FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Dinner that night was quieter than usual, two empty seats creating a vacuum that sucked the joy out of the pack. There were no sweet glances shared between Anubis and Cloud, save for the look of a concerned mother.

Denver merely poked at his food, commenting he didn't feel like eating. Anubis, the sisters, and Long Fang all tried to cheer him up, but he didn't talk much for the rest of the night before nervously returning to the cabin. The next morning, he was already out and finishing some of his chores before Anubis even woke up.

It was just after breakfast as the men were getting their equipment to begin a harvest of the orchard that many deep, ominous howls caused every head of the pack to turn towards the distant field it came from. Noticing lots of wolves in their far field, the men gathered quickly around Jack standing on the tractor. His ears were folded back in dismay, his expression deeply concerned.

"Ahh, fuck," he muttered more to himself, "Dawson's trynna take wash field."

Silver growled beside his Alpha. "Right 'fore harvest? That's a dick move!"

Glancing at the men around him, Jack was debating the odds. It was pretty clear by the conflict on his face that those odds were not good.

"Jack," Anubis growled, gaining his attention, though his gaze was focused on the enemy. "I will defend this pack and its land with my life."

Head snapping around and rocking back with surprise, Jack's brow knitted together before he shook his head. "Don't even play, Anubis. Ain't no dyin' happenin' today." Glaring back at the group of enemy men in their field, he chewed his lip for a moment before a thought made his ears perk and almost giddy. "But, ye can come along! Gonna need the element o' surprise, though."

Throwing back his head, Jack let out a summoning howl. There were many answers, the men and some of the women hurrying to his side. There were growing concerns among them looking at the invading pack. Easily outnumbered by 2 to 1, they murmured with uncertainty and outrage.

Cloud had come to see, baring her teeth in her anger, but shaking her head with concern. "Takin' a field at harvest! That's outright contemptible! But, Jack, ye can't be serious. Ye ain't fightin, is ye?"

Whatever Jack had thought of made him smirk confidently. "Naw, an' I reckon they ain't lookin' fer a fight neither. Were thinkin' we'd back down, but I'm thinkin' this'll end just fine. An' might find out why Dawson's lost their minds!"

He turned his smirk to Anubis. "Listen, gonna need ye in yer feral form. See that rock that sticks up over there? When I say so, ye stand up, give 'em a scare. Let 'em get a good look, but there won't be no fightin' 'less I say so, got it?"

Anubis had already taken a step back to allow room to fall forward to all fours. With a nod, he slipped into the vegetation and vanished entirely. As he sat in the tractor and started the engine, Jack shook his head and muttered under his breath, "man's too intense, sometimes."

"Kinda need that, right now," Silver replied, peeking over at him from the corner of his eye, which Jack couldn't disagree with.

The group of men, and some of the women willing to fight, followed Jack to the fence line of the field. Turning off the tractor, Jack stood on its seat, his arms crossed as the other pack fanned out. A particularly tall figure stepped forward, his black face vaguely familiar. Baring his teeth in an arrogant grin, a golden fang flashed in the sunlight.

"Well, good mornin', Jack. Sure is a nice day ta be checkin' on my new field."

"Grr'siv! Yer the new Alpha for Dawson, are ye?" Jack looked him up and down. "Alpha not even a week, an' yer already stealin' fields? At harvest, no less? This won't be endin' well for ye."

Grr'siv chuckled pompously. "Oh, ye think? Well, I got here more men than ye've got in yer whole pack. Even had ta bring some o' yer bitches along." He winked at River, who gave him a death glare. "I'm thinkin' this'll end just fine... fer us." Casually hooking a thumb into the strap of his coveralls, he puffed his chest a little too noticeably, raising his head high even though he was already taller than just about everyone else there. "Sarry, Jack. No hard feelin's, but I got a lot mouths to feed now."

Jack pursed his lips in an irritated manner, not at all taken with his behavior. "Yeah, so do I. Got a growin' pack, lots o' pups gettin' hungry. Do ye happen ta have any idea how much it takes to feed a Wogtal? An' I happen ta have two. Only need one fer this, though."

Stepping up onto the rock, Anubis glared over the group with the hungry intention of a pure predator. Startled, there was a visible wave through the group. Many glanced at one another and then their Alpha in concern. Steeling himself, Grr'siv shook his head, pointing accusingly at the salivating hunter.

