Chapter one – Hunter in the dark

Deeper in the forest, a lone white wolf was singing a heavy, mournful tune. Suddenly a new voice joined the melody. A large black wolf moved to approach the white one, and the white wolf threw herself at the black. The black wolf growled softly at the white wolf as she snuggled up to him and whined a wolf's cry.

~Hush, my dear, don't cry~, He growled in the wolf language, ~All will be fine.~

~But, Ink, they're gone, all gone, slaughtered by those monsters,~ she replied in a mournful whimper.

~I know, and one day you shall have your revenge, but now the pack needs you, a human has been spotted in the forest by the Night-flyers.~

~Then I will kill it,~ the female growled.

~No my dear! It is a child! The Hoppers have reported that he was abandoned by a larger human.~

~Who would leave a child in such a dangerous forest, human or not!~ Cried the female, face twisted in obvious disgust at the act.

~The child is an innocent,~ The male murmured, ~The Old One has seen his soul and it is pure. More so then any other human, or any wolf for that matter.~

~A pure soul?~ The female repeated, shocked at the news, ~In this age it must be near impossible, is he sure?~

~Yes, he wants you to retrieve the child and bring it to him, he says the child is important.~

~How old is the young one, in human years?~

~The Old One says five.~

~What! That's not even a yearling in our years.~

~I know, my dear, but you must hurry, the child, if left alone, will surely be dead by morning.~

~Yes, I will go and save this child. Human or not, I will not be responsible for his death.~ With those words the female raced off into the darkness.

Meanwhile, Harry had just sat down, exhausted. He had been walking for nearly half an hour, a large feat for such a young child. He didn't know how long he sat there before eventually he drifted off into sleep. A little while later, he was awoken by a low growling. He immediately looked around him and spotted a pair of amber eyes glowing in the dark. Quickly scurrying back, the eyes following his movements, he backed himself against a tree, to be sure nothing could attack him from the sides.

When he had nowhere to run, the creature stalked gracefully forwards. As the animal was revealed, Harry couldn't help but stare in wonder. The animal in question was something he had only see on tv, (Dudley had been watching a show about them and Harry had been cleaning at the time) – Wolves. This wolf was very big and Harry couldn't stop the feeling of awe as he watched the white-furred animal in front of him.

The wolf embodied the word majestic. She moved with an easy elegance that permeated every inch of her body. Harry didn't know how he knew the wolf was female, but he did. Her pure white fur seemed to glow in the darkness of the forest, her eyes burned like fire and her teeth glinted in the moonlight. Despite this, Harry wasn't scared, but he was startled when she opened her jaws and barked lightly. Not that the bark itself was surprising, no, it was the fact that he understood the bark that was amazing. It seemed like a little voice in his head was translating her unique wolf language into English.

What he heard when she barked was ~Hello, child.~

"H-h-hello," he replied, slightly intimidated by her.

~You understand me?~ She asked curiously, bright eyes surveying his face carefully.

"Umm, yes miss," he managed to say without stuttering.

~My name is Hunter, child.~

"Of c-c-course m-m-miss Hunter."

~No miss, just Hunter,~ she replied, looking faintly amused.

~Child,~ She continued, moving closer, ~Do you know where you are?~

"No, my uncle Vernon just left me here."

~You are in the Ancient Forest, child, in the territory of the White Moon pack.~

"I'm sorry, if you'll point me to the road, I'll leave."

~I couldn't do that child, you've walked quite deep into the forest, you wouldn't survive until morning with your patchy fur.~

"I can't help it if I'm human." The way he said the word 'human' made Hunter think that he didn't think he was human at all.

~What is your name, I think it rude to keep calling you 'child'.~

"I'm… well I don't know, Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia just call me 'boy'." He seemed faintly embarrassed, unusual for someone so young.

~Well… that won't do, do you wish for me to give you a name?~

"Really! You'd do that?" The young boy's eyes lit with excitement and his smile, in Hunter's opinion, could outshine the sun.

The Wolf gazed upon the boy, her eyes softening at the pleading she found in his. Pleading her to say she wasn't joking, that this wasn't a trick. ~Yes, child, I'll give you a name. Let me think for a few moments,~ She replied, sitting heavily on the padded ground.