Freeze City, California, Former Untied States Of America, 2214.

I kept my gun trained at the three men, ready to shoot if any of them tried something. The man in the mask spoke in a deep gravely voice.

"Wolves," the man said, making the two men and I look at him in shock as he added, "you have my gratitude, for it was you who woke her."

"What?! Who the hell are you?!" the man with brown shaggy hair demanded.

"The Flower Maiden...is mine," the masked man stated.

"The Flower Maiden? Is that...Cheza?" the man in the hoodie questioned in disbelief.

"What the fuck is going on here?! Are these people nuts?! Why is that masked man calling the three of us wolves?!" I questioned internally.

Then a Noble's ship appeared and shined a powerful light down upon us as the masked man held up the woman by her neck. The woman woke up and let out a scream that caused agony to rip through me, and I covered my ears in pain. As I was screaming, I could've sworn that the two men's forms flickered and changed into large white and tan dogs before my eyes.

"Arrrrgggghhhh, my fucking ears!" I howled in pain as I ran away from the piercing noise.

As I was running, I felt the strangest sensation of my body changing and snapping into a powerful form that was best suited for moving on all fours. After I made it to my car, my body seemed to change back and I leaned on the hood, breathing heavily and trying to comprehend what had just happened.

"What the fuck?! Did those two men just change into dogs right in front of me?! And what the hell was that strange feeling?!" I thought incredulously about what I had just experienced.

I holstered my gun and took out a smoke, lighting it up and dragging on it to calm myself down. Once I was calm, I got into my car and drove to the hotel so that I could pick up Hubb.

As I pulled up to the hotel, I saw Hubb approaching, and he got into my car.

"Hey, are you okay Jack? You look really pale," Hubb pointed out in concern.

"I'm fine," I said, not wanting to talk about what I had just seen.


Hubb and I arrived at the hospital and headed to Cher's room, opening the door and seeing the person we were looking for lying in bed.

"Hubb, Jack, hi," Cher greeted as Hubb took off his fedora.

"You're looking well. We were afraid it was something serious," Hubb spoke in relief.

"I was just overworked," Cher lied as Hubb handed her a present.

"A gift for the lady," Hubb stated with a grin as I opened a window and lit up a smoke.

"Thank you. Can I open it?" Cher asked.

"Uh-huh," Hubb encouraged, and Cher opened the present as Hubb added softly, "I've forgotten how lovely you look, lying in bed."

Cher looked up for a second, blushed and said, "Oh please, I must look like hell."

Cher opened the box and remarked, "Your sense of fashion is as terrible as ever."

"They told us you had worked yourself into the ground, but I didn't believe it," Hubb commented wryly.

"No kidding. There goes my iron woman reputation," Cher remarked dryly, causing me to chuckle.

"The red snow will fall," Hubb mumbled under his breath, which caught me and Cher's attention.

"The red...snow?" Cher wondered in confusion and a little bit of surprise.

"Cher, this isn't the best time to ask, but...do you know about the Book Of The Moon?" Hubb asked, causing me to stare at him in confusion.

"Uh...yes, I think it's a pagan book, isn't it? Why do you ask?" Cher asked hesitantly.

"Well, that man who brought in the dog, he told me something pretty bizarre. Some old story about how humans were created from wolves," Hubb explained, which made me recall seeing those two men change into dogs, but I reasoned that it was just the stress of the job getting to me and making me hallucinate.

"A red...moon..." I heard Cher mumble under her breath and I looked at her suspiciously.

"What?" Hubb inquired in confusion.

"It doesn't matter...that book is probably banned by now. And besides, it's just an old fairy tale," Cher dismissed.

"Yeah, you're right. It's all stupid," Hubb agreed.

"I should rest for awhile," Cher stated.

"Sure, you must be tired," Hubb said as he stood up and he and we started walking to the door.

"You'll feel better in no time. And when you get out of here, we'll go celebrate. Our anniversary's coming up," Hubb continued as he turned around and look back at Cher.

"But...we were married in the summer. And beside, we were-" Cher said in confusion, and Hubb cut her off by wagging his finger and tisk tisked in response.

"I meant the one for our divorce," Hubb clarified slyly as he and I left the room.


"First dogs, and now birds. My damn allergies are fucking killing me," Hubb groaned behind a handkerchief as we looked at the corpses of birds that were on the ground and feathers slowly falling from the sky.

"The Aviation Bureau says there weren't any unauthorized aircrafts in the vicinity," the officer that was writing down notes informed us.

