I want to thank everyone who reviewed the last chapter! It means a lot to me that you guys took the time out of your day to write a review!

Sorry also for being freakishly late. That nasty thing called life managed to catch up with me. (bows down in disgrace).

Since I have been asked multiple times in reviews if Atem, Yugi and Yami are going to end up together; this story is going to be Mobiumshipping. I just like to take my time and build a real relationship between my characters, instead of just making them jump into bed together.

I know I said that you would find out what Atem is planning here, but due to chapter length and story flow, you will only get some hints. (And I honestly love it when you guys try and guess what will happen next…bwahaha). There will be two new characters and some fluff to make up for it though.

But on to what you are really here for! \(^-^)/

Last chapter:

Determined and with the taste of bile on his tongue, Atem sat down and started to set his plan in action. He needed to do this despicable deed, for his people, if for nothing else.

Even though he would most likely spend the rest of his days trying to wash away the irreversible taint it would cause on the very core of his being…

Chapter 8 – Tender fangs

Atem could barely keep his hand steady, while he wrote down what felt like his own death penalty. If this plan went through, he would be spending the rest of his life, living in excruciating torture…

His own tough demeanor broke under the strain of just moving his feathered quill, to form the unbelievable words on the parchment before him.

Even as he managed to finish the last letters to his own damnation, he felt that it was simply surreal. He couldn't believe he was doing this to himself and for the first time since his father's death, he cursed the man for teaching him to be a good ruler…

As the heir to the supreme alpha he had always been told that he had to always think about the welfare of the pack before his own, but right now, he was regretting his upbringing. If ever there was a moment when he wished he was just another wolf, this was it.

Looking at the document before him, he found himself contemplating if it was really worth the price he was going to pay. Right now he could still back out. He could still take his chances on the battle field. He could still run and leave countless people to die, but even in his sudden bought of apprehension that he refused to title as fear, he couldn't bring himself to do it.

Damn his sense of loyalty!

Hanging his head low, he ran his hands through his hair, readying himself to take the next step, towards his own downfall…

Meanwhile, somewhere else in the werewolf stronghold

Bakura walked down the winding maze of halls, with a perpetual scowl covering his face. His stiff body posture and the usual glare on his face would be enough to fool most anyone who didn't know him into thinking he wasn't in pain, but he knew his mates would see it in an instant.

Fresh wisps of black and purple were already coloring his neck while he could feel the distinct stiffness of a swelling joint around his right shoulder. The little high and mighty princeling had probably shoved him to the ground hard enough to sprain something. To add to this already wonderful feeling, his head felt like a platoon of vampires was marching around inside of it, waging war on what little sanity he considered himself to still possess.

Silent curses continued to fall from his lips in an almost chant like whisper while he tried to think of what he could do next. He was obviously going to avoid Atem like the plague for the next few weeks, but he needed to think of an escape plan. Things were going to hell, fast and he wasn't going to let his mates stick around for it.

True, his werewolf-mate could hold his own, but he had his other mate to worry about as well. If the vampires got a hold of him, they would do anything to make an example of him and he would rather die or openly betray Atem, than let that happen. Though betraying his alpha would most likely lead to the same thing…

His pain addled thoughts were being anything but cooperative though, and by the time he reached the gated doors of his chambers, he was still coming up blank. The worst part of it was, that he would need to explain himself to his mates and he could already feel the sting of seeing his newer mate in pure terror. A feeling Bakura would not be able to do anything against.

Deciding to just face the music, once again tonight, he used his undamaged arm to unlock and push open the heavy doors. The sound of protesting wood and cast-iron hinges resounded in his already pounding mind, creating another stabbing sensation to his already tormented body.

It wasn't the first time Atem had lashed out at him. The guy had a bad habit of shooting the messenger, whenever something bad came his way. Since the civil unrests in the pack had started, he'd only gotten worse. Bakura couldn't really blame him for his temper after all. He himself had been even worse, before he had met his newest lover. Right now he had no idea what was keeping his alpha sane. The council of betas was already plotting against him and trying to force him into a mating. The real idea was to have an heir and get rid of the current ruler so they could place themselves as guardians of the pup. It was part of the reason he was still without a partner at his age, while most of their kind had one or two mates to call their own.

Finally managing to step inside his own chambers, Bakura still held up his stoic demeanor and unwavering facial expression, until the metallic sound of the door returning to its frame came to his ears.

"Bakura?" a soft voice called, from one of the adjacent rooms. Though he was only a spy, being the one who trained everyone else in the deadly art, he received more leeway than others, in particular in regards to the size of his room and the fact that he hadn't been killed for mating his newest mate without permission and hiding him within the confines of the caves.

