CAPTURED!

-By: Michelle Nguyen

-Rated:PG Mild language.

-Summary: This starts right after the original adventure. My version

of what's going to happen based on the info I got on The House of

Wolves, but with a different plot. Virginia and Wolf have a son and

they go back to the 9 Kingdoms to spend their honeymoon. However,

Virginia and their son gets kidnapped and now Wolf has to save them

from the clutches of Byron, Wolfs "Arch-Nemisis" from his past.

Later though things get complicated...

-Disclaimer: I disclaim of all of th 10th Kingdom copyright in this

fanfic. I do not own 10K etc, etc.

Getting Things Done

Virginia and Wolf established a stable life in New York after their

adventures in the 9 Kingdoms. They returned to Virginia's apartment

to find her father's boss, cleaning up the building. When he saw

Virginia, the first thing he said was "is the master home yet?" Of

course, this confused Virginia, but Wolf informed her about the magic

bean. All in all, this was a fortunate discovery. Virginia was able

to stay in her apartment with Wolf, and they were able to get along

with the bewitched owner of the building. After a few days, Virginia

found that Wolf had a very hard time getting use to all the

technology in Virginia's world. Everything was just so new to him

that it made Wolf felt as if he was a cub again. When he first went

to New York, Wolf was too focused on capturing Prince that he ignored

all the new things around him. So, the problem was how

to "modernize" Wolf enough to make him less conspicuous around people.

"Virginia!!! You don't have to teach me anything. I'm sure I will

get the hang of your kingdom." Said Wolf encouragingly, but when

Virginia turned on the newly acquired TV that was on a channel

showing Frankenstein, he yelped. "AAAOOOOO!! DON'T LET THOSE FARMERS

BURN ME!!!"

"Yeah?you won't start panicking when something like this happens.

Wolf we have to get you use to the technology in my kingdom, or

you'll do something to attract people." Said Virginia

exasperatingly, "Besides, it will do you good if you get more adapted

to the technology, you'd be having an easier time living here. Now,

let"s see what we can do?quot;

Wolf scoffs and waves his hands for emphasis. "Oh Huff PUFF!! There's

no need for this!!! I was able to deal with magic in the 9 Kingdoms

before we met and I can find a way to deal with your kingdom's

magic. I am after all, the man who elaborated the plan to save the 9

Kingdoms, and the man who saved you from countless magic spells."

" OK, OK, but you got one thing wrong. My kingdom doesn't do magic."

Virginia said with sarcasm. "It relies on science and science is

something created without magic. That means anyone can make anything

technological, as long as they know what to do. Now stop this

whining and let's discuss our main problem."

"-whine-, but Virginia, I'm too old to go to school again?quot;

"Oh!!! That's what you were worried about?! Hahahahahah, Wolf don't

be silly, you don't need to go to school unless you want to get a

pretty good job. Besides, here there are schools for adults, its

called college."

"REAALLYY??!!! Then what good is school for if it doesn't teach you

how to survive in this kingdom?"

"Well, I guess our technology is so advance, we depend on it for our

survival. We don't have many natural enemies besides illnesses

because of our technology. That's why we have to find a quick way to

help you learn the basic technology we have."

"Well, you could teach me."

"Me?!! I'm not a good teacher."

"Oh contrary my succulent creampuff, you can do anything if you put

your mind to it. How hard can it be?"

"Well, I can't teach you everything, it'll take forever. Don't you

know a way that helps you learn things quick? Like an ability or

something?"

"Well, I learned how to get you to like me by reading a couple of

books."

"That's it!!!! We can use the library to get you some books on the

stuff in our world, but not everything can be explained."

They went to the library, and got Wolf a library card. Virginia and

the librarians helped teach Wolf the basic rules in the library. In

no time, Wolf brought home bunches of books to read. He was

accustomed to every technology in a few weeks. With that solved,

Virginia was able to get enough money with the help of the apartment

owner to open a restaurant. They called it Wolf's Den, and Wolf was

the temporary cook. It was a bit rough during the first week, having

very few people working in their restaurant, but Wolf's charms

attracted many female customers. Soon, Wolf's Den was a big success

and Virginia paid all her debts after 2 months. They returned to the

9 Kingdoms 3 months later to pick up guests for the upcoming wedding

because of course, they couldn't bring all their new friends to the 9

Kingdoms. The wedding was held in New York, and it went splendidly.

Tony's charges were lifted long ago when they disappeared thanks to

his boss. Unfortunately, the honeymoon wasn't going to be happening

soon because they were too busy running the restaurant. However,

they did plan to do it once the baby was born. Wolf didn't mind

having his first honeymoon with his child, in fact he would love it.

Virginia didn't feel up to having a honeymoon while she was pregnant,

she wanted to spend it without the morning sicknesses.

The Honeymoon

6 months later?br

"Let's go over to the Riding Kingdom," said Wolf.

"Why? I thought that we are going to go somewhere more romantic in

the 9 Kingdoms like Kissingtown," Said Virginia.

"NOOO!!! That place is only for people to find love not for people

who found love silly. This is our honeyMOON, and the best place to

spend it is the place where the moon shows the most. That's where I

was born, except we have to go to the riding hood part of the

kingdom?quot;

"Why? What's wrong with where you were born?"

"I'd rather not talk about it thank you."

"Why not? Did something bad happen there?"

"Yes!!! That's why I don't want to talk about it."

"You know, you really should tell me something about your past.

Sometimes I get the feeling that I don't know you all too well. What

are you hiding?"

"NOTHING!!! Why do you always have to know more about my past!!!???

You're not my mother!!! You can't make me tell you everything about

my life!!!"

"Well excuse me for asking!!! It makes me so angry not knowing who

you were, your parents, and everything because you know everything

about me and I don't know everything about you!!!"

"-Growl- yip yip wahhhhh!!!"

"Oh, now you made be wake up Durek!!!"

Durek was born a month ago in Wendell's kingdom. Of course that's

the best place considering that the baby may have been born with a

tail, in which he did. Wolf and Virginia agreed to give the cub the

name Durek, after a famous half-wolf. To the hospital in Manhattan,

they just told them that they had a friend help with the birth and

such.

"No I did not, you brought up…are you even listening to me?"

Virginia was too busy to even listen to Wolf arguing. She just went

to tend to her little cub. "Mommy's here my child, there's no need to

fret."

"gao goao raaoo raof gar," babbled the little wolf cub. "Yip yip yip!"

"Hmf, fine Wolf, we'll go to Riding Hood Kingdom. So I'll leave all

the honeymoon planning to you okay?"

"Huff puufff?quot; was all he said. "I already made all the reservations

at an inn over near Riding Hood forest. We'll be going in 3 days, so

pack up."

"What?! Oh never mind, fine."

So, with that matter done, in three days, they went through the

portal and to Riding Hood Kingdom. Wolf had done and outstanding job

planning their honeymoon. He had reservations in the best inn,

restaurant, and more.

"Oh Wolf, you made this absolutely perfect," cried Virginia.

"HAHAHA arf arf!!" giggled Durek.

"Heh even our cub thinks so."

"Aww huff puffity Virginia, you know I wanted my succulent mate to

have a great honeymoon. I would go through anything just to make

things absolutely perfect for you." Said Wolf. "Tonight, we will put

Durek to bed and have the most GGLLOORRIOUUSSS evening at the best

restaurant in the area."

And so they did?br

"Wow Wolf, this place is so romantic."

"Of course, what did you expect my little lamb chop? I did do a

spectacular job on our first and last date didn't I?"

"Yes, yes you did ha ha."

They dined the most, as Wolf would say it, succulent and delicious

foods there was. After talking for a while Virginia started talking

about what they were going to do after the dinner.

"Well we could go out into the meadow and stare at the beautiful

crescent moon in the sky." Offered Wolf.

"Well that would be nice?quot; Virginia mused

"Excuse me," said a waitress. "I must warn you two about the Half

wolves ravaging the area." She said half wolves with contempt that

nearly made Wolf yell at her, but with control he kept to himself.

"What about these half wolves," Wolf said through his gritted teeth.

"Well, lately there has been a problem after King Wendell's

proclamation pardoning all wolves. Personally I think that was

outrageous, but what can I do. Anyway, they started trying to make

homes in our area like they owned the place. We showed them a thing

or two about trying to set step into Riding Hood area. After that

they have been seen all over Riding Hood Forest, and occasionally

around the meadow at night. I advise you to steer clear of those

places for your safety."

After they left the restaurant Wolf was letting out all the steam he

collected in there as they made their way to the meadow.

"HUFFITY PUFF!!! Did you see the way she talked about my race??!!!

It's outrageous!!! Why I really want to eat that lady up!!!"

"Oh Wolf, these people just need some getting use to with wolves just

like I did."

"Yeahh? It did take you a long time to trust me."

"Well I think this is the meadow."

"OOhh yeah this is it and it's just as I remember it."

"What did you do here?"

"Nothing, remember what I told you about how my mother use to take me

out to look at the moon? Well this was where she always brought me

and my siblings."

Virginia knew better to ask Wolf anything farther, so she started

talking about something else. "Well it sure is beautiful my big

canine."

"As are you my succulent dream girl."

Then they started growling and playing with each other. A few kisses

once and a while during their game. As they were playing, Virginia

spotted someone staring at them from far away. It was far enough for

Wolf to not catch their scent. She couldn't get the glare out of her

mind, and that was what stopped her game with Wolf.

"What's wrong Virginia?" Wolf asked.

"Nothing, just tired." She looked back and found the man gone.

"Well, then let's go to the inn and sleep."

Yeah, yeah," she said weakly

"Hope you had a gggrrreat night my love," He went to bed and Virginia

joined him.

For some reason, during the middle of the night, Virginia woke up.

She wasn't able to fall back asleep again.

Why can't I forget about that man in the bushes? Well I guess I can

just go for a walk the meadows to clear things up.

She crept from the bed and made her way quietly to the door. She was

lucky that Wolf ate so much that night because that always meant that

he will sleep heavily. Unfortunately, that didn't go the same for

Durek.

"Yip!! Huff rouf!!" he murmered.

"Oh dear, well I can't have you wake your father," she whispered, "He

had a long day, you can join me on my walk okay?"

With her child she left the room and told the manager that she will

return shortly after her walk. Then, strolling around under the

moonlight with Durek helped clear her mind. After a while, she sat

down in the meadow and started to coo with her cub. Little did she

know that she was very close near the forest, where something was

stalking her.

"Well, that lady at the restaurant must be overreacting when she said

half wolves were going to get us. I haven't had any problems with

any wolves since we were here. Isn't that right my little one,

buurrrr." She said before she blew in his belly.

"Hahahahheeeheee wourf!-sniff- huh?" Durek smelled someone coming and

looked behind his mother. "YIPE!!"

"Huh?" Virginia said as she turned around. What was before her was a

man, and he was grinning. "And you are?"

"I am your worst nightmare Red!" With that the man threw troll dust

at them.

By the time Virginia woke up, she found herself in an unfamiliar

place. What was even worse was that Durek was gone. In an instant,

she jumped up and looked around for him. As she did she found

herself surrounded by some people.

"Where's my baby?!" Virginia demanded.

"Your baby? How could a human like you get a wolf cub? You must

have killed the poor thing's parents and stole this baby away!!!"

Replied one of the women.

"What are you talking about? He's my son, what the hell did you do

to him????"

"Brought him to a mother that is of his own kind, he's really happy

to be with her."

One of the men tapped the lady and said, " I thought the kid was

screaming his head off."

She elbowed him and said, "Quiet you nimrod!"

With that Virginia said with astonishment, " You are all half

wolves!!!"

"Glad you noticed Red." Virginia turned and saw the man who abducted

her.

