Deep within the dense forest, three wolves wandered. A black wolf took the front, his nose lowered to the ground as he took deep breaths, searching for a scent. Behind him, a white and brown wolf watched with careful eyes.
The black wolf stopped, lifted his nose upward, and angled his ears around. "There's a river somewhere to the left of us, the rabbit smell goes that way too."
The brown wolf let out a happy bark. "Good job, Izzy! We'll catch the little punk for sure!" She exclaimed as she patted her paws against the ground eagerly.
"Please don't call me that, my name is Izaya, not Izzy." The black wolf grumbled with slightly lowered ears.
The brown wolf, Mizuki, scoffed and shook her head. "Nah, too many syllables."
Izaya didn't even bother arguing back that 'Izzy' was only one syllable longer than his real name. He knew a stubborn person when he saw one. Instead, he turned towards the left and followed the scent.
After they walked in silence for a while, Izaya found his curiosity was getting the better of him. He slowed his pace so he would be next to the other two wolves, and tilted his head. "So, if werewolves are real, does that mean other supernatural creatures are too?"
Shiro stared at him for a moment and then inclined his head. "Yep. Vampires, banshees, ghouls, elves, nymphs… All those are real. But, just like us, most of them are either in hiding or have adapted to hiding among humans."
"And before you ask, no! Werewolves and vampires aren't enemies!" Mizuki interjected with a swish of her tail. "Why humans think we have to fight when we are both trying to stay safe from humans is beyond me!"
Izaya hummed in understanding. "I see… But, why did werewolves go into hiding anyways? I know it wasn't for being vicious, because none of you-" He caught himself and cleared his throat. "None of us acted feral when the full moon was out."
Shiro's gray eyes gleamed with anger. "We never acted like that, it was a superstition made up by humans. They feared us and our power and abilities. When they tried to kill us, of course we fought back. So, those who wanted us dead the most used it as justification and did their best to wipe us out."
"People believed we were vicious monsters, so they did their best to wipe us out," Mizuki added,"It's the reason there are no wolves in Japan. Nowadays, people will tell you it's because the wolves all got rabies and fought with humans… But we know better."
The white wolf nodded in agreement with his wife. "Jinsei makes sure every wolf knows our history. It helps pups understand why we have to stay hidden. History is the greatest teacher after all. Humans think the wolves are gone, and that's the safest for us right now."
Izaya took a few seconds to digest the information he had received. If he was human, he would have smirked. "Hmph, humans are so predictable. Simple words can manipulate them into doing monstrous actions! It shows their inner cruelty, don't you think?"
Next to him, Shiro visibly bristled. "They aren't cruel, they were scared and misled. It doesn't make it right, but it doesn't mean they are evil." He firmly declared.
"Is that so?" Izaya met his gaze without flinching. "Humans have been hurting each other since they discovered they could. They're little more than beasts even after years of evolution."
Shiro angrily opened his jaw to respond, but they were cut off by a loud bark. They stopped their small stand-off and spun around to face Mizuki with their ears raised.
"The rabbit!" Mizuki yelled and took off in a sprint towards the edge of the river, where the rabbit was hopping away. "Get it! Get it!"
The white wolf hurried to follow her, running in front of the rabbit's path and cutting it off with his teeth bared. He lunged forward to try and catch it, but the rabbit skidded in the mud and sprinted off towards the forest and straight towards Izaya.
"Catch it, Izzy, catch it!" Mizuki's excited bark reached Izaya's ears.
Although the idea of hunting a wild animal would have detested a human Izaya, his wild instincts had other plans. As the rabbit sprinted towards an opening of brambles next to Izaya's paws, he lunged forward and snapped his powerful jaws around the prey's throat. One snap later and the rabbit went limp, the taste of blood landing on Izaya's tongue.
He quickly dropped the hare's body to the floor, and stumbled backwards slightly. Although he had eaten some raw meat since changing form, he had never outright killed anything. It was a rather shocking, yet exhilarating feeling; He almost felt like howling with joy for having a successful hunt.
Mizuki and Shiro, both panting after the sudden exertion, trotted up to the bloodied rabbit and looked at it admiringly.
"Good catch!" Mizuki wagged her tail as she sniffed the body. "Usually it takes forever to catch a rabbit, even with the pack. You were super quick!"
Shiro, who was obviously still irritated from their conversation less than a minute ago, quietly muttered,"Good job…"
The brown wolf nuzzled her nose underneath the rabbit and nudged him towards Izaya. "Here, you caught him, you can have the first bite!"
Izaya was touched by the gesture. So touched that he shook his head and pushed the small creature back to her. "You guys eat first," He said without thinking. "You did all the work, I just got a lucky bite."
