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Unwilling Ch. 01

By: metajinx



I have read lots of stories about werewolves in the last few weeks, and I found most of them to be lacking something. Don't get me wrong, I loved most of them and gave 5 stars, but I'm not a fan of instant romance, or instant soul-mating on that behalf.

So, as a form of protest I came up with my own story and tried to dodge the instant happiness in favor of drama and more realistic building of relationships.

This is the first part of my new installment "Unwilling". I'd love to hear your opinion on it. Comment! Rip it apart! I'm trying to improve here, people! :D

This is an edited version of my story. I changed the location to a fictional city. Any similarities to real locations, people or events are unintentional. 

***************

~* Jared *~

Jared was tired. His eyelids drooped every few seconds, and he had to blink and roll his eyeballs to re-wet them and stay awake. The west wing of Statsby Hall lay before him, promising a bed, a bath, and most important of all: peace of mind.

Damn that 22 hour drive! Maybe Jared should have stopped somewhere along the way, but he hadn't wanted to waste even a second in his quest to get as far away from his family as possible. Ever since his appliance to Banes Central University had been accepted, and he had gotten a rugby scholarship, Jared hadn't been able to sit still for another second. Every further day he had spent at home he had literally loved his family into pieces, just by living with them and being what he was.

But now Jared finally was free.

He felt so relieved that he nearly fell asleep with his hands on the stirring wheel and the motor of his little Volkswagen Beetle still running.

The act of unfolding his 6'2'' frame out of the tiny driver's seat made him grunt and grumble, and when his feet finally found their way to the concrete ground he stumbled about a bit and had to lean against the side of his car to get his bearings. 

Jared was a guy with broad shoulders, sinewy, powerful arms and the sunny, tanned exterior of a Californian surfer boy. He was someone who should lean against a nice BMW sports car or a muscle car, not against THAT. When People saw Jared next to the tattered old car their brain often refused to make the connection between the hunk and the nerd-chariot. In their minds there was no way Jared could have ever fit into that thing.

With a sigh Jared looked up to the baby blue sky above. He thought of the fact that it would only be a few more minutes until he would be able to collapse onto his new bed and sleep. What a relief!

Jared patted the left back pocket of his shaggy jeans where he kept the folded documents for his application, shoved his dead-tired carcass away from the car, and then scuffled toward the main entrance of Statsby Hall.

That's when it hit him. Literally.

The boomerang came out of nowhere, but that didn't ease the force of its collision with Jared's head. He didn't hear the shocked scream of the girl that had thrown it; he simply went down like a log.

He woke when he felt someone shaking his shoulders, and blinked away dozens of shiny stars. The daylight hurt in his eyes, but his head hurt even worse. "Ow! Damn," he mumbled, but his own words sounded hollow and far away. Then the world came back, crashing into his senses like a test car into a concrete wall.

"Oh gosh, are you okay? Hey, can you hear me?" a female voice asked. Jared opened his eyes again and looked up into the blanched face of a pretty brown haired girl. She looked ready to faint, but she kept shaking him bravely. "Come on, pal! Say something!"

He instantly noticed the strange accent in her voice. "Are you Australian?" he mumbled while he touched the side of his face. He felt a welt and some crusts, and when he looked at his fingertips he saw blood there. Ah, gorgeous! Not even inside his new home and already he got attacked.

"Pretty cliché, huh? Don't move, you have a concussion," she drawled, pushing his hand away from the wound. "You are lucky you're not dead. I'm lucky you're not dead," she mumbled, then she pulled a handkerchief from her pocket and pressed it onto the head wound.

Jared felt his wolf raise to the unintended challenge on his dominance, and took the handkerchief off her to hold it in place by himself. The girl smelled like a human, and he had to act like one himself, but a hurt werewolf was dangerous and unpredictable. And a dominant, hurt werewolf might just try to attack anyone who tried to help him.

"I'm alive, I guess," he groaned and then slowly sat up. A small flock of students had gathered around and watched them, and that made Jared even more nervous. He didn't like being hurt and on the ground with people staring at him, so he got up even though his stomach tried to crawl up his gullet.

"Whoa, you are so not alright!" she scoffed, and tried to support him by grabbing his arm. He swallowed a growl in her direction but tensed under her fingers.

'She is a human. She doesn't mean it.' his mind chanted, trying to calm his wolf-instincts. He managed to hold still and to keep the snarl from his lips, but he couldn't relax. Not yet.

"It's just a bit of blood," he assured her, then threw a hard glance at the crowd and barked, "Move on people, nothing to see here!" Damn those sensation-hunting drama tourists!

"I'm Darla. My middle name is take-you-to-the-sick-room. Come on big boy," the girl said resolutely, pulled his arm and started dragging him towards the entrance of the student residence. 

It was either ripping her apart or just submit to her insistence. Jared contemplated version one for a good 10 seconds, then hung his head and shuffled after her. He was simply too tired to stay angry for long.

The sick room was on ground level, right next to the students admissions bureau. Jared threw a longing gaze to the sign when they passed it, wishing he could just shake off that boomerang throwing hell strumpet and go in there to get assigned to his room. But Darla was unshakable in her deed to get him patched up, and she tugged at his arm demandingly when he slowed down. 

"Come on mate, just a few steps more," she insisted.

Jared could have broken free easily. Hell, he could have punched a hole into the wall easily and without a scratch, but humans didn't do things like that. And heterosexual humans were into beautiful, exotic women like Darla. Jared was neither human, nor heterosexual, but this was supposed to be a new start, a new life. He didn't want to risk it all on the first day, even though he hated it already.

But then he smelled something strangely familiar. Suddenly Darla didn't have to pull him along, because Jared sped up, his nose filtering the air for that scent that wafted through the corridor. 

Werewolf.

Jared felt his lips curl when he instinctively bared his teeth to the sudden impression of danger. He wanted to growl, but a wry look from Darla let him close his lips and lick them to get the strange numb feeling out of them. Was there another werewolf on campus? Was this pack territory?

Another cloud of musky fragrance hit his senses and made his fingers all tingly with excitement. A male, young and vital.

"Here we are," Darla said, sounding very relieved when she pushed open the door and pulled Jared inside.

There he was, standing right next to a big shelf full of strange flasks. Jared literally dug his heels into the linoleum floor when a piercing gaze from the other werewolf struck him. Even the need to play charade with humans wouldn't have made him step into the home of another werewolf uninvited.

He was about 5'9'', slim and lanky, with hair black as raven's feathers and stunning blue eyes like those of a Siberian Husky. His skin was pale like carved ivory, but dark circles underneath his eyes showed strain and tiredness his gaze didn't reveal. 

Right now his gaze fell first on Jared's bloodied face and the handkerchief still sticking to his head wound. It then wandered down and inspected his and Darla's hands holding each other. His upper lip curled to a half snarl, but he seemed to get Jared's dilemma instantly.

"Come in, sit down," he said, and his voice crawled right into Jared's groin. Jared felt paralyzed, hypnotized, but another harsh tug from Darla made him move forward again. Realizing that he had stared Jared glimpsed around in the room. He didn't lower his gaze even though he was in the territory of another were, because it would have meant that he surrendered to his presence -- something he couldn't, and wouldn't do. This was the same problem that had gotten him kicked out of his last pack, and nearly ruined his family. Dominance.

There were werewolves that would have attacked him even for that little impertinence, but this one just flicked his tongue disapprovingly, and motioned Jared over to one of the examination tables. "Sit, p l e a s e," the dark stranger emphasized with twitching lips, while his eyes followed Darla and her heroic attempts to shove Jared around like an unruly kid. Her behavior seemed to amuse him, but then Jared was pretty sure that the sight was amusing and unusual. It didn't happen that often that a full grown werewolf was bossed around by a human, and that little lady had guts.

When Jared finally sat on the table she turned around and blushed. "I hit him with a boomerang in the head. It was an accident," she said, then started to rummage through her pockets and produced a small business card. Here's my contact information, please contact my insurance for this. It was entirely my fault."

Jared watched them in silence. Okay, so he watched the face of that other werewolf like a lovestruck teen, but at least he listened to both of them. Darla sounded really sincere in her description, and since he didn't have his new contact information yet her offer was a big help. It calmed Jared a bit, but it didn't help against his headache or his exhaustion.

"Darla McIntire," the pale wolf read, and then smiled cynically. "I'll make sure everything is handled properly. Now please excuse me, I've got a hunting injury to tend to." With those words he pointed at Jared's head and shooed her towards the exit with the other hand.

Darla trotted towards it, but looked over her shoulder when she reached the door. "I'll come visit you later to apologize properly, okay?" Her eyes had a strange flicker in them, a certain starry quality Jared had seen all too often. Another girl that fell for the golden bronze hulk, he should have seen it coming. 

"Okay. Thanks Darla," he said and waved with one hand, just to get her out of there. It was time for some were-talk. 

When the door clicked shut behind her, Jared turned his head just far enough to look at the other were out of the corner of his eyes. Silence unfurled and crawled into every corner of the room, away from the two werewolves eyeing each other.

Finally the strange one broke the spell. "I'm a paramedic," he said, "and I know you are not seriously hurt, because if you were, that chick would be corned beef now." He hadn't moved an inch, but he started to lift one hand. When Jared growled he stopped instantly, froze, and then rolled his eyes. Dislike rolled off his body in thick, numbing waves. "Growling, really? I have to patch you up at least a little bit. Too many people have seen your bloody kisser already."

This time he didn't move until Jared sighed and nodded, but the were's face kept his unhappy, exasperated expression when he finished the gesture and tugged the handkerchief from Jared's wound.

It hurt like a bitch, but Jared didn't let his pain show. "What's your name?" he asked instead, to get his mind off the burning wound. He was more than curious now, even though the other werewolf looked thoroughly annoyed by his existence.

"Darwin." The answer was short, clipped and unhappy. "I'll clean that. It'll burn. Please hold still," he murmured, and pulled a brown glassed bottle out of the shelf next to the table. 

Jared's eyes followed the new object in Darwin's hands curiously because his wolf demanded it. The horny human inside him wanted to stare at Darwin's face. "Is this your territory?" Jared asked, while Darwin drenched a wound dressing in clear liquid. The stench of disinfectant crept into his nose and tainted the wonderful aroma of werewolf, but Jared had already transferred Darwin's personal scent to memory, so he didn't mind.

"No." Again the answer was short and clipped, impatient, and unfriendly. Darwin concentrated on Jared's forehead and started cleaning the half healed cut, brows drawn together and wrinkled. "This university is on the outskirts of the Banes pack territory, but it's off limits for hunts and... diplomatic interactions." His voice sounded far away and strained, unhappy with the necessity to talk.

Of course Jared knew what 'diplomatic interactions' meant: brawls, fights, hunts and kills. It did seem logical, because like any university or college there were surely dozens of other weres passing through every year, staying, studying and leaving again. No reason to risk their camouflage. A necessary evil for every bigger city pack.

When Darwin was finished with cleaning Jared's forehead he turned around, presented his back to Jared and went over to the sink where he produced a lighter out of his pocket and set the used wound dressing on fire. Even though the gesture seemed so unimportant and natural it told Jared something very unexpected: Darwin was not a dominant werewolf. 

No dominant would have ever turned their back on a strange and injured were, but submissives wouldn't think that far. 

Jared wouldn't have pegged Darwin for a submissive, but now his libido went on overdrive. He scented the air again, but it was of no use -- the disinfectant still killed every scent in the room, making him practically nose-blind.

Darwin's voice cut through the rutty thoughts Jared delved into, clear as glass. "If you think you can come here, get all worked up over my ass, and get what you want, you are so very wrong." His pale face held an icy glare, his lips were curled in a warning snarl. Obviously Jared was very alone with his sudden outburst of lust. 

Darwin tore a slip of paper off his clipboard, held it out for Jared to take, and growled, "Here's your sick leave certificate. Now get out of my sight."

Jared didn't have a choice. If he didn't want to fuck up and anger the local pack on his first day he had to obey, but damn, it was the hardest thing he had ever done. He wanted to punch Darwin, throw him against a wall, throttle him, rip his clothes off, and fuck him. Anything to show him what dominance meant-- but he couldn't. Instead he hissed, "Like I would like to tap that ugly mug of yours," and stomped out.

The door nearly cracked when he shoved it open, and the bang it produced when Jared slammed it closed echoed through the building. Damn, that little bastard got him going good!

An hour later Jared was finally able to collapse onto his new bed and close his eyes. He was even too tired to snarl when the last picture his mind produced before fainting was Darwin's face.

~* Darwin *~

It had been a long day. Darwin flipped the light switch of the university's sick room and closed the door before locking it. A damn long day with nine hours of constant visits. The first day of university always went like this, or so he had been told. So many people moving into the building, carrying heavy loads, moving furniture, and finally, getting drunk after having finished the moving procedure, it was bound to happen. And it happened every year: broken bones, sprained ankles, hurt backs, cut fingers, the whole hoopla.

No wonder the regular doctor had taken sick leave for today. 

Not that Darwin minded the extra hours; he needed every penny he could make to be able to afford living on campus. He didn't need to live in the student residency, but it beat living at home by worlds. Not having to go home every day was worth the work, the tears, and the missed sleep, because of HIM. Not his father, he liked his father, but the other male person that mattered in his life-- his Alpha.

Shuddering violently he turned away from the door and started marching down the corridor. Must not think of that man, not even for a second. Every time he thought too hard about him he couldn't sleep for hours. The insomnia had gotten worse since he had moved into Statsby Hall, but the lack of sleep still didn't trump the stuff that had happened to him when he had still lived at home.

'Don't think about that!' he cursed himself, and hastened his steps. He had to think about something else.

That new werewolf for example.

His dick twitched instantly, and started to grow again. He had had a hard time calming that damn thing down after meeting Jared. He had been in a state of constant arousal since that guy had left the sick room, and it only had lessened when he had just thought of his Alpha. His libido seemed persistent though, and not easily intimidated. That hunk had looked like a sleepy force of nature, his gaze piercing, muscles protruding even though he had seemed on the verge of total exhaustion. Darwin had literally tasted the salty tang of the hunk's pre-cum on his tongue just from looking at him. Just watching him had given him an instant boner that, luckily, had been hidden by his white doctor's coat.

Darwin still hated himself for his stupid performance that morning. He worked so hard on keeping a dominant facade, and he had managed it so well too-- only to be overthrown by a blond, stupid, arrogant, single-minded, hunky, gorgeous werewolf. That guy hadn't even done anything, he had just sat there and stared at Darwin with bleary, reddened eyes like a coked up junkie on a trip.

And his smell! Mary, mother of Christ, he had smelled like sunshine and heated granite, with a spicy, musky note of wildness. It had driven Darwin mad with lust, until... well, until he had seen that human girl behaving like his sweety, and holding his hand.

From that moment on Darwin had sworn a silent, solemn oath to hate Jared to the end of his days, because that guy was no better than all the other weres Darwin knew. Just another dominant trying to stick his dick up every hole he could find, knock up as many girls as possible, and he probably didn't even care about the feelings of his victims. Darwin knew the likes of him, knew them too well.

Yeah, Jared made his dick hard, so what? Darwin still had his best friends, Righty and Lefty.

***

When Darwin woke next morning, the images of his strange, disturbing dreams clung to his mind like cobwebs. Dreams of naked bodies, sweat, groans, and sighs and a feeling of fullness he had missed for a long time. They haunted him until he showered with ice cold water, and even then he had to lay a hand on his dick to get his rocks off and fit that damn thing into his cycling shorts. 

Today it was gymnastics training, and a glance at his bedside clock showed that he already was late. Gymnastics club was one of the few things Darwin did just because he loved it. He would have had more time to work if he dropped that club, but it would also have killed something inside him to give it up.

The gym was located next to Statsby Hall and Darwin had already changed in his room, so he skipped the locker rooms and went directly into the hall. His gymnastics team was warming up to the left, and his friend, Harry, waved at him as soon as he saw Darwin. "Where have you been? Coach Ronson asked for you," he whispered when Darwin reached the group.

"Long night," Darwin mumbled, and sunk to the floor to join their stretching moves. Harry just grinned at him and went back to straining his back muscles.

On the right side of the hall another group of athletes were waiting for rugby tryouts, but Darwin didn't spare them a glance. The sight of jocks always made his stomach feel funny, and he despised that helpless, giddy mood. He didn't need some jock catching him salivate over their behind and beating him up later.


Unwilling Ch. 01



As a result it took him about 30 minutes to finally realize that Jared was over there and only then did Darwin look over to the group. He caught one glimpse of Jared in the same moment Jared looked over to him. Their eyes locked for two seconds, then a pile of bodies fell onto Jared and he was out of sight. Those two seconds felt like an eternity of agonizing and slowly building arousal, so intense it shook Darwin to the core. It took him all of his willpower to concentrate on the formation his team was training, and even then he fucked up, and the carefully arranged pyramid crumbled, with people falling to the ground everywhere.

The last hour of training was excruciating. His trainer yelled at him, the new team members giggled like a flock of geese every time they caught him looking over at the rugby players, and his mind drifted off every few minutes, making him clumsy and nervous. It was the hardest training he had ever experienced, and when it finally was over he scuffled to the locker rooms like a man on his way to the gallows. He was so ashamed about his bad performance that he didn't even realize that the rugby team had also ended their training and started to pile into the showers.

From one second to the next the tiled room was filled with friendly banter, laughs, and dozens of athletic, muscular, naked hunks. Their sweat flooded the hot, misty air and made Darwin feel lightheaded from the hormones and testosterone. The smell of so many males made his wolf rear its head instantly.

He couldn't take it, couldn't move for fear of getting too agitated and maybe start his change. His tailbone tingled, the skin on his back crawled with the need to change, so he bit his tongue until he tasted blood. That helped a bit. 

Breathing shallowly he leaned his forehead against the cold, wet tiles of his shower stall and waited for the room to clear out, clenching his hands into fists. He even had to count to a hundred to keep himself in check.

Suddenly one scent masked every other smell, shrouding over him like a thunderstorm. With that scent came a sudden and intense feeling of peace and security. The scent of another werewolf.

"Problems?"

Jared's quiet, amused voice sounded right next to Darwin's left ear and made him jerk. With that movement came the awareness of a very warm body just inches from his back.

"Go away." Darwin snarled, simultaneously trying to keep his body from relaxing. He abhorred that feeling of helpless, happy bliss. He wanted it to stop, because it made him remember. Darwin absolutely didn't want to remember.

"Grouchy. I like that," Jared whispered and moved closer, so Darwin had to quickly move forward if he didn't want to touch the muscular, wet body behind him. It didn't help. Jared just followed him until Darwin was pressed against the tiles with Jared's body at his back, making body contact from breast to crotch. And what a crotch it was!

When the pulsing, hot column of erect flesh pressed against his ass and slid smoothly through his ass crack, it felt more like a monster the size of a forearm than anything of comprehensible form. A moan broke free from Darwin's throat, and made him beat his fist against the tiles next to his shoulder in frustration. He would have loved to hit Jared, but he couldn't. Darwin wanted to believe that common sense stopped him from doing it, but truth was that he simply couldn't-- his nature prevented it through instincts.

What he could do though was turn around. 

He gave Jared the stink eye when he finally faced him. "If you lay your hands on me, I will scream like a girl," he pressed, abandoning pride for a small victory. Jared winced even though he grinned, and Darwin loved it. A few milliseconds later the hate was back.

Jared's grin widened. "Okay, no hands," he agreed, and put his palms against the wall behind Darwin. He leaned against the slightly smaller man, lowered his head even though Jared towered over Darwin, and started rubbing himself against Darwin's crotch. Their cocks moved against each other, slickening themselves with pre-cum and hot water, and it sent wonderful, electric sensations through Darwin's body.

Another moan escaped him. The wanton sound of his own voice made him want to shrink away from Jared, but there was simply not enough space. He put his hands on Jared's broad shoulders and tried to push him backwards. "Let me go!" he gasped, though his cock seemed to be perfectly happy where he was, rubbing against the bigger, darker prick in front of him.

The answer came promptly. "How about I make you come instead? Wouldn't that be much, much more fun?" Jared practically purred with glee and lust.

It was a battle of wills. Neither of them was prepared for violence, and neither of them wanted to have to use it, so they tested each other's steadfastness instead-- and Jared was winning.

"Are you stupid? I said don't touch me!" Darwin hissed, nearly failing to keep his voice down. If the other players or Darwin's team mates came in right now, they both would be in big trouble. 

Another shove against his shoulders made Jared stumble for a second, but then he was back at full force.

"You said don't lay a hand you. You never said anything about touching." The hunk smiled like a hyena and intensified his movements and the sweet, seducing friction between their cocks. "Or do you wanna give up? I'd maybe agree to leave you alone for today if you said, let's see, uh, pretty please."

So Jared had recognized their stand-off-situation. Darwin cursed silently. This guy had more brains than most of the other dominant weres he had encountered so far. 

"Never." Darwin's decision echoed through the misty room like an evil omen.

Jared's grin grew even more predatory. "Good," he said. And then he really started moving.

Muscles on his arms and shoulders bulged when he leaned forward even more, bending at the hips to increase the pressure of his cock against Darwin's crotch. Darwin could feel the meaty, swollen head of the giant tool rub against his ball sac, then moving further up while leaving a hot, wet trail of juice. He shivered violently under the onslaught of lust he experienced from those pretty simple, archaic sensations. It was frightening, enticing, and arousing like nothing he had ever felt before.

Absent-mindedly, he started humping back, savoring the sweet jolts it sent through his body, moaning softly against Jared's shoulder. Darwin hadn't even realized that his head had fallen forward to rest there, and now that he gave it a thought, he also hadn't meant to wrap his arms around the hunk's broad chest. He could feel the trail of golden hair tickle against his hard, pointed nipples, and he wanted to let go, to shove Jared away, but he just couldn't bring himself to stop the glorious moment.

Still, there was the matter of his psychosis. "Let go of me now," he whispered, his voice shaky with need and the self-control it took to even say the words, much less mean them.

This time Jared didn't even flinch, he just kept moving. "I'm not holding you back. No hands, remember?" he answered, sounding way too pleased with himself. A small groan of delight followed his mocking words, and he sped up, rubbing, pressing, sighing, bringing Darwin closer and closer to climax.

"I'm going now," Darwin mumbled, even though he still had his arms around Jared, and hugged him like life itself depended on his grip. "I hate you. I wish you'd never--"

Suddenly the room was filled with Darwin's drawn-out, strained, incredibly happy moan. He came like a geyser, spraying hot, sticky cum against Jared's rippled belly, shaking with the intensity of his own orgasm. It felt as if he was burning from the inside, and it made him see stars while he sunk down, his knees giving out on him.

Strong, big hands gripped his sides, pulled him up and slipped under his shoulder blades and his knees to carry him out of the shower stall and right to the towel hangers. A fluffy yellow towel was pulled from its hanger and placed on the tiled floor, and then he was put onto it. Jared's tanned, sharp and unusually cheery features appeared in Darwin's line of vision, grinning like a maniac.

"Oh gee, are you alright?" Jared asked happily.

The sound of the slap reverberated throughout the shower. Darwin instantly liked the acoustics, even though his hand hurt like a son of a bitch from the impact with Jared's face.

"Never ever do that again, you bastard." he snarled, balling his hands into fists when Jared opened his mouth to answer. "No, don't even try. Get out!" Darwin spat before Jared could say anything. He probably had just ended his existence with defying a dominant were, but right then he really didn't care.

Much to his shock Jared put a hand to his stinging cheek, smiled again, and stood up to leave the shower room. He didn't even stop to towel himself off.

Ah right, Darwin was still sitting on Jared's towel. Oh, well.

Darwin stayed where he was until he heard the door of the locker room fall shut, then he scrambled to his knees and looked down at his cock with anewed dismay. Rigid like a flag pole. Great. Now he had to jerk off just because of that last smile. Every time he remembered Jared's face his whole body throbbed with need. This was wrong, Darwin thought, filling the shower room once again with the sound of needy, hushed moans while his hand moved with intense, quick, jerking gestures over his cock. This was so wrong.

Darwin hated Jared just a little bit more that day.

~* Jared *~

The first week flew by with lightning speed. There was so much to see, so much to do and so much to remember that Jared didn't get a chance to just sit down and get his bearings. The biology classes were awesome but pretty intense, then there were orientation classes, and of course Rugby practice. He nearly had failed the tryouts because that Darwin guy had been right down the gym hall, dancing around in snugly fitting cycling shorts that left absolutely nothing to imagination. Jared's brain had short-circuited when their gazes had met, causing a major pile-up in the middle of their warm up training. Luckily the coach had taken a liking in Jared, mainly because he had proved to be an unbreakable wall when it came to tackling.

Of course, nothing came more natural to a werewolf than stopping a fleeing target. Dolphins could swim, birds could fly, werewolves could tackle. That was the way of the world.

Still, Jared hadn't been able to erase the sight of Darwin in those damn shorts out of his head. It had proven difficult to keep himself in check, and when he had seen the dark haired, lean, and athletic boy alone in the showers, he had snapped. Well, snapped in a very sating, erotic way, but it had also made Darwin hate him with heartfelt intensity. Jared's cheek still stung with phantom pain from the slap he had received from the temperamental boy.

Now the weekend was coming, and Jared had to think about what he would do with two whole days of not having to run around like a headless chicken.

He moved to sit down at the right side of the entrance steps of Statsby Hall when someone bumped into his side and sent his bag flying. Instead of scrambling after his things he snatched the culprit's collar, ready to pummel the sweet bejesus out of them and vent some of his pent-up tension.

"Oh, geez, I'm sorry, are you-- Hey Jared! It's you!" a female voice chattered away.

Darla. He couldn't hit her, because humans didn't hit their women. Well, humans didn't normally hit anyone just because of a small body collision. 

"Hey Darla. Are you alright?" he sighed and let her go. Darla had been around him from day one -- not only was she also a student of Biology, she also had joined the women's rugby team and even visited him at his room to check up on her 'boomerang buddy', a nickname she had bestowed on Jared on day three.

"I'm good! Sorry for the bump-in, I'm such a klutz!" she chirped, and hugged her books with a happy smile. Her brown hair curled, brushing her shoulders with every move of her head, and her eyes were honey brown. "Where are you headed on this beautiful day?"

Jared registered her beauty with detachment. He didn't care for women. His tastes went more into the direction of men. Darwin-shaped men. Darwin, especially. He was pretty sure that she was used to men swooning at her pretty face, and he suspected that his lack of swooning was what made her stalk him so much. "I'm fine, thanks for asking. I'm just waiting for—"

He stopped himself from finishing that sentence. Mustn't tell his stalker whom he fancied. Stalkers didn't cope well with that kind of news.

"Waiting?" she chirped, still cheery as hell. "Who are you waiting for? Someone special?" She gestured to the side of the steps, inviting him to sit with her where he had intended to settle down before.

