Prologue: The Legend of Paradise

There is a legend that speaks of Paradise, the legendary wolves, Kiba, Tsume, Hige, and Toboe, Blue the Wolfdog, and the Flower Maiden, Cheza, who sacrificed all to open it. These five wolves almost succeded if not for the insanity and maniacial machinations of one particular Noble, Darcia the Third. Darcia's family was cursed by paradise when his Grandfather, Darcia the First, tried to open Paradise, and dissappeared. This curse turned Darcia's left eye into a wolf's eye allowing him to see past the human illusions wolves cast on themselves, see Paradise for what it truely is, and use the wolf eye to put humans to sleep. The downside is that the wolf eye causes extreme pain and loss of sanity. This curse of Paradise was passed down to Darcia the Third. Darcia's one true love was Harmona, twin sister to the Noble Jagura. Harmona was stricken with Paradise sickness, which steals your soul but leaves your body still living. Darcia had managed to somehow succeed in turning himself into a wolf and attempted to use the Flower Maiden to reach Paradise. in the final battle, he killed all but one wolf, the great white wolf known as Kiba. The battle between these two was brutal and bloody, painting the virgin snow around them crimson. In the end, Darcia got the upper hand and mortally wounded Kiba, leaving him for dead. When he attempted to enter Paradise, however, he was incinerated and destoryed. That is except for the wolf eye, which was left behind. As Cheza held a dying Kiba one last time, she said that they would meet again in the next life. Then, she sacrificed herself so that the world would freeze over and life would eventually begin anew. Unfortunately, Darcia's wolf eye tainted the land, bringing greed, envy, strife, and all other evils into this new world. This is what we do know about Paradise and the Rebirth.

However, legends don't always tell the whole story.

As Cheza held Kiba before her sacrifice, Kiba's and Cheza's blood mixed together on the ground. During the rebirth of the world, a field of lunar flowers bloomed in that exact same spot at the same time. The true full moon was shining on the flowers, illuminating them in it's powerful glow. The world turned and life went on for man, beast, and wolves, until one day, a she wolf pup emerged from that lunar flower field, fur a pure white, eyes that was the same color as the moons light, ancient markings down her back and legs. A pup who had no idea of the roll she was to play in destiny.

And so begins our journey.

Chapter 1

The moon beat down on the frozen landscape providing it's soft light. It was bitterly cold. The winds had picked up, blowing snow in sheets across the valley. a blizzard had set in, snow blowing so hard and thick that one couldn't even see their own nose much less where they were going. This, however, did not seem to bother the figure making his way over the horizon. He kept running full speed as if his life depended on it. He kept moving as he seemed to materialize from out of nowhere, his white fur blending in with the snow, his golden eyes piercing the night. He had been traveling for two straight days now and would need to rest soon. He was hungry but was able to pick up his strength from basking in the moonlight. He stopped as he came to the mountainside. The white wolf started sniffing around for somewhere to rest. He was about twenty miles from the city he was traveling towards and wanted to be well rested and have his strength up when he arrived. He new he would need it. As he searched for a cave or shelter, the same voice he had been hearing for years now came to him again, this time louder and stronger. The lilting voice of a girl, or an angel that was sweet and melodic. every time he heard the voice, it was almost like he could feel her emotions, almost as if they had some kind of spiritual connection.

"We promised we would meet again, Kiba. Search, search for Paradise."

Kiba didn't know what it all meant. All he knows is that some instinct told him to follow this voice and he had been for years. It's not like the desire to search for Paradise wasn't already there. He had practically been born with it. Ever since the destruction of his pack, he had been hearing this voice that was telling him to search for Paradise. And so he started running. And he kept running, not staying in one place for too long. When he didn't find what he was searching for, he would start moving again and here lately, the smell of lunar flowers and the voice was drawing him toward the human city of Lowstrom.

A gunshot pierced the night. Kiba felt a searing, white hot pain slice across his right hind leg, painting the snow red. He yelped in pain and started running as fast as he could, the need to escape from danger barely hampered by the pain that was coursing through his leg now. Two more shots rang out but missed their intended target, one of them whizzing by his face so close that he felt his fur on the right side of his face ruffle with the velocity of it's passing. Kiba continue running as fast as his legs would carry him, the thought of seeking shelter forgotten now with the danger so close. He heard a dog's barking fading away as he ran. 'Who the hell is shooting at me?' he thought. He had spent most of his life in the mountains so he didn't know about the turmoil that was sweeping the land, nor how aggressive humans were getting towards wolves. He continued running toward the city for that was where the scent of lunar flowers was coming from, becoming more prevalent the closer he got.