"It's me" he answered in a gruff voice, slightly limping his way towards the sound, he held himself up against one of the stony walls, while he felt his ribs unnaturally shifting underneath his skin. There was no doubt they had at least been unhinged in some way. The thought of having to have them reset was anything but appealing, especially right now, when he had to be ready to run at a moments' notice, in case the vampires decided to strike at the heart of the werewolf lands.

When he reached the mouth of the other room, he found both of his mates look up towards him with a slight smile, or as close as they could get, considering his first mates smile was more akin to a wicked smirk at the best of times, before they shifted to rage and concern.

"Oh my gods! What happened?" the younger of the two asked, his white hair dancing behind him as he rushed over to Bakura, with his hands held out towards him, in case he should fall.

Gentle hands brushed over his wounded body, seeking out the damage that had already been done, while Bakura was trying not to flinch as much as the pain was making him want to. He didn't want to worry his lover more than he already would tonight.

"It was Atem again wasn't it" another, darker skinned male said with crossed arms. The disapproval was clear in his eyes as he looked over the spy. A jagged, cream colored scar ran down the left side of his face, giving his expression a lethal edge that had the power to make most warriors shiver before him.

A slight grunt was all that Bakura gave him as an answer, though it could have been mistaken for a sound of discomfort, due to the pale man running his searching hands over his bruised ribs.

Worried brown eyes peered up at him, as the younger looking male was seemingly finished with his inspection of his newest battle damage. It was a look he wished he could banish from those doe eyes, but in this time of war, it was something that had taken ahold of all of them. They were all haunted by the thought of just what could happen tomorrow. He found himself asking every morning it there would be another battle. Who would be the one to end them? Would their death be swift or would they be killed in a slow and painful manner? Questions that with his knowledge of the enemies' new weapon were becoming ever more dreary.

"I'm ok Ryou, I've healed from worse" he said, trying to at least alleviate some of the worry from those soulful eyes, while he let a hand glide over his soft, wintery hair. The statement however only served to put a deep frown on his other mates face though…

"You shouldn't be hurt at all, especially by someone who is supposed to be our protector" the dark voice of the scared male rang out in a growl.

"He had every right to be angry Akefia" Bakura said with a sigh, trying to defuse the situation he knew was bound to come. Akefia was prone to drastic measures whenever he thought one of his mates was put in danger. He had already stood up to Atem once because of him and gotten away with his life by pure luck alone. The chances of that happening a second time, were next to none.

"Right? Right?! He only has his inherited title and nothing else. He may be the supreme alpha, but he has no right to treat you like shit. You're the best spy he has. And every time you give him some bit of news that the prissy little jack ass doesn't want to hear, you come back wounded. Someone needs to put him in his place and they need to do it soon" he hissed with fury radiating off of every inch of his body.

"That's treasonous talk Akefia. Don't let anyone hear you say that" Bakura answered.

"As if you don't feel the same" he replied, turning away from his mate.

"You know I do, but we don't have a choice…"the spy whispered as he looked at their fanged mate, who had stayed silent during their little spat.

Ryou was the reason for their compliance with Atem. It was his life he held over their heads. If one of them should go against him again, he would undoubtedly have him killed off. Unlike them he didn't hold a high position with the werewolves and he had outrun his usefulness to the alpha a long time ago. His only value had been in what he was and where he had come from, because unlike them he was a vampire.

He had defected to their sides after one of the more brutal genocides that the filthy bloodsuckers had rained down upon them, giving them information on just what the blood council had planned and had told them about the true standing of the vampire king. In doing so he had saved countless lives, but had also forfeit his own. He could never return to his own kind and was regarded as little more than a better prisoner here. Until Bakura and Akefia had met him in an interrogation and later fallen for the fanged male, he had been forced to stay within the confines of the strongholds dungeons. After their mating, he was a prisoner within their chambers, forced to stay within them, or risk being killed off by another wolf at any moment; an action that wouldn't even be punished, should it happen. Not even the Alpha would object to his murder.

Before Atem had started going off the rails, they had been at the very least good acquaintances, but now they were keeping vital information from him. If the tides turned and he were to fall from his position as leader, they could always hope the person next in line would either end this stupid war or they could flee, because the new alpha would be too busy with the battlefields and defending his own position to come after them.

Should they try to escape now, the chances of them making it off of werewolf territory alive were next to none. Some had already tried that and none had made it out alive.

