FSE

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Chapter Seven.

"Balthazar!" Luran shouted and he ran to and jumped out the window.

"Luran!" Zack shouted as the werewolf dived through the air and slashed at the cloaked figure, who jumped back almost lazily to avoid the slash.

Zack cursed as he stepped up onto the windowsill and he launched himself from the window as well. He didn't have time to be surprised at how easily he managed to jump from his window to the roof of the neighboring science building. As Zack landed beside Luran, Balthazar was landing several feet from them, the Dollmomin had followed his jump, gathered around behind him.

"Tsk. Rude...I was trying to introduce myself." The cloaked person scolded, his voice was dark and deep.

"You've slaughtered my people!" Luran shouted back, "Every time we've met you act like we're old acquaintances! How dare you!"

"In some ways we are." Balthazar chuckled and held a gloved hand to his head, the darkness of his hood hid all of his features, all except for the glowing red eyes. "I don't even think dear Urie would know as much about you than I do Luran. Why, does he know that your first was actually with a girl and it was that experience that confirmed to yourself about your sexuality or-?"

"Enough!" Luran growled and barked again, his paws balled up in fists, and his eyes glowing as the air around him seemed to become charged with some form of energy. Zack watched in amazement as the werewolf's fur bristled and he bared his teeth at Balthazar. "Ever since that day...It's been so difficult to hold it back. My rage, my sorrow..."

Luran howled out and he dropped to all fours, "I'll end you!!!" And the Alpha launched himself once more across the roof towards Balthazar.

Balthazar tsked again and lifted a hand and pointed at Luran as he charged at him, and the Dollmomin around him all skittered forward, giving loud screeches. The Dollmomin collided with Luran. The werewolf managed to fling the first few to the side, but slowly more and more of the demons pushed against the werewolf and eventually Luran was pushed back onto his back.

"Luran!" Zack yelled, and he began to run forward, but suddenly Balthazar seemed to appear between him and the Alpha, seeming to teleport from where he had been just a second before.

"Don't interfere. I'm not going to hurt him but he's being a bad wolf so he gets a time out. Normally he'd have no trouble fighting that many, like that time he intercepted those ones chasing you in the city, but he's blinded by rage and emotion." The cloaked demon, as far as Zack could tell what he was, said lightly. Zack could hear the grin in his voice, but he stopped in his tracks. The silver werewolf looked around Balthazar and he noticed that while he was being swarmed by the Dollmomin, one by one they had begun to hold down Luran's limbs. Luran snarled, barked, and shouted at them, but they did nothing more but ensure that Luran was held down. "I merely want to talk a moment, specifically to you Zack." Balthazar continued.

Zack twitched his ears, turning his gaze back to his new foe, "And about what exactly?"

The cloaked figures shoulders shrugged, "Just about the future. Do you really think Kyle would make a good werewolf?"

"I...I'm not sure?" Zack half asked back, "Is...is that really what you wanted to talk about?"

"Hmm no but it's just interesting to think." The person put their paws on their hips then and continued, "I look forward to seeing who you do change first. Well it be Kyle, or possibly Linus for some reason? Maybe even Drailsin? Someone you've not met? Will it be an accident, like how you were turned? So many interesting possibilites..." Balthazar brought a paw up waving it as he walked back and forth in front of Zack.

"What?" Zack said softly, "How do you know all of them...?"

Balthazar shrugged, again the grin in his voice, "I just do, but that's my goal...part of it anyway. I need your blood for something."

"My blood? Then-"

"Why aren't I taking it now? Because it's not quite the blood I need." Balthazar reached out, and Zack froze as he felt the caressing chill rub his chin, suddenly the demon had teleported to stand right in front of him, nearly chest to chest as Balthazar lowered his voice. "I need you to become an Alpha. I need your blood after it matures and gains that level. I want you to get to the point that even the other werewolves call you Alpha, just like they do for Luran." Balthazar lowered his hand and continued, "Before you ask, Luran's blood won't work. It's not what I need."

Zack managed to recover and he snarled slightly, "And what if I simply stop involving myself at all. What if I go back to my normal college life and never advance my abilities as a werewolf?"

