As Pinocchio had suggested, Red grudgingly began to play the part of Gretel. Hansel, overjoyed, led her and Peter to his house, quickly shoved all the mess to one side of the room, and set down furs and hides to make a bed.

Peter, who was exhausted after such a long time using his crutches, fell down to sleep at once. Red, however, watched as Hansel sorted through the mess, humming happily. Out of it, he brought a battered old teddy bear, a little, embroidered pillow that said 'H and G are sitting in a tree', and, finally, a little brass whistle, from which two bright pebbles hung from. He shoved them into her hands hurriedly, smiling, "I've saved your stuff, Gretel! Aren't you happy?"

Red set the things aside, glanced back at Peter, and sighed, "… I… am."

Hansel instantly sat beside her, eyes worried, "You're sad. What's wrong?"

"… You have to promise you won't hurt Peter."

"I promise I won't, dear Gretel…" Hansel pecked a kiss atop her forehead before smiling, patting the fur that made the blanket, "Do you like the bed? If you want, I can go find some of the other furs I have out back…"

"This is fine." Red squeaked, just then seeing the holes in the bear skin that had used to be two eyes and a nose.

"… Okay…" Hansel kissed her before pushing her gently down, pulling another fur atop her, and whispering, "Good night, Gretel…"

For the next four days, Red and Peter stayed with Hansel. The hunter paid too much attention to Red than she thought reasonable. At each meal, she would always be served first; at night, the one who had the softest fur to cover her; in the morning, the gentle touch of Hansel to wake her up.

However, Hansel showed the fact that he despised Peter. While Peter was happy, having a fun time with Red at Hansel's cabin, Hansel regarded Peter with a more and more annoyed glare with each passing day.

Finally, he snapped, and, taking his knife, nearly killed Peter. If Red hadn't stopped him, her wolf friend would have died. So, Red, furious at Hansel, took Peter back to her own home to keep him safe.

When she entered the door, she paused when she saw a long, wrinkled beige overcoat on the floor. Sighing, she called, "Hey… I'm back now…"

Moments later, The Wolf peeked his head out past the door that led to her room, "Oh! Hello! I came yesterday, 'cause I finished my business, and I didn't find you… Where were you two?"

Before Red could find a decent excusing story, Peter whined, "A hunter kidnapped us, papa!"

The Wolf froze, stared at his son, and then whispered, "But… Red?" He glanced at Red.

"… Kind of…" added Red sullenly.

After Red had explained the whole thing to the Wolf, he sat on the bed, mulling over this information, before asking slowly, "So… This hunter… Hansel… He's the one who cut me open the first time… And he's the one who shot Marquis?"

"Yes."

"… And he thinks that you are his sister?" The Wolf patted Peter's head, earning a soft moan of pleasure. During Red's story, the little wolf had fallen asleep.

"Yes."

"…So… You're his hurting spot." The Wolf turned narrowed eyes to Red, fur lifting on end.

Red stared at him before nodding hesitantly, "I… guess I would-"

Next moment, she lay on the floor, the Wolf holding her down as he hissed softly, "You're the supposed little sister of the man who cut me open, and you're also the girl who got me into this whole mess… I just can't ignore it anymore." He bent his head down, his snout coming next to her ear, before whispering softly, "I've changed my mind. You're a hazard that I do not want…"

Red stared up in horror as the Wolf moved his now-wide open mouth towards her head.

The Wolf leaned back onto his elbows, licking his chops as he stroked his bloated belly. The hunter would feel the pain of losing his 'sister', and Red would lose her life. It was perfect plan for revenge, and a delicious one too.

Standing, tenderly scratching at his stomach, the Wolf headed for the bed where Peter slept.

"Bunny…" murmured Peter in his sleep, legs twitching as he dreamt. "Bunny… come back…. Papa… papa… he's… NO!" He sat up, shivering through the coat of sweat-soaked fur that covered him before bursting into tears, "Marie! Marie!"

The Wolf, who had been just settling down next to him, jumped in surprise before sighing, petting Peter's head, "What's wrong?"

"Papa?" Peter cringed away from his father's claws before whimpering, "Where's Marie? Marie! Marie!"

The Wolf slowly glanced down at his rounded stomach, licked his lips, and then settled down next to Peter, "… She had to go away."

"Where did she go?" Finding his father's chest, Peter buried his head into the slick, gray fur, sobbing, "Take me to her. I want… Marie…"

The Wolf traced a claw across his stomach, savoring the feeling of victory that crept through his veins. However… another feeling had joined it now: Guilt. Guilt that Peter was now friendless because of him. Softly, he tugged Peter to him, hugged him gently, "It's okay, Peter… We'll find you another friend…"

"I… want… Marie…" moaned Peter.

The Wolf could still feel Red jerking inside of him, vainly trying to escape. The little quirks sent thrills up his spine, but the comfort of his son's body in his arms… There was no comparison.

Slowly standing, he whispered, "I'll… be right back."

"Papa? Papa?" Peter reaching blindly after his father's voice as the Wolf hurried out of the room, a hand clapped in front of his mouth as he began to feel bile rising to his throat. After a few seconds, Peter broke into another torrent of tears, curled up around a pillow, and sobbed.