"He ain't allowed to be part o' this fight."

Glancing between them slowly, Jack raised a brow. "Ye sure? Now see, Khade'grr wrote real specifically that he'd be leavin' it up to me what role hungry here'd be takin' in my pack. I framed the letter an' everythin', yer welcome ta verify it. So today, I decided he's my guard dog. An' a guard dog's gotta guard."

Glancing at Anubis again, he bristled under that stare and glared back at Jack. "There's one o' 'im, an' near 50 o' us. Don't think we won't kill 'im."

Tapping his chin in thought, Jack nodded slowly. "Yeah, yeah ye could kill 'im, an' ye'd be in yer right to do so. But, by the time ye were done, ye'd have a whole lot less mouths ta feed, but I woulda only lost one." He held up a finger. "By the end o' that, I reckon we'd be a little more even. Is it worth it fer a field?"

Glowering at his steady stare, Grr'siv's gaze flicked back and forth between them while he seethed inside. Two other men with Beta braids stepped to his sides. They leaned towards him to mutter urgently. His fists balled tightly, he snapped "I realize that!" at the one to his left. Gathering himself, he spat on the ground, his snout wrinkled. "Yer lucky we weren't lookin' fer a bloody mornin'."

Glancing specifically at Fern, who had dragged himself out of his cabin and was growling with his teeth clenched tight beside him, Jack responded, "So're ye. But, council'll hear 'bout this. Weren't a smart move fer a fresh Alpha. Word o' advice, least wait 'til yer pack trusts yer judgment 'fore ye go pickin' fights. Ye'll stay Alpha longer that way."

Snorting bitterly, Grr'siv flipped him the bird, glaring at Anubis again before turning to follow his pack mates back to their own field. A triumphant grin split Jack's muzzle as an excited howl erupted around him, the men rushing forward to taunt the retreating pack out of their field.

"Fuck ye, Grr'siv! We ain't friends no more!" Jack was startled by Fern's outburst though most of the pack didn't hear him. "Traitorous shit licker! I'll fuck ye up if I catch ye, fuck face!"

Blinking in surprise, Jack was taken aback. "Hey, Fern. Calm down. I know yer mad 'bout White T...."

His mouth snapped shut at the feral iration in that green glare. "Who's mad? I ain't mad! Yer mad! Fuck ye! Ye dun know shit!" Whipping around with a snarl, Fern stomped away back to his cabin, hackles raised all up his back.

Letting out a deep sigh, Jack pursed his lips and shook his head, turning his attention to the black blur that was sailing away towards the woods along the opposing field. Jaw dropping, he followed the wild gallop through the vegetation for as far as he could. "Ah, shit. What the fuck, Anubis?"

"He's gotta kill somethin'." Balancing on a fence post, Silver shaded his eyes as he watched Anubis plunge into the darkness of the treeline and vanish. "Shoulda seen the look in his eyes. I asked 'im if he were alright an' off he took. Man's got the bloodlust, an' it's best if it ain't any o' us."

Sucking in a troubled breath, Jack shook his head before plopping into the seat of the tractor and starting it up to return to what he was doing. "This Wogtal business'll be the death o' me," he muttered to himself, glancing out to the woods again with a bristle.

***

It wasn't until the evening that the pack truly realized Anubis was gone, and the dinner was quiet once again. More of their pack was missing, and it sucked the joy out of the victory, though there were a few tales snickered over of Jack's total destruction of Grr'siv. The Alpha smirked a bit, relenting that it was indeed hilarious, but, glancing at the empty chairs beside him, he didn't much feel like celebrating anymore than anyone else.

The night watch were more alert than ever, easily catching a couple of young men hunting for any females that might be in the fields, but reported no sign of the stealthy hunter in the morning.

The dinner that next night was even quieter, save for the patter of the steady rain that had been threatening. Nova poked at her food without interest despite her sisters trying to talk her into eating. It was when they turned to try to elicit Denver's assistance that they noted they had not seen him since dinner last night, either. Long Fang mentioned sourly that his litter-brother had seemed distressed in the early morning, done his bare minimum chores, and vanished. Some of the other low ranks said they had looked for him a few times, but no one had found him.

