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Hungry Like Wolves

Chapter 2

Skylar tried to ignore his growling stomach as he sat on the step, polishing his spear. He couldn't remember the last time he'd eaten a good lamb stew, but as long as he could remember, food had always been an issue for his people. The elders told stories of bountiful prey, a forest overflowing with fish-fat rivers and scores of deer and elk. But when the sheep moved into the Hillands, they took all the grass and water for themselves, forcing the deer to flee far north and blocking access to the rivers with their dams. The sheep were just clever enough that they set traps around the dams, traps which were meant to kill any wolves who dared draw near for a drink. With food and water in short supply, the wolves survived the only way they could: they hunted the sheep, who were the very source of their misery.

Skylar's mother was chieftess of their clan and spent much of her time with the other clan elders, complaining about the sheep and how to be rid of them.

Elder Kumi suggested they burn all the sheep and eat them. It was her idea that instead of flushing one clan at a time, they should flush all the sheep clans in the Hillands and be done with it. They could then have a grand feast before moving farther north in pursuit of the deer.

Many in Clan Kweku agreed with Elder Kumi. After years of long, hard, hungry winters, much resentment had been fostered against the sheep and their selfish hoarding of resources. Many in the clan, who had watched too many loved ones die of hunger, wished for revenge and an end to their suffering. They were in fact stretched so thin, Skylar's mother had passed a law, restricting every couple to one litter of pups. As a result, they had even fewer young warriors to hunt, but still fewer mouths to feed - which really didn't balance anything out.

Elder Okwan wanted to break the dam and not figuratively but_literally_ flush the sheep out of the Hillands. Her proposal was more dangerous in that it required a team of wolves to not only bypass all the sheep's traps but to also break the dam. Many of the more zealously angry backed Okwan's proposal, however, to the point that Skylar's mother was afraid they would go ahead with their plan without her consent.

The third elder, Elder Tawia, was the only one who advocated peace. She wanted to find some way to compromise with the sheep, which greatly angered the rest of Clan Kweku, who wanted to see the sheep suffer and were ready to defy the council of elders to see it happen.

The wolves' slow starvation had been happening so long that being hungry seemed a natural state of theirs. While stalking the edge of the Hillands, they would overhear the sheep mocking them, referring to each other as "hungry like wolves" whenever they approached the bell that summoned them to a clan feast. It seemed to Skylar the sheep were oblivious to their suffering, that Elder Tawia had a point: perhaps they should try talking to the sheep.

Skylar's mother, Chieftess Nsowaa, was at a crossroads, and Skylar pitied her. On the one paw, she had half the tribe up in arms, ready to commit genocide on the sheep and kill her if she stood in their way. On the other paw, her own people were dying everyday of starvation, and risking the sheep's refusal to compromise meant the pointless loss of more lives. She had inherited the centuries-long problems of her mother and mother's mother and was expected to solve them all on her own.

Skylar's sister Nkroma, as a female, stood to inherit the clan's problems, and being recognized as an adult, was already present at most elder meetings. She offered a third option: that they simply leave Forest Nawtowa and find some other place to hunt. The only problem was, wolves were romantics, who loved their land like they loved their mothers: they would never leave. Nkroma's suggestion was met with hatred and disdain, to the point that she retreated inside the longhouse and did not show her face for several days, for fear of having things thrown at her.

Clan Kweku had little respect for Princess Nkroma because she was so young and was yet to bear pups - which seemed to mark a female's worth, disgusting though the custom was. Some suspected that her husband was incapable, but Skylar knew the truth: Nkroma's husband was too busy sleeping with Skylar to impregnate his wife.

Nkroma's husband was Aidyn, a big brute of a gray wolf who had played with Skylar when they were pups. They had grown up in the same village together, had hunted together, had explored their bodies together in the dark heart of the forest. Aidyn was friends with Nkroma as well, and because he was related to the royal family of another clan, it seemed only natural that he should marry Nkroma and have her pups.

Aidyn was a serious, steadfast male, very quiet and grim, with calm eyes as gray as his fur and a messy, wild mane braided here and there with beads. He was hard-bodied and strong, a great warrior who had captured many sheep for their clan. He was fiercely respected across all the forest clans for his hunting ability, as his spear alone had fed many a belly and had allowed for flourishing trade between the villages, and like the rest of Clan Kweku, he despised the sheep. He wore their teeth and horns as necklaces, adorned his mantle with their heads, used their hides as rugs. It was believed that one day the wolves would bring war to the Hillands and that Aidyn, the mightiest sheep slayer of all, would secure their victory.

Nkroma adored her husband, hated the sheep as much as he, and did not disapprove of Skylar and Aidyn's relations. Indeed, she never said a word about it, though she would have been blind to not have noticed. She seemed to care more about feeding and caring for their people and had little interest in love or sex so long as she eventually had pups to lead the tribe in her place. Like Aidyn, she was very serious and duty-driven, and so it seemed to the clan that she and the great warrior were perfect for each other.

