The Wolf and the Angels

Summary: What if you had lived your whole life with an abusive uncle, one who experiments on children and animals alike, promising to spare you if you help him capture them? What if, one day, he breaks his promise and you wake up as a wolf, at the same time as two boys are being dragged in from the woods? And what if he gives one of those boys' wings? Welcome to Rue's life.

Disclaimer: Don't own DN Angel. I do, however, own… a brass coated penny! (Science experiment, don't ask.)

…

I woke up after a terrible night, filled with dreams of being burned alive, (not very uncommon nowadays…) and the first thing I realized was the heavy metal clamp around my waist, and my nose twitching at some delicious scent I'd never smelled before, something… earthy and… rich. But wait, why was my nose suddenly black and wet? And since when did I have a muzzle? I tried to scream but no human voice escaped my throat. What did? A long, frantic howl. I tried struggling, but the metal clamp around my waist hurt so badly…

My uncle walked in, and I managed a snarl before he shoved a needle into my before I blacked out, I saw two boys being dragged in by one of the servants. One of them short, icy blue hair and pale skin, and the other with long blonde hair who could maybe have been a guardian of some sort, or maybe an older brother, though I doubted it. Then the deep blackness of unconsciousness enveloped me, and I slipped away.

…

I woke up to screams. Male screams. I ignored them. Those two boys that my uncle had dragged in were more than likely to be dead by evening, and I'd stopped even trying to form attachments to anything. I was no longer chained down to a table, which gave me a chance to look at my new form. I screamed.

I was a wolf. But my voice was human. Just to be sure, I tried speaking. "I am a wolf," I said. My voice was a bit harsher than it used to be, and my jaw clicked with each syllable, but it was better than growling and howling. That must have been what that shot was for, to let me keep my human voice. But I was a wolf! My body was black, with the exception of a gray sock all the way up my right front leg. I felt something wrapped around my neck, and tried to reach up and rip it off, but that was no longer possible with my form. Gone was my beautiful red hair, which I had loved so dearly, and to replace it, four legs with rough pads on the bottoms. Oh, the joy.

"Rue!" My uncle's harsh voice reached my ears. "Come here and look at my newest creation!" I didn't want to, but I knew that if I didn't, I would be punished for it later. Carefully, giving myself time to adjust to my new form, I padded over to where my uncle's voice was coming from. I walked past cats, rats, and an assortment of birds; all of which had some sort of genetic mutations that I won't describe, until I reached my uncle. "Sit at my feet," he commanded. "You will do this whenever you approach me."

"Yes uncle," I whispered, doing as he asked. Then I glanced up. The blue haired boy was unconscious, chained by his wrists to the wall, his breathing harsh and shallow. Wrapped around his bare chest were wings, wings that seemed to glisten and change into multiple colors in the light, casting rainbows onto the walls. Wings that seemed to be made of glass, but how could they be? "Uncle," I said, "What did-?" I caught myself, knowing full well that I would be punished for questioning him, which was why I hadn't asked about my new form. "They're beautiful… but where is the blonde?" I gave my voice a carefully applied coat of coldness, the same way some girls might apply lip gloss.

"He was uncooperative," my uncle replied. "He should be dead or willing to succumb by tomorrow." The blue haired boy moaned as he heard this, and I almost threw up. Last time he had tried that… I'd accidently come across the corpse. A girl about my age, stung to death by a batch of mutant bees, or maybe wasps. I'd buried her late at night, under a full moon.

"What did you do to him?" I asked, trying to sound curious.

"Ah, Rue…" my uncle seemed disappointed in me. "I believe we agreed that we would not form attachments to my experiments." I snarled.

"Uncle, I never said that I was attached to h- it." I barely caught myself, trying to stay unconcerned. He ruffled my head fondly, and I flinched away from his touch. His mad brown eyes glanced down at me.

