Naruto clenched his teeth to keep a whine from escaping. He could see his blood flowing out of the gash on his side. He knew he probably wouldn't make it. He was too far from his pack and he had already lost too much blood but at least he had taken down one of the bloodsuckers' most powerful warriors. The pale creature lay in pieces, scattered all around the small clearing. Vampires were tricky to kill. They had to be taken apart piece by piece. Their 'hearts' had to be ripped out of their chests to make sure they wouldn't come back to life.

Naruto started as he saw something flash in the corner of the forest. He slowly got to his feet, swaying slightly. Whether it was friend or foe, he couldn't tell, but he would not be caught unprepared. He growled in warning, hackles raised. He winced as that made the blood flow faster out of his body.

The undergrowth rustled and out stepped a wolf Naruto had never seen before. It had thick, dark navy fur with a silver underbelly. It raised its gaze to Naruto's and he felt his blood run cold.

The wolf's eyes were pale lavender. And they were pupil-less.

'How can that be?! Hyuga eyes on a wolf?!'

The Hyuga were a prominent vampire family, the oldest vampire family around. And the Hyugas all had the same pale lavender, pupil-less eyes and long dark hair. There was no mistaking those eyes. They were eerie and strange.

He breathed in the wolf's scent, trying to piece it together. His mind worked sluggishly, the pain making his thoughts scattered and hazy. He detected a hint of that cold bloodsucker smell but at the same time he could smell its earthy lavender scent. That wasn't all. He could easily sniff out that this certain wolf was female. Naruto knew that females, of any species, were just as dangerous as males, if not more. But something in his brain warned him not to attack her. He was weak and had suffered serious blood loss. The wolf before him, although smaller and leaner than him, was well-rested and fresh. He could also see the lean muscles beneath the wolf's lush pelt. This was one fight he would not be able to win.

She hadn't moved from where she had first entered, her lavender eyes watching him closely. Slowly, she lowered herself onto the floor and crawled over to him until she was a foot or two away. He watched all this through hooded eyes, his stance tense.

Naruto found himself unwillingly relaxing as she flipped over, showing her silver underbelly. His legs shook and buckled as his entire body relaxed with relief. Faster than anything he'd ever seen, the she-wolf was suddenly at his side, supporting one of his shoulders, allowing the gold wolf to lean on her. He hadn't even had time to blink. She was definitely fast. He could see a small glint of worry shining in her lilac eyes. She nudged his muzzle with her own and whined.

All of a sudden, her ears flicked forward and she tensed. She whined again, an urgent tone in her voice. She nudged him once more, a slight hint of panic in her gaze. He finally understood.

He allowed her to guide him farther into the forest, too tired to feel wary or suspicious of the wolf with the vampire eyes. The farther they got out, the more he felt her relax, though her ears kept flicking around, trying to capture whatever sound they could. Naruto was panting from the effort it took to keep conscious by the time they finally stopped. He lowered himself to the ground, feeling light headed. He drifted in and out of consciousness, fighting to stay awake. The she-wolf shook herself off, giving him a worried glance.

Suddenly, she tensed, an intimidating growl coming from her throat. He watched through half lidded eyes as a vampire, who seemed strangely familiar, stepped into view without a sound. The pale creature had probably scented his blood and followed them. Naruto could smell his strong cold scent, though there was something strange about it. Usually vampires gave off a scent of cold stone. This vampire smelled like that as well, but there was also the scent of pine wood. It was subtle but it was definitely there.

The she-wolf's growl died in her throat and he watched as her bushy tail swung from side to side. He felt a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach as she gave the lavender-eyed vampire a welcoming bark. 'Another Hyuga, great,' he thought as he watched the vampire step closer and pat the wolf on the head.

"Hinata, what are you doing?"

At that moment, he finally realized who the vampire standing before him was. Neji Hyuga, one of the vampires' most elite warriors and one of their most cunning assassins. The wolf, who Naruto guessed was called Hinata, whined and moved to stand in front of him. The bloodsucker sighed, looking somewhat annoyed.

"You won't be able to save him, Hinata. He's lost too much blood," his voice was deep and Naruto thought he detected a hint of sympathy in it.

'I don't need your sympathy,' he thought venomously. His fur stood on end at being in close quarters with such a well-known vampire assassin. He wanted to rip apart the filthy creature.

The she-wolf growled again, softly but with a hint of determination. He wondered what the relationship between the wolf and the vampire was. Somehow these two were familiar with each other.

"Fine, you can try, but don't be upset if you can't save him," he turned toward the forest once again, "And do hurry. I'll try to keep others off your scent for a while but it won't work for long. Not with the trail of blood you left behind."

The dark wolf nodded, bushy tail once again in motion. The vampire smirked before he disappeared into the forest. 'Hinata' padded over toward him, her steps slow and meausured. He watched in amazement as she shifted from wolf to human. He gulped uneasily. She was definitely attractive. Her skin was a milky pale, contrasting well with her long, dark navy-blue hair. Dark lashes made her lilac eyes stand out. She had a small nose and full pink lips.

'She reminds me of a fairy,' Naruto's thoughts no longer made any real sense, the blood loss making it hard to concentrate.

She wore a skin-tight, black leather body suit that showed off all her perfect curves. She was breathtaking. She kneeled down before him, her long hair brushing his face. But while he was thinking all of this, another part of his mind was screaming at him to get away, that she was a vampire. And yet the more logical part of his brain was bewildered. She smelled somewhat like a vampire and had vampire-like features, but Naruto could not deny a small tiny fact that disproved the theory of her being a vampire. He could hear her heartbeat. Vampires had no heartbeat and although her heartbeat was strange, sounding more like a hum than an actual beat, he couldn't deny the fact that she still had one.

"I need you to phase back," her voice sounded like tinkling bells or a piece of a beautiful forgotten melody. He found himself instantly obeying, phasing back to his blond-haired, blue-eyed, tan self. He saw a blush come up in her cheeks and faintly smiled.

'That's right, I'm good looking,' he thought smugly, a weak smirk twisting his lips.

The thought and smirk vanished as a fresh wave of pain washed over him. He groaned in pain, grabbing at his side. His side felt as if it was on fire, throbbing with every beat of his own heart.

The woman blinked sadly. She moved over close to him, instructing him to lay down flat on his back.

"Don't be afraid," she whispered soothingly into his ear. And Naruto found that, surprisingly, he wasn't.

Lifting up his shirt, she bent her head to his side. He watched transfixed as her small, pink tongue darted out of her mouth and she hesitantly licked the wound. He shivered as she continued. She stopped and looked up at him. He shook his head and motioned for her to continue.

He felt guilty at realizing that he had shuddered not out of fear, but out of pleasure. He was enjoying having her lick his wounds, something wolves only did with their own mates. To have a complete stranger do this and to enjoy it, made Naruto feel dirty.

He looked down once again at the woman licking his side. His mouth opened in unbelief. The wound had begun closing. When the wound was nothing but a faint pink scar, she lifted her head up, wiping her lips of the excess blood with her tongue.

Naruto tilted his head in confusion as she gave him an unreadable look. He noticed absently, that her canines looked longer, sharper. She gave a small, almost inaudible sigh. He watched as she scooted even closer to him. She lifted up one of her arms to her eye-level, not taking her eyes off of him. He wondered idly if she was going to hit him.

Then she bit her own arm.