Author's Notes: Alright, this is my very first shot at a long-term fanfiction project, and I'm actually very excited about it. Enjoy.

Moon's Emerald
Chapter 1; This Is Me

Written by AkemiFOX

"I tell you now, the words of red moon... From the great spirit was born the wolf, and man became its messenger..."

It has been three years since the last failed attempt to open paradise. The world froze over beneath the full, blood red moon that night; the night when the chosen wolf and his comrades perished at the hands of time. But all was not lost.

The wolves were reborn, and for the three years in which they were living among the humans, continuing to deceive them, deep within a scientific laboratory, I was being created.

From the very lunar flower that had previously united the wolves; Kiba, Hige, Tsume, and Toboe. It makes me wonder if the past will repeat itself after all.

A never ending cycle in order to open paradise. The Book of the Moon reads, "Future to past, present to future, and past to the end of time... The wolves will continue to search."

Until they successfully reclaim their world, the wolves can never give up.

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I could feel water surrounding me. My lush, blonde hair was waving about with every splash that occurred. I couldn't move my hands, or my feet. Am I bound by something?

"Huh?" I thought as my eyes were slowly opening. All I could make out were smudged figures, distorted by the glass that caged me. I could hear clouded voices, but I couldn't make out what they were saying. Still, I was enraged. They think they can keep me here?

In a cage... Unable to move... I'm busting out of here. Anyone who dares get in my way will die. I clenched my fists. Suddenly I heard a consistent beeping noise.

That only freaked me out even more. The people seemed to be in a panic.

"Her heart rate is sky rocketing!"

"We have to calm her down! What's going on?!"

I broke free of the leather bands that bound me, yet I continued to float within that pool of green water. Or at least, it looked green from the inside.

"Doctor Degre! She's moving!"

"That's just... Not possible!" A lady exclaimed. She looked to be in her middle twenties to early thirties. Her voice was extremely calm and soothing, a tender loving mother's voice.

I began to punch the glass with my bare fists. "What is this?!" I exclaimed in my head. I couldn't talk, because I'd drown. I was already having trouble breathing. Finally, the glass began to crack. Long, crooked cracks in the glass made it easy to find a weak spot, and bust through it.

So I did. Though through all of the rubble and water, you couldn't tell where I was. Until... "A dog!" Someone screamed. It was me. How dare they call me a dog. A blonde and white shimaron grey wolf, I am. My fangs bore into a scientist's neck. Blood splattered in my path of sight. Just long enough for one of the humans to hit me and I couldn't do a thing about it. And she did... Cher Degre is her name. I yelped on impact as I flew backwards.

"How did this happen? An artificial wolf?" She questioned. Still, I wasn't about to answer to her, a filthy human, she is. Actually, I didn't know how, either. I don't know what beckoned me to spare her life... After all, she brought me into this dirty world. It was all because of her. It's her fault. But I did; I ran right passed her, frantically searching for the nearest exit.

"Catch her! She mustn't be allowed to roam the city streets freely," Cher called out. The scientists did as they were told, and I was lucky to have been able to dodge them, just barely. "Do what you must!" Cher called out again. Damn her to hell. A window! This might hurt, but I don't care anymore. I have to get out of here.

I leaped onto the computers, and broke through the large window above them. "No!" Cher shouted. Still, only an echo of a loud yelp could be heard by them. I didn't realize we were so far up. Ouch. Cher looked out the broken window, only to see me limping away.

"Find her! Who knows how many people she'll harm!" Cher commanded.

I was running through the streets of this city, not knowing where to go. I didn't have a pack, and I surely didn't have any friends. How was I to survive on my own? I'm lucky the cars stopped for me, because I wasn't stopping for them. I could tell I was reaching the outskirts of the city... Good. I'll have a better chance of survival in the wild. That's when I met them. Kiba, who's golden eyes pierced my soul; Toboe, who's innocence reigned supreme; Hige, who's outgoing personality never ceased; And Tsume, the loner and the merciless one.

My arm is still injured from that blasted fall that I took... There's no way I can fight them. What will their reaction to me be? Should I run? Or should I stay...? Kiba's expression right then, was one of shock. A familiar scent. "Who are you?" He firmly asked me. "Bikou," I said cautiously. I don't know where that name came from, I just knew it was mine.

He looked angry now, or confused. Either one. I knew he could attack at any moment, and I was ready. "There she is!" Called Cher from behind me. My head snapped to her direction, as she and the other officers stopped abruptly. "Wait," she said. "Who are they?" She wondered. She stepped forward, "She's dangerous. Please step away from her, immediately."

