FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Steel stood beside Dire-Fang as their packs looked up at the abandoned Scruff-Tuft dens. "We should have known the cowardly dogs would flee at our approach," Dire-Fang growled and looked up at Steel.

"We should search the area regardless," Steel said sadly and the wolves split up to look around the abandoned den site.

There was evidence of the coyotes living here until very recently, but the freshest scent any of the wolves could find of them was at least a week old. The dogs had left almost as soon as the two packs had started towards their lands from those of the shadow clan in the southwest.

Dire-Fang was up in the clan mother's den when a savage roar distracted the other wolves from their search. Everyone raced up to the large cave on top of the dens, but only Steel and Red-Tooth dared to go into the chamber. Dire-Fang was staring at something in the back of the cave. It was obviously bedding of some sort, but it wasn't until Steel sniffed at the stuff that he realized what Dire-Fang had smelled.

Sex.

Not the sex between males either, but the sort that occurred between a wolf and a female. "It's Swift-Paw," Dire-Fang said sadly. "I recognize the smell of his seed mixed with the scent of the bitch that lived here at the time."

"You don't think..." Red-Tooth said softly.

"Dire-Fang..." Steel growled, "Swift-Paw is forbidden by gray-wolf law to sire cubs in this world. He would not have broken that law unless there was a dire need!"

"Dire-Fang," Red-Tooth said from the far back corner of the chamber. "There is blood here. It was spilt recently too."

The High-Alpha joined his mate as they sniffed at the bloody patches in the back of the cave. "It's Swift-Paw's blood... and something else," Dire-Fang growled. "By Luna's light, what have they done with our cubs?"

"Steel!" a frantic voice shouted from the entrance to the cave. "They found something down on the other side of the dens!" It was one of the twins, Ruff or Tuff, Steel didn't really know, who had spoken. The three elder wolves joined the rest of their packs on the south side of the den where a large cave sat blocked by a huge bolder.

Before anyone could speak Moon-Song stepped forward. "Hold," she said softly and stepped forward. "There is a powerful enchantment on this stone," she said and placed a paw on huge rock. "Only the strongest of us can enter this chamber without losing most of our magical powers."

It took a while for Steel, Dire-Fang, and Silver to muscle the bolder out of the way, but before too long the way was clear and the wolves stepped into the cave. As soon as they were inside they smelled many confusing scents mixed and mingled together. There was a strange odor that none of the wolves recognized, at least not at first, but under that strange smell was the scent of two scared young wolves. When Dire-Fang and Steel emerged from the cave they had grave looks on their faces. "They were here," Dire-Fang said softly.

"Maybe less than a week ago if we are lucky," Steel added.

"We should hurry then," Silver-Fang said and exchanged a look with his mate who stood ready-to-run beside him. "If we can catch up than we might be able to track them down!"

"No," Steel said and shook his head. "We can't track them with our noses because they did not walk out of this cave, they were carried out," he said with a slight growl in his voice.

"How is that even possible?" Silver asked.

"Do you know about the ape men who live beyond the mountains to the north east?" Steel asked and looked around the two packs. Only Dire-Fang and Moon-Song seemed to know about what he spoke of. "They call themselves the Hazzo. As animals the Hazzo are intelligent and adaptable, but they are better known in the last century for trafficking and trading slaves between species."

"By Luna's light!" Silver said and snarled as he looked around the dens. "I'd sooner trust a shadow-clan dog to guard my back than the treacherous wretches that lived here!"

It was odd to see Brown-Snout step forward with his mate behind him. The two had temporarily joined their high-alpha's pack after vowing not to give up on this hunt. Having the veteran scout along had already proved invaluable, but he rarely spoke at all unless the need was great. "My lords," Brown-Snout said and stepped forward. "There is a way to track the cubs, but it will not be easy!"

Brown-Snout was the only wolf in the group older than Dire-Fang and Moon-Song, but his age did not make him an elder in his clan. "What do you speak of?" Dire-Fang asked and nodded to his new pack mate.

"The ancient hunting rite," Brown-Snout said and at once the three elder wolves understood where he was going with his suggestion, "if we sing the hunting rite correctly Luna will guide us. It will be a long and dangerous journey, but we can find the cubs!"

"My clan lost that song when my parents were killed," Steel said sadly, "I only remember the first verse from when I sang it myself as a young wolf!"

"I know the song, but it can only work if we all sing together. I am not an elder or am I noble, so my voice has no magic..." Brown-Snout knew it was wrong for a wolf to know magical songs when they held no station, but Brown-Snout was old enough to be forgiven for such a thing.

Dire-Fang nuzzled the smaller wolf. Biologically Brown-Snout was his uncle, but only ten years separated the two wolves. "You are in my pack now Brown-Snout. When you run with the high-alpha you are noble!"

