The wolves of Redbrook Park

Chapter 1, part 2

Both Andy and Dave were hunters.
Charlie said he was a hunter, but of a different sort.
They'd both been unsure at first, but when they saw the amount of equipment and wolf skins he had acquired, they were instant partners.

Charlie said he had hunted in these forests before, so he knew what he was doing and where the best parts to hunt in where. So this lead to the three of them traipsing through the wild, eyes and ears peeled for any sign of movement.

Wolf pelts sold for big cash, and if the rumours about the size of this pack were true, then the three of them were about to become filthy rich.

Looking up through the branches, Andy caught sight of a collection of tall, thin mountains illuminated by the full moon's light. The mountains were clustered together in almost a perfect line, one on either side looming higher than the others, their sharp points reaching up to the sky. The local nickname for them were 'Lucifer's Teeth"', which Andy found was quite a suitable name for the large formations. Just looking at them made him shiver, their foreboding presence unsettling him. Andy knew he would have to stomach that fear, and soon, because that was where they were heading, right to the base of the Teeth.

The trio of men kept walking further into the shadows of the Teeth, switching the order in which they walked to make sure they were covered in all sides.

A short while later, they heard a faint howl in the distance. Dave threw out his hand and the trio froze, straining their ears to listen. They didn't move, barely even daring to breathe when they heard the numerous responses, a few dozen wolves howling back in reply to the first.

When all noise had died down, Charlie let out a smirk, which was smothered by the darkness. "We're close." He whispered, taking his gun off his back and gripping it in his hands. Andy and Dave quickly followed suit, taking comfort in the familiar weight of their guns in their hands. The men took even more caution as they continued to proceed, quickly following Charlie's quiet directions.

Travelling for about another half hour, the men didn't come across any wolves, only hearing their occasional howls in the distance.

They stopped at the top of a ridge which lead down to a wide clearing in the woods. A stream ran through the middle, cutting under a fallen tree trunk before looping around some rocks and snaking back into the cover of the dark forest.

Dave took a seat on some tree roots, digging out his flask and taking a large swig of whatever was inside.
"How much further?" He asked Charlie, who was still stood, gun in hand as he looked down at the clearing and the surrounding forest.
"Not far." Came hushed response, "we crossed into their territory not long ago, we should be seeing some soon."

As the pair talked, Andy was scanning their surrounding and occasionally surveying the clearing below them for any sign of movement.

A bush rustled.

This small movement made Andy push off the tree he was leaning against and walk closer to the edge of the ridge for inspection. They bush rustled again, and put from the foliage stepped a wolf.

Andy signalled Charlie, who then alerted Dave, who was sat with his back to the clearing and the tree crouched down low and observed the wolf, their height in this situation granting them cover.

The wolf was young, with light brown fur dotted with white patches. It padded further into the clearing and ducked its head when it reached the stream, drinking from the water.

Andy couldn't help but marvel at the wolf. Despite it being young, it was large, larger than usual. It's fur gleamed in what little light the full moon provided and he could see the powerful muscles in its legs and shoulders.

He almost didn't want to shoot it. Almost.

Moving his gun, he trained it on the beast, staring it down through the scope. It was as if the wolf could feel his eyes on it, because it lifted its head and looked around the clearing, ears flickering from side to side. Through the scope, Andy could see that the wolf's eyes were a brilliant gold, almost glowing in the darkness of the forest.
Charlie, who was looking at the wolf through a pair of binoculars, stiffened slightly next to him when wolf looked around again, it's eyes scouting the edge of the clearing.

Lining up his shot again once the wolf had returned to drinking, Andy took in a breath and got ready to pull the trigger. He was quickly stopped by Charlie placing his hand on the barrel of the gun and shoving it towards the ground. Andy turned to look at Charlie, face full of confusion and mouth open to protest when Charlie pointed to the opposite side of the clearing.

Dave was the first to look, his mouth dropping open and face growing pale out of shock as he took in the sight. Next to him, Andy turned and looked, almost having a heart attack when he saw the monstrous size of the wolf that came prowling out of the woods towards the smaller one.

This newcomer was darker in colour, and beastly in size. Andy was a big man, but he estimated that it's shoulder would have been level with his sternum if he were to stand next to it. This demonic wolf wandered up to the smaller one, who had lifted it's head up to watch it approach. The smaller wolf stepped up towards the hulking figure, tail wagging, and nuzzled it's head against its neck. Responding by returning the nuzzle, and licking the smaller wolf's face, the larger wolf also lowered its head and began to drink from the stream.

Andy realised that these two must belong to the same pack, and their closeness shown by the way they interacted told him they were probably related.
Parent and child, he thought when the smaller wolf began playfully chewing on the larger ones ear, wagging its tail happily.

A realisation struck Andy, which made him turn and look at Dave, whose wide eyes and shocked expression lead Andy to believe he'd reached the same conclusion. If this was the size of the fully grown wolves out here, no matter how unnatural their bulk may seem, then the pelts were going to get them even more cash than they thought.
If they could take them down that is.

Andy returned his gun back to the wolves, pointing it at the head of the larger one now, aiming to take down the bigger threat first.

Charlie had brought out his own gun and was aiming it at the wolves when the bushes rustled for the third time.

Dave breathed out an almost silent "What?" as another incredibly large wolf padded into the clearing towards the pair. It was almost identical in size to the large one, only slightly smaller and lighter in colour.
The moonlight reflected off its eyes, allowing the hunters to see the golden colouration which matched the younger one perfectly.
Andy decided these wolves were anything but natural, this being reaffirmed when he spotted the largest wolf also had brilliant golden eyes.

The new wolf nuzzled with the pair, licking the little one and playfully nipping at the largest ones tail before bouncing out of the way in a teasing fashion.

"They're mates," Charlie mumbled to the pair as he began quietly taking off his bag, opening a compartment and pulling something out. Andy didn't see what exactly, only catching the silver reflection from the sparse moonlight.
Bullets, he realised when Charlie started quietly loading them into his gun.

Why the hell didn't he have it loaded before now?

As Charlie lifted his gun up to his shoulder again, he shifted his weight and a stick snapped with a loud pop under his foot.

The wolves' heads all snapped towards the top of the ridge, lips curling back into a snarl as they turned to face where the hunters were crouched.

Oh shit.