Married to the Mountain Wolf, page 12
part #4 of Mountain Wolf Protectors Series
Under the thick dim shade of the forest trees, Nova’s black and silver coat was barely visible as he darted in a three-legged sprint around low hanging branches and fallen tree trunks. Even injured, his movements were fluid and instinctual, his hurt leg barely factoring into his proficiency. He was in charge of tracking scent while Nemoy used wilderness tracking skills in human form to check broken branches and crushed leaves for a fresh visual trail.
Nova was pretty sure that he had caught wind of a fairly recent trail made by Callahan, but given how close they were to his house and compound as a whole, Callahan could have run through the trees several times that day and Nova would never have known. But despite this fact, he kept following the fresh trail closely, bounding off deeper into the trees and hoping for the best. Nemoy followed suit behind him.
As they ventured further into the winding expanse of woodlands, other wolf scents began to weave and intertwine with the trail Nova was following. He stopped short for Nemoy to catch up, and then rooted his nose in the damp cool leaves on the ground.
Nemoy looked in the direction he pointed. “If you’re asking if I found a visual to track, yes and no. There’s definitely been some activity here recently—within a few hours, at least—but it’s not exactly a trail.” He took another glance around the area he was standing in. “It’s like this entire area was trampled through; too many trails to see where one ends and the other begins.” Nemoy shrugged hopelessly. “Maybe this is where they get in their exercise as a pack. Maybe they’re planning to ambush us and are terrible at covering their asses. Who knows?” he finished with a frustrated sigh. Nova huffed, feeling much the same way. But wait… since it was a trail that was too difficult to follow, then there was also a good chance that Callahan might be using it to throw them off…
Hopeful once more, Nova took off in the direction that the scent medley flowed.
The trail party was lengthy and vast, oftentimes branching off in a small bundle of three or four scents before converging with the mass of ten to fifteen scents once more. It threw Nova off the main trail many times, to both his and Nemoy’s chagrin, but after some effort and both of their tracking skills, they were ultimately able to stay on the core path.
Eventually, their persistence paid off, and it seemed like all of the scents Nova had logged in his mind all led in a straight path forward. The path charged straight for a break in the trees where it opened into a field. In the moist dirt a few steps from his paws was the heavy footprint of a large man that was much too tired to properly mask his trail. He turned to alert Nemoy, but his brother was nowhere to be found. Figuring his brother found his own lead to pursue, he gave a light bark to let Nemoy know that he found something, soft enough so that it wouldn’t carry past the trees, and then took a tentative first step forward.
He moved slowly and with purpose, making sure his advance was completely soundless as he inched closer to the tree line. Compared to the heavy cover of the forest, the field was blinding in its brightness, the sun free to shine at its brightest down into the grass. Nova squinted his eyes and took another step. Finally he was at the edge of the trees, and what he saw made him jump into action almost before thinking.
At the far edge of the field opposite Nova, Callahan Vann was crouched in the shallow shade of the tree line as well, almost completely shifted into the massive russet wolf that Nova knew he could become. With a roar, Nova launched himself out into the field, charging fearlessly at Callahan with a speed that only a shifter could achieve.
Callahan was nearly finished with the change, the last tufts of tannish red fur springing up over his body, when he noticed Nova descending upon him. Nova saw shock and maybe a bit of fear flash in his eyes, possibly worried for a moment that he may not finish the shift in time to evade Nova’s pursuit. Unfortunately, Nova wasn’t fast enough in the end; Callahan barely finished the shift as Nova cleared the tree line, narrowly diving out of the way as Nova’s final bound landed right there he’d been shifting less than a second before.
In his haste to catch the Valley Alpha, Nova neglected to check his balance distribution and landed on his injured paw. He tried to hide his pain, but the yelp that escaped his muzzle betrayed him. He recovered quickly, redirecting his chase towards the newly changed wolf that had stopped momentarily to observe him. As soon as Callahan noticed Nova’s pursuit was on again, he took off back into the forest in a blur of red and brown.
They were soon deep enough in the forest that the thick leaves of the trees blocked out nearly all of the sun. Without the light glinting off the red highlights of Callahan’s fur, the Alpha shook Nova easily enough.
