Hi everyone! Sorry for the long wait. I was caught up with university work, Japanese and the work for the otome game I am making with a friend. We are still looking for people, so if you are interested, look up lunasol and black rose café for more info or pm me.

And a big cyber-hug to everyone who reviewed, favorited and followed.

─=≡Σ((( つ o )つ

And as a small sorry, here is an extra long chapter.

Please R&R!

'Thoughts'

"Speech"

Chapter 3 – Shy Loyalty

The ice cold feel of cold sweat trickling down his already icy skin, felt like the touch of death itself. Yamis breath was shallow, while his mind was panicking. He had been trained all his life to be able to make quick decision in dire situations, but nothing could prepare him for facing this beast.

Blood hounds were known to slaughter everything they came in contact with and were considerable opponents, no matter their size or age.

They were a rare mix of werewolf and vampire blood that had somehow formed these unstable, wolf like creatures. They were hunted and killed at birth, but it had not always been that way…

Back when the war between vampires and werewolves was still unthinkable, there had been many families with parents of both kinds, but their children were only able to become one or the other. Their offspring would either be vampiric or wolfen, they thought, but that was only until the first blood hound had been born…

When the first werehound had been born the people had been ecstatic, thinking that the child had been especially gifted and was destined to do great things and it had looked that way for quite some time, but the child was soon to show its' true colors…

One night most of the adults had gone out to hunt for the celebration of the towns founding. Having been successful they went back, only to find everything they loved and held dear in ruins.

The houses had been laid to waist; fire was devouring the last remnants of their prized possessions. They searched frantically for the women and children they had left in the village.

They found them…

Bled dry.

It was obvious enough who had done it, but the townspeople didn't want to believe that a sweet nine year old child had been able to slaughter everyone they loved, but she was the only one not among the carnage.

The town buried and mourned their dead. They were willing to continue living in the decimated town and honor their dead, but for that they never had a chance.

The very next night a monstrous wolf appeared. The few people left tried to defend themselves, but were no match for the towering mass of bestial rage they were up against. It all ended with just one heavily wounded female standing against the beast.

No one knows how, but somehow she managed to mortally wound the creature, before falling to her knees. She gazed upon the hideous thing that had killed her husband, only to see it shift and turn back into the very child she had thought lost, her own daughter.

When neighboring villagers finally came to aid, all they found was death, with a sobbing woman in the center of the main road weeping bloody tears over her dead child.

The woman told them what had happened in the town and it wasn't long before the same tragedy happened in another town and another and another…

There was no denying it any longer.

Werehounds were too dangerous to be left alive. At some point or another they went insane and hunted down anything with a single breath in its body and didn't stop until it itself was killed.

And now Yami was faced with just such a beast.

The fierce gaze of the werehound landed on him as a shiver claimed control of Yami body; its ears laid back against its head and lowering its front body slightly. It looked like it was ready to jump him at any second.

Yamis hand instinctively tightened on his sword, his eyes never leaving the white wolf in the room. He knew he was stronger than the hound, but he would be dead before he could even lift the blade to defend himself.

Werehounds killed by using their speed. They inflicted lacerations and then used their magic to draw all of the victims' blood out of their body until they were dead. Once injured there is no way to stop them from killing you; any injury inflicted on them was useless, because every drop of blood they stole healed them. On a battlefield, they were virtually undefeatable.

Even knowing he stood no chance Yami was determined to at least defend himself and maybe injure it if he got lucky. Then the others could manage to kill it. As a leader he had to do his best, for his people. Even if they would condemn him once they found out what he had done.

The young wolf slowly lifted one of its forepaws. Yami instantly answered the action by falling into a defensive mode.

The air in the room was tense as the moonlight flitted off of the dragon blade in the vampire kings hand. The harsh sound of a panicked breath broke the silent standoff. Yami made himself ready for the blow that would most likely end his life, the memories of the blood of his father splattered in the room was the last thing that flashed before his mind as he anticipated his own demise. He waited for his enemies' move, and move it did…

The most feared and deadly beast standing in front of Yami tilted its head with the most pathetic kicked puppy look and whine that Yami ever seen or heard.