Balthazar stared at the silver werewolf, before he lifted a paw up and made a slight motion with his finger. Luran yowled out in pain behind him, as three of the Dollmonin that had been holding down his left leg suddenly began to tear into the flesh and fur. Zack saw tuffs of bloodied fur being thrown in the air.

"Luran! Stop it!" Zack barked, and Balthazar made another motion. Luran's yowls of pain stopped, replaced by pained whisperings of curses and insults to the demons.

"If you do, I'll kill Luran and the rest of his pack. And after that," Zack stared at Balthazar and bared his teeth as he spread his arms out, "I'll start using the Dollmomin to induce violence in the city. You've seen what they're able to do." Balthazar walked around Zack to stare out at the rest of the city beyond the school campus. "Are you really willing to put so many innocent lives in harms way for your own sake?"

Zack snarled, growling and baring his teeth, but he wasn't able to say he was. Even if all the people in the city were just perfect strangers, Zack was not the kind of person to let others get hurt if he could help it, and Balthazar knew it. The demon waited a few moments before chuckling and walking back over to the pile of Dollmomin holding down Luran. A small flow of blood had began to trickle along the roof from under the pile, from Luran's leg.

"Better get fluffy butt Luran home Zack, he's gonna need some medicine from Raze. Oh, make sure you pay attention to the news in the next few days." Balthazar wagged his finger slightly as he chuckled, "Ta-ta!"

And suddenly, both Balthazar and the Dollmomin vanished, their forms dissipating as if carried away on a non-existent wind. Zack stood silent a moment, expecting something more before Luran's pained whimpers snapped him out of his caution and he ran towards the Alpha.

Zack stopped, his muzzle dropping open as he took in Luran's leg. It was torn open in multiple places, the flesh torn and ripped below skin and into the muscle. Blood pooled around Luran's lower body from the torn leg. The silver werewolf knelt down and scooped one paw under Luran's upper body. He held him up, and Zack whimpered in worry as the Alpha winced visibly, his eyes taking in his own torn up leg. It looked as if one of his toes had been torn off as well. He was shocked, the Dollmomin had only been attacking for only about five seconds, and they managed that much?

"Is...is this what he did to my family...?" Luran gasped out. "Not even clean, quick deaths...but to be literally torn apart?" Luran grabbed hold of Zack's chest fur as he snarled, huffing in pained breaths, "We...we can't let him do what he wants Zack."

"But...what he wants is what you want..." Zack said softly, "You heard him didn't you?"

"Yes..." Luran growled, baring his teeth, "He wants your blood, but he won't have it..." Luran's paw gripped on Zack's chest harder as he snarled, "I'll have his before that happens..."

Zack shook his head slowly, but he didn't say anything more as he cradled the Alpha and looked off to the city beyond them.

__________________

It took some time for Zack to manage to get the injured Luran back down from the roof of the building, but thankfully no one saw them as they awkwardly made their way down the building from the outside. Luran left trails of blood and fur as Zack helped him hobble through the campus grounds to the city and then to the forest.

"Stop." Luran said, and Zack paused. The Alpha pulled himself off and moved away from Zack, limping off his injured leg, and leaned back against a tree. "Go back and clear away the trail of blood, at least halfway back through the city." Luran panted.

Zack shook his head, "No way, I've got to get you to the cave and get Raze to treat you."

Luran growled, "Listen to me!" He barked, and then winced and whined, gritting his teeth before the pain passed and he sighed, "All that noise we made...the furs wouldn't be able to see the Dollmomin, but they'd be able to see you, me, and Balthazar. If anyone investigates this, and sees the blood trail." He cut off as he winced again, but Zack understood and nodded.

"They'd discover you and the others." Zack finished and Luran nodded, the Alpha reaching out and holding his injured leg as Zack nodded as well. "All right, I'll be right back."