"Well at least you're not some kind of bandits," Virginia said in a

slightly relieved tone.

"You are not scared of us?" Asked the man.

"No, I just realized that my husband will come and get me and my son

soon."

"Oh you mean the one you were with last night? Hah! Did you think

that some human could track a wolf? I made sure not to leave a trail

when I brought you here."

He doesn't know that Wolf can still smell him, thought Virginia and

said, " All and all, he will still find us. Hold on, you were the

man I saw last night with my husband."

"Yes and don't count on him finding you Red. Even the best trackers

in the 9 Kingdoms have a hard time finding us. No hunter can track

my people, only another wolf can find this place."

"What's with the Red business? Why are you calling me that and why

did you kidnap me and my son?"

"We'll leave that matter for later. I see that you wish to see

your "son" correct."

"If that would be possible."

"Follow me and don't think of trying to escape--"

"Well duh!!! I tried to escape from a half-wolf once and I was never

able to be rid of him. He still hangs around me today."

"Really and who may this half-wolf be?"

"None of your business." Then the man stopped at this hut. Virginia

heard all this crashing and yelling inside of it and recognized

Dureks growls. "Durek!!!!" she screamed and barged through the door.

There she saw her son bawling and broken objects laying around.

"Finally, this cub is out of control Byron. He probably won't stop

until he is with his mother. This must mean she's alive because a

cub won't separate from its mother until she is dead." said the

distressed women who was in the hut.

Virginia ran to her child and rocked him gently. He suddenly stops

crying and hugged her with all his might.

"Looks like she really is his mother Sophia," said Byron.

"How can that be, she's HUMAN"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Meet the Half Wolves

Meanwhile?

"Yawn, hhuyuhharrooww," yawned Wolf as he awoke and smacked his

lips. "Virginia…Virginia?" He looks around to find both his wife and

son gone. "-sigh- Huff puff, Virginia, why did you leave without

telling me. Now I have to go and find out where you are."

Wolf walked out of the room, and a maid came by to tell him what

happened to Virginia. She said that Virginia had left the Inn to go

for a walk, and said that she would return momentarily. However, she

did not return at all last night. That made Wolf incredibly worried.

"Cripes!! What could have happen to her? She would never have left

me, what could I have done to make her leave? Wait, she said that

she would come back, so maybe someone took her away," reasoned Wolf.

"Sir, there have been suspicious half-wolves in the area. They

caused nothing but trouble, and maybe they have kidnapped your wife,"

said the maid.

"Thank you very much, maaa'mmmm," replied Wolf sarcastically. He

left the Inn and started his search for Virginia and Durek. He

sniffed his way back to the meadow he and Virginia walked yesterday.

He came upon the spot where she and Durek met the man. He found some

troll dust and was sure Virginia and his son was captured. With the

scent of the man, Wolf was able to distinguish the man as a half-wolf

like him, and who he was. He was on his way to the secret village,

where he was born.

I thought I would never have to go back to that place. Thanks a lot

Byron, steal my love and son away will you? You have crossed the

line. Thought Wolf. He growled and went on his way.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

xxxxxx

Back to Virginia?br

"Well, I am not from any of these kingdoms okay!!! Where I come

from, I can wear red without being distinguish as a riding person.

Plus, I have a grandma who is a half wolf, and I guess my son got

lucky inheriting the tail. So shut your mouth." Exclaimed Virginia.

"Grrrrrr, -snarl- don't talk to me like that you human!!!" snapped

Sophia and nearly slapped Virginia when Byron caught her hand.

"Hold it Sophia," said Byron. Then to Virginia he asked, "Where do

you come from then Red?"

Virginia thought it would have been a good idea to not to reveal much

about herself to these people and said, "I think I'll keep that bit

of information to myself., after all you didn't give me a reason to

trust you at all."

"I figured you'd say that, it's all right. However, since you aren't

a Riding Hood girl, I can't call you Red now can I?"

"Hmf, you can just call me Red and my son is Durek okay?"

"Fine by me Red."

"Since I am of no use, can we leave now."

"I'm afraid not because we can't risk you revealing our village to

the Riding Hoods. It's too risky, and I am sorry I brought you

here. You just got to make yourself at home."

"But what about my husband, he gets crazy when something bad happens

to me.'

"He'll just have to forget about you."

"Oh no, you don't know how he is when he finds me in danger. When

that happens he goes ballistic and all out at the one who puts me in

it. It gets worse when he doesn't know where I am, too. Now he's

going to be furious at you for keeping my son and me here."

"Hahahaha, he is just a human. What is he going to do, skin me

alive?"

"That can be arranged!!" Everyone turned and found Wolf red hot and

sweating. "BYRON!!! Why did you take my family away!!!??? You have

always taken all my tolerance for you. You are dead meat!!!!" He

lunged at Byron slashing and biting with all his might.

"GAR ARROOOO YARP," Cheered Durek.

Byron was nearly killed, but fortunately other wolves heard the

commotion and restrained Wolf.

"LET ME GOOOOOOO –SNARL-. HE MUST BE PUNISHED FOR THIS!!!" Roared

Wolf.

Byron spat all the blood from his mouth and went to examine his

attacker. He saw who Wolf was and shouted with amazement, "Xavier,

what in the world are you doing here?!"

"Xavier?" asked Virginia perplexed.

"That's his name!!!" Cried Byron and to Wolf. "Where have you been?

You disappeared after your parents perished in the fire."

"That's beside the point, why did you kidnap Virginia?!"

"Virginia?? So that's your name.." said Byron with amusement, but

his expression became amazement once more, "Are you THE Virginia, the

one who saved the 9 Kingdoms??!!"

"Well, yes," said Virginia even more confused.

-----silence------

Realization

"OH HUFFITY PUUUFFFF, I am so sorry madam," Byron just said with

sophisticated ness. "If I had known, this would have never happened."

"Huh?!?!?!"

"Oh dear, yes, I apologize for my rudeness." Said Sophia.

"GGGRRRRR LET ME GO NOW!!!!" bellowed Wolf.

Byron turned to Wolf and said, "Well you need to stop trying to kill

me alright."

"Grrrrr," growled Wolf as he looked at his options, a village of

strong wolves and only one of him, "Fine?quot;

Wolf was let free and Byron turned back to Virginia, "I am sorry for

all this trouble my lady, but I had to have gotten a Riding Girl to

rescue my people. You see, this area has always been a place of

plentiful prey and food. However, as the Riding People have grown

rich, our forest was losing all its prey. More and more men have

been hunting in our area. When we try to stop them, they started

attacking our people. Now we cannot let any of the cubs wonder

freely in the forest anymore, and lost much food supply. However,

when a Wolf saved the 9 Kingdoms we became free people to do as we

wish. We thought that meant we could move somewhere else and trade

with the Riding People. Yet, even so, the Riding People among others

in the whole kingdoms distrust us and drove many of our kind to this

one village. –sigh- That was when we thought of a plan that included

abducting a Riding person, but enough of that it is getting late and

we must eat."

"I'm not hungry," said Wolf.

"HUH??!!!" cried everyone in the room.

"Wolf, it's not like you to pass a meal," cried Virginia.

"Yes, even as a cub you would devour anything and anytime," said

Byron.

"I've known you for a long time and kindness wasn't in you," said

Wolf through clenched teeth, "I wish for my family and I to return to

the Riding Hood area."

"I am sorry but you can't, it is getting dark and the forest gets

dangerous at night you know that."

"I don't care, Virginia and I have faced stronger danger than the

danger in the forest." For some reason as he glared at Byron, his

eyes showed great rage inside them. "I don't trust you."

"Look, I have grown Xavier, I am not the mad little cub as you once

knew. Let us get to know each other once again. Besides what danger

could you have faced that would be more dangerous than the forest. I

believe that Virginia may have faced great danger than that with her

father and a fellow half-wolf, but you? No."

"I was the half-wolf with them."

"Nawww, your name is not Wolf and besides, you have always been a---"

"Stop it right there," said Wolf as he eyed Virginia, "I have changed

since my parents' death, and my name was changed to Wolf. It suits

me more than my old name. We will stay, and I will talk to you

later." His words were so cold that it could have frozen the air in

front of him.

-----------------more silence-------------------------

The Predator Stalks His Prey

Night fell and there was going to be a celebration on the return of

Wolf, or in their case, Xavier. While everyone was getting ready

Virginia and Wolf were in his old home getting ready themselves.

With their son fast asleep on the straw bed they had no worries of

him being rowdy during the party. When they went out of the hut

Virginia confronted Wolf with a question.

"Wolf, who are these people anyway? Did you really use to live

here?" asked Virginia.

"It's nothing," Wolf said as he scratched his forehead vigorously. "I

was born here, so they should know me."

"It's not nothing, what are you hiding?"

"What ever do you mean?"

"Every time you get agitated or worried, you always scratch your

forehead like that."

"Not all the time."

"You have been really jumpy ever since you said we would stay here.

You were constantly looking around as if danger was about to pop out

any minute."

Wolf suddenly looked nervous, " It's just that you never know what

can happen anywhere. I am not jumpy Virginia!"

"Yeah sure XAVIER?. Wolf tell me what's bothering you NOW."

"Grrr, don't call me that Virginia!!! The reason why I am so

agitated is because I don't trust this place."

"Don't trust this place??!! Wolf this is your birthplace, you lived

your childhood life here! How can you not trust this place??!!"

laughed Virginia.

"MY PARENTS DIED BECAUSE OF SOMEONE HERE!!!" Sobbed Wolf. "My father

was the Alpha Leader of this pack, and someone killed him and my

mother. After that, the leadership was put upon Byron. I was 10 at

the time and he was 15, and he was perfect for the job."

"I thought they were burned by farmers."

"Yes, on one of our moon cycles, we go to a certain place from time

to time. Someone killed a villager in one of the Riding Hood farms

and then led an angry mob to my parents. We were ambushed, and I

hid. I can never forget what happened, but I never found the person

who did this. I can only remember his shadowy figure and tail

laughing as he ran away. That tail showed me that he was a half-

wolf, and the only half-wolves in the area were in this village.

That's why I left and that's why I can't trust anyone here."

"Oh my god, Wolf I am so sorry?quot;

"-Sigh- It's not your fault, I understand that you were curious to

know what's going on. I tried to keep my past a secret from you. I

didn't want to remember the terror I faced as a cub."

Then Sophia walked in and said, " Hey the feast has started, aren't

you two hungry?"

Wolf and Virginia looked at Sophia with surprise.

"Am I interrupting some thing?"

"No not at all," said Wolf.

"Nope, we're ready," said Virginia at the same time.

There was an awkward moment and Wolf broke it by saying, "Well what

are we waiting for? Let's go feast!!"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Meanwhile somewhere in the shadows xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

A group of half wolves in the forest were discussing about something.

"The plan is ruined!!!" Cried the first wolf, a male. "We were

suppose to catch one of the Riding Girls."

The Riding Girls is a group of girls that help protect the villagers

from the half-wolves. They are sort of like policemen, except they

wear red and they consist of only females.

"Yeah and instead we were only able to catch the heroine of the 9

Kingdoms!" Cried the second Wolf, "She must be very powerful to be

able to beat the Queen! We were only lucky to have even got her off

guard."

"Bah, what are you? You are all acting like chickens!!!" Cried the

third. "She's Xavier's mate, and we know he is a coward. She

probably lucked out on killing the queen."

"It does not matter, I like her. She will fit perfectly to my plan

ha ha." Said the leader. "She is the heroine and the friend of King

Wendell, she is perfect for us to continue the plan. Heh heh, Only

now, I can have fun with Xavier."

"What do you mean Boss?" Asked the second wolf.

