{These characters, with the exception of Rhodes, white wolf and Alex, are not property of me. I would never attempt to claim them as my own. This story may not be used without my permission, and may not be used to make money in any way, shape or form. Characters and certain situations were created by Rumiko Takahashi, so don't try any funny stuff!}

The wind howled through the snow covered passes. The entire mountain was a white nightmare, covered in snow and ice, endless wind, and sub-zero temperatures. The only escape from the harsh conditions were a series of caves.

The caves, the entrances little more than barely human sized holes, were the only hope for a traveler lost in the hostile peaks. Yet, the caves already had occupants; they did not like uninvited guests.

Not visible, unknown to anyone other the inhabitants, the caves went deep into the sheltering stone, a large network of interconnected chambers, warmed by the dormant volcano they wound through.

Deep in the heart of the mountain, one of the inhabitants slept. It was a deep, dreamless sleep that none of the others could rouse it from.

Clearly, something had to be done, but they neither had the means nor the contacts to do anything. There was no one that would dare help them. Not out of the goodness of their heart at least.

Standing just inside the entrance to a cave, he looked out into the blinding whiteness, the blowing snow and vertical walls. He was safe here; it was his domain. It would have suited him fine to stay in the mountains and never leave, but there were things, duties he had to attend to. He could not shrug off his responsibility for the others because he simply did not want to go.

Adjusting the white hides he was forced to wear to cover his imperfections, he stepped out into the wind and disappeared into the snow.

Finally leaving the mountain behind, he had only one choice where he might find help. There was only one place that he might find something or someone of use. There were many more villages, but they were all untrained farmer peasants. They couldn't possibly help him.

Traveling easily through the deep snow, he avoided the well worn paths that were used for travel, and moved silently through the immense forest. It wasn't necessary to hide the evidence of his passage here. They all knew those of his kind came from the mountains to hunt. Of course they believed that the poor humans were their prey though.

Why anyone would think that he would want to eat a thin, malnourished human was beyond him. Even the thinnest of hares was a better catch than the humans. No, they were all lies spread to make him seem like a horrendous beast that should be killed.

All his senses and instincts told him to freeze as two farmers came into view. Farmers... Hunters, murderers... He forced back the feeling of anger that threatened his mission as two men came into view, walking slowly, looking for their own prey. At once he wanted to kill them and to also leave them in peace.

The conditions they were forced to live under were just pathetic and they only worked to do what they thought they needed to survive. And thanks to a certain overlord, everyone was convinced that he was a threat.

Holding still, crouching low, blending into the covering of snow, he listened to the men talk. The first one, a man he had seen before, was talking about a stranger. The second seemed agitated by the tale of this stranger his friend was telling him.

"What? You're a fool, Rhodes. That thing will tear you apart in your sleep!"

Rhodes shook his head. "I don't think so. Alex, you don't understand. Neither of them are from around..."

"So send them back to their own territory."

"No, they insist they're from a different world."

Alex snorted. "A likely story. Sounds like brainwashing."

Rhodes was shaking his head. "You've seen them before, right?"

Alex nodded. He had seen more than he would have liked.

"Then you know their coloring. Silver, red, light grey, those yellowish ones from the east, and even the white ones..."

Alex nodded in understanding. "So what does that have to do with..."

"This one, he's black. Blacker than night. I've never seen anything like it."

"Black?" Alex asked. That was strange.

Rhodes nodded. "And he doesn't act like any of them. The girl he was with, he was protecting her. I've never seen them be protective of anyone but themselves."

"That doesn't prove anything. So it was being protective of a female."

"And well-spoken." Rhodes shook his head then. "Nothing adds up. I'm inclined to believe their stories. My wife still doesn't trust him, but she's taken a shine to the girl."

"Understandable. And wise. I still think you're crazy, Rhodes." Alex was shaking his head then suddenly drew an arrow and fired it at a patch of snow. There was a squeal and the blood of a rabbit stained the snow.

"Good shot!" Rhodes said, and the two went to check on their kill.

They were approaching him. They would pass no more than five feet to his left, and there was no way they could miss him then. Well, he had just heard something interesting, worth checking out later, but for the moment, there was more pressing business to deal with.

Unlocking his muscles, he bounded away from the two men, drawing cries of surprise from them. Before they could do more, he was gone into the forest.

That village, the one that sat at the base of his mountain, he would have to investigate. Black... That WAS strange. Yet, no one had ever seen white until him. Well, mostly white. Those annoying spots of black on his lower back and stomach ruined his intimidating appearance.