"I'll just have to find somewhere to rest in the city," he muttered to himself bitterly, gritting his teeth against the pain. He had hoped not to spend one night in that nasty, polluted city, with man and their machines and smog. But it didn't look like he would have a choice now. whoever had shot at him was tracking him now. He could smell the scent of the dog, and a little fainter, the man. He gave a low growl and continued his hobbling run toward the city.

The man stood up from where he was checking the blood spilled on the snow. He was middle aged, about fifty or so. His black dog was sniffing the droplets. She then raised her head toward the city of Lowstrom and gave a low growl. she looked back at the human that was with her, her piercing blue eyes meeting his brown ones. The man readjusted the brown trench coat he was wearing and pulled his brown, wide brimmed hat low over his eyes. He took a flask out of his pocket, popped the cap, and took a sip of the bourbon that was in there. He put the flask away and reloaded his rifle. The weapon was top of the line, a Glenstra m-1050-p. This gun had a 10 round chamber that carried high velocity rounds, An oak stock and grip, titanium barrel, trigger, and trigger guard. The internals was made out of billet aluminum, a blow off valve for better gas expulsion, and a hair trigger. the barrel itself was rifeled in such a specialized way that it increased the velocity of the round to double that of a standard rifle. In other words, it was one hell of a specially modded weapon.

He looked at his dog and said, 'We almost got him that time Blue." She cocked her head at him as he spoke. "But now he's hurt," he continued. "And according to the blood trail he left, it looks like he's heading toward the city of Lowstrom. It looks like we can finally put this demon out of his misery once and for all." Blue gave a bark and wagged her tail. He looked at her one last time and said, "Alright girl, let's get this show on the road." And with that they started following the trail of blood left behind by Kiba toward the city.

Midtown Cycles was set at the heart of Downtown Lowstrom. The last customer had just roared out of the parking lot. A man with silver hair pulled back in a ponytail, who looked to be late teens or early twentys, pulled the garage door down for the final time that day, locking it. He then spent the next hour cleaning the shop up. This included cleaning up tools, cleaning up any fluids, sweeping, and the like. As he was finishing up for the day, the owner of Midtown Cycles, a man of average height with a bald head and a white handlebar mustache, walked into the shop and handed Tsume his pay check. "We sure are gonna miss ya around here Claw," the man said, lighting a cigarette. "You sure there's nothing I can do to convince you to stay?" Tsume took his final check out of the man's hand. "Yeah Clutch, I'm sure,"he replied. Clutch looked at him with his blue eyes and said, "what did I do to make you want to quit, huh?" Tsume looked him in the eye and replied, "you didn't do anything Clutch, I just feel it's time to move on, that's all."

"Well I'm sure gonna miss the hell out of ya. Whenever ya come back down this way, don't forget to drop in for a bit." Clutch went over to the mini fridge in the corner of the shop and grabbed a couple of beers, tossing one to Tsume. they both cracked the frosty cans open and took a sip before Clutch continued. "You know your like a son to me, right?"

Tsume looked away uncomfortabley, taking another sip of his beer. "Cut that sappy shit out will ya Clutch? you know that stuff makes me uncomfortable. Besides, you said your gonna bring that boy of yours on so it ain't like i'm leaving you short handed or anything." Clutch laughed and the two men drank in silence for a few minutes until Clutch looked at Tsume and said, "well Claw, whatever you do, giv'em hell."

Tsume grinned and, after finishing his beer, went to the bathroom to change out of his work uniform to his typical street clothes. Black jeans, grey short sleeved shirt, black leather jacket, and biker boots. When he was finished, he came back into the shop where clutch was starting on another repair for that day. Clutch looked at him and said," I always new you were a restless spirit."

"You have no idea how right you are." Tsume replied. "And as a matter of fact, I..."

He was interupped by the sound of breaking glass. burning bottles made their way into the shop, shattering glass and catching things on fire. The shop went up in smoke. "Get down!" Tsume cried pulling Clutch down to the ground with him. He covered Clutch as more firebombs came into the shop. Tsume pulled Clutch to his feet.