"I suppose you're wondering why I did this to you," he said quietly. "Come with me, dear, and I'll show you." He walked away from me, and I knew better than to hesitate. Whenever my uncle called me 'dear', I knew I'd be in serious trouble for disobeying him. With one last look at the boy, I followed him outside. He led me to the large fence that surrounded our land, and pointed out small holes near the fence posts.

"What are they uncle?" I asked before I could stop myself, trying out my new sense of smell. I caught that rich earth scent again, and something else, something that made saliva rush to my mouth. Some sort of animal.

"Holes," he replied curtly. "I believe that those Outcasts are trying to get their precious woodland creatures to dig for them. I caught the two I have right now trying it last night. Your new duties are to guard this fence, and tell me if that wretched boy will give in. If anyone comes near who even looks as though they might try to get in here uninvited… well, you have those teeth for a reason." I could've retched, but there was nothing in my stomach to be gotten rid of.

"Yes uncle," I replied faintly, twitching my ears.

"No more of this 'uncle' nonsense," he snapped at me, "From now on you will call me Kei-sama, like any of my other servants."

"Yes un- Kei-sama." So that was it. I was a servant now. I was no longer his niece, but another of his experiments.

"Yes what?" He asked, tapping his foot.

"I will do as you wish, as you wish it, Kei-sama." I lowered my head and raised my eyes, trying my best to appease him. Apparently it was what he wanted, because he left. I guess you're probably wondering why I would grovel in front of him. After all, I was a wolf now, so why didn't I just rip his throat out? Free his experiments and let myself out into the world…? I don't know. I guess it was family loyalty, even when the only family I had treated me like garbage.

I decided that the best way to carry out my duties would be from the top of a small brick shed that my uncle- hem, Kei-sama had glanced at several times as he was speaking to me. I took it as a signal that the other boy was held there, and wanted to get to know him for a reason I wasn't sure of. It wasn't that I liked him, exactly, but something about him was… terrifying, and I wanted to know why he had been unable to keep the younger boy safe. I took a running leap and scrabbled to the roof of the shack, where there was a small skylight. I thought that maybe I could break it and try to talk to the blonde. But I would have to create the impression that I was still watching outside of the fence, and that could be a problem. I stepped hard onto the glass, and it gave slightly, and then broke. Now sunlight actually streamed through the small hole I'd made, and I could make out the blonde figure looking up at me. He looked thinner than I remembered, and his face was gaunt.

"Hello," I said, glancing off towards the left, "My name is Rue. Don't ask my last name, I don't have one."

"I'm Krad," the boy replied, "Have you seen Satoshi?" I didn't know if he was looking at me, but I rather hoped he was.

"The boy with the blue hair? Yes…" I didn't want to say more. I glanced to the right, stood, and paced a circle around the skylight.

Krad glanced down. "If he's dead, jump down here and rip my throat out. I've no reason to live anymore anyway."

What was I supposed to say to that? "He's alive but… my uncle… he… he gave him wings." Krad's head flew up at me, and for the first time I saw his eyes. They were a beautiful amber color, deep and full of emotion. I instantly fell in love with those eyes; I never wanted them to look away. But of course, I had to look up to keep my charade of guarding the fence.

"He did what?" He yelled. I leapt back, a snarl instinctively spreading across my face. My right hind foot slipped, and I barely caught myself.

"Wings," I said again once I had calmed down. "He has wings." Krad sighed and stood up.

"I can't believe it," he said, "If I get out of here alive, Lyra's going to kill me… but it's not like I've got a choice."

"What do you mean?" I asked, "Who's Lyra?"

"Come back at midnight," Krad said, sitting down again. "I'll explain then."

"I'll try and bring you some food," I replied, and then jumped off of the roof. I should probably do a quick patrol around the grounds… maybe I could catch something to eat. I was suddenly very hungry.

…

AN: Okay, so what do ya think? Is this worth continuing? Or should I scrap it? Hopefully my other chapters will be a bit longer. And if you do want to see this continued, please go to my profile and vote for it in my poll! Reviews are welcome… flames are not.