Griffin steeled himself against the appraising eyes of the werewolves sitting around the table. He counted twenty including Logan, which was surprising; he had thought there would be more. He deduced the rapid growth of the hunters must have dwindled their numbers and exiled them from major cities.

“In the name of our ancestors, I bid you all welcome...” Logan said, commencing the council for the first time since Vladmir took over.

Showtime,  Griffin thought with a grin.

“None of us here has the patience for niceties, so I'll skip to the point,” Logan said. His deep voice boomed around the room, commanding respect. “We are planning an attack on the hunters...”

A collective gasp escaped the lips from the wolves in the room. The leaders present had all been briefed on the events of the past month, but hearing Logan actually declare war erased any doubts they harbored.

“You sound confident,” one of the wolves observed. “How do you plan on finding the hunters?” His name was Kyler Rakes. A huge brute of a man, who stood almost three heads taller than Logan. He was one of the strongest werewolves, but very careful despite his looks.

Logan chuckled, throwing the group off. “A few days ago, I would have proposed we send out scouts using the scent from the facility we found, but there is no longer a need for such a roundabout method. This man here will explain the rest.” He signalled John to bring the scientist forward.

Griffin stopped at the table right across Logan. He wore a proud smile that belittled his captivity status. “Hello,” he greeted. His voice contained mockery that did not escape their ears.

“Who the hell do you think you are?!” the wolf sitting next to Griffin burst out in anger as she rose and grabbed Griffin’s shirt collar, chocking him. Her name was Lavonne Bryana Ely. She was one of the only two female leaders in the council. In a world made solely for men, she had fought and clawed her way to top. With a very short temper and even sharper fangs, she was a force to be reckoned.

“Now, now, why don’t you calm down?” Griffin teased, annoying her even more. Lavonne tightened her grip, but a firm shout from Logan caused her to release her grip. That’s right, Griffin thought as he cleared his throat.. The chaos would throw them off and keep him in control.

“Get to it,” Logan ordered. His terse tone let Griffin know he could not afford to annoy him any further.

“Sure,” Griffin surrendered. “If you want to really attack the hunters, it has to be simultaneously or they will disappear before you get a chance.”

“Do you know all their bases?” Logan inquired.

“Impossible,” Griffin replied. “No one person can know more than three locations at once. It’s a security measure they employed in the off chance an agent is caught alive.”

“Then how do you expect us to attack?!” Lavonne shouted, banging her fist on the table.

“Take it easy,” Griffin said with a sigh. “I do know the location of one base a few towns away-”

“What good does one-”

“Silence!” Logan growled angrily. Lavonne shrank back into her seat, looking smaller than ever. “Continue,” Logan said to Griffin, who nodded .

“While it is impossible for any one person to know, they do have one weak point. Every base is linked through a common network, so if we can get into the main control room...”

“We can hack it and get the remaining locations easily.” John finished. All heads turned sharply to the man who had spoken out of turn. He smiled sourly.

"Do you have training?" Griffin asked.

He shrugged in a show of laxness. "Finished with a first class in both systems and software engineering. Wasn't much."

'Ho? So the mutt has brains.' "Good, then you'll assist me." He failed to see the dark look that crossed the faces of the leaders around the table. “There is one thing you should know before you decide though. A single hunter can take out about five of you no sweat. If you do choose to attack, even if you win, you will sustain heavy causalities.”

“Yes,” Logan agreed, and signaled John who grabbed Griffin’s arm and led him outside. “Now then," Logan said to the leaders. “What do you think?"

"I do not care for that man. He thinks little of us; you heard as well as I did what he called us," Lavonne said, gripping her right arm with her fist.

"Nevertheless, his words are true," said Rakes, rubbing his temple. "If there was a time to fight back, it would be now. I propose we go with his plan."

"I second it," a sweet calm voice called.  It belonged to a petite African-American lady, with long braided hair the color of night. At only twenty-five years of age and standing at barely above five feet, she was the tiniest and youngest among the elders in the room.  Her name was...

"Valerie Alberta Jinks... to think you of all people would support this," Logan said, shock on his face, mirrored on everyone in the room.

