Runt In The Wild

Chapter Nineteen

I ran as fast as I could as the sandy and rocky ground disappeared beneath my paws. I barked and growled at the caribou next to me, warning them to stay back.

I barked commands to my hunting group. "Kara, Ash, keep them together! Bolt, dash ahead to scout! Eve, which one is weak?!"

Eve jumped up onto the back of a caribou. Her head swung from side-to-side as she searched for a weak link in the herd. Finally, her head jerked to me as she yelled over the pounding hooves of the herd. "Young calf and broken legged female in center!"

I nodded my head before turning back to what I was doing. "Leo," I called. I jumped up onto the edge of the cliff, and I saw Leo do the same on the other side of the canyon.

I leaped off of the cliff edge, my legs propelling me through the air. I landed gracefully on the back of a caribou. The buck bellowed as it tried to buck me off(pun unintended) but failed and ended up kicking the caribou behind him. The caribou nipped his flank, causing the buck to stop trashing and continue to run on.

I jumped onto caribou after caribou until I had almost reached the weak links. Leo was approaching the center as well after leaping from back to back. I flicked my ears to signal him. I leaped at the weak caribou as Leo barked and growled to try to separate us from the rest of the herd.

I latched my sharp teeth into the throat of the injured female. Her legs started to give out from under her as she took rasping breaths. I held on with all my might as the female caribou fell to the ground.

The caribou jerked before she finally laid still, her eyes gray and lifeless. "Good work. Now, let's get this back to the pack." I said firmly.

We all grabbed parts of the caribou to drag when my ears started to twitch. Very faintly, I could hear the sound of yips, yelps, and barks on the other side of the cliff. "Stop," I said, dropping the leg of the caribou that I had had in my mouth. Everyone froze and stared at me.

Silence fell upon us as my ears flicked back and forth trying to distinguish the sounds and the source perfectly. "I hear it," Eve said as her ears began to twitch, too.

"Me, too." Bolt said quickly as he always did. Finally, everyone heard the strange noises.

"We need to investigate it immediately. Ash and Leo, come with the me. The rest of you take the caribou back to the village. Listen for our howl in case there's trouble. Got it?" The three remaining wolves nodded their heads before grabbing the prey to take back.

I turned back to Ash and Leo. "Come on; let's go see what's going on." We ran as fast as we could, leaping from rock to rock until we reached the top of the cliff.

Our paws raced across the surface of the cliff until we reached the other side. I skidded to a halt, the others stopping behind me as well. I peered over the edge to look down below.

At first i didn't see anything, but as I looked closer, after hearing several yelps, I spotted a familiar red and white fluffy pelt along with a small gray bundle of fur.

I growled deep on my throat. I howled before leaping off of the cliff, my paws extended to rip the fur off of the mangy creature's haunches.

I stood face-to-face with the fox, my lips drawn back in a snarl and my eyes blazing fire. The fox looked at me before sending off a volley of high-pitched yips.

But after it stopped yipping, it didn't move. It didn't run. It just stood there, watching me.

Suddenly, several other high-pitched barks came from deeper in the forest. "It's a whole pack! Call for help! Now!" All three of us howled for reinforcements before jumping into the fray of seven battling foxes.