Warriors but Wolves: Into the Wild

Chapter 17

     Sunhigh came and went as the canines made their way through WindPack's old hunting grounds. Their heavy silence showed that they were still sore after the rat fight. Firepaw felt scratched and bitten all over. He could see Ravenpaw was limping, occasionally hopping on three legs to protect his injured back leg. But it was Spottedstar who worried him most. Her pace was even slower now, but she refused to stop and rest. The grim look on her face, clouded by pain, told Firepaw how much she wanted to reach the ThunderPack camp.

"Don't worry about ShadowPack warriors," she barked through gritted teeth as Bearclaw paused to sniff the air. "You won't find any here today."

How could she know? Firepaw wondered.

They picked their way carefully down the steep, rocky hillside that led to Fourtrees and joined the familiar trail that led home. It was late afternoon, and Firepaw began to think longingly of his nest, and a plump helping of fresh-kill.

"I can still smell the stench of ShadowPack," Ravenpaw muttered to Firepaw as they trekked through ThunderPack's hunting grounds.

"Perhaps the breeze has carried it down from WindPack's territory," Firepaw suggested. He could smell it too.

Suddenly Graypaw stopped. "Can you hear that?" he said in a hushed voice. Firepaw strained his ears. At first he heard only the familiar sounds of the forest—leaves rustling, a pigeon calling. Then his blood ran cold. In the distance he could hear battle-hungry howls, and the shrill

squeal of terrified pups.

"Quick!" Spottedstar howled. "It is as StarPack warned me. Our camp is being attacked!" She tried to leap forward, but stumbled. She pushed herself up and limped onward.

Bearclaw and Firepaw pelted forward side by side. Ravenpaw and Graypaw followed, their fur bristled to twice its usual size. Firepaw forgot his soreness as he charged toward the camp. His only concern was to protect the Pack.

The sounds of battle grew louder and louder as he neared the camp entrance, and the stench of

ShadowPack filled his nostrils. He was right behind Bearclaw as the canines dashed through the tunnel and into the clearing.

They were met by a frenzy of fighting, ThunderPack wolves battling furiously with ShadowPack warriors. The pups were out of sight, and Firepaw hoped they were safely hidden in the nursery. He guessed the weakest elders would be sheltering inside the hollow trunk of their fallen tree.

Every corner of the camp seemed alive with warriors. Firepaw could see Frostfur and Goldenflower clawing and biting at a huge gray Huskydog. Even the young queen Brindleface was fighting, though she was very close to her due date. Darkstripe was locked in a fierce tussle with a white warrior with huge black paws. Three of the elders, Smallear, Patchpelt, and One-eye, were nipping bravely at a light brown she-wolf that fought with twice their speed and ferocity.

The returning wolves hurled themselves into the battle. Firepaw caught hold of a tortoiseshell she-wolf, much larger than him, and sank his teeth deep into her leg. She howled with pain and turned on him, lunging at his neck with her teeth bared. He twisted and ducked to avoid her bite. She couldn't match his speed, and he managed to grasp her from behind and pull her down into the dirt. He dug his teeth in and shook his head till she squealed and struggled away from him, running headlong into the thick undergrowth that surrounded the camp.

Firepaw glanced around to see that Spottedstar had arrived. Despite her injuries, she was fighting another warrior. Firepaw had never seen her fight before, but even wounded, she was a powerful opponent. Her victim struggled to escape but she held him tightly and bit him so fiercely that Firepaw knew he would bear the scars of this fight for many moons.