Making sure no one saw her, Nova hurried through the rain and slipped into the animal barn. The stall Anubis had occupied when he had first arrived had been used for overflow storage and had since been returned to that use now that it was vacant again. Peeking around the stacks of hay, bags of feed and other clutter, she found Denver tucked into the tiny space there, hugging his knees, his face fur slightly damp and crusty.

"Hi, Nova," he murmured, hugging his knees a little tighter with a sniffle. "I knew it'd be ye."

Smiling softly, she sat cross-legged in front of him and feigned deep thought. "Well, let's see. Where's the only place 'round here that no one could smell ye, but it still sorta smells like everyone? I dunno why that don't make sense ta no one else." When Denver didn't respond, she sighed and pressed her back to the wall so she could pull her knees to her chest as well. "I'm really worried 'bout Anubis, too."

Denver whimpered. "It-It ain't even 'bout 'im, honestly. I-I mean, I'm worried fer 'im too, an' I re-really wish he were here cuz... cuz I-I-I dunno what ta do 'bout Fern. He-He's so... angry. He... He's never made me feel so... so scared 'fore."

"Scared?" she repeated, peering at him with concern.

Swallowing, his voice was barely above a whisper, fighting back tears. "H-He pushed me 'gainst the wall a-a-an' I thought he were g-gonna bite me." Nova gasped, but he continued. "He were drinkin' an-an' he looked like he were r-re-really hurtin'. I just wanted to help, b-b-but he's so strong an' he-he had me by the shoulders, an' I couldn't... I couldn't do nothin'." He shuddered in memory with a whine, rubbing his arms. "I-I-I were so scared lookin' up at 'im snarlin' like he'd lost his mind. He ain't never bared his teeth at me, n-n-not even- not even once. I-I told 'im he were hurtin' me a-an then he said... he said he don't care if I we-went away, too, an' told me ta get out. S-so I been hidin' here so I don't make 'im mad 'gain."

Getting to her knees, Nova took his hand in both of hers. "Oh, Denver! I can't believe he did that to ye! That ain't like 'im. It ain't yer fault at all! He can be mad at 'imself all he wants, but he shouldn't be takin' it out on ye! Ye ought ta tell Jack 'bout it."

Denver shook his head. "Naw. Th-that'll only make 'em both mad. I-I know he don't mmmean it. He don't know what he's sayin' right now. I-I'll, uh, I'll just, uh, s-stay in the hall. I-I-I were kinda hopin' Anubis would be there, but he's mad 'bout somethin' else."

Pursing her lips, Nova looked down and sighed. "I don't think he's mad. He's... got instincts. We don't hunt like the Wogtal, so we ain't got 'em like he do."

"I heard some o' the others say he's gotta kill somethin', like he's a wild animal, but I never saw 'im like that."

Sucking in her breath, recalling the feral rage of Anubis in the woods against the gregin, she glanced around nervously though there wasn't much to look at tucked in such a small space. "W-Well, I mean, ye... ye didn't exactly see 'im before.... But, I know he just needs a bit o' space, an' he'll be back when he's done what he needs ta do." Standing, she offered him her hand. "Right now, we ought ta get ye somethin' ta eat an' go ta bed. Maybe they'll both be back ta normal tomorrow."

Letting Nova pull him to his feet, she helped him find Long Fang, who was quick to get his litter-brother set up with a spare cot in the same alcove with him. Unable to sleep, however, Denver waited for everyone else to be out before slipping into Anubis' bed, hugging his pillow tightly while hoping he was safe and dry wherever he was.

It wasn't until after the overcast and gloomy breakfast that Long Fang and Nova were sure Denver was nowhere to be found. Together, they went to Iron Gale first, who helped them track down his paw prints in the mud, heading out into the woods at a gallop.

When the word reached Jack, sitting in his chair in the Great Lodge having a discussion with Cloud, he was already bitter and only grew more dour. Pinching his brow, he growled to himself, "Course. I'm surprised it weren't Nova."

"I mean, I could..." she started playfully, but his growl made her ears snap back and lower herself.

"No! No one else is goin' out to the woods! We can't afford to lose no one else right now. We ain't seen the last o' Grr'siv over this field, an' we're down a few, now. If he catches wind we're flaggin' like this, he'll be back in a moment." Turning away, he grumbled, "boy'll get an ass chewin' when he gets back."

Clenching her teeth, Nova muttered, "not exactly a good reason ta come back fer...."