"It doesn't mean I can't wish I can't at least dream about it" Akefia growled, before crossing his arms and turning his back his werewolf mate or at least that was the impression Bakura received.

A discontent sound came from Ryou's mouth as he looked over the spies newest wounds. The area on his neck had shaded into different shades of twilight, forming the impression of a hand upon his skin. Though the man wasn't much darker than the vampire, the contrast was drastically lessoned to a point that had concern openly displayed on the shorter males face.

"Why does he do this?" the smallest male said in a hushed whisper, while his fingers carefully traced the outline of the prominent bruising.

"What got mister high and mighty riled up this time?" Akefia added in a haughty way, even if Bakura could clearly see the undertone of worry in his eyes.

"The vampires have a new weapon on their side", he told his mates, knowing they could both be trusted to stay silent.

"And? It's not the first time they have a new weapon they want to use on us. We'll just come up with a new one ourselves and this sh** will keep on going like it always does" Akefia interjected.

"It's different this time…They have a werehound on their side" Bakura said, looking at the other wolf just quick enough to see the color visibly drain out of his face.

Though Akefia was one of the best fighters the packs had to offer and tended to be somewhat rash at times, he was still not anywhere insane enough to not see the danger they were now all in. With the entrance of this new beast onto the field, this war was undoubtedly coming towards an end.

The only question was: Would anyone still be alive to talk about it?

Back in the confines of the vampire castle…

Yami could feel how his muscles relaxed, the second he heard the soft click of his chamber doors closing.

It felt as though he had been through a full day's worth of bloody battles with nowhere to run. And people expected him to deal with the council on a daily basis?!

Whoever thought that, had never dealt with those men themselves.

Pushing his exhausted body away from the heavily secured, iron doors of his bedroom, the vampire king glanced to the side, where a slightly worried looking silver wolf was still looking at him with concern.

Being part werewolf he was probably much more in tune with what Yami was feeling right now and as a pack member he didn't want his alpha to have something to worry about. After all, if the alpha was worried, then it could only spell imminent danger for the rest of the pack.

Showing a slight smile the vampire knelt down and softly scratched Yugi behind the ears. In return the slight werehound rubbed his velvety furred head against Yami's cheek. It was a small gesture, but it was enough to take away the last of the stress that had taken ahold of the noble's body and mind as he thought over everything he had just accomplished.

He had, for the second time in his life, stood up to the council and won. It had taken a good deal of underhanded thinking, but he had managed to maybe save an entire race in just one night. The only problem he faced now was figuring out how to keep the werehounds, who would likely come seeking sanctuary, from being used by said men.

The promise of using them as a means to slaughter their enemy was only a way to get the power hungry men to agree to what he had to say. Yami never intended to let them actually face a battle if he could help it. Not to mention, that letting them anywhere near a fight could be devastating for everyone…

As far as he knew, stress could be the cause of them loosing themselves to the bloody rampage that their kind was known for and a bunch of werehounds out for blood was the last thing he needed. Not to mention that he had left his council thinking that he had figured out a way to keep them sane. He didn't even want to imagen how they would react, when they found out that it wasn't true…

"Yugi…you can turn back into your humanoid form now" Yami said, as he breathed in the scent of clean moonlight coming from the silver fur beneath his fingers.

Instead of the sound of shifting, the vampire only heard the sound of a discontent whine.

"You don't want to turn back?" the royal asked, unsure as to why Yugi wouldn't want to turn back into his more mobile form. It couldn't be because of his lack of clothing. He hadn't shown any sign of being uncomfortable when he had first shifted, so why was he reluctant now?

Yugi just shook his head, which the vampire chose to interpret as a no.

"You like staying in your werehound form?"

Instead of another headshake the smaller male gave a slight whine, while he avoided looking at Yami at all costs.

Reaching out and gently forcing Yugi to meet his eyes, the crimson eyed youth searched deep within the pools of silver amethyst to try and find an answer to his question, but all he saw there was the emotion of pain, uncertainty and a hint of self-loathing.

At first Yami had no idea what could have caused the young werehounds emotions to shift so quickly, until he remembered where he had seen that look before…Joey.

It was the same look the otherwise temperamental werewolf had, whenever his bloodline or birth-pack was mentioned. Though he outwardly always reacted violently, whenever someone mentioned his tormented past, there was the same look in his eyes, deeply hidden under a thick layer of rage and pain.

Joey had vast memories of all the pain his father and the rest of his pack had caused him. The ultimate betrayal of his pack had enacted upon him, had caused him to mistrust just about anyone and even if he denied it, he also kept asking himself if, even the smallest part of him had been at fault for what his supposed family had done to him.