As a male, nothing was expected of Prince Skylar, despite his royal blood. He was expected only to hunt and protect his people. Under different circumstances, in a time during which his people were not starving but thriving, Skylar would have been expected as a royal son to father as many pups as possible on as many females as possible. Though he felt guilty for it, he was relieved and saw the current litter law as the only good thing to come of their starvation. He had no desire to be a father nor to bed females, and he didn't see why a bunch of females should be subjected to spreading their thighs unwillingly for him.

Though if Skylar was honest with himself, a great many she-wolves in the village were more than willing to bed him. He was a handsome black wolf, with eyes blue as the sky, thus his mother had named him Skylar. As he was growing up, the girls always wanted him, pulling his tail and his mane, giggling and running away. Now that he was grown, they were more aggressive in their silent competition to win his favor. None of them realized he only cared for males. In fact, same-sex love was forbidden among the wolf clans, for the need to reproduce was far greater than the need for love. Thus, all wolves were expected to find someone of the opposite sex, marry them, and produce a litter: it was assumed that all males wanted females.

Marriages were often arranged by parents, while young wolves had little to no say, especially males. But because Skylar was a prince, he could have chosen any female he wanted, and his brother, Zima - who looked exactly like him but for his green eyes - had often expressed amazement that he didn't leap on the opportunity.

"Look," said Zima once as they passed a group of giggling, big-breasted girls in the village, "I know you only like dick, but you'd better take the chance to choose a wife before Mother has to choose one for you. If you reach twenty-three and still haven't done the ritual, you'll look like a sorry-ass pup. And do you really wanna get stuck with whatever ugly she-wolf Mother picks out for you? She really has zero taste."

Skylar couldn't help but envy his brother, who fit so seamlessly within their society. Zima had a beautiful wife and a litter of small pups who adored him, was able to kiss his wife in public and hold her paw without scowls, and was respected unquestioningly by everyone. He had completed the malehood ritual at the tender age of seventeen and had been married ever since. The ritual consisted of simply going out, catching a sheep, and bringing it back alive as a gift to a prospective wife. Doing so would mark the male as a suitable provider, for among the wolf clans, it seemed a male was only worth something if he could catch a sheep.

In her haste to help Skylar ascend as a respected adult among his people, Chieftess Nsowaa had already been pushing a potential bride in Skylar's direction. She was a very pretty young girl named Subira, very gentle and sweet and so eager to be his mate. Each time they saw each other, they were both a stammering mess, with her tawny cheeks blushing and her breasts heaving, and him wishing he was anywhere else on the planet.

Subira was a beautiful golden-brown wolf - perhaps the most beautiful female in the village - with lush, fluffy fur and slanted brown eyes that were intense and warm and loving. She was very small and shapely, with large breasts and a jutting backside, a pretty laugh, and a soft tail that always seemed to find his own so easily should they wind up sitting together at a gathering. She smelled sweet, she was a great cook, and she adored him. She was caring and loving, always looking after the warriors who returned injured from fighting bears. Nearly everyone in the village - male or female - wanted her, and yet, she only had eyes for Skylar.

Skylar could tell his brother Zima was intensely jealous, as he had wanted Subira for himself. He was instead made to marry Ujana, a somewhat less pretty female who was a clumsy cook and hated giving oral sex, to hear Zima tell it. Subira, meanwhile, was often publically teased by her friends for her near-obsessive desire to go down on Skylar.

Skylar spent years trying to ignore Subira's fluttering lashes, the way she stared, the way she "accidentally" tripped into his arms, rubbing her soft, naked breasts all over him. Females did not cover their breasts except in the winter, so the summer was always a private hell of ecstasy for most males in the village, but not Skylar, who couldn't see what all the fuss was about.

As much as he avoided being with Subira, Skylar eventually found himself avoiding Aidyn as well. He thought the male's treatment of the sheep distasteful. It was one thing to hunt them for food - that was something they needed to do in order to survive. But torturing them? Raping them? Wearing them like jewelry? It was enough to make Skylar sick, and as he grew older, the veil of naivety left his eyes, and he began to see Aidyn for the cruel male he really was.

Things reached their tipping point when Aidyn returned one day with a sheep's penis, which he proudly wore around his neck. As the other hunters drew near in excitement, he told the story of how he'd raped the sheep and made him suck before dismembering him alive. Skylar, sick to his stomach, quietly walked away from the group, and it was then that he decided: he would rather marry Subira and live a lie than continue on with Aidyn.