"Well, I'll have fun tormenting our old friend first. Then I'll use

Virginia to help me take over the 2nd Kingdom! That's not all, I

have a big plans for her as well. Haahahahaha."

Then they laughed throughout the night .

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx back to Virginia and Wolf.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"WOW!!!! I forgot how delicious the food cooked here was." Said Wolf

after he ate a couple pounds of meat. He scratched his forehead. "I

really use to love the feasts we had here –sigh-."

"I haven't seen you eat this much before Wolf." Said Virginia

smiling.

"Well, it has been a long time since I ate home cooked meals from

another half-wolf." Wolf licked his lips. "It really is delicious,

besides I have to say the same to you. You ate twice as much as you

usually eat."

"Well yeah, but I can't help it. Like you said, the food here's

great."

They laughed and Wolf picked up Virginia and swung her around. Just

then the music of the Wolves took a step up in the beat. They danced

with all the other wolfs and had a great time.

"May I cut in?" asked Byron. Wolf gave Byron a cold look, and was

about to argue.

"Yes, it's all right Byron," Virginia said and to Wolf she

whispered. "Wolf, don't be rude, he just wants to dance."

"But you're my mate?quot; pouted Wolf.

"That doesn't mean I have to do everything with you. It's fun to do

things with others once and a while."

"But?quot;

"Let's dance Byron." Said Virginia as she glared at Wolf.

"The pleasure's all mine." Said Byron.

They walked off and left Wolf all alone. Wolf had mixed feelings

about what happened. He was angry, sad, and unhappy that Virginia

was dancing with someone else. He was her mate, and his male

instincts made him very possessive of her. Normal human male

possessiveness wouldn't have made him act the way he did, but that

along with his wolf male instincts made it hard for him to control

himself. His reaction to Byron's intrusion was to beat him

senselessly, but his human controlled the reaction. In the Village

of the Wolves, when a male did something like that to one's mate, it

was a challenge for the other male. Wolf knew that as well as he

knew Byron, but he wasn't truly sure what Byron was up to.

"Huff puff," muttered Wolf and he walked away. "Byron always did

spoil my fun. Has Virginia forgotten about our Honeymoon, we only

spent a day on it."

As Byron danced with Virginia, he asked her, "How do you like it

here?'

She replied, "It's all right so far, but I've only been here a day so

I wouldn't know."

"Well, why don't ya stay a while."

"You can't expect me to, I'm on my Honeymoon with Wolf. We only

spent a day together."

"Wolf? Ohhh you mean Xavier. So I guess I ruined your vacation?"

"Well, I don't know the whole reason why you kidnapped me, but it

must be for a good reason. It's all right, tomorrow Wolf and I will

leave and continue our Honeymoon. Maybe we'll drop by later."

"Oh, I insist you stay here."

"Nope, I can't stay."

"Well, then before you go, I can answer any questions you may have.

Especially the reason why I tried to kidnap you." Suddenly Byron held

her sides looking at her in a serious way. She thought about it and

push him away.

"Perhaps later tomorrow morning, I feel a bit tired right now."

"We won't have time, maybe after the feast you'll feel better." He

gave her a fierce glance.

"O-o-kay," she stammered and she walked away quickly. Byron smiled

broadly and turned away.

As Virginia hurried away from Byron, she bumped into one of the

wolfs. He snarled at her and pushed her, giving her a horrible glare

and left. One of the females helped her up and said, "Don't mind

Raq, he's always like that. No one knows why he's so ticked off. My

name's Natalie, and I presume that you're Virginia."

"Yeah, thank you Natalie. I wonder what's wrong with Raq."

"As I said, he is a loner and no one knows what's wrong with him.

You must watch out for him, he may be part of our tribe, but he is

more of a loner than a part of our pack. That means he is

unpredictable and dangerous. Be wary of him, for he may do some harm

to you."

"……Excuse me, but I am not feeling well right now and I must get to

Wolf to see if he is okay." Virginia said and left. When she entered

the hut she found Wolf looking glum. As she approached him he got up.

The Past Unlocked

"So how was the dance?" He asked.

"It was all right, what's wrong Wolf? Were you moping around because

I danced with Byron and left you alone?" asked Virginia.

"Nooo, well?not moping exactly, more of a……" Virginia gave him a

questioning look, "Yes, I was moping."

"Geez Wolf, I just danced with him, it's not like I was dating him or

something. It's okay to do stuff with other people especially if

they are just trying to be friendly."

"Not in this village," muttered Wolf and suddenly imagined what Byron

would have done if this happened when they were still cubs. Byron

would have been jumping with joy saying, "She likes me" over and over

again. The thought made Wolf chuckle.

"What's so funny?!"

"Oh nothing, if a female did what you did with Byron, he would think

you liked him."

"Why is that?"

"Remember the say of Wolfs mating for life, it's not always true

sometimes. Like if a mate died, he or she would be replaced by

another eventually. It's like finding a second love, but it's much

harder the second time. There is also another way as well?You see,

what Byron just did was challenging me for you."

"WHAT!?!?!?"

"Yes, for Wolfs, any means of social activity with one's mate is a

challenge for the male. Social activity as in ways people start to

date like dancing, hugging, and such. Affectionate ways expressed in

human terms. You see, sometimes Wolfs fight for their mates from

time to time, and I nearly did with Byron when he asked you to dance

with him."

"That's preposterous!!! You should have told me about this. Is

there anything else I should know."

"-sigh-Okay, when two male Wolfs fight for a mate, it means the

victor will have the female as a prize. Ways of challenge could be

direct or indirect as Byron demonstrated. That's pretty much all I

know about that sort of thing. I didn't really pay attention in

class when they taught this in school. I thought this sort of thing

wouldn't happen to me."

"So that's why you acted all rude to Byron!!"

"That among other things."

"So what's up between you and him."

"Oh look at that, looks like the story circle is about to start,"

said Wolf and he ran out.

"Wolf wait!! GRRR!!!" Said Virginia exasperatingly and she followed

him out.

Virginia could tell Wolf was trying to avoid saying anything about

his past. She knew that no matter what happens, Wolf will have a

hard time revealing his past. She knew all too well of the feeling

Wolf was trying to avoid. Even she had an incredibly hard time

revealing her deepest secrets to Wolf. Since Wolf was a very

unpredictable person, even for Virginia. It would be extremely

difficult to pry open Wolf's secrets from Wolf, but Virginia didn't

think of it too importantly. At some point, when Wolf is ready, he

would finally let his past go as did she. As she thought about this,

she didn't notice Byron walking up to her.

"Hello Virginia, are you feeling better now?" He asked.

"Huh?!" Virginia turned around and said, "Oh, you startled me Byron."

"Heh, sorry."

"It's all right?quot;

"Aren't you going to go and listen to the story told my our Pack's

storyteller, Zarkan he may be old, but he is a great storyteller?"

"I'm not in the mood for stories right now. I just need to think."

"Ahh, you have questions in your mind."

"You can tell?"

"Of course, Wolf cubs are known for their curiosity so I should know

the look of a questionable face."

"Hmmm."

"Well, ask away."

"Huh?"

"You have questions right? So feel free to ask me. Remember, I did

say we needed to talk after the party."

"Okay, so why did you kidnap me anyway?"

"Well, as you know, we Wolfs are pardoned by King Wendell. It hasn't

really helped much though. The Riding Hoods are causing problems for

us and we tried to contact Queen Riding Hood herself. However,

whether she got the message or not, there was no reply. We tried

King Wendell and there hasn't been a reply from him either. So, a

plan was given to us to abduct one of the Riding Girls and catch the

Riding Queen's attention. Although it may seem a bad thing to do,

but we are desperate. Once the Queen notices us, we would give a

list of demands that would make our kind more equal among the Riding

people. Riding Girls always wear red and are the only people who

wear the color, and so you were mistaken to be one of them."

"Well then, how about you tell me what's up with you and Wolf."

"Oh, he and I never got along since we were young. Back then we

would always get into fights over the silliest of things. We use to

be the best of friends until I turned 12, when my Moon Cycle's

started. I guess he was jealous of me and he started acting so

bitter towards me. He was naturally competitive and was always much

of a carefree person. He was though a chicken when there was

danger. He was born a coward and nothing could make him brave. Then

one time I humiliated him in front of the whole Pack. I got a magic

powder that would show the person it is thrown at his biggest fears.

When I threw it at Xavier, he saw an ugly ogre that demanded that he

dress up as a chicken and cluck around the village. If he didn't the

illusion said that it would eat him up. He actually dressed himself

in feathers and ran around the village. It was some time before he

found out that it was only an illusion. It was a long time ago and I

can't believe he would hold a grudge for so long. We always compete

against one another, and I would always win. Of course I was older,

so it was no big woop. Then something happened, during the Moon

Cycle, his parents were murdered by a group of farmers. When he

returned he was such a mess, he would always have nightmares of his

parents screaming in pain. It was as if his spirit was torn to

pieces, and then one night he was gone."

"Oh my goooddd. I never thought Wolf as a coward. I guess after

what happened to his parents, he must have greatly changed."

"Well enough about Xavier's past. What about you? Tell me about

yourself."

"Sorry, I'm already taken."

"Huh, what do you mean."

"I mean that I know you're hitting on me."

"I am not hitting you at all."

"Oh it's a saying from where I come from that you are trying to gain

my affection." (in other words start courtship) thought Virgina.

"Oh, I am not trying to do that. I was just wondering how an

ordinary human like you defeat a great witch like the Queen and steal

the heart of a Half-Wolf."

"Well, didn't you hear that story, I am pretty sure people are

talking about it."

"The story wasn't all that accurate, you see, from what I heard you

were a powerful witch that defeated the Queen. So, the stories told

by everyone has variations and I want to hear the true story. What

better person to hear the story than the person who lived it."

"Hmm I don't know?quot;

"Come on, you could tell it now to everyone in the storytelling

circle. I'm sure the storyteller is just about finished with his

story."

"Okay." And she walked with Byron to the circle and heard the ending

of Zarkan's story.

"And that's how the first Half-Wolf was born." Finished Zarkan.

"Hey, Zarkan!" Said Byron.

"Oh, hello Alpha Leader." Replied Zarkan

"How about we let Virginia tell us a more accurate story of how she

defeated the Queen."

"That would be perfect!" He exclaimed. "I would be able to tell the

story accurately next time for the cubs."

Everyone stared at Virginia and she started to feel nervous and

thought that she may need some help telling the story. So she

said, "Well, the story would be even better if Wolf were to come up

here and help me tell it."

"Yeah!! He is the one that got the King of the 4th Kingdom to pardon

us," cried a Half-Wolf and soon everyone agreed. People sitting

around Wolf started to encourage him to go up with Virginia.

"Ohhh, I don't know-hiccup-," Said Wolf with a grin as he scratched

his forehead.

"Come on." Everyone cheered for him and eventually he got up with

Virginia and they both told the story throughout the night.

x-tra part of the story you do not have to read

This part is just how they told the story and if you don't want to

read this you can just skip down to the next .

"Okay Virginia, I'll start the story," Said Wolf.

Wolf The Queen had tricked the Troll King into helping her escape the

Memorial Prison, in which I was serving my time in. I saw her pass

by my cell and asked her to set me free. She could tell that I

wasn't human and asked me what I was and I told her that I was a Half-

Wolf. She told me that if I wanted to be set free I must help her

catch a dog. Well, I was confused, what would she want with a dog.

She read my mind and told me that the dog was Prince Wendell, she had

switched his body with a dog. She told me to catch the dog before

the Troll King's children did. I wondered why, but I didn't really

care as long as I could get my freedom. She let me out and I started

my hunt. However, she stopped me and told me to give my will to

her. I didn't really think about it at the time because I had

nothing to lose, but little did I know that I would later regret

nodding my head and give her my will. So the chase was on, I sniffed

and tracked down the dog into the basement, but found no dog there.