Zack rushed back through the city, being careful to remain hidden from fur's eyes. He found that his senses would alert him if there was anyone possibly there, it felt natural but he knew it wasn't normal for him, but he wasn't going to complain. As he went, Zack used his footpaw to scrub out the trails of blood as best as he could. It took him nearly an hour, but Zack managed to get as far as the campus grounds. He rubbed out the blood trail at the very end of the grass. He double checked his work. To anyone, it would seem like the blood trail just suddenly seemed to vanish at the end of the campus grounds, and any restart to the path would not be for nearly three miles outside of the city.

Satisfied, Zack rushed back to Luran. The Alpha werewolf was slouched against the tree he had at first been leaning against, his leg still bleeding heavily onto the ground around him and his breathing shallow. He didn't even seem to realize Zack had returned until the silver werewolf was reaching down and taking hold of his arms. Luran grunted as Zack held the white Alpha back up, slinging one of his arms around his shoulders.

He's lost a lot of blood... Zack thought worriedly as he watched Luran's heavy breathing. His face was a little pale and the rest of his body seemed incredibly heavy.

"Come on Luran, hang in there." Zack said softly to the Alpha, who opened his green eyes slightly, they looked empty and dark. "You can't leave your pack mates alone."

"No, you're right...it'll take more than just one torn up leg to kill me..." Luran said back softly, "Go..."

Zack nodded and began carefully helping Luran up the mountain to the cave.

_________

"Luran!" Raze shouted as Zack was carrying the Alpha through the mouth of the cave about two hours later. The trek had been difficult, Luran was at the point of blacking out, and the loss of blood had made it that the Alpha wasn't able to move his legs anymore early into it. Zack had shouted down the cave to the others when he arrived. Raze was the first, but as he shouted out, Zack heard more rapid steps rushing from the den.

Raze came up to Zack and began trying to examine Luran's wounds even as Zack kept walking. "What happened?! Why is your leg so torn up?!"

"Raze..." Luran said, his voice low and quiet. He was still leaving trails of blood, Zack could tell since about thirty minutes ago that the Alpha was barely staying conscious.

"Raze." Zack said sternly, "Leave the questions for later, Luran needs your help. Go get whatever things you need, I'll bring him to his nest." When the werewolf stood stunned Zack followed up with a growl, "Now Raze."

Raze's ears flattened and he stared into Zack's green eyes a moment before he nodded rapidly, "R-right!" And he ran ahead of the pair to the second tunnel. Zack heard him shout, "Get out of the way! Move it Shade you big lug!" And soon after the trio of Tarn, Urie, and Shade all poked out from the tunnel.

They stared a moment before Urie was the one who rushed out, "Luran! Great Lumaria what happened?!"

"Bloody moons..." Tarn whimpered and his ears folded back, while Shade was staring on silently.

Zack growled at Urie as the brown werewolf began to try and take Luran from him. "Urie back off! Stop trying to take him from me! He can barely stand as it is! Just get out of the way!" His voice barked through the cave. Urie backed off, eyes wide and his ears flattening back, and both Tarn and Shade both quickly moved out from the second tunnel to allow Zack to get Luran through to the den.

Raze had already set up several herbs and bandages from large leaves, and was gathering them around Luran's nest when Zack carried him in. He stepped back to allow Zack through and allowed him to slowly place Luran down and lay him back. When he managed to get him on his back, Zack stood and Raze quickly went to work. He began crushing multiple herbs as Zack faced the three werewolf's that had followed him.

"Shade, Raze is going to need something more than just leaves to bandage these wounds. Go to the city, find bandages."

"Bandages?" Shade growled out.

Zack nodded, "Or cloth, clothing, anything that can be used to bind the wounds and cover them. If you can, find anything that has a red cross on it, usually they are small containers, but they will have what we need."

"Why not go find it yourself?" Shade growled deeply and crossed his arms.

Zack growled deeply back and he strode up to the werewolf. Shade was slightly taller than him, but he didn't back down as he spoke darkly, staring right into the blood red eyes. "I just carried your Alpha for nearly three hours up this fucking mountain. I'm not used to that much exertion. While this body has lots of stamina I know I'm not going to be as fast as you, and Luran needs the best he can as quickly as he could."

Shade huffed, "And?"

Bam!

