Jack didn't like this forest very much. It had already been his second night here and he was slowly freaking out by now. He had heard the haunting howls at night, but no sign of the furry beast that accompanied the song. If he had been safely tucked away in his home, he might've enjoyed their song but now...not so much.

All it did was creating bolts of electricity to dash over his spine while he held his breath and listened. Where they howling to start the hunt or was it simply a howl to let other wolves know how far they could go?

His eyes drooped a bit before he shook his head sharply. Jack couldn't sleep at all last night and that accompanied with the wolves seemingly following his every move pushed him closer and closer to an anxiety attack.

It had been quite a while that Jack had one of those but it wasn't his first. At least before, he had his mother there to guide him through it. Now Jack had to keep the rules in his mind as he took deep and calming breaths, shivering from a sudden cold while he tried desperately to calm his racing heart.

Eventually it worked, his mind drifted off of the wolves and focused more on where he needed to go. And for his own peace of mind, he decided to make a small weapon; in the case that a wolf showed up, he could still fight them off.

Yeah right, no doubt you'll throw your weapon at them and run away. Like when they appeared in the town.

The town...Jack frowned, wondering how the villagers fared. Where they happy that they were finally rid of Jack? Did they think he had commanded the wolves to come after the villagers had burned his house down?

He didn't think he had the ability to do so. Jack glanced at his pale fingers and stretched them before shaking his head. No, he couldn't just call wolves to his side and control them. He wasn't a witch.

After a while, he noticed that the forest was quiet. Not abnormally so but he hadn't seen any critters nearby, besides the occasional robin that darted by. He smiled as one darted past his head with an elegant twirl, singing its song loudly before it landed on a branch. After it hopped a few times from side to side, it started to clean its beak and feathers.

"Huh...I'm freaking out over nothing, as usual." Jack murmured to himself, trying to keep his cool as he walked through the woods. The air was starting to get frigid, warning him that the winter was slowly making its way through the world.

A few hours later, Jack was building a small fire to roast the fish he managed to catch. At least he had something warm in his stomach. If only he had his pot from home, he would've been able to make a nice hot soup that he could carry along without losing daylight and precious time.

When the fish hit the slab of stone, it sizzled sharply and released a pleasant scent. Jack was nearly drooling, his stomach growling hungrily at the thought that he could eat in a few minutes.

Just as he was going to get the fish of the stone, he heard a soft sound to his right and looked up. His initial fright turned into a bit of curiosity and a hint of annoyance as a familiar fluffy head popped out of the bushes.

"How did you...have you been following me?" Jack narrowed his eyes at the pup as it licked its lips and stalked out of the bushes. "No wonder I felt eyes on me. Oh no you don't!"

He was quick enough to scruff the pup and pulled him back, fangs snapping inches away from his fish before Jack pushed the pup away and grabbed his fish. He didn't spent the last few hours staring at the water just for the pup to snatch his dinner away!

"No!" he scolded as the little wolf went for it again. It flattened its ears and whimpered plaintively, staring at the fish with big eyes. Jack shook his head and started eating, tossing the skin, head and tail at the pup when it whimpered again.

Any passerby would've looked strangely at the pair; a boy with a skin as pale as moonlight, his hair even whiter and a pair of blue eyes that seemed to pierce through your soul. His red cape was spread out over the floor where it reached the pup, who was licking his chops and stared longingly at Jack's busy mouth.

Every little crumb that dropped, was instantly devoured by the pup, creating a small spark of amusement in Jack's eyes. Maybe wolves weren't that bad after all. He only wondered what warranted the attack on his mother and Jack himself.

He blinked and looked down as he felt something squirm against his side. "Hey you! Get out of there!" He tried to sound sternly but ended up laughing as the pup wriggled around in his shoulder bag, tail and furry bum sticking straight up in the air as it tried to get the dried meat it smelled.

When the bag flailed to the side, spilling all its contents on the floor while the pup rolled out with a stunned expression on his face, Jack started to laugh. He dropped down on the floor and filled the forest with his chiming laughter, halfheartedly fending off the exited pup as it jumped on his chest with a wagging tail.

Pushing the pup away, he sat up again and chuckled as the pup licked at his throat, little paws wobbling on his chest in an attempt to reach Jack's mouth. With a small yip, the little wolf rolled of Jack's lap and took a few steps back, wagging his tail.

