"Sai?" Cyrus calls out to the empty space.

[Yes, host?]

"No... call me Ethan, please."

[Yes, Ethan?]

Cyrus's lips raise slightly at the sound of that familiar name. It sounds so foreign to his ears; but that name is the only thing that reminds him of his original world. Where he lived solely as Ethan Kline and no one else. Where he didn't have to follow a plot or respond to a name that didn't belong to him. But he wasn't happy in that life. And the lives he'll come to live won't end happily ever after either. At the end of the road, at the end of his fifth world, will he finally get his happy ending? But surviving all these worlds, surviving all this pain and suffering - was he truly able to do it? Could he survive until the end? He didn't know how tiring all of this would be, and he was only on his second world. Would he have to remember everything when it was all over? Would he have to live with the memories of all of his past worlds when he is reborn?

It gave him such a headache, "No... it's nothing, Sai. Just promise not to leave me all alone, okay?"

[Sai must accompany Host throughout all worlds.]

"You must, huh?" Cyrus scoffs, the ghost of a smile prying at his lips, "I'll take it."

Cyrus takes a deep breath, his nerves finally having calmed. He finally takes notice of his surroundings. Goosebumps race across his skin, leaving his hair on edge. Cyrus frowns when he notices where the cool draft is coming from - the window. But he was sure that was closed earlier. He stands to his feet and cautiously moves towards the open window. Wiping away any stray tears from his eyes and regaining his composure. Stopping in front of the window, he first looks down at the field below. Lance has gone. And the memories of that almost kiss come rushing back; his eyes start to burn and his chest tightens; but he forces himself to look away, studying the woods surrounding the house.

Not seeing anything, he is about to shut the window when his eyes lock onto a figure standing on the outskirts of the dark woods. A chill runs down his spine; he recognizes that figure. It's that same hooded figure he saw when he first awoke in this body. But what are they doing here? Have they followed him? They knew to lead him to Lance, what else do they know? Maybe something about Cyrus?

Cyrus jolts back to attention when the figure suddenly turns and walks into the surrounding trees. They clearly knew Cyrus saw them - almost as if they were waiting for Cyrus to notice them. And now they want him to... follow them?

Cyrus doesn't hesitate to hop out of the window and into the cold night, his bare feet landing firmly onto the lush grass. Cyrus swallows the lump in his throat before he races towards where he last saw the figure, into the deep, dark and unknown woods.

-

"Lanny, I know you're my alpha and everything - and I mean no offense - but don't you think you're being a little dramatic?" Rudy puts his ear against the door, waiting for a response. He frowns when he doesn't receive an answer.

He might of overheard what had happened last night, how his Alpha's mate ran away from him. Rudy understood that must've hurt, being rejected like that, but still, the Lanny he knew was being way too dramatic. Lance had barricaded himself in his room and locked the windows, and you could hear the occasional sniffle coming from inside. This was a new side to Lance, a side Rudy had never seen. His Alpha was strong; but now he was acting like a baby who's had his candy taken away. He never knew his Alpha could be so... pitiful. And after the news Cyrus ran away he refused to leave his room or talk to anyone - believing his precious mate had rejected him.

Rudy sighs, leaning his head against the door, "C'mon, Lan. I'm sure he just needed some space to think things over. He'll come back."

Silence from inside. Maybe I should get Carolyn, maybe she'll talk some sense into him. Rudy, about to step away from the door, freezes in place. Then again, she is taking over all of the Alpha's responsibilities. I don't think she'd like it if I interrupted her. A chill runs down Rudy's spine when he imagines the fierce glare on Carolyn's face. But nothing he's saying is getting through to Lance, it's like he's talking to a brick wall. He's been trying for at least a half an hour now but has only gotten the occasional sniffle.

He knocks softly on the door, "Hey, if you want, I can send some scouts to track his scent. I'm sure he couldn't of gotten far."

Suddenly loud shuffling is heard and the door swings open. Rudy steps back, alarmed at the sudden appearance. He barely recognizes the man standing in front of him. Hunched over, a quilt wrapped around his body, messy brown hair hanging in front of a pair of puffy red eyes. Despair is written all over his Alpha's face.

There was one other time the Alpha was like this. Back when they were kids, before Lance took over the Greywolf pack, he came back from the woods one day a sobbing mess. He shut himself in his room and didn't talk to anyone for weeks. It was only when the Alpha, Lance's father at the time couldn't take it anymore and talked some sense into him. The memory only now has resurfaced in Rudy's memory, as it was the only time he has ever seen Lance cry. The only time he had ever seen him so weak and vulnerable. But as the years had passed he had never seen him that way ever again. That is, until now.

Rudy flashes a reassuring smile, "L-Lanny?"

