The Ankh City War: Chapter One - New Blood
#1 of The Ankh City War
Ok, first attempt at a real story series. Be kind. I actually have all of this one planned out in advance, so it won't just die.
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This story and characters are copyright to MythRat. All rights reserved. Do not use my characters without my express permission.
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~* Disclaimer *~
This story series is full of furries and adult themes. Read at your own risk, and not at all if you aren't legal age yet.
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The Ankh City War - Chapter One
New Blood
By
MythRat
Jackson grit his teeth in an effort to choke back a cry of pain as the steel pipe slammed into his shoulder blades again, knocking him off balance and sending the young wolf tumbling forward into the cold concrete wall. With his arms bound behind his back he couldn't brace himself and the room spun around as his head struck the wall with enough force to give him a small concussion. He leaned back, sliding down to the floor, and stayed still for a moment, black furred head hanging down as he tried to catch his breath; he tasted blood. He rolled his tongue around in his mouth to find the source and spit out a back molar a second later. He leaned his head back against the concrete and shut his eyes, trying to get the ringing in his ears to stop.
"Look, I didn't know, alright? It was an honest mistake."
That got him another whack with the pipe, nearly cracking his skull open.
"Sorry, I ain't buyin' it," his assailant growled, half kneeling and roughly grabbing a pawful of Jackson's longer headfur, "Everybody in this city knows my sister... and not to look too long, much less lay a paw on her. You knew damn well who she was and you bred her anyway!"
Jackson bit back a growl and repeated his stand, "I didn't know she was your sister! Besides, she came up to me. You'd have to be crazy to say 'no' to a girl that beautiful."
His attacker laughed a bit, let him go and stood, "Flattery ain't gonna get you out of this one, Jackson." The larger timber wolf grinned a bit and gave him a good hard kick in the gut, knocking the wind out of the black wolf and doubling him over in pain.
Jackson gasped and sputtered and finally managed a cough, sending a spatter of blood onto the concrete floor. "Damn coward!" he growled, baring his razor sharp teeth.
The timber wolf froze, hackles bristling, coarse furred ears laying back against his skull. One of the faceless canine shadows in the small room laid its ears flat and backed up a step. Another dared to egg him on, "You gonna let him lash you like that Julian?!"
Someone tossed the big wolf a pistol, "Waste him, Julian!" A chorus of encouraging growls echoed the words, quickly getting the whole pack literally howling for Jackson's blood.
Julian grinned wickedly, cocked the weapon and aimed it at the black wolf's skull, "Any last words, lapdog?"
Jackson carefully ignored the insult and threw out one of his own, "Yeah. You're a god damned bastard stray that doesn't have the balls for a fair fight!" He grinned a bit watching the timber wolf's composure crack, "In a fair fight, I'd kill you!"
"Tough talk for a limp-dick stray like you, Jackson," the timber wolf growled.
Jackson grinned, "Hard enough to get Keesha off."
"SHUT UP!" Julian roared, belting him with the butt end of the pistol. The timber wolf pulled Jackson up to his knees and pressed the barrel of the gun to the back of his head, "You're a dead dog, Jackson. If you're lucky I might let the rats have your worthless corpse."
Jackson's ears fell back and his black furred head hung low as he shut his eyes and waited for death. He heard the hammer pull back and lock, seconds stretched into hours as he heard Julian start to squeeze the trigger.
A loud BANG filled the small concrete room as the heavy steel door was thrown open and a very shapely female wolf stormed in.
"JULIAN! Stop what you're doing right now!" the she-wolf strode over and pulled the gun out of the big wolf's hand and tossed it over to one of the others. She kneeled next to Jackson and nuzzled gently under his muzzle, "You ok, baby?"
Jackson smiled a little at her, "Yeah, Keesh, I'm alright."
"I cannot believe you, Julain!" Keesha growled at her brother as she cut Jackson's ropes, "I finally find a guy that's not a total piece of shit and you have to beat him half to death. You're lucky I don't put a bullet in YOUR skull!"