Urie and Tarn both jumped as Zack punched Shade on the side of his muzzle as hard as he could. Shade grunted at the impact, and he brought a paw up to rub his jaw with his head turned slightly and he stared down at Zack from the one eye still facing him as Zack growled, baring his teeth, his eyes glowing brightly and his tail lashing.

"So you'll let Luran die?! I understand that you're upset about the loss of your mate and child! Do you blame me for it?! Like what you said before? That's fine if you blame me, but right now that doesn't fucking matter!" Zack growled and he poked Shade's chest with a claw as hard as he could. Zack could feel that he was drawing blood, but he didn't care as he continued, "But you better get your head out of your damn ass! Your Alpha needs you! Your family, here, needs you! You take pride in being the biggest out of them all yeah, like you're the big brother? Then man up!"

Shade said nothing for several moments, turning his head back as he and Zack continued to stare each other down, but Shade's eyes didn't show any emotion. A dozen seconds past before Shade turned his head slightly and spat out a small wad of blood. "That's a hell of a punch..." He grumbled.

The big black werewolf turned and he ducked down into the tunnel as he said, "I'll be back as soon as I can..."

Zack continued to bare his teeth as he watched the lycanthrope run down the tunnel briskly and Tarn and Urie stared at Zack in awe. Zack turned his gaze to them then and growled, though softer. "You two stay out there in the cave with the water. Stay out of Raze's way."

"Actually," Raze spoke up carefully, from where he was kneeled beside Luran, his ears folded back, "Could you two try to see if you can find more Lavender? There should be some growing to the north of here."

"Yeah, all right." Urie said softly, his gaze fixed on Zack before both he and Tarn turned, the russet werewolf looking over his shoulder at Zack as they moved through the tunnel.

"Zack..." Raze said softly after a moment. Zack turned to the apothecary, and he pointed at the leaves. "You can help me then...?"

Zack wondered why Raze posed that as a question but he nodded and kneeled down on the other side of Luran, "Yeah, just tell me what to do."

Raze carefully instructed Zack to press the leaves onto the biggest wounds after he placed a mix of crushed herbs on them, and together they began working to care for Luran. Luran's breathing remained heavy, until as Zack began to press in the herbs, the Alpha passed out from blood loss. Raze noticed, but Zack shook his head at him silently, as they continued to apply more of the medicine.

_____

An hour later, Shade returned, carrying with him several stolen articles of women's clothing and two boxes with a large red first aid cross on them. This time, Zack instructed Raze about the tools inside the first aid kits as Shade sat down in his nest and watched them.

It was probably a good thing that Luran had passed out, Zack thought as he was slowly stitching the wounds closed. Raze told him that the herbs they had pressed into the wound earlier did the same thing as the disinfectant from the first aid kits, so he skipped doing that. He had changed back to his normal form just by thinking he needed it so he could better work the needle and thread. Raze said nothing about how easily Zack transformed, nor did Shade. The two of them remained silent as Zack carefully sealed the wounds. Raze hadn't been able to handle the needle delicately with his large werewolf paws, so he watched Zack, trying to learn from watching the more modern methods of healing.

Silence hung heavily through the cave, besides the sound of Luran's harsh, slow breathing as he was unconscious. Zack eventually finished and he double checked his work before he nodded.

"Raze, get the bandages from the kits, they're the rolls of white cloth, and then tear apart some of those blouses and skirts into strips of cloth."

"Right." Raze said and he began to search the kits, just as Zack's ears picked up the sound of foot falls coming through the cave. Tarn and Urie both entered the den carrying armfuls of purple colored lavender stems and stalks.

Raze perked up at the sight and he pointed to his pile of herbs, "Put those beside those please."

"Yeah." Urie answered lightly, his eyes downcast as he walked past Zack and Luran to put the herbs away. Tarn followed him, but while Tarn went to his nest, Urie stood facing Luran and staring down silently at his mate from the pile of herbs. Zack turned his head towards Urie after a moment, raising an eyebrow.

"You can come over now, Urie, we're just finishing up."