Brown-Snout's eyes lit up and he looked at Moon-Song who nodded her agreement before she spoke. "You have served us with unwavering devotion Brown-Snout. You are more than ready to become an elder!" There was no need for Brown-Snout to do more than nod in respect. He knew what needed to be done next. He tilted his head back and poured his soul into the first cord of the hunting rite. It was the first time in nearly forty years the rite had been sung by a gray-wolf or a timber-wolf. The voices of the wolves around him joined in the howl as its magic began to fill the empty coyote dens.

...

** ** It seemed like the two young wolves had been caged forever. Cages were hardly an improvement over their former prison, but at least the air was clean. The strange creatures who cared for the wolves fed and watered them regularly. Walker felt restless despite being pampered. As a human he would have preferred this sort of treatment, but after four years of hunting for his own food the thought of being hand-fed drove him nuts. He wanted to run with his pack and hunt; being shut up in a cage was driving him crazy!

Swift-Paw seemed to be improving since he left the oppressive magic of the cave. The strange dark glyphs carved in his skin had healed by now, but his fur was black where it grew from the scars. Walker wanted so badly to help the other wolf, but he couldn't do anything with paws. At least Swift was talking again. "Walker," the young long-fang said on the morning of their seventh day in the cages.

"Yes," the smaller wolf said softly from under his pack mate.

Swift was sitting on top of his long-fang father. He had been growing ever since he had been turned. It was hard to tell in the cave, but now that they were outside Walker guessed Swift was almost as big as Black-Fang usually was in his wolf form. He was probably just as large as the black-furred wolf when he was in long-fang form too.

Walker was obviously upset. He had been hiding under his pack mate all morning and Swift was worried about his noble charge, "are you still scared Walker?"

"Yes," Walker said and looked up at his new guardian, "I miss our pack... I miss Steel, Silver, Fang, and the twins!"

"Our pack..." Swift said softly and looked at the trees that lined the path they were on. It was a well-hidden path, but that hardly mattered when you weren't leaving any sort of scent trail. The monkey creatures kept fresh grass under the cages. When the grass became too soggy they burned it beside the trail. It was like they knew how to hide their trail from anyone trying to follow them! How would the wolves track them if they couldn't smell them?

"Swift?" Walker said with a soft whine as he laid his head on the larger male's paws. It was a very cub-like thing to do, but Swift didn't mind so long as it was Walker doing it. "Do you think we'll ever get back home?"

"I don't know..." Swift said and shook his head. "I try not to think about it."

The monkey driving their cart hollered in their strange language of hoops and screeches. He didn't seem to like listening to the wolves talk. Walker growled at the monkey, but there was little else he could do. Whether they liked it or not the carts just rolled right along.

Time seemed to roll by at the same pace as the carts. Eventually they left the dense forests and the carts rolled onto a rough mountain road. The farther up into the mountains they got the colder it became. Eventually the steady supply of meat and water ran out, but hungry wolves are not good company. Swift was oddly aggressive when the monkeys didn't feed them. Walker wondered if it had something to do with whatever the coyotes had done to him.

By the eighth day in the carts the monkeys finally reached some sort of city. Walker was the only wolf who probably understood what a city was, but even by human standards this was hardly a civilized place. All sorts of animals and beasts inhabited the strange town. Most were intelligent animals, but they weren't noble or kind like the wolves Walker had met. If anything, the beasts seemed just as dirty and low-born as the coyotes who had captured and sold Walker and Swift.

Walker recognized human features on most of the animals, but some were completely feral like a normal animal would be. It seemed confusing at first that animals could stand on two legs, or even have crude hands, but then again the monkey creatures seemed to be more than capable of building things. Why not have cows and dogs that stood on hooves and paws as they tottered around the odd city. After reaching the city the carts proceeded to a huge wooden building where the cages were quickly unloaded. Up until now Walker hadn't been able to see any of the other cages, but he realized they were full of animals just like himself. Intelligent wild animals that were nothing like the ugly humanized beasts that walked around the cages poking and prodding them.

One particularly ugly cow-man stopped beside Walker and Swift's cage. His huge horned bovine head was grotesquely disfigured by whatever had given him arms and hands instead of front legs. Even his fur was patchy and clumpy in places where it should have been glossy and smooth. When he first spoke Walker couldn't understand him, but the more words the young wolf heard the more he understood the strange language. He didn't really catch what the cow creature was saying until the middle of its conversation with the monkey standing beside their cage. "... forty baskets of grain for two wolves hardly seems a fair deal Hazzo Slaver!"

"It's fair enough when you consider how young they are. They're a mated pair too!" The monkey said and rattled the cage with a long stick. Swift went nuts when the monkey poked his wooden pole into the cage. "Look at how fierce he is! He'd be an excellent addition to your collection..."

