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Chapter XIII: Here and There

It was a dark night along a moon lit dirt road in the middle of the woods. The air was cool with an occasional breeze. Walking in the middle of the road were a woman carrying her infant child in her arms as he slept calmly and peacefully, sucking on his thumb as his mother's arms held him lovingly against her bosom. She smiled down at him, rubbing his soft head with her left hand as he lay in her right arm. Next to her was a tall man with long black hair that went well past his shoulders. One could tell he wasn't sharing the warm emotions the woman had, though he did seem a bit anxious about something but not too anxious. Looking to the woman he saw how she was lovingly looking down at her son with such a warm and loving smile, showing her tender loving care for him.

"Don't look at him like that," the man snapped his fingers in front of her face to get her attention, "it'll give you second thoughts about what you need to do."

"Don't worry," the woman looked up at the man with a serious expression on her face, "no matter how hard it may be for me to do this I know it's for the greater good." Despite the man's demand she again looked down at her child. He was the closest thing to an angel she had ever seen, the purity in his soul almost radiated from him… though she aware that what she was about to do could possibly and slowly stain the innocence he held to his spirit and very being. She could only hope she was wrong in her assessment.

"What did I just say," the man forcefully grabbed her face and lifted it up so she would be looking right up at him, "do what I tell you or I'll do this myself, you miserable witch." There was no hiding the anger and predatory nature of this beast before her was expressing. She wanted to whimper in fear but was even more afraid of what he would do if it came to him "doing it himself". She looked forward as soon as he let go not daring to do so much as twitch her eyes downward.

"I'm… I'm sorry," she said softly, "please forgive my weakness and disobedience. I swear it will never happen again." After so many years of trying to fight his whim and putting forth her best effort to not submit, all of that will power was now even closer to leaving her completely, to becoming no longer herself, a slave to the monster that walked next to her and not even realizing what was happening to her.

"That's a good girl." The man was now completely aware of how he had weakened her resolve.

Soon the two of them had come up to a very well sized two-story house. It was old, but in a good way. There was a welcoming feeling about it, and even had an old style to it. However, the warm sense it gave to visitors and residences alike would soon change if the man had anything to say about it. Now was her chance to prove her unflinching loyalty to the man's cause, to his will. Stepping up to the door the woman slowly place the infant onto the floor, looking down only to make sure he was in a good position and to pin a letter to the warm cloth wrapped around his small body.

"Good, good," the man smiled, "you're doing well so far, now finish the job." Through the dark one would see her silhouette shift and change to that of a gray wolf, standing on all fours and looking down at her son. Moving her head towards him she gently nuzzled his cheek and licked his forehead. Normally such a loving gesture would show a bond between mother and son, but she felt nothing but her will eroding away convincing herself that what she was going to do was the right thing to do. Being awoken in his deep and peaceful sleep the infant began to cry out, but again she felt nothing and just turned around and followed her master and alpha into the Canadian wilderness where they came from. Now all but the smallest bit of the woman's own mind remained, tucked away far into her sub consciousness, likely to remain there untouched for the rest of her long, natural life.

Soon the baby's cries caught the attention of the woman who owned the place that she turned into an orphanage. Removing herself from her personal TV and evening tea while wearing her nightgown, she came to the front door. Opening it she saw the crying child, with her kind soul she picked him up and held him close. She had never had a child brought to the orphanage in this manor, being abandoned like this… it made her feel such sorrow for him and knowing that it was up to her to take care of him. Unable to see anyone or anything in the night she went back inside closing the door behind her as he continued to cry.

"Shhhh shh shh," she rocked him in her arms doing what she could to sooth him while walking back to her office where on her desk it said Rose Proulx, "it's okay, don't cry." As she sat down the crying subsided a bit but didn't completely stop. Placing him down she rushed to get a milk bottle; this not being the first baby she has taken care of. Bringing the nipple to his mouth he placed his lips around it and began to suck the warm milk down as he reached up and place his tiny hands on it to hold it close. While he drank she saw the small note pinned to his blanket that only showed his name: David Hemming. It was a good name for him Rose thought, for such an innocent toddler. Rose had made a promise to herself that she would watch over all of the children she took into her home, but for some reason this one was special. For him, she swore she'd do everything she could to give him a good life at the orphanage and help him find a family to take him in and love him with the strength that he deserved.

BANG BANG BANG

The loud knocking on the cabin door woke up Pauwau from her sleep. It only took her a matter of seconds to become fully awake and alert as she saw an eye peeking through a crack in the wooden door, praying that it wasn't who she thought it was, or rather that this individual didn't come from where she thought he did. However, if this were who or what she thought it to be then she would have no choice but to open the door. Slowly she approached it and started to open the door. Before her stood one of her fellow female converters as well as a male who, judging by his build, obviously wasn't a converter. Both were relatively new, but the female was just as good at what she did as anybody a couple of decades ahead in tracking. Same went for the male in what he specialized, though he was more used for protecting others as an escort.

"Pauwau, what are you doing?" She had long curly red hair and was on the skinny side; though still attractive even with her predatory gray eyes. The demeanor she showed was quite neutral, which was to be expected of one who directly served the one who sent her.

"Kaliska, I'm… taking care of something. I swear I was getting around to coming back." The thin veil she used to conceal her worry wasn't really working well.

"Our leader is aware that you're attempting to bribe him into sparing your life." The male had to squat down on in front of the cabin door in order to make eye contact with Pauwau. Even though he was more or less average sized he strangely had an extremely dense muscle structure to the point that he could easily rival a Tahopka twice his size; probably even provide David with a challenge. His fur was light brown with a few golden highlights on his shaggy coat. "He demands that you hurry and answer for your sins against him."

"B-but, I just need a little more time. I swear that Int… he will be pleased with what I will have to offer. It wouldn't surprise me if he actually gave you some of what I hold for him should you ensure my safety on my way to him."

"You honestly don't think he knows what you speak of?" The male let out something between a sigh and a low growl. "He knows of the plant you've all but failed miserably to grow as well as Megedagik's death, the threat your son now presents, and of his intentions to form his own army. Of course they are aware of him, too. Especially after what he became the night that that goddess of trickery made your pathetic alpha's inner beast rip him to shreds. Also we're not here to grant you safe travel to where he resides."