"Out the back, now," Clutch yelled. Suddenly, they were surrounded by four men. Clutch Swung at the first man, making solid contact against his jaw. He watched with satisfaction as he dropped to the ground, out cold. Tsume was fighting off two men, at once, who had drawn knives on him while Clutch was dealing with the second one. Tsume dodged the first man's attack who had tried to swipe at his face. As he did, he blocked the second mans attack, quickly disarming him and than punching him in the nose. The first man tried to skewer him in the stomache. Tsume dodged to the left. He felt his arms grabbed from behind and, before he could react, he felt a searing pain in his chest as he was cut twice, one across the other, making a red "X" across his chest. He jumped up and kicked his feet out at the man who had just injured him, knocking him back. He threw his head back with all the force he could muster and knocked the other man off him. He jumped on the first man, socking him between the eyes as hard as he could, knocking him out cold. He could still hear the scuffle taking place behind him as Clutch fought the other man. He heard Clutch scream and turned and saw him thrown to the floor. the man was stalking his mentor with a wicked looking knife in his hand. Tsume rushed him and jumped with suprisingly blinding speed. The next instant, blood spurted from the man's throat, painting the front of him red. He gurgled and choked on his own blood as he fell to the floor, dead.

"Get down!" he heard screamed from behind him as something rammed into him, throwing him to the floor, just as a gunshot sounded from behind. He heard a scream of pain and the sound of the body hitting the floor. He turned and took the scene in of Clutch lying on the floor, clutching his chest as blood ran through his fingers, gasping for breath.

"No!" Tsume screamed. He launched himself at the man he had forgotten about as he was trying to protect Clutch. A gunshot went off, the bullet hitting Tsume in the shoulder as he landed on the man. He broke the man's arm that was holding the gun, causing him to scream in agony. Then he shifted to his grey wolf form. The mans eyes widened with fear as Tsume savagly ripped his throat out. He shifted back and made his way weakly over to Clutch, who was lying on the floor with blood pooling around him.

Tsume tried to grab Clutch. "Come on, I'm getting you out of here." The shop was a blazing inferno now. Clutch weakly pushed Tsume away. "Get outta here, it's to late for me," he said weakly.

"No, I'm getting you out of here," Tsume cried out.

"Tsume, I'm not going to make it. It's too bad of a wound. Just know that I am proud of you pup." He gave a small smile. "Now for the last time, get your sorry ass out of here."

Against his better judgement, Tsume ran outside, jumped on his motorcycle, and peeled rubber out of there, and just in the nick of time as the shop blew up behind him, sending the heatwave of the blast over him. In the distance, sirens could be heard as police were coming on the scene.

Tsume's eyes snapped open with a start. He raised his head up looking around as he tried to get his bearings. He was no longer in the burning bike shop but in his one bedroom rundown apartment. He got out of bed, gathering his silver hair into a pony tail, and wandered into the bathroom. He looked into the mirror and fingered the "X" shaped scar on his chest thinking back to his dream that was nothing but a memory of the worst day of his life. He still had no idea why those men burned the shop down and killed his mentor and will probably never know. He got dressed and went into the kitchen and went to the fridge. He pulled out a beer and, closing the fridge with his foot, popped the top on the can. He took a healthy swallow of the stuff, and went to the living room, plopping down on the sofa.

'Has it really been five years?' he thought to himself.

"Damn Clutch, I miss ya you crazy bastard." Tsume killed his beer and then pondered what to do for the day. He had been getting an uneasy feeling for the past couple of days, like something inside him was calling out for him to do something. He just couldn't figure out what.

"Maybe going for a ride will help clear my thoughts. Get me to thinking straight again." Anything was better then sitting around and reflecting on the past.

He grabbed his keys and headed on out the door.

The tires screamed in protest as Tsume sharply took another corner. He straightened the cruiser up and was soon up to a very dangerous speed. "Now that's what I'm talking about!" he yelled. He continued to push the bike to it's limits, relishing the wind blowing in his face. Tsume was never truely happy unless he was living dangerously, pushing it to the brink, flying by the seat of his pants as they say. He continued going at a high rate of speed, living on the edge, when out of the corner of his periphial vision, he caught a flash of white coming from his right.

Tsume cursed and locked the brakes up on the motorcycle, sliding the tail end around ninty degrees, trying to avoid hitting whatever it was. He put his foot down, his boot sliding across the pavement as he fought to keep from spilling the bike.

"What the hell," he exclaimed when he came safely to a complete stop. He sniffed the direction the white blur had been going but couldn't make out exactly what it was among all the other smells of the city.

"Damn humans need to keep their dogs fenced in," he muttered bitterly. He suddenly heard a horn honking from behind him. he looked over his shoulder and saw a car, the man inside blaring his horn at him.

"Come on loser, get out of the way. I'm going to be late to a very importand appointment."