"Well, the damn Nobles are the only ones to fly anymore," I grumbled bitterly.

'Um, Detective Walker, you know you really shouldn't talk like that," the officer whispered at me, but a cold glare from me shut him up pretty quick.

Suddenly, my phone rang and I answered it.

"Who is it?" I asked.

"Detective Walker? It's Captain Wallace of the Cold Case Division. It's about your parents murder case. I think we found a lead," Wallace stated, which caught my attention.

"Okay Captain, you have my attention. What do you know?" I inquired.

"Not on the phone. We'll meet in an alleyway off of 6th and Lexington. Come alone," Wallace said until he hung up.

"Who was that?" Hubb asked as I put my phone away.

"No one important. Listen, do you think you could finish up here without me? I have some personal business to take care of," I stated.

"Um, sure, I'll meet you back at the station later," Hubb said, and I waved as I left the scene and got into my car.


I pulled up to my destination and got out of my my car. I put on my shades, lit a smoke, and exhaled a cloud of smoke as I walked into the alleyway. I saw a balding man in his 60s, wearing a suit that had a badge clipped to his left jacket pocket.

"Detective, you made it," Wallace greeted.

"Yeah, I'm here Captain. So, what did you find out?" I inquired.

"First things first, are you alone?" Wallace asked me, and I narrowed my eyes when I saw him looking behind me briefly.

"Yes, I came alone like you asked. Now, I've been looking for the fucker who killed my parents ever since that night when I was 14, so if you have a lead on who this son of a bitch is, I want to know about it," I growled eagerly.

"Well, you won't have to look very far," Wallace stated coldly.

Before I could react, I was grabbed from behind by two men and one of them reached into my jacket, taking out my gun and putting it to my head.

"...Captain...what the fuck is this?!" I yelled as I struggled.

"Sorry Detective, but you should have left well enough alone," Wallace said condescendingly.

"What the hell are you..." I trailed off as my eyes widened in realization and I felt hot rage as I shouted, "It was you! You were there that night! You killed them, you motherfucker!"

"You think I had any choice?! Your father was a damn good Narcotics Detective who never should have gotten too close! When he discovered that the task force and I was skimming from the side and slipping some money from evidence lock up, we tried to get him to see things from our point of view, but the bastard was too damn stubborn. He threatened to go to IA about our activities and we just couldn't let that happen! We didn't want to go to prison! Do you know what they do to cops in prison?! We wouldn't have lasted 10 days in there! So we came up with a plan to make it look like it was a robbery gone wrong, and we shut your father up before he could rat us out. But your mother just had to see the whole thing and we couldn't leave any witnesses...it could've gone okay from there since no one would believe a 14 year old boy, but you just couldn't leave well enough alone, could you? And now I have to shut you up so that you don't rat us out," Wallace stated bitterly.

"Fuck you! I'm gonna kill you and you friends, you dirty piece of shit!" I roared out, feeling something primal starting to wake up inside.

"It's tragic, isn't it fellas? Detective Jackson Michael Walker looked for the truth of his parents murders but he just couldn't cope and ate his gun. Such a shame," Wallace mocked as the men around us jeered and laughed.

At that point, something in me snapped and I broke free, kicking Wallace and sending him flying a couple feet away. I punched one of the dirty cops and the man grabbed his throat, choking and gurgling as blood came spewing out. As the other one tried to jump me from behind, I kicked him hard in the abdomen and he doubled over, out of breath. As I was fighting the dirty cops, everything felt like it was moving in slow motion and I was displaying impressive, almost inhuman agility. One of the dirty cops tried to aim my gun at me, but I grabbed the gun, forcing a misfire and I disarmed him, shooting him and the other cop until only me and Wallace were still breathing. I stormed over to Wallace, who was on the ground in pain, and I aimed my gun at him.

"...*choke*...*cough*...what the hell are you..." Wallace gasped out as I glared down at him.

"I'm the reaper, and your death's come due. This is for my mother and father, you son of a bitch," I said coldly and I emptied the rest of my rounds in him, making Wallace's body jerk with each shot.

Once he was dead, I let out a shaky breath, reloaded my gun, and headed to my car. I heard the sounds of multiple footsteps quickly approaching and I hurried back to my car, getting in and starting the Impala just as a SWAT team moved around the corner and aimed at my car.

The well armed and trained police officers opened fire as I peeled away from the onslaught of gunfire. I ducked my head when the back window shattered and managed to not crash into anything as I escaped. I knew that I couldn't go back to the station. I had killed multiple cops and they would be looking for me after that, so the only thing to do was to hole up in an abandoned building for the night and leave the city once daylight hit. I opened the window on my left and tossed out my phone so they couldn't track me with it.

