Unexpected Love

Unimaginable Anger

The anger that flared up in him was raw and powerful; a darkness flashing in his eyes for the first time in a very long time. Xur's gaze turned to lock onto Kaida as she retreated, the heat of his eyes raking across her damaged back as she retreated. Slowly, a malevolent sound crawled up from his chest and into his throat, pouring out of his lips as his teeth lengthened. Though the wolf claimed her as his mate, even he did not like her disobedience. Heat poured across the man's exposed flesh; beads of sweat appearing along his face, neck and shoulders to mat his ebony hair against his forehead and neck, while the salty liquid slid down his back. Ripping his heated gaze from her as she all but disappeared; the man looked back towards where the house and pack awaited, the beast pushing its way forward until the man no longer resided. Hackles lifted, tail held high; Xur paced around the sack of meat three times before he stopped to let his burning eyes glare towards where she had disappeared. Taking one step forward, the beast halted once more and snorted. He could not choose one over many and so he turned his back towards where Kaida had disappeared and walked over to pick the sack up in his powerful jaws before carrying it back to the house.

When he arrived, Xur was greeted by Quill and a female by the name of Zamara. She was an older woman with pepper colored hair that cascaded down her back and soft brown eyes. Neither spoke, only retrieving the Alpha's burden and leaving him be. They could see it in his eyes; his expression and his body language that whoever had left their scent that rested upon the sack had clearly upset him. Turning away, the wolf knew he could not be near the others for fear that his anger might be unleashed upon them.

The beast set off at a lope; his legs swinging in a steady rhythm that carried him quickly away from the pack and to the soft caress of the forest. The musky scents of earth and trees always helped to ease his mind along with the use of his built up energy. Xur did not follow a trail; his paws falling upon untreated land that scattered and crunched leaves beneath his pads. As he came towards a fallen tree; the old guardian was covered in green moss and taller than Xur's back making for a good spot to get a better view. The wolf did not slow, his muscles bunching beneath his flesh and pushing into the earth to launch him up into the air. As his paws landed upon the old bark, the beast stopped and let his burning gaze drift across the forest. Raising his muzzle once his eyes were certain of no threats; his nose twitched as he drank in the scents around him. Earth, leaves and vegetation was all that he could smell and so the wolf sat down with a huffing sigh.

Using this alone time, the human was allowed to come forth just enough for him to contemplate why Kaida's disobedience had caused such fire to ignite within him. At first he was unsure, but the more time he thought about it he came to realize it wasn't really the act of her defiance towards him that had angered him but more because it had divided them. In her own way, she had refused him by not joining his pack when he had offered it to her; or rather commanded her to come with him. The human was satisfied that she would no longer be an issue and thought that the matter was resolved but the wolf was not and refused to take this as the breaking point.

A twig snapping caught Xur's attention and the wolf shoved the human down once more as his gaze turned to what might have made the source. A scent wafted over his senses that made his hackles rise once more and anger pulsed through him that he could be so stupid to allow an intruder to come so close without him realizing. Again, it was the woman's fault. If she hadn't refused him then none of this would have happened. Jumping down from the fallen tree, Xur stepped into the shadows among the brush and peered out through the leaves and twigs to see what might be coming.

A bipedal wolf walked without confidence; his eyes darting here and there as if he was waiting for a ghost to appear. He sought out a patrol to pass on the note that was crumpled in his shaking hands, his fear scent causing a low growl to escape Xur. The bipedal wolf must have heard because he stopped; his breath catching in his throat as he quickly looked around. The wolf waited a moment until the intruder began to walk again before he left his shadows to prowl around for a better angle to the stranger. Xur made his way in front of the male; his muscles bunching beneath his dark pelt as if he awaited prey. When the bipedal was within striking distance, the Alpha leaped from his hiding place with jaws that dripped saliva parted and aimed for the trespasser's throat. A cry escaped the bipedal and he managed to block the Alpha's attack by putting his arm up. The ivory fangs sunk into the flesh of the bipedal's arm, blood gushing into the wolf's mouth and furthering the beast's blood lust. A snarl ripped free of Xur as his body gave a massive jerk that pulled flesh from bone. The bipedal tried to get free; his attempts nearly useless against the wolf. When he finally did manage to pull free, the force was so strong when he broke apart from the wolf's jaws that it sent him over backwards were he landed winded and in shock upon the ground. Xur wasted no time and launched another attack. This one did not miss its mark and as his front paws pushed the air from the bipedal's lungs from the force of his pounce, Xur's blooded fangs sunk into the bipedal's throat. A gurgling sound filled the wolf's ears and the bipedal tried his best to escape to no avail. Finally he lay still; his eyes staring up into the sky glazed and lifeless as the rest of his coppery life liquid spilled onto the forest floor.

With a growl, the Alpha stepped away from his kill and circled it a few times as if making sure the bipedal was dead. When he was sure the intruder was no longer alive, the human was finally able to force his way forward enough to realize what a mistake this was. The wolf in his primal state had seen the different wolf species as a threat and had eliminated it. The human, with his more complex way of thinking knew that the bipedal would have never been a threat; he was too spooky for that. Seeing the blood stained note in the bipedal's hand, Xur forced the wolf to walk over and extract it from the victim's grasp. Blood stained the paper, but the wolf was still able to read the note. Another growl escaped the beast as he realized the bipedal's had their mate, but Xur knew with the death of this male that the chances of getting Kaida back unharmed was slim to none.

Rolling the note back up, the wolf picked it up and took off at a hard run down the quickest path back to the mansion. He burst into the dinning room where everyone still gathered; not caring that blood still stained his ink colored fur. All eyes turned to him and despite not having any clothes, Xur shifted back into his human from. The red liquid covered his mouth, throat and chest, speckling his face and patches on is hands and arms. The Alpha heard gasps from around the table; not from his nudity but because of the blood. "It is not mine" he said, his powerful voice booming with authority as he spoke to the pack as a whole. Holding up his hand to show the blood stained note, his burning gaze drifted across the pack. "I have not shared the news with you that my wolf has found his mate...." A few cheers went up but Xur held up his hand which silenced them. "She is not of our species and although I question whether she is safe for the pack, she has nevertheless been captured by bipedal's. I found an intruder upon our territory carrying this note. My wolf killed the bipedal before I could stop him and afterwards I found this message. They only seek to join our pack, but with this mistake I doubt that they will want refuge any longer. Kaida will be in danger now and I will need the strength of the pack to retrieve her."

At first it was silence that met the Alpha as shock radiated throughout the pack. Then as if on some unseen or unheard cue, the pack began to shift to their wolf forms. As they stood waiting for their alpha, Xur felt a sense of relief before he too shifted. Turning, he rushed out of the mansion with half the pack following. The rest of the wolves stayed only to protect their home an children. It was Quill that found himself running alongside his alpha, but the rest trailed behind. Excitement and anger now radiated among the wolves; the prospect of their first battle and the fact someone dare take their Luna despite not even knowing her. The tension grew stronger once they reached the border and melted into the shadows as they drifted out of the territory and followed the scent to the camp.

Knowing they had the element of surprise; Xur supervised the camp for a few minutes to take in all the bipedal's there. His patrol would have no problem eliminating them if the need arose. Signalling with his tail, the wolves stayed hidden, unscented and undetected; laying in wait for when their alpha beckoned them. Standing up straight, Xur held his head and tail high as he stepped from the shadows and strode into the camp. He knew the bipedal's would recognize the blood upon his fur as their friend's but his burning gaze only held that dark anger as he stared from one to another; his lips raising to show his bloodied fangs as he released a threatening growl. They wanted an audience and they had finally gotten one.