Kairi was relieved to see me safe and unharmed. I still couldn't tell her what had really happened, so I had to quickly think up a cover story. I told her I helped keep some of the young safe. It wasn't really a lie, I had been doing just that – just not the way she thought I was doing it.
I then let her go ahead and give a slightly embellished tale of the brave little wolf puppy that saved her. To hear her tell it, you'd think I'd torn him apart.
I needed to rest still though. It'd been hard work for me. This time though, I didn't go up to my room. I figured Kairi would probably feel better for having me around, so we stayed down in the lobby in one of the many squashy chairs there. You know the kind, the ones you feel like you sink into.
This turned out to be a bit of a mistake. You'd think it's hard to make one, but it wasn't. All that happened was one of us fidgeted a bit to get a bit more comfortable, and one of my gloves slipped down just enough to reveal the scar that marked what I'd become.
She didn't notice it at first, so I tried to hide it again. When I tried though...
"Hey! What's that? I thought you said you were alright?"
"I am."
"Then what's that?"
"It's just an old scar. Don't worry about it."
"You never told me you got hurt there. It looks pretty bad. You should have told me, or at least had someone look at it."
"It's nothing, Kairi," I insisted. "It's almost healed now anyway."
"When did it happen?"
I couldn't tell her it was so recent. She wouldn't have believed me – the cuts had healed far more rapidly than any ordinary ones would, and left it looking more like an older injury.
"Eh, it was ages ago now. Didn't even notice it when it happened."
"Don't try that on me. You'd have noticed, wrists hurt a lot."
"I was busy at the time. There were a lot of Heartless around."
"Heartless wouldn't do anything like that."
I'm a terrible liar, especially when it comes to her. She knows me too well.
"Kairi. I'm fine. You can see they're almost gone now. There's nothing to worry about now. Just let it lie? Please?"
She still looked suspicious, but let it lie. Letting this happen was more of a problem than I realised. Those scars are still there even now. They'll never fade, never fully heal. It's like a permanent mark that everyone who gets turned will always have.
She knows they're still there as well. I've managed to put off letting anyone else examine them because it'll lead to someone making a few checks I don't want – like a test of my blood.
You probably don't think that's significant, but it is. The blood of a werewolf like me will show clear signs of being partly wolf-like. Enough that anyone who examined it would know there's something not quite right about me.
Werewolves born into it are even more wolf-like, which is why even if there were any left today, they'd never trust any doctor.

Things were quiet over the next few days. I knew Kieran would send for me at some point, I just didn't know when.
There were no further attacks by the vampires or any Heartless during that time, and things seemed to go along as normal.
My friends continued the original investigation, trying to find out where the pack went so often and things like that. I kept the appearance of trying to help, but worked separately when I could. The pack understood that they couldn't be told, and also kept up the same act when I had to work with them. It was, and still is frustrating knowing that I hold the answers to that investigation – but I can never tell them.
When I did have time to myself, I tried to learn more. More about the werewolves, more about the vampires, more about anything useful really.
I learned that the Hybrid form had only come about when the wolf-god began to watch over us and was this gift from him that gave us the edge over vampire-kind.
I learned that there had been three Great Wars. While our two kinds fought constantly, the Great Wars were, as their name suggests, times of greater conflict than normal. The First Great War began when our kinds were created. As the old legend says, they made a pre-emptive strike against our kind. That was the exact moment it began. It was ended by the first Kamaz, and all other werewolf champions take that name in honour of him.
The Second Great War did not end so favourably, with immense losses on both sides. It was finished by a tentative agreement between the Kamaz of the time and his counterpart among their kind. It was the first time the two sides ever met in discussion without trying to kill each other, and remains so to this day.
The Third Great War was ongoing at this time. They had started it after we began to take losses from being overconfident and taking may risks, with the intention of eliminating our kind.
I would not let it end on those terms. The werewolves had come to me to change the situation, and I'd do everything I could to achieve it. Even if it meant doing the very same thing to them that they wanted to do to us.
During this time I also came across a curious custom of theirs that they called the Promise.
It's similar to the more human customs of engagement, but there's more differences than you'd expect.
Any adult wolf is considered to be Unpromised, but open for it. If they find another Unpromised wolf of the other gender they want to be with, they'll ask their pack-leader to make them Promised to each other. This means they can no longer be Promised to any other.
It also means that once they're of age – in terms of actual age, rather than perceived age, as the right of passage alters that for werewolves – they'll wait one year, then be mated for life. There is no such concept as a divorce among wolves or werewolves.
There's a difference to the situation when it comes to the daughter of the pack-leader however, and it's this situation I encountered.
The daughter of the pack-leader does not simply choose. Custom dictates that when she is seeking a mate, she let the pack-leader know. He – or she, though it's rare to find a female pack-leader – lets the eligible wolves of the pack know that she is looking. They then indulge in a kind of contest to impress her, to win her affection. After one week, it's considered finished and she must make her choice, and inform the leader when she has her choice.
It's considered a great honour to be the one chosen. There's no doubt about that.
It was a bit of a surprise when Kieran's daughter approached me to ask why I didn't take part. I was completely unaware it had been going on, but then I was still considered a child in the eyes of the pack. I might be due to go through the right of passage, but until then I wouldn't be eligible.
If I had been eligible, I wouldn't have put myself forward to it. Kairi would have misunderstood if I'd ended up Promised to another, and even if I don't show it often, I do have my own feelings for her.
It was an interesting encounter at least, and a look into the more wolven mind of those born into our particular gift.

Some of the other things I learned weren't so helpful. Contrary to popular belief, vampires can go out during the day, couldn't care less about holy water or symbols, and a stake through the heart is just a minor inconvenience. Silver isn't a weapon against them or us. There's no permanent way to kill them without being an adult werewolf.