After a while, I located an abandoned building on the edge of the city that looked perfect to hide in and I pulled up a couple of blocks away just in case. I got out of my car and unclipped my badge, looking at the representation of so many of my achievements and I hid it in my pocket as I headed to the building, knowing that there was no going back after this. I entered the crumbling building and went up the stairs, putting my hand under my jacket and gripping my gun just in case a junkie hopped up on PCP tried to jump me. Once I found a room, I opened the door and caused the occupant inside the room to quickly stand up and glare at me.

The man that was glaring at me in a hostile manner was in his late teens with tan skin and a large scar on his bare chest in the shape of an x, cropped silver hair that was tied back in a small ponytail, sharp amber eyes, and ear piercings. The man was wearing a black leather jacket with slightly torn sleeves, zipped up halfway over a gray muscle shirt, black leather pants, and biker boots. I noticed that the man was gripping his left arm, keeping pressure on a wound that was bleeding.

"Who the fuck are you?" the man demanded sharply in a deep voice.

"I'm not going to hurt you, I just need shelter," I reassured the man, but he scoffed.

"What is this, a hotel? Get the fuck out of here now before you piss me off!" the man threatened and I glared at him coldly in response.

"Look asshole, I'm not asking for much, just a place to stay for the night. You can even pretend that I'm not here," I reasoned.

The man kept glaring until he let out an irritated sigh and grumbled, "Fine, but only for one night. I'm not looking to hand out charity."

I nodded and walked over to a window, taking out a smoke and lighting it up as I watched the sun set. I saw the man glaring down at the floor, winkling his nose at the smell of cigarette smoke, and I snuffed out my cigarette butt, taking out my hip flask and offering it to the man who stared at me irritably.

"It's whiskey. You want some?" I offered, but the man flipped me off and I shrugged dismissively before taking a sip.

Suddenly, the door opened and I reacted by unholstering my P226R, aiming at the figures that were walking in.

I recognized the two men I'd been encountering a lot lately, but they had a 14 year old kid who had neck long red hair, light golden brown eyes, red long sleeved zipped up shirt with the sleeves rolled up, olive-green cargo pants, and dark green combat boots. What caught my attention was the four silver bangles that were on his right wrist, which looked like the same bangles I had seen on that dog's right foreleg. I holstered my gun just as the man in the hoodie started talking.

"What a crap heap. Why the hell did you bring us here?" the man in the hoodie questioned as he was looking around in disgust and saw me, adding, "Detective Walker, I wasn't expecting to see you again."

"Tsume!" the kid greeted the man in leather when he saw him.

"You!" Tsume exclaimed in shock when he saw the shaggy haired man.

"Wha, hey, is this him?" the man in the hoodie asked the kid.

"I could smell the blood from your wound," the shaggy haired man remarked.

"What?" Tsume questioned.

"I smelled it all the way here from town," the shaggy haired man stated, and I shot him a look of confusion.

"And you're gonna nurse me back to health? Well, I don't need your fucking help," Tsume snapped in irritation.

"Okay, let's stop it right here. What the hell is going on? And who the hell are you people?" I questioned in frustration, and the man in the hoodie smiled sheepishly.

"Oh, sorry, didn't introduce myself. I'm Hige, that's Kiba, and the runt behind us is Toboe," Hige introduced and Toboe perked up when he saw me.

"It's you mister. Thank you for feeding me earlier," Toboe said cheerfully and I looked at the kid like he had two heads.

"I'm sorry, do I know you? I don't recall giving you food unless I was on a bender," I questioned in confusion.

"He really doesn't know what he is, does he?" Hige told Kiba.

"Apparently he doesn't, so we just need to show him so he can believe it," Kiba agreed.

"Okay...what the fuck are you all talking about?" I asked, wondering if these people were crazy.

Suddenly, before my eyes, I saw Kiba, Hige, Toboe, and Tsume literally changing into another form in front of me, their clothes disappearing as different colored fur grew out of their bodies, joints stretching and snapping to canine form, tails growing out, ears growing to the top of their heads as their faces extended and grew into muzzles. After the transformations were done, I saw the familiar white dog, a tan fluffy and pudgy dog with the collar that had the letter x on it, a gray dog with the x-shaped scar on it's chest, and the brown dog I fed earlier. I just stared in disbelief, not knowing how to react as the dogs, no, wolves changed back into human form.