Jared fished for his bag and then slumped down onto the step grudgingly, trying not to show his impatience with her human habits. He even wrung out a smile, nodded and mumbled, "I'm waiting for a pal. Gonna try to hit some bars tonight." It was a white and smooth lie. In reality Jared just wanted to intercept Darwin at the entrance to their residency hall, and maybe, probably, possibly stalk him.

His words didn't discourage her at all. "That's good! I was worried, you seem to be such a loner. You could be really popular if you just tried," she said, giving him the starry eyes. Damn. Then she surprised Jared with saying, "I know at least three boys who would give their right arm for a date with you."

There was a short silence while Jared eyed her like the devil incarnate. How had she found out? He tried to remember if he had told her, but drew a blank. Finally he managed to open his mouth, but all that came out was a croaked "Wha-- what?" 

Darla drew her eyebrows together. "You ARE gay, right?" she asked intrigued while mustering his face. 

Jared rested his face in the palm of his left hand, inhaling deeply. He hadn't meant to behave this obviously, and it riddled him how Darla had found out-- they spent but minutes together every day, and he hadn't ogled anyone that wasn't Darwin. But it didn't matter, at least the expression he had caught in Darla's face wasn't fandom. "Yes I am," he answered finally, lifting his head to smile at her apologetically. "But I'm not looking for a relationship right now, so please don't try to set me up on a blind date."

Darla giggled, patted his shoulder and grinned. "You're safe, don't fret. But if you're interested in something fitting, try the Triumph. It's a gay bar about seven blocks from here. Loads of studs there, or so I've been told, and promise to take me there some day. I need a good drooling from time to time." She stood up, hugged her books again and shrugged happily. "Have a nice weekend, you hear me?"

Jared could do nothing but nod, dumbfounded. That girl's brain moved way too fast for his own thoughts, and before he could answer, she was gone, jogging away to catch up to a group of girls further away.

He stared at her retreating back, brows drawn together in thought, when suddenly something yellow hit his chest and dropped into his lap. It was his towel, and right next to him stood Darwin and his friend Harry, both clutching the shoulder straps of their respective bags. Jared already knew Harry, another werewolf studying at BCU, and even though they had gone through great lengths trying not to bump into each other, Jared also knew that Harry was another submissive and no danger to him in any way. Harry was a few inches smaller than Darwin, but he had broader shoulders and more definition to his muscles. His skin was rosy, his brown eyes always seemed to sparkle with mischief, and he had proven to have a bloody wicked sense of humor that managed to trigger helpless fits of laughter in his friends, and uncontrollable crying fits in his foes.

Jared furthermore knew that he was in the same gymnastics team as Darwin, and that they tended to stick together whenever they could. That was something he could understand, werewolves abhorred loneliness and therefore tended to flock together.

"You forgot your towel in the showers," Darwin snapped in his typical tone of voice, but he couldn't meet Jared's eyes. Jared could literally watch him fight a blush.

Jared got up, careful to not stare at them so they wouldn't think he wanted to threaten them. Jared could have stayed down at the ground, but he wanted to be ready to follow Darwin if he tried to flee, and he wanted to feel Darwin's eyes on his body. "Well thank you, Darwin. I was wondering where I'd left it," he chirped with a broad smile, watching Darwin's face cloud over with anger. He just loved to rattle Darwin's cage. It was easy and fun to watch. 

"I'll throw it away if it happens again," Darwin snarled, starting to blush. Then he whirled around and started to stomp off, a snickering Harry following behind. And of course Jared had to follow too.

"Leaving already? Don't you want me to thank you properly?" he asked, easily keeping up with them.

Darwin pulled his shoulders up and started to stomp with every step. He was so angry that Jared expected to see smoke come from his ears any minute.

"I don't want your thanks, Jared. Go away," Darwin snarled without looking back.

"But I'm pretty good at thanking," Jared purred, catching up to Harry. He didn't try to keep his voice down though, and soon all glances were following them. Darwin finally had to stop. It was just too obvious Jared didn't intend to stop following them.

"Look, Jared. I need to get to work and I need you to stop stalking me. Go fuck some chick, I don't care, just leave me be!" 

Jared nearly staggered backwards at the bubbling anger in Darwin's voice. The dark-haired boy hadn't tried to keep his voice down this time, and their audience was growing in numbers.

"What, no snide remarks this time?" Darwin barked when Jared just looked at him with a peaceful, neutral face, then whirled around again and stomped off. 

When Harry wanted to follow him though, Jared grabbed his shoulder and whispered, "Where does he work?" Okay, so Jared wasn't planning on listening to Darwin, so what?

"Baneswood national park. He's a tourist guide there," Harry answered with a knowing smile. "But only for three more weekends, then the season's over." With that he deftly shrugged off Jared's hand and jogged after Darwin.

Jared watched them disappear like he had watched Darla before. Three more weeks to prepare himself. Then Darwin would be his, for good.

~* Darwin *~

The group of people stopped at one of their designated resting places. As a tour guide Darwin met lots of obnoxious people, but he had gotten lucky this time: the 4 grown-ups, 3 children and 4 teenagers he guided through the national park around Baneswood forest were quiet, full of respect for nature and very interested in the local wildlife, so they kept their voices down and picked up their trash without Harry or Darwin having to remind them.

Darwin also was happy to have Harry with him. Although every two-day-hike had to be accompanied by more than one tour guide it had been sheer luck to get his boss to send Harry, and Darwin was thankful for his company. Harry was his best friend, they had tried dating once, but it had been too hard to play the dominant part in the relationship. Finally, Harry had found out Darwin's secret. Two submissives could have a lot of fun in bed, but the relationship part got awkward pretty quickly. They had decided to stay friends and had gotten inseparable over time.

The air was crisp and cool, but it would get even colder once the sun set fully. Harry was helping the tourists build a stable campfire in the frequently used pit, while Darwin managed the five tents they needed. A perfect, calm, pleasant evening. But wouldn't it be great to share this with Jared? The handsome, tanned, grinning face appeared before Darwin's daydreaming eyes and made him tense instantly. How he hated the haunting that man had put upon him!




Unwilling Ch. 01



Snarling he put up the last poles and tugged the canvas over the naked framing, his face contorted in concentration and disapproval over his state of mind. Damn that sexy wolf, damn him!

"Darwin, you're growling." 

Harry's voice was hushed and strained with effort to not laugh. Darwin grunted and fastened the canvas, then rose from his crouch and stared at the finished tent grudgingly. "No, I'm not. See? I'm good. No, I'm perfectly fine," he huffed, and waved his hand dismissively at his friend. "Go cook dinner already. I'll be there in a minute."

He didn't need to look back at Harry. He could hear the smug grin in his voice when Harry murmured, "Alrighty, try to chill a bit. We'll be home tomorrow evening, you'll just have to get by with little ol' me until then." 

Darwin whirled around, ready to smack Harry, but the bastard was already jogging back to the campfire, giggling madly. Darwin could even hear him tell their customers a story about a difficult relationship, and bit down another growl. He didn't miss Jared, goddamn it! He hated that guy! He really did, didn't he? It took him another fifteen minutes to calm down enough to join them. 

By that time the pre-prepared bean stew was already simmering a bit and the conversations seemed to flow easily. Darwin sat by quietly, occasionally poking the coals with a stick while he listened to different stories and tales. It was the story of two of the adults--about the day they had first met--that made his mind drift off and back to Jared. 

He remembered the feeling of his body rubbing against Jared's vividly. He could hear his moans echo through his brain, could feel the ghost of the spray of hot water against his breast, the tightening of his muscles the moment he had--

A hand clapped his thigh in a friendly manner. His jaws clicked closed in shock over the sudden touch that ripped him out of his daydream, and made him realize that he hadn't heard a damn word the woman next to him had said. When he saw Harry mouth a 'Thank you' out of the corner of his eyes, he was quick-witted enough to smile and say "Thank you," even though he had no idea what he was thanking her for.

The woman didn't seem to get the clueless expression in Darwin's face and just nodded smiling. Harry on the other hand seemed to fight a hard battle against a laughing fit trying to break free from his mouth.

Dinner was hearty and filling, but the hike always tended to take it out of the tourists. It was about nine pm when they all retired to their tents, leaving Harry and Darwin alone with dirty dishes and their hushed conversation about the best route for next day's hike.

Finally they were done, and both boys leaned back and groaned softly.

"So, what was I thanking for before?" Darwin asked, scratching his belly lazily. 

Harry grinned. "She told you how much she hated her husband when she first met him, and that you shouldn't worry so much that your friend gets you riled up so easily. It means you have a big heart, ready to develop great amounts of feelings."

Darwin slapped his shoulder and sighed. "Good thing I didn't hear that earlier. I'd have said something impolite," he grumbled, but couldn't help himself and started to grin. "Big heart, huh?" he echoed. It did sound nice, at least on second thought.

Harry threw another log into the blaze and watched Darwin carefully. "So, enlighten me. What is it with you and Jared? You look like arch enemies stalking each other, but you smell like heavy porn every time you meet."

Darwin's face wrinkled instantly, and he just shook his head. "I don't know, to be honest. I hate him. I mean, I REALLY hate him. I want to scratch his eyes out of his gorgeous face every time he looks at me." Wincing at his own words he let his head fall forward, slumped down and tugged at his black hair. Harry was his best friend, and he was pretty perceptive. He probably had already known how infatuated Darwin was with Jared, but had wanted him to realize it for himself. Damn sneaky bastard. "Shit. I can't fall in love. Shit," Darwin muttered.

"Because of your Alpha?"

Harry knew a lot of stories about Darwin's life that no-one else had ever heard, not even his adoptive dad. But even Harry didn't know the whole extent of it all, only censured bits and pieces. He knew though that the Alpha of the Banes City pack abused Darwin on a regular basis. He had seen the bruises, the broken bones, the cuts and the dark rings below the eyes of his friend, the paleness in his face, and the way he dressed when he wanted to keep his pain a secret from Harry.

First, Harry had suspected his adoptive father to be the reason, but he had forgotten that idea as soon as he had met George personally. He was confined to a wheelchair after having suffered an apoplectic stroke and was barely able to talk or move his right hand. The love for his little adoptive boy had been written all over his elderly face when they had dinner, and Darwin had smiled and laughed in a way Harry had never seen on him before.

Later that evening Darwin had broken down and told Harry between sobs that his Alpha was crazy. That he was the source of Darwin's regular injuries. That Darwin would die if the high ranking werwolf ever found out that he was submissive. He had made Harry promise to never tell a soul of this, and Harry had been shaken enough to agree reluctantly.

Harry had kept his promise all through their first year at BCU. But now there was Jared, who seemed infatuated with Darwin. Harry had seen those kinds of googly eyes frequently when he still lived at home, because it was the way his parents watched each other. He couldn't understand how Darwin could NOT realize the besotten state Jared was in, but on the other hand, Harry didn't want to tell him because Darwin would only deny it more.

"You don't understand," Darwin muttered, still tugging his hair. "It's not the love that is the problem, it's Jared. He's not submissive like you, I can't play the dominant part if we end up in a relationship. And if I can't play the dominant part, someone will find out, and that means HE will find out." 

Harry didn't back off. He just poked the embers around a bit with his stick, and mumbled, "Have you ever thought about the possibility that Jared might be an Alpha himself?" He saw Darwin flinch and straighten his back at that thought. "Wouldn't a relationship kind of solve all your problems at once if he were?" Harry suggested after a few seconds of silence.

Darwin didn't answer at first. Yeah, what if Jared was an Alpha? 

There was a distinct difference between being a dominant werewolf and being an Alpha werewolf. Dominant werewolves were powerful, intent on climbing the ranks in their pack, and thoroughly obsessed with control over their environment. They tended to be compulsive checkers, loved to be able to boss their underlings around, and tested their boundaries on a daily basis. They also had strong protective instincts towards their pack and tended to get unbalanced if they weren't able to care for someone. 

They needed submissives like they needed air to breathe, and they needed their pack to stay calm and content. A dominant without a pack went feral within weeks, most often changing to their animal form and forgetting all about their human side.

Alphas on the other hand were a whole different thing. They were born with the instinct to rule, highly independent, unable to bow their heads to another werewolf, and pretty secure in their behavior. Alphas could survive all alone and on their own, didn't need a pack or submissives to stay balanced, and they were so adaptive that they could live all alone between humans without ever becoming feral or dangerous to anyone. 

That didn't mean an Alpha would be happy living without a pack and all alone, because every werewolf needed a pack to be able to relax fully. But the biggest problem every Alpha faced was their total inability to get along with others of their rank. They were pretty adept with controlling their rage and their need to rise to the top of their pack, but the mere existence of another Alpha in their home ground their nerves on a daily basis, finally leading to fights to the death. 

Being an Alpha didn't automatically mean you got a big, strong body and high charisma though. 

They came in all forms and shapes, from soft, small women to big, obese men, and most often the ability to become Alpha didn't even run in families. They were nature's roulette game, and if their pack's reigning Alpha didn't force them to leave at the age of 18, they also had a right to believe they were supposed to take over the pack.

It was entirely possible that Jared was an Alpha. It also was possible that he was just a dominant werewolf trying to make Darwin his interim pack. 

Sighing, Darwin let go of his hair. "I don't like him. I should go and find out if he is an Alpha, but I honestly don't think he could help me. I'd just get him killed," he grumbled. It unnerved him how his heart made a happy leap at the thought of the possibility to get rescued after all the years of hopelessness.

Harry shook his head in disbelief. "Okay, fine. I'll try to find out." When Darwin shot him a hard glance, he lifted his hands and grinned. "I won't tell him anything, I promise. Just let me work my magic, okay?"

Darwin didn't like it, but finally he had to give in.



Unwilling Ch. 02



So, I made it to part two of my little story, thank the gods!

Since some readers were unhappy with my choice of cities, I changed locations throughout the whole first part. If you read the first part before I resubmitted it, you might be confused now. Sorry about that, but I didn't want to let that criticism go unheard :)

I'm having a blast writing this story so far! Please feel free to comment if you feel that there's something missing, or if you like it. If you like to listen to music while reading, try "Aesthesys" - it's free and it fits.

I want to thank CassieJo and roughboy18 for their excellent help!

Small disclaimer:

Suspension of disbelief is recommended. This story is about werewolves, and yes, I know, things like that are not supposed to exist. Bear with me on this ;) All characters are 18+. 

***************

~*Darwin*~

It had been a strenuous weekend. Darwin loved his job and he loved nature, but it was demanding work and it always left him totally exhausted. Even though he lived on campus, he always went to have dinner with his father on Sunday evenings. It was the only evening he could somehow fit into his father's tight schedule, and the chance to stumble into one of the pack meetings was lowest. The one story house sat on a hill at the outskirts of Banes, right next to a small wood with a lovely little pond in the middle. It was near enough to the city to get help quickly if something happened, but far enough from the busy main roads to avoid nosy neighbors and traffic.

His adoptive father George opened the door before Darwin could get the keys out of his pocket, and smiled a one-sided smile at him. 

"Hey there, boy. You're late!" George said with a happy voice, and moved his wheelchair out of the way.

"Sorry. There was a hold-up at base camp. Someone lost his Rolex, and we had to look for it," Darwin said, came in, and hugged his father. "What's for dinner?"

"Pot-roast." George moved his electric wheelchair out of the anteroom, while Darwin put his jacket away and took off his shoes. "Mary, Darwin's here!" George hollered into the house, and disappeared around a corner. Seconds later Mary, the young nurse / housekeeper stuck her head into the anteroom and pressed a quick, dry kiss on Darwin's cheek. 

"Hey munchkin! Dinner's ready, hurry up!" she said, and was gone again. 

Darwin walked after her, shaking his head. Even his father's apoplectic stroke hadn't been able to slow down his family so far. Some things would never change around here, even though his dad never had gotten over the loss of his strength, mobility, and rank in their pack. George had been their Alpha's enforcer for twenty-five years, responsible for security in their pack territory and the well-being of their Alpha. Now he was chained to his electric wheelchair, his face distorted due to the paralysis of nearly the whole right side of his body, and he had to keep Mary around 24/7. He had taken it first with anger, then with resignation. In the last year he had gotten better, happier somehow, and things were looking up.

Darwin walked through the rustic living room, only stopping for a moment to kiss the picture of his grandmother, who had been killed two years before. The kitchen smelled of pot-roast and steamed vegetables, with a faint note of fresh paint. It had been renovated just two weeks earlier, and the new maple covered kitchen units gave it a sunny, homey feeling. It somehow reminded Darwin of Jared. Sunny, cheery Jared, who tried so hard to look grumpy and unhappy all the time. Smiling, Darwin sat down vis-a-vis his father, who gave him a curious, funny look.

"How's university?" George asked, grabbing a bottle of apple juice to fill their glasses. With the new, low-set dining table it was easy for the older man to reach everything on it, but the height difference still felt funny and disconcerting to Darwin.

He grabbed his glass and took a big gulp of the sweet, homemade juice. Then he set the glass down with an unintentional, loud thud and cursed softly, before answering, "It's okay. I still haven't found time to enter the botany course I told you about, but that's fine. I can try next semester." Darwin had wanted to study botany since he was a kid, but when he had turned eighteen the Alpha had ordered him to major in business economics. Nobody knew why, but an order was an order. 

George shook his head, fiddled around a bit with his drinking straw, finally seemed to find it to his liking, and took a sip himself. "I've never understood why Carl insisted on that. It's stupid. Are you sure you don't want me to talk with him?"

Carl Jefferson was their Alpha, and even though Darwin trusted and loved his adoptive father, he still knew that it would kill George to know the truth about his 'relationship' with Carl. George and Carl had been best friends for twenty-five years, and the doctors had explained in no uncertain terms what stress could do to George. He risked suffering another stroke if he didn't take it easy, and that second stroke would be his last. So what would happen if Darwin told his father about the things his best friend was doing to his adoptive son? About the 'late-night-meetings' in Carl's sound-proof cellar, about the marks, the bruises, the fear and the pain,... 'Don't think about it,' his inner voice demanded as soon as his mind started to drift towards that dark, ugly place.

Darwin didn't want to risk his fathers life, not even for his own. He smiled broadly and shook his head. "Nah, that's okay. It's not bad, you know. I'm learning a lot of pretty useful stuff."

'... not.' he corrected his words silently.

Again his father shot him a curious, thoughtful look, then he shrugged. Only his left shoulder moved, and the sight of it made Darwin's heart hurt. George had been a strong, well-built, outdoorsy guy before the stroke, but the death of his mother, Darwin's grandmother, and the accident in which his second wife had been killed shortly after had not only made his brain short-circuit, but also broken his heart and body. 

"Okay, whatever rocks your boat. If you change your mind, give me a holler." He winked, and Mary chose that moment to interrupt their talk by walking in with a casserole full of steaming, glorious pot-roast. 

Time flew by over dinner, with the three of them sharing their week's adventures. Afterwards they sat in the living room, sharing hot cocoa-- without the obligatory squirt of rum, since George wasn't allowed alcohol anymore-- and somehow, the topic switched to their pack. It always did, and it made Darwin get antsy and unsettled every time.

They talked about gas prices, movies, and about an incident where a police officer had shot a Miniature Pinscher in a home raid, then a comfortable silence settled. It was that moment when George decided to get more cocoa, and drove off into the kitchen. Darwin sighed into his half empty mug when Mary turned to him, pulled one knee against her chest, and mustered him with a slightly worried look. 

"Did you hear about Giselle?" Mary asked, hands clutching her own mug tighter, never taking her eyes off him.

Darwin wrinkled his brows in confusion. Giselle was another submissive pack member, but neither was she someone special in the pack, nor was she in any way related to his family, or Mary. Just a soccer mom with three little kids, a poodle and a balding, happy husband.

"Giselle? No. What happened?" he asked, trying to decipher the strange flurry of emotions on Mary's face.

Mary licked her lips, and threw a glance over her shoulder to where George had rolled off to. When her eyes found Darwin again, her gaze begged him to keep quiet about what she was going to tell him. "Well, obviously someone broke into her house while she was alone at home. We don't know what exactly happened, but the police found her tied up, scared to death." She threw another gaze over her shoulder, than she added softly, "She was beaten up badly, just like your grandmother. But she survived."

Darwin blanched. Break-ins happened all the time, but his grandmother had died when somebody had broken into their house, and his father had found her tied up, beaten into a bloody pulp, and dead. She would have survived if she hadn't been lying on her back, drowning in her own blood. 

"They never caught the guy," Darwin whispered, then he rubbed his hands over his face. "Does my father know about this?"

Mary sighed, and chewed her lower lip for a moment. She was young, only twenty-three, but in that moment she looked old and worried. "He knows about the break-in, yes. But I didn't have the heart to tell him the details. You know what the doctors said."

Darwin knew all too well. Everyone had reasons to keep secrets from George, and the amount of those secrets was growing slowly, but steadily over the years.

He drew a breath to answer, when George suddenly wheeled back into the living room and took a big gulp from his newly re-filled cocoa. "Wow, people, why so silent?" he asked cheerily, and stopped next to the couch. His eyes found Mary, then he added, "Did you tell him about the pack meeting?"

Darwin's gaze snapped to Mary, who suddenly looked guilty. "What pack meeting?" he asked, alarmed. This couldn't be good. Darwin hadn't been on a pack meeting since college had started, using the so called 'Student Clause' as an excuse. It was a good way to keep his distance from Carl, the Alpha, a distance he dearly wanted to keep.

This was another secret he had to keep from George, who explained, "Well, obviously someone is targeting werewolves, what with the break-in at Giselle's and so forth. So Carl has called for an emergency pack meeting, and he explicitly asked for you to come."

"A pack meeting, just because someone robbed Giselle's home?" That excuse smelled fishy, and it made Darwin giddy, but not in a good way. Had Carl finally found a way to get his hands on Darwin again, after nearly four months without an incident?

Nothing in George's face hinted that he had doubts about the reasoning. He just nodded, then shook his head, and sighed. "Well, they also tried to break into the pack headquarters, and someone blew up one of Carl's Jeeps, out in the woods. They didn't succeed with the second break-in, luckily, because there are files on those laptops we wouldn't want anyone to see."

Mary just nodded, agreeing to George's descriptions, then shrugged. "It's just a pack meeting, Darwin. We won't keep you from your studies, or your work. You're free next Friday, right?"

Darwin's mouth went dry. He actually was free on Friday nights, even though he chose to spend the night in one of the guide's quarters at work, but he didn't have to work until Saturday morning. There was no way he would get out of this. Shit.

"Yeah, Friday's good," he mumbled, feeling his lips go numb. "I'll be there."

~* Harry *~

Harry's world had always been small. Growing up in southern Texas, he'd lived with his mother, father, and his little sister in a village so tiny, most travel maps didn't even have a marker for it, and there was only one major road nearby used by a few local transportation companies. He had learned how to handle a tractor before he had learned how to ride a bike, his 'walk' to school had consisted of a 20-minute-jog to catch the school bus, and a 15 minute ride in the beaten old thing.

When his teachers had urged him to go to college and "get out of this dump" on the day he turned 18, he'd been afraid enough to have a nervous breakdown.

Just as afraid as he was right now, standing next to the doors of the locker rooms, waiting for the rugby team to come out after their Monday morning training. Waiting for Jared.

In Harry's world the Alpha was a person of respect and great influence. You listened to your Alpha, you didn't talk back, and you didn't bother him with mundane tasks. You didn't ask an Alpha if he fancied someone, and you didn't talk about private things. If he wanted you to know, he told you. If he didn't, you'd never find out about it. How the hell was Harry, being the submissive werewolf he was, supposed to quiz Jared about being an Alpha, if he couldn't ask out of fear of being right?

Sighing he ran his hands through his short brown hair. The whole thing was a stupid idea. More than stupid, moronic. If he left right now, maybe he could still--

"Harry." A coconut-scented mountain suddenly blocked the sun and towered over Harry, corralling him against the wall. Shit.

Harry could taste his own racing pulse on his tongue while he stared at a broad, shirt covered chest. The white shirt looked soft, like cotton or wool, and was tight enough that he could see the small pointed mounds the nipples made. Harry could literally taste the residue of water, showering gel, and shampoo on his tongue just from staring. God, this guy was gorgeous beyond belief—and he was Darwin's. Life sucked.

"Jared, hi," he croaked, unable to keep his voice casual.

Harry felt a piercing gaze wander over his scalp and down to his face. Never before had they been in such close proximity to each other, always keeping distance to avoid unsettling encounters. But now that instinctive distance was gone, and Harry's courage dissipated with the increase of his arousal. He pressed his back against the wall, silently praying for a wider cut shirt – his cock seemed to flourish under those eyes like a flower in the sun, straining against his jeans for everyone to see.

Well, for everyone except Jared. He was too busy leaning forward and sniffing Harry's shoulder to notice his state of arousal. If he smelled it, he didn't show, or he didn't care.

"How come you are standing here, and Darwin is nowhere to be seen?"

The question was casual, amused, and uttered lightly. Everyone who heard Jared would think he was making a good-natured joke. People knew Harry and Darwin were glued together at the hips. But Harry wasn't anyone, and he heard the slight disgruntlement in Jared's words. He also saw the increased tension in his shoulders, and the tightening around his eyes, up close and personal. Oh yes, Jared was definitely not happy that Darwin wasn't here.

It didn't do Harry's bravery any good though. His pulse sped up instantly, while he pressed his back against the wall more tightly. "He," he began, swallowed and gulped for air, "well..." 

Thunder appeared all over Jared's face, darkening his cheery-good-ol'-pal-expression to something scary. Harry could feel Jared's breath crawling over the side of his neck, wafting against his racing pulse, and the air around them got so thick a spark could have combusted it in a second. 

"He sent you, didn't he? A scared little lamb, prepared for slaughter. Are you supposed to tell me to back off? I won't, but I'll make you remember in explicit detail how things are going to be." 

Jared didn't even wait for an answer. Fingers wrapped around Harry's arm, tightened to the point of pain, and then Jared whirled around and pulled Harry with him.

Walls, doors, and windows raced by as Harry tried to keep up with the furious pace Jared set to get them through the gym department, then up the stairs, right across the enclosed footbridge, and into Statsby Hall. A breath was all Harry could manage, then their nightmarish travel ended, and a door slammed shut behind him while he stumbled into the small room and finally ground to a halt.

Harry didn't have much time to get a look at the room he had been taken to, but that small prospect was enough to confirm that it was Jared's – the heady musk of sunshine and virile werewolf spoke for itself. 

The interior of the dorm room was wondrous in its simplicity, not only because of the cleanliness, but also because there was absolutely nothing hinting that anyone lived there. The bed was made and there was not a crooked crinkle anywhere. The bookshelf was empty and unused, and the table next to the window was cleared and blank. How did Jared even work in such a spartan environment? His pens and notebooks appeared to have been stacked away into the drawers of the small desk-- if Jared even owned mundane things like that.

