I am so sorry for not updating for nearly a year! I moved, my Internet was down, then I move AGAIN and it finally came back up!

The place I moved from sucked, it was so~ depressing there, I was practically in the country. But I'm finally back! And can start updating my stories!

SO, on with the story!

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Wolf's Rain

I stood beside Zali, watching the construction, my mind barely registered a member of the pack approaching as my thoughts wondered back to earlier.

"Living like a bunch of down and out strays, clinging to this disgusting place. And doing what you do, how can you call that a life."

"You're pathetic."

'Are we really pathetic? Down and out strays? Am I?'

"And we're gonna work 'em like dogs." that was the first thing I heard when I was snapped out of my thoughts.

Work them like dogs?

Kiba and the others?

That girl...

"They'll feel right at home. They'll start thinking this is Paradise." he said. I glared at him from the corner of my eye. Bastard.

"Tell me when did you start thinking like that?" Zali asked.

"Hm, what was that?"

"Like one fallen so low and desperate." Zali replied. He looked at Zali before smirking.

"Yeah right..." he chuckled "you think you're any different? Come off it Zali, we're only acting this way because we're all following your lead, just like that little pup."

Zali continued to stare at him, absolutely silent. The member 'hmpf'-ed and walked away, leaving Zali and I alone once more.

"Krai...why don't you go patrol for a while..." Zali said after a few moments. I nodded before running off down an alley. I could tell Zali wanted to be alone for a while, probably to think about what that idiot said, so I'll leave him be.

I wasn't paying attention to where I was going, I just let my feet lead my anywhere. I stopped when I heard the sound of metal in the distance, it must've been a trap set up by the others!

Don't tell me one of the other wolves got caught!

I looked around and realized I wasn't too far away. I could see Hoodie Boy in the cage, where Moss and some others were approaching and Cutie hiding behind some snow covered rocks.

"Caught one right off the back huh? It's a big one to." a human male said after hopping out of his truck. I didn't even hear him coming.

"Yeah, it's too wild though. It'd be best to put itdown." Moss replied. Bastard!

The girl fell back on to her butt, muttering something as she stayed out of their sight, and began leaving. I frowned and glared at Moss before following her silently.

I stayed a few feet behind her, stepping in the same spots she stepped in so the sound of the snow crunching under my feet wouldn't be so loud. She was running toward an old building, I went to as a pup all the time.

"Kiba!" she shouted.

I listened to there short conversation and watched as Kiba came to the door. "Y-you're that guy from before." the girl said, standing next to Kiba.

"What the hell do you want?" the guy in leather demanded, I put my hands up in defense.

"I'm not here to stop you from saving your friend. I think the guy who got him trapped knows though, I can help you out." I said.

"And why shou-" "Look, if I wanted to mess with you I would've already started, do you wanna help your friend or not?" I interrupted. Kiba started limping past me without a word.

"Lead the way then, since you probably know where Hige is." he said. He trusts me?

"Where to?"

"The city."

The girl stared at me for a while before following Kiba, the other guy was reluctant, but followed anyway. He growled and tossed Kiba onto his shoulder, growling about how he was taking to long.

"Let's go."

"Hurry. If we don't, they're gonna kill him."

I waited a few seconds before turning on my heel and running to the city. Hope they can keep up. I led them through a few alleys before taking them though the main street were a lot of humans were shopping, into a side street were apartments were.

"Tsume you can put me down now, I can walk on my own." Kiba said. We all slowed down and Tsume put Kiba on his feet and rotated his shoulder.

"Alright, let's get going." Tsume said. Kiba stared at Tsume before his eyes widened when he looked past me.

"It's the lady the once from yesterday." the girl said, making me turn and look. It was Cole!

Before I could say anything Kiba ran past me to follow Cole into the alley she walked into, followed by the girl and Tsume. I sighed and followed them quickly. When we stopped at the mouth of the alley we saw Cole wasn't alone, she was with 5 members of the pack, including Moss.

"I see last night's beating didn't sink in." one of the men chuckled. The rest of them started chuckling, but they soon gasped as their eyes widened as I heard footsteps behind me.

"Zali..."

"You mean you ordered this?" Tsume demanded.

"Ordered what?" Zali asked.

"Don't play dumb with me!"

"What're ya talkin' about?"

"Is it true what we heard? That you sold our friend out to those humans?" Kiba asked.

"Just how low will you mongrels sink." Tsume growled.

"What's going on here?" Zali asked.

"Hell if I know." That bastard Moss replied while everyone else remained silent.