"Holy shit...that old drunk wasn't crazy...they really do walk among us..." I trailed off, feeling awe at seeing actual wolves in front of me.

"Well, what do you think?" Hige inquired with a cheeky grin.

"This is incredible, but why the hell would you all reveal yourselves to me? None of you have any reason to, so why?" I inquired.

"We believe that you are one of us, but you never knew that all your life," Kiba spoke out calmly.

"Wait a fucking minute. You're saying that I'm an honest to God wolf like you all? I think I would've noticed that," I stated skeptically.

"Look, as much as I would love teaching this asshole about who he is, I would rather you all just get the hell out of here," Tsume snapped in irritation, and I glared at him.

"Tsume, look...I...we're leaving the city. I really think you should come with us," Toboe said.

"And just where is this merry fucking band of yours going?" Tsume questioned.

"To Paradise," Kiba stated and Tsume scoffed in disbelief.

"Paradise? What the hell is Paradise?" I questioned in confusion.

"Don't listen to what this idiot is saying Detective, Paradise is nothing more than a myth. Just a bedtime story to put the cubs to sleep at night. And you all are going with him because you believe in that crap?" Tsume questioned skeptically.

"I don't know, but...if we stay here, then we'll just have spend the rest of our lives in hiding or worse...we just can't live with the humans anymore and survive," Toboe stated sadly.

"I hate to interrupt, but there's a nasty stink headed this way," Hige notified all of us grimly as he was peering out the window.

I slowly walked over to look outside, and I saw SWAT teams moving around and taking cover behind trees.

"We're surrounded," Tsume pointed out gruffly.

"Oh shit, those are SWAT teams. Those guys don't fuck around," I commented quietly.

"How do you know?" Hige asked me.

"Because I used to be in a SWAT team for 10 years before I became Detective," I clarified.

"Let me ask you, why did you all come to this city? It was because of the flower scent, was it? Well it's gone now. There's no reason to stay," Kiba reasoned.

"Well, I didn't exactly come to this city, I was born and raised here. At least, I think I was born here...I don't know what to believe anymore," I remarked.

"I don't know about you all, but the flower has nothing to do with it. I'm here because I belong," Tsume retorted.

"I can see that, this city is a shithole," Kiba rebutted.

"I still have a score to settle with you, asshole," Tsume growled as he started approaching Kiba menacingly, prompting me to get in between them before things got ugly.

"Can it, the pair of you! We have fucking SWAT teams outside ready to go dynamic any second! You two can kill each other later, but we need to get the fuck out of this city before we get killed," I reproached with a cold glare, but Kiba and Tsume ignored me.

"The last time we met, your fucking pride wouldn't allow you to pass as a human. Well, you look pretty damn human now, so where'd your pride go?" Tsume drawled as he bore his sharp amber eyes into Kiba's impassive blue ones.

"Nowhere, because nothing's changed," Kiba answered blandly.

"Do you have the slightest damn idea what leaving the city would mean?" Tsume implied.

"Yeah," Kiba said, nodding.

"You'll just die," Tsume hissed.

"Possibly, everyone's gonna die, it's a natural part of life. But if your life has no purpose, then you're already dead," Kiba retorted calmly.

Suddenly the room lit up from a searchlight outside and gunfire started pelting the building.

"Okay! Conversation's over, we need to get the fuck out of here!" I shouted as I unholstered my gun and fired back.

"This way!" Kiba yelled as he led the others to the roof and I followed after them.

We all ran across large pipes that were hanging from the building, leading to the wall of the dome that covered the city. Suddenly, a few rounds hit the pipe and Toboe slipped, causing him to start falling and he grabbed onto the side for dear life.

"Shit! Tsume, the kid's in trouble!" I roared out as I stopped and fired back at the SWAT teams that were trying to kill us.

I saw Tsume rush over to Toboe, and as he reached down, he shifted into his wolf form, latched onto Toboe's shoulder with his jaws, and pulled him up.

"Thank you," Toboe said gratefully.

"Go on, hurry up," Tsume encouraged.

"You're really not coming with us?" Toboe asked sorrowfully.

"Sorry to interrupt, but can we please get the fuck out here before we get killed!" I yelled at Tsume and Toboe as I ducked my head to avoid getting it blown off.

A few rounds hit the pipe, motivating Tsume and Toboe to run, prompting me to quickly flee the hail of gunfire. Tsume suddenly jumped off the pipe and landed on another large pipe that was below us.

"Tsume!" Toboe called out as he was running behind me.

