Edmonton, Canada, the Howlett Family's old estate.
The castle-like manor had first been built in the early 1830s, and more than a century had passed since then.
It had been renovated and expanded several times over the years. The estate covered more than ten thousand square meters, with nearly a hundred hectares of private wilderness and pastures stocked with cattle and sheep surrounding it.
Sunlight fell over the vast Lage Forest in the distance, while the Howlett estate stood amid thickets and brambles.
Dark green vines covered the tall blue-gray walls. Perhaps because of their age, they seemed to radiate a faintly grim and eerie air.
But in front of the swaying manor, white roses bloomed in profusion. In the breeze, they seemed to wear a clear, pure smile—so innocent it was captivating.
A bald giant with dark skin, over two meters tall and built like a mountain of flesh, gently held a brass watering can the size of a bucket. His thick lips stretched into a grin, and his bulging, bell-like eyes shone with childlike delight as he watered the roses.
Not far from the giant, a young white man sat atop a haystack, his black hair falling loosely to his cheeks beneath a somewhat unkempt beard.
He leaned gloomily against bundles of hay, watching more than a dozen young men, most of them younger than him, practicing strange punches and kicks on the broad flagstone training ground. They tossed around heavy objects carved from boulders, shouting as they trained their bodies.
A gust swept down from the mountain, and the young man's empty left sleeve fluttered. His linen shirt felt cold in this season.
"Don't bother looking, those youngsters are all wolf pups. Come help Coffey water the flowers."
The dark-skinned giant's voice rumbled dully. He hesitated, then