A Wolf of Many Muzzles Ch. 1

Chapter 1 is here! If you haven't read the prologue yet, I suggest going here  A Wolf of Many Muzzles PrologueBefore I start: Hey! So this is the remake to my terrible story from 2012 (or somewhere around that time) "Slash's Story." I finally got around to re-writing it because the other one was really edgy and it didn't make any sense. I thought I'd give you guys a little preview before I release the full version tomorrow. I hope you all enjoy this new one!
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The year was 1982.
Black clouds painted Springwood's stormy blue sky which darkened the roads even more. A rather large storm was coming and it seemed as if everyone knew about it.
Thunder rattled the small town's empty streets and soon came the rain. It poured down in buckets after buckets, creating humongous puddles for jumping.
..Or playing
"Tagged you!" a small voice claimed victoriously.
"Hey, that's not fair!" another squeaky one complained.
"Yes it was!" the same voice from before replied.
Two little wolf hybrids, who were drenched in rainwater, had been arguing over their game of Ta
You'll definitely get a better understanding if you read that first.

Alright, here we go:

WARNINGS:  Dark themes, hints here and there. Blood and gore (obviously) (a little bit of rat mutilation. You'll get it once you read it.)

Where we last left off...

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There was a long silence.

And then a cry from Kona.

"Last one home has to eat a cockroach!"

And before Sadie knew it, the pups were off again towards home. "You two better be in the fort!" She rolled her eyes. "Looks like hunting practice will have to wait until tomorrow. I'm on my own." Sadie sniffed the air and tried to look for any signs of prey, but the rain covered almost every scent. She swore under her breath. "These paws were made for digging, I guess."

Rats weren't the greatest source of protein for hybrids either, but it was the best Sadie could manage to find. Plus, they were plentiful in the streets of Springwood, especially during the rainy season. Most hid in the trash of boxes so they were quite easy to find and kill. The only problem was that the rats delivered a nasty bite. One snap could bring on a horrible infection. Sadie made sure to keep the pups away from the larger ones.

Sadie hated having to dig through the trash, though. She'd be happier hunting somewhere than eating scraps of chicken and pizza crusts.


After several attempts of catching gutter rats, Sadie finally decided that it was time to head back to the fort. The rain hadn't let up. In fact, it had gotten heavier, and the skies had only gotten darker. As she walked with 3 rats swinging from her jaws, a delectable smell hit her nostrils. The wolf-dog lifted her head and gave a large sniff, taking in as much of the smell as she could. Sadie ran to the smell since she knew exactly what it was.

"Please, please, pleeaase," she begged as she ran.

There it was. Right outside the back of an old restaurant laid a container of piping hot, leftover teriyaki chicken and beef. The restaurant was already closed up for the night, so she could easily claim the food for herself.

"Jackpot," she declared and sprung forward.

What she didn't see was the other large shape emerging from the shadows behind the food. The shape took the form of a grey and black malamute with a brown leather collar. Sadie skidded to a halt on her butt right in front of the food. Her rats toppled to the wet concrete.

 He glared at her. "Evening, Sadie." His voice was as smooth as butter and filled with mockery.

"Bastion," Sadie stated simply, her eyes never leaving his. It was clear that each dog didn't get along.

He raised a grey brow and placed a paw on the food dish. Then he noticed the disdain in Sadie's eyes, and he chuckled. "Oh? Did you want this?"

Sadie's ears flicked back. "I saw it first. I even smelled it, too," she growled.

"Well, that's funny because I was hiding here the entire time," his tail swished back and forth impatiently.

"This is my food," Sadie stood up and her hackles rose.

"You're not scaring anyone. You know that, right?" Bastion replied. "It's actually pretty pathetic." He glanced around the empty alleyway, and then down at the dead rats. "Even the roadkill are getting secondhand embarrassment."

She couldn't fight him for food. Under his multiple layers of fur, Bastion was made of pure muscle from pulling sleds. He was twice as large as Sadie, and she knew he could easily crush her ribcage in battle.

