I have no claim to the Dark-Hunter Series, all characters except for the main heroine and her family are credited to the brilliance of Sherrilyn Kenyon.

Prologue 15th century England, Essex.

He crouched low in the undergrowth until they passed, a pack of Katagaria tressa intent on finding themselves an Arcadian. Not that he was, even he wasn't truly sure what he was. Still he wasn't certain if the Arcadian scent had left him yet, until he was sure he would spend his time alone, in total isolation. There was no one he could trust, his own litter mate and brother had turned him over to his mother and then his mother had tried to run him through.

How had it happened? How had he been born Arcadian, raised to hate their Katagaria cousins then on the day he hit puberty, bam he was Katagaria. Was that truly possible? Couldn't they have made a mistake? No, the fates didn't make mistakes, they just sat up there on their mountain and took pot shots at everyone on earth, with a sling shot full of misery stones.

Fury knew there was no mistake, when he slept or when he was hurt he reverted to his base form, his wolf form. That was a true Katagaria. Fury shifted to human form and stood up, moving deeper into the shadows so he would not run into the tressa. The coolness of the weather was typical to England in mid-May and Fury shivered, his skin breaking out in goose bumps, he was naked from changing forms and he concentrated hard trying to manifest clothes on to his body. His magic was wild and untamed, it hadn't been cultivated and refined by a teacher the way his brother and sister's magic would be by their mother. Instead Fury had been left to teach himself through trial and serious error and still he was having trouble with it.

The clothes appeared alright but not in the exact order he wanted. His shirt hung off one arm while his doublet appeared around his ankles and his hose over his shoulder, Fury cringed with embarrassment even though there was no one around.

"Life cannot be any worse then this," he muttered to himself straightening his clothes, he wasn't even sure why he bothered; he was Katagaria now, he had no business dressing and acting like a human. Yet it scared him to think of himself turning feral, being lost to his animal side or succumbing to the Trelousa that usually took hold of young Weres reaching puberty.

He began walking aimlessly, his life was worthless at the moment, the only thing he thought of when he woke up was hiding and surviving. His natural instinct was to find a pack, more and more his mind wondered about his Katagaria side of himself, his father's side and the three cubs his mother had left behind, when she had run from him. His mother had been an Arcadian sentinel out on her first hunt when his father's pack had captured her and raped her. Unfortunately for everyone involved his father found he was mated to her. He kept her for the three weeks trying to beat his mother into submission and to mate with him. But the curse of the fates meant that no woman could be forced to mate and after the three weeks was up, his father was left impotent for as long as his mate was alive.

Another unfortunate mistake in all of this was his mother finding out she was pregnant with him and his siblings. She escaped and ran with the three human babies and left the cubs behind but not before, so she told him castrating their father. Fury visibly cringed at the memory of her face as she retold the story to Dare and he, he was never certain if she meant castrated in the literal sense but considering that she tried to kill her own son he wouldn't put it past her.

He stopped just behind low hanging branches of a willow tree and looked through them towards an unknown, secluded crystal lake. It was peaceful and silent there, and so serene and Fury noted to his chagrin, occupied. The tiny ledge of the mini water fall was where he liked to sit and wile away the day when there was nothing else to do, but his space was taken, by a female wolf no less. Not Katagaria or Acadian but a natural honest to god wolf. Fury made a snorting nose of irritation that sounded like hurrrmppff.

The she- wolf was laying flat on the rock with her paw playfully swatting at the water, Fury smiled at her innocence, if only she knew what it was like to be a were-hunter, would she be so relaxed. Did she really know what it was like to be ever vigilant and on your guard, forever hunted by things that hated you for reasons that weren't your fault. Fury undressed quickly and shifted into his wolf form, now it was his base form he found it to be incredibly easy to change. He burst through the trees and to the edge of the lake and barked joyfully at her, he had meant it to be a warning to get off his rock but it didn't come out that way. He had been alone so many weeks, his voice rusty from lack of use; the she-wolf sprang to her feet, he expected her to have a split second of weariness or perhaps a snarl of attack. Fury was shocked when the joy in his bark was echoed by her own and she bounded down the rock and around the bank to meet him, stopping a few feet from him, her front paw gingerly held in mid air not sure whether to step forward or back.

Her coat was glossy and thick and a few shades darker then his sandy white fur, Fury moved forward and let her catch his scent, he waited with bated breath and hoped that the twang that his supernatural powers gave his scent did not force her to run.

All wanted was some company, some one to look at other then his own reflection. The she-wolf cocked her head then went down on her front paws and her butt went into the air, she wiggled it and it was a sign she wanted to play; if he had been in human form Fury would have been grinning from ear to ear. He had avoided contact with every species, and especially wolf males who would think him a threat to their status within their pack.

Not that he could do anything, Fury was only seventeen, he had one through puberty the exact same time as a human child or perhaps a bit later and he was still a child in the were-hunter world. He would not be considered anything more then a pup until he was at least a century old. And as a child Fury loved to play fight or tag, he mirrored the she-wolf's movement and leapt. They rolled around on the ground and gave gentle bites and nips that produced yelps that would have been laughter in human form and growls that were more like fun curses.

All of a sudden the she-wolf who Fury had pinned to the ground froze and wriggled out from his hold, she stood alert looking east and Fury's heart began to pound. She streaked towards an opening in the trees when a musical voice was echoing through the forest.

"Chrissy!"

The she-wolf growled irritably and began to trot towards the voice. Did she have a master? No wonder she was on her own and not with a pack. She was probably housetrained or something! Fury wrinkled his nose in disgust but trotted after her, she was about to disappear when he barked and she looked back.

Don't leave me, Fury sent her the mental message accidentally not realising it was within his power to do so. The wolf looked indecisive and they both cringed when the pretty voice of a child sounded closer calling her name, the wolf made a movement that looked like a sigh and trotted back to him. She licked his muzzle and lifted her front paw, Fury bent his head sadly and licked her paw, she nipped his neck playfully, innocently and although they had just met in their child like minds, they felt they had been robbed of a deep friendship that didn't have a chance to grow.

"Chrissy!"

Be strong, my wolf-boy.

Fury yelped and backed away from her when he heard a voice of a girl in his mind, she looked at him sadly and ran of into the dense undergrowth. Fury was shocked and sad by her abrupt departure, he plopped his bottom down, sitting on his tail and his threw his head back and for the first time since he had become a wolf he let out a pure wolfish, bestial howl. Long and mournful and full of pain ….

2008, New Orleans.

Fury jerked awake with a yelp and looked around, the majority of his pack were still sleeping; only a few raised sleepy heads to watch their alpha get up and walk down towards the lake they were denning near. They saw him dip his head into the lake and shake off the water along with the lingering tendrils of a dream or was it a memory?

Trelousa - is a rabies like virus that hits young were-hunters of both species around the time of puberty, its largely because they cannot control their sudden surge of hormones combined with magic.

Tressa - are a group of Katagaria assassins