The last chapter was a little long due to adding dialogue that I had skipped over the first time I wrote chapter two. This chapter is not as long. Apparently the events of my last two chapters will differ from the show. If you recall, Hubb died at the end of this episode. He won't die in this story.

Chapter Three- High Tide, High Time

A fair snowstorm had started and it made tracking almost impossible for the novice wolf. But, he was determined to track the noble. A cloak dragging across snow reached his ears. He turned his ears this way and that, his nose taking in every scent it could. Darcia's scent reached him and he turned to see the noble not five feet in front of him. He backed up, bared his teeth, and growled threateningly. Darcia looked at him with what could only be called amusement in his eyes.

"The detective has found his inner wolf. My congratulations. However, you will not be the one who will open Paradise." Darcia's hand whipped out and caught Hubb in the chest. He landed on his side before getting back up. He ran at the noble, leaped and buried his teeth in Darcia's arm.

There was no cry of pain which confused Hubb. Also of interest were the bullet holes near the heart. How could this guy still be alive?

Darcia grabbed the back of Hubb's neck and roughly threw him to the ground. He hit the ground harder than last time. He lay there, stunned, wondering if he was going to die. His question was answered when a white shape appeared in front of him.

Kiba growled at the human while Hubb struggled to get up. "I know you have the stone to open Paradise. What are you waiting for?" the white wolf growled to Darcia.

"For a wolf," the noble answered. "I've been waiting for you."

"What?"

"Soon, you will lose everything just as I have lost everything. All you have must be discarded before entering. That is the law of the new world. The seal has been broken. Hurry. Paradise if right under your nose."

Kiba ignored this. Paradise was for wolves and he wasn't going to leave any of them behind. The dark noble disappeared in a swirling mass of snowflakes as Hubb finally got up.

"You okay, Hubb?" Kiba asked, turning to him.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

A howl sounded from far away. Kiba's ears twitched. "That's Toboe. Let's go." Kiba took off with Hubb not too far behind. The scene that greeted the two wolves was terrible.

Quent lay on the ground, his blood pooling under him. His eyes had misted over, a clear sign that he was dead. Blue was laying on top of the body, crying and saying, "Pops!" over and over again.

Toboe howled again and Hubb felt obliged to join in. He let out a mournful howl and the others joined him. Their howls echoed across the frozen wasteland.

Hubb stared sadly at Quent's body. What happened to him? Stepping closer, he could make out a bullet wound. Judging from the hole's position, it was clear that this wasn't suicide. Plus, he didn't smell anything coming from the gun in Quent's hand. He had been murdered and he had a pretty good idea who did it: Darcia.

"Let's go," Kiba said, breaking the silence. "He's still out there. It's our Paradise he wants to open."

Tsume said something to Hige, but Hubb didn't know what it was about. Although, it sounded like Tsume was calling Hige a coward, because Hige said he wasn't going to run.

Cheza drew everyone's attention when she spoke of The Tree of All Seeds. She indicated the far horizon as its' location. Onward the group went. They started up a path and the further up they went, the thinner the air got. They finally achieved their destination and the tree loomed before them, its branches bare. Hubb wasn't sure the tree was special, but clearly Cheza did as she approached it and placed a hand on it.

"The Tree of All Seeds has been alive this whole time. It has felt a world of pain. But no longer. It can breathe freely now." she said. The tree began to glow and whatever it had flowed into Cheza. The tree froze over and bright colored lights ribboned across the sky. Cheza pointed to a nearby mountain range. "Over there. The first mountain. That is the entrance to Paradise."

Excitement swelled within the red wolf once again. The lights were beautiful and Paradise was closer than ever. As he backed up to view the lights better, his tail brushed against metal. Curious, he turned to see remnants of a building with etchings and symbols carved into them. One symbol caught his eye and he examined it more closely.

"The Darcia family crest," he said, catching everyone's attention.

"What about it?" Tsume asked.

Hubb racked his brain. He had read about it in The Book of the Moon, but what did it say? Oh, yes. Now, he remembered. "The Tower of the Seal. That's what this place is. According to the Book of the Moon, the Nobles built this place to seal off the wolves' Paradise."

"Seal? The seal has been broken," Kiba said. "That's what he said to me. His wolf's eye showed him that Jagara's Paradise wasn't real. He wants to open our Paradise and he's trying to become a wolf in order to do it."

"What if he tries to open it first?" Blue asked.

"Then our future will be lost," he answered.

Kiba's words spurred everyone into motion and they leaped up the mountain ledges to reach the peak. Hubb wondered what Paradise would be like. The others didn't know and the book had no mention or pictures either. Maybe it was a place full of wolves that lived free of being hunted and they were surrounded by lunar flowers and...

"I tell you now the words of red moon," came a familiar voce from above. Hubb almost froze where he was when he heard the voice. He recognized it as did everyone else. Looking up, he saw a black wolf with one blue eye and one gold eye. Hubb gaped at the figure. It couldn't be!

You will have also noticed that Toboe didn't die in the last chapter. I plan to keep all the wolves alive in my story.