Julian glared at his little sister, grabbing her arm and pulling her away from the black wolf, "Hey! I'm tryin' to look out for you! I know his type! Guys like him are trash!"
Keesha snarled at him, pulling out of his grip and giving him a good hard slap across the face, "You watch what you say about my mate, Julian. I know him a lot better than you do, I know his pack. I'm staying with him whether you like it or not, so back the fuck off!"
Jackson moved close to his mate, slipping his arms protectively around her waist, his voice a deadly calm, "You lay a hand on her again and I'll break your arm." He grinned a bit, running his claws through her long black headfur and pulling her closer against him.
Julian growled at him, laying his gray furred ears against his head, "You little shit. You think you can keep my sister away from me?!"
Jackson's ears turned back, "Actually, I know that she wants to stay with me, she said so herself, not two minutes ago."
Keesha pulled out of the black wolf's arms, stepping over and hugging her brother, "Julian, please. I love him... please don't take that away from me."
The big timber wolf seemed about to argue, but stopped, sighing softly and wrapping his arms around his sister, "You sure you want him, Keesh?" She nodded.
"You know if you go with him I can't protect you anymore..."
"I know."
He sighed again, hugging her tightly and kissing her headfur. He looked up, glaring at Jackson, "You break her heart, I'll break your neck, understand?"
Jackson nodded and pulled Keesha back to him, "I'll keep her safe, you have my word," he smiled softly as she buried her face in his neck, "Come on Keesh, let's go."
She nodded, smiling a bit sadly back at her brother, "I love you, Julian," she added with a wry smirk, "even if you are an asshole sometimes. You've always kept me safe, I won't forget that." She smiled softly at him again, turning away before he could see the tears in her eyes, and followed Jackson out of the hideout.
They met up with the rest of Jackson's pack a few miles away, all of them howling with joy at having their leader back. They all laughed and hugged him, just happy to see him still in one piece.
"Careful guys," he said with a slightly pained laugh, "I'm a little bruised."
Keesha smiled playfully, slipping her arms around his neck and kissing him lightly, "Aw, poor baby. Maybe I should come and lick your wounds."
Jackson growled appreciatively at the wonderful view this position afforded him and, hooking his claws in the loops on her blue jeans and pulling her hips gently against his, "Sounds good to me, baby," he bent his head down and kissed her gently.
The young she-wolf giggled at his forwardness, "Sure you're up for it? I know how rough Julian and his boys can be," adding quietly, "You're lucky to be alive, Jackie." She was the only one who could get away with calling him 'Jackie' and she teased him with it constantly.
"I know," he said with a soft smile, rolling his eyes slightly at the nickname, "I'm even luckier to have you with me."
She laughed and pulled out of his reach, "Damn right you are, boy. And there's gonna be some changes around here. For one, that den needs a woman's touch and it's going take a while to get it in decent shape," she proclaimed as she started off down the street towards the pack's home. She paused and looked back at Jackson over her shoulder, waving her fluffy tail back and forth, just because she knew it drove him wild, "Unless you've got any objections."
Jackson shook his head slightly to clear it, adjusting his jacket and loping after her, "Whatever you want, baby."
A few of the others snickered at him, somebody whispering something about him looking like a lovesick puppy. He glared back at them, "Shut up and get moving, guys."
"Whatever you say, 'Jackie.'" One wolf who was odd-eyed said, anticipating the clawed swipe aimed at his midriff and dodging it easily, only to get a smack upside the head a second later. "Ow, man. That hurt."
"Good, it was supposed to. Maybe you'll learn." Jackson scolded him, his tone almost playful. He grinned a bit and went back to walking beside his mate, one arm around her shoulders.
It'd been a hard night, but it turned out alright. The pack had a female now (and a much happier leader) and they had a truce with Julian's pack, one that wouldn't easily be broken. With any luck, soon there'd be pups, new blood to strengthen the pack. Yes, the night had turned out very well... very well indeed.
(Next Chapter - Call to Arms)
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