The glare he turned back to her was enough to make her shrink behind Iron Gale, who stared back at Jack with a concerned pursing of his lips. The older man had no problem holding his Alpha's gaze.

"It's all Fern's fault."

Everyone present turned to look at Long Fang after that bitter utterance. "What?" they replied in discordant unison.

All but Nova, who gasped and shook her head, which Jack saw from the corner of his eye. Glancing between them, he leaned over the arm of his chair and peered at him suspiciously. "How's that?"

Again, Nova shook her head, but Long Fang ignored her. "He told 'im to get out. Even told 'im to leave! Pushed 'im, an' snarled at 'im, an' everythin'! Had bruises on his arms when I checked 'im. So now he's run off cuz he'll do anythin' Fern says. Got 'im trained like a dog."

"What!?" Cloud and Iron Gale barked together.

Narrowing his eyes and wrinkling his snout, Jack stood and started toward the door.

Cloud followed after him. "Wait! Jack! What're ye gonna do now?"

"Talk some damn sense into 'im," he called back in a furious growl. "An' if I gotta do it with my fists or my teeth, then maybe that's the only way to get it into 'im."

Cloud glanced back at Iron Gale, and they rushed out after him.

Nova glared at Long Fang when they were alone. "Now why'd ye go an' say that? He said not to say nothin'!"

Crossing his arms indignantly, Long Fang bared his snaggle tooth further in a sneer. "Cuz I watched Fern groom my brother to be his 'good boy' from the start, soon as he even thought Denver were gay. Never lettin' 'im do nothin' 'dangerous,' keepin' 'im low rank just for the fetish, always in his business just ta tell 'im what he's allowed ta do. Then, he goes an' pulls this shit, knowin' Denver'll do it without even thinkin'." Turning away, his fur bristled. "No one's ever listened to me. Maybe now they will."

Storming down the street, Jack's teeth were bared and his fists balled. Everyone else laid back their ears, finding something to do far away from him with haste.

Banging on the door of the cabin, Jack yelled out for Fern to show his face. Throwing open his door at another pounding, Fern's reddened scowl was enough to give the Alpha pause, looking him up and down.

"The fuck ye want?"

Jack shook his head in disappointment. "Shit, man, the fuck's wrong with ye? What'd I hear 'bout ye assaultin' Denver?"

Eyes widening a heart beat, his shock was immediately replaced with a snarl. "It ain't none o' yer business."

"The fuck it's not!" Jack snarled back, stepping towards him menacingly, though he had to look up at his friend. "Everyone in this pack's my business. 'specially my Head Beta. How could ye do that?"

Glowering back at him in silence for a moment, Fern swallowed hard before growling "fuck off," and turned to slam the door shut. Stepping forward to hold it open, Jack started to speak when he was knocked back into the mud. Winded a bit, he sat up and touched the warm sensation on his nose before snarling up at Fern.

"Get down here an' do that again," he invited dangerously, baring his teeth with the trickle of blood slithering into the spaces.

Just as Fern started towards him with a feral growl, fists balled up tight, Cloud stepped forward, reached up, and snagged Fern's ear with her claws. The man's enraged expression became stunned and powerless in a heartbeat. "Ow, ow, fuck, ow, Omma, ow, shit...!"

Jerking him mercilessly to her level, she bared her teeth at him. "What on earth's gotten into ye? How can ye do that to yer best friend?"

Not meeting her gaze, he clenched his teeth but didn't struggle. "Ye ought to stay outta it, omma," he warned in a low rumble.

Cloud shook her head. "Not when Denver's run off 'lone in the woods!"

Blinking in surprise, Fern peered at her, suddenly very sober. "What?"

"Ye heard 'er," Jack growled, getting to his feet. "Denver did exactly what ye told 'im. An' now he's out there with a hungry skaowl an' a even hungrier Wogtal runnin' loose. Are ye gonna help me find 'im or are ye gonna sit 'round bein' a drunken asshole?"

Glaring at him, Fern shook his mother off and snorted bitterly. "Yeah, I'm comin. I bet I know where he is."

After checking a few spots Fern thought Denver might be, the two men split up, covering more distance. Trotting along near the place Nova had tricked Anubis to fall into the shaft, Jack sniffed the air and perked at their scent. He could smell that the two had been here and that made him curious.

