The Were in The Wolf

Seventeen! eighteen!! nineteen!!! twenty!!!! The first round of the hunt was over. The werewolves who had caught games galloped out with enthusiasm and speed. All hoping to be the first to shoot out from the forest, to be declared winner.

As usual Ishaka was the first to shoot out with his game carefully held by his fangs.

Another werewolf almost came out immediately. Just a foot after Ishaka. It was close.

The ladies rejoiced as Ishaka came out. Excitement filled the air and his name was chanted all over.

This really massaged his ego. He threw this haughty look at some of his opponents. Some really hated him, some were jealous and some admired him.

The game regulators took their game each and pronounced the weight to know who did the most work and who underwent extra stress.

About five of them returned without a game.

They were quite embarrassed but it didn't matter. Some of the male werewolves that joined the hunt game were new to it. They recently just came of age.

Ishaka came first but he surpassed the person that came second by just a slim line. He looked over to see the werewolf who had came second and it was just an ordinary one. Maybe luck had come upon him that day.

They were allowed five minutes of rest and prep before the next match started.

Kalispel walked over to where Ishaka was and flashed a beautiful smile at him.

"Congratulations on your win" she said. He smiled and tried to be nice and polite.

"I'm yet to win my Princess" he said, "this was just the first round" he continued.

"That's a bluff!" She said. "Who is it in this arena, that has the courage to defeat you? You've managed to remain undisputed and I must commend you for that. In fact it piques my interest." She added.

They conversed more smoothly as Ishaka didn't continue denying the fact that he was an undisputed, unopposed and irreplaceable champion.

Soon they were made to gather again for the second match of the game. They positioned and as soon as the gun went off again they all scampered into to forest.

The second and third stages had quite a degree of difficulty. This was because the games in the forest had already known that enemies were coming and so, they hid well. The mothers of some of the games protected their own. They would carefully hide every trace of them but luck wasn't always on their side.

The werewolves were smarter. They were after all, half human, half wolves. They had the ability to shift form as many times as they wanted.

As a result of this difficulty, most werewolves who were already in the game would hunt as much during the first stage. Hide some and return with some. So that on the second and third stages, they would gladly pick up the game were they hid it.

In fact, this had been Ishaka's method of winning. People had wondered how he did it, but this time a certain werewolf had managed to get an insight of it, therefore he used the same tactic and it hadn't been up to twenty minutes. A werewolf scampered out with two games.

They was cheering and clapping as it came out. All of Ishaka's admirers clapped because it could have only been him. Kalispel too was clapping because she was quite impressed.

But, as the werewolf came clearer to view, the cheering quietened down. It wasn't Ishaka! It was the werewolf that had come second the first stage. The crowd seeing this was awed. It was quite a feat for another werewolf to defeat Ishaka. It hadn't happened in eons.

The cheer became massive and the drummers drummed even louder. The game regulator took the two games he had caught.

This way the werewolf had more time to rest before the final round.

Meanwhile in the forest, Ishaka couldn't reach his game early enough. It seemed as though he couldn't locate the place he hid it or had someone else gotten hold of it?

No, he ruled out the idea. Finally he found it, it was as though it was dragged by something else. Maybe other creatures had tried to take the game for themselves.

He quickly picked it up with his fang and ran to the exit because he knew he had wasted time. But no matter how much time it had wasted, the other werewolves were far too weak to contend against him. Soon he emerged at the exit and people naturally started cheering but the cheer wasn't as loud as it usually was.

The cheer for the winner had always been deafening. But then he noticed, another game had been set aside and there was a werewolf now turned human that stood close to it.

He couldn't believe that someone had finished before him. It had never happened.

As he drew closer he saw the werewolf. It was the werewolf that had come after him in the first round. He didn't think he was a threat but now he truly feared he could be ousted from the game by him.

If he lost the final round, it would be really bad for him. Soon the others scampered out, there was even a lesser number of games this time around. They had all thought Ishaka came first as he was seen out. They looked at the second werewolf in admiration. He had managed to come second twice.

To them, coming second twice was a power move. Although, second places weren't crowned, at least you would be respected by the werewolves in the crowd.

During this five minutes of rest and prep, people didn't gather around the usual way to cheer on their own. There was also a lot of pressure on the contenders. Especially for Ishaka and the other werewolf. This was going to determine who would reign as champion till the coming game.

Ishaka didn't want to miss the opportunity. He needed to remain at the top in order to look worthy in Tahira's eyes.

Looking at the other werewolf. He was expressionless. No one could tell what was going through his head. Did he desperately want to win? Or was he just having fun and winning by a stroke of luck? One couldn't tell. It made Ishaka more upset and restless. He had never felt this much pressure in any game. The gaze from people on him felt as though they were mocking him. The ones that smiled at him, he took as ridicule. The rest was almost over and he was tempted to approach the werewolf but he decided against it. He didn't want to make it obvious to people that he was affected by the defeat. He still had his pride and ego to protect.