Frustrated, Nova halted his sprint, knowing that moving further would only succeed in getting him lost in an unfamiliar forest. This was Callahan’s home. Nova knew he was at a disadvantage from the jump; he needed to stop running around aimlessly and wait for the Alpha to reveal himself. So in the darkness of the forest shade he stood completely still, lightly favoring his injured paw, and waited.
It wasn’t long before Callahan took the bait. Out of the corner of his eye, Nova caught a glimpse of russet blurring through the dim forest air. Sadly, Callahan was expertly soundless for a wolf his size; even with planning, it proved too difficult for Nova to react precisely. The large wolf arced downward toward Nova, his sharp fangs grazing the tender, swollen meat of Nova’s injured arm before he could dodge the attack.
Agony radiated down the damaged arm, causing Nova to yelp. He smelled the stark, fresh scent of his own blood as he danced gingerly backwards, absolutely sure to put no pressure on the weakened appendage. If we wasn’t at a disadvantage before, we certainly was now. Nova had a moment of gratefulness that he was able to react quickly enough before Callahan could latch down completely onto the broken limb, taking another step back as he tried to formulate another plan.
He wasn’t sure if he’d be able to outrun any wolf let alone their Alpha in his current state, but he had no other options. He had to try, so with a deep breath, he turned on his heel and took off as fast as his three-legs and excruciating pain would let him. A roar sounded behind, loud and anticipatory, closely followed by the heavy, eager pounding of really large paw prints. Nova knew without a doubt that it wouldn’t be long before Callahan Vann caught up with him.
He managed to evade a few of Callahan’s sloppy dives, zigzagging hither and thither to keep his movements random, but with every leap, his enemy drew closer. Every snap of Callahan’s jaws caught more of Nova’s tail fur; every swipe of his massive paw tripped his three-legged gait up further. Nova wouldn’t last much longer. He needed an out, anything to give him a break, and fast. Damn it, where the hell was Nemoy!
The deadly game of tag finally took its toll on Nova. As he leapt to sail over a mossy log, his injured paw didn’t raise high enough, clipping the soft green off the wood and he toppled end over end into the muddy forest floor. Callahan howled a conquering bay to the leaves above, soaring expertly over the log to land directly in front of where Nova lay dazed in the dirt.
He stalked leisurely over to the fallen wolf, relishing in his catch. As Nova glared exhausted eyes up at the cruel Alpha, he felt the first stirrings of fear. Not fear that he’d die, which was probably almost certain as well, but fear of what Callahan would do to him before the killing. He feared for the rest of his pack and how they were faring. Even if they’d somehow pulled ahead against Callahan’s followers, Nova wasn’t sure if they’d be able to best the Alpha. He worried about Amara and how Callahan had taken a special liking to her. What was it with Vann men and his woman?
He wouldn’t be able to protect his love from the Valley wolves like he promised, after all. Succumbing to his fate, he closed his eyes to prepare for Callahan’s torture, hoping beyond hope that maybe Nemoy could find him in time.
The suffering came swiftly and without hesitation. Almost immediately after the darkness of Nova’s eyelids descended, his damaged paw ignited in a volcano of absolutely excruciating pain. He didn’t bother to bite back his cry this time, the wail high, loud, and filled with anguish as Callahan yanked, jerked, and dragged him paw first across the forest floor. His fangs bit into the soft flesh of Nova’s frail forearm and the pain was unbearable to the point where he began to feel the beginnings of passing out. His vision began to fray and he welcomed the sweet release of oblivion.
In his semi-consciousness, Nova nearly missed the streak of jet black fur as it flew through the air, colliding hard against the side of Callahan’s flank. With a yelp, Callahan went toppling sideways, releasing his bloody hold on Nova’s limp arm. As Nova struggled to become alert once more, he could just barely make out Nemoy in the dim forest light as he pressed a firm paw into the tender under-meat of Callahan’s neck. One wrong move from the enemy alpha, and Nemoy’s razor sharp claws would sever something important.
Slowly but surely, Nova rose to his paws, letting the lone injured one drag limply along the cool and soothing leaves of the floor. He stalked somberly over to the felled Alpha, eyes still struggling to focus against the throbbing of his front limb.