Tsume, gritting his teeth, got off his bike. He made his way over to the man's car and yanked his door open. Tsume grabbed the man by his shirt and jerked him out of the car. The man looked at him with terror in his eyes and exclaimed, "What the hell's wrong with you man." Tsume just glared at him before giving an evil grin. 'Oh, nothing, I'm just sick and tired of you stupid humans running around thinking you own the world. Thinking you can run over anybody without rhyme or reason!" he yelled. "What you don't seem to realize," he continued, "is the fact that if I wanted to, I could rip your heart out and eat it raw. The next time you have a very important appointment, as you put it, than I would suggest you leave earlier. I'm getting sick and tired of you humans and your crap." The last part was said in a deadly whisper. Tsume let the man go and said, "now that we got that cleared up, get back in your car and get the hell outta here before I do something you'll regret."

Tsume stalks back over to his bike and, upon starting it, locks up the front brakes, revs the engine, and burns the back tire. the tire sits there, squealing, and covering the man and his car in smoke, causing him to go into a coughing fit. Tsume then released the front brake and squealed outta there. He continued to ride trying to cool off. He didn't know why what the human said ticked him off so bad.

"Maybe it was that dream this morning," he thought. He looked down at the fuel guage and noticed that he was almost sitting on empty. A few more miles down the road, he stopped at a gas station, pulling up to the pumps. He got off the bike and went inside.

"Hey Tsume," a sweet voice called out. Tsume looked over to the counter.

"Hey Julie, hows life?"

"Oh, you know, been hanging in there." Tsume shakes his head as he walks to the back of the store. He grabs a water and walks back to the counter.

"That gonna do it hon' ", Julie asked.

"No", Tsume said. "I need to get five gallons on pump Two."

As julie was ringing Tsume up, she said, "Mom's having a barbeque this saturday. She would really like it if you come over."

Tsume shakes his head. "I'm busy, maybe some other time.

"Ok, no problem, have a good day."

"Sure", he said." He walked out the door and over to the pump, lifted the nozzle and begin pumping gas into his tank. Several years ago, he had saved Julie from getting hit by a car and every since then, Julie's mom has been crushing on him. Neither one of them could get it into their heads that he is a loaner. That there were reasons that he didn't get close to anyone. They wouldn't realize how different he was. Losing his mentor had very little to do with the fact that he was a recluse. After he was done pumping the gas, he replaced the nozzle, and then hopped back onto his motorcycle. He was just about to start the bike when he caught a whiff of something in the air. He carefully sniffed the scent a little closer. "That smells like a wolf." He thought. He looked around and could just barely make out a spot of red in an alley that ran by the store. He started his bike and rode over to the alley. He got off his bike and went over to the drop of blood. He knelt down and dipped his finger in the partially dried blood. He smelled it. "Yep, definately wolf blood," he confirmed. He stood up, brushing his hands off. He stood there and thought for a minute. On a whim, he decided to follow the blood trail. Not that he cared one way or another about the wolf, but for some reason, he was curious as to find out who this blood belonged to. He followed the blood and went by scent if there was no discernable trail until finally he reached an abandond warehouse. He went to the closest door and, seeing the glass broke out, carefully opened the door and went inside.

Inside the warehouse, Tsume changed to his wolf form and looked around carefully. He stood at the entrance and sniffed the air. The warehouse was full of pallets of crates making a maze in the warehouse. A balcony ran overhead. He caught the scent of wolf in the warehouse. "I don't know what your hiding for," he called out. "I can smell you you know." he walked about thirty feet into the warehouse when he hears a noise from behind. He ducked and scurried to the side just as a white form sailed by him. Tsume got into a defensive position and got ready for a fight when he saw the white wolf standing before him. The wolf was growling threatenly at him but he saw how he held his right hind leg up and saw the blood on it. Tsume stood there and scoffed.

"What was up with that?"

"What are you doing here," the white wolf demanded.

"I was going to ask you the same thing. You're going to get yourself killed if you keep that up."

"I was just trying to protect myself," he said. "Why are you running around in that form for anyway.

"What mountain did you come down from?" Tsume asked sarcastacally. "Appearantly you don't know what's been going on around here. Wolves are being hunted to extinction. Humans think we're demons or worse. If a wolf is spotted, they have orders to shoot on sight."

"Even so," the white wolf said. "You must have lost all pride as a wolf. I don't see any point of living if it means throwing away your pride."

"Well then," Tsume drawled. "Answer me this. What good is all that pride going to do you when your dead?"

Kiba looked at him with a shocked look on his face. He had never thought of it like that before. he was just about to answer when he saw moonlight reflecting off of something on the balcony behind Tsume. He gave a closer look. The light was reflecting off of...glass? No, not glass but a lens attached to a scope on a rifle. Someone was drawing a bead down on them.

"What the hell are yo...

