Night

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“Night”

The sounds of the day were no longer present. Night took care of all the noise. As soon as the sun had set, and the moon arose, most people left for home and made dinner or went to sleep. As I said, most. I was not among the many that go home as soon as the sun sets and the “monsters” come out. It had always amazed me how the changing in the color of the sky affected people. Night was my time to be alone, to walk down the now abandoned roads and alleyways. The air at night was cool and crisp, and smelled like the forest after the rain. Normally all it smelled like was sweat, chamber pot mess, and animals. I walked down one of the more heavily used roads. This road was the main road, headed straight to the town center, where the only source of water, the fountain, was. It was a cobblestone road with bumps and nicks in it from all the feet and wagons it had seen. Now it was reduced to one lone walker. Me. The lanterns cast pitiful light on the road. Obviously the lighter wasn’t doing what he was being paid for; I couldn’t even see the road five feet ahead. And on top of it all, there was no moon tonight. At least I don’t have to worry about werewolves, I told myself sarcastically. After about fifteen minuets of walking in this silent fashion, I arrived at the fountain. The fountain was a large marble statue of the city founder. Nobody knew his name, it had been scratched off the fountain in the rebellion they had one hundred years ago. The shiny water invited me over, so I leaned over to look in at my reflection. I wondered whether or not I had changed in the past two weeks I had been here. Nope,

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still the same me, a traditional fifteen year old. Long, black hair that fell about an inch below my earlobe, solemn expression, piercing blue eyes, small mouth and nose, that’s me. My expression seemed to have hardened though. Probably a side effect of working for the Doctor. The Doctor is the only person in the entire town who knew basic medical care, and he needed an assistant. My mother, getting word of this, took the opportunity to get rid of her problem child. She packed my bags for me, the nicest thing she ever did. Then I caught the soonest farmer that would let me travel in his wagon. The road had been bumpy, but it was a nice ride. The snort of the oxen pulling hard, the crack of the farmer’s whip, the sun beating down, it was so warm I soon fell asleep. The farmer dumped me off at the gate and moved on to the next town, saying the taxes were lower in the next town over. “Keep your money in your front pockets, son, you’ll understand why inside.” As soon as I entered I did understand. The town was loud, poor, and dirty and I saw at least four cutpurses do their work not three yards in front of me. Heeding his advice, I put my pittance of ten gold pieces in the front pocket of my britches and periodically checked to see if my money was still there. In addition to being loud, poor, and dirty, the city was also big. I was soon lost, and wandered the allies. I heard a yell, and the sound of running. A clatter of metal hitting stone rang towards me. I sprinted to the commotion and was toppled over by a boy about my age. “Oh, I’m sorry!” he said quickly. “It’s okay,” I told him. He looked frazzled, like he was running for his life. His chest was heaving in and out in large gasps. He had curly blond hair and a childish

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face. The boy was taller for his age, but on the thinner side. I wondered if he was sizing me up too. I noticed something red dripping from his chest. Blood. He must have cut himself in the fall. The boy must have noticed my facial expression and grinned at me. He stuck his hand into his shirt and pulled out a thick piece of meat. “What? Was that what was worrying you?” I could only nod, feeling like an idiot. “I’m Neil McMahon, by the way.” He gave me a goofy grin, and I knew we would be the best of friends. “Miles. Miles Rook.” I extended my hand and he shook it enthusiastically, getting blood all over my hand and arm. “Rook. Miles. I like your name. So, what are you doing back here?” “I’m sort of lost.” I admitted. “What about you? What were you doing?” Neil looked guilty, but told me the whole story. “I, uh, was hungry, you see. And the alleyways always have some food in them, so I followed a stray dog. Well, he happened to take me to the butchers shop.” Neil hesitated before going on. “The back door was open, so I walked in, and started to browse. The butcher walked in, and saw me. He was so angry I don’t even think he could even understand what he was saying. I grabbed the nearest piece of meat and bolted.” “And, the clattering, did he throw something at you?” I inquired. “I think he threw a few knives at me,” Neil said with the same goofy grin on his face. “But it was worth it, right?”

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“Oh, yes definitely,” he laughed. We walked out of the sunless, quiet alley into the bright and noisy street. Neil and I had to blink a few times to get used to the sun. “You said you were lost, where do you need to go?” he asked me as we walked back to the wagon I had stored my stuff in. “I need to go to someone named…” I sifted through my thoughts, trying to recover the name. “He’s a doctor, that’s all I remember.” Neil nodded, blue eyes shining, blond curls bouncing, talking a mile a minute. “Yeah, I know who you’re talking about. The Doctor, Nikkei. Why do you need to seem him? Is someone in your family sick? Oh, Miles, I’m so sorry!” The sparkle in his eyes instantly disappeared. “Neil, I’m his new assistant,” I told him laughing. “Oh, right, sorry,” he said, face turning beat red. “I’ll bring you to his house.” Neil talked non-stop, pointing out important shops and houses. We eventually reached a large house near what Neil said was the village center, telling me this was the doctor’s place. “Uh, Miles, the sun is setting, and I have to go home.” I hadn’t even noticed how dark it was. He said a hasty goodbye and took off. I sighed and walked in thought the thick oak door. “Don’t you know any manners, knock before entering!” yelled a voice I knew would not belong to a kind person. “Ah, you must be Miles Rook, my new assistant. Welcome, I am Doctor Nikkei, but everyone here just calls me the Doctor.” A man walked down some stairs towards me holding a lantern, which at this point, was the

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only source of light in the house. The light showed only his face. He was middle aged, with a mop of dark brown and grey hair. “Let me tell you your schedule. Morning, you make and serve my breakfast. From then on you do my chores and run errands. After that you make and serve dinner. At night, I don’t really care what you do. And with that, I say goodnight. Your bedroom is upstairs in the attic. Bring you bags into your room and unpack. Get a good sleep. You’ll need it.” He quickly turned around and walked up the stairs, leaving me in black shadows. My day went just as he had said. I worked all day, long and hard. The next day was the same. And the next. They all continued like this, except for Saturdays and Sundays, those were my days off. I soon developed a liking for the quiet night and would leave my room for the satisfaction of the darkness. I pulled myself from my reflection and looked at the clock tower. 3:34 am.

Better get home, I told myself. Thanks to Neil’s constant tutoring, I knew the city like the back of my hand. I ran home, eager to get some sleep. Tomorrow was Saturday, my day off. Neil and I hung out on Saturdays. That was the night I stayed out as long as I wanted; the Doctor only accepted emergencies on Sundays. That Saturday I left for the baker’s, eager for one of his famous pies. I walked in, and looked at my surroundings. It was stone, and like everything else in the town, had wood floors. The large ovens in the back burned as bright as the sun. The bread and such looked good, but I decided on the cinnamon roll pie, one of his specialties. The baker’s emerged from the back of the store holding a basket of bagels. The baker was a large man, and not muscle large. He had a bright face like Neil’s, who was

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his son. But at this point, it was dull due to the ash smudged all over it. On the contrast, he had black, straight hair, while Neil has curly blonde. He smiled and nodded at me, and handed the bagels to the lady in front. As she left, I walked up to be served. “Cinnamon roll pie, Mr. McMahon.” “Comin’ right up, my boy,” he said. He took the pie from the display case and handed it to me. “Neil’s in the back, you can eat with him.” He pointed me to the door that led to the alley, and I handed him the cost of the pie. “Hope this covers it.” I said. I hurried to the back door, eager to see Neil. Neil smiled at me as I walked towards him. “Hey, can I have some of that pie? Looks good,” he said, mentally liking his lips. I laughed and broke him off a piece. He launched himself at me like an eager puppy and grabbed the half out of my hand. He plopped down on a wooden crate and started to devour his piece of pie. “Your father is the baker, how is it you always so hungry?” I asked him. He shrugged and bit in once again. “Neil, food is going to be the death of you.” Neil only smiled and nodded at me, his mouth too full to answer.

Soon a gentle quiet filled the Doctors house, and I took this as my cue to go. I stole out of the house, only stealing a ripe, red apple to eat along the road. I walked out the door and down the porch steps into the night. I shivered; it was cold for a night here, but it was October, so I guessed it was time to buy a jacket. My steps echoed down the empty street as I walked to the fountain. I heard someone following me very loudly. I turned around expecting Neil to jump out and laugh at my skittishness. But there was no one

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there. I must be going insane from hanging around the Doctor. As I stared to walk again, there was the same noise; a soft padding, like paws walking on hard stone. Just a

stray looking for scraps, I comforted myself. I reached the fountain and took a long drink. I splashed my face, wetted my hair down, and started off down the road that led to the empty marketplace. Just then a low snarl erupted from behind me. I turned and whipped around, but it was no stray dog. It was a full grown wolf. A very hungry, full grown wolf. Before I could even pull my fists up to protect myself the wolf was upon me, biting, scratching kicking. I fought back with all of my power, but to no avail. In fact, if a spectator were to have seen the fight that was progressing, they would have seen a ball of wolf and boy rolling around in the plaza, the wolf always on top, biting its heart out. I placed a well aimed kick into its side and drew blood, but that was its only wound at that point, unlike me, where I was bleeding all over. Then, I lost consciousness, falling into a pit of darkness.

When I came to, it was early morning. I stretched on the ground, soaking in the warm sun, only to receive a crippling pain. I curled up into a ball, yearning the pain to go away. It was a burning coming from all over. A sound erupted from my throat that I had only heard from one source, the wolf that had attacked me last night. I crawled into a dark alley, cut from anyone’s view, and checked my wounds. Yes, there were going to need the Doctors attention. I got up, grimaced at the acute pain and limped my way to the Doctor’s house. “Boy, what happened?” He demanded.

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Keeping my eyes plastered to the ground I muttered, “Street fight.” A smack to the back of the head brought me to reality. I rubbed at the back of my head. Great, another bruise to deal with, I thought. “Look at me when you talk, and I’m not the village idiot. These are bite wounds. Were you aggravating the guards’ dogs?” I turned my eyes up to him. His face went pale white, and he fell to the ground, and looked at me in fear. “Do you need some water, sir?” I asked, concerned. He shook his head and answered, “No, but go look at yourself.” Maybe I need a

bath or something. I sniffed my arm and was overwhelmed by the scent that hit me. It wasn’t bad, but smelled. Not bad enough to take a bath, though. The rain barrel was coming into view, so I jogged towards it. Eager to see what the Doctor had been so terrified by, I leaned over to see my reflection. Oh, that’s why. My normally semi-long hair was now around two inches below my earlobe, and shaggy. Eyes, that used to be a cool ice blue, were now a piercing yellow color. I had a fierce, feral figure about me. My eyes were constantly sparkling, as if I was excited. Staggering back, I fell onto my arms. I said a few choice curses, expecting a searing pain from all my bruises and slashes, but got nothing. I looked down at my skinny arms, and all I saw were fading bruises. They were still visible, but not the color of normal one-day-old bruises. Even as I watched, they were disappearing. Gathering up my courage, got off the ground and looked into the water again. There was still one blemish, a long scar that reached from half way down my forehead to right under my right eye socket. That one was a line, darker than my skin, and clearly visible. I watched for it to change, to go away. But nothing happened.

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I swore and walked inside. The Doctor glanced at me, then got up and walked towards me. “Boy, spend the day with your friends. You need some time to yourself, to heal.”

I need no time to heal. I nodded and was out the door. I decided against going to Neil’s and went out to the gate to walk in the woods.

