Epilogue Part 4
Epilogue 4
13 years later
Sol
I was going on my first solo hunt, just like everyone in the pack did when they turned thirteen and had their first shift. My mother had done it, and now it was my turn. My wolf looked like hers, white and small. I had been hunting with my parents for the last three years, but it was always in my human form. I could not contain my excitement.
I would hunt by myself, and then I would get my family tattoo. I would have one like my mother, grandmother, and aunts. It was a tradition I was super excited about. I had my pack tattoo on my back below my neck. I got that not too long ago, and it had been one of the best days in my short life. I loved my pack.
My parents had explained how things used to be very different in Shadow Pack, but I knew no other way to live. The changes they had made were for the better. The most important one was that it allowed me to eventually become alpha. My mother came to the tree line with me. She began to sign ."Are you ready, Sol?" I loved my mother. She was the strongest wolf I had ever encountered. It seemed weird, but I saw more strength in her than anyone else, even my father.
Her body was covered in marks that looked like bites. One of her ears was utterly gone, and on top of all that, she was deaf. I had been so happy when I got my wolf last night. I had never heard her speak, but we could communicate over the pack link when I shifted. It was the closest thing I would ever hear to her voice. "Yes, Mom, I am so ready to hunt. I am going to be like you and get a bear my first go." I mind-linked her. "I told you, Sol, not to go out and search for a predator, especially a bear. They are dangerous, and I was lucky to live through it. I had been seriously injured, and it had been an accident to even have to fight one."
I rolled my eyes. "I am serious, Sol, do not seek out a bear. The hunt is about food, and you know this." She signed. I stripped down and shifted into my little white wolf. My mother tied a bag around my back ankle. I would need to skin the animal and bring home the pelt. Then, I would be obligated to treat the hide and build up my furs. My mother's mind linked me. "Remember to keep your wits about you. Always know where each paw is, and your tail. Oh, and don't forget to go for the jugular." "Mom, I know all of this." She just smiled at me.
I took a deep breath and then took off running. I sniffed the air and didn't smell anything. Unlike my mother, who had a super sense of smell, I was just average in that department. I knew it would take a while to find something to hunt. I ran for about two hours, smelling plenty of animals, but I wanted to bag a predator like I told my mom. I smelled no bears, but I caught wind of a mountain lion. I internally smiled.
I had never seen anyone in my pack hunt these things. I didn't know if it was because the meat was not as good or something; perhaps it was because they had claws and were super dexterous, but so was I, and I was determined to prove myself. I had to be better at everything in order to gain respect in the pack. Even though both my father and mother told me that as long as I was kind and had a good head on my shoulders, that would be enough to make me a good alpha. But I wanted to be more than just wise. I wanted to be the strongest in the pack, well, second strongest, because the title of who had the most strength was my mother, who was the Luna.
I crept up on the animal, following my nose like my mother and father taught me, as well as Kimi. I got low, which was very close to the ground. I did not have the advantage some in my pack had of camouflage, as my fur was like my mother's white. But I was not my full size yet, and getting low to the ground was easily doable to get the jump on the predator. The large wildcat was lying on a boulder, and I moved from the lower ground.
I knew this would be a disadvantage when I needed to pounce, but if I had moved around and got a better angle, the animal would have seen me coming and would bolt or attack. I had to do it this way. Fear rippled through me. I could still back out and get something like a mule deer. But I fought that urge to run and give into fear. I needed to do this. I needed to prove myself, I internally told myself. I jumped up, leaping onto the boulder from below.
My paws did not have a good grip, and the ledge I had to maneuver over made me slide a bit. It was easier to hunt on soil versus stone. Stone meant little traction. The cat was caught off guard but wiped its feline body toward me. It was not going to flee. It was going to fight. It swiped at me, which was easily avoidable with my tiny body. I moved, but it was fast, and I had no clear shot to its neck. I thought at that moment I should have listened to my mother. I knew without a doubt I would end up injured.
With nothing else to do, I let the cat dig into my back as I went under him and bit into the tender flesh of its neck. It bit into me at the same time. We both had to see who would let go first. The cat dug its claws into my sides, and I bit down harder on its neck. Blood flooded my mouth as I continued to hang on as the predator thrashed around. It was losing too much blood, and I knew it was wavering on the edge of life. When the thing fell lifeless, I couldn't help but be proud.
I had done it. I shifted my back and sides, burning from the injuries. I needed to work fast. I still had a long trip back. I ate the heart first and some of the meat. I shifted and rendered the animal. I then made the long trip back. I did not have a way to transport too much of the animal back. This was a solo hunt, and it was expected that only a few of the animals would come back to the pack.
As I approached the tree line back at the packhouse, I paused to put my clothes back on. I had done it. Both my father and mother were waiting on the porch of the packhouse. Both had smiles on as I approached them. "I got a huge wild cat." My father, the alpha, couldn't help but beam. My mom gave me a look like you know better, but I knew she was proud of me. It was late when I returned. "So when do I get my family tattoo?" I couldn't wait.
"It is late, so we can go first thing in the morning, okay." My mother's mind linked me. I smiled at the two most imposing, loving figures in the whole pack. My father then spoke. "You know what to do with the animal. You better go take care of it. Before it gets too late." I nodded, and then he said. "I am very proud of you, Sol." My mother's mind linked me. "Excellent job, you did great and I am proud of you." I smiled and went to the back of the packhouse to continue to treat the wild cat.
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