"He can take care of himself Kid, now keep running!" I shouted back at Toboe while I let off a few rounds at the SWAT teams as we caught up to Kiba and Hige.

Eventually we wound up in a condemned building and Kiba, Hige, and Toboe jumped up impossibly across pillars and landed up at the roof above me.

"Jump Jack!" Hige shouted at me.

"Are you shitting me?! How the fuck am I going to do that?!" I questioned in disbelief.

"Listen! If you are a wolf, then you should be able to do it! Now hurry!" Hige instructed loudly.

"Ah fuck me," I grumbled under my breath as I holstered my gun.

I took a few deep breaths and I jumped with a yell, shockingly crossing the pillars until I met up with the others.

"Holy shit! Holy shit!" I gasped out in shock, staring at my hands in disbelief at the inhuman feat that I had just accomplished.

"So, how was it?" Hige inquired in anticipation.

"That was...my God...I am a wolf..." I trailed off breathlessly at the new revelation that has just hit me.

"Okay, let's get the hell out of here," Hige stated.

"Not yet," Kiba interjected as he looked back down into the building.

"What do you mean not yet?!" Hige exclaimed in shock as Kiba kept staring until Tsume appeared from below.

"Tsume!" Toboe called out cheerfully.

Tsume didn't say anything and just glared up at Kiba, who looked back until he said, "This way!"

We left the building and quickly headed to the dome wall, making inhuman leaps along the way until Kiba and Hige jumped from a ledge and landed outside the dome on a wrecked building that was far below us. Outside the dome, a heavy snowstorm pelted them.

"Oh Jesus," I muttered uncomfortably at the long drop.

"Jump you two!" Hige called out to me and Toboe.

"We were getting ready to, alright!" Toboe shouted back.

"Move it," Tsume snapped in irritation and booted Toboe off the ledge, the young wolf falling with a yelp until he hit the roof.

Suddenly, a round struck the ground next to me and Tsume, motivating me to jump and I yelled as I fell.

"Ohhhhh fuccckkkkk meeeee!" I shouted until I landed gracefully onto the roof and looked back up at Tsume, who wasn't budging.

"Tsume?! What are you waiting for?! C'mon, jump!" Toboe called up in disbelief just as I heard another round hitting the ground.

"Are you scared?!" Kiba called up calmly and Tsume reluctantly jumped down.

"Alright Jack. If you thought that was cool, then you'll love changing into your wolf form. Do you know how?" Hige asked me as we jumped off the building and ran through the snowy wasteland.

"No," I replied, wondering what changing into a new form felt like.

"It's easy. Just picture yourself shifting and let instinct do the rest," Kiba instructed as he and the others changed into their wolf forms.

As I ran, I pictured myself transforming into another shape and I felt my body snapping and cracking into a quadruped shape until I was suddenly running on all fours with the others. I felt amazed at my new powerful lupine shape as we kept running through the snowstorm and I wondered where this new journey would take me.


Hubb examined the animal tracks as he thought about his partner and friend Jack, and how Jack was wanted for murder. Spotting something in the snow, Hubb reached down and retrieved a badge. Jack's badge.

"God Jack...what the hell did you get yourself into?" Hubb thought in concern as he prayed that Jack was okay.

After Hubb went back to the station, he was approached by two Detectives from IA, who took Hubb in for questioning. When Hubb found out that Jack was wanted for killing a bunch of fellow cops, he refused to believe it and wondered if there had been some kind of mistake. Sure Jack was rough around the edges, but he wasn't a murderer. But as the evidence was shown to him, Hubb was shocked and he wondered what had driven his friend to commit murder.

"I'm not tracking them for pleasure or curiosity, you know. It's for revenge," Quent spoke as Hubb stood up and looked back at the hunter, seeing the same pain and haunted expression that Jack had carried for years since that horrible night.

"Now do you believe?" Quent suddenly asked out of the blue.

"Believe what?" Hubb questioned bitterly.

"That you've been deceived by a pack of wolves and your friend this entire time," Quent clarified with a smirk.

"You're wrong...I know Jack and he wouldn't lie to me all these years...and your wolves, it's just not possible," Hubb retorted, but he was only trying to convince himself that it wasn't true out of denial.


While we were running, Tsume suddenly stopped and looked back at the city I grew up in.

"Screw this fucking journey. Paradise can kiss my ass. I'm just...fed up with this shitty town. It was time to move on anyway," I heard Tsume grumble under his breath and he joined up with the rest of us as we kept running in no particular direction.