Instead---

"Oh, Wolf hold it," said Virginia.

"What's wrong Virginia?" Whispered Wolf.

"I don't think it's a good idea to mention the portal to them."

"Whyyy not?"

"Like you said, they can't be trusted."

"Oh don't you worry too much," Just then Virginia smelled something

peculiar in his breath.

"Have you been drinking?!"

"How'd ya know."

"Oh never mind if you want to tell them about my kingdom go ahead."

"Don't mind if I do." Then to the crowd. "Anyway?quot;

Wolf Instead I found a mirror. A Magic Mirror to be exact. From there

I traveled through it to get to the dog. After going through the

portal, I came into a marvelous place. There were lights, there were

big buildings. I had come across the fabled 10th Kingdom!!!!

With that, everyone in the audience gasped and murmured.

"I'll take it from here Wolf." Said Virginia.

"But I was getting to the good part." Wolf slurred.

"Well now XAVIER, this is the moment I ran into the dog."

Virgina I was riding my bike, that is just what the people in the

10th kingdom use to transport much like a horse. Then I crashed

right into the dog and lost my bag of money. The dog was unharmed,

and I was guilty for running into him so I took him to work. I was a

waitress at a restaurant and I took him into a closet and locked him

in there. My friend thought he was cute and named him Prince. As I

was working I notice a pretty loud and enthusiastic man yelling out

his orders. He was saying how scrumptious a lamb was and made a

PRETTY big scene of himself. If you are wondering who this man was

it was Wolf. That was how we met, but we weren't properly introduced

yet. I went back to the closet to find Prince making a mess, but in

the mess was clear writing of DANGER. I thought my friend was

playing a trick on me and then the dog started to respond to whatever

I ask. I was scared and so, I left for home and when I arrived, I

found my father among other people covered with troll dust. Then the

3 children of the Troll King ambushed me. They would have killed me

if I hadn't tricked them into going into cage. Then I ran away with

Prince to my Grandmother's house.

"Okay, now it's my turn again." Said Wolf.

Wolf When I went to the restaurant, I found the food there and went

crazy. I ordered a bunch of stuff, but right before the waitress

left, I asked about Prince. She led me to where the dog would have

been, but Virginia had already taken them home. I too saw the

writing and before the girl could see it, I wiped it away with my

foot. I "charmed" her into giving me the location of Virginia's

home. I arrived there just in time to find her father, Tony, waking

up. Virginia had already left and I asked Tony for a location of

where she may have been. I spotted a picture of her and was

mesmerized by her beauty. I got really excited and started to whine

and then howl. You all know what that means---the audience agreed---

. Anyway, I traded a magic bean for Virginia's location. Tony told

me that she may have went to her grandmother's house. That was

perfect for me and I asked if the grandmother loved flowers, but

apparently she just loved money. So, I went to see her the next

morning and charmed the grandmother into letting me in. I tied her

up and gagged her. I was planning to eat her ---the audience

chuckled---, but Virginia woke up before I could do any cooking. So

I took a knife and ran into the grandmother's bedroom. I lured her

into the room and when she opened the covers I yelled SURPRISE and

turned her onto the bed. Seeing her in person was nothing compared

to seeing her in the picture. I said some things and at some point I

fell out the window.

"Wolf!! Let's not leave out the details of what really happened."

Said Virginia slyly.

"Burp, they don't need to know da details." Replied Wolf.

"Nonsense, we want to hear the details," cried someone from the crowd

and more people agreed.

"Okay, let me tell you what happened." Said Virginia to the audience.

Virginia I woke up and went to my grandmother's room. She sounded

weird and when I opened the covers I found the man from the

restaurant instead of my grandmother. He grabbed me and I saw a

knife in his hand ready to come down upon me. I flinched, expecting

the man to kill me for what ever reason I never knew, but the pain

never came. Instead I heard him say "My oh my your fantastic,".

Then he looked at his hand and said, "Oh no, how did this get here."

And dropped the knife. I seized my chance and ran for the door. He

was too quick and he stopped me in my tracks. He started rambling

about the dog and then sniffed me and talked about how he liked my

scent. He growled and snarled and then he said, "Beautiful eyes,

beautiful teeth all the right stuff in all the right places, no

doubt about it I…aammm?innn looovvveee." He puckered his lips and

tried to kiss me. I felt really awkward at the time and scared too.

I grabbed a vase and hit him with it as he came towards me. I ran

for the exit, but it was blocked somehow then out of the blue he

asked me out on the date. I took a broom and hit him in the face.

He kept on rambling and advancing toward me, so I hit him---

"Now Virginia, let's not finish that part okay," said Wolf.

"Now, Wolf, it was your own fault after all," She replied, " and so I

hit him right there and pushed him out the window and he landed on

some garbage."

The crowd was roaring with laughter and Wolf really looked sheepish.

"Okay okay after that I went to see a doctor?quot; started Wolf.

Wolf She gave me words and I would reply the first word that would

pop into my head. Home: cooking, coward: chicken, wedding: cake,

dead: meat, sexual: appetite, love: doing anything for lovely. She

started asking me what I was nervous about and I told her that I met

a girl. I liked her, but I wasn't sure if I loved her or eat her. I

blamed my parents, and my Wolf self. Then I wanted to change into a

good person. I left the room and took some books on women.

"While he was doin that, I was walking back to where I met the dog."

Said Virginia.

Virginia I met my father and he wished that he would understand what

Prince was saying. We followed him to the 9 Kingdoms. I was then

captured by the trolls and my father was stuck in the prison. When I

woke up, I was strapped to a chair and was just about to be

tortured. Luckily the trolls' father came in and stopped them. He

was wearing invisible shoes and came into the room. However, he was

about to make me dance in these hot iron shoes after they got hot.

Wolf had saved me and before we left, I took the shoes. I made

myself invisible and ran away from Wolf. He found me anyways by

following my scent and took the shoes away from me for my own good.

The trolls had found that we escaped and sent hunting dogs at us.

Wolf and I hid in a beanstalk and we waited there until the coast was

clear. Then, when I tried to steal the shoes from Wolf, I felt

something furry. I was clearly scared, but curious at the same

time. That was when he told me that he was a Wolf and had me stroke

his tail. We later set off to free my dad and found himself out of

prison already. We hijacked a boat and used it to sail away to find

Acorn. You see Acorn had the Magic Mirror and I really wanted to go

back home.

Wolf Yeah, I read one of my books and figured that I would shave

because it said men who shave are loved by women. I thought I would

give it a try, then as I looked at the mirror, the Queen appeared. I

was frightened for Virginia and told her to go away. She tried to

get me to tell her about my new friends and with all my will power,

pushed her away. When I went on deck I saw Virginia hugging the

magic shoes and I knew what she was thinking. I took the shoes and

threw them as far as I could. Sure, she was angry at first, but

later knew that what I did for her was best. So, we found Acorn's

boat and the dog went swimming toward an abandoned castle. Well, we

went through?.

Well you readers know the rest of the story I was just

trying to add some flare to my story and I only included my favorite

part which was when Virginia first met Wolf Hee

hee

Kid Gone Missing

By the time the story was finished, all of the Wolfs looked up to

Virginia and Wolf in awe. It amazed them of how strong Virginia and

Wolf were to have experienced such an adventure. It was until past

midnight, when everyone was all asleep. That is everyone except for

a group of wolves. They were plotting something to take over the 2nd

Kingdom.

"Do we act now boss," asked the second wolf.

"Yes, we must enact the plan now." The leader pointed to the second

and third wolf. "You two know what to do. After Xavier takes the

drug, it will envelope him soon, lasting a month. It will make him

stupid and wild. Hahahaha, he'll do things he won't normally do and

he can't stop himself." They nodded and left to start their job.

Then the leader talked to the rest of the group to remember what to

do. "Now that we know that she is from the 10th Kingdom, we can use

her for our own purposes?quot;

The two wolfs put on something to disguise their scent and went to do

their job. The second wolf snuck into where Virginia was sleeping

and took Durek. The third wolf put a drug in all of the water and

food that he could find in the hut. The two returned to their leader

and waited until sunrise.

Wolf had a big headache when he woke up, but it got worse when he

heard Virginia scream. Quickly he jumped off the bed and stumbled

toward Virginia.

"What, what's wrong Virginia, somebody trying to hurt you?!" Cried

Wolf.

"NO!!NOHOHOHOOOO!!!" sobbed Virginia. "Someone took our baby!!!!"

That snapped Wolf awake and he

bellowed, "RRRAAAAWWWWWRRRRRGGG!!!!!!" He roared so loud that he

woke up the whole village. Everyone came running to the hut.

"Wah!! What's all the commotion?" asked Natalie and Sophia at the

same time.

It was all too late, Wolf had gone mad with anger and unleashed his

wolf side. "GRRRAAAWWRR, MY SON?? WHERE IS MY SON RRRAWWWGGG??!!!"

"DDuuureeeekkkkk," sobbed Virginia.

Just then Byron entered and being hated by Wolf, it was Wolf's

instinct to attack him. He was all out when he attacked. It took 5

wolfs to get him off Byron.

"Jeez, this is the second time you attacked me for nothing." Said

Byron. He was now covered with bruises and some cuts. If Wolf was

on him any longer, he would have had gashes all over him.

"YOU MUST HAVE TAKEN HIM, YOU ALWAYS TOOK WHAT WAS MINE!!!! FIRST MY

MATE NOW HIM GGRRRRRR—SNARL?"

"Oh Xavier, you have always blamed me when you snap. I did not take

your son, let's track down the real culprit who took your cub."

"Wolf you have to calm down, we must focus on finding Durek before

something terrible happens to him." Said Virginia.

Wolf breathed in and out, "-sigh- Okay, I am calm, I need something

to eat."

"Wolf how could you be hungry at a time like this!!!" cried Byron.

"You know I get hungry when I'm like this," replied Wolf.

"Hey, this is a dangerous time. Who knows what will happen to the

little cub."

"Don't you think I know that, someone in this pack has been causing

trouble for the Riding Hoods and now you're this close to being

hunted down. Now, my family has been dragged into this mess because

of you." Wolf grabbed a piece of bread from a basket on the table

and took a bite out of it. "Now, I have to solve this mess that

you've made and get on with my life."

"How did you know about---"

"I am not daft Byron, I can tell what's going on and hear it too.

Cripes, I didn't think I would have to start fixing this mess now."

Wolf took another bite from the loaf.

"What do you mean Wolf?" asked Virginia.

"When we came back to Wendell's Kingdom, he told me about what was

going on in the 2nd Kingdom. He said that things haven't gone too

far yet, and asked me to keep an eye on things. If things went too

far, I would have to take things into my hands."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Well, I didn't want to spoil our honeymoon. I thought we could

continue it with no problems, but I see now that it has to be put off

a while longer." Wolf looked clearly disappointed and finished his

bread.

"So YOU are the one Wendell has sent to help us?" Said Byron

surprisingly. "-sigh- Never mind, let's just focus on tracking the

kidnapper."

"Let's see who's been in this hut now shall we." Said Wolf as he and

Byron sniffed the crib. He gave a distressing look. "Wow, this guy

didn't even try to hide his scent, it smells like…like?"

"Like Raq." Byron finished.

"But it can't be, he has never done anything wrong before." Said Wolf.

"Before you left Xavier," Said Byron and Wolf stiffened. "Ever since

you left he has been most troublesome and unpredictable."

"Byron, please don't call me that anymore?quot; said Wolf

quietly. "Xavier is dead?he was a coward?a nobody…not like me

now?."

"But it's your name."

"Not anymore, call me Wolf now."