"Why should we?" Hige responded. Cher looked a little worried now, "You don't understand. That's not a dog!" And with that, Tsume stepped forward. "Who said we thought it was, to begin with?" He questioned, sending shivers down Cher's spine. It surprised me how easily they all showed them that they were also wolves. Actually, I thought they would just beat the crap out of the humans, grab me by the neck, run away, and wait for the humans to notice their wounds were actually claw and teeth marks, oozing blood and saliva. Well, I was half right, anyway. Hell, even Kiba wasn't hesitant about showing them his true form.

"This can't be happening..." Cher whispered. "For three years, I've been researching the fact that wolves may still walk the Earth, after all. It's not just the rumors, but evidence, as well. Large paw prints in the snow, that I'd have a hard time believing to have belonged to a regular pet. Deer carcases just beyond the city borders... And even more so, reports of wolf attacks on humans, and their wounds were proof enough," She thought to herself, and then it happened.

"Kill them all!"

The sounds of gun shots filled the air, and I'd be lying if I said the sounds had no effect on my hearing, because it hurt. Almost enough to drive me insane, and trust me, it almost did. I was lucky enough to dodge all of the bullets, and I wasn't worried about the others. After all, we had just met... Unintentionally, at that. But for some reason, it was strange. Why were they fighting them? They could have just run away, but they didn't. They stayed. Growls, snarls, and yelps filled the air as I watched them fight and get wounded. I don't know why it bothered me so much. Why were they doing this? Protecting me? After all, I'm not a part of their pack... Heck, I may as well not even exist. "Bikou, let's go," Toboe said to me. Just then, I had noticed that every single human had died, excluding Cher, and the whole town was panicked because of all the gunfire. Kiba stared Cher directly in the eyes, and I could tell that his golden eyes were piercing through her soul, too. She was frozen in her tracks. He could have killed her if he'd wanted to, but he didn't. For some reason, he spared her life.

"Go!" Kiba shouted, running away from Cher, straight passed me. The others followed him willingly, but I hesitated. She seemed to still be frozen in her tracks, because she wasn't coming after me, even when I started to back away from her. Finally, I took the initiative and followed after the others, quickly. We stopped about five miles out of town, the countryside. It's more beautiful than I would have ever thought. Once I'd caught my breath, I approached Kiba. "Why did you spare her life?" I asked. Kiba just shot me a tense glare and began to pace around me, like I was some sort of prey. "Why did you follow us?" He asked, growling; almost baring his fangs, really. "I have no where to go," I said.

"Oh, is that supposed to make me feel sorry for you?" He asked, sarcastically.

"Kiba, calm down," Tsume said, approaching me. Before he could get anywhere near me, Kiba snarled and snapped at him, sending him stepping backwards. "What's your problem?!" He demanded to know, "Is it because of the lunar scent?!"

Kiba looked back at me, "Yes, why do you smell of lunar flowers?" He asked. "The only one who smells as pretty as that, is Cheza, and we have yet to find her."

I looked away. "I don't know, alright? I just know I'm not normal," I said. Kiba began that pace again. Man, I don't like when he does that, like I'm some sort of a criminal. For five whole minutes, back and forth, back and forth, back and forth... He paced around me for five whole minutes, and it was really beginning to bug me. He's lucky I'm not up for a fight, otherwise I would have snapped by now. "What are you evaluating, Kiba?" Toboe broke the silence, the silence that was growing irritable and uncomfortable.

"Yeah. I mean, if she has the scent of lunar flowers on her, maybe she's important," Hige was quick to agree with Toboe. Kiba stopped pacing, and finally looked at me. His expression had softened, and he'd quit snarling at me, "You may stay with us for now. We'll see how important you are when the time comes," he said, walking away from me.

"Right," I said, following after the pack. I didn't know where he was leading us, but I suppose I should trust the alpha leader, right? Well, at least I won't have to be all alone this way. I don't know how I'd survive without friends, someone to talk to, someone to shield me from the pit of loneliness. So we trudged across the countryside. For days, we walked, only resting up once every other day, or when we came across a large assortment of food and water. Eventually, it began to snow... And I don't know why, but the snow calmed me somehow. It made me feel like I wasn't completely alone in this world... Well, we'll see how this newfound adventure goes for me, won't we?

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Author's Notes: I hope you enjoyed chapter 1. Things will start to get more descriptive from chapter 2 and on, so please stick around, at least for chapter 2 before you decide whether or not you like this fanfiction. I suppose you could think of this as a sort of "Prologue," if you will. Please review if you enjoyed it!