere. I wrinkled my nose up at the smell coming across another border. "Shadow pack. They must have killed this rabbit after dawn patrol left. Stupid fox brains. I cant believe them. We have to get back and tell Mousestar." Sorrelwhisker said hastily. We took off and I had to stay slow so I didnt make the other wolves suspicious about my speed. When we neared the camp loud growls, howls, and whimpers filled my ears.