"COULD YOU TWO PLEASE STOP FOOLING AROUND AND FOCUS ON FINDING MY

SON!!!!!!!!!" Roared Virginia. Everyone looked at her with

surprised, but Wolf's eyes turned bug-eyed. "Put your petty problems

aside and find my baby."

………scared silence…………..

Natalie broke the silence, "Well let's go pay, Raq a visit shall we."

Byron and Wolf both said, "Yeah yeah let's do that." And ran off

leaving the steaming mother to cool down as she followed them.

When they arrived at Raq's hut, they found all his things gone. It

was empty except for a note saying: Your son is in my possession, you

will find us far from here. I am in the Kingdom of the one who has

fragile slippers. I am in a cave and if you want to find your cub

unharmed, have only one person enter. The lady Virginia or my old

friend…I want the Compelling Ring, bring it in the next Moon Cycle or

your son's dead.

"Oh my god!!!! He really has gone crazy." Said Wolf. "My best

friend has my cub!!!"

"We gotta go get him now!!!" Said Virginia.

"But where? He gave us only one clue: the kingdom of the one who has

fragile slippers. Who has that?" Asked Byron.

"Slippers…slippers?could it be in the kingdom of the trolls?" said

Virginia.

"No, no, they own shoes, and sturdy ones at that. They, wear all

their shoes and always wear them. Besides if they had fragile

slippers, they'd break em in a day," Wolf snaps his

fingers, "Cinderella!!!"

"Huh?" said Virginia and Byron.

"Cinderella owns slippers, GLASS slippers."

"Yeah!!! He must be in her kingdom." Said Byron.

"But how did he get there?" asked Natalie. "It's a weeks journey from

here on horseback."

"Wait, I remembered that he had a special pair of boots," said

Wolf. "They allowed him to go far in one step. What were they called

again."

"Seven-league boots." Answered Virginia.

"Yeah that's what they were called!!! How'd you know."

"I read them once in a book, the boots that took you seven leagues in

one step."

"Well, then, where do we find the Compelling Ring?" asked

Natalie. "What is it anyway?"

"How are we suppose to know?" cried everyone in the room.

"Well, someone has to know," said Byron. "Otherwise, why would Raq

want it."

"But if I remember correctly, he was a bookworm," said Wolf. "Just

like I am, but he was quite the scholar."

"Hey, there's something written on the back," exclaimed Natalie. "It

says: I expect you buffoons wouldn't know what the ring is so I've

written its description. It is a ring that has a lightly glow of the

color of the sky. This isn't a riddle, it does glow a bit and is sky

blue. You morons have to get this thing from Queen Riding Hood the

3rd herself. I've figured that at some point you'll find out what it

does so I am not going to bother telling you what it does. When you

find out, please do not try to use it against me. If you do, my men

will ensure your son's death."

"Well, now we know, let's go ask Queen Riding Hood to lend us the

ring Wolf," said Virginia.

"I don't think that's a good idea darling," said Wolf.

"Why not, I am sure she'll understand."

"Yeah, understand that a Half-Wolf cub is in danger." Said Byron

sarcastically. "We're all Half-Wolves here asking for our enemy for

help. That'll be easy Virginia."

"I hate to say it, but he's right." Agreed Wolf.

"Wow, am I so respected that you guys forgot who I am?" questioned

Virginia.

"Well we all know who you are, but what's that got to do with our

current problem?" Asked Byron.

"Hello!!! I am Virginia, the HUMAN who saved the 9 Kingdoms with

Wolf the Half-Wolf."

"Well, you have a point, but that doesn't change the fact that she

hate's any kind of Wolf. Even hero wolves?" Said Wolf then it

dawned to him. "OOHHHHH!!! You are brilliant my dream girl!!!!

Wow!!! I should of thought of this!!!! I wonder what's going on

with me now." He shook his head vigorously. "Never mind, yes you

Virginia will be the one to negotiate with her. I'll just disguise

myself as a human as I normally do. Byron, I am going to regret

saying this, but will you mind helping us?"

"Of course, I am not the same guy you use to know. What do you need?"

"Here's the plan, you and some of our men will hide in the bushes

near the castle. In case of anything going wrong, I want you guys to

lay low until something bad happens. You'll know cuz I'll cause a

big commotion that will force the guards to do something out of the

ordinary. When that happens, bust in and get us out of there.

Virginia and I are going to go and speak with the Queen and get the

ring at all costs."

Project Ring Theft

The plan was executed, Virginia and Wolf easily gained audience with

the Riding Hood Queen. Of course, Wolf went as Virginia's escort

with the name Warren Wolfson. He wore a big cloak so then it would

hide the bulging part of where his tail is hidden. They went to see

the Queen around past noon.

"Well Virginia things are looking well." Whispered Wolf.

"Not if you act suspicious like you are now, what's wrong with you

you're smarter than that." Replied Virginia.

"Lady Virginia Lewis of the 10th Kingdom, Heroine of the 9 Kingdoms

requesting audience with Queen Riding Hood the 3rd with her escort

Warren Wolfson from the 4th Kingdom ." announced a guard.

"Let her in," said the Queen when they came in she gave them a

questioning look. "Well Lady Virginia, what brings you to my kingdom."

"Please your majesty, call me Virginia. I am requesting assistance

with a very big problem."

"Oh? How so? What danger could the savior of the 9 Kingdoms possibly

face?"

"Well, my baby son has been abducted," and all the people in the room

gasped, "You see, I am powerless to save him unless I give the

abductor what he wants."

"And the abductor wants what I have, correct?"

"Yes, he wants your Compelling Ring."

"Let me guess, the abductor is a wolf."

"Yes, how did you know?"

"This ring use to belong to a wolf, but after my great-great-

grandmother defeated a wolf she obtained this ring. It was passed

down to each generation, and there's also the fact that they are

mongrels. I can't see why Wendell pardoned them, they are evil for

always and dirty creatures at that."

"Not really!!!" exclaimed Wolf. "It was a Half-Wolf that saved the 9

Kingdoms also."

"Pah!!!! He probably took credit off someone else, or just did

something stupid that ended up being a good thing." Replied the Queen

sourly.

"GRRRR, shows what you know," muttered Wolf.

"EXCUSE ME??? How dare you talk to me like that?!"

"Warren let's not insult the Queen now," Whispered Virginia

nervously, but the drug was taking over his mind. Normally his

immune system would rid the drug from his body quickly, but this drug

was a special drug. Magical kind that had a long effect on a Half-

Wolf.

"I ain't taking this insult from her!!!!" He spat.

"I am sorry your majesty, my escort looks up to the Half-Wolf who

saved the Kingdoms. He doesn't like to hear insults on his hero."

Apologized Virginia.

"Hero my ass!!! I am the wolf who saved the Kingdoms and you better

take back those insults you threw at me."

"Stop it Warren, are you crazy?! What did you do this morning?

You're drunk!!!" cried Virginia as she tried to maintain control of

the situation. "You're majesty, I advise you take him out of here.

I didn't know that he was drunk."

"What are ya talking about my cream puff? I am not drunk."

"Warren this is for the good of the baby, please leave and let me

speak with her majesty."

"I am not leaving you with this Wolf-Hater."

"Guards, restrain him and take him outside." The guards advanced and

Wolf was fighting like there was no tomorrow. Luckily, they put

troll dust on him before he did any damage. Then they found his tail

sticking out and cried out.

"What, Virginia did you know he is a wolf?!" demanded the Queen.

"-sigh- Thanks a lot Wolf. Yes your majesty, he is in fact my

husband and the one who saved the Kingdom. I am sorry for the

deception, but he was sure that you wouldn't help us get back our son

if you knew what he was."

"Well, I guess that you do have a point?quot;

"You see, there is a major problem between your people and the

wolves. The wolves are suffering a bit of a food shortage ever since

your people started hunting in the woods. Then they resorted to

stealing some of the food in the villages. I am pretty sure that

they are doing damage to your people as well. Basically, some of the

wolves still hate your people and some of your people still hat the

wolves. That would leave constant revenge upon one another. The few

wolves that want peace tried to get help from even you, but either

you ignored their pleas or someone intercepted the message. If the

prejudice among your people and Wolf's continue, I fear that a war

would be going on. Now your problems have pulled Wolf and I in. Now

our son is in danger because of this."

Questions Answered

"Oh dear? I do believe that I am at fault here. I have not known

that such problems have arisen. Something is going on in my kingdom,

I have not heard of any events such as this for some time. –sigh?br Even though I detest wolves, I must put my responsibilities as a

Queen in front of my desires. I have grown up ignorant of most

things in my kingdom and so was taught that wolves were bad through

and through. I thought that was true for all wolves, but during the

coronation I doubted it. However, I denied all truth and stuck to my

belief. If you trust wolves or at least more than one, I shall try

to understand them. I fear that someone has been planning something

against me. That is probably why I receive no message from the Half-

Wolfs. I will do best to study and uncover this mystery. Perhaps

you should rally all the peace loving wolves and get them to settle

the other ones down?I shall give you my ring, but I warn you not to

trust that husband of yours. Wolfs tend to be liars for life and he

may have used you this past year. My ring has the ability to compel

one person at a time into obeying what ever the wearer says. The

spell only lasts for an hour or how until you tell them to stop

listening to you, but 1 hour could be enough to force a ruler to do

something terribly bad. It works when you get the person to look at

the gem on it and say their name and what they are to do. Such as

obey your every command and such. Be careful not to let this fall

into the hands of your abductor." Said the Queen.

"Thank you your majesty," with that Virginia took the ring and set it

in her hand and walked away saying goodbye to the Queen.

"Oh, and Virginia there is a flaw to the ring you know, if the one

you try to compel is already under a different spell, that spell will

continue no matter what command you put on the person." The Queen

called to Virginia, but she went out too quickly to hear?br

The guards escorted her and her sleeping mate outside the castle.

She had Byron and his men carry them back to their village. When she

returned Byron had a talk with her.

"So, what happened in there?" he asked.

"Wolf went awol." Virginia replied. "It's not like him to make such

outbursts."

"HAH!! Wolf always went awol here. He was one of the number 1

troublemaker."

"Troublemaker yes, but never insulting. He is just so usually

sincere."

"Well, that's his sneaky mask, he really can be dangerous. Really

unpredictable, like Raq. He is only sincere when he tries to trick

someone."

"Really? Boy, now I feel as if he is a whole new person."

"Virginia, I have to warn you, Xavier is really someone else behind

his mask. If the man you know is the sincere part of him, then I

think you are in constant danger."

"Noooo, he proved me countless times that he loves me."

"You never really know, if he knows everything about you and you

don't know everything about him? Then your relationship with him may

be an illusion."

"Now you've crossed the line Byron, Wolf is my husband for a year and

I truly trust him. I don't know you more than I know Wolf so don't

try to plant lies in my head."

"I understand, just watch out for him.." With that they ended their

conversation.

When Wolf awoke the next day, he found Virginia talking to Byron

about means of transportation to Cinderella's Kingdom inside his hut.

"Well, everything will be packed up in about 5 days." informed Byron.

"5 days!!!!" cried Virginia.

"Yeah, food is scarce and we'll need plenty of food for the journey."

"Fine, so what about transportation?"

"That can easily be taken care of."

"So we could go and buy some horses off of someone in the village

with no problem?" said Virginia.

"No, but I know a short cut that will get us there fast." Suggested

Byron.

"Wow, that would be nice."

Wolf sat up and said, "Boy do I feel ravenous!!!!"

"Oh your awake," said Virginia. "Now tell me one thing."

"What's that my succulent wife?" asked Wolf as he rummaged through

the food storage, he took as much food as he could carry and sat on a

chair eating as fast as he could. He tipped back the chair and

continued to wolf down his food. "Wow, this stuff taste

grrrrrrrrreat!!!"

