Wolves of the Moon #1: The Paws of Darkness

Chapter Twelve

As the strange wolves crept closer, Spirit let out the fiercest snarl that the other young wolves had ever heard. Even the older wolves looked warry for a moment, but they edged forward still wit fierce determination.

"You are the ones who have been stealing the pups!" Blaze growled in realization.

"Make it easy for yourselves," the lead wolf warned. "I'm Smoke and I have devoted my life to our pack. I will not hesitate to inflict pain to you. We're not scared of tiny, weak Learners like yourselves," he sneered.

"S-Smoke?" the ruddy she-wolf asked, puzzled. Then her face contorted with rage and the others had to hold her back so she wouldn't pounce on the strangers. "Traitor. You used to be from the Pack of Fire and Light. But you changed to this... this murderous pack! You killed Daybreak." At this her voice cracked, revealing true sorrow that she usually never showed.

"You killed my brother! Not to mention Daybreak and Ink and a bunch of other pups and Learners!" Spirit cried angrily and launched herself onto Smoke. Then all the Chaos broke loose.

The silver-gray she-wolf hooked her thorn-sharp claws on the black he-wolf's back. As Smoke tried to shake her off, Spirit could see how the others were fighting. Cloud was kicking and dancing around a smaller male wolf, efficiently distracting him. Silhouette was clawing at a dark gray female, causing blood to drip on the plant-laden forest floor.

Once Smoke threw her off, the light gray wolf slipped under his dark stomach and clawed at the soft pelt underneath. As he yelped in pain and infuriation, the black leader raked his sharp claws across Spirit's left foreleg, opening a deep cut near her elbow.

The young she-wolf growled and pounced on him, biting at his throat as hard as she passed his neck. She could taste the metallic tang of blood as she withdrew her mouth. With satisfaction she realized that she had hit a vital spot in his neck on accident

"As much as I hate to say this, I'll deal with you guys later. Retreat!" Smoke growled to his comrades, blood gushing unnaturally from the open wound. As the Wolves of the Volcano fled into the bushes, Cloud called out behind them.

"We are the Wolves of the Moon!" he barked. "Don't mess with us again!"

"That was awesome!" Silhouette cried happily. "Wasn't it?" The jet-black turned to Spirit, who was staring at the pawprints that the older wolves had left. "Spirit?"

"I know where they went," she murmured to herself. The silvery she-wolf suddenly snapped, turning her head towards them and growled menacingly. "You say I'm selfish? Well see how much you miss me when I leave. I'm sure you don't want someone who only cares about herself and her dead brother!" With that, she took off at a surprising speed into the forest, following the footprints of the Wolves of the Volcano, hoping to find the missing wolves.

"Wait! Come back!" Spirit distinctly heard, but she kept running nevertheless, only stopping once to roll in honeysuckle to throw off her scent. Once she was sure that they had given up finding her, the silver-gray wolf stopped, panting, and collapsed in a clearing, breathing heavily. It was night and the moon was slowly rising into the sky. Fatigue clouding her deep blue eyes, she fell asleep.

"Hello, Spirit," a distinctly familiar voice said. The light gray wolf opened her eyes and was taken aback by the wolf with wings. She had a silvery pelt that glowed in the moonlight, and dark blue eyes that only meant she was from the Pack of Spirits. The large blue jay wings that were folded across her back also made it obvious that she was a wolf's dead soul.

"Hi," Spirit greeted. "Who are you?"

The newcomer sighed. "I am your mother. Now before you interrupt me, let me explain. About three months ago you were born from the Pack of Spirits. You were brought down to Earth in the Pack of Snow and the Mountain's territory. You were taken in by them."

Spirit looked blankly at her mother. "So... I'm not really Prominence's daughter? Massif and Snowflake aren't my littermates?"

Her mother shook her head sadly. "No, I am sorry. They aren't."

"Well, may I ask one more question?"

"Yes."

"I kinda sorta ran away from my group. We are supposed to find the missing pups and Learners. Do you know what I should do?"

Spirit's mother sighed again. "Whatever you decide, it is up to you. You can continue on, which is your best bet. If you go back now, you will lose more valuable time. But your friends will find you again. And remember, the Pack of Spirits will always be with you." She took off from the ground, leaving behind two blue jay feathers in her wake. After a few tries, Spirit tucked the feathers in her left ear fur.

The Pack of Spirits will always be with me, huh? the silvery she-wolf thought. I hope so. She finally was able to drift into consciousness again.

"Pups, here I come," Spirit said to herself, gazed at the mountain again, and took off running towards it.

Wow! Pretty cool, or is it just me? No? Just me? Oh well. Hope you liked it anyways! Bye!