If either wolf was surprised by Izaya's sudden generosity, they didn't show it. They both dug in and left some meat for the informant broker once they were full. After a long day of tracking, Izaya didn't care that he was eating a dead rabbit, it tasted amazing.
About a week later, in a small clearing, a dust-covered Izaya stood panting heavily across from a crouched Shiro.
"One more time, attack me again." Shiro ordered him as he dug his claws into the dirt.
Izaya took a deep breath and ran forward again. Shiro quickly did the same and lunged forward with his jaws snapping threateningly. Izaya quickly ducked underneath the sharp teeth and rammed his head against Shiro's flank.
The larger wolf stumbled back a few steps before he regained his footing and bounded forward with his jaw open. Izaya knew he was going for his neck, which in a real fight would lead to death for a wolf.
Izaya quickly ran to meet him and dove down, sinking his teeth into Shiro's back leg and pulling it along with him. Shiro scratched at the soil frantically to try and remain standing but he had not been expecting the black wolf's actions and hit the ground with a loud thump.
Once he was sure the white wolf was down, Izaya stood over the other wolf and gently bit the skin on Shiro's scruff to indicate he had won the fight. As soon as he finished the small bite, he stumbled off the white wolf and sat on the ground panting heavily.
Shiro got to his feet and shook himself, which made dust and fur fly into the air. "Not bad, not bad at all. So that's two for you, and four for me." His eyes glinted with amusement at the mention of how many times he had beaten Izaya.
The black wolf huffed and flicked his tail irritably. "Don't act all high and mighty, Shiro. You basically beat up a puppy. I've only been like this for like a week, remember? If I had my knives, you wouldn't have a chance," He declared with a puff of his chest.
Mizuki's giggle made them both turn towards the bushes, where the brown wolf was emerging with two hares dangling in her jaws. She dropped them to the ground, and looked up at them. "Maybe you're a good fighter as a human, but werewolf fighting is much different, Izzy! When you're a werewolf, the only thing you can always rely on is your claws, your strength, and your brains!"
"What about teeth?" Izaya asked as he looked between them. "We were just using them in our practice fight, after all."
Shiro nodded. "We were, but… You have to be careful with what you bite." He turned his eyes up to the cloud covered sky. "Another thing that humans have wrong is that we can only turn people into werewolves when the moon is full. The truth is that our bite always has the chance to turn people."
Mizuki used her paw to draw a circle in the dirt. "When the moon is full, pretty much every bite will result in turning someone into a werewolf." She rubbed her paw over the circle. "Even when it is a new moon, there's still a chance. As the moon grows stronger, so do our bites."
"Which is why it is one of the three rules that all werewolf packs obey." Shiro turned his strong, intense gaze towards Izaya. "Werewolves must stick together, werewolves must never reveal their true form to humans, and werewolves must never bite a human."
Izaya shivered underneath the strong gaze, it felt as though Shiro was etching those three rules into his soul. When he pushed past the anxious feeling, he awkwardly asked,"So...I guess new werewolves aren't that common?"
Mizuki shook her head. "Not as much anymore. Of course, sometimes there's an accidental bite or a fight that goes wrong… But those are few and far between." She sniffed both rabbits as she continued,"Most wolf packs still have scouts that search for any new pups, that was how Shiro found you. If we're lucky we find them before the full moon and can help them before they almost get hit by a truck!"
Izaya's fur grew hot at the mention of his near-death experience mere minutes after transforming for the first time. He quickly pushed that aside, his curiosity still brimming. "So even as humans, we can tell where other wolves are?"
"Not just wolves, silly! We're supernatural creatures, remember? We have cooler abilities than that!" Mizuki bragged. "It's an ability we share with most other magical beings, we have the ability to sense when people like us are nearby!"
"By 'people like us', Mizuki means other supernatural creatures. Like, if you walked into a coffee shop and the barista is a vampire, you'd be able to tell. She'd also be able to tell you were a werewolf."
The brown wolf rolled over in the dirt. "Yeah! And that way if they turn out to be supernatural, that means you can bite them without guilt!" She giggled as she rolled over again, coating her fur in a layer of dust.
Izaya blinked in confusion and looked towards Shiro. "So I'm guessing that our bites won't affect other supernatural creatures?" He guessed.
Shiro nodded, seemingly relieved that Izaya was able to understand Mizuki's jumping from one topic to another. "Nope, and the same works for them. A vampire biting you won't turn you into a vampire, and your bite can't turn them either. So, if you're going to bite anyone, other supernaturals are the best."