"Askuwheteau is right, Pauwau," Kaliska stated, "he honestly doesn't care if you make it back alive, even with what you carry. And I suggest you leave now before his impatience with you gets any worse." The two of them began to leave, but before they were out of sight Kaliska informed her that Launa will find her should she be careless on her journey.

When they closed the door Pauwau turned to look at the plants that were by the window. They were from the Ooau tea leaves and pods that she stole from Launa a few months back. Being indigenous to southern China, Canada didn't prove to be a suitable environment for them to thrive and grow. Only a little more than half of the seeds she planted managed to grow at all, and fewer produced any leaves, but none produced any seeds to give her a second chance. What she had was strong and powerful but she could barely even pray that it was enough to please her true master.

She would of course have to do her best to not get caught by Launa, David or the others she saw back in Amsterdam for she would be completely defenseless against them. Hopefully one day her son would understand why she was doing this, see it through her eyes how this is for the greater good of their people. If he didn't, then she would have to just deal with it. To her the ends of her master were more valuable than the well being of her own flesh and blood.

OUTSIDE OF CHURCHILL, MANITOBA

"Patricia, stop jumping on your bed," Ms. Proulx gently but firmly took the little girl's arm and pulled her off the bed, "you'll fall down and break your neck." She let out a sigh as the girl pouted and crossed her arms walking out of the room into the hallway.

Over the years Ms. Proulx had regained a notable amount of her looks back. Probably many thanks to the fact that things around the orphanage were better since the week that David left… though more for the orphans than her. When he left Ms. Proulx's deal with Megedagik, whom she only knew as "Victor", was no longer active since he was no longer under her custody. However, every time she walked near the front door, every time the phone rang, when she would take the orphans to Churchill the hairs on the back of her neck would stand up in fear that she would see him again. All she could do was hope that David had been okay over the course of the past nine years; that he was able to escape whatever Victor had planned to do with him… that he had come to forgive her for how horrible she made his life at the only place he could call home for nearly seventeen years.

Even though David was in no way at all her son, she always looked after him as if he was ever since that day she found him crying and wrapped in a blanket on her door stip. Having never had any children of her own none of the children that had been in her care had affected her as much as he had. Despite how cruel she was to David over the course of those many years he still turned out to be a wonderful and caring young man. All she had left of him were her memories, which she indulged in every single day.

If there was one thing that she was happy about the day David left was that Camille and the twins mysteriously disappeared from the hospital after David put them in emergency room: the twins with their broken ribs and sternums while the left side of Camille's face was severely injured with a broken cheekbone, jaw, nose and a few teeth knocked out from taking the butt of a rife to his mug. She couldn't explain it but she had the feeling that whatever happened to them involved Victor one way or another. After all, he was the one who arranged for them to end up at the orphanage. Regardless of her low opinion of them, she also felt sorry for them in that they were nothing more than tools to be used in whatever Victor was impurely working towards. More the twins than Camille; they didn't seem to truly have their hearts in it like Camille did. He looked as if he truly enjoyed watching David's happiness wither away each chance he got.

Yet, with each and every passing day her feelings and memories of the way things were so long ago appeared to be more and more irrelevant and unimportant. There was no way David would ever come back to visit the woman who hurt him over and over each and every day throughout the majority of his childhood. Of course that didn't keep her from indulging in them on a regular basis.

On her way to the kitchen to prepare and serve the orphans their late breakfast there was a knock on the front door. A sound that she had come to fear over the years, but she knew she had no choice. Looking through the peephole she saw two young men standing at the door, but was unable to see their faces. She prayed that they weren't affiliated with Victor, but knew if they were then she was powerless against them, that they could simply rip the door off if she didn't let them in.

"H-hello," slowly Ms. Proulx opened the door just enough so they could see her eye and a small portion of her face, "may I help you?"

"Ms. Proulx," the one on the left said in a gentle tone, but in a way that made it sound as if he was surprised to see her, "we were hoping that you'd still be here even after all these years?" This young man and the way he spoke, it threw her off a bit.

"Who… who are you two? Is there something I can do for you?"

"Can you seriously not recognize us," the other looked up so she could see his face, as did the first, "please don't say that you've already forgotten about us." It only took a split second for Ms. Proulx to realize who they were, seeing that they were identical twins. There was no doubt about it.

"Ike… Addison?" Her expression was one of great shock and astonishment, which only became more so when they nodded. The next thing they knew she fell backwards onto the floor completely out cold.

"Uuh, ma'am?" said Ike, with a look of confusion, "well, that was… that was certainly unexpected." The two of them just looked down at her for a while, luckily none of the orphans saw as they were in the kitchen waiting hungrily for their food with growling stomachs. Snapping out of it Addison reached down and picked the poor lady up off the floor and headed to her office. Laying her on the couch Addison then went to grab a cold damp cloth and some water for when she woke up while Ike grabbed a chair and sat down next to her.

"Here you go," Addison handed Ike the rag and the glass of water, which Ike took placing the rag on her forehead and the glass on the little table next to the couch, "wow, I've never thought I'd ever see Ms. Proulx faint… ever."

"Meh," Ike shrugged his shoulders, "it's not completely unbelievable that she did that." The twins could then hear the children calling out for food. "Hey bud, go take care of the kids while I handle Ms. Proulx, alright?" His brother let out a sigh, undoubtedly not wanting to do what he could to make the little people use their mouths for something other than making noise besides chewing and smacking as they ate. Not only that but food wasn't exactly his forte. Just after he walked out the office door Ms. Proulx began to come to. After looking around a bit her eyes met his and she flinched in fear, the only form of defense she had was trying to smack him across the face but he grabbed her hand inches away from his left cheek.

"Ms. Proulx," he gave her wrist a firm squeeze attempting to get her attention, "calm down we're not here on his behalf." That at least got her to stop struggling. "We were sent here by David to tell you something, to help ease your mind."

"I seriously doubt that, Mr. Girard. You three were nothing but cruel bastards to an innocent boy who didn't deserve the pain you gave him."