Harry did sympathize with the need to have a clean, orderly environment, but Jared's room had no personality, nothing homey or inviting. Furniture and storing space, nothing else. It felt lonely, and cold.

He turned around, only to meet Jared's enraged eyes. 

"It's not what you think," Harry husked, frightened by that expression, and took a step backwards. As much as he wanted to flee, the only way out of the room was blocked by the sun-tanned, bulky male staring him down, and the windows were secured glass. He would break his bones jumping through that.

Jared's voice was melodic, peaceful and eerily calm. "What do I think, Harry?" he asked, emphasizing the name, and cocking his head curiously. His eyes never left Harry's face, but the muscles in his shoulders were bulging with the effort to stay put. They were the only thing that gave Jared's simmering rage away. He was obviously trying very hard to control it.

"You--, you think we're in a relationship, which we're not!" Harry stammered, and twitched when Jared took a threatening step forward. "I'm n-not here to stop you, really! I just--" he shrank back against the desk when Jared wordlessly took two more steps into his direction with his hands balled to fists. "I-I-I just need to know if you're an Alpha." 

"And what would you do with that information?" Jared sneered.

This time Jared didn't stop his advance until he loomed over the shivering submissive werewolf. The sunny fragrance of coconut, warm body, and werewolf wafted over Harry like a cloud of alluring perfume, making his head swim and his heart leap against the inside of his chest. For a few seconds he wanted nothing more than to melt against the warm body in front of him, rub his cheek against Jared's broad chest, and maybe let his hands wander and touch what he assumed to be a decently sized cock. His fingers itched with the need to touch Jared, and he had to jam his hands behind his back to contain himself.

"Did Darwin send you?" Jared growled again, but Harry didn't answer.

His left hand grasped Harry's chin, lifted his gaze upwards until their eyes met, and Jared used the moment of shock to close the last few inches of distance between their bodies, molding his chest against the lean, shivering body before him. "Tell me. Did he?"

Harry's body instantly went on overdrive. He couldn't breathe for a few seconds, and when his lungs finally decided to obey the commands his brain sent he just gasped like a stranded fish. He could feel Jared's cock pressing against his belly, pulsing leisurely, fully engorged and obviously happy.

Harry tried to answer, but the only sounds that came out of his mouth were soft whimpers. His mind drew a blank, but his body knew the correct answer to Jared's force: instant, throbbing erection, paired with frantic arousal and need. His dick awoke from its semi-hard slumber to answer the calling of the stronger man's body, and with it came blissful, single-minded vacuity.

Encouraged by pressure his legs shuffled apart to give Jared's muscular body more room, which was rewarded with a happy growl, and followed by more delicious, hot pressure against his raging member. Everything Harry did was answered by more friction, warmth and pressure, like a never ending vicious circle.

Jared put both arms around Harry's shivering form, one Hand pressing against his shoulder blades, while the other hand went further and wound underneath his shirt. His fingertips drew thoughtless, circling patterns onto Harry's back, then his lips brushed against the tender, warm skin of Harry's neck. It was a soft, taunting kiss against his pulse, and it made Harry groan faintly with yearning.

"You can tell me, c'mon," Jared husked softly against his skin.




Unwilling Ch. 02



'Tell him what?' Harry's mind contemplated, drunk with desire for more. Then he remembered the question.

"No, he--" he began, shivered violently for a second, and finally wrung his arms around Jared's body. "He didn't," he managed breathlessly, and mumbled, "I said I'd ask. If you're an Alpha, that is. It's important. To me. Because of Darwin. His family." 

He would have rambled on and on, but Jared stopped his morse-code with a kiss. Jared also didn't try to be shy about it, because just a second after their lips touched he parted his, and his tongue pushed forward to conquer Harry's mouth.

This was nothing like the amusing, lighthearted fumbling Harry had had with Darwin in the past, definitely not. This was a hot, honest-to-god epiphany as to what two men could feel if the roles were clear. Jared's hand brushed up his back, eliciting goosebumps wherever his fingers went. When Jared jerked his hand back down and drew angry red welts on his skin, Harry moaned harshly into the kiss and arched his back in sheer pleasure. Those scratches would be healed within minutes, but having someone use that kind of controlled force on him was a monumental turn-on. 

They only stopped kissing when their lips started to hurt. 

"What about his family?" Jared purred, nipping the skin beneath Harry's ear. It made the hairs on Harry's arms stand up in salute to the pleasure it brought. 

Some part of Harry knew Darwin would kill him if he answered, but it was merely a fleeting thought. "You can save him from them." The words felt like gauze on his tongue, nearly unintelligible with the way his breath raced.

Jared's lips wandered lower, and his tongue licked over the jumping pulse at Harry's neck. When he reached the collar of Harry's shirt he snorted displeased, and grabbed the hem at Harry's back with one hand. In one quick movement Jared peeled him out of the interfering garment, threw it behind him, and went back to nibbling and licking Harry's chest. 

"Who does he need saving from?" Jared didn't stop his ministrations while talking, and his lips vibrated against Harry's chest.

"His Al--" Harry began, then groaned harshly, bucking against Jared, whose teeth had clamped down around Harry's nipple, grinding it with a mixture of force and loving carefulness. "Oh, oh, don't stop!" 

Jared let go after a moment, licked the over-sensitive skin his teeth had just worried, and mumbled jokingly, "His al-what? Alter ego? Alimony? Algorithm?" 

"Alpha." Harry's hands found their way into Jared's hair. He tugged at the short strands, then started a massage Jared would have found very relaxing under other circumstances. But right now Jared was a man on a mission, and Harry's reverie stood in his way.

His hands stroked down Harry's lean flanks and settled above the waistband. "What about his Alpha?" he whispered, then his fingers dug into the denim and traced it to the front, opening the buttons. Jared could feel the strain against Harry's underwear, radiating from the throbbing, hard prick there. Harry's body was begging to be touched, but Jared held back, suspecting Harry wouldn't manage another word as soon as he touched his member. Jared needed answers first.

There was a soft whimper coming from Harry, followed by a few helpless tugs at Jared's hair. "I can't tell you. I promised," he whined desperately, trying to pull Jared closer and push him away at the same time. "Please don't be angry, please! He's my friend, I can't--"

The wailing only stopped when Jared's fingers found their way into Harry's underwear, and wrapped around his dripping cock. It cut off the lament in mid-sentence, and replaced words with breathless moans. 

"That's nice. Just the right size." Jared whispered, and licked Harry's cheek. His hand enveloped Harry's cock from behind the tip to the root, making it easy to fondle and knead him with every stroke. The soft white boxer briefs slowly slipped downward, following Jared's forearm until the elastic waistband gave in to the draw and snapped down beneath Harry's balls.

"I understand that you can't tell me details," Jared purred as his hand slowly worked Harry's cock, "But there must be a reason why me being Alpha would be such an important thing."

Harry's arousal was nearly painful in its intensity. Jared's hand was warm, tight, and its movements tormentingly slow. Every attempt on thinking clearly was instantly destroyed by waves of pleasure that left him begging for more, without ever reaching the peak. For a few seconds he tried to wrestle out of his trousers, but Jared kept him pinned into a half-sitting position on the edge of his desk, wedged between his knees and keeping Harry's legs open. It was a lost cause, but one not too important. Finally Harry gave up and wiggled his right hand under Jared's shirt, while his left hand stayed in Jared's hair. His voice sounded strained and raspy when he finally managed to utter, "It is, because you could make him yours, take him away."

~*Jared*~

Harry was easy prey for someone as experienced with one-night-flings as Jared. His body reacted to the slightest touch, and 'shy' definitely wasn't a fitting adjective to describe the writhing mass of lust sitting on Jared's desk. Trembling legs tried to wrap around Jared's hips, and squarish hands alternated between pulling his hair for more and kneading his back to beg for mercy. Jared had never seen such short fingers, but Harry's were also strong and agile, and definitely something to dream about.

Everyone had their own fetish, and Jared liked hands and wrists. The constant hair-tugging and those deft, massaging fingers on his scalp and back were nearly driving him insane, but he didn't have time to relish it. First of all, it was Harry, not Darwin, and secondly, Jared had a purpose, and it wasn't wild and dirty sex in his dorm room.

It was hard enough to get Harry to talk while having to fight the growing urge to just push him backwards and take him, but Jared wasn't going to give up just yet. "Harry, Harry, you're not making any sense," he purred haughtily, and gave Harry's dick a few loving tugs to keep him on edge. He could feel Harry's ball-sac twitching and tightening in anticipation of a speedy eruption, so he clamped down on Harry's cock. No way was Jared gonna let him come without talking first. 

Harry's squeak was heartwarming and simply cute. "Please, let me--" he gasped, drawing his nails over Jared's back in distress. "I can't tell you! But you need to save him, take him away. Far, far away from his Alpha. He's gonna kill him." The words were shaky and breathless, but at least this time Harry had actually said something useful. Well, it was more or less not making any sense in the literal way, but it had been a full sentence, with a subject, a predicate, words between and whatnot. Jared relented with a sigh, loosening his grip on Harry's cock and giving him a few hearty strokes.

The result was immediate and explosive. Harry arched his back, nearly pulled Jared onto him in his bliss, and shot three hot, sticky globs of cum onto Jared's hand and shirt. Then he sagged, groaning in spent pleasure, and gasped for air. "Darwin's gonna kill me," he muttered as soon as he got his voice back.

"What? Oh. Don't worry about that," Jared mumbled, absent-mindedly wiping his hand into his own shirt. It was already dirty anyways, and he was too preoccupied to give himself the pleasure of watching the submissive werewolf lick his hand clean.

It took Jared a few seconds to identify the dismay on Harry's face. The poor guy was shivering, pale and on the verge of tears, but somehow Jared didn't think it was because of what he had done. He very nearly dismissed the matter, when Harry's voice broke the thoughtful silence. "He's never gonna talk to me again if he finds out." He sounded so hopeless and distressed.

Sighing, Jared leaned forward and hugged Harry to his chest. If Harry went to see Darwin in this condition, bad things were going to happen, and not just to their friendship. Jared had to at least try to ease Harry's mind.

"He won't find out, okay? Just tell him--" Jared rubbed Harry's back, digging through his memory to find something useful, then it hit him. "You'll tell him I'm an Alpha, and he'll be so giddy and excited he won't even ask why you're smelling like me."

When Jared loosened the hug Harry still had a doubtful expression on his rascally, southern face, but he didn't look like he was going to have a nervous breakdown anymore. His chocolate brown eyes even lit up a bit when he studied Jared's face. "So I was right? You're an Alpha?" 

Jared bared his teeth at that question, even though Harry shrank at the dominant, aggressive expression. Jared didn't see the good in his birthright, and he hated talking about it, or even admitting it. 

When his family had discovered, that not only one, but two of their three sons had been born as Alphas, they had thought about giving Jared away for adoption, knowing what kind of danger their sons would pose to each other, once they'd hit puberty. But somehow they had managed to raise them without incident, getting them to love each other in spite of nature's demands. Their family even had survived Tobias' ascension to Alpha of the pack, when their late Alpha had stepped down.

However, one could bend nature only so far before it snapped back to its well-known ways. As soon as Jared had hit his eighteenth birthday, things had gone downhill. Accepting another Alpha in his lands had cost Tobias respect in his own pack and had made him edgy and aggressive. Jared couldn't count the numbers of brawls he had had with his brother in the last year, and even though Tobias had gone out of his way in his efforts to not kill Jared, it had gotten worse and worse. When an attempted coup against Tobias by some of their pack members had been exposed, he had snapped. Jared was to leave his lands in the next fourty-eight hours, or they would fight to the death.

His mother had begged Jared to stay, to just submit to Tobias and his dominance, but again it had been nature that had kept him from doing so. He had packed his belongings, stuffed his little Beetle with his goods and driven off to a new life. It had left him bitter and spiteful of 'nature' and his 'condition' to leave his family like that.

Shaking his head, Jared lifted a hand and tousled Harry's hair. "It's okay. Don't be afraid. And yes, you're right. I'm an Alpha." Stepping back, he combed through his own hair and gestured to the door. "Now hop it, sweet-cheeks. I bet Darwin's waiting for you." Jared even managed to smile and wink at Harry. At the same time his heart gave a painful twinge. Goddamnit, he missed his family something fierce! 

Blushing, Harry got off the table and pulled up his trousers to close the fly, picked up his shirt, and then scuttled towards the door. His last glance met Jared's eyes, and he seemed to sense the sadness in the higher-ranking werewolf. Harry even stopped and started to say something, but another sharp gaze herded him right out the doors in silence.

*

The nostalgia stuck to Jared's mind like cobwebs to a fly, but Jared tackled that problem like he did every other inconvenience these days: he intensified his stalking of Darwin. Wherever Darwin went, Jared was there already. In his math class, in the cafeteria, in the gym, and Jared even found Darwin's favorite place in the small park next to the university.

Harry pretended not to notice, but his nervousness hung sickly-sweet in the air whenever his eyes found Jared. Jared realized that Harry couldn't lie if his life depended on it, which would have been a good thing were they playing poker, but in this situation it was a serious drawback.

Darwin seemed to notice Harry's strange behavior pretty quickly, but he didn't comment on it. He looked even more worn out, tired, nervous, and short-tempered than usual. Even though Jared normally took great delight in letting Darwin see him and then watching him combust in anger, Jared's instincts told him that it wouldn't be healthy to provoke Darwin any more right now.

Maybe it would have been prudent to ease up on the stalking for a few days altogether, but Jared had never been good with prudence. The whole concept was simply too tiresome for his young mind to even try it.

Granted, he should have seen it coming, but even in his wildest dreams Jared hadn't anticipated the dimension of anger his constant presence elicited in Darwin.

It took just one second of negligence on Jared's part. It was Friday, and Jared was standing in the hallway, right next to Darwin's class. He was waiting for the end of the last lesson, typing away on his smartphone, when someone had the guts to shove him against the wall and slap the small gadget out of his hand.

"What the fuck are you doing here!"

Darwin was seething, hands balled into fists, muscles tense enough to make him shake softly with rage. His eyes looked reddened with lack of sleep, and the rings beneath his beautiful blue eyes were black like bruises. A nervous twitch made his cheek quiver ever so often. He looked ready to strike out again, or even to kill. It was fearsome, and endearing at the same time.

Jared instantly had the urge to hug Darwin tightly, to banish the deep fear and pain from Darwin's mind, and to protect him from whatever or whoever had shaken the submissive werewolf that intensely. The impulse was so sudden, it frightened Jared to the core, and he instinctively answered with anger.

Jared didn't want to hit Darwin though, so he did the next best thing.

"I'm waiting for Harry," he answered, icily calm while his hackles rose to the challenge and the drive to strike back. He averted his gaze, looking at Harry, and held out his hand. "Would you like to have lunch with me?" Jared asked Harry, masking his anger with a sweet smile.

He watched Harry blanch and close his eyes in horror, then his eyes snapped back to Darwin, catching his expression of hurt. 

"I KNEW it!" Darwin hissed, then the hurt was gone from his face, replaced with deadly hate. He whirled around, threw a murderous glance at Harry, and hissed, "You're dead to me."

Then he was gone.

Jared had the presence of mind to jump forward when Harry fainted, and caught him in his arms. "Well, that went well," he muttered, trying to shake off the instant guilt.

~*Darwin*~

Darwin didn't pay attention to where he was running. He just ran until his breath wheezed out of his screaming lungs, and he only stopped when the honking of a truck made him dig his heels in. His flight had lead him to the offshoots of the nearest highway, nearly 4 miles away from Banes Central University. It didn't matter though, no distance could have stopped the pain in his chest. Panting, he turned around and blindly started his way back. He didn't even know what hurt more, Harry's or Jared's betrayal. 

Was Darwin even entitled to feel betrayed by Jared? After all he had pushed Jared away whenever he had had the chance to do so. Granted, secretly he had enjoyed the attention, and surely he would have given in sooner or later. He just hadn't anticipated Jared losing interest in him so soon. And in favor of Harry of all people!

Darwin didn't cry as he followed the dirt road back. He had no tears left for something as small as a lost fling. It still hurt like hell though, and the hurt constricted his chest and made breathing harder. How had he run that far like this?

His best friend, betraying him like that! The thought just wouldn't fit into Darwin's view of the world. Harry would never ever. . . But he had, and he did. Probably right now, at lunch. They would be shoving bits of food into each others mouths, all lovey-dovey. And afterward they would fuck. If Darwin were in Harry's place, he would. Fuck, that is. Who wouldn't want to fuck that prime specimen of virility?

Well, Darwin should have suspected it. Staring down at the dirt beneath his slowly trudging feet he shook his head. He had wondered all week why Harry got skittish and nervous every time they met Jared, but he had been too preoccupied with his own problems to ask. He should have asked when he had had the chance. It would still have hurt like a dagger to the heart, but he would have gotten over it sooner. Now it was Friday, hours before the pack meeting, and his heart was broken. 

He contemplated the possibility of surrender to the 'loving care' he would surely receive at the hand of his Alpha later that night, simply because it was a good way to stop the other aches and pains life held for him, but he decided against it. No one was worth dying for, his adoptive father George being the sole exception.

When he reached the city limits he decided to skip going back to BCU, and headed for his father's house. He didn't want to risk meeting Jared or Harry again, or heaven help, both of them at once. 

George was surprised to see him, but even though Darwin looked horrible, neither George nor Mary commented on it, or asked questions. 

For once Darwin was relieved to be alone. His room still had all of his things, a change of clothes included, but instead of getting changed and going down to face his family he dropped face down onto his bed and closed his eyes. Sleep came easily, and it was mercifully dreamless.

*

Four hours later Mary woke him up. Darwin crawled out of bed, feeling even more tired than before, but an icy shower fixed that quickly. He threw on a black, soft turtleneck shirt made from knit wool that didn't cling to his skin and obscured his slender, athletic upper body, and light brown corduroy pants with ripped hems that went perfectly with his black sneakers. Using the blow-dryer to tame his mid-length black hair, going with a side parting because it made him look defying and restive, and because Carl hated that look on him.

It wasn't so much that Darwin wanted to provoke his Alpha. The things Carl did to him were horrible enough on their own, but if Darwin tried to avoid behavior his Alpha despised, he would sense weakness, and act upon it. 

In the last year the numbers of submissive in their territory had dwindled alarmingly, but nobody knew why. Some of them died in accidents, others decided to move into another territory, and some simply vanished. Darwin had his suspicions as to what had happened to the vanished ones, because all of them had been male. Interestingly, all of the emigrants had been female and single so far, and those with accidents had had family. It was a pattern nobody but Darwin seemed to recognize. On the other hand, Darwin didn't think that anyone but him knew what Carl did in his cellar. No one but him knew about Carl's madness, or his hate for male submissives.

Darwin gave himself a once-over in the mirror, then nodded approvingly. His outfit was nice, something he would have worn to a first date in a restaurant. Classy, but not too high-strung. His guts clenched at the thought of for whom he had chosen this look, and again he felt the distinct urge to cry. It was such a waste dressing up to get torn to pieces, instead of showing himself off to Jared or even Harry.

"Hurry up, munchkin! We're gonna be late!" Mary's voice came from the anteroom, then the front door clicked. Mary would stow away George into the car, so Darwin had another minute to get his things and follow them outside.

He went back to his room and stared at his wallet and his mobile phone, pondering. He would need his wallet to be able to pay a cab once Carl was done, optimistically assuming he survived the night. Sighing, he grabbed both items, stuffed them into his back pockets, and stalked down the stairs and outside. There was nobody he wanted to call, but one never knew when a phone came in handy.

*

As predicted, everybody was pretty upset about the attack on Giselle. There were lots of suggestions as to who could have done it, and why, and what would happen next, or what should be done about it, but Darwin didn't really listen. Sipping his water he feigned disinterest, staring blankly at the table in front of him. The Alpha, Carl, sat on the other side of the table, and right in front of him, but he didn't acknowledge Darwin. It was as if Darwin didn't exist in Carl's little world, but on the other hand, every other dominant in the room got the same treatment. Only those speaking got their Alpha's attention, and since Darwin would have rather died than speaking up, he was spared.




Unwilling Ch. 02



There were thirty-seven werewolves in the room, eleven being submissives and the rest of the crowd being dominant, and feelings ran high with no one to balance them. Carl didn't seem to mind the clamor, but somehow he managed to keep them on track instead of ripping each others throats out. Darwin was privately impressed by Carl's talent to make everyone feel needed and heard, mostly because it gave him an insight into the past. At some point in the last ten years something had made Carl slip from being a good, reasonable Alpha, and made him become a crazy, raving monster without getting caught by anyone who could put a stop to it.

Sudden movement around him made Darwin jump. Chairs scraped over hardwood floor, chatter erupted from every corner of the assembly room, and on the other side of the table George talked to Carl. Darwin watched them out of the corner of his eye while standing, trying not to flinch at the expression of happiness on his father's face. It was the perfect moment to slip out of the pack headquarters and run like hell. His father would be disappointed if he didn't say goodbye, but damn, that was easier to handle than Carl.

"Darwin! A word please." He nearly made it through the front door when Carl's voice boomed through the room, easily drowning out the chatter. 

The exit was there, right in front of him. 

Every instinct screamed for Darwin to make a dash for it, to escape while he still could. 

He clenched his fists, squashed his instincts with pure stubbornness, and turned around to walk back. On his way he crossed paths with his father, who was still smiling, and nodded a quick goodbye. 

The door fell closed behind the last person to leave, and for a moment deep silence settled onto the room.

"How's university?"

Darwin flinched at the sound of Carl's voice, but kept his eyes fixed on the broad chest in front of him. Carl was like his father had used to be before his stroke. Mid-forties, in peak condition even though he had a little pot-belly to show off, tanned to the extreme, hair starting to grey at the temples. He looked like a well-worn worker's boot, leathery and ready to kick ass.

"Good, sir." Darwin answered through clenched teeth, fighting the urge to shiver and shy away from the accumulated force his Alpha represented. He had had a hard time behaving like this when he'd been younger, and less experienced. It went against everything the submissive side of him demanded, but it had saved his life countless times.

Carl sniffed dismissively, then his hand shot forward to slap Darwin. The smacking sound resonated through the roomy hall, then the echo died down. Carl kept staring at Darwin's face intently, and Darwin still didn't move or make a sound. His cheek throbbed with the force of the impact, but this was nothing. A small inconvenience.

"Oh yes. You're good, I'll give you that. But don't you believe even for a second that I don't see through your little charade," Carl hissed angrily when he didn't get the reaction he had hoped for. Again his hand shot forward, and this time Darwin did flinch, but only a little. Instead of slapping him again, Carl grabbed his neck and turned around, pulling Darwin with him like dead weight. "Do you really think I'm that stupid? Everyone of us learns their place when they hit puberty, and you're way beyond that," he snarled, marching Darwin through a hallway and then down a flight of stairs, right into the cellar. They passed a ping-pong table, a pool table, and a group of exercise machines, heading towards an apparently seamless wall. Darwin knew better though.

Carl stopped him with a cruel tug at his neck, and then used his other hand to push the hidden button at the top of the wall, camouflaged as part of the wallpaper.

There was a click, then a whirr, and then the wall in front of them swung open. To Darwin's knowledge no other pack member knew of the secret passage to what he called "Carl's negotiation room". Darwin had smelled the blood of others there once or twice, but he hadn't asked who they had been or what Carl had done to them. 

He also knew better than to try and break free. It was a mute effort at this point, and only would make things worse for him.

Carl shoved him inside, then followed and pushed the door closed. There was a strange glimmer in the Alpha's eyes, an expression that Darwin called 'Carl's Hyde-side'. This wasn't the clever, diplomatic Alpha he had seen before anymore. This was a batshit-crazy lunatic, and he was heading for Darwin.

"Tell me the truth." Carl's voice was a dark, angry growl, and his gaze burned itself into Darwin's scalp.

Darwin knew the game though. "I'm a dominant, sir. It can't be helped. It wasn't my decision to be born this way," he snarled, measuring the exasperation and the light lilt of anger in his voice artfully. His instincts demanded to grovel at Carl's feet, to beg for mercy, and show his throat to quench his Alpha's anger, but to listen to his instincts meant he would disappear just like the other submissive boys.

He could feel Carl lean closer. "We'll see about that, won't we?"

This time Darwin couldn't suppress the yelp when Carl grabbed him.



Unwilling Ch. 03



Please feel free to comment if you feel that there's something missing, or if you like it. I want to thank roughboy18 for his excellent help! I am planning to add two more chapters after this one, but writing in a foreign language takes its time :( I have not abandoned this story though!

Small disclaimer:

Suspension of disbelief is recommended. All characters are 18+. 

***************

~*Jared*~

Harry had passed out, and didn't seem to be in the mood to wake up as Darwin disappeared into the sunny day outside the university. Jared would have run after him, but since he had caught Harry and couldn't just drop him now, he didn't have any choice but to tend to his new charge. What to do with an unconscious werewolf in the middle of a hallway full of people? Jared looked down at the bundle in his arms and sniffed thoughtfully. Normally he would have been worried about the possibility of Harry having a panic attack as soon as he came back to his senses, but this one was a submissive, and probably easy to handle—not that Jared had any experience with situations like this. Once again having taken a back seat all his life proved to be quite unfortunate, but then again, Jared was already used to that. 

Most of the students in the hallway ignored the hunk and the unconscious student in his arms, but a few stopped to stare with predator-like interest. It made Jared's hackles rise with a strange sort of protectiveness to see those humans gaping at one of his kind like hungry vultures, so Jared tightened his grip around the smaller body and got up. Jared didn't really know where best to take him since he already knew it would upset Harry even more to wake up in Jared's room, but when he caught some of the girls whispering about calling 911 he relented and started walking towards Statsby Hall. An upset werewolf wasn't fun and was pretty hard to hide, but a werewolf in the hands of modern medicine was a much bigger danger than a few nips and scratches and angered neighbors.

The odd glances and glimpses he got walking to his room with Harry in his arms were enough to make him regret his decision, and when the door of his single bed dorm room finally fell shut behind him he sighed in relief. 

It felt peculiar to be taking care of someone he didn't really know, but Jared didn't want to think about this just yet. Deciding it was all due to the fact that he wanted very dearly to get into Darwin's pants, he shook himself (and Harry, too) and trotted into his sparse living quarters.

Jared despised his room, and it showed. He had been living there for two weeks but the walls were still barren, the desk was clean, the floor tidy and uncluttered. The whole place looked uninhabited, and Jared didn't feel like changing it. He hadn't had enough time to pack all of his stuff back home, mostly because he'd had to leave in quite a hurry. All he had were a few cardboard boxes with clothes that now hung neatly in his closet, his smart phone that luckily had survived the fall to the floor before, and his bank card and driver's license. His room was empty because there was nothing he could put into it, and the one picture he had of his family stayed tucked away in his wallet instead of hanging on the wall. Maybe he was being paranoid, but it just seemed wrong to show total strangers what his family looked like.