As I wandered the woods, I started to realize I was hungry. I scoured the ground for roots and berries, something to eat. Then I saw food. A strong young buck was grazing in a field just across a stretch of forest. I silently cursed myself for forgetting something to hunt with. A sudden image of a huge, very huge, black wolf hit my head. The wolf bounded across the forest and jumped on the buck, killing it instantly. Bang. Lunch. Some instinct told me to get on all fours, and I obeyed without any thought. A sudden tingling feeling came from my scar. I knew not to yell, because it would scare the deer away. I stood there in all fours, looking ridiculous. Then that same thought voice told me to run towards the deer. Then in mid sprint, I felt it. The power the speed, the strength; it felt good. My feet punched holes and left footprints where I ran. A loud ripping sound erupted, and I saw my clothes go to shreds behind me. Long, black fur fell in front of my eyes. Looking ahead, I leapt, and broke the deer’s neck with the force of the jump on it. Ravenously, I tore it open. The warm blood and flesh tasted like nothing I had ever tasted before. It tasted raw, and something in it made me crave more. In the middle of my meal, the smell of another animal pulled me from my feast. A wolf padded towards me. Looking down at her, I could tell it was a female wolf even

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though there was no visible digression between a male and female. I let out a threatening growl. It sounded fiercer than when I was growling at my pain, almost lethal.

“May I join you, brother?” I pushed what remained of the deer towards her and she ate just as ravenously as I had. When she had finished, she turned to me. “I see you are a new blood.”

“What?” “A new blood, a newly formed werewolf.” “I’m not a wolf, I’m…well I don’t know what I am, but I am not a wolf.” She only laughed at my defensiveness and pointed with her tail to the gurgling spring nearby.

Just to prove her wrong, I loped over and looked in. She was right. I was

a wolf. My yellow eyes, the solemn expression, and the scar were all part of my lupineness. I looked at my paws. They were the huge. My fur fell over my eyes. Thick, jet black fur covered me all over. The scar on my human face was still there, but it was bald on my wolf face, so a skin-colored line ran down my head. I growled again and turned towards the she-wolf. “What happened to me?”

“Despite the common belief, it is not the bite of a wolf that turns you, but the blood. When you attacked the wolf back, you drew blood, and where that scar is on your face, that’s the cut where the blood mixed.” “So, what will happen now?” “You will soon be able to turn into a wolf at will, understand animals and hear their thoughts. You will have the speed and strength of a wolf in human-form, but you

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might have tendencies to do dog like things, not to mention wanting to take bites out of your friends.” “One more question, are you small or am I big?” But before I got an answer from her, she ran; the only thing left of her was the rustling of the ferns behind her. I thought about being human again and there I was, standing human again, but I was naked. My clothes are gone! I turned back into my huge black wolf-form and loped through the forest towards the village. I followed a cart from behind and ran through the gate at the last minute. I realized if I ran at a certain speed, the people would only notice a passing wind. I ran to the Doctor’s house and walked to the back door and turned into a human again. I pulled open the heavy oak door and snuck inside. I heard a heavy crack of wood breaking and turned around. The oak door was broken off the hinges and splintered in half. Not even pausing to try and fix it, I ran upstairs to get dressed. In order to save clothes, just in case I changed and forgot I had clothes on, I only wore pants. I looked at myself in the mirror, admiring my new muscles. For the next few days, life went normal. I did the Doctor’s chores in record time, running from his house to the other side of town in seconds. I could carry heavy loads; therefore twenty minute trips were cut in half. I trained every day in the woods by throwing whole trees twenty feet across the fields and running with the deer in humanform. And every time someone said something I didn’t like, I turned my disfigured face and piercing yellow eyes on them and bared my teeth, which had grown to sharp points. Just seeing them gulping nervously gave me a sense of satisfaction.

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A few weeks after I had changed, I was hanging out with Neil in the ally behind his father’s shop, doing just the opposite of what the she-wolf had told me. ‘You might

want to take a bite out of your friends.’ I shook her voice from my head, and a mental image of the she-wolf dangling helplessly by her teeth on my earlobe made me smile. I shook my head from side to side again, and I saw the mental she-wolf fall off my ear and hit the cobblestone below me. I didn’t like that wolf one bit. I actually regretted sharing my deer with her. When was the last time I ate? I commented to myself, rubbing my grumbling stomach. This morning I had a muffin, there’s no way I can be

this hungry just a few hours later. I was clutching now my stomach, the pain had increased drastically, and Neil seemed to have noticed. “Want some?” He held out half his loaf of bread. I shook my head. “No, I’m good.” I couldn’t believe I was refusing the succulent bread. I was starving half to death. Neil was looking especially delicious today….No,

no eating your best friend, I ordered myself. Besides, it wasn’t a normal hunger; this was hunger was making me think things….It was making me want to take a chunk out of Neil. What kind of friend was I? But that’s beside the point; I knew that bread wasn’t going to stop the crippling hunger I felt. “So, have you been lifting weights or something? How do finish the Doctor’s chores so fast?” I only shrugged. Then I went rigid. I felt something moving behind me. I turned around to see the tip of a black tail peaking out of the back of my pants. Didn’t know I

could phase parts of my body. Got to learn how to control that. “What’s wrong?” Neil voice came out muffled as he ate his bread.

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“Nothing,” I said, maybe a little too quickly. Neil eyed me skeptically. I felt my arms under my sleeves getting warm. I lifted my sleeve up tentatively. Black fur was starting to spread across my arm. My luck must have finally started to show itself, because Neil’s father called him in to help close up the shop. Neil gave me fleeting smile and ran to his father. I sprang up and bit my tongue by mistake. I tasted the blood in my mouth. Great, my fangs had showed up. I mean, I have always had my fangs, but these were my wolf-form canines. I had to get food, pronto. But not human food. No, I had to have deer. I bolted to the woods. Then, before I could control it, I phased in front of a few guards. They shouted, but I didn’t heed their warning shouts. I had to have deer. I felt the deer south of the village, so I trusted my nose to get me there. The herd was a large one, so I picked out an older one that was falling behind as I chased it. I tackled it and ended its life swiftly. After I had finished eating, I changed into a human unwillingly. So, every time I didn’t feed my wolf-self, I phased. I had two separate bodies to feed now. One could eat anything, while the other was only satisfied with freshly killed meat. Great, another mouth to feed. Soon, I had begun to realize when my wolf-form was hungry, so the appearance was no longer capricious. But one day, I made a very big error on my part. I hadn’t spent time with Neil in forever, so I invited him to come with me into the woods. He met me outside his house, and we set off together. Neil was carrying his bow and arrow ‘for protection’. I smiled to myself. Protection, like I needed it.

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“Miles, how come all you wear is pants now? What’s been going on with you lately?” Neil tugged in his bowstring nervously, not meeting my eyes. “You’ve been acting weird lately.” “You’ll see,” I responded. I did get cold in nothing but pants, but if it did get cold I just phased. Or, if it was impossible to phase, I would wear a jacket and just phase my arms, legs and tail. That could keep me warm enough. He looked at me curiously, but I only smiled in response, showing my pointed fangs. Good thing I had eaten recently, if I hadn’t, my wolf-self couldn’t have resisted the chance to devour Neil. All alone in the woods. Just me and Neil. I wouldn’t even have to hide the body…. My mental human soul smacked my salivating wolf-form as it thought of Neil’s flesh in its stomach. I thanked the heavens that I at least had a little amount of human in me. I grimaced at the thought of what I would be if I had no humanity left in me. I mean, look at the monster I was now. I wanted to eat my best friend! How sick was that? As soon as we reached the woods, I made Neil promise not to reveal anything that happened here. He agreed, still curious. I led him into the clearing I practiced in and said to him, “Watch this.” I lifted up a tree and threw it over his head. Neil looked at me, shocked. I only grinned and told him to wait there, and to not be frightened by what he was about to see. I walked off into the back of the forest, took off my clothes, and transformed. I walked out, shaggy black fur falling every where. “M…..Miles?” I barked in response, and wagged my tail. I heard every single thought that went through his head. I pointed at him and motioned for him to come closer. He nervously came closer. He only came up to my shoulder, and Neil was tall

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for his age. I leaned down and lifted him onto my back with my teeth. With that I took off, running at top speed after a herd of deer, with Neil screaming with delight my my back. We ran for a majority of the day until I ran him home. I wandered the forest by myself until I knew it was time to go home. I ran back to where my pants were and turned back into a human. I followed Neil’s scent until I caught up with him. He talked endlessly about how cool it would be if he was a wolf. He asked me if he could be one, too. “Neil, I’ve been a wolf for while year now. In the beginning, I avoided you because I knew I would want to eat you, but if you find an excuse to stay away from home for at least a month, I might be able to change you.” Neil bubbled with excitement. By the next morning, he had an excuse and had already cleared it. I told him some other time, not today.

Two weeks later, I was actually sleeping during the night. I dreamed of running wild in woods, with my new wolf friend by my side; his tongue lolling out of his mouth. Tomorrow was the day I had promised to change Neil. The dream ended abruptly as a cold hand covered my mouth. I jumped up, trembling to initiate my transformation, and whoever had threatened me was thrown across the room. “Miles, it’s just me. Calm down.” Neil groaned and stood up running his hand along his spine. Reassured, I sauntered over to him. “What going on?”

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“Look out the window. I think someone followed us into the woods.” I scampered over to the window and looked down. I swore loudly. No, it was the guards who had seen me phase. They had told someone. On the street was a mob of people, screaming something about a dog. Leading the mob was the Doctor. He must have wondered how I got stronger, quicker, and was forced to let me go early. Or he had seen me running out of the house a day or two ago with my hands on my butt in a desperate attempt to hide my black tail. I had neglected to feed my wolf-self lately. The dogs on the streets barked loudly saying, “Hunt! Kill! Werewolf!” Neil looked frightened. “Neil, come with me,” I said slowly, almost calmly. I led him out the back door, and said to him, “Take my pants.” I shed my clothes, handed them to him, and shape-shifted. I growled at him, and he clambered onto my back. He shuffled around trying to find a comfortable position. Snarling, I took off, earlier than Neil had planed; I heard him let out a surprised yell. I ran him to the woods, and looked him in the eyes. I bared my fangs and glanced at his hands. Neil only nodded and I turned back into a human. “Neil, there’s a knife in my pants. Take it out, and find a place where you would like a scar.” He nodded, reached into the pair of pants he was holding and pried around. He pulled out my pocket knife, and cut himself a scar identical to mine on his face.

Reaching over, I took the knife from his hand, and cut my palm. I reached

upward, and put my palm to his head. He screamed, and his eyes rolled into his head. Crumpling at my feet, Neil started to twitch and growl. I watched unconcerned, as the pain would go away. In about an hour, Neil came up, reformed. He was every bit as

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muscular as I was, but his eyes were a deep blue, like the ocean. I nodded to him, and he handed me my pants. I took out two leather cords, and handed him one. “Take your pants and tie it to cord, and then put it on your arm.” “Sure,” he replied and did as I told him. “Now think of wolf things, of hunting, of running.” Neil though hard, screwing up his face. “Now run, Neil, run!” I shouted. He took off, almost as fast as I ran, then in mid-sprint, he changed into sandy-blonde wolf. He whirled to me with a look of wonder in his face. I laughed, and that laugh turned into a rumble as I joined him as a wolf. I said to him, “Let’s go have some fun with the

town’s people. The Doctor’s mine, though.” He barked gave a wolf grin, the same one I had in my dream, and took off in the direction of town, a whirlwind of sandy dog. As soon as we entered the town, the dogs went crazy, they bolted up, yowling, until their owners, and the mob, came around the corner. They stopped dead in their tracks. I bared my teeth, bristled up my fur, and howled. Neil followed my example. The people left, running in panic. The only ones left were the Doctor and a few fighters. Neil leapt forward, barking hysterically, but one of the fighters got him right above his eye, and he fell back, whimpering.