The cow beast seemed to consider Swift and Walker under him. "What about the little one? Can he fight?"

The Hazzo slave trader frowned at his client, "probably not, but if you take him away from his mate there you'll really get him going! We tried to separate them and nearly got our hands bitten off!"

The cow man bellowed as he laughed at the monkey, "I'll take them both then, but they better not disappoint me, or you might find yourself in the pit alongside these two slaves."

"I'm an honest merchant Master Bovis, I would never sell you a bad slave." The Hazzo said slyly as he signaled for his fellows to load up the two wolves. "Get over here you lazy fur-brained apes!"

Bovis, as the Hazzo had called the strange cow man, had the two wolves transported through the city streets towards a huge wooden building. The only word Walker could have used to describe the place was coliseum. It was made mostly out of wooden beams, but the area below the stands was obviously stone and some sort of hard metal. The collars and shackles were taken off the wolves before they were both thrown into a large cell. Swift was furious at how they had been treated, but after Walker explained what he had heard the young wolf looked sad. "They sold us for some sort of plant?" Swift asked in shock.

"They probably eat plants Swift," Walker said and frowned at the young wolf, "you know, like eelem and other prey animals do."

"Prey animals are not stronger than us! How dare they buy and sell us like... like..." Swift didn't know any words in his native tongue to describe what they now were.

"... like slaves?" Walker said softly.

"Slave?" Swift asked as he rolled the word around in his mouth. It didn't translate very well into wolf. "What is a... slave?"

"In my old home there is only one creature in the world that is intelligent like us. They call themselves humans. They keep slaves like these Hazzo do, but only the worst humans on Earth do that. In my old home it is against our laws to own and trade slaves." Walker explained.

"I don't know about these humans you speak of, but they must be more civilized than those creatures who sold us." Swift growled angrily as he paced in the cage.

The two wolves rested for a while before more cow people came to feed them. After being fed the wolves were given water. The cow folk didn't seem to fear the wolves like the monkey creatures did, but they carried long metal poles that burned when they touched the skin. Swift learned to stay away from those metal poles after trying to attack a cow who ventured too close to Walker.

That stone place might as well have been a cave. It was bigger than the cage they had traveled in, but it was also very dark. All around the wolves were the sounds of animals and creatures similar to themselves. Walker even thought he heard the barks of dogs or coyotes! While they rested they shifted to their long-fang forms and sighed as they relaxed for the first time since they had been imprisoned. It was odd seeing how big Swift had grown, but it was more surprising for Swift than for Walker.

"I'm bigger than my father," Swift said excitedly as he examined his huge muscles. Next he tried to bend the bars of their cage, but that summoned a horde of angry cows who prodded the massive wolf through the bars. Swift howled in fury at them, but he stopped trying to escape. "Curse these stupid beasts! They think they're smarter than us, but they are not!" Swift roared in a voice that reminded Walker of how Steel sounded when he was really angry.

"Quiet you stupid beast!" A familiar cow man said as he approached the cage and mooed in surprise. "Looks like we got more than we bargained for! These are long-fangs boys!" Bovis shouted to the cows behind him who bellowed out in laughter. "Do either of you dirty beasts speak the common tongue?"

"I can speak your language," Walker said shyly from behind his pack mate.

"The little one speaks," a few cows whispered in shock.

Bovis smiled as he realized his job had just gotten a lot easier. "Tell your mate something for me little wolf..." Bovis waited for Walker to nod before he continued. "Tell him we will take you away and sell you if he does not agree to fight for us."

"F... fight for you?" Walker asked in shock, "what do you mean?"

"In a few moments we will take you away from your mate and put you in a separate cage. If he cannot win a battle in the arena above us you will be taken away and sold again. If he refuses to fight you will be killed in front of him. If either of you attempts to escape you will both be killed." Bovis sounded like he had said this more than once. "I will only say this once, so don't misunderstand me. I have no wish to see you die, and if your mate fights well he might earn freedom for you both. Understood?"

Walker nodded and translated for Swift. Once he was done the cows cornered the larger long-fang and took Walker from the cage. As soon as they had the door closed Swift went crazy. His eyes turned a deep bloody red as all color and intelligence drained out of them. His roars were not those of a wolf, but of a monster! Walker was placed in a small cage beside Swift while they waited.

Once the cow men left Swift reached into the cage and growled at the offending bars. "This is wrong," he growled angrily, "tell them to give you back Walker! I want you back NOW!"

Walker shivered in fear as the larger long-fang held him through the bars. "I'm scared Swift," Walker whined, "what if you get hurt?"

