The Lycan Queen

Chapter 7

Miles away, large humanoid paws tore up the blanket of snow covering the ground to reveal the cold wet earth. With Mortem out in front leading the charge and fueled by anger, the other nine lycans followed his sharp twists and turns with exceptional ease. That is, all except for Kumarr. He was holding his own as far as keeping up with the group-- for now, anyways. His joints were sore and he was constantly bombarded by the pawfuls of snow and wet soil that was kicked up by Mortem's powerful paws. He shook his head and fell back a little, ending up nearly behind the group.

The single female of the unit noticed Kumarr slowing and falling behind, and chortled over to one of her male counterparts. "Poor thing." She snickered. "Too feeble to run with the big dogs." She huffed, provoking a laugh from the rest of the males, as she ran up beside Mortem. Kumarr snorted bitterly at the female's remark, and lengthened his strides catch up with the group once more. The other seven murmured to each other under their breaths as slowly but surely, Kumarr began to pass them, smirking as he did so. He attempted to take up residence on the other side of Mortem opposite the female, until Mortem suddenly made an unexpected stop causing Kumarr to collide with his back.

Mortem paid no mind to him and scented the air. He snorted sharply as he cleared the scent of human beings from his nostrils, his breath visible in the air. "Search the area." He bellowed, his tail lashing back and forth.

Kumarr opened his mouth to repeat the order to ensure that his king's voice was heard. However, he was beaten to it. "You heard the boss." The female lycan hissed at the rest of the group. "Noses to the ground, now!" All at once, the other seven lycans dropped to the four of their paws and stalked the the ground in determined silence as Kumarr stood upright and watched them go. "That goes for you too, Beta." The female sneered in a snarky tone, setting out on her own course. Kumarr nodded and looked around. With the other eight headed in other directions, he was left alone in the clearing, unsure of which way to go.

Luckily for him though, as he wandered about in a lost puppy sort of way he felt half his body lop awkwardly to one side. When he looked down at his right paw, he was elated to find that it had fallen into one of Mortem's larger paw prints. He looked up and noticed more prints leading straight ahead and following them with great vigor.

Now alone, Mortem heaved his large body over the snowy ground on all fours, seemingly ignoring the arrow holes in his back as he fought back the urge to cry. If Lunar recovered, she wouldn't be able to share the same territory with him. However she'd have to survive the night first, and that in itself was a long shot. He frowned deeply, before twitching his ears as he heard a noise. He shot them upwards immediately, silently praying that it was who he thought it was, a glimmer in his eyes. But remembering the noise he'd heard, he decided it couldn't be.

Mortem lifted his head and surveyed the area before continuing to walk. He hissed angrily when he'd lost the scent, and proceeded to walk back the way he had come, to see if he would find it again. Much to his annoyance, he found something else. As he turned to walk the other way he found himself nose to nose with his beta male, each of them equally as shocked as the other.

Kumarr backed away shakily. "What are you doing here!" Mortem growled, more out of anxiety than anger.

Kumarr rolled onto his back in a show of submission, covering his face with his paws. "The other eight separated and spread out.. I was alone, I didn't know which direction to go in.."

"So you decided to follow me instead of following orders." Mortem questioned with a snarl. "Now we're moving in nine different directions instead of ten." He added, snapping his jaws at Kumarr. "How much sense do you think that makes?"

Still on his back with lowered ears, Kumarr whined. "Forgive me, sire.." He began pitifully. "I was only hoping to ensure your safety after.." He stopped speaking and motioned to the arrow wounds in Mortem's back. Mortem looked back at them and rolled his eyes, turning back to Kumarr, unsure of how to react.