"Oh, as if you treated him any better."

"At least I didn't enjoy it." Ms. Proulx leered at him as he only let out a sign of annoyance.

"Look, who did what to whom nearly ten years ago isn't important right now. What is important is that you at least hear what I have to say and then I promise you'll never hear from us again." That last part grasped Ms. Proulx's focus.

"Well," she paused for a good while, "if that's the case then please make it quick I have orphans to tend to."

"Oh, my brother is taking care of that."

In actuality Addison wasn't doing to well with the food preparation. Even he didn't know what he was making… some kind of soup made from everything he could find: cheese, broccoli, BBQ sauce, garlic. Needless to say this was going to be a disaster.

It didn't take long for Ike to tell his past guardian everything that she needed to know. He enlightened her about Megedagik's death, though not how he died, and clarified that he and his brother as well as David were now indeed werewolves. She then asked about David, asked how he was and what else has happened to him. Ike did what he could to leave out as much as possible without seeming like he was hiding something from her. The news of David being raised by the Tokala and meeting Launa, Sabrina, and Azrealle made her smile. Of course he left out certain facts such as how David was now a god among his people, he saw his adopted father murdered before his very eyes, most of all that David literally punched through Camille's chest when he lost control that one night.

When she asked about his current whereabouts all he could say was that he was doing what he needed to do. Of course Ms. Proulx could tell Ike wasn't telling her everything but she didn't want to press the matter believing that if there were details Ike was leaving out then he would have good reason.

Having finished the job David assigned them Ike got up to keep his promise to leave and never come back. However, she managed to stop them before they left to give them a thank you. That's when all of the kids started gagging up the "soup" Addison, giving the two of them reason to bolt for the door. God only knew what would become of them if they hadn't gotten out of there before she saw the huge mess in the kitchen.

"Addison… what the hell did you make?" Ike looked to his brother with both annoyance and surprise, though more with himself for asking Addison to make food in the first place.

"I don't know," Addison shrugged his shoulders, "I would like to say that it was a soup. That is before I burnt it. Not to say that it would've tasted any good before that."

"Wait, did you do it on your own… or did you look up a recipe in one of her cookbooks."

"Are you sure there's such a thing?"

Ike then did a classic facepalm in response to his brother's ignorance that cookbooks even existed, but at least Ms. Proulx couldn't yell at them anymore and probably would never get the chance all thanks to Addison's concoction.

Now that they had accomplished what David set them out to do, the question of what to do next came into consideration. Initially they thought up of finding David but his whereabouts were unknown to them, which ruled out that idea. Even though it was easy to assume that he would be in Amsterdam with Launa but the risk of Launa or the other ladies seeing them first wasn't a chance they wanted to take, risking suffering they're rather after they tried to kill one of their friends that they had come to love as much as they do. A while later Addison got the idea of what they could do.

"Hey, Ike… how about we… well, I think that if there's anything else we can do for David I think we should do that. I was thinking that we, go and see the… them." Ike raised a brow at his suggestion.

"And exactly who would them be?"

"The… uuh, the Tokala."

"Whuh… you can't possibly be serious. If we dare show our faces… I don't want to think about what they'd do to us."

"Don't be so dramatic. Do you truly think they'd kill us if David spared out life? Besides, It would more than likely give us a one up in David's book. I don't know about you, but I want to put our history with Camille and Megedagik behind us and make up for what we've done. What better way then to fess up and take our punishment like we should, to offer up our punishment to those we've wronged?"

Although Ike didn't exactly like this idea, attempting to talk his brother out of it, Addison was obviously dead set on this and would be damned if he let his twin pay the piper all on his own while he stayed behind like a damn coward. Coming to their agreement they headed for the wilderness of northern Quebec.

Back in Alaska, standing at the edge of wide-open grassland and the woods was David breathing in the cool morning air. Thanks to Decenna he had a very pleasant and warm sleep, for which he would most certainly thank her. Still a bit cool, David took the feeling as an opportunity to fully wake himself up and center his thoughts on what he came to Alaska in the first place. However, with everyone being asleep he took the chance do what Launa asked of him while he was away.

Slowly taking in a deep breath and letting it out he closed his eyes and did what he could to empty and open his mind. It wasn't, as one would anticipate, quite that easy with the anxiety to feel that unmatched sense of remarkable power that rested inside. Soon within him came a sense of faint warmth that spread throughout his body and consciousness. It was indeed a start, but David couldn't delve as deep into that feeling as when he fought against Megedagik. When he was as focused as he could become, David opened his eyes that had a slight blood red glowing hue and he saw that his hands were emitting what seemed like a lightless fire. It slowly waved in the air like a dense and tall heat waves that radiated around the edges of hot metal. This energy that emanated from his hands was incredible. Doing what he could to channel all of this power to one hand, the aura slowly started to intensify and reach out farther around it. Trying even harder, the growing lightless flame began to give off a faint yellow glow almost like a true flame. Running his free hand through it, it was indeed warm to the touch but not in a literal sense. David struggled to find a way to depict it but no solid description came to him.

"I see you're awake." David heard a voice behind him and immediately removing his attention from his meditation and focused on where the voice came from, but the mysterious glow from his hand wouldn't go away, giving him no choice but to hide it behind him so that whoever was behind him wouldn't see. "I… I hope that I'm not intruding." It was the omega that David saw last night. Before seeing him, he thought that all of Sabrina's kind were large, but this one was roughly David's height when as a human. He had a fairly notable build, again somewhere close to David only denser than his. His coat was of a light brown but had to some extent a red sheen when the light hit it just right, and his eyes were of a mild blue.

"Oh, uuh, not at all," showing a friendly smile David walked up to him, "I was just enjoying the morning sun." Even though the feeling in his hand was going down and was no longer emitting light the aura was still there and he needed to get rid of it before he got too close. "Hmm, may I ask your name? I saw you last night but I don't think I got your name."

"My name is Anz," by his tone he seemed to be easy going, or maybe more on the submissive side instead, "I'm the omega of the pack." Again, judging by Anz's tone he didn't seem too proud of his status, not upset, but there was no pride in it. Of course, having been raised by a bunch of foxes, all except for one at least a foot taller than him, David could understand his feeling.