"Well, it's nothing except that YOU NEARLY BLEW ANY CHANCE OF US

GETTING THE RING AND THEREFORE NEARLY TOOK AWAY ANY CHANCE OF GETTING

OUR SON BACK!!!!!" Virginia screamed and glared at him. Byron

silently left the room, knowing that he shouldn't try to interfere

with the two's argument.

Wolf was so taken aback with Virginia's outburst that he fell off the

chair as he did he whimpered, "ARROOOO." It was similar to what he

cried when Virginia pushed him out the window when they first

met. "Hrrrrmmmm, so?"

"WHAT is wrong with you Wolf? You never acted like this before?br This is serious, our son is in danger and all you have to say for

yourself is "SO". You are usually the best actor when it comes to

people?quot; and especially women thought Virginia, but instead of saying

that she said, "Especially when someone important to us is in

danger!!!"

"Who said anyone that I care about is in danger," Said Wolf

nonchalantly, "Everyone I care about is perfectly safe."

"What?! Our son is in the hands of a crazy lunatic and that is safe?!"

"Oh no, no need to worry about that. I got that covered, even if the

Queen didn't give us the ring." Shrugged Wolf then he scratched his

temple. "Oh stop being such a worry wort."

"You're lucky the Riding Hood Queen was more understanding with the

situation." Growled Virginia in exasperation as she stomped away to

Byron who was sitting outside waiting for the fight to end. "Well,

hurry up with the supplies!!"

Around and Around She Goes, When She'll Stop Nobody Knows

The whole 5 days Virginia and Wolf didn't speak to each other

whatsoever. Wolf was so angry that he practically cleaned out the

food in his hut in 5 days. Virginia was spending the nights with

Sophia and was practically in denial about what happened with Wolf.

Every time they got near each other, they always had a fight. That

was really peculiar because they never before fought about anything

during their marriage. On the day they set off to Byron short cut,

the anger between them simmered down. However, Wolf was still acting

weird, but they weren't fighting anymore.

"Wolf, I'm sorry," apologized Virginia.

"No Virginia, I'm the one who's sorry.."

"No it's my fault for yelling at you. I should have known that you

were worried about Durek too. You were probably just too scared to

think."

"GGGRRR that's not it!!" snapped Wolf, his anger appearing out of

nowhere. Suddenly his attitude changed and he said, "No no you're

right?let's not fight anymore." And he held Virginia close to him.

She pushed him away. "You're not off the hook yet." And walked away.

Wolf looked confused, "What hook?"

They went to a cave leading underground and found a dwarf near the

entrance. The dwarf said, "Halt, this is the mines of the forest

dwarves, who wishes to enter?"

"Hey, Sheldon!! It's me, and I brought some friends with me." Greeted

Byron.

"Oh, welcome Byron, what are you doing here?"

"Well I need to use the mines to make it to Cinderella's Kingdom

fast."

"Oh dear, isn't the full moon going to happen tomorrow? How are you

and your friends going to hunt?"

"Well, since the mines will take us closer to the Kingdom in only a

day, we could hunt in some place safe. Don't worry if something

happens, I packed enough food to sate all our hunger. Sheldon, do

you know any caves in that kingdom?"

"Hmmmmmm, yes let's see. There's one cave, the one that use to

belong to my cousin."

"USE to?"

"He died a long time ago, it's been 50 years. That cave has been

deserted for that long. It was useless to us, my cuz just lived

there so he could be alone. A hermit type of person he was."

"Is that the only one?" Asked Virginia.

"Aye lass, the only cave in that kingdom. Hmmm, you look familiar?br GAAHHH your Virginia, the one who saved the nine---"

"Yeah yeah, we know let's cut to the chase my short friend,"

interrupted Wolf, "We need to get to that place fast."

"Hurrrmmfff, rude fellow isn't he?" said Sheldon.

Wolf looked like he was about to say something back so Virginia

quickly said, "He's not usually like this, really." She then said

with emphasis, " If he has nothing nice to say then he should say

nothing at all."

"Well, follow me." Said Sheldon and he brought them to a

railway. "Get on this cart and it should take you close to where you

want to be. Go straight out to the opening when you get there. From

the mouth of the mines, it should take you about 2 days walk

northwest. 2 hours if you ride there on a horse. This cart will

bring you there in about half a day. I'll have to warn you though

this ride will start out a bit scary but it will get smoother

afterwards. Strap yourselves up and hold on, and please keep your

hands and feet in the cart at all times."

Virginia found that saying familiar, but when she remembered it was

too late to be ready for what was going to happen. The ride to

Cinderella's kingdom was really going to be a rollercoaster ride.

The cart was tumbling down deep into the mines, gaining momentum

every second. When it was traveling 45 miles per hour, Virginia was

already screaming her head off.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!! Why

am I not falling out of this cart yeeetttttt!!!!!" screamed Virginia.

"Don't worry, these mines are dwarf mines so the cart's magic, don't

worry about falling out!!!" replied Byron. "So we'll stay in the

cart, and don't worry about the rushing air. That is stabilizing so

it won't be painful for the rest of the way!!!!"

That didn't really help Virginia calm down, and while she was

screaming wildly, Wolf was having the time of his

life. "WOOOOOHOOOOOOO!!! ARRROOOOOOOOOOOO!!! This is great!!!!"

In about an hour it was running 80 miles per hour, and the ride

became easier for Virginia. "Phew…this is more like riding a car

now, much better."

"What??!!! Are you kidding? This is sooooo boring." Said Wolf.

The Rage

After a long trip in the mines, they finally arrived to their

destination. It was nightfall and they set their camp in the

grassland the mine cave led to. There was a village about 8 hours

away. Since, the moon was going to be up, they had decided to walk 7

hours and stop for the moon cycle. Virginia was exhausted and so she

slept till noon the next day. Byron and Wolf were both filled with

energy and were very excited. They did a 7 hours journey into a 5

hour one, but that was not surprising with all the energy they had.

They finally stopped when the cramps started coming.

"Should I go hide somewhere or do you two think you can control

yourselves?" asked Virginia.

"OWtsssss, no no no no, it's okay I controlled myself for a year

remember." Said Wolf through his pain.

"Yeah, I think as long as I eat something out here, I can control

myself. Besides, hiding would do you no good, we could both easily

sniff you out." Agreed Byron. "I've been able to sate my wolf self,

and I do have the best discipline in the village. If Xavier here

could control himself, so can I. However, I do think I need to rest

for a moment."

"Don't call me that!!! -sigh- that's better, no more cramp.

Virginia, I need to talk to you alone for a while." He and Virginia

went away from Byron.

"So, what is it Wolf?"

"I've been thinking," said Wolf, he had fire in is eyes for a

moment. "Why should we go through all this trouble?"

"Why? He's our son!!!"

"So?"

Wolf's subconscious: "What am I saying????!!! He's my son,

what's going on with me???!!! NOOOOOO DON'T LISTEN TO HIM VIRGINIA

THAT'S NOT MEEEEEEE!!!!!"

"What do you mean so? He is our child and I for one do not want to

lose him without a fight!!!!"

"Well, what if we went through all this for nothing. Raq may have

already killed him and we may put the 9 kingdoms in danger!!!"

"No Raq is a man of his word, Durek is not dead!!!!

"Don't think that!!!"

"Well what if that dumb ring is a dud huh? I can't imagine the Queen

of all wolf haters helping a half wolf cub."

"Cripes!!! Is Virginia buying this

garbage???!!!"

"Well you shouldn't judge people so fast. You of all people know

what that leads to. I can't believe you don't want to go and save

your own son."

"Who cares, there's more where he came from. That is the reason for

mating, Virginia!!! These things happen all the time. It's

survival!!! If Durek doesn't survive so what, we can always have

more children."

"Now he just went too far!!!! Stop this STOP IT

NOW!!!"

"What are you saying Wolf, this isn't like you.!!!!"

"Oh no, this is the real me Virginia. Hahahahahaha," his laugh

sounded so diabolical that Virginia saw him almost as a different

person.

Suddenly Virginia had a flashback of voices: "Wolfs tend to be liars

for life and he may have used you this past year." "He is only

sincere when he tries to trick someone."

"Who are you?!" demanded Virginia.

"I am only Wolf, your mate my succulent grrrrlllll-snarl-." His

change had begun, Virginia saw his eyes turn into slits for a moment

and backed away.

"Wolf, what was the real reason for you being in the prison?"

"Nothing bad, heheheheh." He chuckled. "Just for devouring a few

young girls."

Virginia's eyes were wide with horror as he continued. "They were so

delicious grrrowlll-snarl-. I would always seduce a girl to come

with me alone and after I had fun with her I would devour her. Their

screams were music to my ears-siiiiggghhh-, how I loved to kill.

Then, I found you Virginia, you were the most glllllooorrrrious thing

I have ever seen!!! I planned to eat you as well and be on my way,

but I had a bad case of puppy love. The second one I ever had. I

married you and had the best moments of my life, but I had to give up

killing. Did you know how boring it is to just to stop the killing,

gahhh."

"WHAT!!??? Oh no no nono, he wants to kill you

Virginia!!!! Run run stay away from my body. This isn't me get

AWWAYYYYYYYYY!!!!!

With all his will power, Wolf tried to fight against the spell, but

he had eaten too much of the drug and was powerless.

"Now Virginia, since you want to have a child so badly, why don't we

make one now."

"Wolf, no, this is not the time---"

"We have all the time in the world, and you must take my offer now

because I am growing bored of you." With that he gave her a glare

that told her that he wasn't lying.

"No, you can't be my husband? He wouldn't act like this!!! Who are

you and why are you trying to pass as Wolf??!!!"

"No, no my darling I am the real thing. This is Wolf's mouth

talking?hahahahah."

"NOT ME NOT ME NOT MEEEEEE!!!!

"OH Virginia, if you don't want to do this with me now, I'll just

have to force you. Then kill you as I was about to when we first

met." He let out a howl and his body bulged. Virginia saw pure

savageness in his eyes and tried to get away. He only

laughed, "Virginia, you are only delaying the inevitable!!!"

Virginia ran and ran with Wolf close behind her. She darted toward a

river close by, hoping to escape somehow. However, the current was

too strong to pass through and she was cornered.

"ARRROOOO, hahahaha my creamy dreampuff, did you actually think you

would get away?" he grabbed her and held her close to him. Virginia

struggled against him, but even without his moon cycle, he was too

strong. Tears fell from her eyes and she did the only thing she

could think of, screaming her lungs out. All reason left her mind as

she panicked, her instinct kicked in. She scratched, kicked and bit

him with all her might. This caught Wolf off guard, this was the

moment where Wolf's subconscious cheered for Virginia. Virginia took

her chance and broke free from his grasp. "Hahahahah, oh Virginia,

you crack me up. For a second there I was surprised, but there's no

where to run. Just give up, your fate is sealed. I will give you

only your last breath of life before your death."

Virginia and the real Wolf were in despair, but just then, Byron came

out of nowhere and tackled Wolf. Wolf's head hit a rock and was

knocked out.

"Uuuggghhhh, I told you this would happen." Said Byron, but Virginia

was too sad to reply, she cried her heart out. When she was done he

said, "We better go before he wakes up." Virginia silently agreed and

they packed up their camp and left Wolf lying where he was. An hour

after they left someone found him.

Realization

Wolf woke up with a tremendous headache. He sat up to find himself

near the river where he had tried to kill Virginia, then in

realization he howled in regression. He had expected to see her

lifeless body near him, but instead he found himself sitting on a

bed. He was quite perplexed and looked at his new surroundings.