Nemoy breathed a concerned whimper, tilting his nose at Nova’s paw, but Nova huffed in dismissal. He’d worry about his own wounds once Callahan wasn’t alive to worry about anything at all. The alpha was the priority. If they cut off the head of the snake, the rest of the body didn’t matter no matter how much bigger it was than theirs.
Suddenly, Callahan bucked with a vigor that Nova didn’t expect given the risky position he was in. Sure enough, Nemoy’s sharp claws drew a long gash that spilled blood, but he’d also slipped far enough from the prime killing position that Callahan could safely fight back without risking further injury.
Nemoy tried to right himself in time, but Callahan resisted once more, successfully throwing Nemoy off his frame. Both Alphas rose in unison facing off against one another with deadly fangs flashing. Nova wasn’t sure if he could ignore the pain in his arm well enough to be of any further use. He contemplated letting Nemoy face off against Callahan alone, but he couldn’t stop a sliver of doubt from entering his mind. After what he’d just endured, was leaving his brother to fend for himself against this monster of a wolf a good idea?
Callahan had a pretty sizable wound on his neck now, dripping blood at a steady pace onto the forest floor. If he didn’t get it patched up soon, he wouldn’t last much longer. But was it enough to risk letting Nemoy go in solo? Callahan was also insane. He could probably fight through levels of shock unimaginable to Nova or his brother. No one knew the Valley Alpha’s limits, and that’s what made him so terrifying. As panicked contemplation locked Nova in place, the piercing bay of three howls echoed throughout the forest. They were close.
They were Valley.
In the span of a few seconds, Nova’s decision was made. They had until Callahan’s reinforcements arrived to kill the Alpha. As if all three wolves had made their decisions at once, they launched at each other in a fit of snarls and growls.
There was no strategy to Nova’s attacks. He bit and clawed and tore whenever Callahan was close enough to be harmed. He charged the enemy’s flank to knock him off balance, hopefully giving Nemoy some sort of edge. He ignored the fire shooting up his forepaw as he carelessly leaned on it or unthinkingly tried to attack with it. He didn’t think about what to do next, he didn’t think about what to do better. He didn’t think about what could have possibly happened back in the compound that would award Callahan a few extra soldiers to aid him. In that moment, he was all instinct. This was their only chance to win, and the window of opportunity was small. So he fully embraced the full extent of the Shifter genes within him and fought with every last bit of energy that he could muster.
In one untied motion, Nova dropped low, lunging and snapping at Callahan’s hind legs from behind as Nemoy darted for the Alpha’s throat. Callahan nimbly dashed to the side, narrowly missing the fangs that would have torn his already bad wound into something fatal, but not before Nova triumphantly sank his teeth home deep into the flesh and tendon of his Achilles. Callahan’s pained yelp was frenzied and wild, and he thrashed irrationally to break away from Nova’s vice, to no avail. Blood ran warm down Nova’s muzzle, and he relished in the feeling.
Eyes filled with alarm, Callahan quickly contorted his upper body around in an attempt to snap at Nova’s face. He managed to reach just far enough, snagging off the tip of his pointed ear before Nemoy intercepted him. Nova tore away from the Achilles as he stepped back to maximize the damage. Callahan let out a roar as he jumped away. He landed heavily on the severely injured hind paw, causing more blood to flow. He was breathing heavily and fast, eyes crazily darting from Nova to his brother. Nova thought he might be reaching his limit finally, and was exultantly assured of it when Callahan drunkenly staggered on his paws. But the fight wasn’t over yet. Even as they stared down the weakened and bloodied Valley Alpha, the footfalls of his comrades come ever closer. They thundered against the damp leaves and mosses, vibrating the forest floor for miles around like a little controlled earthquake. They weren’t far off.
Nemoy and Nova exchanged one final look, and in unison, they charged Callahan with what was sure to be their final chance at victory. Nemoy when high, Nova went low, but miraculously, Callahan still had the strength to leap out of reach of both wolves. Nova couldn’t help but be in awe of Callahan Vann’s strength. He couldn’t help but be terrified of it either. The brother retaliated quickly, launching into an identical attack. Again, Callahan dodged backwards.
