Ice -- Wolv book II

2 - Thrill of the hunt

I'm so cold!

I blinked my eyes numbly as I began to become aware of my surroundings once more. I peered around the tiny shack, twitching my ears as I listened to the sound of Nadie breathing softly against my neck. It was cold enough to see the moisture in her breath; in the dim light, I could barely make out tiny puffs of air exiting her nose as her chest rose and fell.

Dangit, it's still the middle of the night! A shiver traced its way up my spine, and I pulled Nadie closer to my chest. I could feel her shaking beneath my paw as well. She's cold. But unlike me, her eyes remained pressed tightly closed, in spite of the cold.

I lifted my head and glared at my pathetic, ragged coat of fur. If only my winter coat would grow out already! If I didn't get a better coat of fur than I had now, I would definitely not survive the winter. Heck, I can barely sleep through a fall night!

I craned my head up and eyed the remains of the fish on the other side of the shack, and my mouth began to water the moment I sniffed the air. The odor was disgusting, but I needed protein.

No. We'll find something...fresher...today. Something that won't kill me!

My stomach growled angrily at my decision, and Nadie's brown ears perked at the sound. Her eyes snapped open, and she looked down at my gut, pressed firmly against hers.

"You okay?"

"No. I'm starving."

She looked away. "Me, too. I hope we run into some more caribou. All that fresh meat, straight off the bone...aww, I can smell it already!"

Now, I was flat out drooling. I inhaled deeply, letting the scent of caribou flood my nostrils. Wow! That's good!

Wait... "Nadie, I smell it too!" I whispered excitedly. Her tail thumped happily.

"See? Things'll get better yet!"

"SHHHH!" I hissed. I tested the air again, and sure enough, I could detect the faint, yet obvious, scent of a meal. My stomach growled again, and I felt my claws come out, digging into the rotten wood plank beneath me. I cocked my head, listening. Somewhere outside, a twig snapped, and a leaf crunched.

Hutch bolted upright next to me, not making a sound as he drew himself up to his full height. Tara moaned in protest, than sat up, blinking the sleep from her eyes.

"Food," Hutch said simply, wiggling his Alpha nose, and extending his claws out to their full length. I stood up, and he looked sideways, inspecting me. Even in the dark, I could see his pupils dilating as his night vision adjusted, and his Alpha senses kicked into overdrive, preparing him to hunt.

He padded his way to the doorway, his extended claws clicking on the floor with every step he took.

"I can see them. There's two does, about a hundred bounds away, straight ahead." He squinted in the moonlight. "One of 'em's limping. We'll take that one."

He turned around and the three of us with a fierce stare. "Alright, we can do this. We need to eat, and we will, if you guys just chase alongside it like I showed you. Remember: conceal yourselves as long as you can, then when it bolts, don't wait! Run it down!  Once it's at full speed, even with that limp, it could end up outrunning us like those other two did last week. And for cryin' out loud, flank around the back and bite the hindquarters! We've gotta kill it somehow, and runnin' straight at it is only gonna get you killed!" He hissed out his words, speaking somewhere in between a whisper and a growl.

By now, the scent was getting stronger, and I could feel hunger gnawing at my insides. I scraped my claws along the floor in anticipation, letting my tongue loll over my canines and out of my mouth.