ALEX'S POV

We finally got back to Azuchi and my shoulder and leg were feeling a lot better now. Once the cart stopped moving, I got out of the back and I put a little pressure on my leg and my injury feels like it has almost completely healed. Masamune came over to me and he suddenly puts a collar and leash on me. I looked at Masamune and I growled at him. Masamune sighed and he whispered.

"Sorry about this, but, Lord Nobunaga asked me to besides, not everyone will think you're a friendly wolf, you know."

'He's got a point.'

I thought to myself with a sweat drop running down the side of my head. Masamune tugged on the leash making me follow him. Shadow growled angrily and she said to me.

"I can't believe this is finally happening to me! I'm a wolf! not a pet dog!!"

"I hate to say this but, technically speaking, you're a hybrid wolf so you're a combination of both."

"Oh who asked you! this is all your fault!"

"My fault?!"

"If you hadn't shifted in front of Nobunaga and the others, this wouldn't be happening to us right now!"

"Well maybe, if you held back a little bit longer I would have gotten away from them in time!"

"Oh shut up! I'm not talking to you right now!"

Shadow spoke with a frown on her face as I watched her follow Masamune into the castle. Once we got inside, Mitsunari and Mitsuhide were waiting for us and they were surprised when they saw me, well, Shadow.

"My Lord, is that a wolf? she looks too big."

"That's what I thought too until Masamune told me this is the same wolf that visited him and his men in the forest beside, the poor wolf was injured, we couldn't exactly leave her out there and I've always wanted a guard dog."

Shadow frowned when he said this and then Mitsunari came over to me.

"Well then, it's nice to meet you."

Mitsunari was about to pet me but, he smelled like a cat and then Shadow growled and she nearly bit him. 

"Whoa! what did I do?" Mitsunari spoke in a shocked tone after pulling his hand away in time.

"Mitsunari, have you by any chance been near a cat recently?"

"Well, I was taking care of Neko-chan."

"There's your answer, looks like this little wolf shares something in common with Alex, she probably hates cats as well."

Mitsunari got the idea and then Mitsuhide lets Shadow sniff his hand and then she lets him pet her fur.

"Well, she seems friendly enough, but, the question is, how long?"

"Don't worry, she won't bite unless I tell her to," Nobunaga spoke with a smirk.

"Oh, he's gonna get bitten once we're alone."

"Shadow, don't you even think about!"

"I'm only kidding! Sheesh, can't you take a joke?"

Shadow said as Nobunaga took the leash from Masamune and then he led us to the Tenshu. Nobunaga doffed his armour and then he came back to us to take off the collar and lead. Shadow shook herself and then Nobunaga said with a smirk on his face.

"There you go, that wasn't so bad was it?"

Shadow growled and then she pounced on Nobunaga and she glared and growled at him.

"What did I do now?"

"You called me your guard dog! you put a collar and leash on my neck! I'm a wolf, not someone's pet dog!!"

"Alex is that you talking? because I don't recognise that voice."

"Sorry, about this Nobunaga, that's Shadow's voice you're hearing and speaking of which, Shadow, get off him!!"

I shouted as Shadow grumbled and then she got off Nobunaga's chest and she sat down on the ground. Shadow stayed silent while I did the talking. Nobunaga sat up and he asked me.

"Are you trying to tell me that you have another voice?"

"Well, kind of, you could say that Shadow is actually my inner wolf."

"Inner wolf?"

"It means I can communicate with her through a method called mind-link, it means we can also hear each other's thoughts as well, how you're able to hear mine is a mystery because you need to be a werewolf to hear my voice but, now that I think about it..."

I walked towards Nobunaga and I sniffed him a few times and I told him.

"I think it has something to do with your scent. For the past few days, your scent has been getting stronger and stronger to me. I remember Dominic telling me that if you find your one true soulmate, I'm supposed to feel drawn towards my mate's scent."

"And that's how you're feeling as of right now?"

"It does actually, but, nevermind all of that..."

I lowered my head sadly and I asked him.

"I suppose I should also explain myself about what happened on that cliff."

"Yes, you do, mind telling me what happened out there and how you became this wolf that I'm seeing right now."

"All right, it started six years ago after I got bitten by that wolf, turns out it was a rogue werewolf that had bitten me. Dominic was the one who saved me and he's also a werewolf but, he's the leader of the pack and we call him Alpha Dominic. I didn't realise at the time that he's a werewolf too until that night when my parents were killed by wolf hunters."