The very next day, Skylar prepared for the malehood ritual, determined to set out toward the nearest sheep village to catch a sheep for Subira. The nearest village was called Lochlain and stood on the edge of the Hillands, small and tightly walled. Skylar's tribe had been hunting sheep from that village for a few years now, picking them off a little at a time. But the Lochlain sheep were cleverer than the other clans, to the point that Clan Kweku was seriously considering moving on to another village. If Skylar captured a clever Lochlain sheep alive, he would be hailed across all the clans as a mighty hunter.

Because he was not married, Skylar was considered a pup and was thus still living in his mother's longhouse alongside his sister and Aidyn, who both stood to inherit the house when Chieftess Nsowaa passed. That morning, Skylar rose just before dawn and froze to find Aidyn in his bed, sleeping soundly beside him. It was a common enough thing for Aidyn to leave his wife's side and move to his brother-in-law's bed, but Skylar was shocked nonetheless into freezing. He lay there for several seconds with the big male's arm tight around him, thinking how he could escape without waking him.

Aidyn gave a sleepy moan and tightened his arm around Skylar, burying a kiss in his mane that made him smile in spite of everything. Skylar closed his eyes and held back tears, silently relishing one last time in the feel of Aidyn's hard body against his. Then he gently pushed the male's arm away and sat up on his pallet, fumbling in the dark for his bear hide loincloth. His black mane was a mess in his face, and his tight, toned arms flexed against the leather bracelets on his biceps as he reached for the loincloth. His body was toned but lithe and lean, and he had always felt so small beside Aidyn, who was large even when they were children.

"Mmm . . ." Aidyn smacked his lips. "Where are you goin'?" he slurred. His big paw rubbed Skylar's back, then smoothed around and gently fondled his soft penis.

Aidyn had always been good. Too good. Skylar was dragging his loincloth to himself when the sudden fondling froze him and he bit his lip, willing himself not to get hard. He did not want to go on the hunt with sex on his mind. The last thing he needed was to be nervous and fidgeting while trying to shoot his bow. He grabbed Aidyn's wrist to stop him, but the male didn't stop, fondling him slower, deeper, rolling his shaft back and forth in his fingers, until it swelled hot with blood.

"Mmpfh!" came Skylar's choked cry as he hunched over, trying to resist. His paws were shaking, and he could see the pre-cum dripping from the head of his dark brown cock, a silent testament to the desperation of his body. He'd been avoiding Aidyn so long, denying him sex for so long, he was ready to burst. But he would rather die than sleep with Aidyn again!

"What's the matter?" Aidyn said, genuinely baffled as he sat up behind Skylar. He slid his large thighs around the smaller male, enfolding him in the heat of his hard, muscly lap as he continued the slow massage. He trailed kisses down Skylar's neck to his shoulder, cupping his soft, heavy sack with his other paw and gently groping it.

Skylar, in a feeble attempt to stop his own hot arousal, grabbed both Aidyn's wrists and whispered, "Aid! S-Stop! S-Stop t-touching --"

Aidyn paused uncertainly. "But you like it when I fuck you in the morning," he said in confusion.

Skylar scowled miserably and cried with sudden anger, "Not ever again!" He pried the bigger male's paws off and elbowed him away more roughly than he meant to. Aidyn tumbled back on the bed, leaning on his elbows and watching with frowning hurt as Skylar shot up from his lap.

Avoiding Aidyn's eye, Skylar hastily fumbled to get dressed. Something in his heart cracked when Aidyn smoothed an apologetic paw down his tail and whispered, "What'd I do wrong, baby? I'll make it right."

Skylar stopped, his back to Aidyn, and didn't know what to say. Typical of any monster, Aidyn didn't understand that he was a monster, instead viewing sheep as a menace to be vanquished. He believed his harsh treatment of the sheep completely justified, and if Skylar told him otherwise, he would be viewed as a bleeding heart, a traitor to his own kind. Aidyn would then spread gossip about him, and he would be sneered upon as a "sheep-fucker," much like Elder Tawia and her followers. Anyone who showed the sheep the smallest amount of decency was met with hatred and even violence. That was the last thing Skylar needed. He just wanted to get away from Aidyn, and marrying Subira was the quickest, easiest way.

Heart heavy, Skylar tied on his loincloth and took up his spear. He turned to face Aidyn, who was still sitting in sadness and confusion on his bed, and he looked at him with the hardest look her could muster, though inside he was crying. "I am going to complete the malehood ritual," Skylar coldly announced, "I am going to complete it for Subira."

Skylar knew his words were like a slap in the face for Aidyn: he had vowed when they were children never to be with another. He had given himself to Aidyn, in loyalty and in love, and now he was turning his back without so much as a farewell.

For Aidyn, Skylar's anger and disgust was coming from nowhere, but he got the message. He rose to his feet, and after glaring at Skylar with hurt glittering in his eyes, he marched past him through the curtain and out of the room.

The second Aidyn was gone, Skylar slumped over and grimaced, a single tear escaping to hit the floor.