As the van rounded the corner, the shine of the illuminated city hit the windows and roused a dozing Izaya back into the world of the living. His red eyes blinked open tiredly, he pulled his head off the window- his neck aching in protest -as he turned to examine the sight of the city they were approaching.

Despite the fact that Izaya had often declared how much he loved Ikebukuro, in that moment all he felt was dread. He wished they didn't have to go back to the city, where werewolves were being persecuted, he wished he could take his pack and run back to the countryside, follow the gray wolf, and enjoy freedom without fear.

But running away won't stop those monsters from going after other packs. He shook his head. No, we won't be free until we find our missing packmates, and stop whatever those bastards are planning before they can start.

The feeling of movement on his side caught Izaya's attention. When he turned his gaze to his side, he found Hashim- now in human form -clinging to his side and staring at him through barely open eyes. "Are… Are we home yet?" He asked through a yawn.

"Almost there, I'll be sure to wake you when we are," Izaya promised in a gentle voice. "You can go back to sleep, Hashim."

The pup muttered incoherently as his eyes slid shut, and he somehow managed to snuggle even closer to the older werewolf. Izaya wished he could do the same, but being this close to Ikebukuro once again had left him too anxious to think about sleep.

He looked towards the front and saw Eiji in the front seat, driving at a steady pace towards the city. He seemed relaxed, but his white knuckled grip on the steering wheel told Izaya that he wasn't alone in his concerns. He looked past Hashim and found Tom sitting on the other side of the seat, his eyes focused on his phone and his dark eyes shining with the same anxiety as Izaya.

"So…" Izaya awkwardly began as he tried to think of a way to settle everyone's fears for a few minutes. "Tom, what did you think of being in a pack?"

Tom looked up from his phone, his anxiety replaced with a conflicted expression. "Well… I mean, it was better than I thought. I've seen some packs with a pack leader that acts like a dictator running an army, but your pack seems… Very normal."

In the front seat, Einji snorted in amusement. "I guess normal is one thing to call us, Jinsei certainly didn't like it when I called us a wannabe dog pound"

Tom looked between Eiji and the also giggling Izaya, and arched an eyebrow. "Why not?"

"Ah, he just doesn't like it when we talk badly about ourselves. Jinsei-san has a tendency to pick up strays, which is why so many of us come from different backgrounds. Usually, a pack is made up of similar people with the ideals of their pack leader. He doesn't really care about that, he sees us as a family, so he wants us all to be safe."

Izaya nodded in agreement. "You know how I used to be, Tom. When Jinsei first introduced me, a few people knew who I was and didn't want me to stay. But he knew I had nowhere to go, so he let me stay despite who I was."

Tom gave a small smile, it seemed he was comforted by the tales of Jinsei's kindness. "I see…" He tensed up a bit, and then continued,"But… What happens when the pack leader dies? Who takes over? Is there a fight?"

"Well, a pack leader usually has their second in command chosen from the moment they become leader. If something happens to them, or if they step down, the second in command takes over. So, for our pack, that would be Shiro." Eiji explained as he merged onto the last highway they needed to take.

Izaya made an agreeing noise. "Yes, fighting doesn't happen that often. If a packmate wants to challenge for leadership, they can, but usually it won't turn into a fight for leadership unless more than half of the pack is on the challenger's side."

"That makes sense…" Tom muttered as he rubbed the back of his neck. "The only pack I was ever in was with my parents, I had no idea how a real pack worked, I was always scared that I would get trapped in one that was filled with hatred and fighting. It's nice to know that most packs, especially yours, aren't like that. Your pack is a family, you all care for each other, it's really… Beautiful."

The raven haired werewolf looked at the young man, a hopeful expression clear on his face. "Does that mean… You're thinking of joining our pack?"

Tom looked momentarily surprised, like he hadn't been expecting to be offered a place in their group. "Really? But… I'm not… I'm not one of you, I just happened to be with Izaya when we found Hashim."

From the front of the car, Eiji let out an amused snort. "Were you not listening to what I just said? Jinsei and the others don't care if they barely know you. If you feel like you belong, we'll welcome you with open arms… or paws. Depends on the moon."

As Eiji chuckled at his own joke and Izaya rolled his eyes, Tom watched them both with a fond expression. His cheeks dusted the slightest pink as he tried to find courage once again. "I think I-"

SLAM!

Whatever the man was about to say was ripped out of his mouth as something heavy crashed into the side of their van. Tom crashed back against the car, with Izaya and Hashim only saved from landing on him by their seatbelts.

In the front seat, Eiji had to frantically turn the wheel to stop the car from toppling over onto its side. When they had finally come to a stop, their car hanging in two lanes, he looked in his mirrors. "What the fuck was that about?!"