"Sniper!" he yelled as he launched himself at Tsume, ramming into him and knocking him to the floor. Just as he hit him, a shot went off, hitting the concrete floor where Tsume was standing. He got quickly back to his feet as the white wolf struggled back up, hindered by his injured leg.

"Get out of here," Kiba yelled. I'll draw his fire!

"Your crazy," Tsume yelled, but his words fell on deaf ears

Kiba took off in the other direction, heading deeper into the warehouse. a shot went off again in his direction. As soon as he heard the explosion from the gun, he cut sharp right, the bullet just missing him. He kept going as more shots were fired.

Tsume watched as the wolf ran through the warehouse, dodging shots as he went. "He's crazy," he thought. Tsume shifted human, then jumped up to the balcony and landed softly on his feet. He was hoping to take the man out but just as he landed, a black dog with piercing blue eyes lept at him, snarling, fangs bared. Tsume threw up his arm to protect his neck. The dogs fangs sank into his arm and it's momentum carried it and Tsume over the balcony. They both hit the floor hard. The dog gave a yelp of pain and laid still. Tsume struggle his way to his feet still hearing shots ringing out across the warehouse. He shook his head, trying to clear the cobwebs. He looked in the direction the wolf had gone and didn't see him. He grimaced in pain, holding his arm. He had several cuts in his forearm, a couple very deep, the blood running from the wounds like a river. He ran back outside to his bike, hoping to head the white wolf off on the other side of the warehouse. He was going to give him a ride to safety, but when he got to the other side of the warehouse, he saw no sight of the wolf. Only a trail of blood.

Quent took one final shot before the wolf disappeared out of sight on the other side of the warehouse. He noticed for the first time Blue laying on the floor below.

"Blue." He ran to the end of the balcony looking around for a way down. He saw an extendable ladder at the end of it. He kicked the ladder and it dropped to the ground. He scurried down the ladder as fast as he could, breathing heavily, and ran over to Blue.

"Blue," he choked out. He took a hand and gently rubbed the fur on her head. She weakly raised her head and looked up at him, then laid it back on the floor with a wimper of pain. He breathed a sigh of relief to see that she was still alive. He ran outside and looked around. He saw Tsume at the end of the warehouse on his motorcycle, looking past the warehouse. He cocked the gun and took aim. Tsume looked over his shoulder at the sound and, noticing Quent Yaiden, peeled away on his motorcycle, past the warehouse, and out of sight. He cursed as he failed to kill the white one, but now the gray one had got away. He took his flask out of his pocket, took a sip of the whisky inside, then put it away. He went in to check on Blue. As soon as she was able, he was going to begin the hunt again.

"I gotta get back to the house and get this truck fixed. In the meantime, I want you to get some groceries from the market and meet me back at the house. Oh, and while you're at it, please drop Mrs. Thomas's watch off, I just finished it up last night." Leara took the watch and took the grocery list from here father and looked up at him.

"No problem Daddy," she said. "I won't be too long."

"Alright," he said. "And Leara, please be careful."

"I will Daddy," she said. Leara gave her dad a hug and then stepped back. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a boy walking up to them with reddish brown hair that fell down to his shoulders and golden brown eyes. He was wearing a red zip up shirt, green cargo pants and black boots. On his right arm, he wore four silver bracelets. He was a couple of years older then Leara, putting him at about fourteen years of age.

"Well look who's here to keep you company," her father said smiling. "How you doing Toboe.

"I'm well sir, and you?"

"Doing just fine. Got a lot to do today." He fixes his daughter with a stern look. "Now Leara, remember to be home before nightfall, okay.

"I will Daddy," she said.

"Ok." He said. "Take good care of my daughter Toboe," he said, looking at the red head boy.

"I will sir, I promise," he said with a smile.

"Alright then, you two run off and have fun. See you later Leara, I love you sweety," he said as he got back into his truck.

"I love you too daddy, bye," she said waving. Her father waved back as he drove off, leaving the two of them alone.

"So, what does he have you doing today?" Toboe asked.

"I got to return Mrs. Thomas's watch to her and get groceries," she replied.

They began walking to Mrs. Thomas's house. She lived not too far from the market. As they walked, Toboe began talking excitely. "Guess what, I found this kitten today," he said, pulling the kitten out from the inside of his shirt. The kitten was solid white with big blue eyes. It gave a mew as it began batting at a string on leara's jacket.

"Oh Toboe, she's so beautiful," Leara exclaimed. "Can I hold her?"

"Sure," Toboe laughed. He carefully handed the kitten over to her. She held the kitten in her arms and the kitten burried her face in her hair and mewed again. It suddenly jumped on her shoulder, startling her and nuzzled her cheek. It laid there, purring contendly.

