White Wolf's Wing, part 15 (Final Part)

Fifteen: The Continuing Path:


A huge explosion lit up the clouds, creating a powerful shockwave which went everywhere. The nearby storm clouds were pushed away, eventually exposing the light of the wintertime sun. Kiba managed to fly upwards, as did Joey, to avoid the expanding flames. As for the Bersectus, nothing remained. When the cloud of fire finally dissipated, Kiba felt utterly tired, and didn't realize he was falling toward the ground.
"Hey, easy there, buddy," Joey spoke, catching the falling werewolf. "I don't know what you did, but I don't care. That was just incredible."
"Thanks for the help, Joey," Kiba told him in a quiet voice. <Now to put this Astral power to rest.> The second he thought that, he could feel a strange feeling, like a vacuum in his stomach, and realized he could consciously seal up the power on his own, so he did so. Joey assisted the tired winged werewolf on their way back down to the ground.
When they landed, everyone who saw them just stared in absolute wonder and shock. Kiba didn't exactly expect them to cheer for him when he landed, but a young police officer came up to him.
"Whoever you are," she spoke, "and whatever you are, thank you."
"I only did what I had to, ma'am," Kiba replied. "That thing I destroyed, it would have gone on to devastate Earth itself."
"What was that thing, anyway?"
"A demon we 'monsters' call a Bersectus. They come from inside Earth's core."
"A demon? Does that mean you're... an angel?"
"Ma'am, I am not an angel, however much I may look like one. What you saw up there was not an act of God. That was an ancient power I inherited from a Native American ancestor of mine. You might as well call it magic."
"I see."
"Are you going to arrest me?"
"I saw you pulling those trapped kids out. It's clear you're a hero. I won't arrest heroes as it goes against my beliefs."
"Thank you, ma'am."
Once that conversation ended, Kiba walked carefully over to where a large number of the Packhouse members were gathered. Several of them looked badly injured, and Kiba noticed at least one of them didn't survive. He saw the body of an Anthro-Lion, the exact same one who had driven the car which brought him to the Packhouse for the very first time. Kiba didn't really know him, but still, to lose someone in this kind of fight...
Nearby, he could see what remained of the vampire army. YaoRunsi was still there, but he didn't see Crawford or one of YaoRunsi's female companions; the look in the Nocturanla's eyes, however, told him what had happened. Crawford was gone, and so was that woman.
"Kiba!!"
That voice was definitely familiar. Kiba looked up to see a large, muscular man coming toward him.
"Dad!!" Kiba rushed toward him, and the two embraced each other.
"Kiba, you scared me half to death when I saw you on the news," Dad spoke, tears choking up his voice. "Don't ever get in a fight like that again."
"I'm sorry I worried you," Kiba replied, feeling his own tears come up and out.
"I'm just glad you're okay. But how did you do that? That power, I've never seen it before."
"I'll explain later. Basically, it came from Mom's side."
"Okay. But where's Carly?"
<Oh, shit!> Kiba broke the embrace and rushed off to the large debris pile with the crude cave on the inside. Once he got to the hole, he could see Mrs. Carde still inside, but Leiana was nowhere in sight.
"Mrs. Carde, how is she?" he asked as he jumped down into the cave.
"Kiba. Your elf doctor did all she could. She even removed most of the shard, but she said there was way too much damage on the inside."
"No, Carly-"
"She's still alive, but only barely."
Kiba came over to Carly's side, and saw Mrs. Carde was right. Most of the shard had vanished, but there was still a huge amount of bleeding. Carly was still breathing, but it looked like she was drowning in her blood.
"Carly, can you hear me?" he whispered quietly. She didn't reply at first, but then opened her eyes slowly.
"Kiba?" Her voice was barely audible, to human ears, but Kiba heard it clearly.
"I'm here. The demon's gone. Ezekiel's free."
"Good job," she replied. "Sorry... I have... to leave you."
"No way, Carly. I told you, I would not let you slip. And I never go back on my word." He paused briefly. "Do you remember, when I first brought you to the Packhouse? I made the offer to bite you, to turn you into a werewolf."
"I... almost forgot," Carly answered weakly. "You think... you can... change me?"
"Only if you want me to. Do you?"
"Yes. Do it."
"All right, but this will hurt quite a bit." He then came over to where Carly's neck and shoulder lay exposed, and slightly covered in blood. Taking a deep breath and bracing himself, he then closed his jaw tightly on her shoulder, coming very close to her neck. Instantly, the conversion virus in all Therians spread through her blood, working its magic.
Carly didn't even flinch as the potent virus spread throughout her body, but the calm only lasted a second. The huge wound in her torso started closing up rapidly, pushing the remains of the metal shard out in a rather graphic way. Kiba held her down as she thrashed about in pain, watching as the wounds healed up right before his eyes. Within seconds, the movements stopped, and Kiba let go of Carly's neck, which had healed up despite being the site of entry.
Kiba waited as Carly's breathing became stronger and more steady, and much to his surprise, her skin started becoming a bit more toned. True, she had a strong and somewhat muscular build from her martial arts training, but this was a bit different. She wasn't growing muscle, but rather restructuring them.
Finally, Carly woke up, eyes fully open, and Kiba could not help shedding a single tear from his wolf eye as she pulled herself up into a sitting position.
"Aowch," Carly whispered.
"Careful," Kiba warned her. "This was only the start of your change."
"Kiba, what did you do to her?" Mrs. Carde asked.
"She asked me to turn her into a werewolf," Kiba answered. "That's what I did."
"What will happen next?" Carly inquired.
"At some point, you'll be experiencing the Awakening. That is your first transformation, and it can't be avoided or delayed. It will also be quite painful. That's the way it was for me."
Suddenly, she convulsed and bent over, clutching her stomach.
"Well, that was quick," he commented. "Carly, just let it happen. Don't fight it."
"Kiba..." she began in a painful voice.
"I'm right here," he replied, taking her hand. "I'm not letting go."
Within about a minute, Carly's body transformed entirely, leaving nothing on her body except her winter jacket, a tight bra, and a pair of ruined jeans covering her pelvis and upper legs. She was definitely a werewolf now, but with a different fur coloring than what Kiba had. Her eyes had changed to a radiant gold, and she had mainly a mix of brown and grey, mixed with white and some sandy colors. She still had long head hair, but it had changed to a darker brown in comparison to her light chestnut from earlier.
"Kiba," she whispered. "I'm..."
"Beautiful," he whispered back.
She grasped him around the neck, and he returned the gesture. They held that position, with Mrs. Carde bearing silent, pleased witness, for a few seconds.
"Let's get you up top."
In about a minute, Mrs. Carde was out of the crude cave, followed by Kiba and then Carly, still in her new Therian form. Kiba had surrendered his shirt and put it on her to hide her bra, and she still wore her large jacket.
"I don't feel cold up here," Carly commented.
"You have a much higher body temperature now," Kiba told her. "I need to find the others."
"Kiba!!"
That was Jason coming up to him, with Leiana, Gary, Dad, Wolfram, Bruce, Sasha, Joey, Oscar and Shayna the little fairy behind him.
"Jason, what is it?"
"Who is that with you?" Shayna asked.
"Shayna, it's me. Carly."
"What?" Wolfram exclaimed.
"You bit her?" Oscar added.
"I had to," Kiba replied. "She was dying. And she asked me to do it. By the way, where's Raphael? I haven't seen him."
"I'm sorry, Kiba," Bruce replied. "He didn't make it." That answer shocked him to the bone, but Kiba wasted no time with grief. He would honor his mentor's memory later.
"Antonio needs to see you," Jason told him. "He said he needs to tell you something, but he's not looking very good."