"Wolf hunters?"

"They're also known as werewolf hunters, they hunt us down and then they kill us. Once they've killed a werewolf they skin us and use our pelts for trophies."

"Yikes, that sounds nasty."

"It does but, before I came here, Dominic and some of the moonlight pack members found one of their hideouts but, it didn't end well. We thought we had got rid of them all but, we were wrong, the rest of the hunters were hiding from us and then they attacked us. I was the only one who escaped from that chaos."

Nobunaga looked at me shocked and I then told him.

"And there's something else you should know, I'm not from this time period, I come from 500 years into the future."

"What?"

I explained everything to Nobunaga on the night when I met him. Nobunaga looked at me surprised and he then said to me.

"So let get me this right, you and your friend Sasuke, who we know as Uesugi's ninja, got sent back 500 years into the past by a wormhole and you two are stuck here until the next one comes in three months?"

"Yeah, Sasuke told me to keep quiet about me being from the future so I played the random village girl who saved your life routine to try and keep my real identity hidden. Even if I did tell you and the others where I was originally from, you would have thought I was some crazy woman."

"Hmpf, true, at least that explains the strange outfit that you wore on the night. But, why didn't you tell me about you being from the future and being a hybrid werewolf from the beginning?"

"As I said, you guys would have thought that I was crazy and by the way, that monkey that you call your right-hand man Hideyoshi was already on edge when he met me and he thought I was a threat if I did reveal to you guys about me being a werewolf, he would have locked me up in the dungeons like some wild animal."

Nobunaga was about to disagree but, then he realised that I was right.

"You do have a point, so, how long is it until the wormhole arrives?"

"I thought about it, I'd say I've got at least two and a half months left."

"I see, well, you better yourself here while you still can besides..."

Nobunaga patted my head and he had a smirk on his face.

"I've always wanted a guard dog."

"Call me that again and I'll bite you."

"*Chuckle* sorry, I couldn't resist, anyway, we should get some sleep."

"Uh, are you sure you don't mind me being here?"

"Why are you getting flustered? it's not like I'm gonna bed you right now, not in that form."

"Ugh! that's an image I do not want to picture!"

Nobunaga chuckled as he got into his futon. I walked over to his futon and he looked at me before gently running his fingers on my furry cheek.

"You know, I only get a few hours of sleep, so, don't be surprised if you hear me waking up early in the morning or late at night."

"That's not good, not getting enough sleep can affect your health, Nobunaga."

"*Chuckle* now you're starting to sound like Hideyoshi and it's not like you have any room to talk either, you're the one who usually takes walks in the middle of the night."

"What can I say? I love the dark, I don't know why you're not sleeping much but, I can tell something happened to you. Dominic didn't get much sleep either when I met him, he always told me how rogue wolves were trying to find ways to kill him in his sleep."

"I see," Nobunaga said as he gently stroked the top of my head.

I knew I had to help him sleep easier so, I got under the covers with him and I laid beside him. Nobunaga was surprised by this at first and then he smiled a little. He wrapped his arms around me and he gently stroked my fur. 

"Rest easy Nobunaga, I'll be here when you wake up."

"All right, goodnight, Alex."

"Goodnight, Nobunaga."

I said as I waited for him to sleep, eventually, Nobunaga had fallen asleep and I heard him snoring softly. I smiled a little and I rested my head on the pillow and I watched Nobunaga sleep.

"Heh, you know, he may look like a tyrant but, the way he's sleeping like that is almost kinda cute."

"That's something we can agree on, still, I'm glad he accepts for who I am now."

"I hate to ruin the moment but, once the morning comes, you'll be back to being a human and unfortunately there wasn't time for you to strip off your kimono."

I sweat dropped when Shadow told me this. I recalled what happened earlier tonight and I said to Shadow.

"Oh shoot! you're right! what am I gonna do?!"

"Sneak out of here and get bring a change of clothes."

"I would have but, we've got another problem, I can't move, Nobunaga has a tight grip on me."

"Then you'll have to spend the night here and deal with it in the morning, sucks to be you right now."

"I hate you right now."

I grumbled at Shadow while she smirked evilly before I rested my head again and then I fell asleep.