Other packs never treated their members that badly, unless they had done something horribly wrong, so there had to be a reason, right? But much like with other cases, Joey would never receive a satisfying answer, because there was no answer to give. Some people were just that cruel…

If the wire around Yugi's neck had been any indication, the young wolf had been through the same, if not worse torture. His unwillingness to change back to his human form drew up a memory of a particular detail from the older wolfs past.

In one of his more macabre, sentimental moments Joey had mentioned how he had once been force to stay in a cramped cage, made out of razor sharp, silver wire that he could only just fit in, in his wolf form. It was a form of double punishment.

Staying in one form too long was extremely painful for a shifter, but shifting inside one of those cages would kill any werewolf unfortunate enough to be inside, due to the consequential contact with the blade like silver wires.

As far as he knew, someone could have forced Yugi to stay in his werehound form, or he could simply feel more comfortable that way. He still knew so little about the younger male that it was unsettling how comfortable he felt around him, but Yami also knew that he couldn't push Yugi for answers, or he would most likely shut down on him. So he would just have to take what little information he could get.

"It's ok…you can stay in whatever form you want" he said, slowly letting go of Yugi's muzzle.

The younger male gave a small bark and once again rubbed his head against Yami's cheek, his tail wagging profusely, almost knocking the unsuspecting vampire over in his enthusiasm.

Giving the wolf another affectionate pat on the head, the king stood and walked towards his four poster bed, while letting his cumbersome, red cape fall to the carpeted floor, before letting himself slump onto his plush bed, face first. The weight of it leaving his shoulders seemed so much more significant in that moment than it usually did, but then again, it had been an unusually hard night.

Hearing a confused yip from his freshly appointed bodyguard Yami looked at the silver wolf, only to see his face tilted to the side in question, while amethyst eyes roamed around the room, apparently searching for something.

Trying to come up with what the younger male could be looking for Yami noticed how he was looking at the bed and around it.

"That's right… we need to find a place for you to sleep" he said, while sitting up on the edge of the bed.

Perking up at the statement the young werehound wagged his tail, which caused the king to give him a rare smile. Thinking about where he could let him sleep, the vampire looked towards one of the doors that branched off of his bedroom. There was a room that was just outside of his, but still within the confines of his chambers. It was meant for his personal guard, so whoever that happened to be at the time could reach him easily if there was something wrong, while it still made it to where assassins would have to get by that person first to get to Yami.

If he gave Yugi that room he would be fulfilling his duty, as far as anyone knew. It wouldn't look awkward if the younger male slept in his rooms that way and he would still be safe from anything his meddling council could come up with. It was a perfect fit.

"You can sleep in the room reserved for my personal guard. It's the room on the left we just walked by" Yami said.

The vampire didn't see anything wrong with that offer, but the second he had uttered those words, Yugi's tail fell motionless towards the ground. His ears folded back against his head, as he looked up at the vampire king with wide eyes. The look within them spoke of pure hurt and betrayal. It was an expression that even a kicked puppy would have problems competing with.

A slight form of panic broke out within Yami's blood as the full force of that look hit him. What had he done wrong?! The king's mind was reeling frantically, as he turned and sat up, searching for an answer to what horrible thing he could have done to warrant such an expression.

"Uhmm…you don't have to sleep there if you don't want to…" he said, hoping to high heavens that it was what had upset the young werehound. There was no way the vampire could take those hurt looking eyes for much longer!

"Is there somewhere you would like to sleep?"

As soon as the sentence had been uttered silver, fluffy ears perked up and Yugi gave a quick glance towards the big bed in the room, before he shyly pawed at the floor, effectively avoiding looking at the older male. Even if it was quick, it was long enough for Yami to understand just what the young wolf was asking for. It was a request that dusted his otherwise pale skin in a faint pink hew.

He was asking to sleep in the same bed with him!

An image of Yugi standing in his office, covered by only the scarce beams of moonlight came to his mind. He had been captured by the mere sight of the beautiful male and now he was asking, if he could sleep in the same bed with him?!

Yami could already feel the effects of the memory coursing through his blood, as the situation was doing nothing to hinder his rampant imagination. He had only known the wolf for a short amount of time and had barely exchanged a few words with him, but he was already feeling the urge to just burry his face in Yugi's moonlight fur and breath in his wild scent, while his clawed fingers ran through it.