“I can’t fight anymore, it hurts!” he whined at me. “Give it a second, it will heal.” Neil looked at me surprised, and then brushed his cut forehead to the ground. No blood. He glanced quickly at me, then at the group of humans. I lifted my paw up, and pointed forward with my claw. Neil and I pushed off from the ground and came down on half the fighters. I heard satisfying cracks and

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snaps and moans below me. Neil ran off, chasing the few who had decided to leave. The Doctor was the only left. I snarled at him, my mouth dripping saliva. He looked at me and said one thing before I leapt at him, “Miles, this was for your own good. We can’t have monsters running amuck in my city!”

“Your city?!” I barked at him. He remained unresponsive. That’s when I realized the speech Neil and I used was abstruse to humans. Those were his last words, because I jumped and landed on him. I’m not going to say what I did to him, but let’s just say the village is going to have hard time burying all the pieces. I called for Neil, and we left the city.

We wandered the woods, hunting deer and chasing human hunters, giving them legends to tell their families. Then one day, Neil and I were wandering the woods in our human-forms, when a pack of wolves approached us, snarling.

“Humans,” the alpha male scoffed, “Surround them, they can be lunch.” “But, Stonecloud, they have scars! New Blood scars!” one of the younger pups whined. He was a cowardly looking sandy-blonde wolf. The pup trembled behind the one named Stonecloud.

“Let’s see if you’re right, if not, we have lunch.” “I’d be glad to oblige, sir,” I said to him, and changed. Neil followed my example. “Still lunch?” Neil barked at the wolf called Stonecloud.

“Where are you New Bloods from? And what are you called?” asked a female, obviously Stonecloud’s mate, as she stepped forward.

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I stood forward, and changed into a human again. Bowing, I said to her, “I am

called Miles Rook, and this is my friend, Neil McMahon. We are from the village north of here. We had to leave.” That was the first time I had noticed that when around wolves, I could actually speak to them. They understood all my yips and woofs. It was like we were speaking in English. She nodded briskly. “This is my pack’s hunting territory. I appreciate you not

hunting here. But please, my mate will be angry if you do not leave soon.” Without a word, Neil and I walked away. As soon as we were out of sight, he ran through the forest in human-form. Neil was the first to spot the sign, and we stopped to read it. It said the nearest village was a two days travel from here. I snorted, and I heard Neil chuckle. Two days, that was three hours running. We took off down road.

The village was small, but I noticed something. Two girls were looking at us. And it was not because we were muscular and handsome, but because they knew something. I saw a flicker of recognition in the taller girl’s eyes. A movement in the back of my eye caught my attention. Neil’s tail had successfully punctured a gap in the seat of his pants. “Uh, Neil, when was the last time you ate?” “Um,” he said, knitting his eyebrows together. “Yesterday. I had that apple we found in the forest.” “No, when was the last time you ate.”

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“I told you, yest-” His mouth opened in a surprised ‘O’ as he caught the meaning of what I really was saying. Neil whipped around and saw his stirring tail. The taller one approached me with a smug expression. She was lanky, with short, light brown hair and green eyes. The younger one skipped behind her. The younger girl had long blond hair, like Neil’s wolf fur. She also had green eyes, but they were light-hearted and playful, unlike the taller girl’s green eyes, which were the soft green of the earth. “Boys,” acknowledged the taller one, glancing at Neil’s tail. “Milady,” Neil bowed. The younger girl made to pull on Neil’s tail, but a light cuff from the older one deterred her. She dropped her voice to a whisper. “Come with us to the woods. And try to find a way to hide his tail!” The younger one looked excited and ran along the taller one, chattering musically. Neil and I exchanged confused looks, but we followed. Neil held his hands behind his back and played with his tail. From the looks of it, he had a day before he phased unwillingly. If an onlooker were to have looked at Neil, they would have seen a normal fifteen-year-old absently fingering a pelt behind his back. Thank goodness no one paid any attention to us as we walked down the market street.

“Neil,” I whispered in wolf, “Do any of the people here look tasty to you?” “Huh?” he said absently, licking his lips as a little girl ran in front of us. I sighed heavily. “Never mind.”

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From behind I noticed something. On the back of the taller girl’s arm was a swirling pattern, like carefully cut scars. She was slim, but muscular at the same time, the same for the younger girl. “Miles, I think they’re wolves too.” “I agree, but let’s see first before we jump to conclusions.” The woods outside the village were more of a clearing surrounded by trees than a forest. The tall girl was there, her short brown hair playfully whipped around by the wind. Her eyes twinkled and she dug her feet in the ground. The younger one pulled on the taller one’s britches. Only then did I notice the taller one was wearing boys’ clothes. The younger girl was wearing a very bright dress. She whispered something in the taller one’s ear and they both stood watching us. We arrived and the younger girl spoke up, her blonde hair billowed around, covering her face, “My name is Kiki, and this is my sister, Ashla. We would like to join your pack.” Neil looked at them shocked. I snorted, “Female werewolves?” “Boys today, so gender-centered,” she murmured to the younger girl. “Yes, we are female werewolves,” stated Ashla. “Look, we have nothing against liars, but this is ridiculous.” Neil accused. Ashla’s nostrils flared and her eyes flashed with cold hard anger. She took off running into the woods. “Oh…now you’ve done it, Ashla is going to change! You’re going to be sorry!” Kiki informed us. There was a loud crashing coming from the woods, and the biggest wolf, even bigger I than I was, but not by much, ran out at full speed. Ashla’s wolf-form was russet colored, and her eyes stood out; green emeralds on her face. I heard a

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growling from beside me. Neil’s pugnacious wolf-form had decided to show itself. I absentmindedly held my hand out and caught some of the shredded clothing. We could use them to light a fire or something.

“Male werewolves, ha!” Ashla barked. Neil ran into her; the crash made a sound like thunder as his shoulder connected with hers. I knew it was no use calling Neil, he was in the zone. He was no longer human in any way. After we left the city his wolf-form decided it was hungry for battle. I glanced down at the shredded bits of clothing on the ground and sighed. Good thing I had gotten him out of the city before he had phased accidentally in front of hundreds of people. That would have been a nightmare. A big wolf standing in a market place, eyeing the people hungrily. ‘Good Scruffy, down, boy, down. No honestly, ma’am, he’s completely harmless.’ Neil then bites innocent bystander. Pandemonium breaks loose; Neil and I are arrested and put to death after the townsfolk realize what we truly were…. They fought hard, but it was obvious who the winner was going to be. Ashla was already taking him down, tiring him bit by bit, until he was completely helpless on his back, showing Ashla his stomach for surrender. Ashla laughed and took off into the woods, as did Neil. When Neil returned, had a dead jack rabbit in his jaws, and he flicked his wolf head up and gulped down it in one go. He then changed back into a human. Fortunately, I carry extra clothes for times like this, and I passed him a complete outfit. He flushed and took the garments from me and dressed quickly before Ashla had come back. Kiki had enough sense to cover her eyes, but I heard her giggling.

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Neil had lots of lacerations, but they were fading into angry pink lines. Neil stared amazed at the lines fading away in his fair skin. He must have forgotten about the healing thing. Again. “So, what does you look like in wolf-form?” I asked Kiki “I’m a smaller then my older sister, and silver and white.” Kiki said proudly, taking her sister’s hand. I hadn’t noticed she’d returned. “A lot smaller,” commented Ashla. “So, can we join your pack now? “Well…” Neil began. I silenced him by putting my iron hand over his mouth. I glared at him while I said, “Of course you can.” Besides, Ashla wasn’t that bad looking; her wolf-form was even prettier. “So, black haired boy,” she started. “Miles and Neil.” I corrected her. Rolling her eyes she said, “Miles, what does your wolf-form look like?” “I’m—” “He’s a huge black wolf, with all this shaggy fur. He’s not as big as you, but I think he’s stronger.” Neil interrupted, gushing about me. I hated when he did that. “Let’s get going.” Kiki piped up. “Where to?” Neil asked. Kiki laughed, the wind carried it all around the valley, leaving a pleasant ringing. “Wherever the wind decides to lead us!” Kiki took off, the tall grass of the clearing nearly covering her head. Ashla followed her, laughing with her little sister. I shrugged, and ran off after them, with Neil in my wake.

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“No, Kiki, if we find the city, we…actually, I guess your right. The wind will lead us there,” commented Ashla, amazed at her sister’s inference. The woods were a nice place, quiet, full of food, and very secretive. Ashla and I had become the leaders of the pack. She in charge of fighting and converging with the wolf packs along the way, and I was in charge of hunting and all the other things she didn’t do. At night, Kiki kept us up late with her stories of playing tag with fairies and water nymphs. I had no idea there were so many other magical creatures existed. But if I was a werewolf, I guess anything could happen. One night, when Kiki and the pack had been running a long time, there were no stories for us. Neil settled down on a bed of pine needles, sending the bitter sweet scent up my nostrils. The only ones awake were Ashla and I. I looked at her, and she stared back. She suddenly spoke, her voice just above a whisper, “Have you ever killed a man?” I gave her a brisk nod. I started to tell my story of the night I had to change Neil and flee the village. Ashla wasn’t at all horrified by anything, no matter how descriptive I was. She sat drawing in the dirt with her fingertips; the dust flying up around her. When I had finished my tale she spoke again, “I have killed a man, but you could hardly call him and his mate human.” Anything was possible, so I asked, “Were they humans?” She slowly shook her head. “I don’t have a name for them. They broke into my house and snuck into my parents’ room. My dad was a werewolf too, but he didn’t have enough time to phase. The female got him first.” Ashla grimaced a moment, as if reliving the scene. “She sucked him dry; he didn’t even bleed when the male cut him.

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“The male got my mom next, but I was up by then. I knew I wasn’t powerful enough to fight two of these creatures. Their scent burned my nostrils, and it hurt my eyes to look at them for more than a few minutes. I led my sister out and dropped her outside the gate of the city. I phased and went inside to face them. They were the most beautiful things I have ever seen. Their scent carried across my room, where they were looking for me and my sister. The male scented me, and turned around, his eyes flashing from red to black.” She shivered from the memory. “He flew, not literally, but ran really fast, across the room.” Ashla smiled. “But I got him first. I just turned my snout, and snapped. The creature lay in two at my feet. The female ran away, but I knew I wouldn’t catch her. I burned what remained of the male, and went to the woods. Not knowing what lay ahead, I turned Kiki. You met us about a year after that happened.” “How were you changed?” “My dad changed me. It’s tradition in our family to change the oldest son. But since I was the oldest, he changed me. What about you?” “I got into a fight with a stray wolf.” “Oh.” We sat there for awhile, avoiding each others eyes. I suddenly felt a wave of exhaustion crawl over me. “Ashla?” I said. “Yeah?” “Can you keep watch tonight? I need some sleep.” She nodded then looked into the woods, searching anything that threatened our pack. Ashla could take care of anything that came her way.

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Before I fell asleep, I saw Ashla playing with some bright faeries. They flew around her head and rested on her hands. I heard her giggle quietly as two pulled playfully yanked her mousy brown hair.