The scene itself was so heart wrenching it made him blade hand shake with uncertainty, as an intense guilt cut him, like the unforgiving claws of a werewolf.

He could do it; he could rid his kingdom of this menace and save them all. He only needed to swing his sword and end it here and now, just like he had done countless times on the battlefield. He was just going to defend his people. Even if the werehound was stable now, it was only a matter of time before it would go rampant and destroy everything it touched.

Wasn't it better to put it out of its misery before it got that far? Before it had its paws drenched in the deaths of his people?

Now was the time to decide fate and strike, before it could, there was just one problem…what if it was a trick?

This innocent act could all be a trick to lure him in and strike him down, while he isn't on guard, or it was real and he was forced to kill an, as of yet, innocent boy.

Yami only had a heartbeat to decide what to do and being the tactician he was meant to be, he decided on the course he had to take. For his people.

He could only play along with it if it was an act and use the closeness to strike and if it wasn't he could use the closeness to put the werehound to death as quickly and painlessly as possible.

He had to.

Yami ever so slowly lowered his arm and straightened his pose, waiting to be jumped while he did so. The young werehound didn't move as he inched towards it. As he was just a few feet away its eyes made contact with his again. The soft lashes around its silvery amethyst eyes were a blackish coal and framed them in elegance. The fur on its neck stood up slightly as it seemingly flinched away from Yami, but only crouched down towards the floor more and hid its tail between its legs. The young wolf seemed to have seen the vampires intent in his eyes, but its gaze never fell.

The red eyed vampire crouched down onto one knee and started moving his hand towards the silvery animal, as if he wanted to let it sniff it. While doing so, he inconspicuously used his other hand to grab something out of his leather boot, and held it tightly in the hand that the wolf couldn't see.

Yamis' hand slowly drifted towards the werehound, intent on grabbing him at the back of its neck. He inhaled shallow, shaky breaths, as his hand entered biting range. The wolf could easily bite him now.

His hand was almost touching the silver muzzle of the young wolf, when it suddenly moved…

Practically already feeling the familiar, piercing pain of sharp fangs slicing into his skin Yami quickly raised his other hand that was now holding the small dagger he had hidden in his boot and made to strike the werehound, when he felt something wet on his hand…

Was it his own blood? Had his demise already been brought about? Was this going to be his last moment on earth?

Not sure if he wanted to see the truth for himself the vampire king opened his eyes only to see a slight shimmering trail on his hand, that seemed to almost glitter in the moonlight.

He'd licked him!

The young wolf looked up at him with the biggest and most uncertain puppy dog eyes anyone could imagine. Yami felt frozen in place. Stuck in between shock, over the fact that he could have already been dead and the implications of what the wolf had just done.

Yami didn't know much about werewolves and even less about werehounds, but he knew what that gesture meant. It was a sign of utmost gratitude and a pledge to repay a severe debt. This young wolf wasn't trying to harm him, he was practically declaring fealty!

In his shock the small wolf took the chance and shyly licked his hand again, while looking up at him uncertainly. Still to shocked to make sense of what was happening; Yami barely reacted to the touch.

This werehound had to be extremely young to not have gone insane, like its brethren. It looked near the full age for a werewolf, judging by its body size, but then such things could be deceiving.

There was no way the wolf was faking being sane either. When a werehound lost its sanity it attacked everything, and never stopped. No thought or planning went into what it did. It was only driven by the need to kill.

Had the innocent act been a simple ploy to make him easier pray he would have already been lying beside Noahs corpse and would be on his way to the afterlife to rejoin his father. There was no doubting it…

The one in front of him hadn't committed the crimes its kind was bound to commit. As of yet, it was innocent.

Yami locked his gaze with the wolf; letting his hand touch the silky fur around the silvery wolfs ears. It felt soft and warm against his cold skin. It had an almost sedating effect to run his hand through the moonlight colored strands, while letting the soft body heat run along his skin.

The young one tilted his head into the soft touch and let out a soft whimper, begging yami to pet him more.

He didn't know why, but he let the dagger slip from his hand and used the now unarmed hand to softly scratch along the back of the young wolf that was nuzzling his hand. He scratched behind the wolfs ears and watched as an almost euphoric expression took hold of the young wolfs face. The silver youth looked so much like a puppy in that moment in time, that no one in the world could possible believe he could ever do anything wrong.