"Sorry little guy, but I need to start moving again. Go on...go home." Jack's tone was friendly as he waved his hands towards the pup, urging it to go back to its pack. When the pup yipped and dug its sharp needle-like teeth into his cloak, pulling towards the trees, Jack laughed and shook his head.

"No, I don't think I wanna meet your family. You're all the wolf I can handle just now." He grinned when the pup almost seemed to preen with pride before it yanked at his cloak again. "Nu-uh, you go back without me."

Jack started heading back, double-checking the moss growth on the trees to make sure he was going the right way. He took two steps before he choked, grabbing at the ties of his cloak before scowling at the playful pup that had ran the other way, choking Jack in the process.

It tilted its head questioningly before wagging its tail. Jack grumbled under his breath; the damn pup almost seemed to feel that a scolding was coming his way and acted way too cute for Jack to persist.

"Damn you and your fluffy cuteness." He growled under his breath and smiled as the pup barked quite loudly and yanked at his cloak again. "Let go, you little rascal. I need to move on." Jack's hands pulled on the cloak, trying to get the cloth out of the pup's mouth and unintentionally started a game of tug of war.

It was an invitation that the pup gladly accepted.

-----

"Don't you have a pack to go to?" Jack grumbled in annoyance, his mood slowly dropping though every time he glanced at the pup prancing beside him, he felt his spirits lift a bit. A smile threatened to replace his frown as he took a look at the pup.

The young wolf took long, proud strides as it held its head high, showing off his price. Jack bit his lip as the pup continued to dance around him, the ripped red cloth in its muzzle was guarded as fiercely as if it as the pup's own kill.

"Cheeky little devil."

"Woof!"

Laughter filled the woods again as the pup nearly tripped over its own paws before dashing forwards, managing to make Jack stumble over his own feet as well.

"Where are you going?" He asked out loud, watching as the pup seemed to run like hell. It threw the cloth up in the air and spun around, catching it with a growl and shook it wildly. Jack grinned and shook his head at the silliness of the pup as he passed it.

The pup jumped around his legs, playfully nipping at Jack's leg around his mouthful of red cloak before he darted ahead of Jack. Jack felt giddy with amusement and the odd sense of happiness and belonging before he sighed deeply.

Maybe I need to start thinking about living on my own in these woods...

He was pulled out of his thoughts at a soft whimper. Looking up, he noticed the brown little pup shivering slightly as it lowered on its haunches, creeping back paw for paw. "What's wrong buddy? Lost your confidence?" The joke went over the pup's head as it continued to sneak backwards, his shivering becoming more pronounced.

Jack followed his gaze and felt the blood in his veins freeze. His heart started pounding in his throat as he felt a shiver of dread rush over his spine. Leaves rustled under powerful paws before the black wolf stealthily walked out of the covers.

It sniffed the air while Jack bit his lips to keep the frightened whimper from slipping out. The wolf curled its nose up in a snarl and took a few steps forwards.

It as enough to make the pup bolt away.

With a snarl, the bigger and fully grown black wolf charged after the pup, its natural instinct to flee from danger has undoubtedly triggered the black wolf's need to hunt whatever ran away from him.

Jack tasted the vile bile on his tongue as everything seemed to go in slow-motion for him. A small, very small part of him was screaming in his head to take the window of opportunity and run the other way. There was no doubt in his mind that he would be the next on the black wolf's menu.

He could clearly recognize it as the same wolf that killed his mother in front of him.

But the bigger part of his mind made Jack react before he even knew what he was doing. His fingers were covered with mud and dirt as the rock already flew through the air and smacked harshly against the black wolf's skull, stunning it out of its pursuit on the wolf pup.

Jack smiled slightly when he saw a flash of red on the pup's hind paw before it disappeared in the woods but he quickly focused on the loud growls aimed his way. He ran as fast as his feet could carry him and jumped in the nearest tree, hearing paws pound against the floor as he jumped from branch to branch.

Teeth scraped over his ankle but luckily snapped shut below him as Jack yanked his leg away just in time. A bolt of fear and adrenaline boosted his climbing speed and quickly, he towered high over the black beast as it roared and growled, jumping up in an attempt to catch the pale boy.

It ignored the food spilled out of the bag or the remnants of roasted fish wrapped up in a leaf. The only thing that the black wolf wanted to sink its teeth into, was the blue-eyed boy just out if his reach.