Out of the corner of his eye, Izaya noticed some headlights. "Look!" He turned in his seat, pointing towards another van on the empty highway. The car had a damaged front, and was now speeding towards them.

"Shit!" Eiji pressed the gas pedal, but was unable to get far enough. The car slammed into the back of theirs and sent them rolling forward with a screech. The werewolf kept his foot on the gas once he was sure they wouldn't crash, using the extra momentum to get further away.

Izaya's ripped his eyes away from the following car as he heard Hashim let out a terrified cry. He looked down at the boy, and found his eyes wide with tears and body shuddering.

"What's happening?! Why are they trying to hurt us!?"

The informant broker has a suspicion, but he didn't want to scare the boy further. "Keep your head down, Hashim. Don't let them see you!" He ordered the boy as gently as he could.

Hashim whimpered, but did as he was told. He scrunched up further in the seat and covered his face with his hands. Tom placed a hand on the boy's shoulder and gave a squeeze, a desperate attempt to comfort him.

"Izaya… It's them, isn't it?" Tom cryptically asked, his concerned tone enough to tell the raven what he was referring to.

The two men who had tried to kidnap Hashim before the two werewolves had managed to fight them off. Izaya had no doubt it was something related to them. But how did they track them down? How long had they been following them?

Eiji did his best to try and lose their chasers by weaving through different highways, taking them further from Ikebukuro, but the van stayed right on their tail, taking whatever hits they could when the werewolves' van slowed down too much.

Izaya could feel his heart slamming against his chest as the smell of burnt metal began to sting his sensitive nose. At this rate, there was no way they could lose their pursuers before their car was too damaged to go further. I have to do something!

The werewolf removed his seatbelt and pushed himself up and over the seat. He landed in the back, by the doors. They were dented and bulging inward, but Izaya had a feeling they would open if he used enough force.

He reached into his leather jacket until his hands gripped the handles of his trusty switchblades. Flicking two of them open, he turned his head back towards the other occupants. "Eiji! Let me know when you're going to make a turn!"

Izaya was unsure if Eiji knew what he was planning to do or not, but the other werewolf readily agreed without a second thought.

They sped down the dark and empty highway for what felt like an eternity, the pursuing van nearly managing to hit them twice more before he finally heard his packmate yell back to him.

"Get ready!"

Seconds after he spoke, the car screeched around a bend and nearly sent the informant tumbling. But he held on tight, and used his leg to kick open the metal door. He grabbed the inside handle of the second door, and glared at the darkness.

The headlights emerged, he saw the side of the van, and his heartbeat skyrocketed. With deadly accuracy, Izaya threw his switchblades ahead of the car. The metal shimmered against the streetlights as they headed towards their destination, then two loud pops echoed across the highway.

Izaya watched as the van desperately attempted to halt themselves, but they were going too fast. Smoke billowed from the popped tires and sparks flew as the van crashed against the nearby guardrail and didn't move again.

The werewolves' own van quickly sped out of view, freed from their pursuers at last. Izaya let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding and flopped backwards against the seat. He didn't dare try to close the open door, not when he was feeling so nauseous.

"Is… is it over?" Hashim's anxious voice asked through the wind, still hiding against the plush seats of the van.

Eiji rolled them towards an exit and let out a few quick breaths. "No, not yet. We have to get off the highway and ditch the van. It's not safe for us anymore."

Tom nodded his head, a bit of color returning to his flushed face. "A-and… After that?"

"To the bookstore, we need to make sure Jinsei and the others are safe."

None of the three adults dared to argue, they were worried about the other packmates as well. If those kidnappers had managed to track them down when they were on the middle of a highway, who's to say they hadn't found the hideout too?

The group left the van in the middle of a random parking lot, where it couldn't be traced back to them, gathered anything that could be recognized, and left it behind.

Once they were away from the cameras, they shifted into their wolf forms to move more discreetly. Hashim was too small to keep up, and too terrified to even try, so Izaya gently carried him by his scruff as they went.

They dodged and weaved through the city, taking a bizarre route and backtracking several times to try and make it impossible to follow them.

An hour later, the four werewolves managed to find their way back to the unassuming bookstore. The three adults were quick to raise their noses and take in the smells. They caught the scent of several packmates, some still fresh.

Eiji hopefully lifted up a paw and scratched at the door in a pattern. With a weak whimper he hopped backwards and waited, all three of them shuffling on their paws.

But the door remained unmoving, and the trio of werewolves grew more anxious.

