Chapter 9: Capture and Rescue

Cattail followed Owl with increasingly hesitant steps.  At first it had seemed like just a funny joke, like Owl had said.  But Cattail had started to realize what the true result of her adventuring would be.  The moment she crossed the Stone Pack border, she knew she should turn back.  But before she could voice this, three, huge, male wolves leapt on her from behind.  Her startled cry was stifled as one brought his heavy paw down on her head.  A dull thump sounded as her unconscious body hit the ground.  Bone, who was one of the three, picked her up by the scruff, and carried her off to the Stone Pack camp.  Owl melted into the undergrowth, heading toward a remote section of Stone Pack territory.  A small shadow rose from the brush and followed the three on silent paws.

*   *   *   *   *

“Pond?”  Star was startled.  Why would Pond leave?

Pine nodded.  “She didn’t answer, and no one can remember seeing her after Owl left with Cattail.”

Star thought for a moment, then spoke, “I think Pond knew that Owl was up to no good, so she followed them.  I suppose she’s in Stone territory now, either captured or hiding in the brush.”  She turned to Thunder.  “Brother, I think the smartest course of action would be just to stay put.  I don’t think the pups will come to any harm, and search parties, especially small ones, are out of the question.”

River, who had just entered, didn’t agree.  “Why couldn’t we just invade Stone Pack territory, storm the camp, and rescue my daughters?  We beat them once, we can do it again.”

Thunder gritted his teeth, but managed to stay patient.  “Yes, we did beat them; however, we lost Lightning, Holly, and Rain, plus lots of injuries and we only won because of the timely interruption of the Strangers.  Our Pack is still too small to face the Stone Pack in battle.”

River grumbled a bit, but since Thunder was the Alpha, she gave in to the logic of Star’s plan and announced to the Pack that no one was to leave Camp at all.  Thunder posted sentries all around the Camp.

*   *   *   *   *

“Blaze, come here,” Bone commanded.  Vale followed the two males at a distance with her ears pricked.  She heard every word they said.

“Yes, Bone?”  Blaze said in a submissive voice.

“Listen, I have a job for you.  See, this little pup from Forest Pack wondered into our territory.  A patrol wolf knocked her out, and we need someone to guard her, while the rest of the Pack goes hunting.”

“But, Bone, I’m the Beta.  Shouldn’t you leave someone else so that I can go on the hunt?”

There was a hint of a growl in Bone’s voice.  “Are you questioning my orders, Blaze?”

“No, sir, I’m just asking why—“

“Do as your told, little Blaze!”  Bone practically shouted at him.  “Or you may find that bad things reward disobedience!”  Blaze’s eyes were wide with shock as Bone stalked away.  The shock turned to anger, and the anger mixed with fear as he wondered what Bone had in store for him.

Vale walked up to Blaze after Bone was gone.

“You heard all that, didn’t you, Vale?”

“Yes, I did.  It sounds a lot like what Stone did to me.”

Vale had already told Blaze her tragic story about how Stone had framed her.  “Well, he does want to ‘remove me’, remember?  I don’t know what his plans are, but they can’t be good.”

“I agree.  What should we do?”

Blaze smiled at Vale.  “You do nothing.  It’s me he’s after, right?  You pose no threat in his mind, and we don’t want that to change, now do we?”

Vale snorted.  “Well, I’d rather suffer the same fate as you than sit around here while Bone tries to ‘woo me in’.”

“But there is no need for you to risk your life—“

Vale cut him off.  “Shh, here comes Bone!”  She melted into the shadows and hid under a bush so she could hear the exchange.

Bone swaggered up to Blaze, a big male wolf following him.  The big wolf, whose name was Falcon, was carrying a small brown pup.

“If she comes to, just give her another whack,” Bone said haughtily.

Falcon spoke up, “Alpha, I’d like permission to stay and watch the little pup with Blaze.”  Falcon’s brother, Hawk, stalked up and shot his bulky brother a scathing glance.  The two were nearly identical, except for the fact that Hawk had a permanent sneer, while Falcon was much friendlier.  The brothers were actually Blaze’s cousins.