"Well, Anz, it's a pleasure to meet you." David instinctively held out his hand for a shake, happy to high hell that the aura was gone when he did. Looking down at David's hand Anz looked as if David caught him off guard. Not because he was ignorant of a handshake gesture, but rather because it had been a long time since he had been part of a society or social group that used them. However he did take it and gave firm shake. "Is there something I can do to help, Anz?"

"To be honest I wanted to ask you something, if you don't mind me being straightforward."

"Oh, by all means."

"May I ask you why you chose this pack, of a different species of werewolf, to help you know what it's like to belong with your own kind? Honestly, it doesn't bother me or anything like that, but wouldn't it be better that way?"

"Wow, that is straight forward," it took David a while to gather his thoughts, "but the truth is that until last night Sabrina was the only werewolf who hasn't had the intent to make me dead. I became a werewolf as part of someone's plans to be their pet and a tool use in his favor against my best friend. It's just," taking a pause; David bit his lip while trying to think of what else to say, "after leaving my family… I couldn't wait much longer to feel like… you know?"

"Yeah, I can understand that, and I honestly think you'll fit in fine… probably even better than I do."

"Hehe, oh don't be like that dude," David let out a small chuckle, "why would you say something like that. You've been in this group longer than I have."

"Because, being the omega and the smallest superwere alive doesn't exactly scream 'awesomeness'." Anz gave an expression that lied somewhere between sarcasm and irritation.

"No it isn't," again, David laughed a bit, "I know it may seem that way, but after living with a bunch of humanoid foxes, all being over a foot taller than me and much stronger, and not to mention the past eight or so months that I've lived with Sabrina and a ten foot tall muscular mega babe feline… needless to say I know where you're coming from. However, throughout that time I learned that being the smallest around most certainly has its advantages, believe it or not." Anz raised a brow, clearly not believing him.

"Such advantages that you speak of probably don't help much against huge hulking beasts such as everyone else in my pack."

"Oh contraire, you'd be surprised how hard it is for Sabrina to do so much as lay a hand on me when she's in her were form and I'm as a human… that is if I'd actually want to get away from her. One time it took both her and our friend to lay a finger on me."

"Wait, seriously?" It seemed that David was getting closer to convincing Anz. "That's honestly pretty impressive. It'd be cool if I could learn such skills."

"Hmm, I think I could at least give an idea of what it means to have the upper hand. Here, let me demonstrate." Before Anz could focus and concentrate he felt two palms strongly collide with his ears, causing him to be fairly discombobulated.

"Mmmff," Anz regained his composure, "what the hell!? You couldn't have given me warning." David shook his head. "Well why the fuck not?"

"Because, do you think your enemy would give you a "warning"? I know that mine won't… rather they didn't." David took a stance. "Okay, now you try and do the same to me." Just as David had, Anz didn't hesitate. However, he managed to block the wolf's attack with his forearms, leaving him wide open for a knee to the diaphragm. Of course David wasn't strong enough to knock the air out of him, but at least he caused him to step back a bit.

Not willing to take this from David anymore he started to swing at him, attempting to grab and hit him. Of course David was able to dodge and at one point when Anz gave a powerful swing he managed to grab it, then turn the superwere's arm inward making him face away. With his arms pinned behind him in a strong hold, David place a foot on his ass and strongly push him forward and stumble loosing his balance nearly falling to the ground.

"Rrrrrr," Anz let out a slight growl with a visible smirk, "oh that is it! I was gonna go easy on you, but you can just forget about that."

"Oh no, what ever shall I do?" Of course David had a strong tone of sarcasm in his voice. "Who will save me from the little puppy dog?"

"What did…" Anz's ears twitched at puppy dog, "I'll make you eat those words." With surprising speed that shocked even David, Anz lunged forward… but then somehow stopped in mid air with his hands inches away from David who stepped back honestly astounded at how the omega was actually toying with him, planning to learn from this and not underestimate him again. Looking behind him Anz saw Decenna holding him in mid air and over twenty feet off the ground.

"Now Anz," she had one brow raised, "you wouldn't happen to be trying to attack our guest now would you?"

"N-no," David waved his hands a bit to get her attention, "we were just fooling around. I was just showing him some moves… though I guess it got a bit outta hand." He awkwardly scratched the back of his head.

"Yeah, t-that's it," Anz also expressed a feeling somewhere between awkwardness and embarrassment, "just having a bit of fun."

"Hmmm," Decenna looks back and forward between the two a few times then slowly let go of Anz who easily landed on his feet, "just take it easy from now on, alright?" They both nodded. "And you," Decenna pointed her finger at David, "if you want to make a good impression on Hirage I highly advise against starting brawls with any of us. Am I clear?"

"T-transparently." Quickly David nodded to emphasize his answer.

Letting out a sigh, Decenna shook her head a bit and rolled her eyes as she turned around and began to walk back towards the pack. When she was out of sight the two guys looked at each other and both straight away shook hands to call a truce, not wanting to endure another lecture delivered by Decenna. When the terms of their agreement were settled David and Anz headed back to the pack, although he told Anz to go ahead. When David was sure his new pal couldn't see him anymore he concentrated one more time looking at his hand as he once again summoned his puzzling aura. As he put more focus into the feeling, doing what he could to make sure the aura grew only in intensity and not size, he realized something strange. Birds were starting to fly out of trees and away from him all around. Loosing focus his aura weakened, resulting in the birds slowly turning around and flying back to their trees. Again he fed his strength into his aura, and again they flew away. However, when he saw a few wolves in the distance looking in his direction they kept their distance, but were baring their white long and sharp teeth and snarling at him. Strangely, when David glared at them through his glowing eyes, looking into their eyes they flattened their ears and whined, putting their tails between their legs as they immediately turned around and left.

David didn't know what just happened. Trying to learn more about this new power of his was bringing up more questions than it answered. Deciding that he had done enough studying for the day, David removed his mind from his concerns and headed back to the others, anxious to see what that day had in store for him.

