Hunters and Hybrids

Chapter 1

He ran; his paws relishing in the feel of the soft earth underneath them. 'Lone Wolf' they called him, If only they knew just how right they were.

Only four others knew of his other life, his existence as a werewolf, three of those were different like him, an Imp, a pixie and a giant, the other was human.

He'd had no idea that he was different from the other children growing up, it wasn't until he hit puberty, his mid teens that he realized he was different. That was when she had entered his life, told him about another world, a hidden world called the Ne'er. A world where people like him existed, a world which was to be kept hidden from humans at all costs.

She had told him about people like him, fairies, vampires, imps (Like she was, although tall for her kind.) Pixies, giants, everything he had read about in storybooks as a child was real and he was a part of it.

However, even in this world he was alone, a cross breed. Not a full Were'; one parent was a full Werewolf, the other from what he had discovered was a crossbreed part Russian Mountain Bear dog. All the people from the Ne'er insisted they didn't know about where he had come from or who his people were but he had found somewhere where he fitted in, albeit uncomfortably as he was bigger than the average member of his kind and they tended to avoid him.

He had looked for a pack, but the other Were had tried to allow him in, but it hadn't worked. So even in the Ne'er he was alone, searching for a pack, a family to call his own. In his human life and in his subworld life he hadn't found a family to call his own, with the exception of the Imp who had taken him in at fifteen and the team he now worked with who had become as close as family to him.

The human who had found out about him first had become his closest friend. The first Human he had trusted.

It was 1995, he was 25 and on assignment in Russia with a Marine gunnery sergeant who was assigned to his CIA unit. They had been on assignment together for a month, Gibbs learning about Callen's past and Callen starting to trust the older man. They had gone with his partner Petrov to a meet with an arms dealer when all hell had broken loose, a man had emerged from the shadows shooting at Callen, but had shot his partner instead, his partner had been killed and both Callen and Gibbs had gone on the run. After a few hours they were locked in an old Dacha which had been left boarded up for the winter.

Callen had been shot himself, just a flesh wound, but it had left him with a fever. Gibbs had managed to break into the small cottage and got a roaring fire going in the wood burning stove in the corner of the room and had helped Callen sit on a lumpy old couch.

He got some snow and melted it on the stove and handed Callen an MRE pack looking to see if there were any antibiotics in the small med kit he had been issued.

"Callen? Agent Callen, wake up." Gibbs said, rousing the younger man from his dazed state.

Callen opened his eyes tiredly as Gibbs handed him some water and a pain pill. "What happened?" Callen asked.

"I don't know, it was a simple meet, some guy appeared from nowhere and started shooting at us, well more precisely at you."

Callen nodded tiredly, "Hunter." He sighed, he could feel the burn from the silver bullet that had grazed his arm.

"Hunter, was that his name?" Gibbs asked, breaking off and handed him an MRE ration.

Callen shook his head, "Not part of the mission, not compromised. He was a hunter, after me." He closed his eyes and sighed, then he pulled his shirt down where the bullet had grazed his arm. "Any vodka in here?" He asked looking around.

Gibbs got up and looked around to find half a bottle in a cupboard in the kitchen area. He handed the younger man the bottle and watched as he poured it on his arm.