Urie nodded silently, and he padded over and sat down beside Zack at Luran's side, putting his paws on the white Alpha's chest softly. He stared silently down at Luran's muzzle.

As Zack finished up the last of the bandages, he sighed and leaned back tiredly. "Okay...he should be fine, he needs to rest and regain the blood he lost. Raze, make sure you replace the bandages at least once a day, user either your herbs or the disinfectant to clean the wounds each time before you add the new bandages. You should have enough here to last a few weeks, which should be enough time for the wounds to heal fully. After that we'll go from there. I need to read up on how best these things heal before then."

Raze nodded, "Okay. Just wrap the bandages around the wounds right? Sounds basic."

Zack nodded as he stood up, "Yeah, tight, but not too tight."

"You're not leaving are you?" Tarn whimpered from where he was sitting.

Zack turned to the russet furred wolf, "I have to."

"Why don't you tell us what happened first before you do. Or are you going to nearly drown us in Alpha pheromones again?" Shade said gruffly from where he was also laying on his side.

Zack made a confused face, "What?"

Tarn whimpered, "Until awhile ago, you've been giving off a really intense amount of the Alpha scent. Ever since you got here carrying him..."

"The reason I had talked back to you was because you were even doing it to begin with." Shade growled, "There was no need for it, but when you punched me I remembered, and realized you probably didn't even know you were doing it." Shade rubbed his jaw with his paw, "Still, I meant it when I said it was a hell of a punch. My own teeth made the inside of my jaw bleed."

"You were basically forcing us to do what you said." Urie said softly then as he continued to stare down at Luran's face as the Alpha breathed slowly. "If it wasn't for that, I would never have left Luran's side so easily...You may be the level of an Alpha, but you haven't earned it..." Zack could hear the resentment in Urie's voice, and realized why the brown furred lycanthrope was acting so offput. He was upset at Zack for forcing him to stay away from his injured mate. It also made sense now why Raze seemed to ask him to help rather than tell him to earlier.

The wolf sighed and shook his head, "I'm sorry, I didn't realize I was even doing it, but if you stayed you still would have just been in the way."

Urie growled, his paws balling up into fists, "This is my fault. This is because I let him convince me to let him go to you alone until you decided to stay with us. I'm his Guardian, I'm not supposed to ever leave his side..."

"This isn't your fault Urie." Zack tried to assure Urie, "It was Balthazar."

This made Shade rise up quickly, his hackles raised, "What? The demon was here? Where?"

"At my school. He confronted me and Luran. Luran charged him but he became pinned by Dollmomin. Balthazar only wanted to talk, but then he threatened me and when I challenged his intentions, he made the Dollmomin that had pinned Luran down chew up his leg..."

Shade growled deeply, his hackles still raised and Urie's paws seemed to clench a little tighter. "What did he say he wanted to talk about?" Urie growled as well.

"He said he wanted me to continue developing my skills as a werewolf, as an Alpha specifically. He wants me to bite and turn others to gain a pack of my own...to develop until I can get even you guys to call me Alpha alongside Luran."

The werewolves fell silent again, and Zack wondered if they were mentally scoffing about calling Zack their Alpha after what he just did to them, unintentional as it was, until Urie managed to speak again, "And I take you said no?"

Zack nodded, "I asked him what he'd do if I just didn't involve myself with you guys anymore, and in response..." He waved his paw to Luran.

"He tore Luran apart..." Tarn whimpered.

"And further said that he'd kill all of you as well, and then use the Dollmomin to incite violence throughout the city."

"Bring him on." Shade growled deeply.

"Nonsense." Raze returned, "If Luran was so easily pinned and he'd been using his energy, you'd not stand a chance if Balthazar really meant to kill you Shade."

The large werewolf continued to growl anyway, as Tarn whimpered, "If he really...if he really could kill us so easily, why did he let us get here at all?"

"For exactly the reason he just exposed." Urie turned around, and stared at Zack, "He needed us to find him, to turn him, and now he needs us to train him. He killed off all the others that came with Luran, but not us, so that we could train him. Now that we've turned him, he realized Zack had very little intention to join us, so now...he's holding the world hostage."