"Don't worry about that," Swift said angrily and shook his head. "I won't let them hurt you Walker, I'll fight if I must..."

The clank of the cages was a cold reminder of the cow's words. "Stand back beast!" A cow shouted and shocked Walker and Swift through the bars of their cages.

Swift went berserk again, but Walker just whined as he watched the larger male shake his rising cage violently. A trap door above the cage lifted as the wolf was raised. "Walker!" Swift roared angrily as his cage floor closed the gap between himself and the smaller wolf.

Walker shivered as he felt true fear for the first time in his life. If Swift died Walker was alone. If he tried to escape they were both dead. "Where are you Steel?" Walker whispered as he curled into a ball and tried not to feel as useless as he was. "I... I love you Steel! I want my mate!" Tears flowed freely from the sad little wolf as cheers erupted above him. Walker knew enough about ancient arenas to know the fight had started.

...

** ** Anger, rage, and hatred, unbridled and unrestrained, coursed through Swift's veins as his connection with Walker was severed. The huge eight-foot tall long-fang roared as he looked at the empty sand-covered field outside the bars of his cage. This place stunk of blood, sweat, and death. The huge wood and stone walls of the ovular structure were too high to climb, even for a long-fang, but the metal spikes at the top prevented any creature from escaping.

At first the crowd of mixed animals and beasts just watched Swift as he looked around in confusion. But when Swift roared out his frustration the other animals broke out into cheers. It wasn't a friendly sort of cheering either...

"Brothers! Sisters!" A familiar ugly cow shouted from the top of a platform suspended above the arena floor. "We have for you today a feral, fully-grown, long-fang warrior from the great southern wolf tribes!" Again there were cheers from the crowd as the news sank in. This was promising to be quite the fight. "Our poor wolf friend here was caught and tortured by coyotes before he was sold to us by some kindly Hazzo traders." The cow, who was Master Bovis, spoke in a mocking voice as he pouted at the audience. A few animals awed at that, but more of them actually jeered. "As you know," Bovis continued, "those feral southern beasts don't speak the common tongue, so we need to name this brute before he fights, or dies, in our arena!"

Quite a few animals began shouting out names, but one word rang louder than the others. To Swift the word made no sense at all, but Bovis seemed to like what he was hearing.

"Alright, alright then!" Bovis pointed his pointy fire-stick at Swift and shouted. "From now on we'll call him Scar!" The crowd erupted in cheers, but Bovis was hardly finished with his performance. "It wouldn't be right to call him scar before he gets his first scars here in our humble arena, so let's welcome our second combatant!" Bovis let the crowd cheer as a second cage was raised. "You know him as Wild-Mane, and he comes all the way from the distant jungles beyond the great desert! It's time to pit cat against dog in one final showdown! Weelllllcome to the arena! Wild-Mane!"

The cow handlers were careful to unlock both cages before they scurried away from the two angry slathering beasts. Swift exploded from his cage and roared almost as loudly as the furry beast across the arena from him. For a moment Swift worried that he was fighting another intelligent animal, but one look in the feral empty eyes of his opponent and Swift knew this was monster was hardly intelligent at all.

The huge feline was massive and powerfully built. His tawny golden fur was covered in scars from previous fights, but it was clear that the huge cat had never faced a long-fang wolf in combat. Most normal long-fangs would have been at a size disadvantage in this fight, but Swift was hardly a normal long-fang. Steel and Walker's mark burned inside his body like a molten, liquid inferno of anger. Swift drew on that rage as he roared in time with his opponent and charged.

After mere seconds of running the two huge beasts crashed together in a frenzy of tooth and claw. Swift felt, more than he saw, the cat's claws rake across his chest as he snapped at the beast's neck. It was a classic wrong move against this beast, but Swift had no way of knowing the cat's thick mane obscured and protected the beast's neck from attacks. As the two split apart Swift's torso and lower body were flayed open and bled profusely. "Now that's going to leave a scar!" Bovis shouted as the crowd cheered for more blood.

The second time the beast charged Swift took a more defensive stance and waited for the monster to crash into him. The two of them wrestled for quite a while, but in the end Swift managed to turn the cat onto its back. Before his opponent could flip over Swift tore into the cat's flank with his own long jagged claws. "That's going to leave a mark too!" Bovis shouted again.

The commentary was lost on Swift who could neither understand, nor afford to pay attention to, the cow-man's remarks. Swift was, at that moment, holding the monster cat's head away from his face. Before he could escape the failed bite against him, the cat caught him with its claws again. This time Swift was injured on his face, and for a moment he feared that he had lost sight in his left eye. A roar of anger and a surge of strength gave Swift a short advantage over his foe. The savage long-fang slashed and snapped at the cat catching it's right back leg and tearing at the tendons and muscles inside.

