The Lone Wolf

'I will do anything for my freedom. Die, then, with your precious collar and shackles.'

A young werewolf named Kia Lore committed sacrilege in the eyes of dark society, refusing to serve the vampire race or anyone at all. His own kind has hunted him down to teach the infamous 'Lone Wolf' the error of his ways, but for three years Kia has evaded, fought, and even killed to maintain his freedom. Suddenly he agrees to protect the vampire princess in return for money, lots and lots of money, supposedly to live without work for the rest of his long life span. Both vampires and werewolves believe that Kia has finally come around. By the end of his contract Kia will volunteer to stay and serve as a loyal werewolf knight.

 

 

 Those delusional fools! After three bloody years, do they really believe he has come to submit? Surely at least one of them should suspect that he has an ulterior motive, because that's exactly what Kia has in mind. He holds a shocking secret that can destroy everything the vampires claim to be.

Kia Lore- 'If you're going to do something then do it; don't stand around just talking about it!'

 

 

The infamous 'Lone Wolf' of dark society, named so for refusing to serve vampire masters, and has continued to do so since. At the age of seventeen he agrees to be a bodyguard for the vampire princess in return for a large weekly payment, a contract that lasts only six months.

 

Kia is a easygoing, cheerful young man, which is a surprise considering how his life has played out. When he was seven years old Kia refused to take on a werewolf partner, then at the age of thirteen refused to make a vow of loyalty to a vampire master. A year later he fought off some of the werewolf elders and ran away, starting a three-year chase in which he killed most of his pursuers. While Kia is seen as a pariah for defying tradition, he is also acknowledged for his unsurpassed fighting skills. It is the main reason he is approached as a bodyguard-for-hire by the vampire princess.

 

 

Kia stands out with his sunny, independent nature in a world that's the opposite. He has a lithe body combined with golden eyes and dark brown hair. In wolf form he bears the same colors. Kia has a ruthless side that is frightening, but he is extremely devoted to the rare few he cares about.

 

Justine Vladimir V- 'If only desires didn't exist, then doing the simple things would be easy.'

 

 

The Princess of all Vampires and Werewolves, ambassador of her kind to the human world. Her public persona is arrogant and full of mischief, as Justine enjoys teasing her opponents in a sadistic manner, but her private self mirrors an ordinary girl. She's a childhood friend of Kia Lore, who calls her 'Justi' and cheers her up considerably when they're alone. Justine is especially close to her mother, the vampire queen.

 

 

Justine bears the figure of a slim teenage girl with blond hair, pale skin, and bright silver eyes. She shares Kia's dislike of how vampire society has been reduced to death, black leather, and eroticism. Justine's dream is to show that vampires are no different than any other creature, and works to against the fear and discrimination that humans hold for them.

 

It is clear to everyone that Justine has been in love with Kia for years, and nothing would make her happier than to have a normal romantic life with him. At first Kia lets her down gently, saying that he sees her as a sister at best but hardly a lover. When she persists with signs of jealousy and possessiveness, Kia shatters her dreams completely and finishes his goal of stealing the vampires' medical secrets.

 

Irina Vladimir IV- 'Strength, my love, is acceptance of the things you cannot change, and what you do in the face of it.'

 

 

Queen of all Vampires and Werewolves. She is seen as being rather softhearted and almost contemptible for desiring to integrate vampires peacefully with the rest of the world, even if it could mean hiding the species in darkness forever. Vampires are primarily against Irina's endeavour because she has no intention of ruling over the humans.

 

 

Irina is a slim-bodied woman with her daughter's silver eyes, the vampires' typical pale skin, and a length of glossy platinum-blond hair. She is a woman of grace and kindness, and stands out as the one vampire Kia is willing to respect. Irina shows her inner strength when Kia's secret--or rather the vampires' secret--is revealed to their kind: The entire vampire species is false. They are not real vampires but human beings infected as well as mutated by a blood disease. Real vampires call them 'draculas', allowing them to become arrogant with their so-called power because real vampires only cared for living in peace, and are amused by the draculas' sense of hubris.

 

Impaler- 'We are lower than the creatures we claim as fodder; why bother to live!'

 

 

A secret organization of vampires that know they're only human mutants at best. Their goal is to find a true vampire as a research subject, and discover a way to transform themselves into true vampires as well before they must resort to an extreme. If all else fails, they will do what they must and drive the vampires to extinction to salvage their pride.

 

Shannon Valentine- 'You can't be anyone but you.'

 

 

When Kia steals the vampires' advanced medicines, he uses them to revive a human boy lying comatose in a hospital.

 

 

Shannon was originally a quiet and unmotivated loner who happened to come across a heavily injured Kia while he was on the run from werewolf pursuers. Despite his fear of a large bloody wolf, Shannon provided Kia with food and a First-Aid kit to treat his wounds. Kia was discovered by his pursuers in Shannon's hometown but not captured; the pursuers kidnapped the human boy after correctly assuming that he had a connection to Kia, then failed to torture any clues out of him. Kia tracked down his friend and attacked in a rage, but reached Shannon too late. Knowing that he would be used as a pawn to control Kia, Shannon set his friend free by attempting suicide. However his bodily weakness and inexperience with a gun caused the bullet to graze his head, putting himself in a coma.

 

Kia was deeply traumatized by the event that he witnessed, and then moved by Shannon's 'last' words for him to bow to no one that didn't deserve it. It was then that Kia began to show his ruthlessness in full, gaining strength and ways to wake Shannon from his coma. He promised to never lose his freedom, personal and otherwise, the very things that his only friend intended to die for.  

 

 

Once Shannon is woken from his coma, Kia goes to wreak his final revenge not on the vampires but on the werewolves for what they've done simply to maintain tradition and pride. Justine and the others fail miserably in stopping Kia from revealing the vampires' secret and encouraging humans, not the inferior race after all, to gain the confidence to hunt them. As a result the werewolves would have no one to serve (real vampires had no interest in vassals), and the very core of their existence would be shattered without a single vampire master.

 

As it turns out Kia's threat was a empty one, and he had faked everything from the start just to scare people. Now having woken Shannon's body, he sought to wake his spirit by drawing out the boy's innate kind nature. Shannon arrives to stop Kia as expected, revealing himself to be a true vampire without typical weaknesses such as garlic and sunlight. It also exposes the final secret of the true vampire race, that they are the evolved form of human beings; Shannon's body  was forced to 'evolve' when he nearly died from blood loss after being tortured.

 

 

Shannon is fifteen years old.

 

Ashe Tarot- A fierce and proud female vampire who is part of the Royal Guard. At times she is partnered with Kia Lore, resulting in a stormy relationship that only Kia takes in stride. Eventually Ashe comes to respect him as a warrior and a independent spirit, and Kia in turn cares for her like a sister.

 

Shizuka Munei- An expressionless human mercenary known for being the most beautiful, silent, and deadly of killers. He is acknowledged by Kia as the only opponent he sees as worthy, while being hired by the human diplomats as their bodyguard. When 'off the clock', he and Kia are shown to have a nearly friendly relationship with each other. Once his job is done, Shizuka reveals his 'day job' as a gatherer of intelligence for a private security company called Vanguard.

 

 

After Shannon's secret is revealed, Kia asks a favor of Shizuka to put his friend into Vanguard's protection. They will help Shannon adjust to his new body and strength in a safe environment, surrounded by people who will try to understand rather than fear him, and also teach him to live a normal life in spite of everything in the world. 

 

Shizuka asks Kia what he plans to do with his own life, and Kia gives him a sad smile. He has Shizuka deliver a letter to Shannon Valentine, a letter that only reads 'Until the day we meet again, once more'.