The next morning, we wandered the woods in our human-forms. Ashla and I had reached a decision that our pack needed a territory, but every where we went was claimed. Ashla decided it was better if we split up and searched, meeting up later. Neil and I took off west, Ashla and Kiki east, and we phased. Neil and I loped through the woods. The trees were indistinguishable against the backdrop of the forest as we ran swiftly, stopping every so often to sniff around. I glanced at Neil, his bushy, sand colored tail wagging ferociously behind him. He chased the brightly colored faeries and playfully snapped at them as they tugged on his ears and tail. Lucky for him, he had short, light colored fur, while I had jet black shaggy fur that was all over the place. I hated the sun. As if I wasn’t hot enough already in this fur coat. This sun was in danger of giving me heatstroke. A sweet scent caught my nostrils, and I came to a sudden stop, the forest floor became a whirlwind of soggy colored leaves as I put all of my weight to stopping. Neil skidded to a stop behind me, and said to me.

“What happened?” “Deer happened.” “Food deer?” “Yes Neil, food deer.”

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He barked happily, sending the faeries scattering away from the force of the sound waves. We followed the trail until we found the herd. “Top left, limping, no one

will miss him,” Neil stated. “Neil, you are a cruel person,” I responded. Neil and I split up into a hunting formation. Neil would run the deer right to me. I was positioned down on my belly and put my head on my paws as I waited for the stampede; my ears twitching in anxiousness. The pounding of hooves rang in my ears. I jumped to my feet and growled at the rapidly approaching deer. I leaped, teeth flashing, and attacked the deer. I carefully avoided the flailing antlers as I sunk my three-inch fangs into its throat. Its feeble attacks slowly faded, and it sunk to the ground, tongue lolling out of its mouth and it’s eyes rolling into the back of its head. Picking it up by the neck, Neil and I started to travel in Ashla and Kiki’s direction. We were running so hard that Neil and I were actually panting. Some sort of noise made me prick up my ears, and I then realized that it was Ashla. I dropped the deer and sprinted in the direction of the yowling, pushing my wolf body to its limits. I heard Neil yelp, and saw a small grey shape run in front of him. I whipped around and saw it was only wolf-form Kiki, her green eyes wide with fear. Not even pausing to ask her what happened, I charged in the direction of the yowls. Neil was the first to arrive and I saw him jump into the fray. The occasional russet flash of fur appeared, but not enough to feel that she was winning the fight. My only priority was to get Ashla out of there, but when I saw what was attacking, I joined the fight. A pack of wolves, and a big one at that, was the cause of the pain. A white

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werewolf was fighting beside Ashla, but they were failing. Neil was having trouble with the wolf pack, and the white wolf and Ashla were getting closer and closer to losing not only the fight. I jumped into the fight, a red haze over my eyes. All I heard around me was the sound of the wolves’ pain as I picked them off one by one. At last, the remaining ones fled in fear. “Miles? Miles Rook”? asked the white werewolf.

“What’s it to you?” “You don’t recognize me?” “Why should I?” “It’s me, James!” “James, my old friend from my mother’s farm, is that you?” “Yes, you dunce!” James changed into a human, and looked at me. He had changed a lot, his platinum blond hair was longer than mine; it was below his chin. He was gangly and lean, even for someone of his height. Then realizing he was naked, flushed and pulled on a pair of pants. I did the same. I must have looked terrible; I had blood all over my arms as legs, and who knows about my face? Ashla, Kiki, and Neil changed in the woods and came back, growling softly behind me. “James, I haven’t seen you since my mother sent me away!” He and I embraced. “Since when have you been a wolf? And you have your own pack!” “I’ve been a wolf for about a year now.”

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“A pack though! I’ve always been a loner. Luckily your friend here,” James motioned to Ashla, “interfered, or I wouldn’t be alive. My greatest thanks to you, russet wolf,” he said gratifyingly, adding a flourished bow. “What happened though?” “I, uh, owed one of them something, and when I refused to pay, he called in reinforcements.” “Where’s your scar?” James held out his arm and twisted it palm up. His scar was long and white. It ran from his elbow to his wrist. I showed him mine, then Neil, and then Ashla. She reluctantly showed him hers. Ashla didn’t seem to quite trust him yet. Kiki gladly showed him the small mark on the back of her hand. “Miles, my old friend, hope this isn’t very intrusive, but I was wondering if you would allow me to run with your pack. When you left a sickness hit, and I’ve been without a family for a long time.” I looked at my pack, and they nodded. I stared at my old friend and said, “Welcome home.” James laughed joyfully and gave each of us a big hug. He was so blissful; he even gave Ashla a big, slobbery kiss. Much to the enjoyment of Kiki, who was laughing while her sister wiped the spit off her mouth and glared at James. James turned out to be a good choice to add to my pack. He was humorous and energetic. Neil and James got along really well, better than Ashla and Kiki did. James said he was craving human company and we all agreed. We changed into wolves and headed to a village Ashla said knew about the werewolves and pretty much worshiped

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werewolves for a favor they did for them a while back. Something to do with the creatures that Ashla and Kiki met in their house. Turns out, this was the mysterious town Ashla had mentioned when we first met her. If a werewolf gets close, they can sense it and some instinct guides them there. I thought it not to be an accomplishment, but my pack seemed overjoyed at finding this town. Neil was worried; he wanted to avoid the road. Even the thought of humans who knew about werewolves seeing his wolf-form scared him. James only laughed and ran along the road. Kiki ran ahead of me. She was a small grey and white wolf, with a hint of red in her tail. Being the youngest, she was around nine or ten. When she caught up to her sister, I noticed how much smaller she was. Kiki reached below her older sister’s shoulder. I ran up to the front. As the leader, I deserved the front spot. Up ahead I heard shouts of joy, and some of the village boys ran out from the trees. They had a freshly killed deer slung over their shoulders, and as soon as they saw us, dropped it and called to my pack James and Ashla looked to me and we came to a stop. “I’m hungry, can we please?” pleaded Neil.

“Yeah, c’mon Miles, they don’t mean any harm,” backed up James. I looked to Ashla, and she rolled her shoulders in a shrug. I barked my approval and we ran across the dirt road to the waiting boys. They gladly gave up their deer to watch us eat. The meat was warm and fresh. The others were enjoying it just as much as I was. These boys were smart. They knew if they hadn’t given us the deer, we might’ve been in mood for boy.

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Out of the corner of my eye, I saw James’s white head jump up, like he had remembered something, and he took off running into the woods. Ashla barked gruffly to me, “What was that about?”

“How am I supposed to know? Just keep the boys busy here, I’ll go get him.” I left the juicy red meat of the deer for the cold shadowy forest.

“Miles! I need your help; a wolf can’t hunt a deer by himself!” I gladly helped James catch a deer. We ran with the herd, and jumped on the fattest one there, killing it instantly. James carried it proudly in his mouth, and we walked back the edge of the forest. I nearly laughed at what I saw. Kiki was chasing some of the boys around; Neil was lying around, watching with a mild interest. Ashla was standing up straight while some of the boys ran their hands through her think fur. One of the boys was lying with his head against Neil’s side, and he saw us first. “Hey, they got us a deer!” he shouted excitedly, jumping up and down. He called his friends over. The boys crowded around us and pleaded us to come back to the village with them. We agreed, and James walked ahead happily with the deer in his jaws, his tail upright. Some of the boys were brave enough to ride on our backs; the skittish ones walked behind us.

“How far is the village?” Kiki asked me. A slight, red haired boy with sky blue eyes turned to her. “ ’S a day’s travel away. We were part of hunting party.” He fidgeted on Neil’s back as we all turned our eyes to him. “I can understand werewolves. It’s in my blood. My dad’s, dad’s, dad was one of the people who helped the first werewolf survive. In

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return, he gave us, my family the power to communicate with his species flawlessly.” He turned his gaze to Neil’s back and played with and played with his fur. He looked at me. “I think the village leader would like to see you Black One. You look like a wolf… you and your pack…” He muttered something to himself, and the other boys whispered excitedly.

“A day’s travel you say?” The red haired boy nodded. “Hold on, we’re going to run!” I yowled. He repeated the message to the other boys that were walking and they nervously clambered onto our backs. They held on tight, and we sprinted towards the city.

As soon as we reached the village, the red haired boy directed us to a small house where he said we could change into our human-forms. Some of the village boys came back with fresh clothes for us, and we changed in the house. When we walked out, the red haired boy and a group of his friends were leading a group of adults. They muttered curiously among each other, until I turned my eyes upon them. They muttered excitedly and pulled apart to form path. An old, tall man with long grey hair walked through. The man was old, but he didn’t seem to think that. He walked along with the same vigor of a thirty-year-old. He was wearing a long wolf fur coat. Then I noticed something, he was muscular, and his eyes were a startling yellow, like mine. “Welcome, wolf brothers,” and noticing Ashla and Kiki, he added surprised, “and sisters. I was the wolf of this town, but have long since retired. I am now the high priest. Come, I have something to show you.”

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The villagers walked home, knowing they couldn’t follow us. We walked the lonely streets to a large temple building. Opening a gate, the former werewolf motioned us into the back of the temple, towards a marble shrine. As he walked inside, he bowed, and we followed suit. The high priest took us to a corner, and lit a torch. All around us were detailed carvings that depicted werewolves. They were doing various things, like hunting, changing into humans, running wild, playing with human children and sleeping. Then something caught my eye. A colored statue of five werewolves stood alone in a corner. On the statue stood a large, jet black wolf with yellow eyes, a sandyblonde, a white, a russet, and a smaller gray wolf. Below the statue of the wolves were pictures of their stories. One showed a human fighting a wolf. The other showed a boy changing. Another depicted a boy fighting a full grown werewolf. The last one was a single picture of a werewolf protecting a cowering little girl from a man. Then I realized something, those wolves and the stories, they were us. Shocked, I followed the carving with my hand until I came to a separate drawing. It was the pack of wolves against five humans; expect their faces weren’t right, they just weren’t humans. The drawing abruptly stopped after the stories to give way to a blank marble wall. I looked intently at the wall, and turned to the high priest. “How come this wall is blank?” “That’s for the other prophecies; one can never have too many.” “My pack’s prophecies? Is this were they will go?”

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“Yes, your packs future ones. Check back here occasionally, there might be another one. They appear as one’s life proceeds. The Seer of the village tells the wall what to carve.” I raised one eyebrow, “He tells the walls?” “Yes.”

Well, anything can happen. I’m a werewolf, for Pete’s sake. I heard Ashla take in a sharp breath as she looked at her picture. James looked wonderingly at the priest. “I see you have found your stories. This is an old prophecy, back in the time of the original werewolf. On his death bed, he told his pack of fighter werewolves a story. Five wolves will join together and battle alongside a common enemy. They will prevail, but will lose someone after the ending battle.” “What about the one at the bottom? Are those humans we’re fighting against?” spoke up Neil. The priest shook his head. “We have some of those here, but they aren’t who you see in the picture. You can meet them, but I don’t think they’ll like you very much. Especially you, brown one.” He said, staring at Ashla. “These don’t drink human blood, so you don’t have to worry about them.” Ashla nodded and took Kiki’s hand, as if she didn’t quite trust the priest’s words. James took the spot behind the man, and we walked towards a nicer part of town. The priest halted us in front of a large, white marble house. “These,” he paused for the word, thinking hard,”vampires, will not hurt you, so don’t be scared, be polite. They need to meet the City of the Wolf’s new protectors.” “Wait, who said we were staying?” I called out.