"Damn it! What if they got taken? What if there's none of them left?!" Eiji exclaimed, his voice much more panicked than before. "Izaya, Tom, what are we going to-"

A quiet clicking sound made the three of them freeze and spin around. Standing at the opening of the alley were five men, holding the same tranquilizer guns that Izaya had seen before.

"NO!" Eiji screamed in horror as he burst forward and slammed his body into the nearest men, sending him crashing into the ground.

Tom soon followed with a ferocious snarl, his claws raking the air as he jumped upwards and slashed at the dumbfounded men.

Izaya noticed the three men still standing aiming their weapons at him. He burst forward, claws raking and Hashim still held in his mouth. He felt the dart rub against the tip of his tail, too close for his liking.

He skidded to a stop by the large dumpster and dropped Hashim, shoving him under with his paw. "Listen to me, Hashim, if anything happens to us, you have to run and find help, okay?!"

"Izaya!" Hashim screamed in terror, but the black werewolf didn't allow himself to hesitate. He could comfort the kid once they were safe.

Only two men were up this time, with both of them aiming at Izaya. The darts flew out and the black wolf yelped, dropping to the ground as the dart's side raked against his ear tip.

Using the ground as leverage Izaya burst forward and slammed his large head into the man's stomach. He let out a gasp as his air was taken from him and stumbled backwards.

But he didn't fall, as his hands reached out and gripped Izaya's scruff with a painful yank. "Shoot the damn thing, shoot it now!"

No! No! No! No! Izaya howled and threw his body backwards. The man stumbled forwards, and the bright colored dart landed straight in his shoulder.

"Fuck! You idiot!" The man cried out as his grip loosened the slightest bit.

Izaya thrashed his head side to side and spun around, only to be met by sudden pain and stars in his vision as the standing man's foot slammed against the side of his head.

The werewolf stumbled backwards, and another kick landed on his ribs. He helped again and hit the ground, his vision forcing him to notice the sight of an unmoving Eiji on the ground and a man kneeling over him, smirking with victory.

A sudden burst of pure rage rose up in Izaya's body. He saw red, and forgot his pain as he flew forwards. His jaw slammed around the man's neck, and he heard a satisfying snap followed by a horrified, bloody gurgle. But Izaya didn't let go, his teeth sunk deeper as blood pooled in his mouth, he didn't know how long he held on before his jaw finally unhinged.

When the red was gone from his vision, Izaya realized what he had done. His ears flattened against his head and his red eyes widened in horror. The man's head now lay at an awkward angle as blood pooled around it, his eyes void of any signs of life.

"You killed him…" One of the attackers whispered in terror. Izaya turned around just in time to see the attacker grab a sharp weapon from his belt and raise it up. "You fucking MONSTER!"

He never got a chance to take a step. There was a loud neigh behind him, and a black slash flying through the air. He stumbled for a moment, his knees cracked against the ground, and he fell to the floor.

Izaya turned his gaze upwards and gasped. "Celty!" He cried in relief. He didn't dare move, afraid that if he took a single step he would fall.

When he looked around them, he found themselves surrounded by Celty's shadows. The three men that Eiji and Tom had fought were gone, as if they had never been there. Tom was on the ground panting heavily, a gash on his side staining his brown fur with blood. His eyes were blurry, he didn't seem like he was completely conscious, at least his was breathing.

But the worst part happened when Izaya looked towards where Eiji had been laying. Instead of an unconscious packmate, the spot was empty. The man was gone… They had taken him away.

"No…" Izaya croaked. In mere minutes, it felt like he had lost almost everything.

Izaya limped his way over to Tom, and healed the injuries the best he could, weakened from his own assault. Tom was slow to sit up, but managed to with Celty's support.

After a few moments of silence, Hashim in human form slowly made his way to stand next to them. Izaya didn't have the heart to yell at the kid, not when his own heart was shattered.

"Is… is it over?" Hashim gently whispered, his red rimmed eyes looking between the werewolves and Dullahan. "Are we safe?"

Izaya and Tom exchanged a glance. They both knew the answer to that question was no. Their pack was missing, Eiji was taken, they were like next. Nothing was okay, but they didn't have the heart to admit it to the terrified child.

The werewolf turned his eyes towards the floor. "Hashim… I… I don't know…" He weakly admitted.

Hashim sniffled, and then broke into ugly sobbing. He threw himself forward, and buried his face into Izaya's fur, arms wrapped tightly around him in a desperate search for comfort.

The hug sent stabs of pain through him, Izaya didn't try to stop the crying child.. He knew if he had been in human form, tears would be falling down his cheeks as well.

Even though they all knew they needed to move, to get away from where they had been attacked, none of them moved.

They merely sat by what had once been their safe haven, and mourned.