Izaya tucked that information away in a safe place in his brain, as it was all important things that he definitely needed to remember. "Got it, no biting any silly humans." He leaned down and took a large bite of the rabbit. "Although I think it would be very interesting to see how humans react to such an ability! To observe them as they change, would they react differently? How interesting!"
Next to him, Shiro bristled again. "Don't even joke about stuff like that," He growled,"Transformations can be horrifying. Some people don't even survive them! Don't you dare think of biting anyone to get your sick kicks!"
"Oya, oya, so defensive over a simple joke?" Izaya cruelly teased. "Isn't that all part of life? Humans are like little lab rats, you never know how they'll react. How else will you know unless you nudge them into perfect scenarios?"
Izaya's tail swished excitedly at Shiro's reaction. The wolf's fur was raised, his teeth bared as he was about to release an onslaught of anger at the raven. But, before anything interesting could happen, Mizuki interjected.
"Hey! No fighting! Let's finish our food and get back to the cabin, we've been here too long already!" She snapped at them, her gaze landing on Shiro's form. "And you, don't forget what we talked about earlier."
Shiro's fur settled and he huffed in frustration, snatching the untouched rabbit and stalking towards the edge of the clearing. Mizuki sent Izaya a frustrated look before hurrying towards her husband, sitting with him.
Having successfully pushed the buttons of the two wolves, Izaya sat alone and finished off his own meal. However, he found he didn't feel as satisfied as he thought he would. Usually, when he messed with people, he was left feeling happy and fulfilled…
Why was it that when he hurt Shiro and Mizuki's feelings, it left a painful weight in his chest?
As they headed towards the old house, the gray clouds in the sky became storm clouds. A heavy rainfall, followed by strong wind, thunder, and lightning made the walk back extremely unpleasant. The mud stuck between their paws, and the rain made their coats heavy with water.
The wind sent the water straight into their face. They were forced to slow their pace and trudge forward with squinted eyes and flattened ears. They could barely see where they were stepping. It was only thanks to the flash of lightning that Izaya noticed something shiny on the ground.
As soon as he saw it, Mizuki's paw went towards the ground where it was shining. Panic burst through him and he burst forward, knocking Mizuki away. "Stop! There's a trap!" He barked over the howling wind.
Mizuki stumbled in shock, her eyes opening wide and looking down at the ground. Shiro followed their gaze and seemed to notice the trap as well. He used his paw to knock a small rock towards the trap. As soon as it landed, the trap snapped shut with a loud clang. It was a bear trap.
The brown wolf gasped and stumbled backwards. "Oh shit… I- I almost stepped in that?!" She squeaked, her tail between her legs and ears flat against her head.
Shiro suddenly raised his head into the air, his ears angling towards a sound in the woods. Without speaking he shoved Izaya and Mizuki into the foliage nearby and crouched down with them, his white coat barely noticeable thanks to the mud now coating it.
Seconds after they dove into the woods, two humans hurried towards the trap. One was a scrawny old man and the other was a teenage boy with an annoyed look on his face. The three hidden wolves held their breath, and stayed perfectly still.
"See?! I told you something has been prowling around here!" The man that smelt like a campfire explained. "Look! It tripped the trap! It's gotta be nearby! Let's find it before it gets to the chicken coop!"
The teen, who smelt like ramen and bad cologne, sighed in frustration. "Grandpa, it's pouring rain out here. The wind could have knocked something into the trap. It's too dangerous to go hunting something right now, the river might flood if this rain keeps up. Let's go home!"
The older man looked like he wanted to argue, but eventually snatched the trap from the ground and hurried after his grandson while grumbling in frustration. The three wolves in the foliage didn't move or breathe until the two humans were far gone.
"That was too close…" Shiro whispered, turning his gaze to his two companions. "Let's go, right now."
The three hurriedly made their way back to the house while keeping an eye out for any traps. They managed to make it home, but Izaya's heart was still pounding for hours afterwards. When was the last time he had felt that afraid? He wasn't sure.
The rain should wash away our tracks, though… He thought hopefully. Then we can go back, maybe further into the forest, and finish up this training when the rain settles down.
It seemed like luck was not on their side anymore. The horrible storm refused to let up even after a week. They had tried to go out into the forest, but the ground was so wet that their paws sank deep into the mud.
Their living situation wasn't much better. The wind managed to rip off several older roof tiles, leading to several leaks in the old house. All food they would usually hunt were hidden in their dens or moved to high ground, and when Shiro and Mizuki tried to follow them it ended with them nearly being caught by the angry uncle from before.
