Dog Season (Discontinued)

Part I: Chapter Nine

     A howl sounded before Charity could  finish the name of her new Beta. Cori flew into the air with a yelp of joy and sprinted towards the new Alpha.
     Charity stared at him with surprised eyes, and took a step back from her extremely excited Beta.
      "Thank you so much!" Cori yowled with his tail wagging so fast it was a blur. The pack began to cheer for their new Beta and congratulated him.
     "Wait just a second!" An angry snarl interrupted Cori's celebrating. Charity watched Forest erupt through the bushes with his ears flat against his skull and his lip revealed razor sharp teeth.
     The dogs parted a path so Forest could walk in between, they lowered their heads and tails in fear. Even Suzie, who was two times larger than him, took a step back like the other dogs with her head low.
Forest's brown eyes bored into Charity's, making her gut twist with fear. "What is the meaning of this? Why didn't you choose me?!"
The Alpha could feel her tail wrap between her legs and she pinned her ears to her soft head. He could easily rip me to shreds. He'd never do that...would he? No!
Charity glanced at Suzie who looked at her with expecting eyes. I can't look like a coward in front of my new pack! The new Alpha scowled and fluffed her tail. She glared down at her mate. "You weren't around and Cori was, so I chose him."
Forest's eyes narrowed and his muzzle wrinkled. "We are suppose to lead a pack not you and Cori. I can't believe you'd abandon me like this!"
His words made Charity flinch. "Are you kidding?! Where were you when you left me at the shelter, huh? You said you'd be back! Did you ever come back? Of course not! I waited days for you! Heck, I almost killed myself with worry! You abandoned me, remember?"
Forest's dark brown eyes were unreadable. Every dog stayed quiet. A caw of a crow echoed through the trees.
After a few moments of silence, the Shepherd turned his black back towards his mate and disappeared again in the brush.
Charity watched the brush then shook her fur. She leaned over towards Cori. "Now that that's over, could you tell me how a pack works?"
The Sloughi smirked. "Wow some Alpha you are! Don't even know how a pack works!" Charity elbowed him. "Ow! Okay, okay." The new Beta cleared his throat. "Everyone, line up in front of High Rock based on your rank!"
Dogs began to murmur to each other while weaving around each other trying to get in the right spots. Suzie sat to the right of an elegant Golden Retriever who had a small pink flower wrapped around her ear.
I thought Suzie was the third best rank...
"Alright everyone. I'm gonna go down this line and you shall state your name and rank. Understood?"
"Yes, Alpha." All dogs rumbled.
Charity pointed her nose towards the Golden to the right of Suzie, curious what her rank was.
"Oh! My name is Thyme and I am the Nurse. Also the former Alpha is my brother." The feathered female let her tongue loll and she puffed out her fluffy chest.
The Windhound Alpha tilted her head. "I'm sorry I don't know what a 'Nurse' is."
     "Of course. A Nurse is a female dog who tends to the injured and sick. If I were a male, I'd be called a 'Doctor.'" Thyme sat straight, clearly proud of herself.
     "And that is higher than a first ranking hunter?"
     The Nurse's eyes lowered. "I guess..."
     "Alright then. It was nice to meet you." Charity eyes softened when they laid on young Suzie.
     The huge Mastiff mix wagged her curly tail and nodded respectfully. "I'm Suzie and I'm the Lead Hunter thanks to my amazing new Alpha."
     A smile spread on the Windhound's face, she returned a nod. At the corner of her eye, she saw movement. Charity glanced to see Forest appear from the brush and sit next to Kimora, who sat out of the line.
     "Alpha, what's my rank?" Her older sister asked.
     "Kimora, you will be Second Hunter. And Forest you will be Third."
     The shorter-furred Windhound sat in her spot on Suzie's left and Forest, without a glance at his Alpha, tromped over by Kimora. Charity stared at her mate, begging for him to look into her eyes, but his eyes were glued to the dirt.
     With a heavy heart, she moved on to the next dog: a muscular, yellow lab. He pushed his furry chest outward and wore a determined look on his well-defined face. The Lab stared into the distance like his eyes were glued to something.
     "My name is Hunter and I'm a Hunter." He grumbled.
     Charity let out a huff of amusement. "Appropriate name."
     "Thank you, Alpha." Hunter said without looking at his leader.