The huge cat roared as it kicked and bucked Swift off its rump. However, the damage was done. A wave of cheers erupted as Swift dropped to all fours and shifted into his wolf shape. Now he was actually smaller than his opponent, but with less size came more agility and speed. His foe was wounded, so Swift used his advantage to nip and hound the cat as he nimbly darted in and out of combat. As much as the crowd had loved to watch Swift fight as a long-fang, they seemed to love watching him change shapes and combat strategies even more. For once Bovis remained silent as he watched the fight from above. It was almost like Scar was two beasts in one, and the ugly cow-man knew that was a great selling point. He was thinking about ways to use this to his advantage as he watched the fight progress.

Swift was fast, but he didn't escape injury despite his superior speed and agility. More than once he got clawed on his flank, back, and legs. Once he even got bitten by the monster on his arm. The pain of fighting through his injuries was getting pretty bad, and even a long-fang couldn't heal every wound in battle. It was obvious that the wolf was tiring, but so too was the huge cat. Wild-Mane was backed into a corner now, but that wasn't good for an arena show, so the cows shooed the poor beast away from the wall with their fire-sticks.

Angry, and obviously desperate to kill his opponent, the huge cat roared one last time and charged Swift. As he ran Swift shifted to long-fang and the two monsters practically body slammed each other. Swift, who healed bruises pretty quickly, escaped with a few torn muscles and re-opened wounds, but Wild-Mane wasn't healing. The cat stood from where he had fallen and charged Swift again. This continued for another four charges before neither beast could stand. "Kill him Scar!" Bovis shouted angrily, but his words were meaningless to Swift.

The cows got the message across when they descended on the duo and prodded both combatants to their paws. It was becoming clear to Swift that someone was going to die today, and he would be damned if it was going to him. Swift roared a bloody angry roar and the crowd cheered as he fell on Wild-Mane one last time. The cat was too weak to fight back, so Swift ended him quickly by cutting the beast's neck.

At first the crowd just cheered and watched as Swift fell on the cat's corpse. Then, after a while, some of the animals groaned in disgust. Swift was tearing hunks of flesh from the cat's body and quickly devouring them. To Swift it was only natural to eat raw meat when he found it, so he enjoyed his bloody meal with a wild, almost feral, zeal.

"Stories tell us that the southern clans are noble and civilized, but watch this monster as he consumes the flesh of his foe!" Bovis shouted. "He may seem intelligent, and his long-fang form might resemble our own enhanced bodies, but I assure you that this monster is far from civilized! He is a predator through and through! Look at him! Scar, champion of the arena!"

The crowd cheered, but Swift had already eaten most of the good meat on the cat's corpse. He was corralled by the cows away from his kill and back to his cage. Swift wearily entered his cage knowing that it would return to the subterranean depths and back to Walker. The sound of cheering animals faded as Swift was lowered into the inky darkness. His low snarls and growls were punctuated by whines of pain. Before the cage was done descending Swift collapsed from his wounds and exhaustion. "Swift-Paw!" Walker cried out once he could see his pack mate again.

A small door between the two cages opened and Walker was free to join his "mate" in the larger cage. Swift whined as he felt walker's tongue licking at his bloody face. Walker could taste his friend's blood, but not all the blood belonged to Swift. "Walker," Swift said weakly, "It was huge... some sort of cat with a big furry mane around its neck.

"Probably a lion," Walker whispered as he licked his pack mate's wounds until each one had stopped bleeding. Swift was weak, bloody, and barely held together by his own flesh and bone. It was remarkable to Walker that the other male had fought a lion and lived! Walker doubted he could have accomplished such a feat. "Oh Swift... Swift-Paw why?" Walker asked as tears fell from his eyes and stung his fellow wolf's open wounds.

"Luna... guides us..." Swift growled. "Only she... knows our fates."

Walker shook his head as he tended the larger male's wounds. It took hours to clean Swift's fur and tend to all his numerous wounds. Walker wept openly the whole time, but Swift was the one who benefited from his tears. Neither wolf noticed it, but as the salty tears touched Swift's abused flesh his already incredible healing powers accelerated. In mere hours Swift healed wounds that would cripple his father. A few cows watched the strange ritual and reported back to Bovis. The cow-man came to watch Walker work. It seemed impossible, but the little wolf was somehow bringing his mate back from the very edge of exhaustion, maybe even death. Bovis had doubted that even a long-fang could sustain so much damage and live... "This could work out well for you Scar." Bovis muttered.

"Don't call him that!" Walker barked angrily from the cage. "His name is Swift-Paw!"

Bovis laughed at the words of the young wolf. "As long as he's down here, he can be Swift-Paw to you, but when he's up above make sure the beast knows he's Scar, the bloodthirsty savage from the southern wolf clans!"

