Tiger, Tiger

Tiger, Tiger: Prologue

(There will be some inconsistency between punctuation in speech in the last chapters compared to these first ones, as I am currently editing the story xoxo)

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On the large rocky ledge, two wolves circled each other, their lips pulled back into ferocious snarls. The Alpha, his eyes a sparkling green, growled warningly at the black wolf before him, commanding it to back down. The black wolf firmly stood it's ground. They began to circle each other, growls rumbling deep in their chests.

This fight was to gain leadership, to gain power. This fight was to the death.

The black wolf leapt at the light wolf suddenly, his powerful jaws aiming for the neck. The Alpha ducked lithely out of the way. His body popped and shifted and he landed in the form of a gazelle. He bounced around nimbly, every lunge of the black wolf missing completely.

Then both animals shifted together quickly, with the same popping, scraping noise like dislocating bones. The gazelle became a large white tiger, and the black wolf a deep orange lion with a huge, shaggy mane. The animals circled again, eyes locked on each other, ready for the slightest opening for attack.

The tiger leapt first this time. It's paws thumped into the lion and sent them flying to the floor. They both snapped and growled, clawing and tearing, each aiming for the opposition's throat but missing. The lion suddenly shifted into an enormous anaconda. The snake quickly entangled the tiger, tightening around it with a crushing grip. The white tiger's growl became a painful choke as the anaconda constricted around it. It's claws scratched uselessly against the huge muscle of the snake.

A petite white wolf stood in the pack of animals that were watching the battle for Alpha's position. She whimpered as the life was crushed out of her mate, his bones cracking like they were nothing but matchsticks. There had been worry and confusion surrounding the unusual challenge of his title, but nobody had even considered that he’d lose it.

The tiger suddenly met the white wolf’s blue eyes, letting out a strangled growl. He shifted uncomfortably within the grip of the anaconda. The huge bulk of the snake thumped to the floor as the form within it disappeared. As the snake began to coil its muscles again, a snowshoe hare leapt out from within. Just as the hare's front paws contacted the ground, it shifted again.

Now a great mule deer faced the snake, its vast antlers pointed and sharp. The deer’s was body angled down awkwardly, as its shoulder healed at an odd angle. Ignoring its injuries, it bowed its head and lunged, antlers first, at the great snake. The snake shifted quickly, suddenly awaking from a shocked stupor.

A black bear on its hind legs hit out at the deer and caught it by the antlers, throwing it to the ground. There was a sickening crack as one antler snapped clean off and slid across the rock floor. The Alpha shook itself out, jumping back onto its uneven legs, and shifted into a white tiger once again. Then the bear was gone. The Alpha, injured, angry and embarrassed to have been broken by such a young competitor, took his eye off the ball.

And that was all it took.

In a split second the tiger was on the horn of a large rhino, legs dangling limply in the air. His eyes fell closed, this wound too large to heal. Crimson streaked down the rhino's rough skin as it held the Alpha’s body up like a trophy. The pack fell silent, their leader hanging dead and beaten. The white tiger was flung aside and skidded across the floor, leaving a smear of blood behind it.

Several of the crowd rushed cheering to the victor's side, but most held back, shocked. The white tiger had surely been the one to win. The white wolf stumbled forward, her howl tearing at the hearts of the previous Alpha's supporters. The white wolf shifted into the form of a petite brunette woman, rushing to the tiger's still side.

Tears streamed down her now pale face and she screamed and screamed. Her shaking fingers twisted in the tiger's fur and became slick with blood. There was no use fumbling for a pulse, or dabbing at the wound. He was gone. She pressed her face into the thicker fur at his neck and sobbed. Her body shook violently as her instability made her shift uncontrollably. The woman curled into a ball at the tiger’s side as she shifted painfully and quickly from writhing animal to animal, unable to hold herself together.

With a tall, dark haired man cheering to his victory in the background, the white wolf's heart broke, and it never healed.

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