No one else thought that though. He was a ghost, a phantom wolf to them. He came down from the mountain where nothing could survive and killed their livestock, haunted their forests, using the snow as his cover, moving through it like it was water and he was a fish... All lies.

It was so much easier for the humans to believe the lies than it was to think about the truth. Their own "protectors" killed their animals, kidnapped their children, incited the hordes, and destroyed their homes. There were a few renegades, and even some of his kind that were wild, choosing to live in the wilderness and forget their once human existence, but he didn't believe that he fit into that category.

No, he never forgot his human existence, he just didn't choose to go back to it. There were some that had followed his example and lived in the mountains with him, but they never caused the fear and panic that he did.

In less polite terms, he was a mutant. His fur was white like the new fallen snow, and his eyes were pale, icy, not green like those of his comrades. Even his skin was white. Not flesh colored like the humans, but white.

It helped him, helped his frightening reputation, but it also hurt. There would be no way for him to escape his identity as the ghost wolf, phantom wolf, snow devil, white monster... White wolf.

Pushing away the bad memories and feelings of jealousy, knowing he would never have a normal life, even though he did turn into a wolf, he made his way to the large city he visited on multiple occasions. He would find someone there to help.

'A great white beast! It wears the skin of children! It brings the hordes into the villages! It lives to see the death of every living creature!'

They were wrong. And they would pay.

***

He approached the village carefully. He was able to hide in the snow, but darkness was not an ally to him. There was light still coming from many of the homes, and the smells of cooking food.

That man he had seen the other afternoon, Rhodes, he knew his home. For some reason that he couldn't possibly fathom, there were some humans that were so stubbornly brave and foolish that they defended their homes against wild beasts that could tear them apart.

He never considered himself a wild beast, but he had had a confrontation with this Rhodes man before. The man was wise enough to be scared, but foolish enough to try and drive him away. Not caring about the life of the human one way or another, he had left, on his way to do other things.

He had almost taken a liking to Rhodes for his foolish bravery, and had investigated the little village that sat in his territory more closely. It was amazing how they never realized exactly what their village was sitting on the edge of. So pathetic and helpless...

Moving to the back of the house, between the barn and the little cabin, he waited until the village was dark and silent. If any of them ever discovered these little investigations of his, they never spoke of them, otherwise he believed they would probably be up the mountain this very minute, hunting him down.

When he sure all was quiet and everyone was asleep, he went to the crude door and opened it slowly, silently. Squeezing through, he looked around the simple one room main area. A fire still burned low; the coals would remain hot until the morning.

Walking silently across the room to the short hallway, he paused at one door. That was Rhodes and his wife. The strangers must have been in the other room. He suddenly thought that maybe he was getting old, not being able to smell them immediately when he came inside. He should have been able to smell them from outside, but... He wasn't as young as he used to be and things would sometimes slip by him.

He opened the door to the other room and went inside. Right away, their strange scents assaulted him. They definitely weren't from any place he knew. They smelled like nothing he had ever experienced before. He looked at the small bed the two were sharing, covered by a heavy blanket.

A wave of jealousy hit him. He wished he could leave, go somewhere very far away from where he was and what he was. He wished he could find a girl, a woman, any female to share himself with, but they were few and far between, always frightened by him.

Then again he was taken by surprise by something he should have known nearly immediately. These strangers, both of them, they... changed. He could smell it in them, smell the animal that waited to emerge. Even as he watched, the boy's arm emerged from under the blanket to rest on top of it, and began to ripple as if it was below the surface of water.

The flesh changed, taking on a life of its own as the bones shifted. The boy was experienced with the change, not disturbed from his sleep at all by the sometimes painful experience. These were two he'd have to keep a closer eye on.

They were still unknowns at the moment, and he couldn't trust any reason they had given Rhodes as to why they were there, but there was always hope. Even in the darkest of moments, he had his hope.

That jealousy still sitting heavy in his heart, he watched the boy, half changed, clutch the girl sleeping against him. He may have only been a boy, but he had an excellent understanding of the workings of his body. Even when the boy was asleep, he knew there was a strange male close by.

That was enough. He knew he had to go before he was discovered. Still... He got closer to the bed, trying to get a better look at the two. He stepped on a loose board that creaked ominously and caused the strangers to shift. He still couldn't see the boy's face, but he could see the girl's. She was obviously foreign, pretty in an exotic way, but she was so young...

So young, and with child... children. Closer still and he got down on one knee by the bed. Reaching out slowly, he touched the back of one finger to the girl's cheek and rubbed it.

She shifted again and moved her head against his finger. No doubt she thought it was the boy doing it and not some strange ghost touching her.

This one, these two... He would remember them. He would watch them. They were here for a reason and he would be sure to find out what.