A New Wolf

Chapter One

I walk down the street, my head hung low and my hands in my shirt pockets. For some stupid reason, I look up and see him: the white wolf. I breathe in. He looks just like me in his wolf form. Except now, he's in his human form. In his human form, he's wearing a green jacket with a white T-shirt under it.

He's also wearing jeans and tennis shoes. His hair is black. His eyes are a pretty blue color. "Hey," he greets casually. "Uh, hi," I say. "What brings you to this side of town?" he counters, gazing at me tensly. "Ah, I live here, buddy," I tell him. "I'm Kiba," he says then. "Cool name. That means 'Fang', doesn't it?" I ask. "Yeah," Kiba answers. "Well, I'm Destiny." I smile, and he does too. God, he's cute. I might be falling for this guy. I shake myself.

"Want to come with me?" Kiba asks as we start to walk together. "To where, exactly?" I narrow my eyes. "Paradise." He has a dreamy expression on his face, the kind girls at school get whenever some hot guy is staring at them. "Paradise?" I'm shocked. That's a fairytale, isn't it? I've been told that Paradise is fake. He seems to read my mind.

"It's real," he insists, looking at me. "How do you know?" I growl. "I just know. There's something screaming inside of me, it's telling me to find it." His voice is quiet when he says this. "Well, let's go then!" I declare. Kiba grins. "Alright!" We start walking again.

"So where do you live?" Kiba asks. "In an apartment on the avenue," I answer. "We can stay there the night," Kiba decides. "Where does all this confidence come from?" I joke, and he shrugs. "I don't know, really." He's silent as we step into my apartment building. We walk up the stairs. I unlock my door. "Luckily, there's a spare bedroom in the apartment," I tell him. "You can sleep there tonight."

"Thanks." We sit down on the couch. "So, you're a wolf, huh?" I tilt my head, curious about him. Kiba seems surprised. "How did you know?" He looks at me. I laugh. "Kiba, hon, I can see right through that disguise of yours." I elbow him playfully.

"You know, I'm a wolf too." I smile. Kiba breathes a sigh of relief. "Okay," he agrees. "So that's how you knew. Humans can't see through my disguise, but I bet you they suspect that I'm a wolf." I nod. "Same with me," I say.

"I hear people talking about us all the time," Kiba continues. "Why do they think we're so evil, anyway?"

"I don't know," I mutter. "The Book of the Moon," Kiba whispers. "It says that all humans are made from wolves. How can that be true?" He shakes his head in awe.

"The Book of the Moon?" I repeat. "Isn't that supposed to be, like, black magic or something?" He laughs softly. "No, I don't think so. It just has a bunch of prophecies and stuff in it." I sigh. "Hmm." I don't normally believe in prophecies or anything like that. Yeah, I'm a skeptic.

But Kiba seems so serious when he talks about this crap. Maybe it's real? I don't know, I'll have to decide for myself. "I'm looking for my pack," Kiba speaks up suddenly. "You have a pack?" I stare at him.

"Yes," Kiba replies. "We got seperated when the earth renewed itself. I don't know if they remember our journey to Paradise, but we pass each other on the street every now and then. I see them, and I sure as hell remember them."

I take some time for this information to sink in. "Interesting," I say finally. "You could say that again." Kiba leans against the sofa. "Interesting," I repeat, and Kiba and I laugh. "Man, this is nuts," I muse. "I've lived my whole life not believing in 'Paradise'. How am I supposed to believe now?"

Kiba shrugs. "It'll take some time." I feel so calm, so peaceful, around Kiba. Maybe because he's always so calm himself. He always seems to be so certain about everything. I like that. "So what's happened to you lately?" I look at Kiba, wanting to know more about him. "Not much. Just..." He drifts off. "Come on," I coax. "There's something wrong, I know."

Kiba smirks. "Yeah." I punch him playfully. "Well, my family was slaughtered by Jagaura's troops," he begins. "Then there was the fire. It ruined everything. The ground was burned, the trees were, too. I knew there was only one place for me: Paradise."

I blink. "Are you okay?" I ask, looking at him. "Yes, I'm fine, now." He looks away. We're silent for awhile. I can hear rain tap-tapping on the tin roof. "We should get some sleep," Kiba suggests. "Yeah," I agree. "Goodnight." Kiba stands, and so do I. "Night," I mumble, and walk to my bedroom. I lay down feeling happier than before. I've finally got someone who'll look out for me. Kiba seems like a loyal, good friend. And so am I. I will have someone to look out for, too. I smile and drift off into a deep, dreamless sleep.