After a full week of the terrible rainstorm, filled with stressful events and empty stomachs, the tension between the three of them only grew worse. Like a rubber band pulled too far, they eventually snapped. Their snap happened at the beginning of the second week trapped in the decaying house.
Mizuki, in her human form, had just finished setting down three more pots to catch the drips from the holes in the ceiling. The sound of water hitting metal echoed through the room as a constant sound, one pot after the other catching the droplets.
The young woman sighed in exhaustion and slumped against the wall, holding her hands over her ears as the wind made the rain shutters clatter. "This storm is so awful! Why is it still going on?!"
Shiro looked down in one of the pots, which was already nearly filled with water. "We'll have to see if we can repair it next time we come down. Jinsei wouldn't want the house to stay like this, especially when the storm season starts for real."
Izaya watched their back and forth quietly when a large water drop suddenly landed on his nose. He jolted in surprise from the cold feeling and stumbled back, lowering his head and rubbing his paw against the place the water droplet had landed. "Ugh… There's another leak!"
"I don't know if we have anything else we can catch the leak with," Mizuki huffed from her spot on the floor.
The informant turned wolf sighed in frustration and moved away from the leak, settling down in the first dry spot he was able to find. He curled up the best he could to try and stop himself from shivering due to the cold.
Mizuki scooted towards her husband, who pulled her into an embrace. Everyone was silent for several minutes, until the young woman let out a nervous noise. "I'm afraid, Shiro…" She whispered. "This is the first time we've left the pack alone since..."
"Everyone will be fine, 'zuki," Shiro tried to reassure her.
Her forlorn eyes turned to meet his. "But what if it isn't? What if someone else disappears? We've already lost so many people, and so have the other packs! I… I don't want to lose anyone else…"
"Jinsei knows what he's doing" Shiro placed a kiss on her hair. "He has extra security and is keeping contact with the other pack leaders, remember? They'll make sure no one else goes missing."
Izaya, who was quietly listening, became too curious to stay quiet anymore. He looked towards the couple and tilted his head. "Missing? This is the first time I'm hearing about this…" He spoke louder than normal so that he could be heard over the clattering rain shutters.
Shiro and Mizuki exchanged concerned looks. Izaya could tell that they were trying to decide if they should explain or keep quiet.
"Jinsei said we shouldn't say anything until we get back," The young man told his wife.
Mizuki shook her head. "I didn't agree to that, Shiro. He deserves to know."
The white haired man looked like he wanted to argue, but instead sighed and crossed his arms across his chest. When it became obvious that he wasn't going to be saying anything about whatever they were whispering about, Mizuki took over.
"It's been happening for a few months now… Every now and then, a werewolf disappears without a trace. No one knows what happens to them." She hugged herself and shivered. "We've tried to track their scents, but it's like they vanish off the face of the Earth. We've had to be even more careful and watch our backs. But no matter how hard we try to be safe, people are still disappearing."
Mizuki motioned towards her husband. "That's why Jinsei has been sending out scouts more often than before. We want to find new wolves before they vanish like the others. We haven't found anyone who has disappeared, so the best we can do is try to keep the ones still around safe."
Izaya found that he felt a mixture of fear and concern. Fear of what could possibly be making the other werewolves disappear, and concern for where they might be and if they were safe. He felt genuinely worried at the idea of Mizuki or Shiro vanishing. These emotions, this care he felt for people he barely knew... It was overwhelming to him. So, Izaya did what he knew best: He lashed out.
"Ah… I see. Well then, why would anyone be interested in joining a pack when you aren't capable of protecting anyone?"
Mizuki and Shiro turned to him with wide, horrified eyes. Mizuki's hands went to cover her mouth, her eyes shining with guilt and unshed tears. Shiro's reaction, as usual, was much more explosive. He jolted to his feet with his teeth bared, and an angry growl rising up in his throat.
"What the fuck is wrong with you?!" He yelled at the black wolf. "They're werewolves just like you, they're your kind! How can you say something like that?!"
Izaya kept a calm expression on his face. "I may be a werewolf, but that doesn't mean I have to care about them. When I was human, I didn't care about giving information to those human traffickers. Why would I care about a bunch of glorified dogs?"
Shiro's fingernails began to turn to claws, as his growl grew louder. But Izaya was in too deep to stop, and his mouth moved on its own.
"When they went missing, no one cared to look for them. They disappear without a trace and are never found again." Izaya raised his red eyes to stare into the enraged grey ones. "You're just like all those missing humans, you mean nothing to me."
Shiro's chest heaved in frustration and he let out an angry snarl. Those clawed hands raised, as if he were about to strike Izaya down. But at the last second, his hand dropped and he sprinted towards the door. By the time he reached the shutters, he had transformed into a wolf and knocked it down with ease.