There was a table next to the bed that had bottles of herbs and

potions on top of it. There was a shelf filled with books and the

walls had a light purple color. Wolf sneezed; there was a musty

smell in the air. Then, a women came into the room saying, "You're

finally awake." She was a young woman with fire-red hair, green eyes

and tanned skin. She was wearing a dark purple

robe with a black cloak. Even without her scent, Wolf knew what she

was. She was in fact a witch, but Wolf could not tell if she was a

white one or a black one. The musty smell blocked most of her

distinct scent.

The witch smiled, "I know what you're thinking, I am a good witch. I

practice both white and black magic." Then she sat down and started

mixing up the herbs.

"Owwww...what happen? Where am I?" Wolf said as he rubbed his

head and then realization struck his face. "Oh my god!!!!! What have

I done??!! Where is she? Where's my Virginia!!!!????"

The witch gave no heed of his abruptness putting the finishing

touches to her potion and said, "I saw no other body when I found you

wolf. Here, drink this potion, it'll help the headache pass." She

handed him a cup filled with the herbs she mixed together. It had a

greenish black mucky color that reminded Wolf of mashed up deer

droppings and it smelled as bad as it looked. The rancid odor made

Wolf want to hurl, it smelled of manure, barf, and B.O. all mixed

together. He gave the witch a disgusted look. "I know what you're

thinking, I am not trying to kill you. This stuff may look and smell

bad, but that helps keeps the thieves away. Try it, you'll find the

taste so much better."

Wolf was still relunctant, but his headache made it impossible for

him to think straight. So, he pinched his nose and gulped as much of

the fluid as he could. To his suprise, the potion tasted like sweet

strawberries instead of something that should taste terrible. When

he finished, he felt much better.

The witch smiled and then gave a stern look, "Now that that's

finished, let me introduce myself. I am Helen and I am a very

secretive witch who is not known by many people. I don't usually

help anyone, but you had a very powerful spell cast upon you. And

you must be Wolf, since Virginia was with you."

"Yeah, so what spell was on me?" asked Wolf, he scratched his temple

and gave her a serious look.

"It is a spell that can only be cast when the shasoor mushroom is

eaten. It causes people to act insane and totally opposite of who

they usually are. It starts out harmlessly, but grows worse after a

week. It lasts a month, but I dispelled it for you sooner because

you may have tried to do some harm to a friend of mine in the area."

"OHHHH," Wolf clutched his hair and howled in tears, "So it made me

hurt Virginia! Wait wait wait... I didn't eat any mushrooms. How

is it possible for me to go INSANE like that?"

"Are you a moron? Haven't you ever heard of people drugging your

food? The mushroom is practically odorless and tasteless; it has a

very known ability to change its scent and taste when in contact with

ordinary food. Let's also not forget that it can make one really

hungry after a bite of it, making it more possible for one to get

crazy. Someone must have grind them to dust and put them in your

food."

"Arooo...You're right, I did feel REALLY hungry after I took a

bite out of a piece of bread back at my old hut." He tilted his head

and then his eyes went wide. "But what about my wife?! I remember

what happened, but no matter how hard I tried I couldn't stop myself

from hurting her. I must have tramatized her, and now she will never

trust me again!!!"

"You really are slow aren't you," said Helen with a matter-of-fact

look.

He gave a smug look and said, "Shut up!!!! I ain't an oracle you

know!!!"

She laughed amusingly and said, "You really do have an interesting

life, I'll help you out for now. I need to get out of this house,

and go have some excitement. You can repay me that way."

CRAZYNESS

Byron and Virginia ran all the way to the village, knowing that if

they don't find shelter soon?Wolf would get them. They found an inn

and stayed there, Virginia was so sad and confused. Byron tried to

consol her, but she was too distraught to talk. His faced did show

concern, but it did not matter to Virginia. Her heart felt as though

it was ripped from her body and shredded to pieces. Deep inside her

chest she felt a very dark pressure that made her feel as if her

insides turned to jelly. The sadness overwhelmed her and destroyed

everything she believed in. Her faced showed deep anguish and

despair, for her love had betrayed her once more. However, this

time, she believed that he meant it. Her world crumbled and her life

was forevermore destroyed. That night she cried herself to sleep,

and Byron left her alone. They stayed in the in for 3 days, and

during that time, Virginia did little outside of the room.

Meanwhile in the darkest alley nearby?the group who started the

whole plot were meeting with their leader after spying on Virginia.

They just finished after killing spree under the moon cycle

yesterday, and are still covered in blood after hunting that night

for rabbits. After finishing their moon cycle they were very

precautious about what to eat that day.

keep in mind that these are shadowy figures.

"Boss your plan really did it, hahahaha," cackled Wolf number 1. "You

got them eating out of your hands."

"Yes, what would you expect from a genius like I?" replied the

leader. "It is very amusing for me to break the hearts of lovers.

The ring will soon be in my hands and my power would be complete."

"Yeah –slurp-," said number 2 as it licked its fingers, "Say boss,

how come you never go a huntin' wit us?"

"Me!!!! Hunt with you? HA!!!" looking sarcastically, "I do not waste

my time with the plan on the line. I must make sure the little brat

is not making too much trouble, I have no time to hunt."

"But sir, how'd you cope with the moon hunger?" said number 3

stupidly, "Duh, it's hard to control the hunger. Specially me."

The leader's pupils turned to slits. "Are you comparing myself to

you?"

"No sir, justa pointin' out a point." He said after a flinching.

"I am a very powerful person, and don't you think I should be able to

control my hunger better than you? Besides, I've already fed."

"You look pale?Nobody ever did control the unger, not even the

strongst---."

The leader lashed out and killed the wolf with his bare hands. He

just grabbed number 3's throat and crushed its windpipe. Calmly the

leader said, "Such a shame, I needed as many men to follow me.

However, I have no need for those who wish to question me."

"-Gulp- S-s-sir," stammered 2. "You have no worries about the rest of

us, we ain't as stupid as he was. J-just sy the word and we're with

you all the way."

"Good, make sure you find dear Xavier. I wish for him to arrive at

the front of the cave at the exact time." The leader walked away, he

stopped after a few paces. "Oh and do make sure to dispose of poor

Yura's body. It would be a shame if someone we know were to find

this body, they would become suspicious and interfere with the plan."

Number 2 and 3 looked sadly upon their fallen companion and the

leader suddenly turned around. "On second thought, I will take his

body and dispose of it myself." He took the body and quickly

vanished without a trace." After walking for a while, they found

Yura's body in a ditch, looking like a raisin. They buried his body

and quickly searched for Wolf, too afraid to wonder what the leader

had done to their friend's body.

The leader went into Virginia's room and drugged her with something

and left.

Change

Virginia woke up in the morning, her eyes still red from tears last

night. Byron entered the room with a smile and breakfast. He

brought ham and eggs along with porridge. Seeing her condition not

much better he sighed.

"You should eat now Virginia. I know you're very sad right now, but

it won't do the cub any good if you just sit around and mope. You

have to eat to gain your strength so we can rescue him." Said Byron

with reason.

"Yes, I am so over him. My baby is in danger and I have not anything

else to lose. Give me that," and she grabbed the food and wolfed it

down.

"Virginia, you have my word. I shall let no harm come upon you or

your son."

"Sure?quot; was all she could say, her eyes seemed distant and cold. "It

doesn't matter?quot;

"I do believe that what Xavier did was treacherous, but don't close

your heart to those who wish to help you. Not everyone is like him,

there are good people in this world. If you do not trust people from

time to time, you will become something like your dear husband. He

closed his heart when his parents died and look what happened to

him. He became a cold-blooded killer because he lost something in

his heart. He never let love enter his life because of his fear of

it destroying him twice. I've let my best friend become a monster, I

have no wish for you to become like him. You are stronger than that."

For a moment she pondered about what he said, and her face showed

determination. "Well your right. Wolf may have destroyed my heart for

the second time, but I can't let some no good cheat destroy me. What

matters right now isn't about him or me, but about Durek."

"Now your talking. Let's be off now, we need to gather some more

provisions to get to the cave that dwarf told us about."

Virginia smiled for the first time after what it felt like was

eternity and thought?Maybe there is a guy out there for me that

would always be there for me. Maybe he's right here? NO! DON'T

THINK THAT!!! After what's happened how could I be thinking like

this?!

Virginia went out to the marketplace by herself, Byron was off

getting some horses. She was walking around looking for something to

buy for food when an old lady said, "Hello, you look terrible, you

need one of my special pies." The old lady looked like a gypsy, but

she had deep blue eyes that looked as though she knew everything.

"What kind of pie?" asked Virginia.

"Oh my blueberry pies are the best in all the 9 Kingdoms. It's so

good that it cheers up almost anyone who eats it, but sometimes my

pies aren't enough for those who have lost too much?quot; after that said

the old women had a far-away look of sadness, "It hurts to see those

kind of people, especially for special people like me."

"Why is that?"

"You see I am psychic, these things hurt me a lot because I can sense

them as if they are my own. I know who you are and what you have

just been through. I am sorry for your loss, but I do sense him

coming near-"

"Wolf!!!!!???? He's here?!!! I'm sorry, but I d-d-don't-"

"Do not fear child –sigh-, you must learn for yourself. My advice is

if you survive this ordeal in the correct path, you shall become very

strong. Also, take these things you will find them very useful."

She gave Virginia a pie, a vile of some kind of potion, and a

dagger. "Use this potion when you feel close to death, and use this

dagger upon someone who comes that close to taking your life. Also

eat the pie, it'll do you some good."

Virginia gave her a grateful look and quickly went off to buy the

food as fast as she could.

Where Is She?

"So, Wolfie. Where'll we go first?" inquired Helen. "No wait, don't

tell me you're gonna go look for your lover huh." Wolf nodded and she

sighed. "I thought so. I guess after what happened two nights ago

she'd probably mopin' somewhere in a town near here. Well, let me go

an' see what's goin' on with her right now." She took a cauldron

from the shelf and mixed some potions together. "There now we can see

if yur wife's safe or not."

Wolf scratched his temple and gave a worried look. "I hope she's

okay. Hey, don't you have to site an incantation?"

"No, we witches only do that to spook the normal folk. It makes us

look more powerful, but in some cases incantations are important

too. Only, the most evil ones do them cuz it makes them feel

powerful, just like when normal folk yell when they fight each other,

gives em more confidence. However, we could cast magic as long as

we concentrate hard enough." Wolf gave her a skeptical look. "What?!

It's true."

"Yeah so what I learned in school was a lie. Saying spells is a very

important part of casting them as I was told."

Helen rolled her eyes and said, "Jeez, they only say that because

they can't believe in people using their minds to do things. Think

it's impossible to do anything unless you see or hear them do it.

Just like it's impossible to lift a book from a table by just looking

at it, or read someone's mind."

Wolf frowned thoughtfully, "I read that somewhere, I think that's

called psycho-something. Well?I still don't think that you?quot;

"OKAY okay already: Cauldron cauldron swirl around/ cauldron cauldron

make no sound/ show us this wolf's wife/ She if she still has her

life. There, feel better." Wolf grinned.

Inside the cauldron, they saw Virginia crying. Wolf looked away

stricken by guilt and grief. He looked again to see Byron come in

and comfort her. For a moment Wolf was relieve, remembering how

Byron saved her from danger. Then that relieve turned into anger

when he saw Byron looking at her in a wrong way and then looked

straight at them. He snarled and punched the swirling liquid, and

thus the picture vanished. His blow tipped the cauldron and made it

fall into the ground spilling the contents inside it..

"Oh yeah, get angry at the cauldron. I hope you didn't break the

cauldron, it really is one of a kind." Said Helen.

