I could no longer control my temper as the familiar heat consumed my body. A growl ripped through my chest as I morphed on the fly, lunging into my attacker. I could hear the startled "What the hell?" come from the other man, but ignored him. I would let Gambit handle him. My victim yelled under me as I bared my teeth at him and pinned him to the ground. My paws rested on either side of his head, ready to make a quick motion to maim his face if he tried anything.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Gambit pull out his deck of cards and I turned my head just in time to see them begin to glow a rich violet before he threw them at his opponent. The man screamed as each one exploded, a few that had landed on his body left burns and jagged wounds. I turned my attention back to my own adversary and noticed his hand quivering as he reached into his pocket to pull out a small knife.

I snarled again and growled as I sank my teeth into his arm, receiving a lout cry of pain.

The warmth of his blood sent shivers down my spine as it flooded my mouth, but I did not let go. His cries echoed in the alley, attracting the attention of his friend. I watched from the corner of my eye as the other man froze in horror at the sight of his partner laying on the floor with a nearly 6 foot tall wolf towering over him, holding his arm in its jaws. I crunched down harder and could feel the bone break from the extensive pressure. Another blood curdling cry erupted from the man's chest just as a fierce snarl erupted from my own. The potent smell of urine filled my nose and I cringed. It reeked of fear and drugs. But mostly fear.

Gambit ignored what I was doing to the unfortunate man below me, instead using the opportunity to plow into his distracted opponent. They crashed to the ground with a loud thud and I could hear the sound of Gambit's fist making contact with the man's face. It didn't take long for me to smell fresh blood coming from their direction. I bit down one last time, effectively shattering both of the bones in my victim's arm before letting go. He cried in pain and curled into a heap of agony, trying to clutch his arm to relieve some of the pain, but only succeeding in making it worse. I growled and barred my teeth. He reacted by attempting to shield himself with his good arm while curling into an even tighter ball, as if he thought that if he got small enough I wouldn't be able to see him.

I snorted and decided not to waste any more of my time with the pathetic sack of shit and turned to face Gambit, who was finally satisfied with his handy work and beginning to stand back up. I knew it was only a matter of time before someone found us. Lucky for us, until now, the constant stream of horns honking had drowned out most of the noise coming from the alley. However, now that the traffic had started to subside there was no telling how long it would be before we were noticed. I phased back into my human form and spat at the man I had been occupying myself with only moments ago, making a small red stain appear on the cement in front of him. He flinched and whimpered. I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand and smiled darkly.

I turned to face Gambit once again and was shocked to see his bruised and bloodied hands shaking. He was staring at the unconscious man before him, eyes wide, breathing strained, frozen. My heart broke for him, although I didn't know why. Something about him just made me feel for the street rat. I could tell he was horrified by what he had done, even though he only did it for his own survival. I was snapped out of my thoughts by the sound of approaching footfalls. I jerked my head in the direction of the alley opening, then gazed down at the man who was bleeding at my feet. He was facing the entrance as well. He turned to look at me before he began to yell for help. I kicked him in the face, successfully knocking him out and ran to Gambit.

"Let's go! We have to get out of here! NOW!" I yelled, tugging on his sleeve. He remained stationary. With a growl of frustration I phased into my wolf form once more and dropped my head so I could push him off of his feet in a way that would cause him to land on my back. I growled again as I managed to leap onto one of the several dumpsters that filled the alley and launch myself over the top of the wall that had separated the alley from the back of a rundown building. Once we were over I ran until I was certain that we were safe, then laid down and gently rolled onto my side to let him down easy. He simply fell onto the hard floor. I looked at him; his breathing was still uneven and now the trembling in his hands had spread throughout his whole body.

I inched myself closer to him and nudged his hand with my muzzle. It didn't seem to even faze him. He just stared at the now dimming sky, his once vibrant eyes now dull. I whimpered and rubbed my face against his. Why was I so worried about him? He was a stranger. A street rat. And yet, I still found myself caring for him. He continued to stare blankly at the sky, blinking occasionally, but otherwise remaining motionless. I returned to my human form again and sat on my heels, placing a hand on his chest.

"Gambit…are you…are you alright…?" I whispered as I softly rubbed my hand on his chest, like a child does to wake up a parent when they had a bad dream. He finally acknowledged my presence. He turned his head and looked at me as he moved a hand to rest it on the one I had placed on his chest. I could feel the distinct stickiness of blood on his fingers and it took everything I had not to pull away reflexively.

"Chère …I'm…I'm a monster…" he whispered. It was as if his own words snapped him out of his daze. He shot up and jumped away from me, leaving me still sitting on the floor, my hand suspended in the air where he was laying a few seconds ago.

"You…you have to get away from here Chère . Away from Gambit. You're just going to get hurt. Now go. GO!" he yelled, pointing away from him. I looked at him, wide-eyed. He had to be kidding. Was he not there in that alley with me? Did he not see what I did to that man? How could he possibly think that he was the monster here.

"Gambit…you are no monster. They were the monsters. Not you. You did what you had to do to live, but they…they did what they did for their own sick, twisted, reasons. They got what they deserved. And if there is even the slightest chance that there is a monster here, it's not you. Trust me." I dropped my head and snickered quietly. I was as close to a monster as it got. I could hear his footsteps as he walked towards me. He crouched in front of me and gingerly touched my cheek with his hand. I looked up to face him. He just stared into my eyes, searching for something within them. I wasn't sure if he found what he was looking for, but whatever it was he saw made him smile weakly.

"Chère …I don't know who you are…but there's somethin' 'bout you that just…" he shook his head, unable to find the words he wanted. I just smiled.

"That's just screwed up? Yeah, I know. I get that a lot." I grinned at my smart ass comment and was pleased to see the expression returned. He chuckled and shook his head.

"Mon dieu. Quelle belle femme folle…" he smiled, looking into my eyes once more. I wasn't sure what he said, but pushed my curiosity to the back of my mind as I stood up and waited for him to do the same. I put a hand on my hip as he slowly rose to his feet.

"Well, it's getting late. We should probably get out of here. I doubt those thugs didn't tell their friends about what happened. Well, actually, they might be scared shitless, so there is a chance that they will keep their mouths shut…but we should probably get inside anyway. Come on, I'll take you to my place."

I turned on my heel and started walking, but stopped when I didn't hear him trailing behind me.