Prologue
Death is easy.
Death is painful.
Death is a concept.
Death is only a reality to those who accept its existence.
But what happens when you simply can't die?
When you've lost everything to the concept you can never hope to accept?
Shall we test it?
This is what ran through the boy's head as he stared at his mother. Her ivory-skinned arms falling limp at her sides as a hell black liquid flowed from her. Those arms that had given him comfort and affection, that had given him a warm embrace when he was granted his sight. Her night black hair draping across her face, veiling her beautiful, luminous royal purple eyes as she managed a smile.
He was granted his hearing at the same moment by pure chance. Her voice was like a soft breeze as she spoke to her son. "M-m…Ma-…Matv-…ei,… I'm sorry…B-be ….st-str-stro…ngh." The light in her eyes faded as she lost the fight to continue. Her last breath had been an apology for she knew that her son would suffer greatly without her.
The little boy she called "Matvei" was no older than eleven. He had her ivory complexion, hair so white that it put fresh snow to shame, her beautiful royal purple eyes, and the ears and tail of a wolf. He wore a baggy dark blue coat made with rabbit fur, a light purple scarf, and deer leather boots.
The boy bayed for his mother to wake up but, she didn't respond. With tears stinging his eyes and blurring his vision, he knelt beside her and picked her up as best he could to hug her. He sobbed loudly, not paying any attention to his father as he clutched his mother to his chest and sang her a lullaby from his heart.
His singing was cut short as his father stood up and, without warning, clubbed the pup in the side of the head with a yew wood staff, sending the small boy flying into a tree. This made the little boy turn more animal than child. He cried more but his fangs were bared in a choked snarl. "You're nothing but a monster…a demon…a freak of nature." the larger male stated.
This was a very hypocritical thing for his father to say since he got most of his beast-like and magic traits from him but the boy wouldn't know this. The man had long, white hair, gold and blood colored eyes, and a well sculpted body. He was heavily scarred from past fights with various creatures and people.
"It's your fault, you pathetic white devil. She tried to protect you from me and now you've killed her." The little boy shook his head in reply. "His father advanced on him as he spoke, "You're existence drove me to kill the love of my life." He grabbed his son's throat and lifted him up, slamming his head into a tree. The boy was only three feet tall and his father was easily ten feet at least.
"Now you will pay for your crimes against my bloodlines." He growled as his hand shifted into a large paw with claws as long as a small viper, poised to deal a fatal blow. The little boy became almost fully wolf pup then, unable to control his body at such a young age. He lifted his paw-like hand and squeezed his eyes shut, trying to ward off the blow.
The next thing he heard was the man screaming in surprise, rage, and pain as he dropped him. The pup opened his eyes to see a skeleton engulfed in purple and green flames as it ran around in a panicking fashion. The little boy couldn't believe what he was seeing, but he took his chance and shifted into a complete wolf and sprinted off at the speed of thought.
He was truly alone now. His parents were gone and he had no family outside of them. It would be a long time before he could eat again. Good thing he couldn't die. He wandered around the earth for several centuries, living as other wolves did. Other lone wolves, that is. His body stayed in the physical age of eighteen for longer than he could remember.
He hadn't been in his human form since that fateful day. That is, until one abnormally cold winter night when he met a little nervous blonde that would become his new family.