We werewolves aren't without our own traits, but I've mentioned most of them before. The only one I didn't talk about is injuries, and that's summed up by one simple statement Alex gave me: 'Harmed in one, shown in all'. It's meaning is pretty clear.
It was nearly a week after Valgor's demise that I was called to our grounds, this time during the day. I didn't need a guide for it, the trail of pack members continual travel to and from there was perfect.
Only a small part of the pack was present at the clearing in the center of our grounds, and of them I recognised only a few. Alex was there, and several of the wolves who'd been present with him, but the others I didn't know, at least not all that well.
Kieran was not there though, and it seemed like Alex was handling things so I went to him first.
"You made good time," he murmured. "Are you ready?"
"Shouldn't the pack-leader be here?"
"He has found something else to see to, and asked me to do this for him. You'll need to be human, and you'll need to show your scars."
"What's going to happen?"
"The Right of Passage."
"I'm ready then."
Alex nodded, beckoning to the group of wolves I recognised. When they stopped nearby, he turned back to me, and I knew the Right had begun.
"Speak your mind, young one and make your claim."
"I seek to claim my kill in the hunt, and receive what is rightfully mine."
"Did anyone witness this event?"
"The pack was present at the time I made the kill."
Now he turned to the group beside us.
"Do you, the members of the pack of Kieran, verify this claim?"
They nodded or growled their assent. I knew again exactly what came next.
"I verify that these members were present when I made the kill."
"Present your scars," Alex ordered me. He shouldn't have been able to normally, but Kieran had left him in charge. I presented them, hoping he wasn't going to repeat my first time here.
He covered them with his own hands though, brought them together until his hands were the only thing between my scars.
"On behalf of our leader, your claim is verified, werewolf Kulim." Kulim. The werewolf word for 'Omega'. In turn, that translates as 'The Last'. Kieran wasn't as uncertain as he'd seemed.
There was no big issue made of it though. I wondered if they actually knew or not, but then I remembered something else – there are no secrets within a wolf-pack. If Kieran knew, they knew.
Don't be confused here – in a real wolf-pack, the Omega wolf is at the bottom of the social standing. While we inherit a great deal from them, that's one thing we don't inherit.
That was the entire extent of the Right of Passage. I was an adult werewolf now.
I changed form to check, and noticed the difference instantly. One new addition was the kingdom crown I keep on a chain – now I was an adult, it remained with my after changing form.
I could tell there were differences. My senses flared further than before, stronger than they were. I had more power and speed behind me, but that's to be expected.
"Don't forget your other one," Alex reminded me.
The Hybrid from was new to me. I knew how to shift to it, but before now never could.
It took a few attempts to achieve it. It's not an actual form as such, it's more like... well, a hybrid. It's hard to explain without saying it in the wolven language. I think what happens is that I take a bit of each, and create a new Hybrid form every time.
My fur colours carried over, as did the kingdom crown. Other than that, it was completely new to me. I was taller and stronger, but I lacked some of the agility I had in my wolf form, and my senses weren't as powerful. I guess compromises had to be made.
It was disorienting at first, being so different. I found I could speak fluently in both human and wolven tongues, though there were some phrases I had to avoid in either because it put my tongue in danger of being bitten. That's not a good thing at all.
Something caught my senses all the same. I recognised the scent.
"They're here," I told them.
"They?"
"Them," I repeated, with clear emphasis.
Alex barked a few short commands to the others. All young headed into the dens, and several wolves followed to protect them. All remaining wolves followed me toward the scent. Now I was an adult, I didn't need orders to do it – the safety of the pack and our grounds was more important.
They were at the edge of our grounds. Something apparently stopped them from coming in.
I told the wolves with me to hold back, then returned to being human.
"What are you doing here?" I asked the one in charge.
"Looking for you. But I see now that there was no point. They've already corrupted you."
"Watch your words. I'm not the corrupt one here."
"Are you calling me corrupt, dog? You? Though I suppose I should thank you... the Master told me you're responsible for dealing with Valgor. If it hadn't been for you, I'd never have become the Commander."
"It doesn't matter to me who gets called Commander. You're all the same to me."
"You've never met the Master."
"I will though, and I'll come out on top."
"You'd never even reach him. You couldn't even find yourself a bone-"
I interrupted him with a blow to his face. I'm not normally violent, but I really didn't like the continued implications that I was no better than any other dog.
"Get out," I told him in a low tone. "Get out of the forest before I do more than break your jaw."
"Or what? You'll beat me?"
I called on my own Hybrid form. Several of the others followed suit.
"I could end your life right here and now. We could wipe out every single one of you. If I were any other werewolf, I would have. But I'm not just any other werewolf, I'm the keyblade master, and a good person. I'm giving you a fair chance to get away from here before we come after you. Take it... or die."
"You've not heard the last of this. We'll be back... and you'll met your end. All of you."
"You've got five minutes before we come after you – or you can die here now."
With a last contempt filled look at each of us, they turned and left again.
"You are a credit to our kind, Kulim," one of the others told me. "Any other would never have given them a warning."
"I can at least give them a fair chance. It's their choice to take it – or ignore it."
"You remind me a great deal of the first werewolf from the legend."
"The knight, you mean?"
"You share many similar qualities. Always willing to give another chance, to give fair warning, even to one's worst enemy."
I hadn't even considered that. We sat or stood watching after the retreating vampires for a little longer, then with a sigh I said, "That's long enough. Go and get them."
"You are not joining us?"
"I've done enough for one day. It won't make any difference who gets rid of them."