Spirit of the Wolves by Dorothy Hearst Read Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Dorothy Hearst
her leap. My first impulse was to resist her, to stand strong and meet power with power. Then I remembered Torellâs fighting lessons. He was Pellâs father and leaderwolf, and he had taught me to use cleverness as well as strength in a fight. I let the momentum of Lallnaâs jump knock me over, but continued to roll so that she tumbled past me. Before she couldget up, I threw myself on top of her. She snapped her teeth in my face, startling me, and heaved me into the air. I fell onto my side.
Muscle and sinew moved under her fur as she landed on my chest, pressing down with her full weight. She wasnât that large a wolf and I hadnât expected her to be so strong. The hard landing had knocked the wind from my lungs, but I managed to curl away from her and get partway to my feet before she tackled me again. We scrambled on the ground, each of us trying to pin the other. Her legs trembled with what I thought for a moment was fear as strong as my own, but then I realized it was excitement. She grinned and I knew she was enjoying the fight.
I arched my back, twisted my hips, and snapped my head forward, slamming Lallna to the ground. Before she could get up, I dug my forepaws into her belly and bared my teeth to bite her, hard.
I saw Pell throw the tawny male halfway down the hill, then flip Sallin onto his back, stand astride him, and take the smaller wolfâs neck very gently in his jaws. He didnât bite down but just kept his teeth around Sallinâs neck as Sallin averted his gaze and tried to lick Pellâs muzzle. I remembered, then, what Ruuqo had told us about dominance fights when we were pups: they were to determine which wolves would be submissive and which would be dominant. Only a weak, scheming wolf would hurt another wolf more than necessary. It was Pellâs gentle treatment of Sallin that made me gain control of myself. Pell had challenged the Sentinel youngwolves when he refused to go with them. No one had yet drawn blood, and if I did so, I would change a battle for control to afight to the death. I looked at the others. Both Marra and Ãzzuen were struggling but holding their own.
My inattention allowed Lallna to throw me off her belly, but she didnât attack again. She narrowed her eyes at me and woofed softly to her packmates. The wolves fighting Ãzzuen and Marra got to their feet, and Pell stepped off of Sallin. The fifth wolf scrambled back up the hill.
Lallna kept watching me. It was only when Ãzzuen bumped my hip that I realized that Lallna was waiting for me to speak. They still thought I was a leaderwolf.
We had won the fight and so gained the right to make the next move, but the Sentinels were strong wolves. They could follow us back to the humans, or attack us again, or bring more wolves to fight us. We couldnât escape them, but we could gain some time.
âWeâll come meet your leaderwolves,â I said, âbut we have something to do first.â
âWhat do you have to do?â Lallna asked.
âMeet someone,â Ãzzuen said before I could answer.
If I hadnât been afraid to turn away from Lallna, I would have snarled at him for thinking I was stupid enough to tell the Sentinels that we were looking for humans.
Lallna regarded us with her cool gaze.
âWeâll let you escort us to your pack,â Marra offered. Lallna looked at me for confirmation.
âYes,â I said, understanding what Marra had figured out already: if Lallna brought trespassing wolves to her pack, she would gain status with her leaderwolves.
âWe couldâve won if it werenât for the willow-smellingmale,â Lallna said, âbut you fight well.â She jutted her chin in challenge. âIf you let us escort you to our pack, you can go.â
âYou wonât follow us,â Pell ordered. I was grateful to him. I hadnât thought of that. âAnd you will give us until two nights from now.â I would
Muscle and sinew moved under her fur as she landed on my chest, pressing down with her full weight. She wasnât that large a wolf and I hadnât expected her to be so strong. The hard landing had knocked the wind from my lungs, but I managed to curl away from her and get partway to my feet before she tackled me again. We scrambled on the ground, each of us trying to pin the other. Her legs trembled with what I thought for a moment was fear as strong as my own, but then I realized it was excitement. She grinned and I knew she was enjoying the fight.
I arched my back, twisted my hips, and snapped my head forward, slamming Lallna to the ground. Before she could get up, I dug my forepaws into her belly and bared my teeth to bite her, hard.
I saw Pell throw the tawny male halfway down the hill, then flip Sallin onto his back, stand astride him, and take the smaller wolfâs neck very gently in his jaws. He didnât bite down but just kept his teeth around Sallinâs neck as Sallin averted his gaze and tried to lick Pellâs muzzle. I remembered, then, what Ruuqo had told us about dominance fights when we were pups: they were to determine which wolves would be submissive and which would be dominant. Only a weak, scheming wolf would hurt another wolf more than necessary. It was Pellâs gentle treatment of Sallin that made me gain control of myself. Pell had challenged the Sentinel youngwolves when he refused to go with them. No one had yet drawn blood, and if I did so, I would change a battle for control to afight to the death. I looked at the others. Both Marra and Ãzzuen were struggling but holding their own.
My inattention allowed Lallna to throw me off her belly, but she didnât attack again. She narrowed her eyes at me and woofed softly to her packmates. The wolves fighting Ãzzuen and Marra got to their feet, and Pell stepped off of Sallin. The fifth wolf scrambled back up the hill.
Lallna kept watching me. It was only when Ãzzuen bumped my hip that I realized that Lallna was waiting for me to speak. They still thought I was a leaderwolf.
We had won the fight and so gained the right to make the next move, but the Sentinels were strong wolves. They could follow us back to the humans, or attack us again, or bring more wolves to fight us. We couldnât escape them, but we could gain some time.
âWeâll come meet your leaderwolves,â I said, âbut we have something to do first.â
âWhat do you have to do?â Lallna asked.
âMeet someone,â Ãzzuen said before I could answer.
If I hadnât been afraid to turn away from Lallna, I would have snarled at him for thinking I was stupid enough to tell the Sentinels that we were looking for humans.
Lallna regarded us with her cool gaze.
âWeâll let you escort us to your pack,â Marra offered. Lallna looked at me for confirmation.
âYes,â I said, understanding what Marra had figured out already: if Lallna brought trespassing wolves to her pack, she would gain status with her leaderwolves.
âWe couldâve won if it werenât for the willow-smellingmale,â Lallna said, âbut you fight well.â She jutted her chin in challenge. âIf you let us escort you to our pack, you can go.â
âYou wonât follow us,â Pell ordered. I was grateful to him. I hadnât thought of that. âAnd you will give us until two nights from now.â I would