"I think you have a new friend." Toboe laughed.

Leara giggled and said, "Yeah, I guess so.

"Do you want to keep her?", Toboe asked.

"Oh, Toboe, I couldn't take her from you." she exclaimed. She tried to hand the kitten back to him.

"It's no problem, at least with you she will have a home," he said. "With me, she will be no better off than she was."

Leara looked at him with pure joy on her face. "Thank you so much Toboe," she exclaimed. She suddenly surprised him by giving him a big hug. Toboe laughed nervously and said, "you're welcome, Leara.

She pulled away and it warmed his heart to see the look of joy on her face. They walked for a few more minutes before Leara turned to him and asked, "What do you mean she would be no better off than she was? Your such a sweet guy, I think you would take very good care of her.

Toboe laughed nervously and said, "Well, you see, I don't actually have a home. I live on the streets." He looked over at Leara as she gave a gasp at this statement.

"Toboe, I've known you for several months now and you never told me you were homeless.

"I'm sorry I never told you, I just didn't think it was that important."

"But how do you survive, I mean it must be hard to come by food. Are you an orphan?"

"I get by alright most times, he explained. "And I've been an orphan for as far back as I can remember. I never knew who my parents were. There was this really nice lady who took me in. She was kind and sweet and took care of me."

"Where is she at now,"Leara asked curiously?

Toboe looked away sadly. "I woke up one morning and she was laying there. I tried to wake her up but she wouldn't move. She died in her sleep. I've been on the streets ever since." He looked at her and said, "It was about a week after that that I first met you at the market. I had come there looking for food."

Leara looked away, saddened that she had brought back such a painful memory. "I'm so sorry, Toboe, I didn't mean to bring that up."

He looked back at her and smiled. The part he left out was that he saw her the first day he was on his own. She had fed him some food when he was in his wolf form. But since he looked the same size as say a german shepard, she was none the wiser. "It's okay, no big deal," he said. He gave her a smile and she smiled back. By that time, they had just aproached Mrs. Thomas's house. Leara went up and knocked on the door. after a minute, someone came to the door and opened it. In the doorway stood a woman in her mid to late sixty's.

Leara handed the watch to her. "Here you go Mrs. Thomas. Daddy wanted me to return this to you. He would have been here himself, but his work truck started to give him trouble so he asked me to do it."

Mrs Thomas took the watch from her. "Why thank you very much sweety. Here you go." She handed Leara the money that she owed her father . "Oh!", she exclaimed. "I almost forgot, I'll be back in a moment." She turned around and walked back inside the house. She was gone for a moment and then came back with a foil covered pan in her hands. "This is a pie for you and your father. Let me just put it in a bag for you. "She put the pie in a bag and then handed it ot Leara. "Here you go"

"Why thank you Mrs. Thomas, that is so sweet of you."

"you are so welcome Sweetheart. My aren't you precious." Leara giggled. "Now run along. Don't want to keep your Father waiting."

"Okay, bye Mrs. Thomas." "Bye, Toboe echoed."

"You kids have a good day now." She called after them.

"We will," they said. They started walking back to the market. "Mrs. Thomas sure is sweet," Leara said.

"She sure is," Toboe said. "She reminds me a lot of Gram."

"Gram?", Leara queried."

"The lady that took care of me," Toboe explained. They continued walking back to the market, where Toboe helped her gather the groceries on the list. After they were done, Toboe said, "Well Leara, I had fun. Guess I'll see you later.

"Wait Toboe," she said suddenly. "Will you walk me home?"

"Uh, sh-shore," he said nervously.

Leara noticed his nervousness. "You don't have to if you don't want to."

"No, I mean, I would love to," he said.

"Thank you Toboe," she said. She surprised him by giving him a kiss on the cheek. She pulled away and noticed how red he turned. He giggled nervously. She turned a little red at her bold move. He looked at her and said, "come on, let's get you home."

"Okay," she said

Dusk was starting to fall as they walked. They turned down a little alley that Leara mentioned she sometimes used as a short cut to her house when they heard a voice from behind them.

"Well, Well, Well, what do we have here?" They turn around and see a shady looking man standing behind them twirling a knife in his hand. "It's a little late for little kid's to be out now isn't ." Toboe looks behind them and sees two more men standing there, blocking off their escape.

"Look, we don't want any trouble, just please leave us be." Toboe said nervously.

"Oh look at there boys. The little runt said please. Well, I guess we ought to let them go since he asked so nicely." He gave a menacing laugh. "But first, we're going to have a little fun." He laughed again as Toboe felt himself grabbed from behind.

"Let me go!" he yelled, kicking and struggling against the man that held him.

