Pup and Pack

Chapter Six

Helios sighed. "What are you doing, you dingus?"

Bryan looked over his shoulder. "Hey, hey, I know what I'm doing."

"You are a werewolf. You belong on the GROUND, Bryan. Not in the trees!"

Bryan sighed. "I'm just going to take a quick surveillance check, and I'll be back on the ground. I'll have a better viewpoint from up here. It'll take maybe thirty minutes."

"You-"

Without Helios's consent, Bryan kept climbing into the forest canopy. The spirit wolf's nagging voice followed him until he was decently far away from their campsite. 

Bryan found a good place: plenty of strong branches, all close together, and in a way that could support his weight. He had left his harness, his treasure-hunting kit, his jacket, and even his belt back with Helios. Anything to make himself as light as possible. 

He took off running. The branches were just enough to support him for a brief time while he ran, surveying the ground while he went. This was his neck of the woods, where he knew every tree and rock like old friends. He knew what he was doing.

After ten minutes, he was about ready to turn back and head back to Helios when a noise caught his ears. He looked below him and couldn't believe his eyes. 

A werewolf was right beneath him. A man in his late twenties-early thirties. He had brown hair, streaked with red in the front. He wore brown pants, a long-sleeved white shirt, brown boots, and some kind of ridiculous hat that blocked his face from view. Bryan sniffed. When he did, he nearly fell out of the canopy.

An amazing smell was hitting his nostrils. Some kind of mixture of cinnamon, cologne, and, was that fresh deer meat?

He shook his head. He had a trespasser to deal with, he didn't have time to dwell on incredible smells. He crouched down and waited. His ears weren't twitched, his tail was perfectly straight. He was ready to pounce. 

When the other werewolf was directly beneath him, Bryan pounced. He landed on top of him and pinned him to the tree he had just been in. The other werewolf fought him off, scratched him across the chest, and drew blood. Bryan counter-attacked, biting him in the neck and pushing him on the ground.

The two werewolves tussled for about twenty minutes. Neither of them could beat the other. They were equally strong and fast and lucky. 

Finally, Bryan got a lucky break, where the other werewolf didn't guard his neck and left a clear opening. The younger werewolf lunged and pinned him. He got his first good look at his opponents' face. It was scarred from years of fighting and training, and his eyes looked like they could kill with a look. He was terrifying and beautiful at the same time.

The older werewolf's eyes widened.

"Pup?" he whispered.

Bryan couldn't believe it. "Alpha?"