Starwind past
#2 of Starwind
Thankyou everyone who enjoyed, faved and commented on my last story. It's everyone's kind remarks that keep me writing and I'm very grateful to all of you. Much love :x
Fourteen years ago
Cold iron shackles bit into my ankles, my skin raw and fur worn away by the heavy chains as I was driven onwards. My family followed behind, ankles chained as mine were to the prisoner train. My heart was heavy with despair as my mate whimpered in distress behind me, my two sons doing their best to support their frail mother despite their own exhaustion. The young teens were suffering visibly from the days of forced marches. A clatter of chains rattled along the line as she inevitably stumbled along the forest path, her fall pulling the young cubs down with her.
I scrambled for my footing, somehow finding the strength in my weary muscles to avoid being pulled down too. I quickly turned back, ignoring the pain of the scraping shackles against my limbs as I frantically tried to pull my loved ones back to their feet, knowing that such delays would bring the wrath of the train's merciless guards.
"Come on my sweetheart, hold onto me" I said as I slid an arm around my mate, coaxing her back to her feet.
"Kratus..." she whispered, her wide beautiful brown eyes heavy with fatigue. "I... I can't go on..." her words faltered as I felt her slumping against me.
"No, no my sweet" I desperately nuzzled her, hugging her against me and trying to pull her back to her feet. "You can make it with us... you can... " I felt a tear roll down my cheek as a painful lump caught the words in my throat. "I know you can, please" I begged her.
"Take care of our sons" she murmured as I held her against me, her paw limply reaching out for a touch of our dear boys as they stood timidly, uncertain and scared.
"You'll get us all killed you idiot" the wolf in front of me in the train growled as I struggled, yanking at me to continue moving and causing me to lurch awkwardly, the weight of my mate forcing me to one knee to prevent both of us from going sprawling.
"What is this?" I heard the harsh question of an approaching guard. In the pitch dark of the night it was impossible to see how near our captors were, the sparkling of the night sky and the gentle silver of a crescent moon obscured by the high canopy surrounding the forest trail we followed. It was not until the flickering orange illumination of the guard's flaming torch uncovered our sad huddle that I was able to examine the burly muscled tiger that now strode toward us.
The tiger prides had become the bane of the wolf packs in recent years, their warbands destroying our settlements, looting and raping us, and taking us from our homes into lives of slavery. None of the packs had been able to stand against the prides, even the strongest of Alphas somehow easily being outmanoeuvred and outfought as they were each in their turn destroyed. We could no longer offer resistance to the rampaging prides, and while we few remaining simple farmers and craftsmen vainly fought and died to defend our homes and families we were effortlessly overcome and subdued by the experienced warrior cohorts.
One of these veterans now loomed over me, and I knew I would now die as I tried to protect my family one last time.
"Nothing, nothing I promise, we just stumbled for a moment, we can move now" I gabbled, trying to pull my mate once more to her feet.
"If she cannot move she will die" the tiger snarled at me, leaning so close I felt his spittle on my face as he spat his threat with contempt. I quailed before him and pulled at my darling, yet could feel her body limp and unmoving against me. As I tried to lift her the tiger reached out and struck me, backhanding me with a lazy swipe that rammed me to the ground with brutal force. The air went from my lungs and I gasped for breath as I saw my mate fall on her back like a rag doll.
"Perhaps she is tired, yes?" the tiger chuckled above us, my two boys shrinking back from his fearsome strength. "Perhaps she just needs waking up?" the tiger continued, his paw gripping his crotch as he stood looking down over my prostrate darling.
"No... no, please not that.." I wheezed, earning a hard kick in my ribs from the tiger.
"Shut up you fucking wolf" he emphasised his disgust. "You watch and learn how to please bitch properly!" he added with malice afterthought as I watched him rip the rags from my sweet and expose her bare nakedness. I began to weep as I saw him pull down his britches to expose his unsheathed cock, engorged and eager to rape my poor darling in front of me and my boys before surely killing us all.
I managed to roll onto my side and tried to ignore my pain, hoping I could somehow stop the tiger while his attention was distracted. I tasted blood in my mouth from when he had struck me, and I felt the heat of anger beginning to overcome my fear and hopeless despair. With an effort I struggled to my haunches as I saw the tiger positioning himself between my mate's legs. I did not stop to think but threw myself at his back, snarling and trying to claw and bite any part of him I could reach.
