Her head started to throb, and she realized that it was wrapped in a bandage, as was her right foreleg. She yawned and realized that there was someone nestled up against her shoulder. Shanaea looked down and saw Tiembe sleeping, his head against her sholder. He had stitches from his shoulder to half-way up his neck. Though the stitches looked bad, he looked a lot better than he did last night. Doc had washed all the blood off of him and dressed a few other small wounds, and he looked much better this morning. Shanaea smiled and tapped him on the head with her paw. Tiembe’s eyes fluttered open and he smiled. “Shanaea?” Then he tried to jump up, suddenly realizing where he was. He fell to the floor and winced. “I’m sorry Shanaea, I guess I was just tired and… Shanaea smiled. “It’s alright. I don’t mind.” “You don’t?” He asked. She shook her head. “No, it’s fine.” He smiled. “…feeling better this morning?” She smiled back at him and nodded. “…you?” He nodded and yawned. “I was worried about you last night.” “Oh, and why’s that?” Shanaea asked. “…last night, as we came into town you passed out, I had to keep you from falling off the sled.” “I don’t remember that.” Shanaea said. “Doc said you had a concussion.” Tiembe said. “Are you sure you’re okay?” She smiled. “Yeah, I’m fine.” “…good.” Tiembe said. He yawned again. “…tired?” Shanaea asked. He nodded. “Yeah, haven’t slept well in a while.” “Well I’ll let you get some sleep then.” Shanaea said. Tiembe nodded. “Thanks.” He laid down about two feet from her and curled up, ready to fall asleep. Shanaea stood and her vision swam. “…got to be careful about that.” She thought, as she struggled to remain balanced. Slowly Shanaea walked over to Tiembe and laid down beside him, resting her head on his back. He looked at her and smiled. She smiled back at him and yawned. The two dogs closed their eyes and soon they were both drifting off to sleep. Chapter 5 Dash was walking through the woods, thinking of June. She was sick, and had been for some time. Dash was getting older and he was coming to realize that life was passing him by at an incredible rate. He’d done a lot in his life, trading the easy luxurious life of a pet in Nome for the hard and dangerous life of a wolf in the wild. He had no regrets, not of the many times he’d been forced to kill in the defense of his pack, not in anything. He’d come to realize that if death knocked on his door, he was ready, and he would face him with a steady gaze. Dash was thankful for all that he’d been able to enjoy, his family, his pack, his life, and he lived every day as if it were his last, something he’d realized was sometimes all too true for a wolf in the wild. His thoughts turned to Shasta then. “…odd,” He thought. “I thought I’d dealt with that.” Though he would never truly forget her, he hadn’t thought of her for a while now. There were good memories there, things that made him smile. The birth of his children was a big one… but then a tear rolled out of his eye as the memory of her murder at the paws of Steele and Shade surfaced… Dash shook his head and cleared his mind of the memory. This was no time to get sentimental. He couldn’t afford to be distracted by thoughts of the past. He looked behind him at the wolves who were following behind him. “Strange,” he thought, “when I was a pup if you’d told me that eight years later I’d be leading a group of wolves on a search and destroy mission I’d have said you were insane.” Dash’s mind drifted back to the mission at hand. The clan had been getting attacked regularly here lately by a small group of guerilla warriors. They were wolves, Dash had seen the three that had been killed the night before, but they were very good, and very fierce fighters. Those three never gave up, even after they’d been told to surrender. The three of them attacked thirty of the Talbourne’s security force. “…suicide.” Dash thought. “To their credit they fought well, and to the last, never giving up… they were well trained… but they attack in such small groups, almost as if their only intent was to harass us. Whatever their intent, Saba now had them all out scouring the countryside trying to locate and eliminate the small forces. Dash thought she was leaving the cave too undefended, but she hadn’t asked his advise, and it wasn’t his place to tell her any different. She was an Alpha, he was a soldier. He took orders. It was still strange for Dash to think of his little sister as his Alpha. He was also worried. Saba had performed well in times of peace, but she had very little experience when dealing with war and conflict. Saba had not chosen this path when she was young, she still had the “pet” mentality sometimes. Aleu had grown up in the care of these wolves, had been their leader for a long time, and they would follow her to the death, but Saba… Saba didn’t have much