Description
Chapter XIII: Here and There

It was a dark night along a moon lit dirt road in the middle of the woods. The air was cool with an occasional breeze. Walking in the middle of the road were a woman carrying her infant child in her arms as he slept calmly and peacefully, sucking on his thumb as his mother's arms held him lovingly against her bosom. She smiled down at him, rubbing his soft head with her left hand as he lay in her right arm. Next to her was a tall man with long black hair that went well past his shoulders. One could tell he wasn't sharing the warm emotions the woman had, though he did seem a bit anxious about something but not too anxious. Looking to the woman he saw how she was lovingly looking down at her son with such a warm and loving smile, showing her tender loving care for him.

"Don't look at him like that," the man snapped his fingers in front of her face to get her attention, "it'll give you second thoughts about what you need to do."

"Don't worry," the woman looked up at the man with a serious expression on her face, "no matter how hard it may be for me to do this I know it's for the greater good." Despite the man's demand she again looked down at her child. He was the closest thing to an angel she had ever seen, the purity in his soul almost radiated from him… though she aware that what she was about to do could possibly and slowly stain the innocence he held to his spirit and very being. She could only hope she was wrong in her assessment.

"What did I just say," the man forcefully grabbed her face and lifted it up so she would be looking right up at him, "do what I tell you or I'll do this myself, you miserable witch." There was no hiding the anger and predatory nature of this beast before her was expressing. She wanted to whimper in fear but was even more afraid of what he would do if it came to him "doing it himself". She looked forward as soon as he let go not daring to do so much as twitch her eyes downward.

"I'm… I'm sorry," she said softly, "please forgive my weakness and disobedience. I swear it will never happen again." After so many years of trying to fight his whim and putting forth her best effort to not submit, all of that will power was now even closer to leaving her completely, to becoming no longer herself, a slave to the monster that walked next to her and not even realizing what was happening to her.

"That's a good girl." The man was now completely aware of how he had weakened her resolve.

Soon the two of them had come up to a very well sized two-story house. It was old, but in a good way. There was a welcoming feeling about it, and even had an old style to it. However, the warm sense it gave to visitors and residences alike would soon change if the man had anything to say about it. Now was her chance to prove her unflinching loyalty to the man's cause, to his will. Stepping up to the door the woman slowly place the infant onto the floor, looking down only to make sure he was in a good position and to pin a letter to the warm cloth wrapped around his small body.

"Good, good," the man smiled, "you're doing well so far, now finish the job." Through the dark one would see her silhouette shift and change to that of a gray wolf, standing on all fours and looking down at her son. Moving her head towards him she gently nuzzled his cheek and licked his forehead. Normally such a loving gesture would show a bond between mother and son, but she felt nothing but her will eroding away convincing herself that what she was going to do was the right thing to do. Being awoken in his deep and peaceful sleep the infant began to cry out, but again she felt nothing and just turned around and followed her master and alpha into the Canadian wilderness where they came from. Now all but the smallest bit of the woman's own mind remained, tucked away far into her sub consciousness, likely to remain there untouched for the rest of her long, natural life.

Soon the baby's cries caught the attention of the woman who owned the place that she turned into an orphanage. Removing herself from her personal TV and evening tea while wearing her nightgown, she came to the front door. Opening it she saw the crying child, with her kind soul she picked him up and held him close. She had never had a child brought to the orphanage in this manor, being abandoned like this… it made her feel such sorrow for him and knowing that it was up to her to take care of him. Unable to see anyone or anything in the night she went back inside closing the door behind her as he continued to cry.

"Shhhh shh shh," she rocked him in her arms doing what she could to sooth him while walking back to her office where on her desk it said Rose Proulx, "it's okay, don't cry." As she sat down the crying subsided a bit but didn't completely stop. Placing him down she rushed to get a milk bottle; this not being the first baby she has taken care of. Bringing the nipple to his mouth he placed his lips around it and began to suck the warm milk down as he reached up and place his tiny hands on it to hold it close. While he drank she saw the small note pinned to his blanket that only showed his name: David Hemming. It was a good name for him Rose thought, for such an innocent toddler. Rose had made a promise to herself that she would watch over all of the children she took into her home, but for some reason this one was special. For him, she swore she'd do everything she could to give him a good life at the orphanage and help him find a family to take him in and love him with the strength that he deserved.

BANG BANG BANG

The loud knocking on the cabin door woke up Pauwau from her sleep. It only took her a matter of seconds to become fully awake and alert as she saw an eye peeking through a crack in the wooden door, praying that it wasn't who she thought it was, or rather that this individual didn't come from where she thought he did. However, if this were who or what she thought it to be then she would have no choice but to open the door. Slowly she approached it and started to open the door. Before her stood one of her fellow female converters as well as a male who, judging by his build, obviously wasn't a converter. Both were relatively new, but the female was just as good at what she did as anybody a couple of decades ahead in tracking. Same went for the male in what he specialized, though he was more used for protecting others as an escort.

"Pauwau, what are you doing?" She had long curly red hair and was on the skinny side; though still attractive even with her predatory gray eyes. The demeanor she showed was quite neutral, which was to be expected of one who directly served the one who sent her.

"Kaliska, I'm… taking care of something. I swear I was getting around to coming back." The thin veil she used to conceal her worry wasn't really working well.

"Our leader is aware that you're attempting to bribe him into sparing your life." The male had to squat down on in front of the cabin door in order to make eye contact with Pauwau. Even though he was more or less average sized he strangely had an extremely dense muscle structure to the point that he could easily rival a Tahopka twice his size; probably even provide David with a challenge. His fur was light brown with a few golden highlights on his shaggy coat. "He demands that you hurry and answer for your sins against him."

"B-but, I just need a little more time. I swear that Int… he will be pleased with what I will have to offer. It wouldn't surprise me if he actually gave you some of what I hold for him should you ensure my safety on my way to him."

"You honestly don't think he knows what you speak of?" The male let out something between a sigh and a low growl. "He knows of the plant you've all but failed miserably to grow as well as Megedagik's death, the threat your son now presents, and of his intentions to form his own army. Of course they are aware of him, too. Especially after what he became the night that that goddess of trickery made your pathetic alpha's inner beast rip him to shreds. Also we're not here to grant you safe travel to where he resides."