But some day that would change and he would decorate his room, Jared mused as he laid Harry on his bed. He would plaster his walls with snapshots of Darwin and himself, the happy couple, and even send some of the photos home to rub into his brother's face how happy he could be, even without his blood relatives. That would serve Tobias right.

Staring down at Harry's unconscious form, Jared realized he would have to do a lot of groveling and begging if he ever wanted to be able to get those photos. Darwin had been pissed off enough to even make Jared shrink back from his anger, and obviously pissed enough to make his best friend faint in shock. If Jared wanted Darwin, he'd have to do right by Harry and fix their friendship. Life could be so complicated sometimes!

Still, there was nothing he could do about it until Harry woke up from his peculiar blackout. 

With a sigh Jared grabbed his books and sat down at his desk. Might as well do some studying while he waited, he supposed.

~*Darwin*~

The ordeal with his Alpha, Carl, began with his arms being tied together, fingers touching elbows. He was then coaxed down to his knees by a hard punch into the stomach that made him gag violently. Carl didn't seem to be in a hurry though. As soon as he had Darwin where he wanted him, he just left the room to let Darwin simmer in his fear and pain. When he finally came back after about ten minutes, Darwin had to restrain himself not to yell at him, he was that much afraid.

Although this was a part of Carl's usual routine, something just didn't feel right about the glances the Alpha shot at him, and although his fear was most probably making him see things that weren't there, he glimpsed a strange twitch in Carl's cheeks whenever the older man looked away.

"Why do you do this to me, Darwin? Didn't I help take care of your family? Didn't I pay the medical bills for your father? Your college education?" Carl's voice sounded agitated, as if he were fighting the urge to shout or lash out again. He didn't stop walking around though, not even bothering to hide his emotional state.

Again Darwin couldn't shake the feeling that something was different from all the other times, even though Carl used the same words as always, like a trustworthy swiss clock. Next Darwin would say, "I don't understand. What did I do?" and then Carl would show a controlled burst of anger, slap him a few times, or even punch him and break his nose. And then, once there was blood, Carl would shake off his fit of anger, manhandle him out the door and tell him not to show his face for another week.

Darwin heard himself pray the usual mantra, felt the words leaving his lips, and then he cowered down, waiting for the blows.

They never came. There was just an angry huff, followed by a chortle that made Darwin's blood run cold in a split second. 

The Alpha walked across the room without sparing him so much as a second glance. He seemed more intent on sifting through a whole rack of torture devices, some of them looking as if he had gotten them right out of another century. "Wanna come clean before I begin?" Carl asked strangely smug sounding, and picked up a slim black riding crop. 

For years Carl had never once strayed from his usual routine. If anything, the torturous evenings had notably shortened once Darwin had learned the expected actions. There had been a lot more punches in the beginning, sometimes enough to have him bedridden for a day or two.

Darwin had no idea what Carl wanted to hear. He knew very well that his Alpha was beyond odd. Carl was batshit-crazy and had been for a long time. It made answering questions like these unbelievably hard. If he gave the impression he doubted Carl's intellect, he would be punished even more severely. If he told the truth about himself he would be killed. If he didn't answer he'd probably be whipped until he answered.

"I don't know what you want to hear from me. I already told you everything." It was a struggle to keep his voice from shivering with fear, even though a little fear was undoubtedly appropriate for the situation. Darwin's shoulders creaked in protest when he inadvertently struggled against the bindings. 

The riding crop sizzled through the air right next to his head, making him jump. "Don't you play stupid now, boy," Carl snarled, and started circling him. "I've watched you! My people are watching you every day! Did you really think you could hide this secret forever?"

Darwin's heart skipped a beat. There were so many secrets he'd had to keep in the last weeks, and each and every one of them would cost him dearly if exposed. But which one was Carl referring to and how had he found out?

"I've angered you, and I'm sorry! But I really don't know what you are talking about," he begged, and this time his voice audibly shook with panic.

Still Carl didn't seem to hear the confusion in Darwin's voice. He didn't seem to hear anything Darwin said, and his face was a contorted mask of anger and something close to paranoid triumph. The grip of the riding crop groaned dryly under Carl's tightening grip. "I don't like being lied to, boy. Maybe I can beat the rebelliousness out of you with this; shall we try?"

This time he didn't wait for Darwin's answer. Carl just pulled his arm back, paused for a second, and then began to strike him with vicious whistling blows all over his chest, thighs, ass and flanks. Every single whack rained down on Darwin's body with full-out force, and even though his clothes prevented him from bleeding instantly, he could feel the welts forming within seconds wherever the slim, elastic rod met his skin.

The pain was instant and gut-wrenching. Every lash set his body on fire, sending shocks of fear and burning agony through his veins. The worst part of the beating wasn't even the moment when the riding crop hit, but the intensifying sting that followed, and it got worse and worse with every second. Darwin was screaming within seconds, coiling up in a weak attempt to get away from his tormentor, only to be stopped by a casual kick to his side. 

It felt like hours before the blows finally stopped, even though it had been only minutes. His whole body ached with the burning, stinging sensation of the welts, and his face was wet with tears. Darwin gulped in air greedily, despite the fact that his throat felt raw from all the screaming. 

Carl walked slow circles around him, wiping sweat off the riding crop with a white linen handkerchief. "When were you going to tell me about that new werewolf?" he asked, suddenly sounding perfectly calm. He didn't even seem that out of breath after having exerted himself physically.

Pain clouded Darwin's mind and made his thoughts crawl and stumble. Before he could stop himself, he responded incredulously, "Who? Jared?"

Then it hit him.

Jared.

Another Alpha.

He had been friendly—even intimate, although still hostile—with another Alpha and hadn't told Carl about Jared's presence. Not reporting another Alpha trespassing into their district was something a trustworthy dominant would never do, special circumstances be damned. From Carl's point of view Darwin had switched sides, betrayed his pack, and was most likely planning mutiny. The old man might be crazy, but this time he actually had found a very good reason to kill Darwin and never be tried by anyone for it.

Carl started to grin widely when he saw Darwin's shocked face lose the last bit of color. "Ah, now you suddenly know, eh?" The old man's voice dripped with hatred and fierce joy. "This time you won't be able to wiggle out of this. No chance. I ALWAYS knew there was something odd about you, I just couldn't find the reason for this feeling. For quite some time I thought you might be one of them, a submissive, trying to weaken my pack with your whiny, spineless, goody-two-shoes influence. I need my pack ready to fight, ready to go to war, and those helpless puppies make them mellow and peaceful like lambs."

He crouched down next to Darwin, grabbing his hair to pull his head back with one hand. The other hand smacked his face with enough force to make his ears ring. "There are so many of those submissives I lost count, and then I started to think something was wrong with me, since you made my senses tingle despite you being dominant. My skin always crawled with unease when you were at a meeting, you know that? But as it turns out, you're just trying another route to destroy me, lurking around behind my back, waiting for the right moment to take over!"

Darwin tried to blink away the disorientation and pain. He desperately wanted to keep Carl talking, not only because he had just learned more about his Alpha's mind than ever before, but also because he feared what would happen after Carl stopped talking. But before he could say anything another punch rained down on his face, wiping the words from his lips. And then another followed, and another, and another.

Through the bloody haze Darwin realized that they'd moved on to the next stage: the kill.

~*Jared*~

It was dark when Harry started to twitch softly, not yet conscious, but on the brink of waking up. He had been out for nearly four hours, and with every passing minute Jared had gotten more and more nervous. He'd even checked Harry's pulse and breathing regularly, just to make sure the werewolf hadn't died on him while Jared sat there like an oaf, waiting for Harry to wake up. Harry wouldn't be the first submissive to die of a broken heart, even though that normally only happened if a soul mate died and the other one was left behind.

Jared put his book down and slowly crept towards the bed, his eyes fixated on the stirring body. He felt his heart starting to beat faster when he saw the twitching in Harry's fingers, and he felt his muscles tighten in caution. Jared was more than ready to catch Harry before he could reach the door, should the submissive wake up and decide to flee. It felt like stalking prey, Jared suddenly realized, and he had to gasp and swallow hard against the nervous cackle that tried to crawl out of his gullet. 

At least that gasp woke Harry up. Jared stayed crouched down next to the bed and watched intently how Harry's eyelashes swept up and down while the smaller guy blinked at the unfamiliar ceiling. The silence was nerve-wracking, but breaking it would definitely scare Harry. Unfortunately, Jared had never been especially good with patience.

"Are you okay?"

With a panicked hiss Harry leapt to his feet, pressing his back against the wall above the bed. "Jesus Christ! What are you doing?" he yelled when he saw Jared crouching next to the bed, staring at him. His breath increased to short, nervous pants. His eyes had gotten the typical yellow tint werewolves got right before shifting, but he seemed too startled to run.

"Watching you. So you are okay?" Jared's voice sounded amused and relaxed. It only irritated Harry more, but at least it gave the human in him a better grip on his self-control. Slowly his eyes bled back to normal, surprising Jared. Submissive little Harry seemed to have enormous amounts of control over his actions, something rarely found even in dominant werewolves.

"Where did you grow up, in a cave? Why are you staring at me like that!" Harry exclaimed, sliding down the wall as the initial adrenaline wore off. His hair was tousled, his clothes disheveled and bluish shadows beneath his eyes showed his exhaustion, but at least he didn't seem to be planning a quick escape. 

Satisfied with this reaction Jared stood up and sat back down at his desk. "South of Florida, actually. But mom always was kind of a tomboy. She even played touch-football with us, and she often won, too." Relaxing into his seat, Jared kept his eyes trained on Harry's face, watching him slowly calm down. "Not enough female influence in my youth, I guess. But you fainted, and that was a first even for me. I didn't know what to do, so I monitored your vital signs to make sure you wouldn't die. That about sums it up."

When reminded of his weakened state Harry's face fell, and Jared regretted his own thoughtless words instantly. If Harry broke down again, he'd have to go through all the insecurities and the waiting once more, and Jared really didn't fancy that idea.

"Come on now, don't flake out on me! Everything will be alright, we'll talk to Darwin together as soon as he has calmed down a bit, okay?" 

Jared surprised himself with those heartfelt words. He'd always been popular and pretty carefree with his friends and relationships, never having to care for anyone's feelings because there always had been someone new if he broke a heart or two. Inside his old pack there had always been his brother Tobias—another Alpha—overshadowing everything Jared did and steadfastly keeping him from finding friends within the werewolf community for fear of having to fight his youngest brother for reign over the pack.

And now it seemed that fate had thrown socially awkward Jared right into the middle of the wide ocean of emotions and sensitivities, with no land in sight and nothing to cling to but dumb luck.

"I can't go home yet." Harry's voice was solemn and forlorn. The words made Jared cringe, but he didn't let his uneasiness show. It meant that Harry wanted to stay a while, which Jared had planned anyway—but hearing it made it so much more real and way more awkward.

"I know. How about you take a shower? I'll order pizza, and then we'll try to sort things out," Jared replied with a forced smile. Being mindful of other's needs actually felt like hard work to him, but there was no way he'd get out of this. And more importantly, if he wanted to impress Darwin, he'd better take good care of his best friend.

Harry, unaware of the rather unsocial thoughts Jared groomed, just nodded and got up. "No anchovies on mine please," he mumbled and disappeared into the small bathroom.

Sounds of running water came from the shower when Jared picked up his smart phone and dialed his favorite pizza parlor to place an order. Just as he put down his own phone, Harry's started ringing on the crumpled bed. Jared walked over and picked it up, intending to bring it to the bathroom, but as soon as he saw the caller's ID his heart stopped for a second. It was Darwin.

Jared didn't dare to pick up. If Darwin heard his voice from Harry's phone he'd freak again, Jared reckoned, but watching the phone blink, ring and vibrate was torture. When it went silent again Jared was relieved and pissed off at the same time.

A few seconds later it started ringing again, and this time Jared grudgingly took the call. He listened intently, then his face went white. As the phone hit the ground Jared was already out the door.

Seconds later he was running, forgetting about Harry and everything else in the world.

*~Darwin~*

The room was dark and silent when Darwin woke up again. He felt numb and disconnected, and he tried to stay as still as possible, dreading the pain that would take hold of him as soon as his body realized how badly hurt he was. He didn't know why he wasn't dead, but since Carl had left the room he probably thought he'd finished him off. Maybe the old Alpha had gone to get someone to clean up the mess he'd left, but that gave Darwin only minutes to act.

Unfortunately, acting meant moving first.

The pain started the second he tried to open his eyes. Somehow his left eye had survived the battering fists, but his right eye started pulsing and wouldn't open at all. Something inside felt broken, like shards scratching over his eyeball whenever he tried to look around. Maybe his eye socket had been crushed, but that wouldn't kill him. The blinding, searing pain that rushed through his spine when he tried to roll around was a whole other matter. 

Gasping for air he stopped moving and bit down a scream. Every heartbeat seemed to prolong the waves of nauseating pain rushing through his upper body, but as soon as he threw caution into the wind and rolled onto his stomach, it suddenly stopped. Something in his spine seemed badly injured. His left leg was numb and wouldn't move, but his right leg still had some movement left. Something wet and sticky had glued his shirt to his back, but Darwin didn't have to check to know it was his own blood. His fingers wouldn't move at all, and the pain accompanying every attempt was disheartening. Carl had definitely done a pretty good number on him. And if he didn't get out of here soon the Alpha would finish what he'd started.




Unwilling Ch. 03



Darwin squirmed, testing the restraints on his arms. He could feel the rope shifting, and it gave him hope. A few tugs actually loosened his bindings enough to shake them off, even though the pain causing movements made Darwin black out for a few seconds. He still didn't know if he would be able to stand up or even crawl, but at least he wouldn't die like a lamb in a slaughterhouse.

Slowly lifting his head he took in the room. Three small windows sat high on the wall behind him. They were on ground level on the outside, but inside this cellar they were way too high to reach them when he was this badly injured. The door was only a few feet away, but if he went out that way, the risk of being found was extremely high. Unfortunately there was no other way out of the cellar, and with the first option being simply impossible, Darwin had to choose the door. 

His shoulders screamed when he moved his arms in front of his body, but it was a healthy ache, and nothing compared to the stabbing pain in his fingers, ribs, face, legs.... The list went on and on, and he tried to recount every hurt as he pulled himself to the door with slow, crawling movements. A technique he had learned as a guide, using lists and counting as a method to accomplish highly exhausting tasks, got him right to the door without fainting again. 

Luck didn't let him down though. When he pressed against the door, it just swung open, letting in blinding lights from the other cellar room. The surreal scene of normalcy there made Darwin's chest hurt, but it didn't stop his advance to the staircase. 

There was a glass patio door right next to the stairs leading up. It took Darwin a few seconds to remember it was there, and that it led outside to a porch, but when he did, he started crawling faster. If Carl was still inside the house, he would hear the scratching and panting and gasping downstairs, so Darwin hurried as much as he could. When his crushed fingers touched the glass he winced and had to bite down a scream, but at least he had reached his destination without getting caught. 

The sudden sound of steps on the floor above him made him freeze in a panic. Carl seemed to walk around in the conference room, but Darwin soon realized that his Alpha was walking in circles. Then he heard his muffled voice talking on the phone with somebody.

"Where are you? I've been waiting for twenty minutes!" There was a short silence, then more steps. 

"I don't care if your car broke down, shift and run if you must, but get your ass here!" Again there was silence, but this time Carl seemed to listen for a longer time. Then the old man sighed, and stopped with an audible last step. 

"Fine, I'll start digging. But I don't want to touch that traitor ever again, so you better hurry. The longer you wait, the bigger the mess gets. He bled like a pig."

As Carl walked out the front door on the other side of the house, Darwin swallowed a big gunk of bile. It was hard to hear about being reduced to 'a mess', like the dirty footprints an unruly pet had left on the floor, but at least he knew now that Carl really assumed him dead, and that the Alpha planned to go outside and dig. A grave, probably, which would take a good long time to do. 

Darwin turned his head as far as he could and peeked up to the door handle above him. There was no way around this, he would have to try and get up to reach it, preferably before whoever was coming to help Carl arrived.

The burning pain in his spine was back as soon as he managed to pull himself up and rest on his knees, and this time it didn't fade. Gasping for air through the blinding waves of fire Darwin groped for the door handle with his elbow and managed to push it sideways into the open-position. Then he sagged back down and lay there motionless until the black edges around his vision started to retreat again, even though it took minutes. It was a bloody bad moment to black out, that much he knew for sure, lost time besides.

Then the moment of truth came and Darwin peeled the door open. If Carl decided to bury him on the steep sloped side of the area, Darwin would get caught as soon as Carl heard the patio door open.

Darwin kept quiet and listened to the pitch black night, trying to hear something—anything—over the furious hammering of his own heartbeat.

An owl cried its sad calls, but nothing else moved.

Shivering with adrenaline Darwin pulled his broken body outside and to the edge of the balcony. It sat right on the edge of a slope, with one side being on ground level and the other side having a drop of about three feet, so Darwin crawled to the upper edge and onto the grass. Now that he was outside, he realized that he couldn't go near the main road leading to their community center. If they found out he was gone they would start looking for him there, and whoever came to help Carl would stumble over Darwin instantly. That left him with the woods around the house, and the risk of staying hidden, but dying there without anyone ever finding him.

Darwin chose the woods.

It took another eternity to reach the edge of the forest, and when he finally felt the shadows of the leaved canopy above him he was totally exhausted. Changing into his wolf form wasn't even an option at this point, because it would take too much energy out of his already weak body, and probably cause his broken bones to heal crooked, but crawling as a badly hurt human severely narrowed his choices. His second leg had given up somewhere along the way and something in his head seemed to be damaged enough to ruin his feel for balance. It felt like his body was shutting down bit by bit, and soon he would be unconscious and quite possibly dead.

A small, hard rectangle pressed into his hip and added to the miasma of pain. First he thought he'd landed on another rock, but when he felt around it he realized with a shock that it had to be his mobile phone. He actually still had his mobile phone!

He could call somebody. Somebody would come and save him. Darwin didn't even care how helpless and miserable that thought sounded; he just squirmed and writhed until the phone popped out of his pocket, and shoved it closer to his head with his elbows. 

The world around him went gray when he tried to dial with broken fingers, so he made do with speed dial. He only had Harry and his father on it anyway, and both would be able to find him.

Blinking furiously against the popping black and white stars in his vision he stared down at the phone as it dialed Harry. When he didn't pick up at first try Darwin started crying, but did try again. The world started to waver dangerously.

A soft click from the mobile phone told Darwin that Harry finally had picked up. He laid his head onto the small gadget and tried to sort his muddled thoughts-- Harry needed to know where he was.

"I'm dying. In the woods next to the pack house. Please help."

Darwin didn't hear the answer. He blacked out, right there on the edge of the forest.

~*~

When he came to again, he saw a face he hadn't expected to see hovering above him.

"Boy, did you fuck up this time." Trevor had his hands in the pockets of his black wind jacket, staring down at Darwin's battered body. In the moonless night he was nothing more than a lighter blotch in the darkness, but his voice gave his identity away. He was another dominant from Darwin's pack, thirty-ish with brunette hair and green-brown eyes and a swimmer's body that was slim and sinewy but still pretty non-threatening. He wasn't even high up in the pack hierarchy, since no amount of dominance could fix an unsteady, insecure, and egotistical character, but for Carl to call Trevor for assistance made sense. Trevor had never felt a sense of justice or morality and wouldn't mind dirtying his hands for money and status.

Darwin tried to breathe around the crippling pain in his back and fingers, croaking, "I didn't do anything, I swear, just..." He tried to squirm backwards, away from Trevor's looming presence, but the pain was too much. His breaths sounded wet, underlined with a soft bubbling sound that made Darwin think of broken ribs and punctured lungs. It didn't matter at that moment. "... just go, leave, tell him you killed me, I'll disappear, I swear."

Trevor actually looked uneasy then. "No can do, sorry. If I don't show up with your body, he'll suspect me too. You know how crazy he can get." 'He' obviously being Carl, scaring the shit out of one of the most jaded werewolves Darwin had ever met in his life.

The no-nonsense way Trevor talked to him irked Darwin to no end. Here he lay, bleeding internally, broken to the point of near death, and still that guy behaved as if nothing were wrong with that scene.

"I didn't betray anyone! Christ, can't you see? If he doesn't shy away from killing me, who knows who'll be next?" The shouting and straining made something pop inside Darwin's chest, and another wave of pain rolled through his back, robbing his ability to speak. Where the fuck was Harry?

Trevor looked back to the house, only turning his head. "Well," he started, squinting through the darkness, "since he killed his wife first, I'd say everyone of us is a target, until somebody finally has the balls to kill him. You see, she's the reason behind his madness. She betrayed him first, and he trusted her like nobody else. Slept with some other Alpha while she was out of town, for all I know. Lost her head quite literally when Carl found out." Trevor looked back at Darwin and squirmed a bit, which was morbidly reassuring. At least his killer didn't seem to be happy with his job.

But Darwin's thoughts raced down a very different road at that moment. Carl's wife was the reason for his insanity? She'd been dead for about seven years, died in labor while giving birth to Carl's one and only daughter, who had also died. Nobody had ever had any suspicions about her death, and Carl hadn't started his killing spree right away. That specific part of pack history had only started when... 

Darwin gasped softly. Submissives had started vanishing when his own adoptive father, George, had had his stroke, leaving him unable to fulfill his duties as a right hand. Unable to influence and stabilize Carl. The revelation stunned Darwin.

"Well, enough chit-chat. Let's get this done. Sorry, Dar, just doin' my job," Trevor sighed and bowed down with one hand extended towards his throat.

Darwin panicked. "Wait! Please!" he whined, and this time he didn't try to crawl away, but instead bared his throat in the first deliberate gesture of submission in five years, something a dominant wouldn't ever do in an inevitable situation. They liked to die with a stiff upper lip.

It stopped Trevor in mid-gesture, and then he pulled back with a hiss. "You little bastard, did you really fool us all?" he growled with an exasperated voice, and took a small, hesitant step back. Killing a submissive that was already baring his throat was against every instinct a werewolf had, and even though the human part of him could overcome those instincts, it was like walking over the edge of a roof in hopes of some invisible floor to stand on in thin air.

"Why are you making this harder on me?" Trevor sighed, and felt through his pockets. He probably had a gun somewhere, which was much easier than to strangle Darwin with bare hands.

The movement of his head brought back the blinding pain in his back with full force again, bringing back the dancing splotches of light and the creeping darkness, but this time Darwin didn't try to fight it, deciding he didn't want to experience his own death wide awake. As his eyes rolled back into his head, he heard running steps, than a vicious growl, and a scream that got cut off right after it had started, but the noises faded away quickly as he fainted once more.

~*Jared*~

Jared didn't see or hear anyone as he ran. There were people, but their faces were shapeless, meaningless, empty to him. He exploded out of Statsby Hall like a small hurricane, running the pizza guy over without hesitating or stopping. He didn't even know where to go, but it didn't matter. If push came to shove he would smell his way through the city, following the trails of scent Darwin had left hours before. 

His face shifted partially and he didn't care. It was night and he was full-out sprinting, so nobody would really see his face, and he needed his increased wolf senses to track Darwin. A few late passersby gasped and quickly scurried out of his way when he shot past them, but mostly he had the streets all to himself.

When he reached the gravel road leading to the edge of the highway and two of Darwin's tracks mingled, he stopped for a second and jogged a wide circle to find the fresher trail. There was no distinction between his wolf half and his human half at this point: Both wanted to find Darwin, both agreed fully on the actions needed to get there. Never before had he felt this much at peace with his inhumanity, but instead of dwelling on it he just started off again as soon as he had the scents sorted out.

He followed the fresher trail to George's house and rounded it twice to look into the windows, but didn't intrude when he again found a trail leading away from it. He didn't know Darwin's family and for his frenzied mind the information that Darwin wasn't there anymore was enough to not bother going in. The anguished sounds of a man crying from inside trailed after Jared as he took off again, but the sounds of his own racing heart made it impossible to hear anything besides his own adrenaline fueled body.

Darwin must have been in a car on this part of his route, and it made tracking hard work. Jared had to slow down and jog if he didn't want to lose the scent, and it just fed into his panic and rage. When he finally reached the intersection at the main road, where a smaller concrete road led into the hilly woods, his arms and back were covered in gray fur that had gradually and painfully seeped through his skin. As a born werewolf his shifting normally went smoothly, controlled and with little pain, since it was just another part of his existence. But the running around and the panic had weakened his control over his body, and his wolf-self tried to wrestle its way into freedom bit by bit.

'When we find whoever hurt him', Jared whispered in his mind, 'you'll have full control over his punishment. Just wait until then.' He would have liked nothing more than to just let his wolf-self take over control, but they still were within city limits, and the risks of being detected and maybe even shot at was still too high. He couldn't be of any help if he got injured or killed.

The trail led up the road, and Jared followed it. He just stopped once when he saw a bicyclist working his way through the darkness and up the steep hill a bit further up the way, so he decided to try his luck in the woods instead of the road. Being seen in his state of change would mean killing the bicyclist, and that would make him lose even more precious time—not worth the risk.

In the darker forest Jared let his wolf take over navigating them through the brush. His face shifted further, taking the shape of a wolf's head and giving them access to even better night vision, hearing and smelling, and off they went.

As his body leapt over fallen trees, dodged trees and branches, and evaded burrows he felt his trousers and his shirt rip and shred under the pressure of growing muscles and fur. Once or twice the man-beast stopped and raised his muzzle to scent the nightly winds, but it took another ten minutes until the smell of blood hit him like a sledgehammer and made him skid to a halt.

It didn't make him think of food, it made him growl with triumph.

Darwin.

With a low yip he started running again, zigzagging through smaller and denser groups of trees, and he only slowed when he smelled another werewolf mingling with Darwin's scent.

A few seconds later he could see the edge of the forest coming closer. Between the trees stood a werewolf dressed just like the bicyclist he had seen on the road. On the ground in front of the stranger lay Darwin, bloodied and lifeless.

Jared didn't stop to find out if that stranger was friend or foe. He didn't even hesitate, didn't want to hesitate. He just tackled the other werewolf in full speed and burrowed his claws into his flesh to rip bits and pieces out of him until he stopped moving, stopped breathing, stopped being.

His fury was so intense, he didn't even recognize the feeling of triumph when his victim lay dead and broken before him. He just turned around with shivering muscles and carefully picked up Darwin's unconscious body. His instincts told him to retreat, and that was what he would do. Go somewhere where they were safe, nurture the wounds of his mate, and then take revenge.

While Jared's human side pondered over the thought of having a mate, the wolf just started running again, towards the city of Banes.

~*~

The hotel was on the other side of Banes, and it stank. Some of the rooms were paid by the hour, making it popular with hookers and their johns, other rooms were paid by the day and obviously never ever cleaned.

