Hans said nothing as he kept his head low while he stood in at the front of the village crowd with Eric in front of the castle gates where the king and a few soldiers stood.... Beside a large cage covered in a thin sheet...

"Stay here alright, I'll be back in a moment," Eric said as he didn't even wait for his cousin to reply and stepped up to stand beside the king, who was smiling with a smug expression on his face.

"Oh Lousie, I'm so sorry..." Hans whispered to himself as he hugged Pavlova close while the kitten herself purred in the boy's arms trying to comfort him to the best of her ability.

"My people, for the past few weeks I have been aiming to build a new part of the kingdom in the forest just outside our walls and as you also know, the vicious bloodthirsty wolves that were throting our attempts to expand our power were also there, wanting to kill anyone who passed them! I can tell you now, that they are not to be feared, and I can prove it!" the king bellowed as he nodded at Eric who removed the sheet from the cage and what the crowd saw made Hans wince as he held back the urge to cry out in anguish and sorrow; the wolf (Louise) was muzzled and chained in iron as she fought to try and free herself.

"SIS!" a voice from the roaring crowd called out in terror. Hans then quickly turned to see Clara trying to get through the crowd.

"Clara, no!" He cried as he ran to the girl and held her tight.

"Hans you.... You're no better than any other human, you all claim that we wolves are the beasts, but you're the one who lied to me.... WHY DIDN'T YOU SAY YOU KNEW WHERE MY SISTER WAS!?" Clara seethed with a growl in her throat.

Hans could see the rage and hatred that Clara had for him in her eyes and it only made him feel worse.

"Clara there was nothing I could do, when I saw you sister last night she told me to keep you safe and-" Hans started but Clara cut him off.

"I don't need you to keep me safe, and I don't care what you or anyone else tells me, I am NOT leaving without my sister!" She cried as she broke free of Hans' grip and ran up to the front of the crowd as the king was kicking the side of Louies' cage.

"LOUISE!" Clara yelled as she pushed the king out of the way and ran up to the cage while the wolf herself could only look upon the girl in shock.

"Clara, what are you doing here?! You must flee!" Louise said to her sister who (other than Hans) was the only one who could understand her since they were all wolfwalkers.

"How do I get you out?!" Clara cried ignoring her sister's pleas for her to run.

"CLARA, LOOK OUT!" Hans shouted at the top of his lungs as Clara turned to see a guard try to grab her to which she was able to dough with ease.

"LET HER GO, THAT'S MY SISTER!" Clara screamed to the crowd while pointing to Louise in the cage.

The crowd then burst into mocking laughter, the king's laugh was truly the loudest and the most mocking.

"Oh sure, little girl and I'll bet your parents are chipmunks!" he boasted.

"You... you scum!" Clara growled as she lunged towards the king only to have Eric knock her off balance and into the dirt.

"You will not touch the king!" Eric stated as he picked Clara up, trapping her in his arms so the king could continue as he approached the closer to the cage.

"Now to prove to you what I have been saying I will kill this wolf myself, Guards remove the muzzle and chains. And open the cage!" the king demanded, pulling out his sword.

NO!" Clara screamed as Eric held onto her tighter, making Lousie growl threateningly, and as soon as she was able to to move and the cage door opened she pounced onto the king and lunged as Eric who released Clara and tried to take out his crossbow... only to have the wolf bite his outstretched arm....

"ERIC!" Hans cried out in shock as he witnessed his cousin getting bitten.

"Put it back, put it back!" the king cried as his guards pushed the wolf back into the cage, careful to not get bitten as well while another guard held Clara back.

"NOOOOO!" Clara cried as she wriggled free of the guard and jumped on top of the cage that once again imprisoned her sister.

"YOU HUMANS ARE THE BLOODTHIRSTY ONES! I CLARA, AM A WOLFWALKER, AND FOR WHAT YOU HAVE DONE TO ME AND MY SISTER, ME AND MY PACK WILL EAT ALL OF YOU! OWOOOOOOOOO!" Clara screamed as she then howled as loud as she could and then ran through the crowd and out of the walled kingdom....

Hans had no time to worry about Clara and her plans, once he was sure she was out of the kingdom he immediately ran to Eric with Pavlova on his shoulder.

"ERIC! Eric are you alright?!" Hans asked as he looked at the injury on his older cousin's arm to see there was a large bloody bite mark on it.