Sadie lowered her hackles and sighed in annoyance. "Okay, look. Kona and Rusty are expecting me to get back soon, and they haven't eaten ye-"

"Do you think I give a damn about your adopted kids?"

"Don't you dare call them that!" She snapped. "They're still my pups. Now, you're getting me off topic!" The wolf-dog shook the rain from her coat. "Can we at least split this food between us?"

"Hmm. Perhaps..." Bastion circled Slash, eyeing her body.

She stood her ground, claws ready in case anything were to happen.

"Why so tense, my girl?"

She only snarled in return. "Shut up."

"Is it that I'm bigger than you? More powerful?" He pushed his burly grey body against her as he walked.

She struggled to keep her balance.

"I'm willing to split the meal but there's a catch," he continued, his bushy tail intertwining with Sadie's. Bastion face was inches from hers. "You've got to give me something in return, and we both know I'm not talking about rats." His hot breath reeked of rotten meat. The malamute licked his chops and laughed darkly. "You know the rules, mutt. What will it be?"

Sadie had just enough. "Screw you!" She snapped at his muzzle and caught him between the eyes.

Bastion yowled out and turned away.

Sadie could clearly see the bright red blood oozing from the long gash she left on his face. "You bitch. You slashy bitch," he laughed. The rainwater mixed with the blood, making the wound seem even larger.

"Screw you and your food," she scooped up her rats and walked off. "I'm not giving myself to you again," she mumbled in a shaky voice.

The malamute watched her go. He grinned. "One day, those pups will know and they won't be happy. You'll never know it's coming, Sadie."




Meanwhile, Kona and Rusty were warming up in the fort back home. It wasn't much of a home, since the fort was basically an abandoned tent behind a dumpster with a bunch of old blankets inside. A barrel was blocking enough space so that humans couldn't see them, but provided just enough for Sadie and the pups to squeeze through.

The pups were having an ongoing conversation about their caretaker's whereabouts.

"Where do you think Sadie went?"

"I don't know. Maybe she got eaten."

"By what, dingus?"

"I don't know! Something scary, I guess."

"Maybe she's got a load of food for us."

"Hey yeah! Maybe a whole pig from the woods!"

As the pups sat there daydreaming, Sadie entered the tent. She dropped the rats in front of the pups.

"Dinner is served."

Rusty had already dug into his meal without a complaint, but Kona nudged at hers.

"This is dinner?" She asked rhetorically.

"You've eaten rat before, Kona."

Kona stuck out her tongue, "But it's wet."

Sadie rolled her eyes. 'The pickiest puppy ever,' she thought to herself. "Here, like this." Sadie took the rat and bit into the stomach. "Happy?"

Kona nodded while smiling, and stuck her muzzle into the rat carcass.



After eating, the pups had curled up against Sadie along with the heated blanket in an attempt to stay warm. Whenever the thunder would roar across the town, the pups would shiver in fear against Sadie's tan coat.

"The sky is mad at us again," Rusty whined and buried his face in her soft coat.

"Sadie? Can I ask you something?"

"What is it, Kona?"

"Are you our mother?"

The question caught Sadie completely off guard. Had they been there when she was talking to Bastion?

"Of course I am," she lied. "What makes you say that?"

"Well, we never call you 'mom' or 'mother,' so I was only wondering." Kona let out a long yawn. Her tired eyes stared up at Sadie.

"Mother is just a word. I'll always be here to protect you like one, even if I don't use the term," she replied. Thunder boomed above them. "Get some sleep. Maybe I'll take you guys hunting tomorrow if it's nice out."

"Goodnight, Sadie." Kona nuzzled closer to her warm belly.

Sadie wrapped her tail around the two pups. "Goodnight, my dears."

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I hope that's good for a first chapter. Lots of things were revealed, including a new character!

I'll work on Angie's story tomorrow, since it's about 11 PM right now, and I'll probably be going to sleep soon.

Sadie, Kona, Rusty, and Bastion (what a douche) all belong to me!

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