Chapter 1

They said that there was a witch in the woods. Those that claimed to have seen her said that she looked more like an angel than anything, with blonde hair and a plain white dress. They said that she had made a boy into a monster. She had found him lost in the woods when he was young, and no one had ever found him except for the witch. So she turned him into a wolf for trespassing onto her territory.

No one remembered the boy's name. Not even the boy's supposed twin brother Ventus, who worked under one of the two masters; Master Eraqus. It didn't matter now, not when the boy was no longer human. Not when he had become a killer.

Kairi had never seen the wolf herself. She had only heard the rumors as they were whispered from ear to ear, and the rumors became darker and larger than life. She knew better than to trust some of the things that were said.

But it was undeniable that people were missing, and that was why she didn't stray too far into the woods, and avoided it as best she could. She wasn't afraid so much as she was wary. There were people around her that would worry if she suddenly ended up missing like some of the townspeople.

Tonight was the night, as was every night, that the townsfolk promised to go out and hunt the beast, to finally kill it and that would be the end. That they would finally be free of its reign of terror. It made her worried since her two best friends Riku and Sora swore that they would help with this hunt. Riku, because he wanted to prove himself, and Sora, because he would do anything he could to help those in need and this town was defiantly in need.

She didn't know how to fight, although she had bugged the boys time and again since the wolf started to appear to train her. Still, no matter what she did, they refused, saying that they didn't want her to get hurt. She could have used the same argument for them. That she didn't want her friends to get hurt.

Selfie said that it was a boy thing, although Kairi thought it had more to do with stubbornness. It was the reason why she was stuck in her room at night, waiting for everyone to go to sleep so she could sneak out and see if she could find the wolf herself.

She didn't believe that she'd be of much help, and she also knew that the others would have worried had they heard she was doing such a thing. They would defiantly be angry as well. Still, she wasn't going to be the only one left behind. This time, she was going to help.

As the night went on, she heard the sounds of Master Yen Sid retreat for the night. Her, Sora, and Riku all stayed with him since most of their parents had fallen victim to the wolf. Kairi herself had mysteriously appeared at the town one night, where Riku and Sora had found her much to their surprise.

Waiting for a couple minutes to make sure that he didn't leave the room, she quickly threw on a cloak and her shoes, and slowly opened the door. To her relief, the door didn't creak, unlike most of the places in the old, rickety home. The beyond was dark and there was a chill in the air. Kairi paid it no mind as she walked across the wooden floorboards.

She was quiet as she made her way down the hall and into the entrance room, where she quickly slipped out the door and softly shut it behind her. The night outside was chilly, and there was a soft breeze that made its way through the trees of the forest that ran across the edge of the town. She could hear the townsfolk voices beyond the trees, calling to each other as if the noise would attract the wolf instead of tell it where not to go.

She decided that she would move around the area that the people were searching. She would cover more ground that way, and if she was quiet, it wouldn't expect her. She didn't know what she was going to do when she found the wolf. Perhaps run towards the people and tell them where she had spotted it. She only knew a little bit of self-defense thanks to Riku and Sora, and she did have a dagger with her, strapped to her side. She knew that it probably wouldn't be enough, but she was going to give it a try.

With that thought, she made her way into the woods. Despite lack of training, she had spent plenty of time in the woods so that she was comfortable with it. With the moon spilling its light through the gaps of the leaves, she could make out enough of the ground and branches to not stumble as she went along.

At every noise that wasn't her, she felt her hand instantly go towards the dagger at her side. Her blue eyes flickered around the area, scanning it carefully. There was more to fear than just the wolf in these woods. There were secrets here that many didn't know about. All of them might be able to get her killed.

Still, that didn't stop her as she went on. A lone girl walking through the woods at night. It sounded like a story that mothers told their children to scare them away from the very place she wandered.

It didn't feel very dangerous to her, but she mostly had lived a sheltered life with no sense of danger until it was too late. Sora had saved her once, from an accident, but she refused to be saved again. She was stronger than that, she knew. If only those around her would just believe in her.

