Many years had passed since Bigby Wolf had last traveled the forestlands of Mist Haven; he had not been here since the incident with Red Riding Hood and her Grandmother, his first attempts at eating humans.

Suffice it to say that he did not have fond memories of the place.

It was also near to Arendelle, and he had long since decided that he was steering clear of his father.

But damn it, he was hungry, and his preferred prey was scarce now in many of the homelands he traversed, thanks to the Adversary and his followers. While his soldiers and supply lines proved plentiful, Bigby was in the mood for something tasteful.

While Mist Haven was rumored to be under his control, the Adversary dared not risk sending too many of his forces here, lest he anger his father who, despite his considerable power, the Adversary could not best in open combat.

So there were bound to be some humans Bigby would actually enjoy eating.

The moon shone brightly overhead as the Big Bad Wolf (a name no longer uttered in mockery) ran through the forest, relishing in the thump and patter of his paws as they hit the ground, propelling him forward. His ears were at attention, listening for the slightest indication of nearby prey.

His nose caught them first. There were fourteen distinct scents, but oddly enough, only twelve appealed to his hunger.

He angled himself in their direction, howling.

Red was having a bad time of it. She had just lost her mother, after fighting her to protect her best friend. She had finally found a place to belong, where she didn't need to feel ashamed of her wolf self, and she'd had to leave it behind.

She didn't blame Snow, not at all: now that her mother was gone, she was the closest thing Red had to family. Granny Lucas no longer mattered, all Red felt towards her was anger. She had lied to Red, taken her from her mother and told her she was dead because she feared the wolf, because she didn't want Red to be raised as a wolf-child.

While her mother wanted Red to choose between her wolf and human self, Granny had made the choice for her, and that rankled.

Snow was the first person she'd met who made her feel that she didn't have to choose, that she could be both.

If only the Queen wasn't dead-set on killing the girl.

After burying Anita, they set out again with no particular place in mind, just wanting to leave the castle that had been the werewolves' den behind them.

It didn't take long for one of the Queen's patrols to find them.

And now they were running. Again.

Red knew she could outrun them if she shifted; her lessons may have been brief, but she could control her wolf now.

But she was too small to carry Snow on her back, and she refused to leave her behind. She didn't want to fight them either; while she was comfortable in her second skin, she was still troubled by the thought of killing people in that form.

Like she killed Peter.

"Red," Snow said as they ran, breaking her from her thoughts. "Did you hear that?"

Red strained her ears, listening hard; while lesser in this form, her senses were still sharp. She heard the distinct tromp of the soldiers' horses, the shatter of leaves and the breaking of ground as they galloped, and-

God. The howling.

Had her mother's pack found them already? Were they working with the Queen?

"Damn it!" Red cursed, as she came to a stop beside her friend. "We can't outrun them, Snow."

"I know," Snow replied as she strung her bow.

Red took off her cloak, and her wolf was set free.

Bigby snarled as another set of howls joined his own. These were his prey!

Then he stopped, sniffed the air. There were no new scents on the wind, just the same fourteen from before. How strange. He shook his head, clearing it of unnecessary thoughts. He was close now.

He burst into a clearing, effectively stopping all the action around him as he came into view.

It wasn't everyday you came across an eight-foot tall wolf.

There were six men, all on horseback. They had formed a circle around a woman holding a bow and arrow, and a small black wolf.

Bigby sniffed the air. Now that he was closer, he could distinguish between individuals. The two whose scent had not appealed to his hunger were the woman and the wolf. Judging by the way they were surrounded, they were being hunted.

Well, he couldn't have that. He was the hunter here.

There was a moment of silence. Then he growled, and bent down to devour of one the men. His ears picked up the sound of an arrow being let loose, and the cub had attached herself to another human's leg.

As long as they didn't target him, he would leave them alone.

The moment the man's flesh tore and the blood touched his tongue, Bigby recoiled, an angry growl slipping past his muzzle.