Three cars were parked in front of the street side rooms, and there was no security camera to be found. Jared gently put Darwin onto the ground around the corner from the main entrance and checked his pulse. The unconscious werewolf was nothing but a bloody, lifeless heap with a slow, hesitant heartbeat that drove Jared near mad with worry, but he didn't seem to get any worse. 

The wolf still lurked near the surface, making Jared itchy and aggressive, but also sharpening his senses as he carefully peeked around the corner to watch the parking area and the windows of the hotel rooms. There were a few lights on here and there, and the soft sing-song of a TV show drifted through the ratty windows of the reception area, but besides that the area looked like a ghost town.

Jared couldn't carry Darwin around any longer, because the jerky movements made Darwin's condition worse with every mile they walked. He needed a car, and he needed it fast. His own Volkswagen Beetle was at the university, and even carrying Darwin there was not acceptable. Of course, he could always steal a car, but he needed more than that, he needed a specific car.

Crouching down next to Darwin he brushed a few strands of hair out of his face, kissed his forehead and whispered, "I'll be back real soon, I promise." Then he got up, shook himself and approached the hotel's main entrance in a jog.

The receptionist lost all color in his face when Jared barged in, but Jared didn't give him much notice. "I need to make a call. Give me your phone," he barked at the shocked guy behind the desk, and grabbed the phone without even waiting for an answer. 

It took five minutes to get in touch with the doctor on call, but even though Jared felt the need to grab through the phone and pull the poor guy through the cables, he managed to make it sound urgent but not urgent enough for an ambulance. "We're in the last room on the front, please hurry," he whined into the phone and simply hung up. The receptionist had an uneasy look about him and seemed tempted to call the police, but it took just one good hard glance to make him forget that idea. To be sure Jared hissed, "Don't even think about it, you hear me?", and walked off without waiting for an answer.

He left the reception and ran the long route around the building, since the nosy receptionist watched him with the same uneasiness he'd had a few seconds before, and Jared didn't want to be too conspicuous about his intentions. Darwin's only chance at survival was a perfect emergency ambulance theft.

He didn't know how much time passed, but watching Darwin's chest struggle with each breath made it feel like hours. When a car turned into the hotel parking area Jared couldn't suppress an agitated growl. If he didn't get a grip he'd lose control and make things worse, and that wouldn't help Darwin, he reminded himself. Taking a deep breath he peeked around the corner once more and nearly hooted with triumph when he saw the doctor's car standing right there, next to the reception entrance. The doctor on call just got out of it, carrying a big first aid kit with him, and he didn't lock the car. 




Unwilling Ch. 03



Turning around Jared scooped up Darwin from the floor, hushed him soothingly when he made a low, pained sound and snuck out of their hiding spot and to the car. Sure enough, the car wasn't locked, and even the key was still in the ignition. It was the dumbest luck Jared had ever had, and he didn't think twice about grabbing it by the horns.

He put Darwin on the back seats, opened the front passenger door and scooted behind the wheel, just as the clueless doctor knocked on the last hotel room door, far, far away from his car. He only realized the whole scheme when he heard the engine of his car roar to life, and saw his emergency ambulance dash out of the parking area with screeching tires.

Jared left the hotel and headed back into the city. When they passed through a short stretch of acres and wilderness right next to the city limits, Jared left the road to turn into one of the dirt roads, drove for thirty minutes further into the countryside and finally found an empty hunting cabin beside the road. Jared broke the lock on the door and carried Darwin inside to lay him on the small camp bed he found. Then he drove the car another good twenty miles further, left it there and jogged back to the cabin, carrying the big first aid kit he had found in the car.

Exhausted and even more tired than before he barred the door, walked over to Darwin's sleeping form, and collapsed to his knees. They finally were in a safe place.

The only thing left to do for Jared was taking care of the injuries he could fix, so he summoned the last bits of energy to rummage through the first aid kit. He found a bottle of medical morphine and syringes, and injected Darwin with a dosage that would have been deadly for a mere human, and even enough to drug a hurt werewolf into submission. Every injury he'd treat would be just as much torture as when Darwin had gotten them, and Jared hated the thought of hurting him too much to do without anesthesia. 

Just as he started working on the last injuries - the broken fingers -, Darwin began to move, although in a sluggish and weak way. 

Those beautiful ice-blue eyes opened and moved aimlessly over the ceiling, the walls and finally Jared, but there was no recognition in them. He didn't even seem to register Jared's presence, much less his own pain when he tried to sit up.

"If they'd told me morphine would make you trip like this, I'd have waited," Jared said to get Darwin's attention, and grinned. It was bloody relieving to see that much life in the boy, even though he still seemed pretty out of it. Instead of reacting to the words Darwin started to move his fingers, which were all but puree-ed, and even though he didn't seem to feel actual pain, his body started wavering a bit. 

Jared got the first plaster bandage ready and tried again. "Do you remember where you are?" he asked, and grabbed Darwin's left arm to tend to his fingers.

Finally there was an answer, although none that made sense. "It is very bright here. I don't like the roses," Darwin mumbled sluggishly, and tried to curl the fingers Jared had just encased with plaster.

Jared nearly cursed with frustration when the wet plaster bent a bit. "Stop moving around, you're making it worse!" He quickly picked up more of the coated bandages and finished the other fingers, including the rest of Darwin's Hand just to be sure.

And just when Jared thought he finally had Darwin's cooperation that insufferable guy started moving his right hand. "I said stop moving, damn it," Jared cursed, and grabbed his wrist.

"I love you," Darwin whispered. Then he collapsed again.

Jared blinked five times. "Wait, what?" 

~*Darwin*~

He lay in a bed of roses. No, not a bed of roses, but a bed with white satin sheets, covered with uncountable numbers of rose petals. The air was mild, if a bit cool, and the soft breeze stroked his body every so often, making the hairs on his arms and chest stand up where they met the wind. The room was so very white, he felt blinded by it, but it didn't matter. He sat up, brushed a few of the beautiful petals from his abs and thighs, and looked around confusedly. There was nothing else in this snow white room, only the bed, the bright red petals, and himself. 

His fingers felt numb, so he balled them into fists a few times, and the world began to swim and wobble. His vision blurred, just like on a broken camera, but when he sat still for a few heartbeats, it stopped and everything came into focus again. Then the contrasts grew more and more intense, the piercing white started hurting in his eyes, and the red splotches on the bed sheets turned darker and darker, burning themselves into his vision.

"If they'd told me morphine would make you trip like this, I'd have waited."

The voice came out of nowhere, dull and amphoric, but somehow Darwin recognized it. He knew the owner of the voice, he just couldn't quite pinpoint who it was. Although it made Darwin's heart race with some unknown emotion, in the place he was, that strange feeling made no sense. There was no reason to feel something like panic, or joy, right? And if there was, he would have been told by. . . 

He couldn't remember, and it didn't matter.

He licked his lips, only to find them already wet with a thick, tasteless fluid that had turned sticky on the edges. He wanted to ask why everything was so damn bright, but he just didn't seem to be able to grasp his own thoughts, and put them into words. 

It was the strangest feeling.

"Do you remember where you are?" 

That voice again. It made him shiver with anticipation, but somehow it pulled words out of his spinning mind.

"It is very bright here. I don't like the roses," Darwin mumbled, because it was the first thing that came to his mind. He couldn't have stopped his blabbering if his life depended on it, but there was no reason to even try.

Something tugged at his left arm, but when he turned his head he didn't see anything.

"Stop moving around, you're making it worse." That voice again. Darwin realized he liked that voice, because it filled this strange place with giddy feelings and happiness. The fingers on his left hand became stiff, so he tried his right arm again. 

The world wavered again. "I said stop moving, damn it!" said the voice again, and Darwin smiled happily.

"I love you," he said, and sighed. Then everything went away once more.

~*~

The world was back to normal when Darwin woke up again. This particular 'normal' included throbbing pain throughout his whole body, but it was a healthy, stable experience, filled with the scent of sunshine and wood, and it was warm and cozy. He still couldn't use his right eye, but this time it didn't hurt in that alarming way it had before, it just... hurt.

His hands felt heavy and he couldn't move his fingers, but that also was somehow calming. A bandage enclosed his stomach and back, another one went around his upper left thigh, and a blanket covered his body, giving warmth.

Another source of warmth was the massive body right next to him. Darwin could feel a broad back touching his elbow, and it sent him into a state of panic that hadn't been there before. Gasping for air he tried to sit up, but all he accomplished was rousing that other body from sleep and into full alarm.

"What's wrong? Do you hurt?" a voice rasped, drowsy but attentive, and the body moved until Jared's face came into view.

Jared, of all people.

Darwin tried to back away, to get some kind of distance between him and that way too attractive bastard, but the wall was right at his back and the pain stopped him from getting up. "Where am I? What are you doing here?" A short pause, then he barked angrily, "And why the fuck are you naked!"

The answer was an irritatingly slow grin, but at least Jared rolled off the small camp bed they both had occupied, and grabbed his ripped trousers. "We're in a hunting cabin somewhere east of Banes." He put on the trousers, stood up, and walked through the tiny room to a shelf filled with what seemed to be canned goods. Then he declared, "I saved you, that's why I'm here." Grabbing a can of peaches and a can opener he turned and showed a dazzling smile, answering the last non-question. "I was naked to give you more skin contact. You were shivering."

For a few seconds Darwin was speechless and just watched Jared as the bigger male cranked open the can. Only when Jared walked back to the bed Darwin woke from his trance and turned his eyes away.

"You saved my life. Thank you." 

The camp bed creaked when Jared settled his weight onto the edge. He peeled the can lid open. "Don't mention it. You must be hungry. Here." A shiny slice of peach hovered into Darwin's line of sight, held up by two fingers. Somehow it made him angry.

"I can eat without your help, damn it!" he protested, and lifted his arms, only to find himself confronted with plaster cast and ultimately useless fingers. The peach wobbled a bit, then sunk down to touch his lips.

"Stop being a fairy and eat," Jared scolded, and stuffed Darwin's opening mouth with the peach slice before he could protest any more. The food felt so unbelievably good going down, he didn't even try to speak until the can was empty. When he finally felt full, he was drowsy and tired and had a hard time not falling asleep on the spot.

"Why didn't Harry come?" he mumbled as his eyelids drooped more and more.

"Because that guy would have killed him, right after finishing you off," Jared said. The words haunted Darwin into the darkness of sleep.

~*Jared*~

The fever came a few hours after Darwin had fallen asleep again. It had been expected, since werewolves heated up like standalone radiators when healing, and Darwin had suffered innumerable injuries. It would take his body days—if not weeks—to heal completely, and even though the injuries themselves had not killed the submissive wolf, the fever seemed to be trying to correct that error.

When Darwin's temperature climbed over 102 °F in the afternoon of the following day, Jared finally had to admit that wet rags and cold sponge baths weren't going to quite cut it. Grabbing his own phone he went through Darwin's clothing to hunt for his phone, then walked outside to get better reception and dialed Harry's number from his own cell.

It took a while for Harry to answer, but eight persistent rings later he finally picked up. "Hello?" Harry mumbled with a soggy voice that told stories of tears and sleepless nights. Very melodramatic, Jared thought to himself, but he didn't let his impatience be heard.

"It's me, Jared. I found Darwin, but he's hurt," Jared said without thinking. When he heard Harry hyperventilate on the other end of the line, he instantly wanted to kick himself. Way to go breaking that news!

"Where are you? Where is he? Can I talk to him?" Harry's sudden spurt of fear was audible enough to make Jared clench his teeth in jealousy. How dare that little Texan twink have feelings for his heartthrob, damn him! But the last few days had been a good learning experience for Jared, and he managed to swallow his anger enough to keep it out of his words, if not his voice.

"No you can't. He's got healing fever, and it's getting worse, so I need you to do something for me. Are you listening?" he barked into the phone. Harry shut up instantly, but Jared could hear the soft crunching of the phone's plastic casing being squeezed tightly. 

"What do you need?" Harry finally hissed, barely able to control his agitation.

"I need Ibuprofen, as concentrated as you can get it. Some clothes from my room, something for Darwin too. And some light food. Can you manage that?" Jared knew he was being curt with the only person able to help him and Darwin, but try as he might, he couldn't keep the demanding note out of his voice. It was like some newly evolved instinct to command instead of ask, and he just couldn't control it.

The phone crunched again, then Harry finally answered. "Yes. Send me the coordinates. It'll take me an hour to get the stuff together, but I'll hurry." 

Jared could hear thousand questions in Harry's voice, but fortunately he didn't ask anything else. He just hung up with a short "See you," and got into gear.

~*~

Ninety minutes later Darwin started to twitch and mumble in his feverish sleep. It brought Jared to his side in a split second, even though he couldn't do anything except change the wet cloth on Darwin's head. The injured werewolf was still burning up with waves of crippling fever, but he opened his eyes and blinked confusedly at Jared. 

"What's going on?" Darwin croaked, disoriented and exhausted. The sheets and the pillow were soaked through with sweat, but Jared hadn't been able to coax Darwin to drink more than a few meager sips. Seeing his chance he now jumped to the opportunity.

Grabbing a water bottle Jared scooted closer, grabbed for Darwin and gently pulled him onto his lap. "You have healing fever. Don't worry, I've already sent for drugs. Here, drink something," he purred calmingly and unscrewed the bottle top. 

Darwin on the other hand didn't seem to think of thirst as a priority and tried shoving Jared's arm away. "No, don't call my father. He'll tell Carl! It's all your fault, everything..." 

Suddenly he seemed too exhausted to keep rambling, and Jared tried again to offer some water. This time Darwin actually drank greedily and seemed to calm down a little, or maybe he was just too tired to keep struggling.

Darwin's feverishly hot back rested against Jared's naked chest. It felt strangely good to hold the injured submissive, even though sweat started to rub off onto Jared's skin, leaving itchy spots he couldn't scratch if he wanted to keep Darwin where he was. But there was something else, something Jared didn't want to feel because it was more than inappropriate—arousal. Deep, heavy, sensual arousal, fueled by the smell of Darwin's body.

Jared felt his cock swell and press snugly against Darwin's back, where it responded to his body heat with a happy pulse. For a few moments he thought about moving his crotch away from his nearly unconscious charge, but as soon as he started the careful maneuver Darwin whimpered softly and scooted back with instinctual need for body contact. It was the sweetest of tortures not to be able to stop the richness of Darwin's smell from seeping into his mind, but also not to be able to put a hand to himself and end the throbbing erection he was now sporting.

And to add to Jared's inner turmoil, an unknown calmness and satisfaction suddenly overwhelmed him, soothing his nervous thoughts and his restlessness, pushing away the need to relieve his lust that instant. A good dose of morphine couldn't have gotten him this calm this fast, but even though it baffled Jared for a few seconds, he came to accept it gratefully.

So this was what having a submissive calm you down felt like.

With a slow grin Jared ruffled Darwin's sweaty hair, pulled him closer carefully, and let the calm overwhelm him, promising to himself to be up and about as soon as he heard Harry arrive. But until then, why not enjoy peace, just once?

~*Darwin*~

Darwin awoke to a mixture of incredibly hot moisture on his entire body, and the ruthless glare of the sun coming through the window of the other side of the hut. He felt sweaty, thirsty, tired and weak, and the pains in his body were still there. The hurt he was feeling actually meant he was still alive, so that at least was a good thing, but the other inconveniences of his awakening were pretty unpleasant.

Something silky smooth but hard pressed into his back at an awkward angle, but Darwin didn't think much of it—at least until he moved, and a low grunt made him aware of the other person lying in the bed... right beneath him.

Jared. Always Jared.

Sitting up that quick was definitely not a good idea, but much to Darwin's surprise it didn't make his bones crunch or cause him to black out. The pain did flare like an angry dog rudely awakened, but it proved to be way less intense than the last time he had tried such a stunt. Obviously his body had already healed quite a bit, which on the other hand meant he had been unconscious for an immeasurably long time.

His movement also woke up Jared, who lay on the cot like a lazy, sun-kissed tiger. Within a second Darwin took in the broad, muscular chest, the light fleece of blond hairs trailing down from his navel to the waistband of his ripped jeans, the obvious signs of sweat and the pinkish traces where their bodies had been in close contact throughout the night. It was a sight to behold, but even as Darwin felt his pupils dilate with sheer lust he got angry.

"What the fuck did you do to me?" he bellowed harshly, and jumped up from the cot. There was a bit of vertigo and quite some tottering, but he managed to stay on his feet. His humiliation would have been complete if he had fallen down face forward, only to be rescued once again by the infuriating Alpha.

Jared didn't seem to hear the upset notes in Darwin's voice and just smiled lazily. "Me? I didn't do anything. You went all submissive on me. How was I supposed to defend myself against that?" he replied and scratched his belly lazily. 

Darwin's eyes unthinkingly followed the fingers on their path through the golden trickle of hair leading further down, and he wrinkled his nose. The wolf in him tried to scent Jared greedily, and was rewarded with a big whiff of musk that went straight to his dick, morphing his insides into jelly. It made thinking clearly nearly impossible.

A few seconds ticked by in silence, then Darwin swallowed a huge puddle of saliva that had collected beneath his tongue, and growled: "I didn't do anything, how could I? I was unconscious as you well know!"

He meant the words to sound stern and repriving, but they came out lame and insecure, like the bark of a surprised Pekingese.

"That you were. But when I tried to get off the cot you practically clung to me and wouldn't let me go, and then there was this strange calm that made me want to stay and just relax. I fell asleep from it, and I wouldn't do that under normal circumstances, so don't tell me you didn't do anything," Jared replied dryly and turned his gaze away. Suddenly he didn't seem to be comfortable lying on the cot anymore, because he got up in a fluid motion and walked to the shabby door to pull it open.

A fresh breeze of much cooler air wafted into the small hut, bringing relief to both of them. Darwin would have liked to go out into the cool, sunny morning, but he would have had to pass Jared in close proximity, and somehow he didn't want to do that so soon. His words made Darwin even queasier than before. He knew pretty well what Jared was talking about but didn't want to accept it so easily.

"I didn't submit to you," he hissed, trying to fight down the fearful tone in his voice. The thought of giving up control to someone as dangerous as Jared nearly made him panic. He couldn't lose control. He mustn't!

"I didn't say you did," was Jared's still dry answer, but at least he turned around to face Darwin, leaning against the door frame as the morning breeze blew by. A few rays of sunlight caught in his blond hair and made it all shiny and sparkly, giving his head an aura. 'Like a fucking angel,' Darwin thought gloomily and crossed his casted arms as firmly as possible. It was hard not to fidget under those curious, intense eyes, but Darwin had a lot of practice.

"That's good, because I didn't!" Darwin snapped angrily, then added, "and I won't. Never!"

The words were out before Darwin could stop himself, and once said he couldn't take them back, even though they sounded childish as hell. Something about Jared made him moody and bitchy and confused as hell, but even as Jared played him like a fiddle he couldn't just drop his year-old camouflage and stop playing a dominant. His instincts screamed and begged for him to just let it go and take what he knew he wanted, needed, but every time he got the chance to do just that he backed out like a wimp.




Unwilling Ch. 03



"Never?" Jared asked, one eyebrow raised.

"Never." Another chance missed. Darwin started to hate himself more than he hated Jared.

Again there were a few seconds of silence, then a soft laugh. "Fine with me. I like challenges," Jared said with a big grin on his face, and pushed away from the doorframe to walk over to the table. Wallets, keys, and mobile phones were stored in a small heap there, right next to a big first aid kit that seemed to have been plundered by barbarians, since everything inside was mixed up or strewn across the one small chair and the floor. Jared picked up both phones, activated the displays and then scowled. "Hm."

That small sound was enough to set Darwin off again, even though he didn't know why. "What! What is it this time?" he snapped, and sat down on the cot heavily. His wounds protested with sharp stabs of pain, but they settled down quickly.

This time Jared didn't answer with his normal infuriating amusement. He didn't answer at all, but dialed a number and put the phone to his ear, listening to it ringing.

"Who could be so goddamn important that you're calling right in the middle of our fight?" Darwin griped, then turned beet-red when he realized that he was begging for attention in a very unbecoming way.

There was a soft click when someone on the other end of the call picked up, and Jared didn't bother answering Darwin's question, but started talking.

"Hello? Who is this?" he said, sounding alarmed. It made Darwin shut up and listen. He didn't hear the answer, but Jared started to walk around, his face getting a stony expression. "Is he alright? How did this happen? ... No, I'm a good friend of his, I was expecting him to visit yesterday but he never turned up," he explained politely, but his face didn't match. Whoever he was talking about, something bad had happened.

A few more words were exchanged, then the call was ended and Jared stared out the window for a few moments. Briefly he looked exhausted and guilty, but when he turned around to look at Darwin his face gave away nothing.

"Darwin, I'm sorry. Harry was sent to the hospital yesterday and somehow went missing from the ambulance. I think whoever got you also got him."



Unwilling Ch. 04



Please feel free to comment if you feel that there's something missing, or if you like it. I want to thank roughboy18 for his excellent help!

One more chapter will follow to give my sweetlings a happy end!

I am writing in a foreign language, and it takes its time :( Sorry for the waiting, I hope you like it!

Small disclaimer:

Suspension of disbelief is recommended. All characters are 18+. 

***************

~*Carl*~

Carl's mind had never been stable, but it had totally crashed and crumbled a few months before what he used to call "the wife-incident". Everything had been alright as long as his late Beta, George, was there, second-guessing every order Carl gave, making him realize what was normal and which orders were too harsh.

Curling his upper lip Carl rammed the shovel into the sandy ground and heaved another pile of dirt out of the hole he was digging. Dark memories always made him moody, but at the same time he couldn't stop them from coming again and again. 

George had always been his conscience, and they had worked so well together. When George had found that little runt of a street urchin eleven years ago, Carl had been happy for him and his wife, since they couldn't have children of their own, and he had cried and mourned with George when his wife had died a few years later. But where Carl had been able to go on living and find a wife of his own, George had never stopped mourning his spouse's passing. His heart had been broken, and shortly after his body followed.

A cry of pain echoed up the hills to where Carl was digging, and it stopped him in his tracks. Some lower sounds followed, but they were indistinguishable, and the cry itself hadn't reminded Carl of anyone. Could be Trevor, or Darwin, if that bastard had survived the beating. Carl's rational side urged him to go take a look and find out what had happened, but his mind didn't hold enough sanity to listen--it hadn't for a long time. He was digging a hole, and he didn't want to leave any work unfinished. It just wasn't right.

Not right.

Like George abandoning him two and a half years ago. A stroke, a damn stroke had taken his best friend and confidant away, and it had changed their relationship forever. It hadn't killed George, but it might as well have, leaving him incapable of moving freely or defending himself. Carl had never felt so lonely before, and even though he'd had a wife at the time, she had never been a fit replacement for George and his ability to stabilize Carl.

And when his wife had betrayed Carl, George hadn't been there. Nobody had been there to talk him out of it, to quench his rage or stop his battering fists, to keep him from doing something he would regret for the rest of his life. And when all was said and done, when his wife had been no more, reduced to nothing but a slimy, bloody pulp on the floor of his home, Carl had raged even more because George hadn't helped him, and they had both become widowers.

He had seen the true face of life, and it had made him weep and cry. He had sworn to himself he would never ever forget about the truth behind the happy facade the world was showing, and he had sworn to end it, because it just wasn't right.

The small grave was finished, and Carl climbed out of it with a low growl. What was taking Trevor so long? Now that his work was done he finally admitted to himself that it probably would be a good idea to investigate the sounds he had heard before, so he made his way downhill. There were no more screams, just the soft, lonesome sounds of creatures of the night, and the whispers of an autumn breeze in the trees. It sounded right. The woods also looked right, but the smell was off.

Blood was in the air that beautiful night.

When Carl finally found the ripped up pieces that once had been Trevor, the strong smell of fresh meat and blood had sent him into a hazy trance, making it hard to notice the details. He had to retch and spit five times to get the taste out of his mouth, the smell was that intense, but when he finally had his wits about him, he only needed one 360° spin to put the pieces together.

Werewolf attacks were pretty easy to identify, once you learned the signs. The cut up abdomen, where the body was most vulnerable, the broken neck that at least had granted Trevor a merciful death, and the claw marks. They were everywhere, not only on the body parts, but also on the ground and a nearby tree. Only one pissed off werewolf could wreak this much havoc in such a short time. Carl knew that, because he had been there more than once. It had taken him more than a year to get some kind of control over his rages without George's help. To not make that kind of a mess anymore. 

Now Carl killed with control and precision, and it made his life so much easier.

Had Darwin done this to Trevor? Trevor had neither been the sharpest knife in the drawer, nor the biggest hunk in the pack. There were a few werewolves able to subdue Trevor, but to rip him up like that? Carl sniffed thoughtfully, then turned to scent the claw marks at the nearest tree trunk. There was a note of Trevor and Darwin, but another scent mingled with them and it made Carl's head spin for a second, raising his hackles and eliciting a deep, low growl from him.

Alpha.

He didn't think about it, he just opened his trousers, whipped out his dick, and pissed over the marks until his own pungent smell covered everything else. There was no way he'd let that strange stink stay as it was, not when he had to call in someone to help clean up. Another Alpha had metaphorically pooped on his front porch, a direct challenge to his reign, and any dominant smelling that other presence would automatically take it as a sign of weakness in Carl.

When the task was done he turned around and walked back towards the house. Since Trevor was obviously out of the picture, he'd have to think up a new, believable tale for his pack. They'd never understand if he told them the truth, and he needed them to follow his orders. Everything depended on it. Everything!

When the door fell shut behind Carl, he suddenly knew who would be able to take Trevor's place. He'd still have to assemble a believable story for the rest of his troops, but the newly turned one, that werewolf everyone just called "the accident", had been nagging him about a chance to prove himself for weeks now, and he seemed increasingly desperate about it. Frowning, Carl searched his contacts, trying to remember the name. Rob? Rick? Ah there, Rayne.

Satisfied with his choice and quick thinking, Carl dialed the number. "Rayne, good evening. You asked me for a chance to show your talents. Well, today's your lucky day! Meet me at the pack house as soon as possible. I'll wait here."

Suddenly things were looking up for Carl. Now he'd definitely be able to set the world right again.

~*Harry*~

Harry didn't notice Jared's disappearance until the pizza delivery guy knocked at the door the third time. "Jared?" he called, then turned off the shower and fished for a towel to rush to the door dripping wet. Jared's room was empty, Harry's mobile phone was lying at the floor, and the pizza guy made a sour face when Harry barely had enough money to pay the pizza, but not enough for a tip. 

Harry put the pizza on the empty desk, then went back to the bathroom to finish his shower, unperturbed by Jared's absence. Jared probably just had gone out for a second, and surely would be back soon, Harry mused as he dried his hair. Of course, Jared didn't own a blow dryer, as Harry amusedly discovered, but his short hair would dry just nicely without that luxury this once.