"better do as he says now boys," the leader says with a wicked gleam in his eyes. The man who grabbed Toboe suddenly threw him into the wall with force. He hit his head and fell to the ground with the wind knocked out of him. "Toboe!" Leara screamed. She tried to run to him but was quickly caught and was forced against the wall. "Let me go, Let me go," she exclaimed. She fought feebly against her captors until both her arms was pinned against the wall. She started crying in fear.

"My My, arn't you a pretty little thing," the leader said softly. The other two men laughed wickedly. "We're going to have a little fun now my boys and me. Do exactly what you're told and you might live.

They suddenly heard a growling coming from behind them. They look over and see Toboe on his hands and knees. LET HER GO!" He screamed The last part came out in a growl. Right before their eyes, he suddenly shifted into a brown and cinnamon colored wolf and attacked the man hold Leara. He jumped through the air and sank his fangs into the man's arm causing him to let to of Leara. She fell to the ground with a cry of fear. Toboe stood between the men and Leara, hackles raised, lips pulled back baring his teeth in a menacing snarl. The Leader exclaimed, "Did that runt just turn into a dog.

"It's not a dog boss, It looks like a wolf."

"Well what are you standing there for, kill it!" he yelled, holding his arm.

One of them swung a knife at Toboe, but he dodged and Gnashed his fangs at the man's hand, fangs slicing through flesh. The man screamed and fell back. He felt something strike him in the back of the head and he fell to the ground with a wimper.

"Fuck this, kill them both!" the leader screamed.

Through his foggy vision he saw one of the men, the one he hadn't injured, holding a gun on Leara. She screamed in terror. Toboe's vision grew red with the blood poaring down his face. He gave a growl and launched himself in the air past Leara and at the man. He turned and fired, the bullet barely grazing Toboe's shoulder. He landed on the man and tried to snap his fangs at his throat but was kicked in the face by the leader. He yelped as he was thrown back. He stood and growled at them as they flanked him so they could try to get the jump on him. One sliced at him and he dodged as the other one threw himself at him, wrapping his arm around his throat. Toboe gasped for breath as he was bore to the ground. He grabbed the man by the leg with his fangs biting as hard as he could. the sound of crunching bone could be heard. The man screamed and fell to the ground, clutching his broken leg. Toboe turned to face the other two but was too late. He felt a searing pain in his chest as a knife sliced into him. He fell to the ground with a yelp of pain and almost passed out. The men started kicking at him as he laid on the ground. Every kick brought a yelp of pain out of him as they beat his bruised and cut body.

"Leave him alone!" Leara screamed, throwing herself at the closest man. She threw her arms around his neck, trying to choke him. He easily threw her off and she hit the wall and fell to the ground with a moan.

"Leara," Toboe called weakly. He suddenly grew even angerier. He caught one of the men"s legs in his mouth and jerked his head, throwing the man to the ground. He weakly stood and jumped the other man, sinking his claws into his chest and bearing him to the ground. He gnashed his fangs at the mans throat and would have killed him if he wasn't kicked from behind. He fell off the man and tried to get back up again.

"Forget this, let's get outta here." the leader exclaimed. they got the man with the broken leg up and ran out of the alley. Toboe tried to get up but had lost too much blood from the knife wound in his chest. He fell back to the ground with a whimper of pain. He once again tried to get his legs under him but to no avail.

"Leara," Toboe said weakly. he crawled over to her, leaving a smear of blood in his wake. Leara looked at him with terrified eyes and tried to shrink away from him. "Get away from me," she wispered frightenedly. She started to scoot away from him. "you...you're a monster!"

"Leara, please, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to frighten you. I was just trying to protect you," He could barely whisper the words now he was so weak.

"You're a-you're a w-w-wolf." She said with a terror filled voice. "Stay away from me!" she got up and ran out of the alley.

"Leara wait," Toboe called. He tried to stand and run after her, but had lost too much blood. He fell back down to the ground once again. He tried again and finally made his way weakly to his feet and hobbled after her calling her name. His cries turned into howls as he called for her. He made it about half a mile until his strength left him. "Leara," he called again. He stumbled into an alley and fell over. He tried ot get up but his legs just would not hold him. He fell again. Spots started swimming in front of his vision. He shook his head, trying to clear the dancing spots in front of his eyes. "Leara," he whispered again. He closed his eyes and darkness overcame him.