Antonio definitely did not look good. The white weredragon was bleeding heavily from a huge stomach wound and his body looked like it had stopped healing.
"Good, Kiba, you're here," the weredragon spoke in a weak voice.
"Why aren't you healing up?" Kiba asked.
"I can't. Weredragons are different... from other Therians. We can't... heal as fast as others. That's our... our weakness. We're also immune to healing magic. It's... ironic. All this power... and yet we're so fragile."
"Antonio, what do you need to tell me?" Kiba asked as he knelt down beside the elderly reptile.
"I know... I'm dying, niño. But I must... name a leader... to replace me... when I pass. I've decided... it has to be... you."
Kiba just froze upon hearing that. Him, the leader of the Packhouse? He wasn't even a legal adult yet. How could he take on such a job? He'd only been with the Packhouse for a few months.
"Antonio, I can't," he finally said. "There must be someone better."
"No one is better suited to replace me," Antonio whispered. "Being a leader, it's not just experience and age. It's about courage, bravery, honor and compassion. Not to mention humility. You have all those qualities, and a lot more. You possess what I have been lacking. I know you're young, but I also believe in you. When you first came to the Packhouse, you showed a lot of traits I had lost after the war with the vampires.
"You can be a great leader. You know how to interact with humans, since you're half-human yourself. I know now we need that kind of interaction. You can show the humans, the people you know, the truth about us. The human world doesn't need to be afraid of us."
"Antonio-"
"I've made my choice, Kiba. Make me proud." Kiba could only watch as the dragon's eyes went blank and the breathing stopped. Kiba felt more tears coming up, but he held them back. He then stood up, retracting his wings so they literally merged back with his body.
"I will honor your choice, Antonio," Kiba whispered. "And that of my mentor Raphael Kideris." He then turned toward the crowd nearby and walked toward them.
"What did he say?" Carly asked.
"Antonio has chosen me to replace him as leader of the Packhouse," Kiba replied, loud enough for everyone else to hear him. "I didn't expect this, but with your help I'll do my best at it. Right now, we face a difficult road. The human world knows about us, but I think we can convince them we are not a threat to them, despite what went on here."
"Who do you choose as second-in-command?" Leiana asked.
Kiba half-expected he would need to do that, since Gary had been Antonio's second. But who to choose? Carly, however much he wanted to choose her, was still new with the Packhouse, and so was Joey. Leiana was too important as a healer to handle leadership duties. Dad was a former leader before Antonio took over, and he clearly didn't want to do it again. Bruce seemed like a good choice, but he didn't exactly have the same kind of leader qualities Kiba had. Sasha clearly didn't like leadership roles, and Oscar was way too young, even though Kiba was only a couple years older than him. And Wolfram seemed a bit too much like that TMNT character Casey Jones: too excited about things, a bit on the violent and trigger-happy side, and easily distracted, not to mention a bit of a flirt with women. Which meant only one person left. The one who had introduced him to this life in the first place, who had revealed the world of the Gifted Ones to him, who had revealed his rapid healing ability, who had been there to help in any way he could, despite being a minor rival.
"I choose... Jason," Kiba finally said.
"What?" Jason stammered. "Me?"
"Yes. You are to be my second-in-command. That doesn't mean the rest of you can't help me in this."
"A wise choice, leader," Leiana spoke. "I think Antonio was wise to choose you."