Nova heard the panting breaths of the Valley wolves, though he could not see them yet, and in a desperate attempt, he leapt a third time. Callahan dodged Nova’s attack again, but this time his hind leg finally gave way. His jump sent him crashing satisfactorily to the ground in a heap of rusty, blood-spattered fur. As his head connected with the earth, Nemoy shot out in a blur of darkness, speed, and canines. He barely latched his fangs onto the bleeding wound at Callahan’s throat before three tan wolves descended from the air and landed right on top of them.
One wolf caught Nova in his injured shoulder, fangs sinking home in the tender, inflamed meat near his neck and propelling him backward away from the fight. The other two tore angrily at Nemoy as he continued to clamp his jaws around the critical wound on their Alpha’s throat. In a glorious tag-team display of teamwork and panicked ineptitude, the two Valley wolves wrenched violently on Nemoy’s flank as he bounded himself backward with a vicious growl, unintentionally assisting Nova’s brother as he finally and victoriously tore out Callahan Vann’s throat.
With an elated yip, Nova bucked the tan wolf off of his wounded shoulder, the euphoria of the kill momentarily overriding his pain. The five wolves stared at Callahan Vann as thick rivulets of blood coursed from the gaping, mangled gash in his throat. When the blood finally stop flowing, and Callahan lay unmoving and unbreathing forever more, the three tan wolves turned their muzzles skyward and bayed a harrowing song to their pack brothers.
Nova stared down at the glassy eyes of the fallen Alpha as his followers mourned him, and felt nothing but hate.
Nemoy limped toward Nova with no delay in his step despite killing the main enemy, nudging his uninjured shoulder in the direction they’d come from. There was something near or at the compound that Nemoy needed him to get to.
When they were about half way back, Nemoy instructed him to stay put before dashing off.
After a few moments, he returned as a man, his expression appearing more worried than his wolf counterpart. “Go find your clothes and shift back. I don’t know if you heard the red alert howl that Ian sent out, but something bad has happened back at the Valley Clan compound.” Nova knew that red alert howls were only used to signal the Alpha if his mate or family was in danger. No one at the Valley compound could know if Ivanah was in danger or not. Iso was a brother by marriage, but also of higher rank in the Guard. He would get alerts based on that before being family of the Alpha, so that narrowed it down to either their mother, or…
Amara, Nemoy’s new sister-in-law.
Nova’s blood instantly ran cold.
Chapter 19
“Tell me everything about when you saw her last!” Nova shouted at a frightened Ian. He held his injured arm close to his body, the bruise now a dark rainbow of blacks, blues and purples blossoming in painful flowers from his shoulder down to nearly the tips of his fingers. If it wasn’t broken after the fall, well it certainly was now.
Callahan’s death spread quickly throughout the compound, travelling on the melody of sad howls and the backs of mourning wolves. Though the Valley Clan could still fight if they wanted to, news of their Alpha’s defeat drained what little drive they had left and the battle was already beginning to taper off when Nova and Nemoy jogged back over the compound border. Some of the younger pups were crying, lifelong abuse having long since brainwashed them into thinking their late Alpha cared about them. Older wolves who had learned to know better at some point along the way were still solemn, if only for having lost a battle. Pain, suffering, and strife were all the Callahan’s pack knew, and without him to guide them to hate, they’d surely be lost for quite some time.
When signs of battle were pretty much ceased, a small unit of wolves formed together to scale the mountain and check on the Mountain clan compound just in case a few rogue Valley wolves decided to keep causing trouble. Overall, everything seemed to finally be wrapping up in the Mountain Clan’s favor.
Nova wanted nothing more than to bask in the afterglow of this underdog victory, but apprehension pulled every sore, injured, and weary muscle in his body tight with anxiety and caution. His primary job was to protect his people, and yet one of the two people he swore to keep safe above all else was in the greatest danger that anyone could ever bestow to them in the pack. Even in victory, he’d managed to fail.
So though he wanted to reenter the compound boarders in triumphant intimidation and shamelessly show the sad and mourning faces of the Valley Clan why wolves of the Mountain were far superior, when he looked around at their desponded faces as he passed, he could only think about how much he had in common with them that day.