"Askuwheteau is right, Pauwau," Kaliska stated, "he honestly doesn't care if you make it back alive, even with what you carry. And I suggest you leave now before his impatience with you gets any worse." The two of them began to leave, but before they were out of sight Kaliska informed her that Launa will find her should she be careless on her journey.

When they closed the door Pauwau turned to look at the plants that were by the window. They were from the Ooau tea leaves and pods that she stole from Launa a few months back. Being indigenous to southern China, Canada didn't prove to be a suitable environment for them to thrive and grow. Only a little more than half of the seeds she planted managed to grow at all, and fewer produced any leaves, but none produced any seeds to give her a second chance. What she had was strong and powerful but she could barely even pray that it was enough to please her true master.

She would of course have to do her best to not get caught by Launa, David or the others she saw back in Amsterdam for she would be completely defenseless against them. Hopefully one day her son would understand why she was doing this, see it through her eyes how this is for the greater good of their people. If he didn't, then she would have to just deal with it. To her the ends of her master were more valuable than the well being of her own flesh and blood.

OUTSIDE OF CHURCHILL, MANITOBA

"Patricia, stop jumping on your bed," Ms. Proulx gently but firmly took the little girl's arm and pulled her off the bed, "you'll fall down and break your neck." She let out a sigh as the girl pouted and crossed her arms walking out of the room into the hallway.

Over the years Ms. Proulx had regained a notable amount of her looks back. Probably many thanks to the fact that things around the orphanage were better since the week that David left… though more for the orphans than her. When he left Ms. Proulx's deal with Megedagik, whom she only knew as "Victor", was no longer active since he was no longer under her custody. However, every time she walked near the front door, every time the phone rang, when she would take the orphans to Churchill the hairs on the back of her neck would stand up in fear that she would see him again. All she could do was hope that David had been okay over the course of the past nine years; that he was able to escape whatever Victor had planned to do with him… that he had come to forgive her for how horrible she made his life at the only place he could call home for nearly seventeen years.

Even though David was in no way at all her son, she always looked after him as if he was ever since that day she found him crying and wrapped in a blanket on her door stip. Having never had any children of her own none of the children that had been in her care had affected her as much as he had. Despite how cruel she was to David over the course of those many years he still turned out to be a wonderful and caring young man. All she had left of him were her memories, which she indulged in every single day.

If there was one thing that she was happy about the day David left was that Camille and the twins mysteriously disappeared from the hospital after David put them in emergency room: the twins with their broken ribs and sternums while the left side of Camille's face was severely injured with a broken cheekbone, jaw, nose and a few teeth knocked out from taking the butt of a rife to his mug. She couldn't explain it but she had the feeling that whatever happened to them involved Victor one way or another. After all, he was the one who arranged for them to end up at the orphanage. Regardless of her low opinion of them, she also felt sorry for them in that they were nothing more than tools to be used in whatever Victor was impurely working towards. More the twins than Camille; they didn't seem to truly have their hearts in it like Camille did. He looked as if he truly enjoyed watching David's happiness wither away each chance he got.

Yet, with each and every passing day her feelings and memories of the way things were so long ago appeared to be more and more irrelevant and unimportant. There was no way David would ever come back to visit the woman who hurt him over and over each and every day throughout the majority of his childhood. Of course that didn't keep her from indulging in them on a regular basis.

On her way to the kitchen to prepare and serve the orphans their late breakfast there was a knock on the front door. A sound that she had come to fear over the years, but she knew she had no choice. Looking through the peephole she saw two young men standing at the door, but was unable to see their faces. She prayed that they weren't affiliated with Victor, but knew if they were then she was powerless against them, that they could simply rip the door off if she didn't let them in.

"H-hello," slowly Ms. Proulx opened the door just enough so they could see her eye and a small portion of her face, "may I help you?"

"Ms. Proulx," the one on the left said in a gentle tone, but in a way that made it sound as if he was surprised to see her, "we were hoping that you'd still be here even after all these years?" This young man and the way he spoke, it threw her off a bit.

"Who… who are you two? Is there something I can do for you?"

"Can you seriously not recognize us," the other looked up so she could see his face, as did the first, "please don't say that you've already forgotten about us." It only took a split second for Ms. Proulx to realize who they were, seeing that they were identical twins. There was no doubt about it.

"Ike… Addison?" Her expression was one of great shock and astonishment, which only became more so when they nodded. The next thing they knew she fell backwards onto the floor completely out cold.

"Uuh, ma'am?" said Ike, with a look of confusion, "well, that was… that was certainly unexpected." The two of them just looked down at her for a while, luckily none of the orphans saw as they were in the kitchen waiting hungrily for their food with growling stomachs. Snapping out of it Addison reached down and picked the poor lady up off the floor and headed to her office. Laying her on the couch Addison then went to grab a cold damp cloth and some water for when she woke up while Ike grabbed a chair and sat down next to her.

"Here you go," Addison handed Ike the rag and the glass of water, which Ike took placing the rag on her forehead and the glass on the little table next to the couch, "wow, I've never thought I'd ever see Ms. Proulx faint… ever."

"Meh," Ike shrugged his shoulders, "it's not completely unbelievable that she did that." The twins could then hear the children calling out for food. "Hey bud, go take care of the kids while I handle Ms. Proulx, alright?" His brother let out a sigh, undoubtedly not wanting to do what he could to make the little people use their mouths for something other than making noise besides chewing and smacking as they ate. Not only that but food wasn't exactly his forte. Just after he walked out the office door Ms. Proulx began to come to. After looking around a bit her eyes met his and she flinched in fear, the only form of defense she had was trying to smack him across the face but he grabbed her hand inches away from his left cheek.

"Ms. Proulx," he gave her wrist a firm squeeze attempting to get her attention, "calm down we're not here on his behalf." That at least got her to stop struggling. "We were sent here by David to tell you something, to help ease your mind."

"I seriously doubt that, Mr. Girard. You three were nothing but cruel bastards to an innocent boy who didn't deserve the pain you gave him."

