The Pack Chapter 6 - - Rage
"When we are children we seldom think about the future. This innocence leaves us free to enjoy ourselves as few adults can. The day we fret about the future is the day we leave our childhood behind." -- Patrick Rothfuss (The Name of the Wind)
Standing in the door way of our room I silently watch him sleep. Staring at him it was hard to imagine the monster beneath his soft skin. As I turned to walk from the door way a faint whimper escaped him. Somewhere deep inside I think he knew my intentions. I shifted silently and padded softly out the door to be greeted by more than the rising sun. Luke was leaning on the railing with his back to me but I could sense his body was like a coiled snake, he must know. "Going somewhere, runt?" He whispered ever so slightly without turning. Coming to my feet I replied with a weak determination, "Out for a walk. I... I couldn't sleep", he moved faster than I thought someone could. His lips brushed my ear as I felt the heat of his breath and a slight growl rumble deep in his chest. He could smell my fear, hell I could smell my fear. "A walk, Well don't go too far; hunters might mistake you for a normal wolf." As I pulled away gave what I took as a warning. "If you get lost we `will' find you, don't worry." Once past the tree line I ran as fast as I could into the deep forest. I needed to make a lot of time between myself and the house before Luke told them I ran away or they figured it out. Time seemed the pass like a blur as I ran for three days, stopping only for water and sleep. As the fourth night set in I could barely move faster than a trot, I shifted back to my boy self and slumped under a fallen tree. In less than a moment sleep claimed me. "Cody please understand. Everything in nature eats others to survive in one way or another. People eat their cows and chickens and never wonder about the living animal they just had grilled and fried. They have become removed from it all living a life of hidden ignorance. We are Werewolves. The flesh of a human is a necessary part of our diet sweetie. I know it can and will be hard, but I will be there to help you through it" I stared at him now for the monster he was rather than the boy I fell in love with. "But what if I don't want to go through with it, what if I won't." My eye's searching him for salvation. "You have no choice... I've seen what happens to a wolf who does feed; you and I both don't want that." He began to tear, "You will or the wolf inside you could kill all of us if youy hunger goes that far." The light crack of a twig woke me with a start. The early morning mist clung to the dark places trying in vein to stay. A red-brown wolf came into view. "No Matt, please just leave me alone to die." My voice was horse and exhausted. Time slowed for me as it went fast for everything else. Matt started to move towards me when a shot rang out. It caught him in the hind quarters and sent him rolling into a tree. My mind stopped and froze that image into my head as a camouflaged hunter came out of the brush towards me. "You ok son?" It was all he could make out before I screamed. My whole body shook and convulsed banging into the ground as the change slammed into me with a force strong enough to break all of my bones. The muscles in me ripped apart as blood began to seep from my pours. Rage was all I could think. So beautiful and most terrible of all emotions it stormed across me like freezing water. I embraced the beast in me as ebony fur ripped across my skin. My body became a hulking frame of a deadly monster. My roar sang to the beast in me as trees were sent shattered and flying in all directions. The putrid smell of rotting earth and tree sap filled my lungs and my blood burned like liquid fire. I looked down at the cowering hunter who face was white. I smelled his piss and fear as he attempted to raise the still warm gun. He shot at me but I ignored it as it passed through the meat of my arm. I was death and nothing would stop me. My body shot forward as I tore away his arms. His screams were music to my ears as he fell back giving me a clean shot at my prize. I easily ripped his clothing and now bare chest and tore open his rib-cage then began to feast upon his organs. As I finished my gore, I turned to face Matt's pale frightened face. I inhaled the addictive rank fear radiating off his quivering body. I let out a low growl as the other came in to view behind him, but were stopped in their tracks. Their blood drained faces gave me pleasure. "Cody.", Matt croaked wearily, "We aren't going to hurt you. I'm alright. Please look at me and see I'm going to live. Listen to my voice and it will anchor you, let it go lover." He cooed to me. The shock of what I had done sunk in. My blood soaked body quivered and shrank as I collapsed to me knees. Matt caught me before I ended up face first into the ground. It was then I looked around realized what I had done. The area around me was destroyed; there were broken trees, blood, and fur everywhere. What was left of the hunter lay in front of me. Shredded blood soaked clothing and an unrecognizable pile of flesh and bones. What have I done was all I could think about as the sweet darkness clamed me. I smelled Matt's musky fur as I awoke. Small streams of light escaped the thick dilapidated drapes. My body felt truly alive for the first time in my life and the distant thunder of my rage waited for me in the darkness. "Will it always be there?" I asked a hidden Justin. He came around the bed into view looking far more aged than the last time I saw him. "No. Those few of us who have touched it will be sensitive to it. You will have to learn how to control it so you can call it at will." Naturally I would have protested but instead something in me accepted it. My lack of retort gave him a smile. Matt stirred with a large jowly yawn as he shifted to meet my face and gave me a big slobbery kiss across my face. As he shifted back I planted my own morning kiss upon his beckoning lips. "Don't leave me again..." "I wont, ever." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Sir, this is a closed crime scene you can't be here without proper identification," Said a pale face officer. The light rain of the northwest had begun to annoy Detective Douglas Mainer as he flashed his FBI badge to the backwater cop. "I'm with the FBI let me pass." The man, boy really, nodded and stumbled back to let the detective through. The air smelled like iron which told him there was a lot of blood. As he waded past all the broken trees he began to take mental notes of the paw prints. His sneer grew as he reached to epicenter of this particular gory sight. Wolves for sure he thought as the pile of putrid flesh came into full view. Motioning for the local boys he brought out his note pad and gloves. "Tell me what you know gentlemen." The bigger one who, of course, was in charge raised his hand like a school boy. "Sir uh well we had a report of a missing hunter in the area so we sent out some local guys to search the woods for the guy when one of them found this," He said point at the remains. "And?" "Well we got word there was um some body parts or whatever so we called in the more experienced guys from the next county over and they uh said it was human remains and not to move them till y'all showed up." The Rage in Mainer's mind flared. The stupidity he thought, what careless whelp made such a mess? As he calmed himself so reason could take root. Find and destroy that was his mission and he was the best at it. "Well gentlemen... it wasn't a human who did this. Look at the teeth and claw marks, it was a wolf probably. Maybe a pack..." Yes... a pack such a find he would to keep secret from the others. They were rare and hard to catch because of the numbers but it made there capture and or death a rather large promotional advancement. His smug face betrayed him for a moment as his normally light brown eye's turned black with distain for the walking food around him. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ So... what do you think?? It's been a while since I've added to The Pack but I felt this would be an interesting but hopefully not corny turn of events... Hope you liked it and I'll try and post another soon.