"I'll be sure to tell him your ridiculous name..." Walker muttered.

Bovis listened as Walker spoke to Swift in the wolf tongue. There was something about the two that stirred something inside the old cow. He had not always been a misshapen monster, and watching Walker tend to his mate made Bovis yearn to run around on all fours and snort like a beast again. "What is your name, young wolf?" Bovis asked quite suddenly.

Walker didn't reply for a while, but eventually he spoke. "I am called Paw-Walker by my mate."

Bovis pointed at Swift and snorted. "How did Scar like his name and title?"

Swift growled as he said a few gruff words in his own tongue. "Swift says he will fight because he must, and that he is a noble warrior, not a bloodthirsty savage."

Bovis laughed again and motioned for his handlers to get some food. "Go get food for Scar the noble warrior! He gets double food from here on out." Bovis turned to Walker and snorted cheerfully. "Tell Scar that if he fights well we'll keep you two well fed and watered. He can have you in his cage one day for every fight he wins. If he survives, but looses a fight, we will separate you two."

After translating for Swift the injured warrior surprised Bovis when he roared and charged at the cow. "Kill!" Swift roared as he repeated the most popular word he'd heard in the arena above. Bovis recoiled from the cage in surprise. He was shocked the huge warrior wolf had his strength back so soon. As his henchmen prodded the wolf back towards Walker Bovis thought about what he had seen so far. A theory was forming between his horns, and the huge cow-man wanted to test that theory out as soon as possible.

"There will be another fight tomorrow," Bovis said evenly. "I suggest you take good care of your mate between now and noon tomorrow. He's going to need all his strength for the next fight."

Food came shortly after the exchange with Bovis. Walker ate what he could and Swift tore into the rest. Then the wolves were given fresh water and taken from their cages to a yard of sorts. The empty yard was as large as the arena itself, but while they were outside the wolves could run and stretch their legs. There was plenty of room to use the facilities out in the yard too. Unfortunately the brief freedom only lasted for a few hours, and then the wolves were taken to a larger double cage with fresh bedding. "They're going to make you fight again tomorrow Walker whined as he huddled under Swift and tried not to shake with fear. "What if you get hurt again? What if you die?"

Swift growled as he leaned over Walker and pulled the smaller male into his arms. "I'm a timber-wolf warrior... possibly the strongest in my own clan thanks to you Walker... I won't die. I won't fail you."

Hearing Swift speak like this stirred something inside Walker's heart. He flushed red as he found himself nuzzling the other male's chest fur. Swift smelled so close to Steel now... so close that if Walker closed his eyes... " Mmmmm Steel..." Walker whined as he nuzzled Swift's chest. Before he knew it Walker's sheath was bulging and his cock began to ooze pre into Swift's thick belly fur.

"W... Walker?" Swift said softly. A plume of pure arousal wafted off the smaller wolf causing Swift's instincts to go crazy. His own cock rapidly emerged from his ample sheath, and then he started to pant with need. Before Walker knew what was happening Swift bent over him and began lapping at the young male's thick red wolf cock. Walker moaned in lust as Swift's own unique dominant musk began to wrap around Walker like a cloud of thick wolfy strength and masculinity. Swift was more than adequate to be Walker's mate, yet something just wasn't right. As much as Swift seemed to want to fuck Walker, instead he continued to lick and suck at the beta's cock.

"Um... Swift?" Walker said in confusion. "You're the stronger male... why don't you fuck me first?"

Swift growled as if he was fighting every fiber of his being at that moment. In a way this was a far harder test than fighting a lion. The omega tore his lips from Walker's cock and snarled. "I am your OMEGA Walker! I don't have that right... I NEVER will..." Swift growled as he returned to the task at hand, but he couldn't resist hugging Walker closer to him in his arms. It was clear, very very clear, that Swift wanted nothing more than to mate Walker right then and there. But he didn't... and that said far more to Walker than the passion the two males were sharing.

"I... I think I love you Swift..." Walker said causing the wolf to briefly stop sucking and look at the male in his arms. "I love you... but I love Steel too! I want him so bad it's tearing me up inside!" Walker admitted this as tears came to his eyes.

Swift's breath smelled like Walker's musk and cock as the larger wolf licked tears from the smaller male's face. "I love you too Walker. I always did. I always wanted you... not just to have Steel, but to have you, just you!" Swift surprised Walker when their lips and noses met, but there was no way the young wolf knew what a kiss was. Walker surprised Swift when he leaned against the male and their lips parted. Swift's eyes went wide as he was kissed, and also frenched, for the first time in his life. Before long he was holding Walker tightly and kissing back as the two wolves explored the inside of their muzzles. When their lips finally parted Swift had tears in his eyes. "You'll always have a place in my heart Walker... but I'm not strong enough to be yours..."