“You idiot, Falcon,” Hawk sneered.  “Why would you want to miss a great hunt to look after some Forest-brat with Blaze.”  Hawk accented Blaze’s name with contempt.  He did not like Blaze at all, while Falcon was friendlier with him.

Falcon bristled, but before he could say anything, Bone interrupted.

“Falcon, I was going to forbid you anyway, so there’s no point in arguing.  We need you to smell the prey out.”

“But Blaze is much better at sniffing than I am,” Falcon protested.

Hawk exploded on his brother, “You bumbling numskull!  You idiotic moose-brain!  You doodle-tailed frog-eater!  You don’t talk back to an Alpha that pays you a compliment!”

Vale’s eyes widened, as did those of Blaze.  Bone broke out into hearty laughter, while Hawk sneered at his brother.  Falcon had embarrassment and anger pasted all over his face.  Hawk joined Bone in laughter, and it took them a considerable while to get over their mirth.

“He’s right you know, Falcon,” Bone laughed.  He suddenly turned aggressive, pushing himself into Falcon’s face.  “You can come with us and be a good little Pack-member, or you can stay here.  Permanently.”  Falcon backed down.  No one argued with Bone when he was in a killing mood.

“Yes, Alpha,” Falcon murmured quietly.

Bone smiled meanly. “Now that we have that settled, we can leave immediately.”  He looked at Falcon.  “Carry that pup over to the main den and drop her in.”  His next words were directed at Blaze.  “Like I said, if she wakes just send her back to sleep.  Don’t talk to her, and most importantly, don’t let her get away.  I’ll send a patrol to return her later, but we have to go hunting right now.”  His stare challenged anyone in the clearing to contradict his words.  No one did.

Hawk looked up.  “Why give her back at all?  We could use her for bargaining powers or we could just raise her as a Stone.”

Bone flashed a twisted smile at Hawk.  “I like the way you think, Hawk.  Now let’s go hunt!”

Vale was thinking hard trying to come up with a scheme that would allow her to be with Blaze.  Then, suddenly, it hit her.  She got up and rounded the bushes.  She approached Bone and the others from the direction of the camp, trying hard to look innocent.

“Why is there a little pup here?”  Vale sniffed her.  “She doesn’t smell like Stone Pack.”

Bone tried to plant a coy, innocent look on his face, but it only succeeded in making himself look completely out of character.  “She just wandered into our territory.  She’s from the Forest Pack.  We’re going hunting soon.  Won’t you join us, Vale?”

Vale smiled and shook her head.  “I already ate a few rabbits while I was patrolling.”  She nudged Cattail’s limp form.  “Maybe I could stay here and watch her for you, or go patrolling to make sure no other pups wander in?  A Forest Pack patrol could be following her scent trail right now.”  She smiled, crookedly because of the Mark of the Loner running across her face.  “I could hold the patrol off, while, say this big wolf here, ran off to get you,” she said, nodding to Falcon.

Bone looked annoyed, but Falcon looked happy at the chance to get away from his brother and Bone.  “She’s probably right, we do need someone to guard the border,” Falcon spoke up hastily. 

Bone gave him a withering glance, and replied, “Oh, they probably won’t even notice that she is gone.”

“But how do you know?” Vale asked.

Bone grumbled a bit, then smiled at Vale again.  He said, “Of course, Vale, do what you feel is best.  But do you really want to take Falcon with you?  Hawk is a better fighter.”

Vale shook her head and smiled sweetly.  “No, I’ll go with Falcon, he looks capable enough.  You’ll probably need Hawk on the hunt anyway.”

Blaze had stayed quiet the whole time.  He didn’t want unneeded attention.  Bone turned to him and commanded, “Now, you stay in that cave with the pup, and I don’t want to catch your scent anywhere outside the cave.”  Blaze nodded, and picked the pup up and carried her to the cave.  Vale and Falcon set off in the direction of the border, while Hawk and Bone followed Blaze back to the cave.  The small shadow again rose from the brush, not 5 yards away from where Vale had been hiding, and trailed the three males to their camp.

*   *   *   *   *

The moment the Bone was