He already felt better, though the thought of Darwin still made his chest hurt. Jared had promised to fix things, and Harry trusted the Alpha to actually be able to do just that. Reckoning Jared would be back soon he put on his clothes, wiped the shower walls dry, and sat down at the desk to eat. He left half of the pizza for Jared at first, but when midnight came and went he finished off the last pieces and looked for his mobile phone. 

The battery was empty, and to top off his streak of bad fortune Jared didn't have the same make of phone, making it impossible to recharge Harry's phone on the spot. Harry didn't want to leave the Alpha's room. He felt safe there, but at the same time he felt the urgent need to find out where Jared was and why he wasn't back yet. With a sigh he grabbed the empty pizza carton, left Jared's dorm room, and walked out of Statsby Hall.

Harry's room was on the other side of the campus, nearly a half-hour walk from Statsby Hall, and at that time of night he was all alone. He wasn't afraid of darkness, but the day had already held too many surprises for Harry's taste, and his nerves were raw. It was probably just fatigue that made him see things, but he couldn't shake the feeling he was being followed, and when he saw a shadow move between the bushes of the small on-campus park, he decided that jogging home would be a prudent thing to do.

He reached his dorm room out of breath and sweaty, but safe and sound. Harry did look out of the window though, and when he saw another shadow move down the street, he had to suppress a shiver of fear. Something was definitely wrong out there.

He checked the lock on his door, made sure the windows were all closed, and connected his cell phone to the charging cable. 

Freaking out would be a bad thing--Harry knew that. But the minutes he had to wait for his phone to charge felt like hours, and every time he looked out the window his anxiety spiked even further. Goosebumps crawled all over his body, his breath was rapid and harsh and didn't seem to be slowing down anytime soon, and when he finally tried to turn on his phone his fingers shook so hard he could barely manage to press the button. 

Harry felt a change coming, but he tried to suppress it as he dialed Jared's number. His whole body shook with fear and adrenaline as the ring sounded once, twice, three times, then the connection broke. Swearing heartily he tried it again, but with the same results. Wherever Jared was, he had no reception, and his voice mail must have been deactivated. Maybe whoever stalked around out there had also been after Jared? Maybe he was already gone, or dead, or hurt somewhere?

"Deep breaths, Harry, deep breaths, don't let it take you," he mumbled through numb lips, trying hard to control the urge to change shape. Shuddering heavily he threw the mobile phone onto his desk, took a few steps back, and rubbed his prickling arms. If he could just slow his breathing, only a little, he would be able to--

There was a wet, popping sound, and he felt the skin on his back break. Not even Harry's prayers could stop the shift to his wolf form now, and he blacked out.

~*~

When Harry opened his eyes again, he was greeted by the sharp tang of dog piss. He was laying on his dorm room floor, surrounded by ripped pieces of clothing, feathers from his damaged pillow and a chewed up shoe, signs of deep unhappiness his wolf had left for him. There was a smallish dog turd next to the scratched up door, wet spots at the table leg of his desk, and at some point during the night his wolf had slept on the bed, making it a dog's dinner, so to speak.

Groaning, Harry closed his eyes again and tried imagining himself into another realm, where people didn't lose their recollections of a whole night just because of a lousy anxiety attack. This kind of thing hadn't happened to him in a few years, and he'd thought he was over such childish problems. Losing the wolf-memories or even disconnecting the human side from the wolf side in a change was common in teenagers, but stopped when a werewolf reached his adulthood. Which meant that Harry had just had a flash-back episode. Great.

He carefully peeled open his eyes again. His room was still messed up, and nothing had changed.

He collected himself off the floor with a curse, rubbed his pounding head, and took a look around. His books were untouched, his phone still lay on the desk where he'd put it the night before, and since nobody was pounding on his door he could safely assume that there hadn't been any reason for his neighbors to call animal control or the police.

Sending a short, thankful prayer to the powers that be he quickly cleaned up the feces, then scrubbed the desk leg and the floor beneath it with soap and water. Pushing the windows open he let in clean, fresh autumn air that blew around the scattered feathers while Harry collected the leftovers of his shoe and the pillow in a garbage bag. The dirty, messed up bed sheet and blanket covers would require a bit more work, so he just changed them and put them into a laundry basket. 

Harry itched to call Jared, to find out if he was okay, but he knew he had to calm down first-- another involuntary change would just cost him a few more hours, and quite possibly a fine for damaging university property. The only way to avoid another attempt to call was for him to go out of his way with busying his hands, and to stay away from his phone. He decided to take his dirty clothes down to the laundry room and try reaching Jared after that.

It took him a total of two hours to get through all of his dirty clothes and the bedding, but when he finally carried his stuff back to his room he felt much calmer than before. All the calm vanished instantly when he heard the distinct ring tone of his mobile phone through his locked dorm room door, and had to drop all the clean laundry to scramble for the keys in his jeans pocket.

The fear of being too late nearly brought him to tears and made him think of the most horrible circumstances in which Jared and/or Darwin could be right now. He didn't even wait to close his door behind him, he just scrambled for his desk, ripped off the charger cable and answered the call breathlessly and in tears.

"Hello?"

"It's me, Jared. I found Darwin, but he's hurt," a moody voice huffed. Harry recognized him right away, but the words nearly made his heart stop. Darwin was hurt? The small bit of information was enough to make Harry's heart race and his vision blur, and it brought back the itching along his back.

"Where are you? Where is he? Can I talk to him?" Harry hissed, balling his free hand into a fist to keep his instincts in check. Jared wouldn't have called him if he didn't need Harry's help, and he wouldn't be able to help if he behaved like an uncontrolled freak again.

"No you can't. He's got healing fever, and it's getting worse, so I need you to do something for me. Are you listening?" Jared sounded so angry, but something told Harry that the anger wasn't meant for him. Whoever had hurt Darwin would pay if Jared ever got to them, that was for sure. 

Harry had a pretty good inkling as to who was to blame, but it wasn't his place to tell-- not yet. "What do you need?" he said, although millions of other questions lay at the tip of his tongue.

"I need Ibuprofen, as concentrated as you can get it. Some clothes from my room, something for Darwin too. And some light food. Can you manage that?"

Harry instinctively tightened his grip on his phone, frozen with nightmarish visions about what could have happened to get Darwin hurt so bad he got healing fever, and only when he heard the hard plastic crunch did he snap out of his daze.

"Yes. Send me the coordinates. It'll take me an hour to get the stuff together, but I'll hurry." It wouldn't be too hard to get into Darwin's room, since the dorm master had seen them together dozens of times. Getting into Jared's room would need a bit more convincing, but Harry had a pretty good incentive to get it done. The Ibuprofen was the least of his worries.

Harry still wanted to know what had happened, but before he could ask anything, Jared ended the call with a curt "See you." He stared at his phone for long seconds, then he shook himself and rushed to get his laundry inside before taking off. 

He never reached Darwin's room though.

Just as he came to the stair well leading down to the exit, something hard hit the back of his head, hard enough to kill a human, hard enough to send a werewolf to sleep, and he went down as the world around him blackened.

~*Jared*~

"Get out of my way!" Darwin screeched, shoving Jared who was blocking the cabin's doorway by simply extending his arms. If this went on like this any longer, blows would be exchanged, and seeing as how Darwin was still gravely injured, Jared had to decide what to do soon if he wanted to avoid hurting him further. 

The news of Harry's disappearance had had a bigger impact than Jared had anticipated, and Jared hadn't calculated in the sheer stubbornness Darwin could display. Things had gone from a barely contained kind of angry resolve to a yell-fest within minutes, and now Darwin seemed ready to punch Jared just to get past him. It gave Jared an idea.

Stepping out of the way he let Darwin hobble outside and into the cool fall sunshine, but followed him closely. Darwin still was very weak, his injuries occasionally bleeding, so Jared didn't have any trouble keeping up with the simmering submissive.

"Listen, Darwin," he began, and instantly had to dodge a flailing fist directed at his chest. Darwin didn't even stop walking, not caring if he had missed or not. But Jared didn't give up that easily. "Just listen, okay? You can keep walking if you want, but you won't stop me from talking!"

Darwin didn't respond for a few steps, then he stopped with a pained expression and turned around. "Fine. But whatever you say, I've already made up my mind." His voice was dripping acid again, and it made Jared take an step back, uncertain where he stood.

"You're hurt. Don't get me wrong, you being all heroic does have a certain sex appeal, but I'm not into dead bodies. If you go out there, you'll probably find Harry alright. And then he'll have to watch you die like a sickly, frail wuss who couldn't even put a scratch on his attackers." Jared took a deep breath and kept his eyes fixated on Darwin's face. The darkness in those icy-blue eyes nearly made him want to back down, but not only was he absolutely sure of his words, he also felt an intense fear he'd never felt for anyone else before, and it freaked him out.

"I don't want to force you to stay, but if I let you walk, you'll fall down and not get up again somewhere out there. You'll never even make it to the main road, and Harry will never realize what a loyal friend he has. And me? I'll have to watch you force yourself to walk, I'll have to watch you fall and stand up again, and I'll know if I tried to help you, you'd hate me for the rest of your life. Please, don't do that to Harry and me."

Darwin tried not to let how much impact Jared's words had show, but his gaze started wavering. He looked over his shoulder and down the dirt road as if waging his chances, and Jared kept quiet until their gazes met again. He felt silent panic tingling in his finger tips, not daring to make any move or say too much. Only when Darwin looked down at his shoes did Jared resume talking.

"I WANT you to save Harry. I want to help you save him, but I want us to succeed at it. This is as much my fault as whoever did this to you, and I'm ready to back you up in whatever crazy thing you want to do-- once you've recovered enough to be able to actually do it. We need a plan, and we need to get you better, but we can't do either if you stumble down that road right now in the state you're in." 

Darwin stood there in silence for a good minute. Then he slowly raised his eyes, looked desolately at Jared and whispered:, "What if they killed him?" His voice sounded broken, faint and so full of sorrow, it tugged painfully at Jared's heart.

It was hard to breathe through the shared pain, but finally Jared took a deep breath and murmured, "If they've killed him, you being there won't change that. But if they haven't killed him yet, they'll surely do it as soon as they've killed you. His best chance is you in a condition to fight and actually rescue him."




Unwilling Ch. 04



Suddenly Darwin seemed to crumble and started swaying. Jared was next to him in a split second, both arms extended to catch him if he did faint, but he didn't anticipate Darwin first leaning against him, then hugging him as the black haired hell-dog started to sob silently.

"I hate this! I hate being weak," Darwin sniffled against Jared's chest and eased his wounded arm out of the hug without letting go. 

"I won't tell anyone, promise."

They stood like this for a good five minutes, and Jared relished the feel of Darwin's body in his arms and the scent of his hair ins his nose. It was the first time Darwin let Jared touch him in this way without freaking, and even though there was the thought of sex somewhere in Jared's mind, he could have stood like this forever without changing a thing about it. The moment was perfect, but then Darwin slowly let go, wiped his face with one sleeve, and hobbled back into the hunting cabin. Jared didn't like how much Darwin's posture resembled a broken man. He had won this battle, but the victory tasted somewhat bitter.

~*~

Twenty minutes later Darwin was sitting awkwardly on the cot, sipping hot cocoa as he watched Jared buzz through the shelves and cabinets in search for food. They had eaten the last of the canned peaches that morning, and Jared had yet to find the guts to open one of those unmarked, neutral cans sitting in the back of one shelf.

As nutrition and rest were the most important tools in Darwin's recovery, Jared had insisted on being in charge of housekeeping. Had he known how many little things one had to do to keep Darwin on the cot instead of taking over, he might have kept his mouth shut, but now it was too late.

"I want to know what you're planning," Darwin growled, clenching his mug. Jared could feel Darwin's eyes following his every move, and he could feel the inner unrest the submissive werewolf experienced, his frustration about not being able to do anything, and his growing anger at the world as a whole. This was not going to be a fun weekend, but Jared was willing to suffer the consequences of his actions.

He found a plastic box of crackers behind a few packs of sugar, pulled it out and threw it onto the cot. "There, eat." Jared sighed, then sunk onto the camping chair. He already dreaded this talk, though he had no idea why.

"I don't have a polished plan yet, because I don't know who we're up against. It's time you tell me what happened, and why, then we can talk about strategies to fix it." He growled and pointed at the crackers. "Don't fiddle around with the label. Eat!"

Jared watched silently as Darwin ripped open the box, threw him a dark glance and started munching. He could hear Darwin's stomach growl in appreciation, but Darwin himself made a tortured face and put the box away after the third cracker.

"It's none of your business, okay? I know who has Harry, and where he is, so let's just work with that," Darwin muttered, picking at the cracker box label again. He wouldn't even meet Jared's gaze, but the Alpha was having none of it anymore.

"You can't tell me you love me, and then say your life is none of my business."

That at least got Darwin's attention and made his eyes snap up to Jared's. "I never said that!" he hissed, sounding outraged and panicked at the same time. His fingers tore into the frayed cracker box label, ripping it in half, but he didn't even realize it. His eyes were wide. 

Jared liked Darwin's expression. He looked decidedly guilty, and it showed Jared he'd hit a nerve there.

"Yes you did. Yesterday, when I tended to your wounds. You said 'I love you', and then you blacked out." Jared couldn't keep his voice from sounding triumphant, but at least he managed to keep his grin at bay. 

A soft, rosy glow emerged on Darwin's cheeks as he looked back down on his lap again. "I was high on pain medication, you moron," he hissed, but his words didn't sound as hostile as usual. There was a moment of silence with Jared letting Darwin stew in his nervousness, and Darwin fighting the urge to fidget, then Darwin sighed. "Okay, I'll tell you. But it's a long story."

When Jared simply nodded, he swallowed and took a deep breath.

"I was about seven years old when I was bitten. I can't remember anything before that, and I don't even really remember how it happened. Everything I do know my adoptive father told me. He said he found me near the highway, behind an abandoned gas station, and that I was nearly dead. They didn't even know what had attacked me until a month later, when I first changed." A small smile appeared on Darwin's lips.

"I nearly went crazy, but my adoptive parents did everything they possibly could. They stayed up day and night, taking shifts next to the cellar door where they had to lock me up when I was changed. They never got angry, never allowed me to blame myself when I had hurt somebody, and they never let anyone outside our pack get hurt by me. In return, I moved heaven and earth to become the best son they could ever wish for. I was class president, brought home A's on all the exams, helped at the community center in my spare time..." 

His voice trailed off, then he scoffed sarcastically and inspected his palms. The bitter tone Jared had gotten used to was back in his voice when he continued. "But as soon as I changed, I was nothing but a beast, an animal. A mindless, scared, angry killing machine, and they had to lock me up for three days every single month, every time the moon was full. Nothing helped, no amount of love and training could stop the wolf in me from running wild. The Alpha, Carl, even suggested I should be humanely put down to spare my parents the grief, but my father never gave up on me. George, my father, always said that he had faith in me, faith in my ability to get control over my wolf, but I didn't really believe him. Didn't want to believe him, I guess."

"And then, one day, this kid showed up at high school. Shy, dark skin, dark eyes, dark hair, but he made me tingle all over, every time he looked at me. And he knew what he did to me, and he wasn't shy at all, at least not in private." Darwin hadn't looked up while he was talking, but now he grinned at Jared, winked, and then looked down again. 

His happy face only vanished when he continued. "Nevil was gay, and when I finally admitted that I was gay too, we became an item, even though he didn't know how long he'd be staying in Banes. His parents moved a lot due to their jobs, but I didn't quite grasp the situation until it was too late. But besides that, I had just turned fifteen, and as you well know, that's an important time for a werewolf. They said I'd know instinctively 'what' I'd be, submissive or dominant, but I hadn't figured it out yet. I only knew that I liked it when Nevil took control, and I knew I was in deep shit when one day my Alpha, Carl, walked in on us. It was then, at that moment, when I saw his crazy eyes."

Again Darwin fell silent for a second, but his body went rigid. His shoulders were pulled up, his head went down, and his hands made fists so hard his knuckles turned white. Only his bitter voice remained unchanged.

"He didn't do anything, didn't say anything, he just gave me that... look, and walked out. I was the biggest disappointment he'd ever seen in his life, just because I was the small spoon in bed, instead of the big, hunky spoon. Looking back, I think what made it even worse for Carl was Nevil's lithe and small body. He wasn't an athlete dominating me with sheer power, he was just a tiny boy, and still I went crazy when he took me from behind."

It was the worst time to get a boner, and Jared tried to hide it as well as possible, but he didn't have to worry--Darwin didn't look up anymore, he just shrank into himself further and further.

"I guess he wrote me off as an submissive that day, but I didn't have time to think about it, because just three days later my mother died. It was a stupid thing, a brain aneurysm that killed her instantly, and even though it hit me harder than anything else in my life, my father was worse off. He wouldn't eat, slept all the time, didn't wash or even put on clothes, and I had to run the house for a month. There was no time to think about my outing in the pack, and Carl mourned my mother just as much as I did. But when my father didn't get better, something happened inside the pack. People started disappearing. A whole family left the pack over night and never came back. Rumors started to make rounds about missing or dead submissives from our pack, and even though the deaths were due to accidents, people knew that it just wasn't the whole truth. 

Six months later someone broke into our house and attacked my grandmother, who had moved in with us to help my heartbroken father. They beat her up so badly, she drowned in her own blood. When my father found her he had a stroke, and suddenly I was all alone."

Another silence followed, but Jared's boner had long since deflated, and now tried to crawl inside his abdomen from sheer disgust. Whoever had done this to Darwin's family was the real monster, and deep inside Jared wished for a chance to--

"I think it was Carl all along. I think he killed all the other submissives, drove whole families away, and broke into my house to find and kill me. My grandmother was a liability, that's why she had to die. The only reason I can think of why he didn't finish me sooner is my father's stroke. My father is like a brother to Carl, and he must have realized how deeply he hurt him with what he did. As soon as I made that connection I outed myself as a dominant to the pack, and just as I had done as a kid in school I got really, really good at playing that role. Carl didn't fully believe me though, and he started to test me. He made a game of torturing and teasing me, but I met his every move. I was prepared, and I was perfect, because my life depended on it. He first thought he'd catch me red-handed when the moon was full, but my crazy wolf was very consistent with his rages, and behaved just like before. He was never one hundred percent sure if he was wrong or right about me."

Some part of Darwin seemed to realize how much he was cowering, because he instinctively straightened his back and rolled his shoulders until he sat bolt upright. Jared was grabbing the armrests of his camping chair so hard the cloth had started to rip, but neither of them heard it, they were so enraptured. One of them by telling the story, the other one by listening, and fighting a shape change due to rage.

Suddenly Darwin stared at Jared's face, but there was no rage or bitterness in his eyes, just a calm, collected, and coldly calculating glare. "And then you came here. A young, virile, gay Alpha werewolf, isn't that a coincidence?" 

Before Jared could voice his protest, Darwin already talked on. "No, don't. Don't try to rationalize it, I know you didn't plan on anything like that, but it was bound to happen one day. You're not the only Alpha without a pack out there, and you're not the first one to come into our lands." He waved off the unspoken words with his left hand, then rubbed his face. "You're just the first one to attract my interest. I spent too much time with you for it to go unnoticed, and someone from the pack saw us. The irony is, he tried to kill me for treason, so he actually must have believed my act at some point. Only dominant pack members can have influence like that, submissives just follow the flow, you know? Or maybe he simply found it convenient to use our... acquaintance as an excuse to finally get rid of me. That's what he had his boy Trevor do when you saved me. And now, here we are. Carl's got Harry, and he'll do anything to finally get me."

~*Darwin*~

Telling his story had taken everything out of Darwin, and left him mentally drained and strangely giddy. It had felt so good to finally tell the whole truth to someone who actually could help, and not just listen and weep for him. Jared hadn't said anything yet, but the blond werewolf looked angry and fidgety. He probably wanted to storm off and punch Carl's face in, but he stayed put where he was, staring at Darwin with wide eyes.

Darwin withstood the ogling for a few seconds, then his nerves gave in and he started to giggle self-consciously. That broke the ice.

One moment they were both sitting three feet apart, the next moment Jared was on Darwin, gently pressing his back onto the cot, as he sat on Darwin's crotch to pin him down. The sudden change of position left Darwin breathless and flushed with excitement, although he instantly tried to squash it down. He couldn't help either the lustful reaction of his body to the presence of the stronger man, or his mind's utter disgust and anger with himself and his helplessness. 

"What are you doing?" Darwin hissed, his own heart beating so hard he could taste his pulse on his tongue.

Jared's face was flushed, and his eyes darted from Darwin's face to his chest and back again. "Relax, I won't hurt you," he murmured, but his face looked uncertain and shocked by his own actions. "I just need to..." he stammered, then fell silent. Instead of fishing for words Jared leaned forward and sniffed Darwin's face, then his neck, slowly trailing downward. His hot breath gave Darwin goosebumps, and it tightened something in his abdomen that in turn made his cock jolt with sudden interest. 

"You just need to--what?" Darwin whispered, and his own breath quickened. The way Jared scented his body made Darwin freeze and not even think about pulling away. He felt strangely frightened by the slow movement and the intensity on Jared's face, but at the same time it made him fiercely horny. With every passing second of Jared's inspection Darwin longed more and more to just rip his clothes off and offer himself to be devoured by Jared.

When Jared pressed his face against Darwin's belly and inhaled deeply, Darwin could feel his cock throb. A wet patch was forming in his underwear, making him even more nervous than before. 

"I need to make sure you're alright," Jared murmured against his skin as his hands grabbed the hem of Darwin's pants. "The scent of other people on your skin drives me crazy. I can't decipher who they are, and knowing someone wants to kill you..." He let out a shaky breath that tingled over Darwin's skin, then pulled at the denim of Darwin's trousers until the cloth groaned.

The power of Jared's grip made Darwin's eyes roll back into his head, but he managed to stifle the moan scratching at the back of his throat. The nerves in his body tingled with anticipation for more, and only the pain from the injuries in his back stopped him from writhing under Jared's administrations. "Don't rip my clothes!" he gasped instead, wondering why he didn't ask Jared to stop. The instinct to do so was there, somewhere beneath the sudden lust Jared had awoken in him, but the words just wouldn't come out.

"Then take them off. Either way, they have to go." Jared's voice was adamant, and not even the roughness of arousal managed to dilute the pure resolve. Darwin knew that tone of voice. It was just a notch below full Alpha mode, and the only possible choices were to obey, or to lose his clothes to Jared's impatient hands.

Just as he decided to do what Jared wanted, he remembered the casts on his hands. Had Jared planned on him being unable to comply with his wishes? Was this some sort of trick? 

Breathing heavily Darwin stared at Jared's face hovering above him. The athlete's eyes were glassy, his pupils huge, cheeks reddened, and his forehead was dotted with pearls of nervous sweat. Jared actually seemed afraid to let go of him, and that small realization massively appealed to Darwin. 

His voice was rough and breathy when he whispered, "You'll have to help me. My hands..." and he presented the casts to make his point. He could see Jared struggle to tear his eyes from Darwin's face, but when he finally did he blushed an even deeper pink. 

"Oh. Right. Of course," Jared stuttered, and Darwin had to bite back another nervous giggle. He had never seen Jared so unsure and flustered before, and even though the Alpha was still there and active, Darwin didn't feel afraid or subdued by him. Well, at least not against his will.

However, the awkward moment was short-lived. As Darwin was fighting against his weird sense of humor, Jared simply took a deep breath, sat up, and grabbed the hem of Darwin's shirt, pulling it off his body with a smooth, quick movement. It still hurt a bit to be moved around like that, but when Darwin saw the glimmer of sheer lust in Jared's eyes as they roamed over his body, he didn't dare let it show. 

Nobody had ever looked at his body with that much adoration and desire, not even his boy love, Nevil.

The button of his trousers made a loud, popping noise as it was opened, and still Darwin didn't move, mesmerized by Jared's body hovering over him. He watched Jared's arms bulge and his muscles move as he pulled down the worn denim, carefully peeling Darwin's legs out of the pants. 

Only when Darwin felt hot breath caressing his abdomen, he remembered that he didn't like being naked, and that it was time to freak and lash out.

"Jared, stop," he whispered breathlessly, and was promptly ignored. Fingers touched the hem of his boxer shorts and made him lift his casted hands to try and push Jared away, but to no avail. Jared did stop pulling at Darwin's underwear and grabbed his gypsum coated wrists to stop him from pushing at his shoulders, but at the same moment Darwin could feel hot breath against the soft skin of his lower belly, and a set of teeth grabbing the elastic waistband of his shorts. Darwin started struggling. 

"Jared, no!"

"Yield to me." Jared's voice sounded rough and breathless against Darwin's skin, the elastic cloth in his mouth making him hard to understand. He wouldn't let go of Darwin's arms though, and when the dark haired submissive started to flail his legs, Jared simply shoved his shoulders between them and blocked the attempts to break free with his own body.

A tight knot of arousal was forming in Darwin's belly, tugging at his ball sac and his cock. The feeling of being trapped beneath Jared's muscular, athletic form made his dick twitch and dribble pre-cum, made his own muscles tremble with the need to give in, made his breath quicken. He wanted nothing more than to tilt his hips, press his straining erection against Jared's chin and let him pull off his underwear with his teeth, but his mouth still worked on auto pilot. "No," it said, and Darwin had to bite his lip to keep his mouth from spurting a whole string of swear words. 

Luckily, this time Jared didn't listen to Darwin's traitorous mouth. Instead he took a deep whiff of Darwin's crotch, growled greedily, and snarled, "Your lips say 'no', and 'don't', but your body still begs me to keep going. If you won't give in, it will. I'd rather have both body and mind." He moved his head back quickly, tugging Darwin's shorts just far enough down to make his proudly erect cock pop out of the black, soft denim. His gray-ish brown eyes were level with Darwin's wet, shimmering cock head, his lips close enough to his shaft to make him feel every labored breath Jared made, and a dirty, knowing smile pulled at Jared's mouth. 

Darwin watched with scared, wide open eyes as Jared extended his tongue and licked a hot, wet path from the base of his cock to the tip. Darwin's answering, deep groan nearly drowned out Jared's growling voice.

"Yield to me. Now."

Even Darwin's neurotic need for control had its limits, and this time his mind couldn't compete with the clearly voiced demand in Jared's voice. His cock twitched and dribbled more clear pre-cum onto his stomach just from the deep, rumbling sound.

Darwin's head spun with the sudden bolt of ecstasy. For a second he stopped breathing, his whole body twitching from that one touch, unable to think, unable to talk. He felt Jared's grip tighten around the casts at his hands, reminding him that an answer was needed, and without thinking Darwin whispered, "yes."




Unwilling Ch. 04



Yes, he would yield to him, to his presence, his demands, his need. 

Something clicked inside Darwin's mind, and a sudden wave of relaxation and sheer joy prickled through his body like an army of crawling ants. Every hair on his body stood to attention with the abrupt change of mood, making him shiver and close his eyes with a soft moan. Suddenly Jared didn't need to control Darwin's limbs anymore, but the Alpha still placed his arms above his head and gave a soft push, just to make his expectations clear.