Lance's bottom lip trembles, his eyes start to water. Suddenly a pair of muscular arms are thrown around Rudy. Rudy stays perfectly still as the man sobs into the crook of his neck. His loud cries fill the hallway and echo throughout the entire house. Rudy hesitantly wraps his arms around the huge man and pats his back. His pats though meant to be soothing, come out harsh and robotic.

"There, there..." Rudy reassures, sweat rolling down his forehead.

He was comforting the Alpha of the Greywolf pack. The strongest and most feared wolf throughout all known packs. He couldn't quite comprehend that fact.

"Why don't we move into your room, okay?" Rudy suggests.

After a few seconds, Rudy manages to step into Lance's room, with Lance still clinging onto him and crying uncontrollably. Rudy shuts the door behind him and moves them to the edge of the bed, sitting the two of them down. Lance now cries into Rudy's chest, using his shirt to absorb his tears and snot. Rudy awkwardly attempts to comfort Lance, sitting in silence with only Lance's cries to fill the room.

"Lanny-"

"He hates me..." Lance sniffles.

"Huh?" Rudy focuses in on Lance's strangled words.

"I-I scared him away. That's why he ran away. That's why he... he rejected-" His voice cracks with pain, finishing the sentence was far too painful for him. So he opts for continuing to sob into Rudy's soaked shirt. Rudy sighs and rubs his back.

"He didn't reject you. Like I said, he probably needs some time to think things through, so don't worry so much, yeah? This whole mate thing can be overwhelming to any wolf."

Lance's cries seem to settle down some, seemingly reassured by Rudy's words. Rudy inwardly lets out a sigh of relief, finally he listens to me. Rudy pats his Alpha's back a few more times, in an attempt to continue to cheer him up, "Who knows? Maybe he just had to take a dump and went out into the woods and couldn't find his way back."

Rudy chuckles and Lance shakes as well. Rudy, finally thinking he's cheered his Alpha up, looks down only to find Lance crying even harder than before.

Rudy panics, "L-Lanny?!"

"Cyrus... lost in the woods... all alone..." Lance lets out a cry of agony, yelling at the empty air, a sudden fierceness in his teary eyes, "Don't worry, Cyrus! I'm coming right now! Just stay where you are!" Lance stands up, rushing towards the door.

Rudy looks after him, bewildered. He quickly rushes after him, "H-Hey! Wait, you idiot! I was joking!"

Rudy continues to follow Lance down the stairs, Lance seemingly ignoring Rudy's calls - determined to rescue his mate.

This dumbass! Rudy grits his teeth, how could he really believe I was serious?! Has he always been this gullible?! Just how in the hell has he managed to be the Alpha all these years?!

Rudy rushes to catch Lance's arm, stopping him in his tracks. Lance struggles to fight off the arm but Rudy refuses to let go, yelling the words this time to make sure Lance actually hears and processes them, "He's a wolf, damn it! Wolfs don't get lost, he could easily follow your scent back here. Even from miles away!"

Lance blinks and takes a moment to process his words, and Rudy slowly releases the hold on Lance's arm, "Seriously, how can you be so dense?"

Lance's head drops, the hair falling back in front of his eyes. "So he really did run away..." Lance mutters.

Rudy frowns, "We can track him, it won't take long-"

"No."

"What?"

"He needs time, like you said," Lance states, "He'll come back when he's ready. And I'll wait until he does." Lance sounds just as determined as he was a moment ago. And with that, Lance trudges back up the stairs, shutting himself back into his room again.

Rudy watches him go, not daring to bring up the possibility of what will happen if Cyrus doesn't come back. Or what it will mean for the future of the Alpha, or more importantly, what it will mean for the future of the Greywolf pack.

-

"What the hell... I could've sworn..." Cyrus mutters to himself, his eyes studying the surrounding trees.

He followed the figure for at least twenty minutes. Dodging tree branches, jumping over fallen logs, ignoring the pain in his bare feet when he stepped on a rock or a twig. And then suddenly he lost sight of them. He blinked and they were gone. Had he lost them just like that? He had scanned the surrounding area for that familiar dark cloak but found nothing. They were gone. So what was their reason for leading Cyrus all the way out here? So deep into the woods? Was it just his mind playing tricks on him? Was he losing him mind? Had his search for answers made him delusional?

Cyrus rubs his temples, brows knitted together. He blinks and look up at the night sky, letting out a long and exhausted sigh. I suppose I should head back...

Suddenly something sharp bounces off his forehead. Cyrus winces and watches as a small rock falls to the grass next to his feet. He rubs at his now bleeding skin and warily scans the direction the rock was thrown from. But no one was there. Instead, Cyrus noticed a faint orange glow off into the distance. Perhaps that is what the figure wanted Cyrus to find. Still rubbing at his already healed cut, Cyrus warily makes his way closer to the light.