"HUUFFF PUFFFF!!!! How dare he?!?!?! How dare he look at her like

that." Wolf's body bulged and he had that wild look in his eyes.

Helen threw some powder on his face and he calmed down. "What the

cripes was that?"

"Oh just something to keep your temper down. Anyways you shouldn't

worry too much about him looking at her like that. You should be

worried about why he's looking at us when he was looking at her."

"Who cares!!! No man is allowed to look at my mate that way EVER!!!!

Especially when I am watching! THIS IS IN' S I AIN'T GONNA

LET THIS S WALK BY!!!" Wolf's moon rage took over and his eyes

glint of craziness. His body bulged in size as if he had taken

steroids.

"Hmmmmm, you need a lot more of this." Helen lifted a bag of powder

and dumped it on his head. "Feel better?"

Wolf returned to his normal stature and his eyes returned to normal.

He puffed out some of the white powder in his mouth. He then wiped

out the powder from his eyelids and said, " Ok THAT is reeeaaalllyyy

getting annoying. I don't want to look like some wannabe ghost okay."

"Well it's the only thing I can do when you go berserk. I really

hate it when your kind has that moon madness. It really can be a

bother."

"Well it's life and what the heck is this stuff." Wolf wiped off the

rest of the powder on his blanket.

"I already said what it is, and frankly I do not wish to reveal its

name for it is beyond the comprehension of the mind of a hot-headed

half-wolf." Said Helen coldly. "You shouldn't have rubbed the powder

on that blanket."

"Why is it unsafe?"

"Because it will make all your hair fall out."

Wolf threw the blanket from his hands with a fearful look in his

eyes.

"Hahahaha, no it just makes the blanket a little chilly for a while."

"Anyway, so do you think Byron actually saw us."

"By the way he was looking at us, yes."

"But how, wolfs don't sense things like that."

"Precisely, I am thinking he is a much more powerful creature. I

sense no soul in his body, he is not of this world. Could it be that

he came from the land of the dead. Or is he a wizard who sold his

soul to the devil for power."

"No he ain't no wizard or a zombie. Even they can't grow their own

tails and have all the wolf abilities."

"Then we must hurry to that cave to get your son."

"What about Virginia?"

"I am thinking she will not listen to you and that if Byron is not as

trustworthy as he seems, then we will at some point see who he really

is. Besides, your wife will be there too."

Wolf nodded in agreement and they left for the days journey ahead.

His True Self

Virginia had arrive at the cave where she expected to find her son.

"Hello!!!! I am here for my son now RAQ!!!" cried Virginia. She saw

nothing under the pitch blackness of the cave and heard only her echo.

"We should go further into the cave." Suggested Byron.

They lit a torched and followed the tunnel deep until they entered a

cavern. There she saw a pack of wolves and her son inside a cage.

What also surprised her was that Raq was tied inside the cage as

well. She saw that his eyes were blank and deduced that he was

heavily drugged.

"What?!" gasped Virginia.

"I am so sorry oh grrreat one," sneered a wolf.

"Yeah you didn't expected something like this to happen huh?" said

another.

"Haw haw yeah we worked hard on this un' , it took us a while to get

this guy here." Said the third one.

"If Raq wasn't behind this then who was?" asked Virginia.

"Well, I do believe that it is your friend here," said a very

sophisticated female voice.

Virginia turned around and saw Helen and Wolf standing "heroically"

before the entrance to the cavern. She saw that Wolf was covered in

white powder. She also saw tear streaks and knew that this man was

not the same one that had tried to hurt her. However, she could not

dare to hope that this man was the one she had truly loved. The

wolves had meant to attack the intruders, but something held them

back into silence.

"What do you mean? Who are you?" asked Virginia so confused.

"Name's Helen, the witch of this land. Both black and white. And you

sir," she pointed at Byron. "have an explanation for all of us."

"Whatever do you mean?" he replied innocently. "I am here to help a

lady reunite with her son."

"Cut the c Byron we know you ain't wolf, human, nor alive." Cried

Wolf accusingly.

"My my, you lot have a certainly wild imagination."

"Nope, I sense no soul in your body and no soul means no life." Said

Helen.

"-sigh- Well it does seem that way, what do you think Virginia? Am I

dead?"

"I don't think so?quot;:She was already so confused that she collapsed

and was in shock.

"Yes, I admit it, I am not alive, but neither am I dead. I am

immortal and perfect." Byron's voice had changed into something deep

and dark with malice. As he talked, Wolf could not believe the

change in Byron's features. Byron's tail shrunk, his skin became

pale white, his eyes and lips were scarlet, his body became taller

and slender, his canines became sharp long fangs, his hair turned

sleek black, his nails grew sharp, and his clothes shifted into a

dark cloak. His changes even surprised the wolf pack in the cave.

"W-w-what is he?" Said the 2nd wolf as the rest of the pack murmured

fearfully.

"I am the last of the most supreme race in the universe." Byron

turned to the pack and said. "I am still your leader. Continue to

obey me and live. The rules remain the same."

"so that's why he never hunts with us, he's God himself." Whispered a

wolf.

"You may see me as that." Byron turned back to Wolf, Helen, and

Virginia. "So, I am a vampire."

"Now that explains a lot." Said Helen.

"I guess you are wondering how I got here. Well It started about 500

years ago?quot;

My kind were suffering greatly because of the technological advances

of humans. They were able to overwhelm us with their weapons. I saw

them kill many clans and at some point during the war between our

races, mine had been the last. They wiped us out with their guns and

I was the only one to escape the battle wounded at my side. I found

a gate to this world, yes I was from the same world as your human

wife, and healed. I was thrilled to find this world in an

everlasting age, where humans still had magic and did not create

chaotic weapons. I was strong here, but I spent the last years

plotting a way to take this world. I was patient and had all the

prey I ever wanted in the palm of my hand. So I watched your kind

Xavier and found my plan after a long time and killed the boy whom

you knew as Byron. He screamed so deliciously and himself so tastey

hahdahahah.-wolf was with fury, but each time he had a tantrum Helen

threw her powder at his face telling him to wait until "Byron" was

done- I took his place and lived in the village and when your

parents found me feeding, I had to have them disposed. I took place

as the Pack's leader and gathered up all the outcasts and bided my

time. I began to grow bored and knew I was missing something in my

plan.- If only you were awake from your shock Virginia then you would

know why I took a liking to you- I needed a mate of my own. The

wolfs in the village did not suit me, it would be like marrying a

werewolf. That was preposterous and then I heard of the heroic

Virginia and knew she was for me. So I created the problems and I

was the one who played wolf in Little Red Riding Hood. It was I who

made the half wolfs hated. And I shall take what I want starting with

Virginia. And kill you and your witch. I had drugged you into nearly

killing Virginia and I gave Virginia a little dose of a love potion.

Soon SHE will be MY wife and I shall rule these kingdoms as Coya the

Supreme Emperor.

"Too bad you babbled too much." Said Helen and shot a dart from a

blowstick.

Coya had caught the dart and let it fall to the ground by Virginia. "

I am a 1789 year old vampire, I know much about any weapon especially

a dart and can protect myself from anyone except guns." He shuddered

at the word.

Helen scowled. "Well, that was not a dart?but more of a compressed

stake." The dart expanded into a silver stake and Coya had only

laughed.

Wolf lunged for the vampire releasing all the suppressed anger stored

by the powder. However, he was no match for the vampire especially

with the help of a pack. The half wolves held him and Helen.

"Well this is the end for you." Chuckled Coya. " I win and will soon

make Virginia mine. Oh and don't bother to use your magic here

because this cavern has wards all over, and the only way to release

them is if you kill me."

Helen cursed, "Darn!! I should have thought of that!!! This is the

first time I was gonna be able to use my magic besides for school."

Wolf was surprised.. "What??!!! You mean you ain't a full fledged

witch?!"

"Ha!! I am!! Just finished school last month?"

"Oh great!!!" Wolf struggled against his holders but could not break

free.

Coya trotted to the cage and patted the drugged baby. "Well Xavier,

you shall witness the death of your child in my hands hahahah and

before you do, I shall take your wife and make her like me." He

crouched toward Virginia's body and took her head and gently tilted

it, exposing her neck. As he reached to put his lips on her neck,

she broke from her shock and felt his cold lips touch her skin. He

sucked the wet blood flowing from her neck, and she felt her life

slowly escaping her body. She grew weaker by the second and felt in

a trance. However, she saw her son and knew that if she did not do

anything all would be lost, including Durek. She used the last of

her strength to take the dagger given to her by the old lady and

plunged it into Coya's heart. Coya could not stop this from

happening because when vampires feed, they never expect to have their

victim harming them. This is because usually the victims stay in

their trance, but Virginia was very special because she was among the

very few who could break through the trance. Coya had let down his

guard at this moment and it led to his downfall. As the dagger stuck

to his heart he started to burn up and the last thought he had was,

how was it possible for Virginia to break the trance, and he blew

up. The wards burned up as well and the wolfs had gone into panic.

Helen quickly transported all their stuff, Virginia, Wolf, herself,

Durek, and Raq to her cot just before the cave blew up.

Finished?

Virginia was dying, Coya had taken enough blood and as he was about

to give her the transfusion, she killed him. Now she had no more

strength and was at moments until death enveloped her body. Wolf lay

by the bed crying his eyes out. Helen showed no emotion as she

helped take the drug off Durek and Raq. When they came to seeing

Virginia dying silenced them. Durek weakly mewed sadly and Raq

covered his face.

"It's all my fault?quot; blamed Raq. "If only I had not been caught, then

nothing would have happened."

Wolf snuffed and said, "No, there was nothing you could have done. I

should have known better than to let Byron—I mean Coya join us?quot;

"Ain't none of your fault," said Helen sternly. "Coya planned this

for centuries, this could not have been avoided."

Just then Virginia started to whisper something, "Potion?the

potion?uhhh."

"HELEN!!! Quick she wants a potion, make something quick!" pleaded

Wolf.

"I can't, I don't know what she wants and that was probably the last

of the strength she has!!!"

"Oh no, Virginia I can't lose you again?no?quot; Wolf started to sob

again and he held her hand. It felt so cold.

"Huff puff," said Durek as he held something in his hand. Wolf

looked up and saw Durek by Virginia's pouch holding a vile.

"What? It's a-it's a-a-a-a-a potion!!!!!! This must be the potion she

was asking!!!" Howled Wolf joyfully. He took the vile and poured its

contents down Virginia's mouth\

"Hey!!! You can't just use a potion if you don't know what it is!!!

What if it's poison!!!" cried Raq.

"Well, if poison or not she would have died either way, and by the

looks of it that potion is working," said Helen triumphantly.

Virginia's color returned to her skin and she gained more strength.

She opened her eyes and sat up as if she never encountered the

vampire. She then said, "OH DUREK!!! You said your first word!!"

"Oh sure?quot; Wolf rolled his eyes and scratched his temple. "That's the

first thing you say after you nearly die." He hugged her and kissed

her.

Epilogue

It was discovered that Virginia had a magic in her just as her mother

did. That was what enabled her to break free from Coya's trance.

Raq had been a loner when he lost his best friend Wolf and became an

outcast. Helen offered to train Virginia of her hidden magic, but

Wolf said that he would rather have an experienced witch do that.

Virginia decided not to explore her witch side and continue to live

her life as a wife and mother. Wolf returned to the village and was

voted to be the alpha. However, he turned it down and gave the

leadership to Raq. Since it came from a very well-known hero, Raq

was excepted by most of the pack. Helen lived the rest of her life

as the most powerful witch in the 2nd kingdom and met a charming

young warlock. Virginia, Wolf, and Durek returned home to New York

and lived happily ever after. At least for Durek, because Virginia

and Wolf still needed to face PARENTHOOD.