______

Zack returned to as normal of a life that he could. Returning to the college he continued to go to classes, but trying to focus on listening to the lectures or doing assignments was impossible. Worry for Luran, who after more than six days had yet to wake up, despite that Raze confirmed that his wounds were healing properly, compounded on the werewolves new attitudes towards him now that they realized he truly could be an Alpha. The way he got them to follow his orders using the "Alpha scent" confirmed it to them. Shade begrunenily followed orders, only giving quips when he felt Zack deserved them. Urie continued to give him a neutral attitude, but Zack didn't dare attempt to demand Urie leave Luran's side again while the Alpha was indisposed. Raze and Tarn remained much the same, Raze especially showing him much more respect. However, this only worried Zack. wasn't this what Balthazar wanted? None of them had called him "Alpha" yet like they did for Luran, but he could feel a certain new respect he'd gained in showing that he could really be one.

Zack visited the cave each day for a few hours, both out of worry for Luran, and because if Balthazar was watching him like he now believed, he didn't want him thinking he wasn't trying to do exactly as he wanted, even when he was spending the time with the werewolves trying to think of plans to somehow capture the demon. To better communicate, Zack purchased a pair of walkie talkies from an old antique store. After showing Urie how they worked, it allowed them to talk without Zack needing to go to the cave. Zack did however tell Urie never to call out to him, even in an emergency cause Zack would have no idea of knowing when people would be around him. Earlier today Urie informed Zack that he would be visiting later tonight to talk in person, so his walkie remained sitting unused.

His only respite from his worry was Kyle. The dalmatian kept in regular contact now, after getting his phone number once more on Burythebone he texted Zack often. They had actually set a time to meet for a third date in the city tomorrow evening, which Zack was looking forward to.

However, even with that, Zack was further worried by the news. Just as Balthazar told him to, Zack paid special attention to the news through the week. At first there wasn't anything special, but after a few days reports of several furs attacking others unprovoked or because of deep seeded grudges began to come to the spotlight. It was because most of them occurred in public places, multiple attempts at burglary and rape at a park that'd never had such a level of crime before, a theft at a well known restaurant, a riot at a concert.

No one was killed at any of these, though people were injured. This led Zack to believe it was Balthazar telling him that he was indeed watching, using the Dollmomin to incite the violent acts. Zack had no doubt that if he didn't continue to develop his abilities as a werewolf like the demon wanted, these would eventually turn into killings. He was curious yet frightened of how far he may be able to push Balthazar before such a thing occurred.

Zack was reading over the most recent news article regarding the riot at the concert. It had been caused by a group of parents who didn't agree with their child's choices and had came to force them to come back home. These were apparently parents who had resented that their children showed interest in such activities, but had been hoping it was just a phase and that they would eventually grow out of it and turn to what they thought were better pursuits. They'd apparently lost that hope and banded together to form an intervention on their children. However, while trying to remove their children from the area, other teenagers challenged them and it erupted into a fist fight. It was unclear yet who threw the first punch.

Zack frowned, "So...Dollmomin can pull out resentful thoughts or violent intentions, making them act on them? That seems to be the case from what I've seen, but I guess it could also be some kind of mind control. That family at the diner didn't seem to have any kind of issues at first before suddenly going crazy, it couldn't possibly happen to them that quickly..."

He leaned back in his chair and his ear's twitched as he heard it. That clattering of claws and he turned towards his window, which was closed. He watched as a large, brown paw reached up and Urie lifted himself up into view. Zack stood up and went to open the window, but the lycanthrope helped himself by slipping one of his claws under the window. Zack raised his eyebrow at this cause he had locked the window.

He gaped as Urie opened the window with ease, the lock did nothing to stop him from opening it.

"What the heck!?" Zack came up and he checked the lock after Urie opened the window, not allowing the brown werewolf inside yet. He flicked it to unlock and locked it again, the knob moved easily both directions. "You guys broke my lock?!"

"Luran broke that a long time ago." Urie grumbled, "Now move out of the way before Shade breaks the wall."

"What?" Zack stepped back and Urie crawled his way through the window, and then Shade's huge form filled the window frame.