He comes across a cave naturally carved into the side of a hill. He stops right at the entrance. The orange light comes from the small campfire in the middle of the space, illuminating the cave. Cyrus looks around to make sure he truly is alone before approaching the entrance of the cave. A small makeshift bed is set up in the back of the cave, covered in thick brown furs. Books line the walls and are stacked upon each other, and on the rock walls are engravings Cyrus can't quite make sense of. No space in the cave is left empty - with bottles of strange liquids and plants stored in corners, and spiderwebs reaching across the uppermost corners. This is clearly someone's home, and they have lived here for a very long time.

Cooking over the fire is a rabbit; making it quite obvious that whoever lived here wasn't far from their home. Cyrus didn't feel comfortable intruding like this. If the person who lived here came across Cyrus in their home, what would be their reaction? Would they assume he was here to rob them? They didn't live very far from the Greywolf base, perhaps they belonged to the pack and this is where they spent the night. At least then they would know that Cyrus was the Alpha's mate and wouldn't try to kill him.

"Are you hungry?"

A voice comes from behind Cyrus and he immediately tenses, snapping his head around to face the cloaked figure. He watches with wide eyes as the figure walks past Cyrus and bends down by the fire, checking on their slowly roasting rabbit. Cyrus silently watches them, staying put in his spot. He keeps his mouth clamped shut, not knowing what to say. He still doesn't know who this person is, why they led him here, or if they were a danger or not. He knew he recognized them from the night he first awoke in this world... the one that led him through the forest and to Lance. He wasn't able to sense them, either. He was a werewolf so his senses were heightened, so he should've heard or at least smelled them. But he didn't, and that scared him.

Cyrus stared at the stranger, only being able to make out a fraction of their face from underneath their dark hood. The fire illuminates their face enough for him to make out wrinkled skin.

"Well?" They ask again, referring to the question they asked earlier. Cyrus jumps, but acknowledges the voice clearly belongs to a woman. An elderly woman it seems. An elderly woman that managed to outrun him in the woods and sneak up on him without making a sound.

Cyrus swallows the lump in his throat, "N-No, thank you." He answers, for some reason not wanting to seem impolite. But his curiosity overwhelms him as he quickly races to ask, "Who are you?"

The woman stops prodding at her food before standing. She raises her hands and slowly pulls down her hood. Heavy wrinkles run across dark tanned skin. Well perhaps not tan, but dirty. Mud and dirt have been rubbed all over her face and neck. Underneath the dirt peer out a pair of eyes staring into Cyrus's very soul. One is dark brown - the other a pale white. A deep scar runs vertically across her blind eye, from her brow to her cheek.

"It is nice to finally meet you, traveller." She surprises Cyrus by hanging her head low and bowing. Cyrus is confused by this, and by her calling him 'traveller.' She raises her head, "I am Etna. Welcome to our world. I trust that body is a suitable vessel?"

Cyrus is in shock, "W-What? How do you-"

"Yes, I know you are very confused. But I shall explain everything. Take a seat by the fire." She gestures the spot in front of her before sitting back down on the ground.

Cyrus obeys her command and takes a seat across from her. The fire warms his skin and he watches as she takes the rabbit away from the fire, placing it on a piece of bark. She reaches into a satchel hidden under her cloak and pulls out a knife. She uses it to cut a piece off of the roasted rabbit and places it onto another piece of bark. She picks it up and hands it to Cyrus. Cyrus hesitantly takes it from her hands but doesn't eat it, impatiently waiting for Etna to tell him the answers he so desperately craves. Etna is very patient, however. The many years of her life have taught her patience. And she has waited for his moment of her life for a very long time - she felt no need fo rush, as everything would reveal itself in due time. She held a very small place in the events that would transpire.

"Twenty suns ago, on a blood red moon, a boy was born," She starts, having Cyrus focused on her each and every word. She stares into the fire as she continues her story, "And along with that boy was born a wolf, a red wolf. That boys very existence was the beginning of a lifelong prophecy dating centuries back, all the way back to when the red wolf pack roamed these very woods. He is the last remaining red wolf to awaken after the pack has disappeared. The prophecy has been passed on throughout my ancestors, written on stone and in fables,

It follows the birth of a boy born on a red moon accompanied by the soul of a slumbering red wolf. And the only way his wolf would be able to awaken is when a traveller from another world inhabitants the boys empty vessel. The two foreign souls, the traveller and the red wolf, would connect in body and mind - and only then would his inner wolf awaken. The wolf would guide this boy, only in mind, and only on the day of the next red moon would the wolf be able to truly awaken. On that red moon, two months from this day, there will be a war between packs. The Greywolf pack will lose this war and the Bloodmoon pack will take over this land. Their discrimination against humans will start a new war entirely against human kind and wolf kind. Wolf kind will lose. Wolf kind will become extinct. To prevent our kinds extinction the Greywolf pack must win the next territory war. The Alpha of the Bloodmoon pack must die and only then will the future for wolf kind truly be safe."

Etna looks up to meet bewildered eyes, "You are the traveller. You are the last red wolf. You are the only one who can save our kind from extinction."