 "I have watched our friends and families suffer under fear from the hunters. I detest meaningless bloodshed, but if that is the price that must be paid for our freedom, then so be it." Jinks' dark brown eyes were just as calm and inviting as her voice, but everyone present knew how quickly those eyes could change.

"Good. We have a proposal and a second. As is our custom, we shall now put it to a vote. Do we go to battle or do we keep to our current way of life?"

Jake went around the room with a fancy bowl, which the leaders dropped pieces of papers into. He placed the bowl in front of Logan and retreated to the background.

Logan picked up the papers in the bowl and inspected all of them. "I'm glad we are of the same mind in this. It is unanimous! We go to WAR!"

What happened next would be burned into Kat's memory for the rest of her life. Everyone present went absolutely mad. Immediately after the announcement, the leaders collectively slammed their fists onto the table, smashing it to bits. As the pieces crumbled to the floor, they roared at the top of their lungs and attacked each other, flinging themselves across the room.

Talia, Bryan and all the other wolves present reacted in a similar fashion, growling and barking as they transformed into their wolf forms and dashed out of the meeting hall, followed soon after by the leaders.

Kat chased after them but froze just outside the doors, afraid to take one more step. It was hellish pandemonium; there was not a single human to be seen anywhere. Every last werewolf had morphed into their wolf form and were going berserk on each other. They scratched, clawed and bit each other, stopping every now and then to howl at the top of their lungs.

She covered her ears with her hands to shut out the sound because it carried a terrible sense of foreboding, which caused her to body to shiver with fright. The howls travelled across the state, and spread beyond, propping up in the most unlikely places. They continued through the day,  past the night and early into the next morning, gripping the entire nation in feral fear.

Griffin heard their howls in his cell and hugged his knees to his chest, trembling in fright. "Dear God, what have I gotten myself into?" For the first time since he was born, he learned the true meaning of fear, but it was nothing compared to what awaited him in the near future.

*****

A farm truck rode through a major road, its driver rapping to his favorite beat 'pop that booty' as he took a huge swig of his moonshine. He had just returned from the best party ever, and was probably too drunk to drive, but who cares?! If he crashed into someone, it was their fault for not getting out of his way. Right in the thick of his jam, three huge wolves the size  of men tore across the road, followed closely by many of their kind.

"Holy Sweet Mary Jesus!" he cried as he pressed down on the accelerator, intent on running over the denizens of hell. His windscreen suddenly frosted over and smashed inwards, sending shards of frosted glass flying everywhere. Scared, he accidentally spun his wheel and the truck flipped over and above the running wolves, landing precariously on a slope of ice. It slid harmlessly to the ground and the driver soon exited the truck, having sustained only a few injuries.

"What the?" he stumbled along the road, searching for the icy slope or the wolves. "Well, I'll be damned. This here moonshine almost killed me." He looked at the bottle in his hands which he had fought to save, and considered tossing it way. "...After this here swig." He raised the bottle to his lips to drink, but it suddenly froze and shattered as the air around him chilled.

"Ah, I had to listen to that irritating excuse for music throughout this journey," a voice called from the back of his truck. "Not only did you almost commit murder, you also did not regret your actions, choosing to keep drinking."

The air got even chillier and the farmer futilely hugged his arms around his body in an attempt to warm himself. "W-who's there?"

"Who indeed?" A monster, the like of which he had never seen jumped put of the truck. It stood at almost nine feet tall, with several eyes and very scary horns. Ice and snow flew off of it, chilling the air as it took a step closer "... I hate druk drivers."

It extended its had, and tears poured from the man's eyes as he whimpered. "P-please man! I'll change! I ain't gonna drink no more! P-pleaaase!" he begged. It placed its hand on his head and he fainted from sheer shock, foam rising in his mouth.

"I didn't think he would actually faint," Nathan said, stepping out of the truck as the ice  monster crumbled. "Well, at least I don't have to listen to that sorry excuse for music, and I took one more drunk driver off the road." He looked in the direction the wolves had run towards. "Let's see what they know..."

*****

Elysium

A town in Hitoryu.

In a neat little room in the clinic, a dark haired girl woke up from her slumber.

"Ugh, how long was I out?" Liz asked, shaking her head. The first thing she noticed was a small old man sitting next to her, sipping his tea.

"The entire night," he answered. "Your friends dropped you off."

