"Stay back" the wolf growled.

"I'm trying to help you." the dark figure moved to stand in front of her.

"Leave me alone." the wolf growled and snapped in the direction she thought her 'rescuer' was.

"Suit yourself." he held up his clawed feet in a gesture of surrender. As much as he knew he should help Grace, he couldn't help but enjoy watching her brown fur turn red with blood.

_Grace meets Alexander_

Grace ducked her head as the rain poured down on her, drenching her brown fur. She shivered and sighed. Maybe the reptile house isn't such a bad idea. she thought, limping towards the closest building. She jumped to the roof and found the air vent. "I'm so tired of rain." she muttered as she dropped through the ceiling and landed on her hurt paw next to Barry the poison dart frog's enclosure.

"Hey, gorgeous. It's been awhile since I've seen you around." Barry hopped alongside Grace.

"Oh please. You aren't my type." The wolf tossed her head and struggled around the reptile house.

"I'm everyone's type." the frog jumped against the glass.

"We aren't even in the same subdivision." Grace shot back, she walked a little faster just to get away from the frog.

Grace then noticed a different habitat. She walked over suspisously. The nameplate said "Water Monitor"

"Oh, Alice." Grace shook her head and studied the habitat.

It didn't appear that anyone was there. Grace sniffed the base of the glass. The scent didn't seem familiar at all. Grace trotted back over to Barry. "Who's habitat is that?" she asked the frog

"Maybe I know. Maybe I don't." The frog looked down at his front toes."Maybe a little something would help me remember."

Grace scratched the glass a few times, sending the red and blue frog covering his ears, "Ow ! OK! Ok! It's Alexander! He's new!"

"Mmhmm Go on." Grace kept her paw on the window.

"H-h-h-he got here shortly after you l-l-left. He's a sadistic f-f-f-freak and p-pals around with the penguins." Barry winced.

"Anything else?" Grace tapped her nails against the glass.

"H-h-he's some kind of m-medic. I just over heard him talking with the lead penguin one night." the frog continued to cower.

"Thanks for the intel." Grace hit the glass just hard enough to make Barry yelp.

Grace pricked her ears up and tried to listen to the rain outside, she could barely hear it but that wasn't saying much.

The wolf walked slowly over to the monitor's habitat. For some reason, she recognised the name Alexander and could easily place him somewhere. But she couldn't remember where.

She shook her head and turned around to see a water monitor leaning against the door frame. "Did you lose something, princess?" he asked.

Grace's instincts clicked in and she quickly studied him. He was mainly black with gray scales along his underbelly and tail. Everything The wolf noticed about him screamed at her to stay away from him.

In return, Alexander studied the wolf. He wasn't sure but she looked smaller than other wolves, and her light brown fur wasn't a typical coloration. The second, he was almost sure of.

"Canis Lupus Lupus." Alexander pushed off the wall and began to walk around the wolf. "Or Canis Rufus?"

"Your guess is as good as mine." Grace responded, not taking her eyes off the lizard.

"Ahh. A hybrid. Interesting." Alexander continued to circle Grace.

"No. I just don't know." Grace turned with the wolf, taking care to not favor her sore paw.

"What'd you do to yourself princess?" The lizard stopped.

"I tripped, possibly over your ego and cheap pick-up lines."

"Oooo. That hurts... But." Alexander held up a claw "Tripping usually doen't cause that much damage to a rear paw. And, last time I checked, ACIS agents don't trip."

"I don't know what you're talking about." Grace snapped.

"Oh, come on. I've seen the picture. You and Skipper were buddies." Alexander paused and crossed his arms over his chest.

Grace sighed, "I'm not ACIS material."

"You and I both know that you are lying, Princess. Now, what did you do to your paw?"

"My name is not Princess." Grace growled, limping towards the door.

Alexander laughed.

Grace rolled her eyes, and kept walking. She pushed the door open. Thunder and lightning greeted her, along with a vicous storm. Grace started to walk out into the storm.

"And 3...2...1" Alexander turned and headed back towards his habitat. "Welcome back, princess."

"Don't talk to me." The dripping wet wolf responded, sulking past the lizard, laying down in a corner

"Ha! Now isn't somone in a bad mood."