     The Windhound shuffled over to a young, male, black and white Australian Shepherd. He didn't seem like he knew what was going on, for he was staring at Suzie with an affectionate look. Charity smiled, and cleared her throat. The young male jumped out of his fur, noticing it was his turn. The Australian Shepherd hung his head in embarrassment.
     "Sorry, Alpha. I'm Dash and I'm also a Hunter." Dash murmured.
     Charity nodded still laughing in her mind and scooted to a black and white chest. She looked up to see a huge, furry, face with deep blue eyes.
     The dog's height was extremely intimidating, but her voice was soft and comforting. "Hello, Alpha. My name is Macy and I'm a Patrol Dog."
     "Macy, would you mind explaining what a Patrol Dog does?" Charity continued to stare up at the large dog.
     "Of course! A Patrol Dog goes around the territory in groups checking the borders, making sure everything is safe. Then we come back and tell what we saw." Macy was definitely pleased with herself, she held her head high.
      "Thank you, Macy." Charity nodded and came across a beautiful, chestnut colored Greyhound with slim white paws. She narrowed her eyes at her Alpha and curled her lip, not revealing any teeth.
     "My name is Rose, I am a Patrol Dog and Cori's mate." Rose stared at Charity with a challenging stare. She lowered her voice and gave Alpha a death glare. "You stay away from him or else..."
     "Is that a way to speak to your Alpha?" Charity grumbled surprised.
     "When my mate is at stake, yes."
     The Windhound glanced over her shoulder to stare at her Beta. He pointed his black muzzle to the ground and set an embarrassed paw over his eyes.
     "With that tone, I could make you Omega-" Charity clamped her jaws shut which made Rose flinch. "-just like that. Just keep back-sassing me and I'll give ya a new rank!"
     Rose sneered at her Alpha, then lowered her eyes submissively.
    "That's what I thought." Charity snapped, then moved to a buff, brindle Bullmastiff with a blunt muzzle.
     He stared ahead like Hunter, but then actually made eye contact. "I'm Axe and I'm a Patrol Dog."
     "Nice to meet you, Axe." Charity nodded at the stocky male.
     Next, a young, Irish Setter sat on Axe's right. She smiled at her new Alpha and wagged her tail. "My name is Rosita and I'm the last Patrol Dog. And the former Beta is my litter-sister."
Oh crap! I forgot about the former Alpha and Beta!
     She glanced over towards the cave the two leaders disappeared in, but they were walking out now. The Golden leaned on his pregnant Setter and limped out towards everyone.
     "Golden, I never got your name." Charity called over towards the injured dog.
     "River." He rumbled and winced in pain as he got closer to his pack.
     "River, what to do want to do?"
     The Golden looked at Charity with surprised brown eyes. "I guess I can be the last Hunter." His mate guided him to his spot next to Dash.
     "Very well. What about you, Setter? Your name and what you wanna do."
     The red dog nuzzled her mate then glanced behind Charity. A smile spread across her muzzle. "I'm Scarlet and I'll be a Patrol Dog with my litter-sister." She carefully trotted over and sat to the right of Rosita.
Charity nodded in acceptance. "Alright it's decided." The Alpha padded past Scarlet and saw no dog, so she turned her back and began to make her way towards High Rock. "Okay, if everyone could do their duties-"
"Wait," A tiny male voice yelped. "you forgot about me!" Charity turned towards the voice to see a scrawny, brown and white Jack Russell Terrier.
"Oh...sorry." The Alpha's tail drooped with embarrassment. "Your name and rank?"
The small dog licked his chops. "I'm Toby and I'm the Omega."
Charity touched her nose to the Omega's ear. "It's nice to meet you. And I apologize for not seeing you."
"It's alright, Alpha. Dogs normally don't see me."
The Alpha smiled sympathetically, then trotted to the Rock. She hopped onto it gracefully and sat next to her Beta who greeted her with a nod. Charity nuzzled his cheek in response.
"Hooray for our new Alpha!" Suzie's voice bursted through the forest and she began to howl. Kimora and Dash joined in, followed by the rest of the pack.
Charity smiled at her new pack and a warm feeling wrapped itself around her heart. She watched her pack-mates howl, their voices forming into one.
Something tan and black moved in the corner of Charity's eye. She glanced towards it and saw Forest ducking back into the brush.
The warm feeling in the Alpha's heart vanished, and was replaced with a sharp pain like a canine tooth stabbing in it.
    What happened to us?