This was a lot shorter than planned but I really wanted to get it out today, so I promise the next chapter will be longer.

Chapter One

Four Years Later

Carlos shivered, hugging his knees closer and trying to produce enough body heat to survive the night. It was so cold and all Carlos wanted was to be warm and comfortable so he could just sleep the night away.

Instead he was stuck in this stupid closet waiting fearfully for the cold to take him. Rather than that though, Carlos felt his body shift. He didn't panic strangely enough, he felt quite calm in the situation. It was like something he was born for, so he let the new change overcome him and then suddenly his clothes didn't fit right anymore.

He moved to take them off but he found his arms didn't move the way they should and neither did his legs. He got up, shaking in a way that was unnatural for a human- canine actually, and stepped out of his clothes to see a long white snout in front of his face instead of the usual nose. He looked down and saw two legs covered in white fur and paws that looked like they had been dipped in black paint.

Carlos panicked, turning frantically to see a fluffy dalmation print tail attached to the body of a white and black wolf. He was the wolf.

He moved to scream, to cry, but instead he barked and whined. Carlos spent the rest of the night shoved in the corner whimpering waiting for the change to come again, but at least he had been warm.

Carlos woke suddenly, shuddering at the memory. That had been the first time he had ever transformed into a wolf, a skill no one knew he had- not even his mother. It had been two years ago, and since then he had learned to tranform at will. It confused him greatly that he even could become a wolf as he didn't know a single other were-creature that could turn into an animal.

He looked around the closet he called a room and saw lights coming from the otherside of the door, but it wasn't the actual house lights but instead what looked to be flashlights looking for something.

That's when he heard a familiar voice call out, "Carlos, where are you!" Mal whisper-yelled, obviously being careful not to wake his mother.

"Over here!" Carlos replied just as quietly, and suddenly there were footsteps coming over to the closet door. He heard the doorknob jiggle but the door didn't budge.

"Darn it, Jay it's locked come here." He heard Mal hiss, and he was surprised to hear that Jay was there too. What were they even doing?

Another set of footsteps approached his door and there was the noise of softly jingling metal. Something slid into the knob and Carlos heard the lock click, Jay had picked it.

The door swung open and Carlos squinted against the light, holding up an arm to sheild his eyes and pushing himself into the corner furthest from the door. He heard a set of gasps and glanced up to see Evie had joined his other friends at the doorway. How long had he been gone that they decided it was time to look for him? How many days had he been in the closet?

Jay, Mal and Evie weren't looking at him though but rather the multitude of fur traps covering the floor and the many fur coats hanging up that were carefully brushed and cared for.

"Guys? What are you doing here?" Carlos asked, blinking against the light so he could properly look at his friends. They were dressed in darker colors than usual, Mal colored in darker shades of amethyst instead of her usual brighter violets, Evie was dressed in dark ocean blues and Jay in reds the color of dried blood.

"You've been gone for almost four days man," Jay responded, "You're a part of our group, we weren't gonna just not look for you." The Arabian scoffed, looking at the traps and wondering how he was supposed to get around them.

Carlos huffed and got up carefully before skillfully navigating his way through the the maze of traps and to the door where the others gave him surprised looks. Instead of giving them an answer, he brushed past them and shrugged. That was where he slept, he had to learn to get past the defense systems.

Evie wrapped him in a hug and Carlos returned the embrace without a second thought. "I missed you." The blue-haired princess admitted softly, kissing his cheek gently.

Carlos smiled at her and fought away a blush, "I missed you guys too." He assured making Jay and Mal smile as well, "Did you seriously break into my house to find me?" He asked as an after thought, and Mal had this smug smile on her face that was all the answer he needed. He bit back a laugh and shook his head fondly, "We should probably leave before we wake up my mother." He suggested, glad to see the others nodding in agreement.

"That's probably best." Evie agreed kindly, taking his hand and leading him out of Hell Hall despite the fact he obviously knew the way. Mal and Jay flanked them, relocking the closet door and then shutting and locking the front doors as they left making sure everything was left as it had been before.

"To the hideout?" Jay asked, jiggling the handle to make sure the doors were locked before turning back to the others and tucking his rusty lock picks away in one of his many vest pockets.

"Hideout." Mal confirmed, tugging the dark purple jacket off her shoulders and tying the leather sleeves around her waist.

Together the four of them walked through the streets of the Isle, Evie never letting go of Carlos' hand and Jay eventually taking his free hand. Mal stayed behind him, close enough that he could feel the heat radiating from her body. It was clear none of them wanted to be far apart in this moment, and anyone who might've been awake at this hour ignored the Core Four as no one would dare call them out.

It was pitch black outside, only the moon's silver glow to guide them as they made their way through the broken down stone streets of the Isle. There were a few stray cats and multiple rats that would quickly scamper away at the sight of them. The rats would run from Jay and Evie in fear of being eaten and the cats would hiss and swat at Carlos before bounding off, that is except one black cat that circled around Carlos' feet.

The De Vil leaned down and scratched the cat behind the ears, the black little fuzzball purring happily at the attention. "Hey Beelzebub," Carlos greeted his small companion and the cat climbed up his arm onto his shoulder and softly nuzzled his cheek. The cat came with him every time he left the house as neither the cat nore Carlos trusted Cruella not to skin Beelzebub for mittens or something.

"That cat is weird, I mean it's the only one on this Isle that doesn't hate you." Jay said snidely, earning a soft laugh from Mal.

"We knew eachother since forever, I was only four and he was like four weeks old. Animal norms didn't really matter." Carlos defended, he'd gotten the cat at Evie's sixth birthday party before Mal and her mother shut down the celebration because Mal wasn't invited. The two girls got over it eventually, if only to stay alive at first and now they were beyond close.

Beelzebub mewled in agreement, hopping skillfully onto Carlos' curly white-and-black hair. The cat balanced carefully for a moment before moving down to Carlos' other shoulder.

Carlos stroked the cat, running his hand along his small friend's back and smiling as Beelzebub arched into the affectionate touch. This cat had been his only companion for most of his life, and it meant the world to him that he was still around.

They made it to the hideout, Jay grabbing a heavy rock and chucking it at the yellow 'no throwing' sign. Mal had made it herself just for the irony. They climbed the stairs of the fire escape tiredly, they'd only been out for about twenty minutes but truth be told they were all exhausted and excited to fall into bed and sleep existance away.

They entered the doorway all at once and, too lazy to go to their own beds, fell into Evie's blanket covered mattress and cuddled up with one another before drifting off to sleep.

Evie was the first to fall asleep, Jay the next and then Mal. Carlos had made sure to stay up the longest, sleepily petting Beelzebub as he thought. He would tell them about his extra ability.. one day, maybe soon, but he'd tell them. They had chosen him to be apart of their make-shift family, and he had selected them as part of his pack. They deserved to know about this.. this part of him that made him afraid.

He let his eyes flutter shut and told himself he'd think about it later, right now all he wanted was to sleep and with his family so close he knew he'd sleep just fine.

Just fine indeed.