Grace leapt up and tackled the lizard. "Wanna rephrase that?" she growled, tighting her posture.

"All I wanted to know was how you got hurt. I'm a medic. I was going to help." Alexander wrapped his tail around Grace's back paw. "Now, let me up. So I can help you."

"I don't need your help." the wolf stepped out of Alexander's tail.

"It looks infected." Alexander pushed Grace away.

"I can take care of myself." Grace growled in response.

"Clearly." Alexander smiled evily. "Why don't you come into my habitat and I'll take a look at your paw."

"I'd rather take my chances in the storm." Grace stood up and started for the door.

"Suit yourself." the water monitor shrugged and went back inside his habitat, taking care not to lock the door. He figured he could trust Grace enough to sound an alarm if someone came into the reptile house.

Grace shifted her position and watched the dark lizard dissappear in his habitat. She scoffed. "Who does he think he is?" The wolf laid her head back on her paws and tried to sleep, her back paw began to sting. She looked back at it and noticed that instead of just being pink and raw, the open wound had turned black and was looking worse.

Alexander kicked an empty beer can towards the trashcan. "So much for being the Alpha male." he muttered. The water monitor began to clean up his underground hideaway, when there was a knock at the door. "Change your mind?" he asked, already knowing who was standing there.

Someone screamed from the main floor.

Alexander abandoned his cleaning, to check on Grace.

"Leave her alone!" Alexander snapped as he took in the scene. Dr. Blowhole had Grace pinned against the wall.

"Oh look it's a party!" Blowhole backed away from Grace.

"If this is a party." Skipper said, just now arriving, "Then now it's Prom night all over again."

"Hey, nice of you to drop in." Alexander acknowldged the presence of the penguins.

"Alexander, you help, Grace. We'll take care of-" Skipper began.

"That's unlikely." Alexander stated.

"Why?" Skipper demanded.

"She kinda sorta... hates-my-guts." The lizard responded.

"Then- uh- Kowalski?" Skipper looked to the lietenanet, who simply shrugged.

"What did you do to make her hate you?" Private suggested.

"Nothing! She just hates me." Alexander threw his arms in the air.

"Uh, Boys. I hate to break up the prom experiance you never got but, I kinda need" Grace ducked one of the lobster "A little" she jumped over another lobster "Help."

"Why do you hate Alexander?" Skipper asked.

"Uh. Is" Grace jumped again "This Really" she jumped backwards to avoid the lobster "A good time?"

"Just answer." Kowalski snapped.

Grace rolled her eyes and in that half a second, one of the lobsters took his shot. Tackling the wolf.

"Youv'e lost your touch Grace." Skipper laughed.

"And you are losing your usefulness." Grace rolled over, throwing the lobster against Dr. Blowhole.

"Ow!" The dolphin yelped. "Cheap shot!"

"Sorry we're late." four female penguins dropped through an airvent.

"Oh yay! More of them." Grace sighed sarcastically.

"Who's your- ehhh- friend?" the silver penguin asked.

"I'm Grace. And I'm about to hit your boyfriend." the wolf growled, trying to stand.

"Oh, ok." The team of penguins jumped into action and somehow forced Blowhole outside.

Grace limped out after them, really feeling all the strain she had just put on her paw.

"Where'd he go?" Skipper and the silver penguin both asked.

"I'm not sure." Kowalski looked at Grace.

"I don't smell or hear anything." the wolf replied after breifly touching her nose to the paved walkway.

"He just-" One of the girl penguins asked

"Vanished." another one finished

"Like Magic?" Private asked.

"Magic isn't real." Kowalski and Grace both sighed.

"Yes it is!" Private demanded.

"I think it's time for a little introductions." Alexander said, leaning against Grace.

"Oh please." The wolf stepped quickly away from the monitor, makeing him almost fall.

"Back to HQ?" Skipper suggested.

Everyone nodded, and started walking towards the center of the zoo.

Grace fell back and looked over her shoulder, a single pidgeon sat on the roof of the reptile house, watching everything that unfolded.

The wolf sighed, she knew that specific bird reported everything to ACIS commissioner, Sarge, and now...ACIS had found her.