"Not yet," Walker growled as he humped Swift's firm heavily muscled body, "but when you finish with that blow job you were giving me I wouldn't mind taking your cock in my ass again..."

The hungry omega returned to Walker's cock with a vengeance. As hungry for Walker's seed as Swift was, his touch was still tender and loving. He ran his hand-paws over every inch of Walker as if he was making a mental map in his head of the young wolf's tightly muscled body. Swift's long tongue and snout made his hot muzzle a mind-bendingly pleasurable fuck, but his soft supple lips gave him the perfect tool for slurping and sucking at Walker's wolf-hood. Each jet of pre Walker fed the young warrior seemed to only spur him on as he hungrily anticipated the coming climax.

A few cows, and some other animals in nearby cages, watched the lovemaking with barely contained arousal. As Swift drank heavily from Walker's bountiful supply of pre his exhausted muscles rapidly healed and repaired. Not only did they heal, but they grew too! Steel's arms bulged with new growth, and his legs rippled and flexed as the muscle in them hardened to a near-stone-like thickness. Swift's pelt, already healthy and quite thick, began to thicken and grow into a near mirror of an alpha's coat. In truth the omega was beginning to show his dual heritage from two of the strongest wolves alive in his time. Steel's colors were subtle but clearly displayed through Swift's gray undercoat, while Dire-Fang's rich reds and browns blossomed on the warriors shoulders, arms, and on the ridge of his back.

As Walker's pre began to thicken the young wolf felt the arms around him shift and change position... as if Swift was adjusting his grip on the smaller male. Before long Swift shifted again, and this time when Walker opened his eyes to peek at the other male he was sure Swift looked... bigger! Not just more muscular either, but actually bigger! The brief surprise on Walker's face was quickly wiped away by the explosion of pleasure in his cock. Walker howled out his passion for Swift as his cock fed the growing warrior a massive blast of Walker's potent seed.

Swift drank greedily from the stream of wolf juice until it was completely exhausted. Walker gasped in pleasure as Swift milked his cock and balls for every last drop of cum. A feral snarl split Swift's face as pulled off Walker and looked at the young Wolf sprawled out below him. A shudder ran through Swift's young body as his muscles bulged and his body grew another inch taller. At this point Swift was easily larger and more heavily muscled than Black-Fang. He looked to be a near half-foot taller, and his muscular frame was very close to Steel's own massive build... only still much smaller in size than the Gray-Wolf High-Alpha.

A low growl came from Swift as his cock emerged from his sheath... only it was obvious to Swift that the member had grown larger and thicker than before. It wasn't a huge change, maybe only an inch in length and a tad extra girth, but to Swift that was still quite exciting. "I must still be growing." Swift said in a voice that rumbled deeply with a rich tone.

Walker's ears perked up when he heard Swift's voice. For a moment... just a moment... it truly was like listening to Steel... like a younger Steel, but still almost exactly like him. "Swift?" Walker asked softly.

"Yes Walker?" Swift said gently as he began rubbing his huge cock against Walker's silky gray fur.

"Can you teach me to mate like a real wolf? I... I want to know how to pleasure Steel when I meet him again. I want him to know that I care about him... like this... you know... I..."

Swift surprised Walker when he leaned down and kissed the young beta wolf to silence him. Walker could still taste his own cum on Swift's lips... "Don't speak," Swift said gently. "You never have to tell Steel what you're thinking." Walker felt the Swift's strong hands gently flip him over and put him on his knees. The larger male leaned dominantly over Walker and growled a perfect imitation of Steel's "I want to fuck" growl. "A strong... powerful... elder wolf can sense from smell alone that their mate is ready."

Swift's voice, his smell, his demeanor was NOT like that of an omega. Swift wasn't as big as Steel, but to Walker the shiver that ran down his spine was just the same. The fear of being inadequate was there too. Walker struggled to contain his reservations, but Swift had sensed them before Walker even recognized his own feelings.

"Let go," Swift commanded. "I'm the alpha now, and I'm in charge. Let me take over... Let me guide you through this Walker." Swift said in a firm commanding voice.

The feeling of Swift's fangs over Steel's mating mark on Walker's back and neck made something in Walker snap. Swift was so close to Steel, so close to his mate, that even had Walker not wanted him to take him, and Walker wanted Swift to take him, at that moment the beta wouldn't have objected. Swift never broke skin, but in alpha terms the bite meant the same thing. Submit... submit to my power and I will reward you.