"That guy said to kill him!" the girl shouted, pointing at Moss "I heard you tell those humans to kill him!" Zali's eyes widened before he glared at Moss.

"Moss!" Moss twitched but didn't say anything. Suddenly Kiba ran at him, only for Zali to throw him back into a wall before he punch Moss across the face, sending him to the ground.

"This is my pack!" he shouted at Kiba before looking down at Moss. "Why the hell did you sell out their friend?" he asked, as Moss quickly got to his feet, wiping his face.

"He's an outsider, that's why."

"Zali, isn't it you who's been selling out your friends?" another member spoke up.

"What?"

"It's the truth and you know it. You don't even do a dog's work!"

"Is that how you really feel?" Zali asked, narrowing his eyes. Moss and the other's stared at Zali.

"I always thought as the leader I always did what I had to do for the pack without letting my personal feelings get in the way. Everything I've done was to protect the pack." Zali spoke calmly.

"Yeah, well, none of see you as the leader anymore!" Moss shouted, punching Zali in the face. Zali fell to the ground and the others began punching and kicking him/

"Stay out of this!" Zali shouted at Kiba when the wolf took a step forward. We all stood, watching the older man get beaten, except for Cole, who kept her eyes closed.

"Stop it! Just stop it!" she suddenly shouted, covering her ears. Moss and one guy stopped, one kept punching though.

"Enough...I said enough!" the guy stopped at stood up

"Wait! Tell me where they took their friend Moss!" Zali exclaimed.

"I don't know. I don't know." Moss said, turning on his heel and walking away.

'Dammit! I thought he knew where Hige would be!' I thought rushing to Zali's side with Cole who pulled his into sitting position.

"Do you have any idea where they might've taken him?" Tsume asked, standing next to Kiba.

"They put him on the back of an orange truck." the girl said.

"If you plan to give up on Paradise, turning back now might be the time." Zali said.

"I don't have anywhere to go back to. The only thing I can do it keep moving forward." Kiba said.

"Even if hell is what we're heading towards. You people may not have been able to find Paradise, but there's absolutely no doubt in my mind, that we will." Tsume said, we all stared at Tsume. For some reason, he really doesn't seem like the kind of guy that would say that.

Zali got onto his feet, with help from Cole and I after a moment.

"Zali..." we said in unison.

"It's alright, I can still run." he said with a small smile before turning on his heels and running down the alley. I watched him before quickly following him with Kiba and the others, except for Cole, on my heels.

After following Zali for a while, we found the truck that had Hige on the back of it. He gained consciousness and was yelling at the humans inside to look back and let him out. They must've not heard him because they continued talking to each other. In our wolf forms we ran in front of the truck, causing the driver to swerve and flip it onto its side, making Hige's cage fall of the back.

I stood back as they spoke and Kiba bent the bar enough for Hige to get out. The driver climbed out and aimed a gun at us.

"You damn dogs!" he shouted and began shooting, Zali ran at him a bit his arm, making drop the gun as the rest of us ran away. We ran until we reached the tunnel that would take us out of town, the tunnel that was filled with poisonous gas that killed most of Zali's pack years ago.

"This is the only way right?" the girl asked from her place in front of me.

"Are you sure this tunnel is really safe?" Hige asked.

"I say it's better than being burned up with the trash." Tsume replied. Soon we exited the small pipe and went into the main tunnel.

"This is as far as I plan to go." Zali said. "From here on out you're all on your own."

"You mean you're not coming with us? You're gonna keep...living here?" Kiba asked.

Zali remained silent. "I don't know if the place we were searching for is real or not. But I believe there are some that could make it to Paradise, and some who can't. I'm convinced in that. It's time for you to find out for yourselves, if the real Paradise exists somewhere at the end of this road."

"Ya know, you don't seem like much of a wolf."

"Tsume-" "A wolf protects its own, it's not natural for it to look after another pack." Tsume continued. I opened my mouth to say something to Tsume but Zali beat me to it as he looked over his shoulder.

"You're right. I guess I really have fallen." he said. "Do me a favor would ya?" he suddenly asked as Kiba began walking past us.

"What is it?"

"Take him with you." Zali said, placing a hand on my shoulder. "All his life he's been here and has always believed in Paradise. You can do that can't you."

Kiba nodded and ran ahead, soon followed by the others. "But Za-" "No Krai, you've been here long enough. It's time for you to follow your own path." Zali said, smiling a little. I could only stare at him before running to follow the others.

Flowers are clever things

Even if it looks like they vanished, they never really go away

You know, like a pack of wolves

As long as there's a moon flowers will never die

And neither will us wolves