"You're mine now. Don't move your hands until I tell you to."

The words sent another tug of electrifying lust through Darwin's body, but the glorious feeling was quickly replaced by the even more intense touch of a hot, wet tongue licking his cock head. His body jerked again involuntarily, but this time the dunning weight of the gypsum casts and the shooting pain in his back kept Darwin right where he was.

Lips closed around his cock, suckling it, cleaning away the clear, salty pre-cum, and every tug of the hot, wet vacuum sent another wave of electric heat into his abdomen. The mouth slowly worked its way down, making room for a twirling, slithering tongue, and just when Darwin started to writhe and moan greedily, fingers touched his ball sac and started massaging the orbs beneath the skin.

Darwin wanted to burrow his fingers in Jared's hair, wanted to thrust into his willing mouth to show him how good it felt, but all he could do was to enjoy the touches and manipulations. When Jared started to suck in earnest, it felt like he was sucking the orgasm out of Darwin's body.

There was no time to warn Jared, no time to stop him before Darwin exploded, and when he came, he came with a loud shout, nearly bucking off the cot as strings of cum disappeared into Jareds swallowing throat.

The following pain in his back was drowned out by the sheer ecstasy of his climax, and when he finally came down from it he was drenched in sweat, breathless and dizzy with bliss.

The sound of a zipper made him slowly open his eyes. Jared was still kneeling between his thighs, opening his pants to take out his own hard, dripping cock, staring down at Darwin's happily exhausted body with a dark, needy look on his face.

For a second Darwin thought Jared would just take what was his, and ignore the injuries keeping Darwin on the cot. When Jared started tugging on his cock with one hand and kneading his scrotum with the other, he was relieved and strangely mesmerized by the sight. It took Jared just a few tugs, then he came with a rumbling groan, splattering sticky threads of cum over Darwin's belly before toppling over and nearly burying Darwin beneath his broad frame.

A few breathless seconds later Jared rolled off him with a purring moan, and just when Darwin started to feel cold and lonely, Jared snuggled against his side and put an arm across his chest.

With a hard thud of his heart Darwin realized he had been marked as Jared's property. That he had given in, yielded, accepted Jared's mastery over him. Things would never be as they had been before. And he wasn't alone anymore, maybe never again. A small, old part of him wanted to panic at the thought, to lash out and run, but another part, a new, happy part told him to just close his eyes and savor what he had.

~*Harry*~

When Harry awoke from the darkness his head hurt fiercely. Though the attack had been too quick and brutal for him to react, he had realized what had happened even as he went down, but it proved to be a bit more difficult remembering it now that he had regained consciousness. Something hard had hit his head from behind, that much he knew, and he dreaded the pain that promised to shoot through him as soon as he opened his eyes.

He could feel that he was lying on the ground somewhere, and that the ground was rough and uneven, so maybe dirt or gravel. His hands were pulled behind his back in an awkward angle, his upper arms cramping from the position, but a soft tug showed him that he wouldn't be able to change that and relieve the pressure--his arms were bound together at the wrists.

Harry didn't need to open his eyes to know it was dark. He didn't feel a blindfold on his head, and the world right behind his closed eyelids was pitch black. It was also cool enough to let him shiver softly, but not cold enough to be torturous.

A cellar maybe, or a cave, he concluded.

The throbbing in his head eased a bit, but Harry didn't trust that improvement. If he tried to move or stand up, it would definitely come back and maybe make him black out again, or vomit his soul out, as concussions normally went. He did heal a lot faster than a mere human would, and he was more robust than most people thought, but that didn't make him impervious to harm.

Of course, the concussion would go away as soon as he changed to his wolf form, but the bonds on his arms prevented a change more effectively than anything else. And even if he were able to change, he'd be caged in his wolf form for at least four hours until he'd be able to change back. Definitely not a good idea.

It was too soon to feel panicked, and Harry was too dizzy to think clearly yet, but somehow all the old thriller movies came back to him in a rush. Shouldn't somebody barge through a door somewhere around here, and explain his (or her?) evil plan to him? And if that happened, how should he react? Be brave and take the role of the hero, or be frightened and threaten the evil genius with the soon to be expected appearance of the actual hero?

Harry's befuddled mind circled around those crazy thoughts for about ten minutes, then he decided that no such thing would happen. His head seemed to clear up, because he could feel threads of fear and nervousness creep into his conscious mind, but even when he reached full-blown panic nobody came. He screamed for help for a while, but other than making his head throb painfully it produced no reaction, except for the realization that, yes, he definitely was being kept in a cellar, and not a small one at that. He turned his head and extended his tongue to touch the floor and found big, old, worn down cobblestones beneath him, but the dust was minimal. It all pointed to a place in regular use, but as much as he racked his brain he couldn't think of any old, big cellars with cobblestones in or around Banes.

Had he been taken away to another town? He couldn't think of any reason for anyone to kidnap him outside of Banes, but within the city limits he instantly could think of someone: Carl.

Carl would definitely benefit from taking Harry a hostage if he wanted to get to Darwin, and that meant that Jared and Darwin had not been found or caught yet. Just as Harry started to feel joy over his brilliant perception, his heart skipped a beat with sudden fear.

His mobile phone.

Jared had sent him the coordinates of their hiding place, and they were readily available on his mobile phone!

Hot and cold sweat broke out on his body as he tried frantically to remember if he'd had his phone with him when he had been jumped, but drew a blank. He just couldn't remember, but a gnawing feeling in his gut told him that he probably had had it with him to spare him the nuisance of having to go back to his room once he had all the required items.

If his kidnappers had even one brain cell left in their heads, they would have checked his phone and found the information. It was a real possibility that they had, because otherwise they would have shown up by now, but Harry just couldn't be sure. And he didn't want to, because that would mean that he would be to blame if Darwin died now.

He was sucking in breath for another round of useless screaming, just to put his fear somewhere, when he heard faraway steps, and two voices arguing.

"I told you, it's broken. I can't un-break it just because the Alpha wants it so, no matter how much you fear him," an exasperated male voice said.

The other person was definitely a female, and her voice grated over Harry's frayed nerves like a wire brush over naked skin. "I don't care, okay? Find a way, it's your fault that it's broken in the first place. You could have caught him as he fell, you know?"

The faceless guy sighed. "Fine. I'll take it down to the electronics shop as soon as I'm done here, but I can't promise anything. Those things aren't built to last."

"Just get it done, Rayne," the female voice hissed imperiously, then one pair of steps withdrew, and another set of feet stopped. Keys clanked, then a lock groaned, and suddenly a stream of artificial light bathed the room and made Harry's head throb again.

He couldn't choke his pained groan, and it was enough of a signal for his visitor to turn on the cellar lights and close the door behind him. "Awake again, I see. I guess you heard the conversation then?" the pleasant, male voice said, but Harry kept his eyes shut and busied his mouth with swallowing bile. A shadow fell over his face, dimming the burning lights a bit, and after a few seconds he dared to slowly peel one eye open. The person leaning over him was nothing but a black outline, but Harry didn't think too much of it until that blackness opened his lips for a broad, friendly grin.

A black guy. A black werewolf to be correct, and a cheery one at that.

"I'm Rayne. Sorry I broke your phone," his captor introduced himself, but Harry just blinked stupefied. The whole situation was bizarre to say the least, and not at all what he had expected! Maybe it was just a ploy to throw him off-course, but if so, it definitely worked. Be that as it may, Harry still wouldn't respond, trying frantically to make sense of the whole situation. 

That gave Rayne just another incentive to talk again. "And you're Harry, the quiet one. Don't wanna talk to me, huh?"

At least that question gave Harry something to answer. "Let me go!" he tried to bark, but it just came out as a pathetic croak. He cleared his throat, trying to fix the dramatic display with an added "now!", but it didn't help.

When his eyes started to adapt to the light, he began to see more details on the face hovering over him. Rayne wasn't old, mid-twenties at the most, and he had more Arabic than African features. His skin was a very dark chocolate brown, his hair shaved down to an inch, and strangely enough, he wore a Walmart uniform.

Somehow the thought of having been kidnapped by a Walmart employee outraged Harry. Had he really been that easy to kidnap? If Rayne had been a police officer or security guard or just an old fashioned thug Harry wouldn't have felt so bad about the whole situation, but a Walmart guy?

"Sorry, can't do that. Boss's orders." Rayne got down into a crouch next to Harry and reached out with one hand like he wanted to touch him. At the last second he hesitated though, and tried to hide it with a smirk. "If I ask you if you know where Darwin is, you're not gonna tell me, am I right?" he said, still hiding behind that sassy grin, but his eyes gave him away. They were dark, unwavering and calculating.

He hadn't even asked where Darwin was, Harry realized, he'd just asked if Harry would tell him if he knew or not. It was a game of words that swamped Harry's pounding head enough to actually make him nod, though he didn't know if he'd said yes, he'd tell him or no, he wouldn't tell him. 

Rayne was silent for a few moments, then shrugged and got up. "I'll give you two hours to think about it, then I'll come back and ask again. And if you still don't want to cooperate then, you'll meet Carl, I guess. He has a way with people, --they just start to talk around him." 

Harry blanched at that. From what he'd heard about Carl, people definitely started talking quickly when he got involved, and even that wouldn't stop him from torturing them until he was satisfied. It meant that he had gotten two hours of prolonged life before shit really hit the fan.

Rayne turned around and started walking. "I see you get my drift. Think about it, it would be a shame to lose a sweet little face like yours because of a traitor," he advised, then left the cellar.

As his steps retreated, Harry fought against a confused blush. Had that guy just called him sweet?

~*Jared*~

Waking up felt like he was still dreaming. There was a warm, pliant body cuddled against his chest, snoring softly and smelling like heaven. Jared felt sticky where his cum had dried and formed a crispy shell and the room smelled of sex and musk, but he wouldn't have changed anything for the world.

Darwin's fever had dropped significantly, but he was deep asleep and didn't wake up when Jared carefully extricated himself from his arms to get up. The air inside the cabin was cold and stale, so Jared first fired up the small stove, then opened the windows to let in fresh air. 

The sun was just rising, sending the first golden-red tendrils of light across the fields and small patches of forest, promising a few more days of warmth before winter finally arrived. It was a most beautiful morning, and Jared didn't even care how tacky and romantic he felt. Not today of all days. Just when he started to turn around, something roused his attention.

Had Jared not been standing there and staring downhill, he wouldn't have noticed the movements in the underbrush about two hundred yards away, and for a moment he thought he saw a deer or a fox. But his heart was suddenly pounding enough to make him dizzy, warning him about something his instinct had instantly recognized.

He didn't wait for confirmation. If he was wrong he'd be able to laugh about it later, but if he was right, they'd be dead if he didn't move fast.

Grabbing his hoodie he ran for the cot, shook Darwin awake and put a hand on his mouth to keep him from protesting. "We have to go. Now. Quickly," he whispered, watching Darwin until his eyes got wide and Jared was sure his mate understood. 

His mate. Just seconds ago he had been the happiest man on earth, and still fate tried to ruin his life.

Letting go of Darwin Jared grabbed the cracker box, stuffed a few hands full into the pockets of his hoodie and threw Darwin's clothes onto the bed before rushing back to the window and watching intently. 

Somebody was definitely out there, but nobody was running across the fields yet, so they probably hadn't seen Jared. The sun rose behind the cabin, blinding their assailants, so Jared decided to leave the cabin through the back window.

Darwin appeared next to him to look out of the window too, but he didn't ask anything when he saw the shadows between the trees. He just looked up at Jared patiently, leaving the decision-making to him. Jared would have to talk to Darwin about this atypical behavior later. If there was a later, if they survived this... With a low growl Jared shook himself, grabbed Darwin's arm and headed for the back of the cabin.

"When you get outside, don't just run straight ahead. They're coming from the east, so we'll go northwest, then west, then south and straight back to the road," he whispered, then shoved Darwin through the small window above the cot. He followed just as the first three werewolves broke into a run uphill.

Then they ran too.



Unwilling Ch. 05



Suspension of disbelief is recommended. All characters are 18+. Please respect my copyrights to this story. 

*************** 

~*Jared*~

Brushes and branches slapped against his body, leaving bloody scratches on his unprotected face. Leaves rustled whenever they took a turn or crossed one of the small clearings where the surrounding trees had grown so high that nothing would grow underneath their shadow. Jared could hear Darwin's labored breath right behind him, trying to keep up with the unforgiving pace he had set. He felt thick droplets of sweat rolling down the ridge of his spine, coating his shirt and the rims of his trousers in wetness that would soon turn cold and clammy. The ground was muddy and slippery from the morning dew, but there was no room for caution. Their pursuers were only a few hundred feet behind them, and they were gaining fast on their prey.

Jared knew they would have to shift into their wolf forms, just like the pack of werewolves following them, if they wanted to have any chance at all. But the first time he had suggested it to Darwin, Darwin had freaked out enough to cost them a few precious seconds.

"No way, I won't shift out here. I told you about my wolf! He's crazy, not even my Alpha could control him!"

"Who says I'd have to control you, we're running away, even a crazy wolf would get that!" Jared had rebutted while gasping for air. In the distance behind them he had heard twigs snap and leaves rustling, signs of how much the five wolves had gained on them.

"Stop asking me to do it, I won't take the risk! I'd rather die!" Darwin had exclaimed, his piercing blue eyes wide with terror, but there had been no time for Jared to remind his mate that he'd actually die if they kept going like this.

And now they were running again, trying to gain distance, but already out of breath and slowing down.

Darwin was still hurt even though he didn't complain about it. Jared could hear it in the way the man huffed and hissed with every step, but there was nothing he could do as long as they were in this forest.

When they reached the foot of Mt. Kennicky the terrain got more impracticable, leading them uphill and downhill in steeping succession. Though Darwin was a tour guide in the national park nearby, it took the last out of him, and finally slowed him down to a limping, breathless trot.

"Jared," he wheezed as he tried to keep up with the blond werewolf, "I can't go any further. I can't!"

It made Jared stop on the spot and look back. Darwin was pasty white, soaked in sweat and stumbling when he came to a halt. Jared quickly scanned their surroundings, but the wolves weren't in sight yet. He could definitely hear their yips and growls coming closer and closer, sounds of triumph at catching up to their prey, and he knew he had to act quick and decisive.

When he saw a small planked rope bridge on the foot of the hill they were currently slipping down, he made a hard turn and headed straight for it. 

"Take the bridge, quickly!" he roared, and stopped long enough to let Darwin hobble past him and onto the rickety thing. A cold, clammy wind was blowing downhill, pulling at Darwin's raven black hair and filling the air with his scent and his pain as he clambered over the planks, clutching his side with one hand. They both had to hold on to the rope railing with every step, and it did slow them down considerably, but it was a chance Jared just had to take. 

Darwin had nearly reached the other side when Jared heard the growl and the clicking of claws on wood. It made the hairs on his back bristle in sudden rage. The wolves had reached the bridge and were following them, and Jared hadn't reached the other side yet. 

He looked in front of him, seeing Darwin's wide eyes, his scared face, and he knew time had finally run out. When he heard the snapping of teeth right behind him, he stopped and turned abruptly, making the wolf at his heels run right into him. 

The black and grey wolf showed his teeth and pulled back, ready to attack Jared, its claws barely finding grip on the wet wooden planks.

Jared smiled, then his hands shifted with a sickening pop and a small spray of pinkish goo. "You keep running! This better not be for nothing, you hear me?" he roared over his shoulder, shooting one last dark glance at Darwin.

Then his claws cut the ropes, making the bridge snap and violently twist to one side, then rip apart and fall into the small canyon beneath, taking three wolves and Jared with it.

The only thing left for Darwin was to stand there and watch as they tumbled out of sight.

~*Darwin*~

Jared and three of the wolves were falling into the canyon, disappearing with a splash. Time seemed to just stop for Darwin, and everything ground to a halt. He didn't see the two wolves on the other side starting to run again, trying to find a way around the precipice, and he didn't hear their whining barks quickly disappear to the north.

A small part of Darwin's mind knew they were still on the hunt for him and probably would soon catch up if he didn't start running like Jared had told him to, but the major part of him didn't care... yet.

When he realized his hands were shaking he looked down at them, perplexed by the sheer whiteness of his skin, how fragile and thin his arms looked, how he could see his own blood pulsing through the veins right beneath the pale black hairs behind his knuckles. Pathetic. Worthless. Helpless. 

He felt a pain he had never felt before, and it ripped him apart just to put him back together, again and again. His chest didn't feel tight, which did confuse him because he had heard it was supposed to do that when a werewolf lost his mate. It did feel glowing hot, like he was melting from the inside, and his stomach was cramping with panic and shock, but he could breathe just fine and his heart obviously wasn't broken.

He apparently wasn't going to drop dead any time soon, but that didn't stop the pain either. His instincts told him to move already, run and save his skin, that everything was alright, but he just couldn't move, couldn't tear his eyes away from the spot where Jared had disappeared into the depths of the canyon, or away from his shaking, pale hands.

His wolf was urging him to stop this nonsense, getting more and more agitated with every second Darwin didn't comply. Everything was so out of place-- Darwin had never risked his life like this for any reason, and it still didn't occur to him to look for survivors. 

Darwin took a deep breath and finally managed to close his eyes. That small movement was better than nothing, but now that he wasn't focused on anything he finally realized how close he had been to losing control the whole time.

His wolf didn't hesitate. He just took over.

Darwin could feel the skin at his back and his thighs rip open, but the wet sound accompanying it seemed distant and hollow. He also felt the black fur flowing out of the tears in his skin and over his body like a hot, prickling wave. He knew it would be dry and perfect, he had seen it before, and he also knew what would follow next.

With a wet pop his shoulders dislocated and then were re-set, changing the angle of his arms. His fingers knit together and got shorter, sliding out of the casts that had enveloped his once-broken fingers, his arms changed their proportions, and then the fur reached his face. Clothes fell to the ground ripped and stained with clear gel and blood, closely followed by Darwin himself.

As he fell down to the ground with a low groan, his spine elongated as a furred tail popped out of his tailbone, then the groan changed to a high-pitched yip and then a growl as his face changed its shape. 

The last thing Darwin felt was the puddle of blood and gunk beneath him, then the wolf took over his mind too, and everything went black for the human.

~*~

The wolf staggered to his feet and shook himself vigorously. It had been nearly a month since he last had had the chance to get out of his mental cage, only to find himself in another more real one, down in a basement. Out here everything was better. He felt the wind brushing through his fur, heard the whispers of tree branches brushing against each other and the song of birds. He could smell a myriad of different scents, bombarding his deprived brain with seductions he had so long missed.

The black wolf definitely loved the woods. The only thing that would have made this moment better was his mate, who was now absent, dealing with their attackers somewhere else. 

He saw no reason to fear for his mate's life, not like Darwin, his human brother, had feared for him. The fall had not been an accident, it had been instigated by Jared, and Jared was dominant. He had to know what he was doing, that was the rule of life. Until the wolf saw Jared's dead, cold body lying at the river bank, he wouldn't believe his mate was dead.

With a shake of his furred head the giant wolf took off, moving through the maze of trees and ferns. 

He instinctively chose a path away from his pursuers and into the direction that would most likely lead him to the foot of the canyon further down the way. He knew the two wolves behind him would easily be able to overpower or even kill him-- after all he had no experience fighting--, but since he couldn't yet see or smell them he didn't see any reason to panic.

The wolf also knew that he somehow was different from the wolves he had met in his life. He didn't act like them, didn't think like them-- like humans with wolf instincts-- but instead like a wolf with a fearful, sleeping human consciousness inside him. The others had never understood his seemingly crazy behavior, but to him it was a freedom he relished, not some kind of defect.

Following the sound of water the wolf made his way along the canyon side, trotting along merrily, tongue flopping around from the unusual amount of exertion. The surroundings did tantalize him to just take off into the wilderness, but going without his mate was not only dangerous, but also wrong. The human side, Darwin, may be a loner, but the wolf surely wasn't. He would have to find Jared first, one way or the other.

He finally found a small, bumpy path down to the canyon ground, and gingerly worked his way down, claws spread, tail flailing from left to right for balance. The river broadened a few dozen feet further upstream from his position, becoming a lazier, blubbering stream with sand embankments, bushes and bundles of grass on both sides. The wolf was on one side, but on the other side and slightly downstream he could make out movement. The brushes there were thick and lush, having not yet lost their leaves, but amidst the greenery and against the rocky cliff in the back the wolf saw flashes of red cloth and naked skin. 

The rumbling echo of water made it hard to hear anything from the other side, but the wolf didn't need to worry. Just when his paw touched the ice cold water three persons broke through the brushes and tumbled to the edge of the canyon river. Two of them were naked, and the third person's clothes were in tatters: Jared.

The wolf may have been calm about the situation as long as he hadn't seen anything, but watching his mate wrestle for the upper hand just a stone throw's distance away enraged him to no end. He must have growled or barked before jumping into the river, because even as he was fighting of his attackers Jared still looked behind him and screamed. 

Of course, in his wolf form Darwin didn't understand any of the things Jared yelled, but his wolf at least understood the urgency in his voice and stopped in the middle of the river, treading the ice cold water as the current slowly carried him down stream.

Him drifting away also seemed to meet Jared's expectations, because his attention snapped back to his attackers-- just a second to late.

When the log hit Jared's head he didn't even have time to make a sound, he just went slack.

At about the same moment the two wolves that had taken the scenic route to find Darwin reached the river bed and effectively blocked Darwin's way out.

Going back to where Jared was now hoisted onto the back of one of the naked men was out of the question simply because Jared had ordered him to stay away, and his way back wasn't going to work anymore. The two parties seemed to communicate about what to do now, but the wolf didn't understand them either.

When he saw one of the wolves still in animal form attempting to go after him by wading into the cold water he finally gave up and swam with the current. He'd have to follow them in a safe distance and wait for a good moment to free Jared. The wolf was nothing if not optimistic.

~*Jared*~

When Jared reached land it wasn't a second to soon. One of his attackers luckily hadn't survived the fall and the ensuing wrestling match, but the other two had somehow managed not only to swim to the sand embankment he had reached, but also to shift shape much quicker than they were supposed to. One of them was dark-skinned, with a bulky build and long, tantalizing limbs matching the cocky expression on his beautifully chiselled face, the other looked like one of those hillbilly types with too much meat on his ribs, too much hair on his arms and belly, and a dire need to visit a hair salon and get the backside of his head fixed. Both of them seemed unsure what to do for a moment, regrouping by circling him against the cliff wall next to the river bank.

Jared had a plan that involved being overpowered and captured, but as his eyes darted behind his attackers and he watched Darwin's furry form wade into the water in an attempt to save him by risking his own life he was hard-pressed to just kill them all in a surge of primal rage. It wouldn't be that hard, since he had an ace up his sleeve: He was Alpha, able to overpower any werewolf with the sheer force of his will, as long as there was no other Alpha present. It just would have ruined his plan to end this hunt once and for all.

It took quite a bit of yelling at the black wolf and a good portion of self restraint, but somehow he could keep himself from strangling the werewolves and stop Darwin from joining the fun, and not a moment too soon. Just when Jared turned his attention to the two problems in front of him, two more reached the riverside Darwin had used as an entrance and seemed torn about whom they should give their attention to.

To make his point Jared grabbed the hillbilly-guy by his neck to pull him back and throw him against the rough stone surface behind, putting as much force and muscle as he could muster into the throw. If he made just enough of a fuss to keep his attackers busy without overpowering them, they'd leave the swimming wolf that was Darwin alone.

The naked, bulgy man crashed against the rocks with a pained cry, alarming his friends on the other side of the river. One of them was in mid-change, the other one still in his wolf form, and the third, dark skinned one on Jared's side of the river instantly went for him swinging a wooden branch. 

Now that Jared had his attackers' undivided attention he felt better, calmer. Not that he was sure about his genius plan of getting caught. If he made one wrong move with those remaining three, they would not hesitate to try and kill him for intruding on their territory. It was an instinctual thing, heritage from their wolf ancestry, although it didn't mean they would win a fight against Jared. 

It definitely was a risk to let that one lone guy hit him with the branch, but it was a risk worth taking.

The wooden club met the back of his head with a loud cracking sound, and though he hadn't planned to go down that hard, he actually blacked out for a few seconds. It did save Jared the trouble of bad acting, but it also made him way more vulnerable than he originally had planned. 

~*~

Jared finally came to upside down and dangling from a shoulder as the wolf who had swum after Darwin reached Jared's side of the riverbank. Even face down and stunned he could smell the wolf's adrenaline and testosterone hanging chokingly thick in the air. The brown haired guy Jared had thrown against the rocks was stumbling to his feet, stinking of the hunt's excitement just as much as the wolf, obviously ready to take his revenge. 

The fourth attacker on the other side of the river had finished her change back to human form and jumped into the icy river to swim to the other side within seconds.

"Damn it, he got away!"

"It doesn't matter. You know him, he'll follow this one no matter what. Just like he'd never leave the pack," Jared's captor said. He had an amazing voice, dark and sultry and thick as toffee, and it vibrated through Jared's limp body like a shiver.

"Gorgeous. But him following this one doesn't help us do our job. Which was to bring Darwin, not everyone else. Carl will be so pissed!"

The breath Mr. Sultry-- as Jared decided to call his captor for now-- took was deep enough to lift Jared's whole body for an inch, which was not a small feat considering Jared was near double his mass. Maybe it was a good thing he hadn't tried to put up more of a fight, this guy seemed to have more strength than his exterior let on.

"Don't bicker with me, it doesn't suit you. We're taking him and I'll handle Carl when it's necessary. Greta, go get the car, bring it down to Fortunis Bridge, we'll meet you there."

Through one slitted eye Jared could see the ash-blond girl jog into the woods, but had to close it when the remaining group turned and started walking, following the river downstream. When he felt sure it was safe he opened one eye occasionally to look for Darwin, but the black wolf had wisely disappeared and was nowhere to be seen.

Jared hoped it would stay that way.

~*Harry*~

It had been silent for too long. Something was going on up there, Harry was sure of it. His new 'friend', Rayne, had foretold another visit by either himself or-- much worse-- Carl, but it had been hours since then, and nobody had come.

There had been faint movement upstairs some time ago, but now there was nothing but silence and darkness, and, quite honestly, Harry was sick of it and sick of being scared shitless. 

Since his hands were bound together at the wrists behind his back and his legs weren't shackled, he could sit up without any troubles, but he had yet to dare to get up and walk around. Fear was a powerful thing, able to keep a person glued to the spot for a long time, but fear's power was starting to lose its influence on Harry. Now light and a plan to escape began to look more promising than waiting for fate to come get him.

Harry got up with a silent grunt. The echo of his own sound made his heart pound fiercely, but when a few seconds went by without the world exploding he decided to keep on being brave. Slowly Harry felt his way forward, heading for the spot where he had seen the light switch before, careful not to run into a wall. Every step and every sound seemed magnified a thousand times, but that had to be nerves, just nerves.

