The scent of pine and decay tickled Ludwig's nose as he sat waiting in the dark undergrowth. He knew it wasn't very wise to be in his human form on a night like tonight, but he wasn't too concerned. Only something very foolish would dare attack him anyway. He enjoyed the gentle breeze cooling the back of his neck as he closed his eyes to listen. Something was moving through the forest, and it was coming his way.

A small smile tugged on his lips as he stood. It was nice to be able to hunt in the open without the fear of human retaliation. He and his pack had been in favor of the treaty, and they definitely used it to their advantage. They left the humans alone, and the humans left them alone. It was simple and efficient, just the way Ludwig liked it. As the alpha male, he knew how complicated life could be, even without humans meddling in his affairs. The last thing he needed was a hunting party tracking his pack through the forest with the intent to kill.

With the deadly silence of an assassin, he jogged through the brush toward his prey. Even in his human form, he could be as quiet as the wind. Despite this fact, Ludwig decided it would be in his best interest to change forms. The transformation was smooth and effortless. One moment he was running on two feet, the next he was running on four. Either form felt as natural as breathing. His sensitive ears picked up the sound of other padded feet in the forest.

Werewolves.

He easily recognized the different scents of the other members of his pack. They had also noticed the disturbance in the forest. Pine needles sprayed out from under Ludwig's paws as he increased his speed, no longer worried about remaining quiet. Nothing could outrun him in his wolf form, so it didn't matter if his prey caught wind of him or not. Branches whipped past his face and caught his fur, leaving behind small golden tufts that would be gathered up by the birds to build their nests. The humans may have thought he was unnatural, but it was obvious that he fit into forest life better than they did. He hadn't the cut down hundreds of trees to build his home.

That was when a new, unfriendly scent caught Ludwig's attention. A growl lodged in his throat as he identified whom it belonged to. He picked up the pace. His pride was on the line if he didn't get to his prey first. There was no way he was letting his rival pack beat him.

The forest disappeared behind him as he shot out of the shadowy brush. His eyes adjusted to the light, and he could faintly make out two moving forms not too far ahead of him. Even by werewolf standards, Ludwig was large. He used that to his advantage and quickly caught up to his rival and the prey. Without a moment of hesitation, he barreled straight into the other wolf with snapping jaws. The two of them rolled several times from the impact before coming to a halt. Ludwig felt sharp teeth sink into his right foreleg, and he reacted by kicking out with is hind legs. He was rewarded by a muffled grunt as the other wolf loosened its grip on Ludwig's leg. Ludwig bore his teeth and clamped down tightly on the rival wolf's scruff. It yelped, but he didn't let go, even when his mouth began to taste like blood. Finally, it opened its jaws and quit fighting.

"Ah, if it isn't Ludwig," the other wolf said.

"Ivan," Ludwig growled. He pressed a forepaw to his rival's throat. "Tell me why I shouldn't end your miserable life."

"Because your prey is getting away." The sandy wolf's violet eyes stared in the direction their prey had gone.

Ludwig shifted his weight onto Ivan's throat, but he knew the other alpha male was right. He was wasting too much time. "Leave before I change my mind," he said.

Ivan made a hoarse barking sound that passed for laughing as he stood. "You would not make such threats if your pack were not here to save you." His eyes flickered to the tree line as a handful of dark shapes emerged. "I do not wish to give up this prey, but I value my life more than one human child. Remember that for the next time we meet."

The large wolf flicked his ears before disappearing back into the woods. Ludwig watched him go nervously. Ivan's pack must not be close if he chose to run away, but Ludwig did not want to linger in case they decided to visit. He turned to face his pack with his dignity as alpha male still intact.

"Gilbert. Lovino. Patrol this area and make sure he doesn't come back," he ordered. A white wolf and a reddish brown wolf melted back into the forest. "The rest of you are with me."

Three other wolves followed him toward the large human settlement in the distance. He took a deep sniff of the air, and Ivan's words became clear. The prey they had been following was not a creature of the forest. It was a human. Ludwig slowed to a walk when they reached the large gates that prevented entrance to the village. As part of the treaty, the humans were supposed to stay in their town if they wanted to stay safe. No one had specified that there had to be a gate, but the humans had built it of their own accord. This proved to be the downfall for one human in particular.

"That's what a human smells like?" a small brown wolf whispered. "It's so strong!"

"You've never smelled a human before, Feli?" the only female wolf in the pack asked in surprise.

"Nope. Well, sometimes I can smell them after they walk in the forest, but it's never this strong." Feli lowered his head and wrinkled his nose. "I don't like it."

"You'll get used to it," a brown wolf with long, curly fur said.

Ludwig only half listened to what his pack was saying. He was much more interested in the human. It appeared to be a young girl, and she was crying. He could hear her sniffling as she banged on the wooden doors. Her back was turned to him, so he couldn't see her face at all. The light of the moon made her blonde hair shine like starlight, and Ludwig thought he could smell blood. The girl must have sensed his presence because she stopped pounding on the gate. A shudder passed through her small body before she whispered something to herself.