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They all turned to me curiously. “Miles, this is a werewolf’s final stage. They become full grown here. They don’t move on. As of now, we are the only true werewolves in existence, and it’s our duty to protect the town,” said Ashla matter-offactually. “How come you didn’t tell me we were going here?” “The thing is if a pack finds it, a pack finds it, and they stay. If they don’t, they don’t.” I gulped and nodded, embarrassed at my outburst. The priest regarded Ashla quizzically, and knocked on the door. In a matter of seconds, a pungent scent hit our nostrils, and Kiki recoiled behind her sister, frightened as the door began to open. “What brings you here this time of night, dog?” said a musical voice. The most beautiful women I had ever seen stood at the door way. She was tall, blonde, and had such pale skin it looked as if she was an illusion. I would he fallen in love with her immediately if she hadn’t smelled so bad. My eyes had started to sting, so I looked at the ground. She turned her wondering blue eyes at my pack, and wrinkled her nose in disgust. Her eyes flashed black for an instant. “Timothy, come see what the mutt dragged in.” The priest growled softly at the women. “Watch your mouth, Angela,” he hissed. She only sneered at him, and a younger boy appeared at the door by Angela’s side. He was about sixteen, and forever would be, like my pack. The one called Timothy had soft, green eyes and reddish-brown hair. Timothy regarded us in wonder, and let his ever-changing eyes rest on Ashla. I didn’t like the way he was looking at her. I snarled at the vampire, no way was he going

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to put a cold, pale, hand on my Ashla. I saw his eyes flicker from a tranquil blue to a blushing pink. If his skin didn’t show emotion, then his eyes did. Timothy looked at me surprised, and I bared my fangs. He grinned at me. The female, Angela, spoke again, “So, these are the city’s new wolf protectors?” Angela said ‘wolf’ with a sneer. She laughed a cold, humorless laugh that caused Kiki to whimper and cover her ears. I looked at Neil and James, but they seemed unfazed, holding their noses to stop the bitter-sweet scent from entering their nostrils. Neil had his eyes closed also. Timothy spoke, he held no grudges or hatred to our species, I could tell. “If you don’t mind, high priest, I could train them to fight vampires?” The high priest looked at us, and nodded, and Angela looked horrified at the younger boy. “Timothy, are you sure…?” “Yes, I’m sure,” he said with such authority in his velvet voice, Angela didn’t pursue to change his decision any more. “Shall we?” He walked out into the cold night, and began his lesson right away. “Vampires are like stone. We’re cold, hard, and practically indestructible, but we do have our weaknesses. I would let you hit me,” he grinned good-naturedly at us, “but you could actually hurt me. You guys are the only thing, besides another vampire, that could hurt me.” “Uh, Tim?” James raised his hand. “Yes?” “Names James, but just wondering, are you guys immortal like us?” “To answer your first question, yes we are immortal, I, for one, am one hundred and fifty years old. But I’ve talked enough, tell me about yourselves.”

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Neil reveled himself first. “I’m Neil McMahon; I’m the baker’s son.” He thought for a moment, and changed his mind. “Er, was the baker’s son. I guess he wouldn’t want a son that would eat him out of house and home, literally, anymore. Miles, the one with the black hair over there, changed me.” “And, you, russet one?” said Timothy with a bow. Ashla blushed, something I’ve never seen her do before, and said, “I’m Ashla. My dad changed me, and I…” she glanced guiltily up at Timothy, “I fought two vampires and killed one.” Decisions Timothy looked impressed. “Two? Were they adults?” She nodded. “A female and a male. I didn’t have time to save my mom and dad though…” Kiki sniffed sadly behind her. “I changed my sister over there. I didn’t know what lay ahead, but I knew how dangerous it was to carry a human kid with me, so I changed her.” Timothy put his hand around her shoulders, and gave her a one armed hug. I growled internally, but I must have done it externally too because Neil and James whispered in harmony, “Jealous, Miles?” I glared at James and Neil, but they returned my glare with innocent expressions, and I heard Kiki snigger. I sniffed with disgust and James piped up. “A werewolf owed me money, and wouldn’t pay me,” James grinned. “He was sorry he sent his cronies to do the dirty work.” James mimicked stabbing wolves with a knife. “One got me though, and I tracked the werewolf down. Let’s just say his fur was really warm, especially after you know what was under it won’t hurt you anymore.”

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Timothy looked at me, and all I exposed was, “I fought a wolf and we mixed blood.” We had reached a large building that looked like a stone hill with caves drilled in its sides. “The Guardians of old slept here. Each cave is made to fit every werewolves need. See you in the morning.” Before leaving, he kissed Ashla’s hand, and winked at her. She giggled, her cheeks going red. “I don’t like him,” stated Neil after Timothy was well out of earshot. “He’s okay,” said James. “I’m with Neil. I don’t like the way he look at Ashla…” “He looks at me just fine Miles!” She growled at me. “Just because some other guy starts to pay attention to me doesn’t mean you have to be jealous!” She stormed up the hill side at a break neck speed, towards the nearest cave. Kiki looked at me sadly, and shook her head, then chased her enraged sister up the hill. “Oooohhhh, you’ve done it now, Miles!” James let out a lout a long whistle. “Shut up and leave me alone!” I turned and snarled at my friends, and not even realizing it, phased. I ran out of the village into the woods. I wandered there for days, crazed out. Stupid vampire. Stupid Ashla. Stupid everyone. I howled in frustration. Luckily the deer around here were scared of humans; I would have taken down a full herd in frustration and not even noticed I was doing it.

“Miles? Where are you?” I heard the howl, but just barely. I must be far away from the village. I ran in the direction of the village, and the word became clearer. I howled an answer back.

“Ashla? Where are you?”

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“Miles, shut up and c’mon!” Overjoyed at her forgiveness, I ran back to the village and vowed to try to control my temper more. As I entered the gate in wolf-form there they were, all waiting for me. James, Neil, Kiki, Ashla. I froze in mid-step as I saw the last person. His passive green eyes bored right through me. Timothy stood there, holding Ashla’s hand. I bolted past them and changed into human-form and got dressed. Trying to stay chipper, I watched as Timothy started running with Ashla behind him. My pack followed eagerly. I ran behind the group until the village came into view. A group of disheveled townsfolk stood in front of the gate, holding their dead and wounded. One of the women saw Timothy and screamed; which made the whole scene a pandemonium. Mothers and children his behind fathers, and people were running for cover. It took my whole pack, but we got them calmed them down enough with our howling. I took charge and yelled to them, “Do not be afraid. This is Timothy, he will not hurt you. He

has resigned the drinking of human blood.” They couldn’t understand my barking, so I had to communicate by drawing pictures and such. I did everything short of an interpretive dance. No way was I changing into a human with girls around. And besides, a human face on a wolf body wouldn’t have helped the situation. We got our message across, and the pandemonium ceased. “Why should we believe you?” yelled a gruff Englishman’s voice from the mob. Timothy took to the front of my pack and yelled in voice everyone could hear. “Because they are the new Guardians from Urba Lupus! We have come to clean out this village of its vampires. Tell us, how many are there!”

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A small boy, around six, walked to the front of the crowd. He nervously sucked his thumb. “There’s three of ‘em, sir.” “Male or female?” asked Timothy. “Two males, and a female,” rang an answering voice. James looked raring to go hunting, and we all shared his enthusiasm. Timothy nodded, and we left for the city. As I was walking towards the gate with my pack, I saw Timothy stroking Ashla’s wolf-form’s muzzle. He kissed her wet nose, and she licked him. He laughed and took to the head of the pack with me. “I can’t understand your barking; my powers lie elsewhere, so try to communicate with me in other ways.” I rolled my eyes and let and let a jet of hot air escape my nostrils in the form of an annoyed snort. Timothy grinned at us, “Exactly like that, Miles, thank you for showing us.” Rumbling laughter came from my pack behind me. We wandered the streets until Kiki barked and took off into an alley. “Kiki, no!” Timothy shouted, frightened. Ashla charged into the alley after her sister. Timothy took after her into the ally, his eyes wild with fear and, red hair flying with the speed he was running at, and we followed, bristled for the fight. I heard a frightened squeal from Kiki’s wolf-form, and James and Neil took off into the alley without hesitation. What we saw frightened us. Three full grown vampires stood at the end of the alley. One, the larger, muscular male, stood holding the struggling Kiki above the ground, as if prepared to choke her. Timothy and Ashla crouched three meters from the vampires. Timothy growled, but it was not a wolf growl, it was more feline. The other male, who was slimmer, but still strong, growled right back at Timothy. The female

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smiled wildly at us as we entered the alley, her hair was so dark it was almost black. Her eyes were a bright, ruby red. Timothy had talked to us about vampire eyes. A vampire that had given up on human blood had bright colored eyes. For instance, it would only change to bright colors such as blue or green. If they were frightened, it was black. Never red though. On the other hand, a vampire that still drank human blood would have dark colors, like black, or it would have the crazed red of bloodlust and battle. That was what the color of the other vampires’ eyes were. It all happened at once. Ashla leapt at the male holding Kiki, Timothy flew at the other male, but the female stood watching. The fight between Timothy and the male was hard to follow, as they were running around each other so fast they were a blur. All I could figure out was the fight was gong badly for someone. The thunder as they smacked out at each other was getting more frequent, and the fight was slowing down were becoming louder and more frequent. I ran to help Ashla, but she was already tearing the male apart viciously, and Kiki was carrying the flying pieces to a corner as they landed. I saw Timothy fly out from the blur and smash into a brick wall, making it crumble. The female jumped onto James. He yowled in agony she the female pulled her arms together around his sides. Despite the fray, her dark hair remained as straight and neat, and a wicked grin spread across her face. A resounding cracking of bones filled the alley, and I saw James fall to the ground. I jumped at the wall, and pushed off it with all the force I had.

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The female was taken by surprise as I came down on her snarling. But before I could sink my teeth in her, she had fled. James whimpered painfully at my feet, and I licked him in comfort. He stood up on wobbly legs, and walked it off. Timothy, Ashla and Kiki lit the body parts of the two males on fire, and we watched the thick, black plume reach into the stars. Timothy looked tired out, and he asked if we got the female. I shook my head, and motioned over the wall with my tail. He snarled something unintelligible, and I heard Ashla curse.

“What’s wrong?” I asked her. “That was the female that got away before, the one that killed my parents. Timothy knows, he saw her in my memories.” “That’s his power?” “Yes.” We walked home, yes walked, back to the village. Timothy rode on Ashla’s back, stroking her fur and rubbing behind her ears affectionately. I ignored them and walked ahead with Neil and James, who was doing better. We walked with Kiki, too. She kept apologizing to James, saying it was her fault he got hurt. He rumbled a chuckle, and said she was forgiven.

When we finally arrived at Urba Lupus, we received a hero’s welcome. The crown cheered for us, and we had to growl at them, and Timothy told them we had to change. They reluctantly let us pass, and we changed into our human-form. We went down afterwards and joined the celebration. I did see Ashla and Timothy in a secluded corner, laughing at an inside joke, and he stroked her hair affectionately.

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Later that night, as we walked back for a well deserved rest, I followed behind Timothy and Ashla. They stopped in front of her cave as she looked at him and asked in a sad voice, “Does it really matter that I’m a werewolf and you’re a vampire?” He laughed a light, musical laugh and said, “No, love. It doesn’t matter, I will always love you the same.” He leaned over and kissed her nose. I scampered away, knowing it was none of my business what happened between them. The next morning, I watched Timothy and Ashla walk down the hillside towards the woods, to be alone. I spent the day with Neil, James, and Kiki. We received praise and food wherever we turned. If I was a normal human, I would have been as fat as a king by the end of the day.