Leara continued running until she ran out of breath. She leaned against the wall of a storefront, trying to get her breath back. "He's a wolf." That thought kept going through her head. "He's a wolf, a demon, a vicious beast. I can't believe I never knew. She started walking home again, body shaking uncontrollably in terror. She heard the howls from Toboe as she walked. Tears were streaming down her face. She thought back on the boy she had gotten to know over the last three months. His kind-hearted nature, his sweet innocence, the way he gave the kitten to her so the kitten would have a warm place to sleep at night.

"This isn't right," she thought. "Wolf or not, he risked his life for me." "No Leara, don't be stupid, he's a vicious beast." "Would a vicious beast protect you and save you from three men?" She shook her head trying to clear her thoughts, the argument she was having with herself leaving her confused. Her conscience at war with here primal instincts for survival. Suddenly, as she thought about it, she felt guilty leaving him like that. He was out there, injured and scared, and she ran from him. Despite being a wolf, he was still her friend. Her mind made up, she started running back in the direction she came from, calling his name.

"Toboe." No answer. She kept running and calling his name until she saw a vehicle pull up.

"Leara," her father called. "What are you doing, you were supposed to be home an hour ago. and where's the groceries?"

"Daddy. Toboe is hurt. These men attacted us and he protected me but now he's hurt. He needs our help."

"Alright, get in the truck, we'll go find him."

She gratefully jumped into the truck and they headed out to find him.

"There's a flashlight in the glove box," her father said. "Get it and start shining the beam down alleys. I'll do the same over here.

"Okay daddy." she opened the glove box and grabbed the light. "Daddy, can I ask you something?"

"Yeah sweety," he looked over at her.

"Can you keep something between you and me, and you have to promise to still help Toboe no matter what I tell you."

"Okay sweety, what is it?".

"Toboe, Toboe is a...a...

"A what sweety?"

"Well...he's a wolf."

Her father suddenly stopped the truck and Leara was glad she was wearing her seatbelt.

"He's a what!" he exclained,

"Daddy, please, we have to find him. he saved my life. He risked his life for me and now he's hurt. He needs us. Please."

"Leara, are you crazy. He's a wolf for crying out loud. You know that anyone caught with a wolf will be imprisioned or worse. No, we're going home this instant

Leara began to cry, tears rolling down her porcellin cheaks. "Please daddy, he saved my life. He's always been a good friend to me. I don't care what he is, he's hurt and probably dying and he got hurt protecting me. You owe him."

"I don't owe him nothing. Wolves are nothing but savage beasts. They will kill you without a thought."

"But he didn't kill me daddy. He protected me. Please help him."

Her father looked at her in disbelief for a moment and then started driving again. "Okay, he said. "We'll help him."

"Thanks Daddy.

"Yeah sure. I'm probably gonna regret this."

They drove for a while longer and kept calling Toboe's name and shining the beams of their flashlights down alley's until suddenly, Leara saw something in an alley across from her.

"Daddy, stop the truck," Leara screamed. He did and she jumped out. She ran over to the alley with her dad right behind her. Sure enough, Toboe was laying unconscience in the alley, a pool of blood had formed under him

"Toboe," she cried. she laid her hand on his side and was relieved to feel a heart beat. He was barely breathing.

Here Dad reached for him. "Okay, let's get him in the truck. We don't have much time. He's lost too much blood."

Her dad grabbed Toboe and carefully caried him to the truck and laid him gently in the back seat. Leara was about to climb back inside when she heard a pathetic mew behind her. She looked and saw the kitten. He must have ran out of her jacket during the confusion of the fighting.

"Come here girl," she said, grateful that the kitten was okay. The kitten ran up to her and started rubbing against her legs. She picked her up and got in the truck in the backseat beside Toboe She laid his head in her lap and began softly stroking the fur on his head and side. The kitten was rubbing her heas against Toboe's mewing pathetically.

"What do you have there," her father asked, indicating the kitten.

Leara sniffed back tears as she said, " It's a kitten. Toboe found her in a cardboard box. He gave her to me so she would have someplace warm to stay and food to eat. Can we keep her?"

Her father looked forward again, concentrating on his driving. "Well, that definately convinces me that he's not vicious or evil. Of course we can keep her." Her father looked at her in the rearview mirror. "How's he doing?"

"Not good, his breathing's getting shallow and it feels like his heartbeat is slowing down."

Her father looked forward again. "Damn it, not good. We're almost home. We'll do the best we can for him. And Leara...

"Yes daddy," she replied.

"I'm sorry about what I said about him. I was just a little freaked out, that's all"

"It's okay Daddy, I freaked out as well. But I know he would never hurt me. I just want him to be alright."

"He will be sweety. We'll do all we can for him." 'Please don't die on me kid.' he thought. He put his foot down a little heavier on the gas pedal and rushed to the house as fast as he could.