The sound of footsteps made her halt. If one of the townsfolk found her they would report back to Master Yen Sid and she would be in trouble. It made her tense up, and her eyes darted around looking for a place to hide. Even if it wasn't some townsfolk, there was no reason to be caught by anything that wandered these woods.

With a sense of dread, she darted into one of the bushes, not caring as the twigs scrapped her arms. She crouched down, and her eyes peered out into the woods and saw a figure start to emerge from the shadows and into the moonlight.

He looked familiar, somehow. His blond hair was spiked up, and his clothes looked like they had seen better days. He peered around, as if listening for the townsfolk to see how close that they were. When he deemed that they were far enough away, he continued walking.

Kairi couldn't help but stare. There was something unnatural about him. Something about the way he walked and moved. Something about the air around him. She remained quiet as he got closer to where she was hiding, and then, as if he could sense her, his lips parted.

His teeth were sharp, as if they could easily tear her apart.

"Who's there?" his voice was cold, and Kairi felt every muscle in her body tense. She didn't dare move, and the boy looked around, eyes narrowing. She knew that if she moved, the branches of the bushes and undergrowth would make a sound and give her away. She didn't know how he had figured out that she was here. She had been completely silent the entire time.

"I can smell you," he added, and Kairi felt a horrifying realization dawn on her. This was no boy, this was the wolf.

He didn't appear like a wolf, but no one had ever seen him, they just said that he was a wolf, a beast. He could still be a beast in a human body. Plus, his mere presence sent chills down her spine. He felt like something that shouldn't have ever existed.

Like a predator stalking his prey, he slowly approached where she was hiding. On instinct, her hand inched towards her dagger, ready to swing at any given second. He came to a stop at the bush that she was hiding in, and her hand wrapped around the hilt of her dagger.

"I know you're there," he said, and his voice was soft as if he couldn't risk being heard. The sound of the townsfolk was getting closer. Perhaps he couldn't attack people all at once, perhaps he had to wait for one to go astray. One such as herself.

She needed to get out of here.

With all the strength she could muster, she lunged out of the bush and swung her dagger towards him, hoping for the element of surprise. She had planned to run once he was caught off guard, except things didn't go as planned. He grabbed her wrist before she could land a hit, and their eyes met.

It was hard to tell what color his eyes were in the darkness, but they looked like they were blue like hers. Those eyes bore into her, as if looking into her soul and sweat started to bead on her neck as fear took over.

She wondered if, like animals, he could smell the fear that was radiating from her. She should have never attempted to find him. She had been expecting a creature, not a beast in the shape of a boy. A boy that appeared to be around her age.

With all her strength, she tried to yank her hand away, but he didn't let go. Instead, he spoke to her softly, "If I let you go, you can't tell anyone that you saw me here. Not your family, nor your friends. Not even strangers or travelers. Do you understand?"

"You'll let me go…?" she whispered in disbelief, and his eyes narrowed.

"Only under those conditions," he responded, and she nodded solemnly and quickly. If she was going to escape, then she wasn't going to break those conditions if she could live.

"If you break those conditions, I will know, and I will come for you," he said evenly, and Kairi swallowed.

She was about to ask how he would know, when he brought the wrist he held to his mouth and bit down sharply. She let out a soft yelp as she felt energy radiate from that spot. There was a glow around her wrist where he had bit, and she realized that he had used magic on her. It took everything she had to stay calm.

"This mark will tell me if you have told anyone about me," he said, "And I will come for you if you go against your word. Do you understand?"

"Yes," she breathed. With that single word, he released her wrist, and the mark on her hand was suddenly gone.

She didn't question it as she took a couple steps back from the boy, stumbling in the undergrowth. Looking down to steady her feet, when she glanced back up, the boy was gone. There was no trace of a boy ever having been there, and for a moment, she wondered if it was because she had just lost her mind.

Then her wrist sent a pang of pain and she knew that it was real. That she had, of all people, encounter the wolf. She didn't know how she felt about it, but she knew that she had to keep her promise, least she be taken away by the wolf.

With those thoughts, she quickly headed back to the town, and back to the safety of Yen Sid's tower.