"Oh, as if you treated him any better."

"At least I didn't enjoy it." Ms. Proulx leered at him as he only let out a sign of annoyance.

"Look, who did what to whom nearly ten years ago isn't important right now. What is important is that you at least hear what I have to say and then I promise you'll never hear from us again." That last part grasped Ms. Proulx's focus.

"Well," she paused for a good while, "if that's the case then please make it quick I have orphans to tend to."

"Oh, my brother is taking care of that."

In actuality Addison wasn't doing to well with the food preparation. Even he didn't know what he was making… some kind of soup made from everything he could find: cheese, broccoli, BBQ sauce, garlic. Needless to say this was going to be a disaster.

It didn't take long for Ike to tell his past guardian everything that she needed to know. He enlightened her about Megedagik's death, though not how he died, and clarified that he and his brother as well as David were now indeed werewolves. She then asked about David, asked how he was and what else has happened to him. Ike did what he could to leave out as much as possible without seeming like he was hiding something from her. The news of David being raised by the Tokala and meeting Launa, Sabrina, and Azrealle made her smile. Of course he left out certain facts such as how David was now a god among his people, he saw his adopted father murdered before his very eyes, most of all that David literally punched through Camille's chest when he lost control that one night.

When she asked about his current whereabouts all he could say was that he was doing what he needed to do. Of course Ms. Proulx could tell Ike wasn't telling her everything but she didn't want to press the matter believing that if there were details Ike was leaving out then he would have good reason.

Having finished the job David assigned them Ike got up to keep his promise to leave and never come back. However, she managed to stop them before they left to give them a thank you. That's when all of the kids started gagging up the "soup" Addison, giving the two of them reason to bolt for the door. God only knew what would become of them if they hadn't gotten out of there before she saw the huge mess in the kitchen.

"Addison… what the hell did you make?" Ike looked to his brother with both annoyance and surprise, though more with himself for asking Addison to make food in the first place.

"I don't know," Addison shrugged his shoulders, "I would like to say that it was a soup. That is before I burnt it. Not to say that it would've tasted any good before that."

"Wait, did you do it on your own… or did you look up a recipe in one of her cookbooks."

"Are you sure there's such a thing?"

Ike then did a classic facepalm in response to his brother's ignorance that cookbooks even existed, but at least Ms. Proulx couldn't yell at them anymore and probably would never get the chance all thanks to Addison's concoction.

Now that they had accomplished what David set them out to do, the question of what to do next came into consideration. Initially they thought up of finding David but his whereabouts were unknown to them, which ruled out that idea. Even though it was easy to assume that he would be in Amsterdam with Launa but the risk of Launa or the other ladies seeing them first wasn't a chance they wanted to take, risking suffering they're rather after they tried to kill one of their friends that they had come to love as much as they do. A while later Addison got the idea of what they could do.

"Hey, Ike… how about we… well, I think that if there's anything else we can do for David I think we should do that. I was thinking that we, go and see the… them." Ike raised a brow at his suggestion.

"And exactly who would them be?"

"The… uuh, the Tokala."

"Whuh… you can't possibly be serious. If we dare show our faces… I don't want to think about what they'd do to us."

"Don't be so dramatic. Do you truly think they'd kill us if David spared out life? Besides, It would more than likely give us a one up in David's book. I don't know about you, but I want to put our history with Camille and Megedagik behind us and make up for what we've done. What better way then to fess up and take our punishment like we should, to offer up our punishment to those we've wronged?"

Although Ike didn't exactly like this idea, attempting to talk his brother out of it, Addison was obviously dead set on this and would be damned if he let his twin pay the piper all on his own while he stayed behind like a damn coward. Coming to their agreement they headed for the wilderness of northern Quebec.

Back in Alaska, standing at the edge of wide-open grassland and the woods was David breathing in the cool morning air. Thanks to Decenna he had a very pleasant and warm sleep, for which he would most certainly thank her. Still a bit cool, David took the feeling as an opportunity to fully wake himself up and center his thoughts on what he came to Alaska in the first place. However, with everyone being asleep he took the chance do what Launa asked of him while he was away.

Slowly taking in a deep breath and letting it out he closed his eyes and did what he could to empty and open his mind. It wasn't, as one would anticipate, quite that easy with the anxiety to feel that unmatched sense of remarkable power that rested inside. Soon within him came a sense of faint warmth that spread throughout his body and consciousness. It was indeed a start, but David couldn't delve as deep into that feeling as when he fought against Megedagik. When he was as focused as he could become, David opened his eyes that had a slight blood red glowing hue and he saw that his hands were emitting what seemed like a lightless fire. It slowly waved in the air like a dense and tall heat waves that radiated around the edges of hot metal. This energy that emanated from his hands was incredible. Doing what he could to channel all of this power to one hand, the aura slowly started to intensify and reach out farther around it. Trying even harder, the growing lightless flame began to give off a faint yellow glow almost like a true flame. Running his free hand through it, it was indeed warm to the touch but not in a literal sense. David struggled to find a way to depict it but no solid description came to him.

"I see you're awake." David heard a voice behind him and immediately removing his attention from his meditation and focused on where the voice came from, but the mysterious glow from his hand wouldn't go away, giving him no choice but to hide it behind him so that whoever was behind him wouldn't see. "I… I hope that I'm not intruding." It was the omega that David saw last night. Before seeing him, he thought that all of Sabrina's kind were large, but this one was roughly David's height when as a human. He had a fairly notable build, again somewhere close to David only denser than his. His coat was of a light brown but had to some extent a red sheen when the light hit it just right, and his eyes were of a mild blue.

"Oh, uuh, not at all," showing a friendly smile David walked up to him, "I was just enjoying the morning sun." Even though the feeling in his hand was going down and was no longer emitting light the aura was still there and he needed to get rid of it before he got too close. "Hmm, may I ask your name? I saw you last night but I don't think I got your name."

"My name is Anz," by his tone he seemed to be easy going, or maybe more on the submissive side instead, "I'm the omega of the pack." Again, judging by Anz's tone he didn't seem too proud of his status, not upset, but there was no pride in it. Of course, having been raised by a bunch of foxes, all except for one at least a foot taller than him, David could understand his feeling.