Epilogue:


The effects of the Battle of Fox Field High School spread throughout the entire planet. Every government now knew about the existence of the Gifted Ones, and the reaction, as Kiba expected, was a mixed one. Many of the countries in the Middle East and South America were outraged at this, and a few governments even started campaigns to wipe out the "monsters" from Earth itself. Several Asian nations flat-out denied the existence of such things as demons and "angels."
What surprised Kiba a lot was how many nations actually reacted in a sympathetic manner. Virtually every nation in the European Union, many nations in Africa, and even the Pacific Island countries stated the Gifted Ones had every right to exist on Earth. Some of these nations put restrictions on Gifted Ones, to ensure safety of the human world.
The countries which responded most favorably were England, France, Germany, the Scandinavian nations, Australia, China, Japan, Canada, Mexico, Russia (that was a bit of a surprise), and of course the United States. The current American government even passed a law, the Species Equality Law, which stated, verbatim: "Any intelligent and civilized lifeform, regardless of species or origin, is subject to the same rights and rules as any civilized nation."
Concerning local effects, Ezekiel Lane was judged completely innocent of the events in Willow Plain County, Virginia. He was determined to be in perfect health, but had no memory of what had happened during the Fox Field High battle. As for the Bersectus itself, no one could figure out how it managed to break through the Astral shield in Earth's mantle, but Kiba later learned the shield had repaired itself, which meant they didn't have to deal with more of those nightmarish things.
Ryotaro Kurogawa, Kiba's sensei in the martial arts team, allowed Kiba to stay on the team, provided he did not use his werewolf abilities. Even though everyone at the school, which was rebuilt thanks to the efforts of the Packhouse, knew Kiba was a werewolf, they for the most part didn't treat him like a monster, but as a hero, for saving lives instead of killing them like in the movies.
Several members of the martial arts team, including Ezekiel Lane, asked to be a part of the Packhouse. Kiba agreed, to further relations with the human world, since he himself was half-human. A few of his teammates even became Therians through a small blood transfusion.
Kiba knew the road he took now was a hard one, but even with how the world had reacted, he felt certain he could face that future.
It wasn't like he would back down from a challenge. Not ever.


