Sorry I haven't posted an update in so long :( I've been super busy lately and I had lost my muse for this, but it's back now. All is well xD

...

The wolves sprung from the bushes, lunged at our throats and tried to take us down. The others jumped out of the way, but my reflexes weren't quite up to par from my week of living in a nut shell. I jumped but not fast enough and one of the wolves rammed into my shoulder, knocking me back hard. I let my disguise slip and as the wolf chomped for my throat I turned over, pushing up and sending the wolf flying off me.

I heard another snarl and wheeled around to jump out of the way of another wolf. As the wolf flew threw the air where I had been standing I launched myself at him, opening my jaws and snapping them shut around his neck. Blood splurted into my mouth and it didn't taste good, it didn't taste normal. It tasted acidy, chemically, like someone had been tampering with it and making them these crazy beasts.

I pushed the wolf to the ground and shook my head around, tearing his neck apart as I did so. Satisfied that he would be critically injured-if not dead-I pulled away, and to my surprise the wolf sprung right back up, ready to attack. I heard surprised gasps from the others and I assumed they were witnessing the same thing I was. I dodged an attack from the wolf I had bitten and glanced over at Toboe.

He seemed to be holding his own against an old tawny wolf. Good. I knew he could hold his own against these crazies and I felt much better now knowing that he'd be okay. He could protect himself and that left me able to fight for myself. The next few minutes seemed to drag on for hours. It was all a flash of teeth, fur, claws, and blood.

Slowly, I felt myself returning. I needed to come back, I needed to survive. Every attack I dodged I was one step closer to that, to living another day. Every drop of blood that hit my tongue fueled me, I neede to take out these wolves so I could go to Paradise with the pack. I knew the pack could go without me, but I wanted a reason to come back. No matter how horrible I felt, I didn't want to die too. I wanted to live, and if not for Tsume than for the pack and Cheza and Paradise, to have the chance at being a normal wolf.

Paradise was my new destination and Cheza was behind the wheel, driving us there. But these wolves were in our way, and I- we -needed to get rid of them. All the sudden the wolves we were fighting fled back into the edges of the clearing. We all stopped and looked at each other in confusion, though we knew not to let our guard down. I pinned my ears back and snarled, my lips curling back to reveal my bloody fangs, my claws digging into the earth below them and my muscles tense. What were they doing?

All the sudden the scientist from the ship stepped out of the shadows and into the clearing, a smirk plastered to his wrinkled face. I didn't know anything about this man, realizing I'd left the files we'd stolen somewhere in a past city. I left them in my daze, not even bothering to read them, and now I wish I had. I didn't know what I was dealing with now.

"Well, well, well. We meet again." Various growls errupted from both the packs.

I snarled again and let my human disguise take back over. "What do you want?" I snapped, glaring at him as if my simple hateful gaze could kill him. I wish.

"I want you, all of you, pet." he answered.

The hairs on the back of my neck stood up, goosebumps running down my spine in a horrible, creepy way. "We're not your pets."

"You will be soon." he said, his voice oddly cheerful. "If you come willingly, I'll be kind."

"And if we don't?"

"I'll find reasons to torture you more. Blood work, mind tests, physical tests. Needles, unsedated surgeries. I'll make you listen and watch your pack be operated on, you'll hear their screams and see them bleed while-"

"I get it!" I shouted, my fists clenching by my sides. It was taking all my willpower not to try and kill this man. I'd never felt the urge to kill someone out of hate before, but I felt it now. "Why do you want us?"

"Not just you wolves, her too." He pointed a boney finger at Cheza, smirking and tilting his head as he studied her. The way he looked at her was creepy. "She won't lead me to Paradise, but she'll lead you wolves there. I want you to go and open it for me."

"So then what do you need to test us for?"

"You must get there. I experiment to make you stronger, faster, better, to make sure nothing can stop you. Without my help, you'll fail."

"We're fine enough on our own, thank you."

"But you're not! I can enhance you, help you!"

"We don't need to be enhanced, Doctor. We don't want to find Paradise for you, we want to find it for ourselves."

The scientist clenched his fists now too. "I'll give you five days to think about it. If you still refuse then, I'll not bother to ask again. I'll just take what I need."

"Our answer will still be no." I snarled at him.

He smoothed back his hair, smirking as if he knew something we didn't, as if he was holding something back that would force us to obey him. "Don't be so sure." he said slyly before walking back into the forest shadows and out of sight, his wolves following.