Following the faded trail, he glanced up at the old fence where Nova had jumped up. Narrowing his eyes, he sniffed along the ground to the last post where he paused and scanned the area since her scent had not touched the ground again. It had been years since he had last run through here messing around with the brothers and Silver as young men, but he swore he remembered... there! The dip in the ground under the branch, a spot where the vegetation was disturbed and bent. Glancing around to make sure there were no other surprises, he approached the shaft cautiously. Peering down the hole, he smirked with the scent of Anubis and the rather obvious tumble he had taken. If a wolf is climbing a tree, wouldn't that make one wonder what was on the ground they were avoiding?

A distinct yapping sound in the far distance caught Jack's attention. His head jerked up, and he took off towards it. There was only one small critter that made a sound like that. Known as warq, the agile and highly intelligent little social hunters had a well known sound that they used almost exclusively towards the wolves of the prairie. Particularly vocal, the dinosaur-like sprinters had a sound for every kind of friend, foe and food, and it was difficult to shake them off once they located a wolf. Not usually for hunting, but as if attempting to communicate with another smart and social creature, and the yapping sound was the closest they could get to a bark.

Trotting up to a large tree with many gnarled roots, Jack found the warq hopping and flapping excitedly all over the roots and climbing up the tree, yapping ceaselessly. Dozens of different colored fluffs, they waved their feathered arms, each tipped with a singular over sized hooked claw, and ran about on their hind legs. Noticing him, they turned their great big eyes towards him and grew more excited, wagging their tails as they hopped and darted around him playfully.

Shaking his head at the small creatures, the largest of which hardly reached his heel in his current form, he followed his nose and the crowd to the other side of the old tree where the warq showed him exactly which hollowed root Denver, in his feral form, was curled up in. Glancing up at him, Denver whimpered and curled up a little tighter while the creatures yapped with pride as if pleased they had reunited them.

Sighing, Jack pushed himself upright before kneeling down to speak. "Hey. I'm surprised ta find ye here. Fern an' I've been lookin' fer ye a while." He nodded at the question in Denver's expression. "I know Fern's been a bit of a ass lately." Touching his nose tenderly where the blood had dried, he winced a bit. "Trust me, I know. He's got a hell of a punch. But, he's real worried 'bout ye. I don't think he's meanin' none o' this madness. Why don't ye come back with me an' we'll try to get this all figured out together?"

With a deep sigh, Denver began to crawl out of his hiding spot.

In an instant, the yapping critters fell silent, perked, and fled into the brush behind them with haste. Jack didn't need to look up to feel every hair on his body stand on edge, but he did, staring up into the fearsome fangs looming over him.

With a surge of survival instinct, he jumped away just in time to avoid the first lunge of the skaowl, but his heel caught on a root and he tumbled to the ground. Again, the skaowl leapt, this time landing over top of him, hissing down at him so he could smell its breath and see the spittle on its teeth.

Denver's shrill barking caused it to snap around, growling at the sound. It was just enough distraction for Jack to scuttle out from under it, but as soon as he tried to turn so he could flee, he let out a sharp yelp as he felt his body hooked and jerked into the air. He hardly felt the massive claws rip through him so cleanly, but they caught deep and tossed him against a tree. Gasping in shock, he clutched at his side and grimaced at the soft sensation of his innards.

Turning over to prop against the tree in time to look up at his certain end, he bared his teeth to bite back when Denver jumped in front of him, his own teeth bared to the gums. His convincing snarl gave the predator pause, tilting its head at him curiously before stepping forward to finish its kill.

The expression of genuine horror from both wolves was dramatic enough to make the predator stop and start to look over its shoulder in time to see only the enormous mouth that clamped shut on the base of its skull. With the sickening crunch that didn't even let it scream before death, the brutal shaking that slammed the limp body into the ground again and again until every last bone was shattered was entirely unnecessary. Jack and Denver could feel each thud in the ground under them, watching in helpless horror.

Dropping the mangled body with a final snarl, Anubis turned his crazed attention to Jack and began to stalk towards him. Panting with feathers stuck to his tongue, his fangs were dripping with blood and brain matter,and his glowing gaze was as feral as Jack had ever seen in another wolf.

Swallowing the blood in his throat, Jack felt his eyes fluttering, his body no longer shivering since there wasn't any sensation left. No matter how hard he tried, he could not hang on, his last vision of darkness staring down at him before it enveloped him.