{Ten years later...}

The summer breeze blew through the large grassy plain of the newly built Lycana Park. Everywhere, young children of human, Therian and Anthro parents played around, some even racing each other in silly games. The parents of these kids, regardless of what species they were, talked with each other like old friends.
Kiba, in his Therian form but without the wings, sat on the bench right next to the lake in the park, enjoying how the summer breeze ruffled his head hair and his fur. Even with wearing a button up Hawaiian shirt over a black sleeveless undershirt and a pair of casual blue shorts and some sneakers, he didn't feel warm at all. He still had on the necklace Carly had given him so many years ago, and it reflected the light of the sun in a cloudless sky with a huge amount of brilliance. It still had the blood stain from when the Bersectus, in the form of a werewolf, had bitten him and changed his life ultimately for the better, and he never bothered to wash it off, as it still held a significant meaning for him.
"Hey, White Wolf," came the sweet voice of his wife. Carly came over to sit down next to him, in her human form, holding two burritos in her hand from the nearby stall, and her other hand grasping her highly bloated stomach.
"Hey," Kiba whispered. "You doing all right?"
"Of course I'm okay," she replied, handing him one of the burritos. "And so are the kids." She scooted next to him, coming up to lean against his Therian body, and Kiba swung his left arm around so it would rest on her shoulders. He cast a quick glance at where Carly's huge belly stuck out, and he could only imagine what it must be like, carrying two werewolf babies inside one's body for nine months. Carly was due any day now, but Kiba wasn't worried; they already knew they were having a boy and a girl. Kiba figured he could name the boy Drake, after Carly's great-grandfather, or Raph, after the werewolf who had trained him as a teenager; as for the girl, he wondered if Rebecca would work, after his deceased mother, or maybe... he didn't know. They could decide in time.
YANK.
Kiba nearly jumped when he felt his wolf tail being pulled. It was not a strong pull, but the very feeling of it hurt a bit.
"Kevin Park, you let go of that guy's tail right now."
"Joey and his son," Carly remarked. Kiba just nodded in agreement.
"Sorry about that, Kiba," came a familiar voice as Kiba turned around to see both Joey and Sasha (both in Therian form, but Joey had his wings out) with a four-year-old weretiger boy with wings.
"Don't worry about it," Kiba replied. "I'll be getting my fair share in a few years."
"How you doing, Carly?" Joey asked, coming around holding his squirming son Kevin.
"Twins are getting restless," Carly replied. "Can't wait to have them."
"And you won't have to wait long," Kiba added, patting his wife on the shoulder.
As Carly and Sasha did their usual gossip, which hadn't changed in the past decade, Kiba gazed out at the nearby lake, where Joey was playing with Kevin by doing some small gliding over the water (that was allowed by the local law, but not above three hundred feet in altitude and not within three miles of airports). The sunlight reflected off the water in a shimmering sparkle of light and liquid, adding to the beauty of it all.
<Ten years. Hard to believe so much has changed in only a decade. Hard to believe I've changed. Being a werewolf sure has improved me. By a lot. True, we face an uncertain time ahead, but a lot has been accomplished already. And as for the future... I think it will shine as bright as the sun.>