Many weeks later, a nearby town said they had a vampire problem. Expecting a normal execution, we set out cheerful, but we were in for a surprise. By this time, we were full grown and at our full potential, so none of us were worried. Timothy and Ashla were not ashamed of their relationship anymore, and Ashla gladly flashed her engagement ring whenever the chance showed itself. As we loped towards the village in human-form, we were taken by shock at the amount of bodies burning outside the town. The survivors of the vampires’ onslaught watched us with hopeful eyes as they mourned their burning dead. The sun was sinking into the horizon and the villagers’ fires cast ethereal glows on the wall outside the city.

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“This doesn’t look as easy as I thought it would be,” said James with an insecure look on his face. Timothy looked at the village and nodded gravely. “I agree, James. Stay here. I’m going to go scout out the village to see how many there are.” We stood guard and made sure none of the vampires escaped. “Ashla, if your boyfriend-” started Neil, but Ashla turned and growled at him. “Okay, whatever. Fiancée. Is a vampire, how come you hate his species so much and not him?” “Timothy isn’t one of them” she said, jerking her thumb in the direction of the village. “He doesn’t drink human blood.” “Oh.” Neil’s face went red and he looked at the ground. I pondered the thought of Ashla and Timothy. To any normal human, she looked to be sixteen or seventeen. God knows how old Timothy was. He had told us, but I had forgotten. Timothy was probably not so keen to tell me again. So there she was, my best friend, engaged. She often spoke how the world had seemed that it had stopped when she laid eyes on Timothy, her ‘true love’. We had all groaned and James said sarcastically, ‘How romantic.’ I sniggered as I recalled the beating James received from Ashla. Good thing werewolves heal so fast. She might’ve been a girl, and smaller in wolf-form than I was (I had grown), but Ashla was the strongest of all of us. I was the quick one, almost as fast as Timothy. James worked off fright. He had the biggest canines and claws, and he used them to his advantage. Neil was the smartest of my pack. He and James, brains and brawn, would work together in the battle to take down the vampires. Neil would form the plan, and they would execute it. Kiki, being the smallest, had the element of surprise. She would weave in and out of the vampires’ legs, nipping to get them

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distracted so Ashla could fight them off. Being silvery grey in a city of stone didn’t hurt either. A blur ran out of the village gates, and within seconds, Timothy stood beside Kiki. He glanced at Ashla, and some unspoken communication took place. His eyes were as flashing between yellow and a navy blue, indicating he was frightened. “Kiki, go home. Now.” He demanded this in a commanding tone. “I want to fight, too!” She stood in a defiant stance; arms folded, chin held high. “Kiki, go home.” Still he remained calm. His face was blank, expressionless. “No! I want to fight!” Kiki stamped her foot angrily. “Kiki!” Her sudden outburst at her sister startled us. “Go home. Timothy showed me what waiting inside the town. You will be killed if you follow us. Leave!” “I’m not going.” Kiki still crossed her arms and tilted her head up, pouting. “By God, Kiki! I will chase you if I have to! I swear my wolf-form is not as gentle as I am! If I find you lurking around and not on your way home, I’ll hunt you down myself. And you know what a good tracker I am.” Kiki’s eyes welled up in tears and she sprinted away, her blond hair flowing behind her as she ran off into the woods. Ashla started satisfied as her form gradually disappeared. “Uh, that was just a little, itty bit, HUMONGOUSLY HARSH!” Neil accused. Ashla only shrugged unconcerned. “Life’s harsh.” “You trust her to go home?” James inquired, raising an eye brow. “Ashla doesn’t make idle threats,” I answered. Kiki, of all people should know that.

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On that happy note, Timothy shared what he saw in the village. “A whole group of vampires. They’re led by the female we fought in the alley.” Ashla broke in. “The female has around sixteen or seventeen vampires with her. When Timothy saw them, they were skirting the streets, looking for stragglers to eat.” He nodded his head in agreement. “We have to kill them. Now. You guys have no time to pretty yourselves up before you change, just phase now.” Thankfully, Ashla had left her ring at home, and we phased.

“That was a perfectly good pair of pants that were ruined, gone to shreds,” complained James. Neil and I let out throaty chortles, and Ashla chuckeled. “This is not going to the normal walk-in-the-park fight. Prepare yourselves,” Timothy stated. Neil snorted and rolled his eyes. Timothy didn’t notice; he was already running into the village. We hadn’t even walked for five minutes before the first three vampires attacked us. Two females and a male, all newly changed. The male, long legged and thin, flew at Neil. Neil dodged, and Timothy flew down on top of him with a sickening crunch. He ripped relentlessly, and soon the male was no more. The two females, with their horror struck faces, turned tail and ran. Timothy tripped me with his leg as I ran in pursuit. I hit the ground with a loud smack, and turned around to face him, before raising my wolf brows. “No point chasing a lost cause. We’ll find them with the female.” I mumbled to myself and ran my huge paw on my injured muzzle. We met a few other vampires, but after we had taken out one of their party, the other vampires had fled. By the time we found the female, we had taken her army of

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seventeen to ten, not including her. She and her miniscule army stood at the end of a large street, staring and snarling at us. “So, it comes to this. A young vampire and four wolves.” She scanned us all with her ruby red eyes, until she saw Ashla. Her lips parted into a cruel smile as Ashla’s green eyes glazed over, and she hit the ground with a thud. She lay there, twitching at odd moments. “That’s for killing my mate so many years ago. I still haven’t forgotten.” Her eyes narrowed as the memory crept into her mind. Her eyes raked though our pack. “You’re missing someone though, where is you beloved little sister?” After what seemed like a millennium, Ashla regained conciseness. Her eyes were harder, and she shared with us what had happened. Apparently, the female had a similar power to Timothy, but she can only take the painful memories out and replay them in her victim’s mind, as if they were reliving them again. Ashla had been singled out because the female remembered her from when she killed her mate. “Lela, that’s her name,” Ashla whispered to us. Lela sneered at us. “You can surrender now dogs, or we can fight to the death.” I snarled and braced myself. She smiled, as if she did this in her sleep. “So be it.” Lela slowly raised her pallid arm and pointed at us with one long, white finger. The vampires leapt at us with exited whoops and yells. James pushed off the ground first and all of the wolves followed. At about twenty feet high, we started to descend. The startled vampires tried to run, but we caught most of their flailing limbs in our jaws and under our huge paws. Killing had never felt more right. Well, one could hardly call this killing. They were technically dead, so we were really re-killing them. I saw how much my friends

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enjoyed this fighting. James was chasing a strong looking male around the circle, causing him to run into another male who was fleeing from Neil. The resounding boom caused a female to turn her head up and look at the two motionless males. That was all the time Ashla needed. She took the female down with a swift strike from her paws to the back of her head. She then proceeded to tear her limb from limb. A searing pain in my left paw brought me back to reality. A male, who looked pleased with himself, had just raked his fingers across my leg and paw. I pretended to be wounded, and lay down on the ground, whimpering. I pulled my paw to my mouth and sucked the now closed wound. The male, thinking he was coming in for the kill, had a triumphant look on his face. Time seemed sluggish, and it was as if he was slowly walking towards me. When he was a good two meters from me, I jumped to my feet as he jumped into the air. The triumphant look on his face quickly changed to horror as he realized where he had angled his body; towards my waiting muzzle. I felt the flesh of his neck give way as I bit down hard, and the body fell in two pieces at my feet. This turned out to be the last vampire alive, besides Lela. Grinning over my victory, I wheeled around to face my friends. My grin died instantly. They all stood over Neil and James. I saw their sides were swollen, and two of Neil’s paws were at and irregular angle. James’s left back leg lay useless at his side, and it seemed like his jaw had been broken. Most of his paws were misshapen and bleeding. His muzzle was twisted. Neil had a trickle of blood coming down from behind his head and one of his back paws was nearly broken in half; some of his bones were sticking out. He had what looked like a bite mark on his neck. It was flowing crimson liquid freely. They both seemed to have broken at least a few ribs. Timothy spoke. “This will take a few weeks

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to heal at the least. If we leave them here, Lela will finish them off.” Ashla and I whimpered. “I’ll stay here and protect them.” Ashla walked up and nuzzled Timothy. He stroked the fur along her head. He kissed her nose and whispered, “Be safe, my love.” He then turned to me. “Take care of her for me, Miles.” I looked at him and nodded. Ashla and I left, chasing the trail Lela left in her wake.

Ashla and I tracked her scent, and found her sitting on a porch, smiling cruelly at us. “I see you found me, my dear werewolves.” We stood rigid, watching her every move. “Please, sit.” We growled at her, still not moving a muscle. Lela was smiling wider now. “So, you have defeated my army, yet, I am still alive and healthy. Not very affective fighters are you, werepups?” Ashla braced herself to lunge, and Lela’s expression went from cruel to animal. Lela ran into the house and was out before we even had a chance to raise a paw. She was holding a struggling figure in her arms. Lela turned towards us, and in her arms, she held a struggling fifteen-year-old girl. The world seemed to stop. Ashla and Lela moved in slow motion, but I saw none of it. All I saw was the girl. Her long, light brown hair swung in harmony with her head. She had baby-blue eyes, and in that instant I knew, I had to rescue her. If she died, the world was going to end. Something told me she was going to be very important later on. I jumped at Lela, and she smiled. She lunged for the girl’s throat. I was too late; she was going to eat her. I sprinted, knowing I was already going to fail. Then a blur of grey hit Lela just as she was about to sink her teeth into the girl’s throat. Lela fell backwards off the porch with the grey shape lodged firmly onto her arm. Kiki had

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arrived. Lela threw her off, but Ashla had taken her place. I heard Lela screaming in agony, and a large white chuck hit the side of my head. I didn’t want to turn around and look, but something told me it was important, because the screaming had ceased. I ran up to the girl and whimpered. She smiled weakly up at me. I leaned my jet black head and licked her face. She smiled weakly and stroked my head, rubbing especially behind my ears. I felt her hand shaking as she stroked me. An audible bark of happiness came from the other side of the road and the swishing of Ashla’s tail as she licked her sister. I gently lifted the girl onto my back and walked over to Ashla and Kiki.

“Kiki, how?” “I never really left. I stayed until I was sure you thought I had gone.” “But I said I would hunt you if you didn’t leave!” “Ashla, you never follow up on your threats with me.” So much for idle threats. Ashla gave her sister a friendly cuff over the head. We walked back to James, Neil and Timothy. A lump formed in my throat as I saw the look on Timothy’s face. “I lost him. He’s gone,” he kept whispering. Glancing behind Timothy’s shaking figure, I saw what was going on. James lay whimpering over Neil’s body.

“Miles…” “Neil, what it is it?” “I’m going Miles.” “No, don’t go! Hang in there, I’ll find a way-” “Miles, it’s my time to go. I can feel it…” the last whine faded away as Neil’s life force started to ebb. Neil looked at us all in turn, nodded and said last thing.

“It’s not so bad, dying… And with that, Neil closed his eyes.

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“He looked fine…” James whimpered. Ashla saved it as a memory, and Timothy read it. We needed to find a way to get him in on our barking; this memory thing would have to work for now. “Internal bleeding. His body couldn’t heal fast enough. He bled to death.”

