War is Upon Us by Silver Sky (crime books to read txt) 📖

think about that. Vera turned to Ira and smirked. "Alright, she's yours. Food, a place to sleep, and a place to wash up all your responsibility..." Vera snapped her attention towards a sound in the trees. "Hey ladies I think we got us some company" she laughed. 5 northern wolves walked out in human form. Vera's fur bristled. There's to many there will be more. Vera howled calling for more of the pack to help hoping the message would spread quickly. Snarling in delight, Ira quickly scanned the approaching enemy; strong fighters at their prime. Growling, her eyes locked onto the nearest one. He was slimmer than the other four but looked just as deadly. His sharp eyes quickly locked onto her's and he grinned shifting into wolf form. Fur rippling over wiry, strong muscles he dropped to all fours. The two opposing wolves circled each other for a moment then leaped towards each other. Ira sank her teeth into his shoulder and dug her claws into his stomach. In turn he bit and slashed at her. Pain flourished across her shoulders just as warm blood flooded into her mouth. The two grappled for a moment longer before pulling away and circling again snarling. Delight glittered in both of their eyes as the blood lust was answered.
It was like a dance that was repeated again and again: Circle, engage, withdraw and repeat. Soon both Ira and her opponent's fur was matted with blood but still the fighting continued. Snarling and growling they tore at one another in an intimacy that only appeared between two opponents fighting till death. They were beginning to tire now. There was only one question remaining. Who would tire first? Vera lunged at one catching his shoulder. Another wolf jumped on Vera. She bucked him of and slashed open his flank. Three more of the southern pack finally arrived. Vera slashed open one wolfs throat. She smirked blood ozzed from a cut above her eye and one on he shoulder. 'Worthless Mutts!' she howled at herself. Both opponents paused and snarled in annoyance as the Northern Pack reinforcements arrived. It was clear that they wanted their fight uninterrupted. This was a fight of pride now. Ira lunged and dug her claws into his exposed back. Yelling in pain he reared onto his back feet and flung her to the ground. They were both breathing heavily and shaking. Ira tried to stand but failed, weakened her body changed to human. Glancing she saw the male was struggling as well. Reverting to human form as well, he put his hands on his knees and panted heavily.
"Ho- how about... a short break..." he flopped onto the ground. Neither of them spoke further, but they had formed an unspoken truce as they tried to get their breath back. Ira took deep breaths aware that the truce would end as soon as one recovered.
While she waited for a lungs and muscles to stop hurting, she watched Vera fighting. The new Alpha was amazing to watch, she slashed and fought. In short she was... formidable. Vera snarled again and dug her claws into another wolf's shoulder. 'I won't let them win I won't lose this battle." she kept repeating in her head More of the Southern pack reinforcement arrived. The leader of the battle force howled. "Retreat northern wolves retreat!" the wolves began to run off. Vera snarled triumphantly. She smirked. The male Ira was fighting groaned in disappointment and got to his feet, brushing off his legs. Yawning, he smirked at Ira.
"Higher ups always have to spoil the fun don't they," waving casually, he turned, "see you around. Hopefully we'll fight again." With that he turned back into a wolf and bounded away.
Getting to her own feet, Ira nodded to herself, "Yeah, I'll see you again." She whispered. A healer came and started patching up her wounds and wasn't deterred by Ira's pointblank rudeness. When the healer was done, she walked over to Yuri.
"Looks like your stuck with me," she grimaced, "you had better have good information or I will personally slaughter you." After a pause, Ira grudgingly muttered, "Are you hurt?"
Yuri sniffed, trying to get the tingling on her nose to stop. She turned into a human just as some medics came over, hesitant at first but then fixed what little wounds she had. It was a slash on her nose and a few scraps on her arms from rolling around. Yuri was nowhere near as bad as Ira or Vera. 'Speak of the devil' she smirked to herself as Ira walked up.
"Looks like you're stuck with me, you had better have good information or I will personally slaughter you." There was silence after that, but only for a second before Yuri heard Ira huff under her breath, "Are you hurt?" Yuri shook her head.
"No as nearly as bad as you. You look like crap." Yuri chuckled at her comment.
"I wanted to say thank you. For helping me join the pack, I promise I'll help you as much I can. Though you'll be able to tell I'm around, I'll help hunt as well if you want. I need more training in fighting skills, maybe you could teach me?" The last questions Yuri hesitated before asking, Ira's pack had just lost their Alpha, an Alpha that Ira seemed oddly close to. Yuri wasn't sure if Ira would want some pack newcomer on her back about fighting. "First lets get back to camp" Vera growled changing to human form and wiping blood away from the corner of her mouth. "We can go hunting later, two of our wolves were badly injured" she started back towards camp. She limped lightly. One of the wolves caught her back leg. It wasn't very bad but Vera didn't want to show she was badly injured either. Ira froze. Why was Yuri... why was this newcomer asking her how to fight?