It was an almost serene scene in the moonlit office…Yami softly stroking through downy fur as the young wolf gently nuzzled and licked his hand, with soft, pleased, puppy like whimpers drifted through the night air.

Yami felt calmer than he had since he had been forced to take the throne. The scent of tiger-lilies and warmth seemed to come in waves off of the fur he was stroking through with his sword calloused hands.

He could feel his tense muscles uncoil as the almost decadently soft hairs swayed against his skin and tickled his wrists, but all of the tranquility was shattered as they both heard loud footsteps and cussing coming closer towards them, shocking the vampire king back into reality.

His hands stilled mid stroke, as everything came crashing back to him. He was in a room with the corpse of one of his councilmembers, that he was known to hate, and a being that would have everybody running for their pitchforks.

Try as Yami did, he only came to one conclusion: He was screwed.

For the second time that night the accursed door to his office was thrown open…

"Yami! Tell your stupid damned advisor to…!" said the tall blond figure that now stood in the doorway, before the carnage in the room registered with him.

The male immediately fell into a crouched position, ready to pounce on the wolf that was in his mind clearly attacking his friend. Dark blond fur, streaked with sand hues sprouted from his visible skin, as his eyes shifted from the usually soothing brown to a menacing golden hue.

A deep growl seemed to shake the room as one predator made itself ready for the kill.

Yami wanted to step in, not wanting his friend to fall victim to the obviously more powerful werehound in front of him, but he couldn't even utter the first syllable of his name, before he heard the ominous sound of shifting bones, signaling a finished transformation, before the blond wolf savagely sprang at the other, fangs and claws beard for the kill.

A soft whimper was heard in the next instant, as one of the combatents came to stand before the vampire king.

He had expected a blood bath, a massacre, had even been about to try and grab the werehound and restrain him, but one fate seemed to be relentlessly torturing him today. He had gone from slight anxiety about the long silence from the werewolves, to enduring utter chaos in one night, and yet somehow fate had found a way to catch him even more off guard.

After everything that had happened in the last few hours Yami had thought he couldn't be surprised by anything anymore, but even his long life and everything that he had endured couldn't have let him anticipate what was playing out before his very eyes, like a macabre comedy.

Here was a creature that struck fear in the very hearts of hardened warriors and ruthless mercenaries, cowering behind him for protection, while his blond friend stood puzzled before him.

Soft whimpers and sharp breaths, caused by fear, emitted from the small wolf that had obviously sought him out for protection. It was half curled up in a ball, as if waiting for immense pain, while its ears were laid back and slight shivers raked its body uncontrollably.

The blond wolf, that was Yamis friend barked and growled sharply at the white-silver wolf, but that only made him cower more. Not knowing what to do the bigger, blond wolf looked at Yami, silently asking what to do.

Yami quickly looked from his friend to the still terrified wolf behind him, and with a slight sigh turned back to his friend.

"Joey turn back, he's not a threat"

A protesting whine came from Joey, who obviously didn't believe that the smaller wolf wasn't something to worry about, but Yamis emotions had been tried to often tonight to let his friend try and sway him. He sent a harsh glare towards the blond wolf, who knew not to disobey Yami in that moment. There was no reasoning with him if Yami when he decided to put his foot down and Joey knew it. That very stubbornness was part of the reason he was still alive.

Joey reluctantly shifted back into his two legged form, while never letting his eyes leave the younger wolf. Just because Yami trusted him, didn't mean he had to.

"Why'd ya stop me?! He…"

"Joey! He didn't harm me" Yami quickly interjected. A headache was quickly building behind his eyes, as the stress of the night seemed to finally really take a toll on him.

"You're alone in a room, with a dead body on the floor and a werewolf in front of ya, and ya expect me to believe he didn't want to harm ya?! He's a werewolf for crying out loud! Their evil!" the blond practically ranted, while Yami softly rubbed his temples, trying to stave off the building pressure.