The sensation of a burning hot wolf cock pushing against his tail hole made Walker moan like a bitch in heat. Swift was hot, Swift was pulsing, Swift was fucking huge! But he was gentle too... Slowly, more slowly than Walker could bare, Swift pushed his cock into the male below him. The young warrior was nothing like he had been back when the two young wolves had first rutted. This was totally different from then... this was like taking an alpha's cock! "Squeeze it with your tail hole," Swift growled. Walker obeyed and was rewarded when more cock pushed into his needy ass. "Whine for me... whisper my name..." Swift growled again.

Before Walker could stop himself he whined, "Steel," Walker whispered shamelessly. "Steel... Steel!"

Behind him Swift grinned possessively. Part of the young wolf wanted Walker to moan HIS name, but another part was equally proud. Walker was submitting to Steel... as he should... and to Swift it was as if Walker was admitting that Swift WAS Steel right now... and in a way the young wolf was almost exactly like Steel. That connection gave Swift power, and wolves like to have power.

"Good," Swift rumbled, but in Walker's head it was his mate, not Swift. "Walker?" Swift asked softly and looked at the young beta.

Walker peeked with one eye to look at Swift and nodded.

"Let me be Steel for you... I want to be him because you need him... you always have." Swift growled and remembered something he'd heard that Steel did to Walker when they were together. He tucked the younger wolf's head under his own and nuzzled him in a very fatherly way as he fucked Walker's ass.

To Walker, when he closed his eyes and buried his face in Swift's thick musky fur, it was just like Steel was. Tears rolled from Walker's eyes soaking Swift's rugged thick fur as the two rutted. Walker felt a measure of his loneliness and pain subside as he felt the embrace of his long-fang son around him. Walker had never felt this sort of love before. Swift loved Walker so deeply that he gave up his own identity to sooth the other male's need for his mate. That was a sort of love Walker had never felt before.

And it touched his soul in ways he had never been touched until then...

"I love you Steel..." Walker whispered... "Swift... thank you."

Swift growled a sexy rumbling reply as his need to fuck grew incredibly powerful. All the rage and anger Swift had felt before, they were paired against equal parts of love and passion. As he fucked Walker, as he serviced his partner in a way that only Swift ever could, the warrior let go of his jealousy for Walker and Steel's love. "I love you too Walker," Swift growled in Steel's voice.

Before long the huge male couldn't hold back another moment. Swift slammed his hips into Walker and bit into the smaller male's scruff without breaking skin. Using the extra leverage Swift slammed his knot into Walker's ass just as his own climax hit him. Swift released his hold on Walker and tipped his head back in a room-shaking glorious howl. An explosion of intensely hot cum caused Walker to howl out and join his brother wolf's beautiful song. All around the two wolves multiple other beasts screamed, shouted, and bellowed their own passion as they lost their loads. To the two wolves though, there was no other sound, just their voices, just their love for one another.

A howl can be a sad lonely sound, but that night it was something more than just a sound to Walker. He felt Swift curl around him as their howl ended, and once again the larger male put his head over Walker's just like Steel would do. The howl was over, the sex was over, and now Walker and Swift were exhausted. But they were alive, and they were stronger than before.

...

Far from where the two wolves slept Steel sat apart from the rest of his pack. He had been awake throughout the night despite the obvious need for sleep. The elder wolf had been restless lately, and his heart had been hurting again. But tonight was different... tonight Steel felt relaxed and calm for once. "Steel?" A soft voice said from below the huge elder wolf. The voice belonged to one of the twins, Steel still had a hard time telling them apart. A unique musky smell came from the young wolf as he looked up at the handsome stoic shape of his high-alpha above him.

"Ruff-Tusk?" Steel asked firmly and looked at the young wolf below him.

"Yes, Tuff is sleeping..."

"No I'm not!" Tuff said as he joined his brother beside Steel.

"Quite Tuff!" Ruff growled and silenced his brother. "Steel... you're missing Walker again aren't you?"

Steel sighed as he watched the two young wolves. They were larger now... stronger and more muscular too. In a way they reminded Steel a lot of Walker when he had just finished his first two years on Wolf World... the twins were almost that age now regardless. Their young supple bodies and pale gray fur stirred something possessive and primal inside Steel. He really was missing Walker tonight... in more than just the emotional sense.

"Steel?" Ruff said again. "It's our birth-moon tonight. Did you know that?"

"No..." Steel said sadly. "How old are you two now?"

"We're eighteen..." Tuff said bashfully. "Silver-Fang says we're old enough to mate now... but we wanted to ask you if you would... show us how?"

Steel's jaw would have dropped if he hadn't been in full wolf-form. It was his responsibility to teach the twins how to mate and be mated... normally Walker would have helped with this, but the noble beta was not here, and Walker knew precious little about mating... though at that time he was learning quickly... "Well," Steel growled as he looked at the two muscular attractive young warriors. "Who wants to go first?"