"Well, Anz, it's a pleasure to meet you." David instinctively held out his hand for a shake, happy to high hell that the aura was gone when he did. Looking down at David's hand Anz looked as if David caught him off guard. Not because he was ignorant of a handshake gesture, but rather because it had been a long time since he had been part of a society or social group that used them. However he did take it and gave firm shake. "Is there something I can do to help, Anz?"

"To be honest I wanted to ask you something, if you don't mind me being straightforward."

"Oh, by all means."

"May I ask you why you chose this pack, of a different species of werewolf, to help you know what it's like to belong with your own kind? Honestly, it doesn't bother me or anything like that, but wouldn't it be better that way?"

"Wow, that is straight forward," it took David a while to gather his thoughts, "but the truth is that until last night Sabrina was the only werewolf who hasn't had the intent to make me dead. I became a werewolf as part of someone's plans to be their pet and a tool use in his favor against my best friend. It's just," taking a pause; David bit his lip while trying to think of what else to say, "after leaving my family… I couldn't wait much longer to feel like… you know?"

"Yeah, I can understand that, and I honestly think you'll fit in fine… probably even better than I do."

"Hehe, oh don't be like that dude," David let out a small chuckle, "why would you say something like that. You've been in this group longer than I have."

"Because, being the omega and the smallest superwere alive doesn't exactly scream 'awesomeness'." Anz gave an expression that lied somewhere between sarcasm and irritation.

"No it isn't," again, David laughed a bit, "I know it may seem that way, but after living with a bunch of humanoid foxes, all being over a foot taller than me and much stronger, and not to mention the past eight or so months that I've lived with Sabrina and a ten foot tall muscular mega babe feline… needless to say I know where you're coming from. However, throughout that time I learned that being the smallest around most certainly has its advantages, believe it or not." Anz raised a brow, clearly not believing him.

"Such advantages that you speak of probably don't help much against huge hulking beasts such as everyone else in my pack."

"Oh contraire, you'd be surprised how hard it is for Sabrina to do so much as lay a hand on me when she's in her were form and I'm as a human… that is if I'd actually want to get away from her. One time it took both her and our friend to lay a finger on me."

"Wait, seriously?" It seemed that David was getting closer to convincing Anz. "That's honestly pretty impressive. It'd be cool if I could learn such skills."

"Hmm, I think I could at least give an idea of what it means to have the upper hand. Here, let me demonstrate." Before Anz could focus and concentrate he felt two palms strongly collide with his ears, causing him to be fairly discombobulated.

"Mmmff," Anz regained his composure, "what the hell!? You couldn't have given me warning." David shook his head. "Well why the fuck not?"

"Because, do you think your enemy would give you a "warning"? I know that mine won't… rather they didn't." David took a stance. "Okay, now you try and do the same to me." Just as David had, Anz didn't hesitate. However, he managed to block the wolf's attack with his forearms, leaving him wide open for a knee to the diaphragm. Of course David wasn't strong enough to knock the air out of him, but at least he caused him to step back a bit.

Not willing to take this from David anymore he started to swing at him, attempting to grab and hit him. Of course David was able to dodge and at one point when Anz gave a powerful swing he managed to grab it, then turn the superwere's arm inward making him face away. With his arms pinned behind him in a strong hold, David place a foot on his ass and strongly push him forward and stumble loosing his balance nearly falling to the ground.

"Rrrrrr," Anz let out a slight growl with a visible smirk, "oh that is it! I was gonna go easy on you, but you can just forget about that."

"Oh no, what ever shall I do?" Of course David had a strong tone of sarcasm in his voice. "Who will save me from the little puppy dog?"

"What did…" Anz's ears twitched at puppy dog, "I'll make you eat those words." With surprising speed that shocked even David, Anz lunged forward… but then somehow stopped in mid air with his hands inches away from David who stepped back honestly astounded at how the omega was actually toying with him, planning to learn from this and not underestimate him again. Looking behind him Anz saw Decenna holding him in mid air and over twenty feet off the ground.

"Now Anz," she had one brow raised, "you wouldn't happen to be trying to attack our guest now would you?"

"N-no," David waved his hands a bit to get her attention, "we were just fooling around. I was just showing him some moves… though I guess it got a bit outta hand." He awkwardly scratched the back of his head.

"Yeah, t-that's it," Anz also expressed a feeling somewhere between awkwardness and embarrassment, "just having a bit of fun."

"Hmmm," Decenna looks back and forward between the two a few times then slowly let go of Anz who easily landed on his feet, "just take it easy from now on, alright?" They both nodded. "And you," Decenna pointed her finger at David, "if you want to make a good impression on Hirage I highly advise against starting brawls with any of us. Am I clear?"

"T-transparently." Quickly David nodded to emphasize his answer.

Letting out a sigh, Decenna shook her head a bit and rolled her eyes as she turned around and began to walk back towards the pack. When she was out of sight the two guys looked at each other and both straight away shook hands to call a truce, not wanting to endure another lecture delivered by Decenna. When the terms of their agreement were settled David and Anz headed back to the pack, although he told Anz to go ahead. When David was sure his new pal couldn't see him anymore he concentrated one more time looking at his hand as he once again summoned his puzzling aura. As he put more focus into the feeling, doing what he could to make sure the aura grew only in intensity and not size, he realized something strange. Birds were starting to fly out of trees and away from him all around. Loosing focus his aura weakened, resulting in the birds slowly turning around and flying back to their trees. Again he fed his strength into his aura, and again they flew away. However, when he saw a few wolves in the distance looking in his direction they kept their distance, but were baring their white long and sharp teeth and snarling at him. Strangely, when David glared at them through his glowing eyes, looking into their eyes they flattened their ears and whined, putting their tails between their legs as they immediately turned around and left.

David didn't know what just happened. Trying to learn more about this new power of his was bringing up more questions than it answered. Deciding that he had done enough studying for the day, David removed his mind from his concerns and headed back to the others, anxious to see what that day had in store for him.