The royal tried to push off his attraction to the young wolf, by convincing himself that it had to be due to the fact that he had yet to take a mate. He was well past the age where his kind usually took a lover or sought out a mate. Yami was anything but a wall-flower, but after having gone through two failed relationships, where he had only been used or seen as a trophy, he just couldn't bring himself to try again. It just had to be due to that. Nothing else made sense. He didn't want anything else to make sense.

Shaking his head to get rid of the thoughts, running through his head, he heard a slight shift of fur and a sad whiny coming from the object his mind seemed to circle around. When he opened his eyes, he saw Yugi lying on his stomach, hiding his muzzle under his paws. He looked like a dog waiting to be chastised for chewing on its owner's shoes.

Yami had no idea what had brought on the sudden change in the younger male, until he remembered what he had just done. He had shaken his head and apparently Yugi had taken that as a denial of his request.

"Hey. I didn't meant that as a no Yugi" he comforted, making those amethyst colored orbs peak out from under crossed paws, "I-If you want…you can sleep on my bed as well" he stuttered out, trying his best to not imply anything other than sleeping.

The words had barely been spoken, before an ecstatic ball of fur launched itself at Yami, knocking the vampire clean off his feet and onto his bed. By the time the king had registered what had happened, he found himself sprawled out on top of his covers, with a silver wolf pinning him down in a rather suggestive way.

Cool amethyst eyes peered down at him, creating a stark contrast to the warm breath that ghosted over his neck. A sliver of an emotion ran down the royals' body, as a pale, rosy hue colored his skin. If it was from the warm scent of Yugi's fur, or the blood rushing through his veins, fueled by illicit thoughts, he didn't know, but he couldn't bring himself to try and move the younger male off of him; even if he had wanted too.

Hot breath ghosted over the flesh of his pale neck like the warm caress of a lover, as Yugi leaned in closer to him, while those entrancing eyes still held his gaze. Yami could almost feel the first hairs touching his now oversensitive skin, his hands involuntarily gripping the sheets in a mixture of excitement and uncertainty, if he wanted whatever was to come. With the young wolf there was no telling what he could do next. The king knew that werewolves were anything but prude about their intimate lives and would often seek out partners, simply for pleasure, though things like that were frowned upon by his kind.

Did he want to give in? Did he really want to be just some one time lover? He couldn't deny that he felt attracted to Yugi, but he still had his set belief of being together with someone, before it comes to something like that…no matter how tempting the prospect was.

The vampires brooding thoughts were shattered, as the younger male shocked him back into reality, with a wet lick across his exposed cheek and the underside of his chin, quickly followed by Yugi rubbing his head against Yami's neck, as if there were no tomorrow. It was a simple show of gratitude towards an Alpha.

In that instant, the noble had no idea, weather to feel grossed out, due to being covered in K9-slobber, adore the cuteness of the action, or be disappointed that this was all he was getting and at the fact, that the actions that had tormented him just moments ago had been purely innocent.

"Ok, ok! That's enough Yugi", Yami half laughed out, while he carefully pushed the playful Pup off of him and managing to sit up again, "Just let me get ready for bed so we can both sleep…I'm guessing you want to sleep in your wolf form?"

A swift tail wag gave him enough answer. Normally he would demand that Yugi at least bath, so he wouldn't drag whatever dirt was on him into the bed, but he was nowhere near awake enough to think of that right now and in light of everything that had happened, he could afford to let it slip for today. The sun was rising up and he just wanted to sleep the stress away.

Seeing the wolf playfully jump onto the covers and roll around on them, Yami ducked into his bathing chambers and quickly went through his normal rituals, while he simply threw most of his clothing on the floor. By the time he came back into his bedroom, dressed only in a loose pair of pants, Yugi had laid his head on his paws and was looking at him expectantly.

The king just went to the other side of the bed and curled up under the covers, fully expecting himself to fall asleep the second his head hit the pillow, but instead he found a sudden warmth settled against his stomach and chest. Opening his eyes as far as his exhaustion would allow, Yami saw Yugi pressed firmly against his front, with another uncertain look on his face. A tired smile graced the vampires' features, before he laid one arm over Yugi's chest, with one single thought in mind as he felt the soft fur under his arm: 'He would sleep well tonight'….

I just think this scene is so cute! Yugi and Yami cuddling as they fall asleep! (Fangirl scream and faint!).

Anyway... Next chapter will definitely reveal Atems plot and you can see how the vampires and the wolves react to it. (Drama!)

Thank you all for being patient (or just not proving me otherwise) and I hope you enjoyed this chapter and please R&R! It reminds me that I should be writing ^-^