“No, it wasn’t internal bleeding. Take a look at this.” I pointed with my claws to the bite mark on Neil’s neck. A vampire bite. The venom in a vampire’s mouth is the only thing a werewolf’s body can’t heal itself of. I felt a soft thump on my back; the girl had fallen asleep. Timothy strapped her tightly to my back with some leather he had found, and we walked back to the village. It was slow going though; James’s feet were in the process if healing. None of us talked the run home. We were all too despondent after loosing Neil. Ashla and James, who had changed into human-form, bore the body, still in wolf-form. James was a pitiful sight. His fair hair was dyed red and plastered with blood. His eyes were sunk into his face, and he was ashen. He kept limping; even werewolf healing took a while to fix shattered bones. He kept wincing from pain, and I took the body from him. Timothy seemed determined though, like he knew a solution. If he did, he didn’t share it. He did take Neil’s body back to his house, though.

When we did arrive back at Urba Lupus, I gently placed the girl in my cave and lay down next to her in my wolf-form. I felt her lay her head on my side. I nuzzled her and she slowly opened her eyes. She mumbled something and buried her head back into my furry side. I pulled myself out from under her and changed into my human-

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form and quickly dressed. I watched her until she awoke. “W-w-w-what?” The girl looked at me with drowsy eyes. “You’re okay now,” I responded. “Who are you?” Her eyes were wider now, surprised. “Miles. I was the black wolf.” She looked at me, shocked. “Really?” I nodded. “I never go your name though.” “Oh, it’s Jax.” She blushed. “Thanks for saving me, Miles. I thought I was vampire food.” “I wouldn’t let that happen to you. It’s my job.” I murmured softly, noticing her eyes drooping again. Jax closed her eyes and fell into a deep slumber. She could bunk here with me; I never really used my cave anyway. I left to go wander the forest; I needed some time to myself to think.

Early the next morning, Timothy burst into my cave. “He’s not dead! I can bring him back!” He spoke so fast I could barely understand him. “What?!” “Just call your friends to my house.”

“James, Ashla, Kiki! Come to Timothy’s place, he found something out!” I barked on our werewolf frequency. I could howl messages up to three miles away. The returning howls from my friends all came back positive, and we ran to Timothy’s place. Jax was still in her slumber, so I left her in my cave. “So, what’s this all about?” James asked Timothy.

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He glanced up and down the street and ushered us inside. “Neil’s not dead! His body died, but his soul is still intact. I can bring him back if you agree to help me.” “Heck, yeah! “ shouted James. Timothy looked to me. “Do you know a wolf named Stonecloud?” “Yes.” “Go get him for me. Tell him I need a sandy-colored young pup.”

After a good two days travel, I reached Stonecloud’s domain. “Ah, wolf-boy, what do

you want?” “Timothy wants you, and a sandy-blonde pup.” “Why?” asked Stonecloud suspiciously. “I don’t know, sir. It sounded urgent.” “Very well.” Stonecloud motioned to an eager adolescent cub. He ran behind us the entire way back to the village. The young pup had his tail high and nose pointed towards the skies as we entered the village, feeling swollen with pride at whatever job he was going to do. The pup’s murmurings were starting to tick me off. “What till the other cubs hear I did a job

for werewolves! Oh, Feather is going to be so jealous!” Timothy sensed us upon our entrance, and led Stonecloud to his dwelling. Upon being brushed into the house, the young pup stopped dead in his tracks. He had seen the motionless cadaver of Neil in his wolf-form. Tired and cold from my run in the cold winter day, I sat in a corner and shut my yellow eyes to rest. I heard portions of the conversation. I shivered and phased my tail. I loved being a werewolf. My black tail

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radiated heat through my shivering body, and I perked my ears up. The dialogue had passed introductions, and whatever they were going to say was bound to be important.

“Timothy, what calls us to you?” “Stonecloud, I am now asking for your return favor.” I was glad that Neil had taken the time with Timothy to teach him wolf, so we didn’t have to translate for him. Stonecloud sighed, “I knew it was coming one day. Dune! Stop that!” Dune, the juvenile cub, had been poking and prodding Neil’s carcass, hoping to rouse him. He slinked over to Stonecloud with his head dangling down in discomfiture. “So, what

does Dune have to do with the Guardians?” “As you can see, one has died, but not fully. His soul is still intact, and I need a wolf, like his form now, to bring him back.”

“That didn’t answer my question.” “Dune is going to have to change bodies with Neil.” Stonecloud’s face was thunderstruck.

“No way am I giving up a member of my pack.” “He’s still going to be there, just in a new body.” “No. I stand firmly by my answer.” As if to emphasize his point, he stood in front of Dune, hackles raised. “Please, we will give you a werewolf in your pack if you just let us have Dune.”

“Father, I’m scared,” whispered Dune. “Fine.” Dune stared in horror at Stonecloud. “How can he do this to me? Surely he doesn’t want to give me up,” Dune whispered. Dune’s lies to himself were so pitiful it made me want to cry for him.

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“Yes, little buddy; your great hero is giving you up.” James whispered to Dune, who shivered uncontrollably and hid behind Stonecloud. Stonecloud swung around and hit him in the side of the head with his paw. Dune rolled out from behind him and lay on the floor. Feeling hurt not just physically, he slowly got up and stared sadly at Stonecloud, his ears and head drooping lower that before. “Thank you. Since we are taking a choice form your pack, you get to choose who you want too.” Stonecloud gazed at each of us in turn, but let his eyes rest on Kiki. “Her. I want the younger girl.” Ashla snarled at him “No, you can’t have her.” “Ashla, giver her up.” “No! She’s my sister! I’m not letting her go!” “Ashla…” Timothy walked over cautiously and took her hand. “Ashla, dear, we have to giver her up.” Ashla’s nostrils flared and her eyes flashed, like the time Neil had called her a liar. That anger had let to a beating. Where would this anger lead? I silently hoped it would lead to a tail-kicking for Stonecloud. He deserved it; Stonecloud wasn’t the friendliest wolf in the woods. I saw a timid look in Stonecloud’s eyes as he saw the wolf muscles building up in her arms. James and I sat together on the other side of the room. We glanced at Stonecloud and Ashla and whispered our bets on who would win. He bet Ashla. I said there wouldn’t be a fight. Kiki or Timothy would stop it before it broke loose. James discreetly passed me a piece of blubbery pie, his lunch, and I passed him my only gold coin. We were wagering for the outcome of the fight already; Ashla hadn’t even bared her fangs at him yet.

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Kiki held her sister’s hand. Kiki taking her sister’s hand had an instant calming effect. The anger in Ashla’s eyes dimmed and tears began to form. “Ashla. I’ll be okay. I promise I’ll come visit you sometime.” Ashla nodded and held her sister in a tight embrace. “Don’t forget us.” I snickered as I saw disappointed James pass me back my cold coin. I pretended to savor my pie while I ate it; making faces of happiness as I bit into it and chewed. I heard James whisper to me in wolf, “I’ll fight you for that pie if you don’t stop.”

“I’d like to see you do that, werepup.” “What did you just call me?” Timothy, who had left Ashla’s side when Kiki took her hand, smacked both us on the back of their heads. “Shut up,” he hissed at us through clenched teeth. “Shut up!” James mimicked in a high-pitched with a silly expression on his face. I stifled a snicker. Timothy glared menacingly at James, his eyes flashed to a dangerous yellow, and James shut his mouth, not doubting for one second what Timothy was capable of. Kiki laughed, “How could I?” “Werewolf girl, come on, there are deer to hunt.” “The name’s Kiki…” Her voice flowed out the door, and then she was gone. “Now, Dune…” Dune whimpered quietly, his tail between his legs. “This won’t hurt you, I promise.” “What are you going to do to me?” Timothy didn’t respond to his inquiry. “Wolf-forms now, if you please.” We all phased, and Dune looked even more terrified, if possible. “Now, look at Neil’s corpse. Tell me what you see.”

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Sure enough, we all gasped. A small greenish-yellow glow was emitting from Neil’s body.

“What is that?” James asked, dumbfounded. After many days of practice, we had found a way get Timothy in on our wolf sounds; he could understand us now, thankfully “His life force, James. Dune has the same color, if you haven’t noticed.” The same color was discharging from Dune’s rigid figure.

“And this is relevant because…?” Ashla urged Timothy to get on with it. “If we can manage to take Neil’s soul, than we can place it in Dune. Then we will have our old Neil back.”

“Seems too easy,” I scoffed. “After you get the soul out it becomes easier. It’s getting the soul to enter the body other ; that’s easier said than done.”

“So, how do we do it, then?” “I think I have it figured out. Drink this.” Timothy walked around with a clay bowl with a black and gold liquid inside. “Angela made it. She’s excellent with potions.”

“What does it do?” “It takes you to the spirit world. So technically, it separates you soul from your body. In your wolf-souls, you are to go over to Neil’s body. And take both his human and wolf soul from his body. At that time, you are to run over to Dune’s body, and take his soul out. Proceed to then put Neil’s souls into Dune’s body, and Dune into Neil’s old

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body. They will both come out perfectly healed if all goes well. Dune will get to be an exceedingly outsized wolf, and Neil we be his old self again. Get it?”

“Yes, sir,” James saluted with his paw. “Dune, did you hear what I said?” Dune gulped and nodded. He stood up on his shaking legs and faced us bravely. “All right then.” Timothy then ensured that we imbibed our fair share of potion. He stood over each of us making sure our tongues lapped up every drop. I felt a calming feeling, like I was floating. Looking around, I saw I was slowly hovering away from my unconscious body. James and Ashla flew over to me, surprised at how high-speed flying was. “Ready?” asked James. His semi-transparent white fur was on end with excitement.

“Yes, let’s go. James, you and I will take Neil’s souls, Ashla, can you manage Dune?” “Dune? No problem.” James and I floated over to Neil’s body. A large wolf sat outside the body. It was Neil’s wolf-form, but it was the wolf part of him. There was no humanity in the way it moved. It whimpered and kept nuzzling Neil’s existent body. The human-form of Neil stood straight-faced beside Neil’s wolf soul. As we approached, the wolf-form growled. “Come with us, we can help you.” The wolf launched himself at us, frightened, and we exchanged blows. The wolf-form was tough and was even better due to the fact that Neil’s human soul kept yelling it fighting moves. James and I worked out a plan to hit it from behind. I distracted it while James came in from behind. Our plan worked, and as I ran in circles from the wolf, James caught it from behind. Crushing the soul under his

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weight, the wolf lay squashed beneath James. I darted over to the human-form, who screamed loudly as I picked him up. The wolf watched us with solemn eyes as we led them over to Dune’s soul. He was situated calmly beside Ashla, and saw us approach. Ashla led Dune’s soul over to Neil’s werewolf body, and we led the screaming human soul and the obedient wolf soul over to Dune’s body. James nudged the wolf soul. He glanced at Dune’s body warily. I growled at him, and he scampered in. The body twitched and convulsed, as if it was too hard for it to handle. Then it lay still. I then picked the human up in my teeth, and forced him down into Dune’s body. He fought hard, aiming some very hard kicks at my face. I noticed every time he kicked my wolfform in the snout, my real werewolf-form twitched, and a bruise formed wherever he had kicked me. At last, I got the unwilling soul into the body, and glanced over just in time to see Dune saunter into Neil’s old body. I saw James stating to fade, and them he was gone.

“James?! James?!” Then I too initiated the fading process. I blacked out, and slowly started to feel physical again. As I flickered my eyes open, I saw Ashla, James and Timothy standing over the stirring form of Neil.