He was never one to have something as petty as headaches, let alone let them get to him, but the pain was defiantly working itself deeper into his brain. All he wanted to do was lock himself in his chambers and tell the world to go take care of itself for once, but to do that, he had to first

"The last time I checked you were a werewolf too Joey"

"That's different! I'm on your side and you know it! He could be a spy for Atemu for all we know!" he answered, with a clear tinge of hurt in his eyes.

Joey never liked being reminded of his heritage. He had turned his back on his own kind when his own pack had turned on him and had almost killed him. They hunted him down when he stood up to his direct alpha and lost. His alpha, his own father, had ordered the other pack members to kill him.

In his desperation he had turned to the only people he could, the very enemy he had been sworn to hate and kill, the vampires. He knew that they would likely finish the job his former pack members had started, but if there was even a slight chance of getting out of this alive, it was with them.

He had come across Yami, who had seen him injured, but not yet to the point where he couldn't have been saved. After having killed so many other wolves on the field of battle that very hour, Yami was loath to add to the number of corpses that were already littering the ground like monotone confetti. After having seen these kind of things so often, they really had become monotone. Every dead body, no matter how mangled, torn or shredded now looked just as different to him as the leaves on a tree did, meaning not at all.

Yami had tried to send Joey away, but the younger male had stayed and begged him to take him to the vampire king. Not knowing he was now talking to the very man himself. His father had just died three weeks before and he had already taken the throne.

"If I take you to the castle it would be your death" Yami had told him, but Joey only said he was already dead, and the only thing he had left was to plot revenge upon those who had wronged him, the ones who had been meant to shelter and protect him, his own family.

After hearing the full story Yami had decided to keep Joey around, if even just so he could get information from him about the workings within the werewolf court, but they had turned into friends over time and if there was one thing Joey didn't let happen, it was letting his friends get hurt, and as far as he saw it, Yami was running straight to his grave.

"There is no way he was sent by it" Yami said, refusing to use the name of the Werewolf king, like Joey just had.

Even before he had taken the throne Yami had been told that to call his enemies by their name was to show them a form of respect, and if it was one thing that thing didn't deserve in his eyes, it was respect.

"Besides" he added in a grave tone "if he had wanted to kill either one of us, we would already be dead".

"Ha, like a half sized whelp like him could take me! I can take him any day!" Joey said while raising his fist for emphasis, which only managed to draw a high pitched yelp from the shaking ball of fur behind Yami.

Ignoring his insulted friend Yami turned his back on the wolf named Joey and kneeled down in front of the cowering k9.

"It's ok, he's not going to hurt you" he said, while softly running his hands through his fur again. Glassy, lavender eyes peeked up at him, seeking reassurance that what he said was really true and not just another cruel lie.

Finally gaining enough courage to move his head slightly, the young werehound rubbed its head against Yamis leg.

"That's right, it's going to be ok" the vampire reassured him again.

Frightened muscles skeptically unfurled to reveal the small wolfs full form, lying on the bloody carpet, giving a harsh contrast to the moonlit strands of silk like fur.

Tentatively the young one raised itself up on its legs, and rested one of its forepaws on Yamis bent leg, so it could reach his face. Ever so slowly he inched closer to the young ruler, giving him time to move away from him, all the while having its ears tucked back, as a sign of shyness.

Still consumed by uncertainty the wolf gave a shy lick to Yamis cheek bone before rubbing the same place with its head.

"What the hell!?" a shocked blond yelled, seemingly braking the trance yet again. This time however the younger wolf didn't run and hide at his outburst but simply flinched, not willing to back down without an answer to his request.

"Do you know what he just did?!" Joey yelled again.

"He….he just…he just asked me to… be his alpha" Yami breathed, while still holding the gaze of the young wolf, who was now tilting its head to one side, in a silent question. Wonder took hold of the vampires' heart.

Here he was, face to face with one of the strongest creatures to ever grace the earth and it was asking him, him of all people to be its leader, its protector, its guide, its alpha…

Ok, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. I was having trouble getting the atmosphere right. Most of the dog behavior is inspired by how my dog acts. (She's a spoiled rotten princess).

In the next one we'll find out who the wolf is and if Yami accepts the offer of being his alpha (^-^)

Reviews remind me I need to write more! So R&R please!

-LGK