"Friends? I don't have any..." White hair and green eyes flashed in her mind and she suddenly remembered everything. "Old man, where are the people who brought me here?!"

"Hm? They said they would be staying at the inn?"

"Where is it?"

"Just down the road. Hold on, you're no-"

"Thank you for the help," she said, cutting him off. "but I must leave."

"You are not fully healed yet!"

"Don't worry, I'm tougher than I look." She dashed out of the room, realized she was only dressed in her underwear and ran back in. "Where are my clothes?!"

"Those things were destroyed beyond repair. I prepared something for you. They once belonged to my daughter, but she has grown far too big for them." He pointed to a set of clothing neatly placed on a chair. It comprised of a navy blue slim-fitted blouse; a black skirt which was cut higher on one side to allow easier movement; and pairs of boots and gloves.

Liz grabbed them and donned them hurriedly without checking to see how well they fit. "Thanks," she said as she dashed out of the clinic.

"Kids these days have too much energy," said the old man as he watched her disappear into the daylight.

****

Rex and Dmitri left the inn with the intention of going to see how Liz was doing when they saw her bounding down towards them. She came to a sudden halt right in front of them, turning from one to the other as if checking for something.

"L-liz?" Rex stammered, discomforted by her strange actions.

She suddenly punched the both of them as hard as she could, then  before they could mutter any cries of protest, hugged them tightly. "You idiots! I thought you died." Her voice cracked under the force of tears she struggled to hold back.

"W-we're fine," Dmitri said, tapping her arm. "...You're choking me!"

She released them and stepped back as she calmed herself. "You're not allowed to die Rex. Only I can kill you. Don't forget that."

Rex smiled wryly. "Sure, I'm not planning on dying anytime soon."

"What about me?" Dmitri asked, pointing at himself.

Her eyes turned cold as she glared at him. To camouflage themselves and reduce the risk of detection, Lyra had charmed the color of their eyes to green."You could burn for all I care."

"How mean. Can't believe I know a real life tsundere."

"A tsun-what?" Rex asked, turning to him brows raised.

"Tsundere.. you know,  fake strong exterior, soft and mushy inside, usually does and says the oppos..." Dmitri stopped when he noticed the looks they were giving him. He shrugged. "Some people just don't appreciate good shows anymore."

"Th-that's just creepy. Don't hide behind your 'twenty- years old' looks. We all know you are more than two hundred years old. How can you be oogling anime characters?" Liz asked, disgust on her face.

"She does have a point..." Rex admitted.

"Heh, how did you know what I was talking about? Look this clueless buffoon doesn't know what I was talking about but you do. Admit it, you watch it too!"

"That's true Liz, how did you know?" Rex asked, standing aside to let the two face each other.

Color rose to her cheeks as she stammered. "I-I-I saw a few episodes when I was a kid! Doesn't change the fact you're a two hundred year old lecher."

"Dmitri..."

"Oh no, you do not remember something as abstract as that without being a regular fan. And in my defense, ask any girl in your world. If the vampire is hot, he might as well be a thousand years, and I. AM. SMO. KING. HOT!"

"Ooh, Burn! Liz?"

She crossed into his personal space, their faces only inches away from each other. "Heh... What makes you think you're so hot? In my book, you're just about average."

"Dim?"

"How would you know? I bet you've never had a boyfriend."

"Liz?"

"What makes you think so?" The glint in her eye caused Dmitri's eyes to widen in surprise.

"No way?! You? When?"

"Guys?" Rex called, increasing his voice a little more.

"Huhuhu, wouldn-"

"Guys?!" Rex shouted.

"WHAT?!" the duo screamed, knocking him back.

"We've got to get going," Rex  answered, biting back his laughter.

"What's the rush?" Dmitri asked. "It's not like we know where your evil twin is."

"He's not my... you know what, never mind. We've got to get to the capital."

"What's there?" Liz asked, folding her arms across her chest.

Rex could not get used to seeing her with green eyes. But more importantly, he could not get used to seeing her this carefree. He had seen a glimpse of the wild girl in her when they had first met on the tower, but nothing like this. Did meeting Bel somehow change her? "Drake's in trouble. We need to save him before anything else."

Dmitri tensed as he turned absolutely serious. "Explain..."