Pack and Pride

Chapter 1 Ira

I lay in the tree, my misty grey panther tail dangling over the branch swinging back and forth. My lazy eyes swing around the clearing where the ShadowClaw pride resides. Prides don't use a pack house like wolves do, we set up tents and live in clearings in forests. To any normal person it would look like I am lazing about without a care in the world, but that is just the opposite. My eyes are scanning everything, watching my pride, poised to pounce at any threat. I am a master fighter and a fierce warrior, one of the many reasons I have risen to Pride Leader. I watches as my second approaches the large tree. He stops at the truck and looks up, waiting. I jump down from my high branch with ease, stopping at a low enough one that my second could speak in a normal volume of voice.

"The mutts are coming," was all he said. My fur stands on end and a low hiss emits from in my chest. My second had not needed to tell me, I could smell the stench of dog from a mile away. I lay on my new branch and go back to my appearance of laziness. The mutts are coming to me, I would not greet them as if I were waiting. My eyes return to their roaming, nothing is amiss. The stench grows stronger until it stifles the clearing. Growls sound from many of the pride members, they cut me sharp glances wondering why I am just laying there, cleaning my claws. I lift my tail ever so slightly, a signal that I know what approaches and not to worry about it. The pride tries to relax or feign relaxation, but the sent of pure hatred rolls off them in waves.

A large ash colored wolf bursts through the trees growling softly at the pride. The sent of hate rolls off him and his body shows no signs of an attempt to mask his hate. His eyes flash with another emotion and he sniffs the air slightly before returning to his growling. Six other wolves crash through the trees, none as large as the first, all of them have a battle ready stance. Their eyes latch onto me as I yawn and stand slowly, pausing to stretch my back as if I have all the time in the world. I leap down from the tree, landing softly on the forest floor. My panther is as large as the wolf and we stare him down from across the clearing, looking into startlingly blue eyes. He stared back into my emerald eyes. Neither of us are willing to back down, not in front of the enemy and our own allies. I give the wolf a Cheshire grin before shifting into my human form, fully naked before my enemies, but never breaking eye contact. My shift was fast, I have trained for battle shifting, which has to be done fast. To shift during battle was an advantage, it would mean being able to lunge at an attacker starting human and shifting mid lunge into panther form.

The wolf returned my grin with a lupine one of his own and shifted, he too maintained eye contact and was fully naked. Neither party let their eyes stray from the eyes of the enemy, no matter how tempting the body of the person was. The other wolves, however, openly ogled my human form. I was not embarrassed, I know I am beautiful and I'm proud of it. Modesty had be stripped from me at a young age, growing up in a pride did that seeing as shifting always left one nude. I have whirls of inking done across my chest and shoulders. The markings of my Pride and my status, they are intricate patterns, harsh yet beautiful.

"Ira, Pride Leader of ShadowClaw and Queen of the wearlions," I says, using the formal introduction of any werebeast.

"Argra, Alpha of BloodFang and King of the wearwolves," he returns.

"What do you want here, pup?" I bite now that the niceties are over. Calling him a pup is a sign of disrespect, and why should I respect him? Argra stiffens at the word and one of his wolves growls menacingly at the disrespect.

"One of your... cats... killed one of my wolves," he snaps back. I give him a humorless chuckle and motion behind me where two panthers in human form come forward dragging an angry wolf between them, a collared wolf. Argra's eyes dart to him instantly, sharpening at the collar, a sliver collar.

"We don't murder," I whisper lowly, dangerously.

"Remove that collar and return him to us. He belongs to my pack,"

"No, he must stand trial here for what he has done. Once the punishment has been seen to, we will return him... or what is left of him," I says cooly and I raise my chin, proud and cold.

"And what crime is that?" Argra grounds our, his teeth clenched. I am close to getting him to lose control on his temper.

"Your wolf here was caught hunting in my domain. His crime falls under my jurisdiction and I will hold the trial," I say calmly. The wolf, alpha, growls lowly at me. He opens his mouth to say something when I cut him of by giving a command to the prisoner. "Shift," I use my title push to make the pup bow to my whims. He whimpers, but obeys, clearly pissed at how his own wolf obeyed my command. The collar remains around his neck and shifts with him, the metal has been used by my people for many generations, it dates back to the time of enchantments.

The pup does not have a scratch on him, the only visible harm done comes from the collar, which is burning his skin. The burns will brand him forever, in truth I had already held the trial and decided his punishment, I just wanted to get a rise out of the Alpha. We are a forgiving people, I let him live after the first infraction with a branding so my Pride knows what he is. If we catch him again, he will die.

"Release. Him." Argra bites with clenched teeth, with a smirk I wave for one of my members to unlock the collar. Maybe I didn't send the pup back because I was looking for a fight, or maybe I wanted the chance to finally size up the big bad Alpha, I had heard a great many things about him. Supposedly, he is the strongest Alpha seen for several generation and I have to admit, I would love nothing more than to test my fighting abilities against his, perhaps another day. Either way, we were both here now and I was getting my look at the enemy, this pup just helped the process along.

"Keep your mutts off my land and we won't have this problem again, yeah?" I say with raised eyebrows, enjoying all too much the anger radiating off the wolves.

Once the collar is removed, a pattern of blackened skin is visible. The alpha is practically boiling with rage now, "what did you do?" He growls.

"Held a trial, gave a ruling, dealt a punishment," I say with a shrug, "Now. Get off my lands, or we will have to chase you out."

Argra shifts back into his wolf form and his members leave, including the prisoner, his wolf now sporting a ring of dis-colored fur. After about twenty seconds of waiting, I shift.

Keep an eye on things for me, I'll be back I send my second through mind link. He sighs and gives me an exasperated look before I dart into the trees. Something felt off about those wolves, something was just not right.

I climb a near by tree and track the party from above, leaping from branch to branch enjoying the power of my Panthers' body. It takes their party a few hours to reach the end of my territory. The main party kept running, but the Alpha stopped and turned his nose to the air. After a few sniffs, he shifts into his human form.

"I know someone is here, I can smell you..." he says. I shift into my human form and jump down from the tree. I give the air a few test sniffs and find it smells divine, like the morning after a storm. I lock eyes with Argra and my eyes dance with amusement.

"Just making sure you found your way off my land alright," I say smirking at him. We maintain eye contact for a few moments longer, something not sitting right in my stomach, before he shifts and I shift. I don't growl at him as he steps closer to me. His nose is a mere inch away from me and something dances in his eyes. I narrow my own eyes and give him a threatening hiss, almost warning him not to do something stupid. We turn our separate ways, but I have a feeling this won't be the last I see of Alpha Argra of the BloodFang pack.

Plz don't hate this lol tell me how you feel about it, maybe what I can work on. Other stuff. Point of View will be indicated in the chapter headings. I hope you enjoy!