Tainted. Corrupt. Disgusting.

They belonged the Adversary. He would not be eating them.

But that didn't mean he couldn't kill the men: he was only happy to set him back.

The girl had taken out two, but the cub was still working on her first. Squeamish? She wouldn't last long that way.

Bigby made quick work of the other three, snapping his jaws at two of them and crushing the last with his front paw.

He then happily began to tear into the horses.

"Red, what is he?" he heard the woman ask softly.

"The Big Bad Wolf," he heard another woman reply, causing Bigby to turn and look down at the pair of them. Where the cub once stood, there was now another brunette, wearing a red cloak that struck him as familiar.

"The way Granny tells it, he ate both of us once, when I was still small. If a passing woodsman hadn't cut him open and saved us...let's just say I'm glad I don't really remember it."

Surprised, Bigby laid himself down, so that he could stare into the woman's eyes. To think, he'd almost eaten a wolf-child. She didn't smell like a wolf.

"A woodsman cut him open?! How!?"

Bigby gave them both a dangerous smile. "I was smaller then."

"You can speak!?"

"Evidently. It was a gift...from the North Wind."

"Why did you eat us?" Red asked.

"I was hungry."

"But you're not eating us now."

Bigby turned his head, gesturing towards the dead horses. "I'm not hungry now. Why are the Adversary's men hunting you?"

The cub's companion looked confused at this. "These are the Queen's men."

"Mist Haven has no queen. It's a contested territory, with three kingdoms laying claim to it."

"Mist Haven?"

Bigby rolled his eyes. "You know it as the Enchanted Forest."

"Oh."

"She means Regina, Queen of the Silver Kingdom," Red supplied.

"I thought the White family ruled there."

"My father is dead; my stepmother has taken the throne in his stead."

Bigby looked at the other woman now, really looked her. Hair black as ravens, skin white as snow. This was the heiress to the Silver Kingdom.

He sniffed. She smelled...pleasant. But he was getting off track. His hunger sated, the question remained as to what he would do with these two.

"These are not your queen's men," he told them.

"They are dressed in her colors, and they bear her banner."

Bigby stood, and shook his head. "They may have been hers at one point in time, but they are not now. Men who enter the Adversary's service are… tainted somehow. They don't taste the way normal humans do.

"I've eaten enough of them to know."

Snow looked pained. "But that means-"

"Your Queen is likely dead, and a minion of the emperor set in her place."

"But why hunt Snow if the Queen is gone?" Red asked.

"To keep up appearances, so that the kingdom believes the she is still in power. With one of the Cardinal Winds making his home so close to the Silver Kingdom, he cannot risk conquering openly."

"What will I do now, Red?" Snow asked softly, though not softly enough that Bigby could not hear. "She may have hated me, but she was all the family I had left. And now someone else wants me dead, and he has more power than she ever did."

"You still have me," Red told her, making no effort to soften her voice. She looked up at Bigby. "And now you have him, the Big Bad Wolf himself."

The wolf laughed. "Is that right?"

"Is it wrong?" Red challenged. "You've been fairly docile with us, wolf. If you were going to kill us, you would have done it already."

Bigby grunted. "True enough, cub." He laid down again, making a decision. "Get on my back."

"Why?" Snow asked.

"The Adversary controls many of the homelands, and his power is spreading. There are very few places left where you would be safe, Snow White.

"But I once tracked a witch to a magic portal. This portal leads to a realm outside of the homelands. It is a world without magic, and holds no interest for the Adversary.

"I will take you there."

Red hopped on readily, but Snow still looked confused, and a little wary. Good.

"The Adversary is also my enemy. I do all I can to disrupt his plans. I give you my word, however much that might mean to you, I will not harm nor allow harm to come to you."

Snow White smiled then. "Thank you, Mister Wolf," she said as she climbed on his back.

The Big Bad Wolf took off at a run.

"Call me Bigby."