Much to her credit, the girl got to her feet and turned to face Ludwig. He saw fear in her eyes and smelled it clinging to her like perfume. Her gaze flickered down to his jaws, which were covered in Ivan's blood, and all of her resolve seemed to evaporate. In a heartbeat, her green eyes rolled back, and she collapsed into a ragged heap. It took Ludwig a moment to realize she had blacked out, but Feli beat him to her.

"Wow, she's so small," he said. "Are humans good for eating?"

That was the same question Ludwig had in his mind. Could he really eat this girl? She was rightfully his prey, but could he do it? He didn't know.

"Do you really want to eat her?" the curly furred wolf asked as he sniffed her hair. "She's kind of cute."

"You think everyone is cute, Antonio," the female wolf said as she rolled her eyes. She gave her light brown coat a good shake before continuing. "I don't care what we do with her, but we should leave as soon as we can. I don't like it here."

Ludwig agreed. He disliked being out in the open, and Ivan's pack could show up at any minute. The safest thing to do would be to go back to their cave, but what was he supposed to do about the human? Leaving her here felt wrong.

"Let's take her with us!" Feli suggested.

"Or we could just eat her."

"That's mean, Elizabeta," Antonio chided. "What did she ever do to you?"

She narrowed her green eyes dangerously. "Humans are dangerous. You should all know that well enough, so why are we even discussing this?"

Her statement made the other two wolves grow quiet. Ludwig imagined they must have been wrestling with some unpleasant memories. It was no secret that the werewolves and humans did not get along, and the hatred between the two enemies ran deep. Even so, Ludwig did not want to kill the girl. He gently sniffed her face. The scent of human was strong, but there was something else as well. It was pleasant, like flowers.

"We take her with us," he decided. The other wolves stared at him in surprise. "We take her with us," he repeated. "Antonio, help Elizabeta put her on my back. You can carry her basket, Feliciano."

The small brown wolf was happy to comply, but the other two appeared doubtful. It was not their place to question the alpha, however, so they did as they were told. Without harming her, the two lifted the girl by her dress and placed her on Ludwig's broad shoulders. He offered to carry her because he was the largest, but also because he knew the others would not do it willingly. Though they would never openly rebel, a sense of dissatisfaction filled the air.

Then they were running. Elizabeta howled to call back the two patrolling before falling in step with the rest of the pack. They moved through the forest as one, careful to be alert for enemies. A flash of white next to Ludwig notified him of his brother's return. The large white wolf had a deer in his mouth, but it didn't impair his running. He gave Ludwig a look of confusion. His eyes roamed to the unconscious figure on the alpha's back, but didn't ask about it. It seemed that for once, Gilbert was going to keep his mouth shut for a while. Metaphorically speaking. The werewolves didn't need to move their mouths to speak, so Gilbert could have said something if he wanted to.

An eerie silence followed the pack as their moved toward their cave. The wildlife knew better than to broadcast their location when the wolves were near, but Ludwig could still smell them and knew that there was plenty of prey to be found. He would have to send out a hunting party once they returned to their home. One deer was not going to keep everyone fed.

They came to a stop as the clearing in front of their cave came into view. Heavy panting filled the air as everyone tried to cool off. Gilbert threw his deer toward the mouth of the cave and returned to get a better look at the girl.

"What's going on here, West?"

"She was the one we were following," Ludwig answered.

"I got that, but why is she still alive?" his brother asked.

"Yes, I think we would all like to know." Elizabeta stood shoulder to shoulder with Gilbert. Ludwig should have known they would side together. They were mates after all.

Ludwig bore his fangs aggressively. "Are you questioning my decision?"

"Er…that's not what we're trying to say," Gilbert replied in a low voice.

"Do you want to take responsibility for her death? She's a human, not an animal. Don't tell me you'd stoop to Ivan's level, brother."

"No, I don't-"

"If you feel so strongly about it, you can decide her fate." Ludwig carefully lowered the girl to the ground. Her hair fell in a golden halo around her head. He didn't know why he felt so strongly about defending this girl, but he knew that she didn't deserve to die. "Here she is."

Gilbert took an apprehensive step forward. He lowered his head and gently sniffed her hair. A look of repulsion appeared in his red eyes, but he didn't show any signs of attacking the girl. "She can stay," he muttered.

If Ludwig had been in his human form, he would have smiled. He shook his head slightly as the others began to disperse. Why did he feel so relieved? "Feliciano."

"Yes?" The young wolf peeled himself away from his brother's side when he heard his name.

"Watch the girl. Tell me if she wakes up."

"Yes, sir!" he said enthusiastically with a shake of his tail.

"And one more thing." Ludwig lowered his voice. "Keep an eye out for Elizabeta and my brother." He wasn't going to say he didn't trust them, but something about their behavior told him to be wary. He didn't want to be blindsided.