“James…? Ashla…? Timothy…? Miles…? What happened?” I felt a great rush of euphoria as I saw my friend alive again.

“To be quite honest, my friend, you died.” James spoke with gusto. “We saved you though.” Neil was immediately on his paws, looking startled. “I…I…I died?”

“Yes. Dead as a door nail.”

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“Sparing you the details, you switched bodies.” Neil looked down at his own body. It was exactly the same as before. He phased to human-form, and that was the same also. He quickly phased back into wolf, realizing he had no clothes. He didn’t phase back quick enough for everyone not to notice the red that had entered his cheeks.

“I love you guys. Who did I switch with?” We motioned over to Dune, who was walking unstably on his new legs. Being the runt of the litter, he was not accustoumed to his new size. Halfway towards us, something happened. One second, a large sandy blond wolf was walking towards us, then, a young human boy was fell flat on his face. We rushed over to him. “Dune?” Timothy asked. The young boy nodded. His brown hair was shaggy, and his eyes were a deep red, but they changed every few seconds. Green to blue to yellow to brown, back to green…. He sounded out the words on his tongue before saying them. “What happened?” “I believe a part of Neil’s human soul was left in his old body, and we have a new werewolf.” Dune, surprised, backed away from us. He occupied himself with flashing back and forth between wolf and human. His wolf-form had changed. He was dark brown, a mix between black and blonde. “Interesting. Miles, you changed Neil by mixing your blood with his?” I nodded in response. “It makes sense now. Neil’s wolf soul left the mixed part of it behind. Therefore, the black and blond wolf mixed, and we have a muddy brown wolf.”

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“Brain hurts…so confused…” Neil put paws over his head and whined. “It’s not that confusing. See, when Miles changed you, he let a part of him into you. A werewolves’ blood is its and its alone; no other living thing has the same blood. When Miles mixed blood with you, he was essentially placing part of his soul into you. “When we moved souls, Neil’s mixed soul was left behind. Therefore, Dune walked in on an already formed werewolf. Neil, you will still be the same, but you might no be as large as you were before; Miles’ soul did that.”

“So, I am no longer the same person?” asked Neil. “Yes and no. There will be no personality changes, but you will see some changes in your wolf-form. For instance, none of you may have noticed, but Neil had a black undercoat that peaked up every so often through his blond coat. If you look now, nothing, all blonde.” Timothy lifted Neil’s pelt and showed us the flawless blonde of it.

“So, what does that make me? A freak?” An unfamiliar voice rang across the room. Right were a young boy had been sitting seconds ago, was a muddy brown wolf. The side of his head was turned from us, one piercing yellow eye, just like mine, glared at us accusingly. His voice had changed, it sounded more mature. The voice he had come in with was a cowardly, high pitched puppy voice. This one belonged on someone darker, more…cruel. “No, you are a...just a mixing of souls. The old Dune’s souls mixed with the leftover parts of Neil’s, and you were formed. So, you are the opposite of a werewolf; a wolf that can turn into a human. So, do not think of yourself as a freak, but as the first of your species.”

“I’m an incongruous collection of souls, then,” said Dune dejectedly.

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“Wait, I changed Kiki with my blood…Would that mean she has something demented in her soul, too?” Ashla scowled, thinking hard. Dune coughed in the back, and it mysteriously sounded like “Thanks.” “Ashla, you and Kiki are related, so she already has something of you in her. If you aren’t related, it’s just a manner of putting the werewolf part of the blood into the human bloodstream. You do have different blood, but its close enough something like Dune won’t happen.”

“Because you’re related your blood is similar enough it doesn’t make a difference,” I explained. “So, when I changed Neil, I mixed part of me with him?” “Yes, you created a brand new soul that didn’t declare itself part of Neil, so it didn’t die with him. It stayed, and Dune’s souls had the unfortunate luck of being draw sucked into it.” James was lying on the floor, listening to the conversation, but raised his head from his paws to ask his question. “Those souls we dragged from Neil’s body, they were

dead souls?” “Souls can’t die, but when a soul’s shell dies, it is thrown out if the body. The only reason Neil was still alive was the extra soul Miles created.”

“I get it! It all makes sense now!” Neil wagged his tail excitedly Dune paced the room, and faced us. I noticed, around his eyes were black rings had a sandy-blonde tip on his tail. His eyes startled me. One was yellow, but the other was Neil’s eye before I changed him, a bright blue.

“We’ve got to get him some clothes.” “I agree, James.”

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Reluctantly, we all prowled out of the house in search of clothes for Dune. Subsequent to finding clothes for him, we decided that Stonecloud deserved to know what had happened to his pack-member. Checking on Jax, I saw she was awake. I took her to the priest’s house, were she would be taken care of.

Many weeks later, we finally got around to showing Dune to his father. I was reluctant to, but I was outvoted. Besides, I only think Ashla voted yes was to see her sister. Stonecloud watched us approach anxiously, my pack in human-form, Dune his muddy-brown wolf-form. “What do you want? I have repaid my debt to the vampire,” he growled at us. “We just want to show you Dune.”

“What happened to my boy!” he said, his eyes darting over Dune again and again. “Father, it’s me!” Dune bounded forwards at tackled his father.

“What did they do to you?” Stonecloud growled, glancing at us with malice in his eyes. None of us doubted for a second that he would hesitate to rip us limb from limb. Neil shivered behind me.

“I am the first of my species. I am a wolf that can turn into a human! It’s really confusing, but this happened when I mixed souls with some left over souls in his old body,” he motioned over to Neil. Stonecloud did nothing, he just stood, staring. “Go,” he growled. “Get away

from here, never come back…you…you…freak! You endanger my pack!” With that, Stonecloud leapt onto his son, gnawing and scraping horrendously.

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“Stop! Stop it! Now!” A musical voice I thought I would never hear again flew across the field. Kiki jumped into the fray. Being in her human-form, she pried them apart with her bare hands. “What is this about?!” “Freak! Mutant! Go!” Stonecloud spat in disgust at Dune. Dune just sat there, held tightly in Kiki’s firm hands. I was amazed at how they looked like misbehaving puppies as she held them by the scruff of their necks. Dune spoke up, “I came back, to…” he sniffed, crying a bit, “…to tell Father I…

I had finally done something important. I was gonna be someone. Runt of the litter Dune was going to be a Guardian! He attacked me, calling me a freak, being as I was formed with souls, and not blood.” Kiki shook Stonecloud furiously in with the fur she had clenched in her hand. “You idiot! He is the first of his kind! And your own son! How could you ha-”

“He’s not my son anymore; never will be, ever again.” Kiki stared in disbelief. “I have an idea,” Dune said, glaring menacingly at his father. The puppy voice he had used before was gone. It was replaced with the cruel, cold, mature voice he had questioned us with before. “Neither of us like the was the

other one function, and quite frankly, Father” he said with a sneer, mocking the word. “You’re getting too old to run the pack efficiently.” Dune’s multi-colored eyes flashed venomously.

“Are you suggesting a fight?” “Of course. To the death. Winner becomes leader of the pack.” “On the count of three, Kiki, release us.” She nodded, but said, “Why count?”

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James answered her, “It gives them time to prepare themselves,” James then proceeded to count, pulling down each finger as he named a number. “One…” Dune bristled, and Stonecloud bared his impressive fangs. “Two…” Dune prepared to spring, and Stonecloud prepared to dodge it. “Three!” Kiki let them go, and the fight began. Dune flew out of her hand and phased in mid-air, something we had to practice for a solid year to get right. Stonecloud had dodged Dune’s bound and had bitten down on his tail. Dune howled in pain and turned around. Stonecloud had failed to let go, a fatal mistake. Dune spun around and around, as fast as he could go without getting dizzy. Stonecloud flew off his tail and hit a nearby tree with a loud smack. I went to go stop them, but James bared my way with his arm. He shook his head, and gave me a grim smile. “This is their fight, mate.” Of course. James had been a vagabond before he joined my pack, so he knew the rules of combat. “Rule number one, no interference by the spectators. Especially if it’s a battle over power,” he whispered to me. “Stonecloud has no chance; he’s fighting against a werewolf!” I hissed back to him. “Sorry, we can’t help him.” I scowled and let the fight progress. Stonecloud was lying still, and when he got to his feet, he was swaying side to side. Dune ran at him, and hit him with his shoulder. The force of the blow sent him flying once again. Except this time, he wasn’t so lucky. Stonecloud hit a tree and fell on a branch that stretched across a river. He was dangling on, but his grip slipped, and he fell ten feet into a river below. He howled and was swiftly carried down the river. A plea came from him, “Dune, please Dune, help me. Wade into the water. I beg of you!”

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Dune just stood motionless and expressionless. He slowly shook his head and watched apathetically, motionless and expressionless, while his father howled and whined. His fearful sounds became more urgent as he become aware of the waterfall ahead.

“Duuuuuuunnnnnnnnnnnneeeeeeeeee!” Stonecloud called out to his son as he hurtled over the edge of the waterfall. His large grey shape looked like a rock falling against the fifty foot drop. He hit the water with an audible thwack, and I saw some of the wolves nearby flick their ears as the sound of bones being broken reached their ears. Dune hadn’t moved a muscle, his expression the perfect poker face. Stonecloud sank below the water, down to the bottom. The small pond at the bottom slowly started to turn a blood red. Stonecloud was gone, forever. Dune walked from the edge and looked at us icily. “Kiki, you are free to return

with your pack. You may stay if you wish, though.” Kiki shook her head. “No. I miss my pack.”

“Very well.” Dune turned around and ran in a dark fury to his pack, horrorstruck by the end of their former alpha-male. We were all silent as we walked, yes walked, back to our village. We were all pondering the gruesome end Stonecloud had met. No one, or wolf for that matter, deserved a death that horrid. James broke the silence. “How come that Dune guy became so…evil all of a sudden?” “We’ll ask Timothy.” Timothy met us at the gate. He riffled through our memories and found out what had happened. He had been wondering why Kiki had returned.

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“To answer your question, James, I believe Miles was angry when he changed Neil? Am I correct?” I nodded. “The soul was sending enraged messages, and some of those spiritual anger messages went into Neil’s body, through his blood, and as I explained before, made the extra soul that is currently in Dune. But the pent-up soul hadn’t taken over yet. The old Dune was hurt by his father, and the anger he felt allowed the evil soul Miles created to finally dominate his body and mind. That is why he allowed his father to fall off the edge of the waterfall.” I snorted at him. “You make this sound like it’s my fault.” Timothy only shrugged his shoulders in a passive statement. “I don’t mean it to sound that way. You didn’t know, and neither did anyone else at the time. It’s not your fault,” Timothy said firmly, and my friends nodded in agreement. I felt loads better knowing my friends didn’t blame me for Dune.

The vampire problems slowed down and we started having fewer and fewer calls. Dune and his pack hadn’t been seen in awhile. Rumor had it that he had retreated deep into the forest. Timothy received a call for a vampire problem, and we set out. Lazily running, we enjoyed the sun. The villagers didn’t even seem to care that a ravenous vampire was running amuck in their town. The day was almost to perfect. The vampire was easy to depose of, too. Just as Neil and I leapt into the air to shatter every single bone in the vampire’s body, he said to me, “These are the times we’ll remember, right Miles?” We landed on the vampire, and the reassuring cracking and splintering sounds and the cries of agony cut short as I treaded on its head made me respond, “Yes, Neil. Definitely.”

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