"Alright everyone calm down!" the king yelled to the gossiping crowd of villagers. "There's no need to fear a wild little witch girl that lives in the woods, me and my best hunters will burn the forest tonight and kill every last wolf that lives there, so go back to your homes as I gather my men to do this very act!" the king commanded as everyone then did as told

Hans' eyes widened as he couldn't hold his tongue any longer. "NO,Please-" Hans shouted as he tried to approach the king but his cousin held him back.

"What do you think you're doing?!" his cousin gritted.

"I-" Hans started but he was cut off when the king approached him, his cousin, and kitten.

"You again boy?" the king asked Hans but he then noticed the blood on Eric's arm. "You were bitten by the beast?" he asked the older boy.

"Yes sire, but I can still help with tonight I-" Eric started but the kings laugh cut him off.

"HA! You call yourself a hunter? You couldn't hold on to a little girl and then you get yourself bitten by a puny wolf, you're fired! And kill that wild beast in the cage before you go home!" the king demanded as he turned away with his men who were snickering at Eric and Hans.

"Eric no, please don't kill her, you-" Hans started but his cousin's foul expression shut him up.

"Do you even realize what's happened?" Eric questioned calmly.

"I-" Hans started but Eric cut him off.

"Go home, I'm going to have to find a new job thanks to you"

...at that moment something inside Hans snapped. "Clara was right...." he muttered holding onto Pavlova tightly.

"What?" Eric questioned firmly.

"Clara was right, humans are the real monsters.... AND I WON'T STAND FOR IT!" the young boy shouted as he placed Pavlova on his shoulder once again and ran towards the unguarded cage that held Louise prisoner.

"Hans no, stop! Are you mad? We have to do what we're told!" Eric stated as he grabbed Hans by the arm and held him back from the cage.

"WHY?! Why Eric, why do we have to do so!" Hans shouted.

"I'M AFRAID!... I'm afraid Hans..." Eric stated admittingly. "I can't protect you forever, I'm so scared you'll end up in a cage..." he stated sadly, but Hans face was unchanged.

"But I already am in a cage, do you see that?!" Hans questioned retonicly, but before his cousin could reply the village bell rang.

"WOLVES! THE WOLVES ARE AT THE EDGE OF THE FOREST!" the ringer shouted to the town, making the people outside run into their homes in a state of panic.

"No..." Eric trailed off... that's when he heard the creaking sound of the cage door opening behind him..... Eric then turned to see Hans and Pavlova now on the back of the large (now free) she-wolf.

"I'm sorry Eric," was all Hans said as the she-wolf ran past his cousin. "Lousie, I tried to stop her but I failed, we have to hurry, or she'll get herself killed!" Hans told her as they ran out of the town past the soldiers who were asleep on the job yet again. The boy's words only made Louise run faster, they both knew they had to get to Clara and fast.

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Clara had gathered all of the wolves in the pack that were with her and her sister when they first came to the area, to the edge of the forest closest to the town where her former friend had lived,

"I hate to do this Hans, but you and the humans have left me no choice..." Clara thought to herself as she then addressed her wolves.

"IT'S TIME FOR US TO ATTACK THOSE MONSTERS, LET'S EAT THEM ALL! THEY HAVE MY-" Clara started shouting angrily as she then gasped when she saw Hans and Pavlova riding their way over to her and her pack... on her sister's back...."

"-sister?" she questioned in disbelief. Louise then let Hans and Pavlova slide off her back as she approached her younger sister with a relieved smile on her wolf face.

"I'm here little sister" she said softly to Clara who had tears in her eyes.

"Louise!" the younger girl shouted as she and her older sister ran to each other and embraced the other the best they could (since one of them was a wolf)

"Lousie, you're back!" Clara said cheerfully.

"Oh, Clara.... I thought I'd never see you again... until your friend here freed me..." Lousie explained as she and Clara turned to Hans and Pavlova, who was now sitting at the boy's feet.

"Clara... I'm so sorry... I was only trying to keep you safe, and I didn't know what to do and I was.... I'm sorry Clara..." Hans said softly when he finally got enough courage to approach the two.

Clara stared at Hans blankly for a moment then her face broke into a grin. "Oh.... come here, Town Boy!" she exclaimed with a laugh as she hugged Hans close, who hugged back and let out a chuckle while Clara and Louise's wolves licked their faces.

