Winter was fast approaching, -with it came freezing frosts and cold nights- and that meant most lone wolves would attempt to get into a pack before the cruel cold truly set in. That was why he had patrolled the borders more frequently, especially since there was a prince and princess in the pack. He would do anything to keep the lifeline of the Slayers and Pitch Pine Trail alive. They had no mother, and their father was dead. All they had left was the members of their pack.
Padding at a slow, leisurely pace, The Pitch Pine Leader marked the borderline every twenty feet or so, to make sure that any lone wolves that came across the border, there would be no way of them not noticing that a pack lived in the area. He didn’t want them in his territory, and if they were, they had better have a good reason for it. But since the past few days consisted of nothing but rain, the scent markers were fainter than he’d like them to be.
The cold chilled him to the bone, but he kept moving forward. He always completed a border patrol, and never returned until he was satisfied that it was finished properly. It was his duty to serve the pack, protect and look after each member as if they were family, which they all were. They all welcomed wolves that joined and were expected to treat them with kindness and respect. But his pack mates never failed him.
At the faint scent of a strange wolf his dark grey ears perked up as he lifted his muzzle, searching the damp air for the trail. A slight wind blew through the fen, supposedly bringing the taint of another wolf with it. The wolf could be miles away, or right on the border, but there had been no howl. Unwilling to possibly let a stranger intrude on his territory, Ace loped towards where he hoped the wolf was.
He soon came upon a large, black and silver male. The stranger was tall and long rather than wide and muscular. His tail was thick and fluffy, and the black and silver coat seemed well kept, but scars and badly healed flesh wounds were easily seen. It seemed that the stranger had been in a fight recently, or always stirred up trouble. If it was the latter, then the Pitch Pine Leader would have no interest in letting him join, as trouble makers did not do well in his pack.
As his silver eyes finished scanning over the male (of what he could see as the stranger’s face was half-turned away from him) Ace noticed that the male was on the border and still walking, right into his territory. His lips pulled back to reveal sharp canines as his hackles raised and tail curled fully over his creamy back. The Pitch Pine Leader punished all those who crossed his borders without permission, but if the stranger had a very good reason as to why he was walking right over the border, then he would let it slide, but only once, and grudgingly.
Ace padded up to the stranger, stopping multiple paces away, and stared at the dark wolf with hard eyes for a few moments before letting out a low growl, to show that he was angered by the stranger intruding. “Explain to me why you are on MY borders, verging on crossing into MY territory without MY packs permission.” The Pitch Pine Leader put emphasis on every ‘my’ he spoke, to show that if the stranger should decide to turn on him, he would be in trouble. Considering the state the stranger was in, it wasn’t likely that a fight or scuffle would ensue, but it was always good to have a back-up plan.
635 WordsIf I could have you in my heart, I
would protect you forever