Mizuki quickly jumped to her feet and tried to catch him. "Shiro! Wait! Stop!" She called for her husband with an outstretched hand. But it was too late, the white wolf had already disappeared into the forest.
Izaya watched the scene without saying another word. Once again, instead of feeling the usual satisfaction he just felt that same heavy weight in his chest. He slumped his shoulders and lowered his head as confusion overwhelmed him. Why was he feeling this way?
"Are you happy now?" Mizuki's cold voice made him lift his head again. Her usually warm brown eyes glared down at him with disgust. "Is this what you want? To push away anyone who would try and be close with you? It's working very well, is that what you wanted to hear? Are you happy?!"
Her harsh tone made the heavy weight in his chest grow worse. As it grew more powerful, Izaya finally realized what it was. It was the feeling of immense guilt.
Izaya let out a large sigh, and hung his head. "No…" He quietly admitted.
Mizuki's angry gaze softened somewhat, but she stayed quiet and didn't respond to his quiet admission. The silence ate away at him, and he forced the emotions he had been pushing down to the surface.
"I… I don't know… Everytime someone tries to get close to me, I push them away or try to manipulate them. I care about you and Shiro, I do, but I still hurt you guys…" He whimpered and flattened his ears against his head. "Why… why did I do that?"
Mizuki stared at him for a few more painful moments before she knelt down and gently scratched him behind his ears. "I think I understand. You've kept yourself alone and pushed people away for so long, that when people genuinely try to reach out and befriend you, you don't know how to handle it."
Izaya nodded his head in agreement. "The last person I tried to open up to was Shizu-chan… But before I even said anything, he already decided he hated me…"
"You do realize that doesn't excuse the way that you're acting, right?" She questioned him seriously.
The heavy weight in his chest faded the slightest bit as he sighed and responded,"Yeah… I know…"
The woman looked towards the broken down door. "You know, you and Shiro are more alike than you probably realize."
"When Shiro was young, he grew up in a pretty bad home. Most of the time, the only attention he got was being hurt. But since he was all he knew, he did whatever he could to get a reaction out of people." Mizuki explained to him.
"Sometimes that was causing a fight, but most of the time it was manipulating people. He'd trick people into stealing, or fighting with each other. They'd always get mad at him, but he didn't care, because at least people were paying attention to him."
"But when he was a teenager, he picked a fight with the wrong person and got bit. Jinsei was the one who found him when he first changed. At first, Shiro tried to do the same to the pack. But Jinsei knew what he was doing, so he personally took Shiro to train him for his month as a wolf."
Mizuki smiled in admiration. "He helped show Shiro that there were people who cared for him, and would be by his side no matter what." She turned her gaze back to Izaya. "And that includes you. That's what we are trying to show you, Izaya."
The black wolf let out a slight whimper. "I- I don't understand. Y-you guys are so kind, even though I never returned your kindness. I feel so lost… Why are you both so kind when you know I wouldn't return the favor?"
"That's how packs work," Mizuki easily answered,"We aren't just a pack of wolves. We're a family. We protect and care for each other, even if the rest of the world is against us."
The idea of being part of a family was odd to Izaya. Of course he had a human family, but they had never been close. His parents were always out of the country, and he had practically been forced to raise his sisters on his own.
What was it like to have a family that cared for you unconditionally? Was that what a wolf pack was like? He remembered what Jinsei and Shiro had both said: 'Werewolves stick together'.
The feeling of guilt was overwhelming. Izaya knew he had gone too far. Despite obviously hating Izaya's line of work, Shiro had still taken the time to teach him how to be a wolf. And what had Izaya done in return? He had chased him away.
He whimpered and tucked his tail in between his legs. "Mizuki… I'm sorry…" He whispered,"I'm sorry for everything. I shouldn't have tried so hard to hurt you guys. There was no reason for it. I promise, I'll try to be better!"
Mizuki stared at him for a long moment before she nodded. "I believe you, and I forgive you." She said with a gentle smile. But it quickly faded as she turned back to the broken door. "But I'm not the one you need to convince."
Izaya followed her gaze and felt the guilt return once more. He had pushed Shiro so hard that the werewolf had no choice but to run away. At that moment, he knew what he had to do.
He rose to his paws and went toward the broken door. "I'm going to find him," He declared.
Mizuki nodded her head proudly as she crouched down, the gentle glow surrounding her body before she morphed into the form of a graceful brown wolf.
She lifted her head and angled her ears. "Let's go."
Together, the two wolves slid through the broken door and disappeared into the dense foliage of the forest in search of their runaway pack member.