"I'm not a 'Town Boy' anymore Clara, let's leave this place alright? All of us" Hans stated, making Clara smile and nod... when suddenly... an arrow pierced Louise right in the heart!

Clara screamed as her sister fell to the grass.

"NO!" Hans cried.

"SIS, NO WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU!? NO!" Clara cried as she fell to her knees and held her sister close as tears made their way down both her and Hans' cheeks while the wolves cried out in shock.

"Hans, run!" an all too familiar voice shouted as its owner made their way towards them.

"Eric! How could you?!" Hans yelled running toward his cousin (who had his now empty crossbow in his hand) and pounding his fists on the older boy's chest. "YOU SHOT HER! DO YOU REALIZE WHAT YOU'VE DONE?!" Hans exclaimed in anguish so much so that he and Eric jumped when they heard a howl right behind them.

"OWOOOOOOOOOO!" Clara howled as it was also mixed with the sound of her cries while she tried to heal her sister's wound with the golden light coming from her hands that she had used before on Han's arm.

Hans, Eric, Clara, Pavlova, and the wolves watched as Louise's wolf form evaporated into golden light and began to slowly drift away into the woods, which Clara, the wolves and Pavlova followed while Hans was held back by Eric.

"Stop no, Clara...! Eric I have to help her, she's dying! Let me go! CLARA! CLARA!" Hans cried as more tears made their way down his face as he tried to break free of his cousin's grip, but no preval.

"No, Hans, why? I don't understand!" Eric said turning the boy around to face him.

"Eric don't you see? I'm one of them, I'm a wolfwalker!" Hans exclaimed.

Eric gasped. "No, Hans please stay with me I'm your family!" he begged, which shocked Hans, he had never known his older cousin to ever beg for anything even as a child.

"Eric...." was all Hans was able to say as his cousin hugged him close. "I'm sorry..." Hans said softly as he drifted off to sleep... and in mere seconds.... Golden light evaporated from his sleeping body and took the form of his wolf self in front of Eric whose eyes were as wide as plates.

"Hans... HANS COME BACK!" The older boy begged once more as he still held Hans' sleeping human body close to him, but wolf Hans only whimpered as he gave his cousin one last look of pain and... with all the willpower he had... turned and ran after Clara and the pack into the woods.

"Hans...." Eric stated softly as he hugged his sleeping cousin's body closer.

"ERIC!" the king's voice shouted. ERic didn't even bother to turn around as the king rode up to him on his white horse with a large group of soldiers following close behind him on foot... with lit torches to set the forest ablaze.

"What are you doing out here?!" the king asked furiously.

"Hans.... He's... he's gone..." was all Eric was able to say.

"Bring out the cannon for when we find the den of the wolves!" the king commanded. "And chain this lad up so he doesn't disobey any more of my orders!" the king commanded, but Eric didn't care about himself at the moment. All he could do was think about his cousin and what he had just witnessed as he was chained like a dog to the back of the king's horse.

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Meanwhile, deeper in the forest, when Hans finally caught up with Clara and the rest of the pack. Clara didn't bother to ask Hans why he was now in his wolf form as he let her and Pavlova ride on his back as they and the rest of the pack followed the golden light that used to be Louise's wolf form back into the wolf den in the hidden cave where Louise's sleeping human body lay. Once in the cave Louise's wolf form's golden light returned to her body.... And a bloody wound appeared over her heart...

"Lousie...." Clara trialed off as Hans let her down from his back and she hurried over to her sister whose breath was becoming shallower by the minute. "Sis, no please breath!" Clara cried as Hans, the pack, and Pavlova approached the two sisters.

"Can you heal her like you healed me the other day?" Hans questioned desperately.

Clara paused looking at the terrible chest wound over her sister's heart. "I've never attempted to heal something this bad before, I'll need time I-" the girl started but was cut off when they all heard a gunshot in the distance, meaning the king and his soldiers were approaching the den; fast....

"I'll buy you some time Clara, try to heal Lousie, I'll hold them off!" Hans stated determinedly as he rushed out of the cave after telling Pavlova to stay with Clara who watched the boy she cared for run out of the cave.

"Follow him, he is your alpha tonight" she told the wolves who all then followed Hans out of the cave.