"I can't get in this." Shade growled, his bulky and muscular form was way too big to squeeze through the opening of the window.

"It's okay, we'll be heading out here in a bit." Urie told him, "Just hang there a moment."

Shade grumbled, "Well hurry it up."

Zack sighed as he sat back in his chair, glad it was late at night already. He rubbed his forehead with his paw as he spoke to Urie, "You wanted to go look at where the latest attack had happened huh?"

"Yes, I want to see if we can find out what the Dollmomin are doing. What you've told me about what you've seen sounds as if they are feeding on and sparking violent emotions in furs. This is something new we've never known about before. For years we've fought the Dollmomin, but we've not known they interact with regular people before."

"All right. Well let's get going then." Zack sighed again as he allowed himself to start transforming.

_________________

Zack returned the next morning at 9am exhausted, he crawled into his own window just as the sun was starting to peek over the edge of the mountains on the east side of town. He flopped onto bed, at the same time allowing himself to transform back to his normal form. He groaned as he put his paws over his eyes as he shifted, feeling his legs ache as they shifted.

He was glad it was weekend and there were no classes, and that his window faced west, cause he needed to sleep. He'd been awake all night with Urie and Shade. They didn't really find out anything at the site of the concert. They couldn't even get in the building. Shade wanted to break a window to get into the lobby but Zack refused to let them vandalize anything. Shade grumbled about it but Urie thankfully knew they couldn't break things and draw undo attention.

So they ended up trying to find anything in the park instead, but even there they found nothing but one drunkard laying naked in the bushes. The drunk had seen them, but Zack was sure he'd just blame the alcohol for his delusion.

Whatever the Dollmomin seemed to be doing, they appeared to not stick around to see the results of their work, Zack believed. They hadn't stuck around for when the family had freaked out at the diner, and while they'd been around the buck they'd abandoned him to chase Zack through the city.

Zack finished his transformation back to his normal form as he closed his eyes to sleep for as long as he could manage.

He woke several hours later at 5pm to his phone alarm going off, one that he had set to remind him of his date with Kyle two hours from then.

Zack stretched and yawned as he grabbed his phone and turned the alarm off. Kyle had texted him several times throughout the day trying to keep him informed, but the last text made Zack frown.

"My dad is coming with us..." It said.

Zack texted back, "Why?" And then he proceeded to begin getting himself dressed and preparing. Kyle was supposed to come by in his car to pick him up and they would be going to walk about the mall. Zack was starting to brush his fur when his phone went off and he checked the message.

"He says he wants to find out who it is I'm dating now. I had told them it was a date I was going on tonight. I probably should've lied..."

Zack frowned slightly and he gave a short sigh, "Naw, better to tell the truth." He grumbled at the irony of that, considering the secret he was trying to keep from Kyle, "Well, I guess I'll have to try and make a good impression." He texted back.

Kyle's response was quick, and Zack could hear the dryness in it, "Good luck."

Zack frowned still as he finished getting dressed and he quickly went to the wash rooms to wet his fur and comb it a bit. Pleased with the way he looked, he spent the rest of the time on his laptop working on school things until a few hours later when Kyle and his father would arrive.

At seven PM Zack walked out his dorm building and towards the nearby street the building sat along. On the other side was a small parking lot used by some students. Zack walked across the street and he waited here, until a car pulled in from the road. It was a red, two doored minicar. Zack raised an eyebrow, he never thought Kyle would drive something like that.

When it pulled up beside him Zack paused yet again however. In the driver's seat, Kyle waved lightly at him and grinned sheepishly, his ears slightly folded back. In the passenger side, was a burly looking dalmatian with a beer gut. He looked exactly what Zack may have envisioned him as. Wearing pants and a blue shirt that hugged around the beer belly, the elder dalmatian was staring at the wolf intently, no real discernable emotion on his face.

However, as Zack tried his best to smile and waved as the minicar pulled up Zack felt a chill in his chest at what truly made him pause.

In the backseat, it's beady red glowing eyes in its otherwise smokey form staring right at him, was a Dollmomin.