experience, and especially with the cunning this new enemy had shown he was afraid she might not measure up. Dash sighed and stepped over a branch, careful not to make a sound. “…I hope everything goes well…” He thought. Suddenly he froze. There was a single wolf out there, in the clearing ahead. The other wolves sensed the change in their leader as he went into kill mode, shifting from a concerned Lieutenant to a leader focused on one thing and one thing only, the elimination of the enemy. The wolves knew the routine, and had rehearsed it well. They fanned out and moved into a crescent formation. Dash turned and nodded once, then ran toward the intruder, catching the wolf off guard and slamming him to the ground. Dash was on top of the wolf in seconds. “Who are you?” Dash demanded. “…does it matter?” The wolf asked, a shocked look on his face. “It does if you want to remain in one piece.” Dash said coldly. “Okay,” the wolf said. “I’m a traveler, just wondering around, looking for a home actually.” “What clan are you from?” Dash asked, still not trusting the stranger. “I used to be with the Highland Clan, out by the coast, they were massacred though, a bit at a time, by some small groups of wolves. I was tracking them when…” The wolf stopped and a pain filled look came over his eyes. Dash knew that look. “Okay,” Dash said. He stepped off of the stranger and the wolf got to his feet. “Sorry about the rough reception.” Dash said. “We’re searching for the very wolves you spoke of, they’re attacking our clan as well.” “They made it this far inland already?” The wolf asked. Dash nodded. “…apparently so, at least a cell of them have. What do they want?” The wolf shrugged. “I don’t know, to kill it seems.” Dash nodded. “You said you were looking for a home?” The wolf nodded. “…mine was taken from me.” Dash nodded again. “I’m sorry friend.” The wolf sighed. “…yeah.” “I can take you back to our clan if you’d like. It’s hardly safe to be out here by yourself, and if you like it, I’m sure we’d accept you.” The wolf smiled. “I’d like that very much.” “My name is Dash,” Dash said. “…and you are?” “Jack.” The wolf said. Dash smiled. “We’re only about ten miles from the cave Jack. We’ll take you back there.” Jack nodded. “Thank you Dash.” “Hey Ami?” Dash said. A small gray female ran up. Though she was small, Ami had to be one of the fiercest fighters Dash had seen, and her loyalty was unquestionable. He’d quickly chosen her for his second in command within the unit. “Yes sir?” She asked, walking over to him. “How many times do I have to tell you Ami? it’s Dash.” “…at least once more sir.” Ami said. Dash smiled. “I want you to take command of the unit, lead them on around the circle, and then bring them back to the cave. I’m going to escort our new friend here to the cave, alright?” “Yes sir.” She said. “Good, get to it.” Dash said. Julian returned to the unit and began giving them the order to move out. He turned to Jack. “If you’ll follow me I’ll lead you there.” Jack nodded. “Thank you again.” “No problem.” Dash said. Then he began to walk away, the new wolf trailing slightly behind. Kodi ducked under a low hanging branch laden with snow and hopped over the log in front of him. "...so," Jack said, following beside him. "you... uh... don't look like a natural wolf Dash... I mean, no offense or anything, but... are you?" Dash smiled. "No, I'm not one hundred percent wolf, I'm half husky." "Ah..." Jack said. "...so, um... how'd you get in with these wolves?" Dash sighed. "...actually Jack, I'd prefer not to go too far down that road..." Jack nodded. "...it was a girl... wasn't it?" Dash nodded. "....and you've since lost her, hm?" Dash looked up surprised and nodded. "How can you tell that?" Jack sighed. "I recognized the look on your face... mine holds it as well." The wolf paused. "How long has it been for you Dash?" Dash sighed. "I guess... almost two years now. ...seems like yesterday I fell asleep beside her for the last time..." "If you don't mind me asking, how'd it happen?" Jack asked as the two continued through the woods. Dash sighed again. "...Shade took over a husky from the nearby town of Nome... and... and she was murdered by him." "I'm truly sorry." Jack said. Dash smiled briefly. "...thanks." The two walked in silence for a moment. "Hey Jack, how long has it been for you?" Dash asked. Jack sighed and Dash saw a sadness there that he could identify with all too closely. "...three days." Jack said. Dash stopped walking. "...three days?" He said. "It... it happened three days ago?" Jack nodded. "Damn..." Dash said. "...I'm... I'm real sorry Jack. I.... I didn't know." Jack smiled slightly. "I didn't really expect you to." "How'd it happen?" Dash asked. Jack sighed and thought back to that horrible day... "Hey

Previous Page

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15

Next page