It reminded her terribly of the past...
' "Teach me, you stingy old mongrel! How am I supposed to defend myself if you won't teach me how to fight!?" ten year old Ira yelled at the old Alpha. She had been whining for the last half hour.
"Get lost! I'm busy!" he snapped. His tone seemed determined but after another few moments he relented. "Ira, the most important thing about fighting," he had told her later, "Isn't about who wins or who loses, it's about the fight its self. The pumping of adrenalin and giving it your all, it is an ancient dance that has been danced for thousands of years."
Those words would stayed with her for ever.
"Yeah," she whispered hoarsely to Yuri, "I'll- I'll teach you." With that she began to walk after Vera. "YES!" Yuri thought, doing a fist pump. She turned into wolf form and followed Vera and Ira toward what she could only assume was the Southern Pack's camp. "Ira you can show her around camp I need to make sure we haven't lost anyone" Vera growled walking over to the healer's den. The main den was situated about five miles into the woods, however for a wolf it didn't take long to get there. It was a huge open forest clearing with a large amount of caves set into both the floor and the craggy rocks that rose up from the middle. The rocks made up many levels and platforms, this built up the body of the den its self. Around it was bare ground where most pups liked to play fight. There was a large square area that was cordoned of with rope. Two wolves were fighting inside it with a few onlookers watching. A wide river cut across the very back of the clearing that gave them all the water they needed. There were many wolves of varying sizes and colours dotted around the rocks.
Ira breathed a sigh, home.
"This way," she led Yuri to a small network of caves at the base of the rocks. "There're seven rooms, three of them are sleeping rooms pick the one you want. There should be some food in the storeroom. I'm going to get some water," she picked up a pot and turned to leave but paused, "there's a locked wooden box in one of the sleeping rooms. That's usually my room, but if you want it then I'll move. Please respect my privacy and don't look inside the box." With that she walked out. It was probably a futile effort. Telling someone not to do something will only make them more likely to do it. Then again if she looked... Ira smirked slightly, most of the things in there wouldn't make sense, but the things that did were probably the stuff of a pup's nightmare. Vera growled after being told two more wolves died. Vera walked to the center of camp. "I call a meeting with the southern pack!" she howled. Its time to chose a deputy. She shifted to wolf form and waited for the pack to gather. Looking up from the river, Ira saw Vera standing and looking determined before summoning the pack. Two meetings in one day? This is a unique day. Hurrying back to the cave she called to Yuri.
"Come on! Your one of us now so you must attend our, 'gripping' meetings," smirking she turned, "let's get it over with."
Vera look over the pack. The Southern Pack was the smallest but the fiercest. "There were two more deaths" she growled. "But they didn't die in vein we chased the northern wolves out of our part of the forest. And it's time to chose a new deputy" she looked across the crowd again. Ira stared, frowning. 'A new deputy? So soon after Alpha's death?' she growled scowling, she glared at the ground, they haven't even held his memorial and she's already trying to erase his memory. The rational part of her knew that this was a time of war and sentimental things would have to wait for a while. But Ira wasn't a rational person.
'I wonder who it's going to be?' she thought sadly, 'I wonder which poor soul is going to be dragged into the complicated world of politics.'
"After the new deputy is chosen we will have Alpha's burial. I would like Ira to be my new deputy. Do you execpt?" she looked at Ira. Many of the pack murmured there agreements and disagreements. She gaped. This was- this was insane!
Apparently others thought so too. A wolf named Toren stepped up.
"This is a disgrace!" he was a haughty male a few years older than she was; tall and muscle bound, the cream of the crop, you could say. He was popular with most of the elders and females, "you need someone who is strong, powerful and with influence. She wasn't even born in the pack and she's practically a loner anyway! She's not even particularly good at fighting!"
Ira snarled at him for this, "How dare you!?" she leaped at him but he dodged.
"Fine," he grinned, "How about we fight. The victor become deputy. How does that sound?" Angry Ira merely nodded. "Alpha Vera?" he turned to the silver haired wolf. "What do you say?"
"What happened?" Yuri asked the first person she reached, a man around her age that didn't seem to agree with what was going on.
"Ira just got chosen as deputy."
"This is a disgrace!" Yuri heard another man yell and she pushed through the crowd to see what was going on. Once she got there, there was a wolf with silver fur looking as if he was going to shred Ira to bits.
"What do you say?" He asked Vera. And Yuri hoped that Vera would say no, Ira couldn't fight! She had just gone through battle with a vicious wolf! While this jerk was going to take advantage of that! Ira could