My claws skittered off his hardened leather tunic and my jaws failed to reach his neck as he punched me in mid-air, sending me sprawling behind him. He laughed and hardly bothered to turn round, ready to ram himself into my love's entrance and make her final few minutes of life a painful hell.
As I groaned on the ground I thought I saw a white flash darting amongst the trees, but my vision was so blurred with tears I thought I must have caught a glimpse of the moon or even been seeing imagined bright flashes from the blows I had received. I caught the movement again and tried to wipe my vision clear. A moment later I wished I hadn't as I heard the frail cries of my mate, the tiger roaring with laughter as I saw her slim legs wrapped around his muscled bulk. Helplessly I watched his ass ramming back and forth, his paw slapping her face as he reamed her, enjoying her pain and suffering.
I turned to my boys and tried to crawl toward them, wanting to shield them from this terrible horror. They stood holding each other, crying as they saw their poor mother defiled, their useless father weak and unable to protect them. I had never felt so low, so utterly destroyed, and right then wished I could simply die, to have it all end having lost all hope of salvation.
As I wallowed in self pity I was unaware of the sounds around me. It took me a little while to realise there were other cries around us, going up from all along the column of imprisoned wolves. I saw my boys looking around, and the bastard tiger looking up in annoyance as we all heard the shouting.
"Starwind, Starwind!"
All around us the cry went up, and the snarls of conflict carried through the air from both sides of the prisoner train. The tiger stood up from his foul business and looked round, trying to work out where the sounds were coming from. Against the ground I felt the thump of sprinting paws before I heard the gentle quick padding, and we all wailed in sudden panic as a blinding avatar of snarling fury flew at us from the darkness. I saw the tiger brace himself, yet within an eyeblink he was rammed to the ground and we all cowered at the roaring terror enveloping him. My mouth fell agape as the tiger was ripped to pieces, his armour torn to shreds and his entire arm ripped off and thrown high into the air.
I felt not the slightest pity as his roars turned to wails of torment, and found the strength to pull myself over to my mate who lay bloodied and whimpering where the tiger had left her. I wrapped my arms around her and squeezed her tight, laying against her and shielding her with my body as I tried to shut out the blood curdling howls of the tiger being dismembered behind us. I held my sweet with all my remaining strength, waiting to die, knowing there was no escape for any of us as exhausted and shackled together as we were.
My darling wept softly against me as we nuzzled, and I lost all track of time as we lay together in that final loving embrace. It was some time later and I thought I must have died and not realised, yet I must have simply fallen asleep since I was gently being shaken awake.
"Father... father wake up" my young Jori called anxiously. I blinked my eyes in the soft light of dawn, expecting to see the utopian savannah of the spirit realm. Instead I saw a sight even more amazing as before me stood a glowing god, a massive ivory white wolf smiling down at us radiating a powerful loving warmth and with deep concern in his piercing bright blue eyes. I scrambled backwards, pawing at my mate in fright as I retreated, yet the god just stood there calmly, and my fluttering heart began to calm in his presence as I heard my darling groggily stirring by my side.
"Do not be afraid Kratus" the god spoke to me, his voice rich and deep and instantly commanding trust and a respectful obedience. I realised my boys were standing beside him with wide grins glued across their little muzzles as the god rested a massive paw on Jori's shoulder, my boy staring up at him in rapt adoration.
"The tigers are gone father, all gone!" my younger son Hodan said eagerly, and I looked around to see that his words were true and all the chained wolves had been freed. I realised my ankle was no longer shackled and my heart lifted in hope as I helped my mate sit up, holding her as she nestled against me, unsure and uncertain at the strange wolf looking down upon us.
"You are safe now" the god intoned. "You are under my protection. Come, you shall take breakfast with us and my healers will see to your mate's wounds."
I could hardly believe my own senses, yet the sharp pain where I had been kicked in my side persuaded me at least that I was still really alive.
"Who are you? W... what are you?" I managed to ask. He replied as he helped us to our feet:
"I am Starwind, and I am your salvation"