If it were Darwin in his place, he wouldn't flinch and just walk over there, Harry mused, and had to suppress a squeak when his shoulder hit the wall next to the door. Whatever problems Darwin ran into, he always seemed to just fly through without a second thought, consequences be damned. And here Harry was, kidnapped by Rayne the Walmart werewolf, afraid of a dark cellar with the light switch just a step away. He felt pathetic.

Slowly feeling his way along the crumbling wall he first reached the door, which of course was locked, because that would have been too easy. Just one step to its left he found the cover plate of the light switch, and after a bit of balancing on the balls of his feet and feeling around bent forward like a human hook he finally found the switch itself, and flipped it.




Unwilling Ch. 05



The room instantly was flooded with dim yellow light that hurt in Harry's eyes. He had to close them and wait until they had adjusted to the brightness, then finally took a good look around.

The cellar wasn't as big as Harry had imagined it, but still pretty spacious. Definitely big enough to fit a dozen small wine barrels in, or six big ones, like the one standing there on the far side of the cellar. Harry could have easily hidden in it, but since it was the only obvious place to hide it wouldn't do him any good. He did spot old inclined air vents on the right wall of the cellar, and though they were covered with old metal hatches, he would probably be able to tear one of them out. Fitting through the air vent and climbing up the steep funnel was a whole different story, made impossible by the shackles on his hands.

Harry didn't want to give up that quick though. It felt good doing something, anything, to help himself. Maybe Darwin was already on his way to rescue him, if he had forgiven Harry for the whole 'Jared-incident', but Harry was fed up with waiting for other people like a maiden in distress.

With an audible sniff he walked to one of the hatches, because he was already pretty sure that plans weren't made in one go but instead came to people as they went. The hatch was a good foot over his head, unreachable with bound hands, so he went to the barrel next. It didn't have a lid to stand on, but the walls were massive and the whole barrel probably weighed enough to not move if he tried to stand on the rim. If he climbed onto the barrel and balanced on the rim he could reach the hatch on the wall, and maybe tear it open... as soon as his hands were untied, that was. What to do after that would be a problem to solve when he came to it. 

Harry felt exhilarated as ideas streamed into his head, all by his own doing and without any help from anyone. Nobody was here to criticize him or talk him out of it, nobody had a better idea he just had to follow through. No. For the first time in his life he had to try his own thing.

Just as he began the complicated climb up the side of the barrel with his back wedged against the cellar wall, he heard steps from the stairs behind the cellar door. Someone was coming!

He quickly wiggled out of the small spot between the barrel and the wall, hurried back to the middle of the room and sat back down, trying to look inconspicuous. It was not a second too soon, because just as the dust settled around him, the door was unlocked and pushed open, and in stumbled... 

"Jared?"

~*Darwin*~

It wasn't hard at all to follow the scent of his mate, even after they'd piled into the 4x4 and accelerated. Darwin's wolf had kept himself to the bushes far off, always keeping an eye on the small group and staying downwind and invisible.

When the car zipped away he fell into an energy saving canter, following the road on a parallel trajectory just a few feet into the woods as long as possible. They did at one point go through the outskirts of the city, which the wolf didn't like at all, but since it seemed to be a quiet, wide-spread neighborhood he finally followed them with ears flattened to the head and tail tucked between his legs.

A few children were out playing, but didn't pay him much attention-- they probably couldn't distinguish him from any other dog. Luckily they also didn't try to run up and pet him.

One of the elderly neighbors watering his lawn wasn't quite as calm as the kids. He took one look at the wolf, dropped his hose and sprinted back to his front door, simultaneously yelling at the children on the other side of the road.

The sudden commotion provoked Darwin into a short sprint back the way he came, and he only stopped when the road he had followed before disappeared behind trees, wild hills and bushes. Had he been a real wolf, he probably would have tried his luck again after dark, but Jared would have been dead by then. 

It was the first time Darwin's conscious mind left his dark place and tried communicating with the wolf instead of screaming mentally and shying away from the strange presence. He wouldn't have tried for anyone else, but this was Jared. Jared who'd rescued him-- essentially saved his life-- without blinking an eye, twice. 

He had to save him, there was no other way, no compromise around it.

Two minds touched each other after years and years of trying so hard not to, and only Darwin's insistence and unwillingness to delay any further allowed him to finally convince the wolf to just cut through the woods and go around the suburbs instead of singlemindedly following the smell.

He could see the reflections of red and blue lights of a police car entering the neighborhood he'd been to just a few minutes before, but his minds were still not communicating quite as well as they could have. The human mind knew that the police and wildlife rangers would come into the woods looking for them and tried planning ahead for that, the wolf didn't see any immediate danger and just wanted to follow the route his mind was mapping out for him.

The cornucopia of smells was distracting Darwin constantly. There were the smell of rotten wood and leaves, the stink of mice and wild rats, fox markings, deer droppings, the sharp scent of freshly distilled moonshine somewhere uphill, and the stinging pang of fuel following the tracks of motor bike routes. The wolf just went with all the distractions, having had to cope with it his whole existence, but the human tried to sort through them, make sense of it, and got lost and confused so often it affected them both.

Most surprising about this experience was actually being conscious and able to remember it at all. Darwin didn't even realize that big difference until he reached the gravel road leading towards the pack meeting house, and when he did he started to panic instantly. Losing control and conscious thought once more he retreated into the dark, quiet place inside his mind.

With this, the wolf was on his own again. Shaking himself to fend off the unsettling sensation of not being alone in his body he started walking again, keeping himself to the ditch next to the road, following the scent of Jared. He was near now, there was no doubt about it.

~*Jared*~

They didn't cover his eyes for the trip, and they didn't stop him from looking out the car windows. It was a very subtle gesture, but it was also very hard to misinterpret-- they'd kill him. Maybe not now, maybe not soon, but they didn't plan on letting him get away. His hands had been shackled together behind his back with a pair of silver and titanium infused handcuffs, but otherwise he was free to move around as he pleased.

They had put him in the rear trunk of the car, and he understood that choice too. With a normal human being it would have been enough just to sit him in the middle of the back seats and have someone sit left and right from him to cover the doors, but a werewolf's mouth was just as dangerous as his hands, and much harder to control. Having him in the cargo area cut him off from direct access to the car doors and the necks of his captors. 

The four werewolves were silent as they were driving, which was kind of unsettling. They didn't whisper to each other, they didn't discuss directions or later tasks or the weather, and they didn't turn on the radio. 

It felt like a trip to a funeral for a body that was still breathing.

The driver was Mr. Sultry, the dark skinned guy-- Arabic heritage mixed with something darker, Jared guessed-- who had landed the winning blow to his head, and now that Jared had the chance to watch him, he was even more impressed. He had a white-knuckled grip on the steering wheel and a very tight expression around his jaw, but those were the only signs of his nervousness. Much more obvious was the unhappy expression around his eyes and brows.

Was he unhappy about how the hunt had ended? That he couldn't kill Jared? About the task he had gotten? It was impossible to guess, but still quite interesting. 

When the ringing sound of a mobile phone disrupted the tense silence everybody except the driver jumped. He pulled the phone out of his pocket, answered the call with a single, sultry, "Yes?", and then seemed to listen to a distinctly angry sounding mumble coming from the speaker. Jared couldn't understand what the other voice was saying, but from the changing expressions on the driver's face he got the impression that they didn't like each other very much.

"No sir, we didn't get him, just his companion."

A short pause followed as Mr. Sultry listened intently, then his eyes met Jared's icy blue ones in the rear view mirror. Testing. Frowning.

"No sir, I don't think he's an Alpha. We had him in mere minutes."

The voice on the other end of the line got louder for a moment, loud enough for Jared to hear something about, "what use is a foot soldier to me? I need Darwin, and I need the Alpha!" and some more swearing. The driver kept his cool though, and only the groan of the faux leather covering the steering wheel betrayed his temperament.

"We'll be at the pack house in about ten minutes, sir. I'll see you then," was the last thing Jared could make out before the call ended. 'Sir' the driver had said, so Jared guessed he'd been talking to his Alpha, or a high ranking enforcer. He assumed the mentioned pack house was the same house he'd visited-- and killed at-- before, but he'd been too out of his mind then to remember the way now.

There were many questions Jared would have liked to ask his lovely companions, but he didn't. This was neither the time nor the place to play word games with a bunch of aggravated werewolves, and it didn't work like in the movies. Bad people didn't just tell you what they had planned for you just in time to stop them from doing it. No, Jared had to wait for the right time, the right mood, or he wouldn't get any answers at all.

He just had a very intense feeling of relief his captors hadn't realized yet that they had already found what they wanted.

As they reached the city outskirts he saw a black shadow making its way through the bushes on the side of the road, and nearly cried out in surprise. It was a wolf, Jared had no doubt about it, and the only possible candidate he could think of was Darwin. But Darwin had told him that his wolf was out of control, dangerous and unpredictable, so why was he following the car?

Jared hastily turned his eyes away from the window, hoping no-one had watched him stare to the side of the road. His captors wanted Darwin, not him, which in itself was strange enough. It was nearly impossible to distinguish an Alpha from a dominant werewolf if he chose not to show it, but it was impossible to not recognize Darwin for what he was: definitely submissive. You didn't need to capture a submissive as long as you had its Alpha or a dominant pack member, they just followed the flow wherever it led.

It reminded Jared of the story Darwin had told him about his Alpha, about the way he had to hide what he was for fear of getting killed. Maybe this was the same thing, Jared mused as he tried to find a more comfortable position in the cramped space while his head throbbed unhappily. 

It was reasonable to want to catch or kill an Alpha intruding on pack grounds, it was the way it had always been. It was just as reasonable to get rid of his dominant followers or simply catch them and bring them over to your own side, but it was practically a sacrilege to even think of harming the submissives. Jared would have understood hurting one's own submissives much easier than the mere idea of hurting another pack's submissive members. It would be like kicking a pregnant woman in the belly, mindless and senseless violence.

What the hell was going on?

The urge to break his silence and just ask the three werewolves was nearly overwhelming, but luckily the car made a turn onto a familiar road before Jared could give in. They were back on the gravel road that lead to the house Darwin had fled from just two days ago, but the car didn't stop at the first small building. Instead they passed it and followed an overgrown maintenance road deeper into the wilderness.

They also passed five or six people walking by the road with firearms-- mostly hunting rifles-- who were obviously watching the woods for uninvited intruders. Jared's heart jumped with fear for Darwin, and for the first time he hoped not to find him following the car.

Did the others hear his heart pumping with fear? They didn't look at him as the car stopped near the almost picturesque doors of a big, classy holiday cabin, but that didn't mean they didn't notice his sudden increase in anxiety.

All four of them went around the car to the rear hatch, and in the background Jared could see one other guy aim his rifle at him. Just to be sure he didn't bolt, he guessed, as the rear hatch was opened and four pairs of hands grabbed him.

They didn't care if he came willingly or not, Jared was pulled out of the car with brutal force, thrown to the ground without a chance to catch himself, and then dragged to the entrance of the cabin.

His feet scraped over the gravel, his knees were cut open, but he didn't make a sound. This was a spa treatment in comparison to the things his family's pack had done to some of their intruders.

The doors were pushed open and a dizzying cloud of werewolf-scented air washed over him, clogging up his senses as they kept dragging him through the tastefully decorated house. It was hard to breathe through the dozens of different scents as they coated the insides of his nose and his throat, but breathing through his mouth only brought a short respite. Dazed he let them drag him along, watching a few unknown faces pass by.

Their tour ended in front of a solid looking door.

"Bring him down and throw him in with his pack mate", Sultry said.

He was dragged down a set of concrete stairs, his legs hitting each and every one of them with a painful thud. Another door at the bottom of the stairs was opened as Jared found his footing and managed to stand up, then he was pushed inside, stumbling into a nearly empty cellar, and into the arms of Harry.

~*Rayne*~

It had been six months since Rayne had joined the Banes pack. He would have left the minute he realized that the local Alpha was a bag of crazy and nothing more, but he had always known he couldn't. There was no place left to go for a wolf like him, so this was it. 

He had tried to fit in, kept his head down and his mouth shut, but it had gotten harder and harder every week. It was his curse, or to be exact the curse of his upbringing.

When Rayne had been young, there hadn't been that many packs around. Hunters-- not the normal kind, but the metaphysical kind-- had kept their numbers low without anyone noticing, but modern age had made killing citizens a very hard and dangerous field of work. There were security cameras, the internet, linked databases for everything, intense finger printing for every offense,... 

Hunters were a dying breed.

With the rise of packs another 'breed' had started dying. Rogue wolves, werewolves who didn't commit to a pack but instead kept themselves to small family groups, had been hunted and killed or forced into communities for the last decade, even though nobody really wanted them. If you were a rogue wolf you only had two choices: join a pack and be treated like garbage, or run and be killed eventually.

Rayne's parents had chosen road number two. Rayne had chosen road number one after that.

Of course you could always switch packs if you didn't like the way they treated you, but everywhere a rogue went he was treated like a smudge of dirt on a lily-white pack coat. Only the bigger packs even considered taking rogues in, since they were powerful enough to enforce their position and hold sway against any attempt on their pack lands, but since they weren't dependent on one more or less member, they also tended to treat them more carelessly.

The Banes pack was the last pack in northern US Rayne hadn't joined and left yet, so now he was utterly and truly stuck.

There was nowhere else to go, forcing Rayne to try his hardest to keep his Alpha and his fellow dominants happy, even if he didn't like it.

As Rayne watched the guy they had just brought into the pack house getting dragged down the stairs to the cellar, he quietly asked himself why he had risked everything for such a sorry sod. Sooner rather than later Carl would find out that they already had the Alpha, right there in their own cellar just beneath their feet, and somehow he'd know that Rayne had known the whole time and kept quiet. Rayne had seen many Alphas in his wandering years, but none as good in smelling a lie as Carl was. So why the heck had he lied?

Turning away from the cellar door he walked into the meeting room, one hand furiously clawing through his short hair, eyes lowered to the ground as he mentally cursed himself. 

He nearly ran face first into the fistfight erupting right in the middle of the room.

Jerking his head out of the way of a flying fist he stumbled backwards and put up his hands for cover, but he needn't have worried. Greta and Dennis, both dominant pack members, were too intent on caving each others faces in to bother trying to get him involved again.

The scenery was unreal.

Rayne stood there, hands ready to block a blow or grab a fist, frozen as he watched Greta, a typically very guarded and noncommital fitness trainer, take out her rage on the wiry and thin, definitely untrained tax accountant that Dennis normally was. While Rayne understood Greta's melt-down, after all she had been one of the group to catch the Alpha-- not the most challenging of all hunts, but definitely up there in the most frustrating moments ever--, he had absolutely no idea how that alone could have provoked Dennis to engage in this all out Fight-Club-style slapfest with her. It simply boggled the mind.

Worse than this display of aggression was the effect it had on everyone in the room. There were seven other dominants dispersed all over the furniture in the room, and everyone watched those two with fixated, intent, heated glares. Nobody had moved to join in yet, but the longer this went on, the more dangerous it would become for everyone.

The worst thing however was that Rayne felt it too. The stinging tug on his veins, the increase of his heartbeat, the mind numbing pins and needles triggered by the thick stink of testosterone, it all beckoned him to join the tussle, taste blood, feel flesh rip beneath his claws, hear a heart beat its last sluggish pulse before quieting forever.

Rayne felt his fingertips starting to itch.

With a deafening roar he jumped forward, slamming into Greta and Dennis, and using his momentum to thrust them into different directions, effectively breaking them apart.

Greta tumbled into another young dominant, and Rayne could actually see the girl twitch with the instinct to pounce on her, but somehow she managed to contain herself.

"Have you both gotten insane?!" Rayne bellowed just when Dennis managed to get back on his feet, eyes still fixated on Greta, who had a harder time extricating herself from the girl and the love seat she had sat in.

"Not another goddamn step, Dennis, or I swear I'll throw you into the cellar with that other guy!" 

The yelling seemed to help. The air was still sizzling with the potential for violence, but at least it hadn't escalated. Nine pairs of unhappy eyes locked on to Rayne's face, and for a moment he felt like the proverbial rabbit in front of the pack. One wrong move and they'd use him as their outlet. Not a pretty thought.

Licking his lips Rayne looked from Dennis to Greta, and back again. In a quieter voice he asked, "so, what's gotten into you?", hoping that question alone wasn't enough to re-boil the skirmish.




Unwilling Ch. 05



"He challenged me."

Greta spoke up first, back on her feet, chin held high. 

"I walked in here, and he challenged me because of a god damned seat!"

Dennis took an angry step forward, but Rayne gave a sharp whistle to bring his eyes back to himself and away from Greta.

"She stomped in here like the Queen of England, tried to snarl me out of my spot and then she grabbed me. Like a teenager, she just grabbed me and tried to pull me out of her way!", he hissed, knuckles white under the pressure of his balled fists. Rayne could see an artery throb on the top of his bald patch.

"Greta, this is not the time or the place to be led by anger over something else. Get yourself a damn chair out of the kitchen and sit down before you lose control and change."

Rayne could feel Dennis smirk without needing to look over.

"And Dennis, do I look like a parent to you? I'm half your age, at the most! How come you're standing there and looking all proud of yourself when I just had to yell at you like an unruly teenager? Sit your ass back down and try to keep it together, then you can grin like that." For a moment Rayne felt the anger take over again, so he balled his fists until his fingernails bit into his hands. The pain kept him at least a bit more anchored.

"Am I the only sane person here?!"

Greta was a nice woman, ash-blond hair, just turned thirty, and she was used to command hunky guys around when at work in the gym, so no big mystery there as to why she hadn't been afraid of a fight. But Dennis was a tax accountant with a wiry body in his mid-forties, shorter than Rayne and usually very calm and soft-spoken.

This should not have happened, and it wouldn't have happened with submissives present. But there weren't any, and Rayne had waited on the social outskirts long enough to feel entitled to find out why nobody did anything against that.

"You know this isn't you, people, so stop this madness. Let's use all that pent up anger in a productive way and find out where we can recruit some submissives, before you kill each other for good." It wasn't much, but the thought of having submissive pack members to calm the waves would at least lower the level of aggression, Rayne hoped.

This time the angry murmurs stopped completely. Everybody was back to watching Rayne intently, but it was the young girl Greta had fallen onto before that took the initiative this time.

"We aren't supposed to", she said. Her pretty grey eyes had the serious expression of a teenager reciting house rules to a grown-up guest.

"Shh. You'll get yelled at again, Carmen." This from Greta.

Carmen turned her gaze to Greta, frowning. "I'm just explaining what the rules are, how's that a reason to get yelled at?" Again that serious expression.

"Well", another male voice chimed in from next to the windows, "because Rayne is new and we don't know if Carl trusts him yet." Rayne's eyes followed the voice and found Grahams face. He was a car mechanic, twenty-something, but Rayne had never had any direct contact with him before. It was unusual to even see him here.

'If Carl trusts him yet', Graham had said. It was such a peculiar way to word it that Rayne frowned instantly. He hadn't said "we", he had explicitly talked about Carl's level of trust. It wasn't much, but at least Rayne could start to puzzle together a picture.

Carmen didn't seem fazed by the reprimand. She brushed back her ink-black hair with one of those hand flips that somehow only teenage girls could manage, then put up a bored facade. "Well, he's here, isn't he? And he brought two of the guys Carl wants, so I'd say he's got his trust alright."

That broke the dam, and suddenly everyone was talking at the same time, a cacophony of voices that grew louder and louder until Rayne feared his head would explode.

"Shut up!"

Even yelling at the top of his lungs wasn't enough to silence them instantly, but at least they stopped arguing one after another and looked his way once more.

"What aren't you telling me? Why won't we go look for submissives?" Rayne asked more bluntly. His hair started to stand on end with an inchoate feeling of dread.

Suddenly all the eyes focused on a point behind Rayne.

"That's because I told them not to, Rayne."

Carl stepped into the room, smiling charmingly.

~*~

Rayne stumbled back with a surprised expression on his face. The rest of the dominants fell silent and all the calm Rayne had tried to re-establish suddenly came all by itself. It was the presence Carl exuded, he simply commanded respect.

It wouldn't hold forever though.

"So, what's all that ruckus about?" Carl said casually strolling over to the couch, but not sitting down. He stared at the cushions for a few seconds, then he turned around and looked at Rayne.

"Just a little disagreement, it's all good", he answered, lips automatically forming a small smile.

A small nod from Carl, then he sat down next to Dennis and looked around as if to check if anything had been broken.

"Seems you've got it under control now. Just as I said you would." Carl smiled at the pack members like a proud father.

There were a few nods and affirmative grunts from the crowd, and suddenly everyone looked very relieved and pleased, except for Rayne.

"I don't get it."

Carl's eyes snapped back to Rayne, who still stood next to the entrance and didn't really know what to do next, or what to make of this strange situation.

"Well, I brought you into this and here tonight so I can explain 'it' to you. I want you to join our cause after all." Again this hello-well-met-smile was shot into Rayne's direction.

There was a slight shuffle coming from the other dominants. Rayne took a short moment to watch their faces, and most of them were looking at Carl or at Rayne, but two or three were looking somewhere else, their faces guarded and unhappy. Whatever this 'cause' was, not everyone was as convinced as Carl. And not the whole pack was even present.

The Alpha scooted back and forth a bit, finding a comfortable sitting position, and leaned back in what should have looked like a relaxed pose. Then he began to explain, his voice calm but forceful, demanding attention.

"The year my wife died I found out a few hard truths about us and about myself. One of those truths is the fact that our pack is stained by submissives, who weaken and sully us until we'd rather fight against our own ranks than against them or outside forces. We'd kill for the safety of a submissive, but we are the ones who bleed and fight and lose family and friends, while they do nothing at all in the best of times.

-- Don't say anything yet!" Carl interrupted by putting up a hand just as Rayne wanted to object, and he closed his lips again.

After a short pause Carl went on. "We would do anything for them. We give them our hearts on a silver platter, and they just... take it. The only thing they give is calmness and peace, but it's not real. They are like a Venus Flytrap, lulling us into believing we need them so they can slowly digest our souls and bodies. They make us believe that we could never ever exist without them, that we would rather kill each other without them than control ourselves, that we would ultimately cease to exist, like raving beasts without any sense of self."

The mask of calmness had started to slip with every sentence, and by now Carl's fists were balled tightly and his voice was dripping acid and anger.

To Rayne's surprise it was Graham who interrupted the rant.

"I know your wife was like that and I'm sorry, Carl. But she was an exception to the rule, not a standard. I still think we'd self-destruct without submissives, and today was the best example. Had Rayne not intervened, Greta and Dennis would have really hurt or even killed each other, and we were this close from joining in." He held up a hand to show a very small gap between his thumb and forefinger to visualize his words. "A pack can't exist without submissives, it's a fact. We just have to be more careful which ones to let in."

"This is where you're wrong." Carl sounded very smug, which was astonishing. Rayne had expected an explosion, but there the Alpha sat, smiling triumphantly.

"I know for a fact that there's a pack in Canada consisting only of dominant werewolves, and it has existed that way for many, many decades."

There was a sequence of short gasps and sounds of disbelief, but now even Graham shifted and sat more upright.

"Not only have they existed like that for decades, but they're thriving. Do you remember the Chinkope Hills Pack? Their Alpha, the one who killed those hunters and saved the pack from extinction, he's from that pack. Can you imagine the power that Canadian pack must have accumulated if they send away such powerful Alphas? And they did it without the submissives. WE can get there without submissives."

The excitement was now thick in the air, like a cloud of tension pushing against Rayne. It made his skin tingle once more, but it wasn't excitement on his part, it was fear.

He knew the pack Carl had talked about. He also knew why it wouldn't work anywhere else.

And he knew he'd be killed rather than listened to if he said anything, because they were too intent on believing the story Carl had just concocted, and what he knew was even more unbelievable than a pack without submissives. 

Rayne tried to clear his face of emotions as the voices around him got louder once more. This was another one of those hair-thin paths he would have to navigate, but not to stay in the Banes pack rather than to survive leaving it.

"I've heard of that pack too. I'm in", he said, trying for grim and earnest because he just couldn't fake the excitement everyone else seemed to feel. He needed to buy time and think up a plan, and lying seemed to be the easiest way.

Carl nodded approvingly, smiled at him and clapped a hand onto his thigh. His ability to sense lies didn't seem to cover moments where he wanted to hear one thing, and one thing only-- Rayne counted on it.

"Perfect. Now we just have to get rid of the last submissives. Giselle and her husband have already decided to move as soon as she's out of the hospital, but Darwin won't ever leave his father behind, even though he's hurting him with his mere existence. It doesn't matter if he's dominant or submissive anymore, he's got to go. I wish George had listened to me when I told him to put the kid down, but be it as it may, we've got the chance to finish it now."

Letting out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding, Rayne settled against the wall next to the door, crossing his arms and trying for 'attentive but quiet', a facade he had gone with for the last months. 

"Somehow Darwin has found a new Alpha that's now intruding on our grounds. I'm pretty sure we'll get that one to leave if we show him what's what, and we've got his pack members to make our point. If he agrees to leave we don't have to kill them, and that'll make it easier to avoid calling attention to ourselves. I don't think Darwin will leave though, and he's broken the rules when he switched sides to the intruder, so we'll probably have to exercise pack rights on him."

Rayne could sense the unease some of the listening dominants felt. Especially Greta and Graham looked unhappy when they realized they'd actually have to kill someone, but Carl had made a good point. An untrue one, but the way he had explained it everyone could see the reasoning behind it. 

For a moment Rayne bared his teeth in anxiety. Carl was a dangerous man, even more so now that he could see his brilliance.

Carl seemed to sense the uncertainty in the crowd too, so he sat up and leaned forward, his voice getting more insistent and sympathetic.

"We will all try to make this whole thing as easy and peaceful as possible, there has been enough unfortunate violence and loss in this pack. All the accidents and the robberies are a sign though-- we need to get stronger, and soon! We need to catch Darwin, bring him here or get rid of him on the spot and then find the Alpha. He'll get to choose if he wants to keep his heap of crap pack and leave instantly, or if he wants to fight and ultimately die after we kill his people. Those are the two ways, and I'm praying with you that he'll choose the first one."

This time Rayne had the uncanny impression that Carl was lying his ass off, instead of the other way around. Noone would survive if they caught Darwin, and Carl would make sure that it looked like their choice, not his.

"I need you to find Darwin, and I need to know where his Alpha is. Head out, people, we've got a lot of work to do!"

With those words Carl stood up, and with him the other dominants. They headed out in a single, chattering file, picking up their jackets and boots and rifles, ready for a hunt that didn't look like the prey had any chance to survive.

Rayne didn't follow them, and nobody seemed to notice. As the door closed behind the last one, he pushed off the wall and slowly went to the cellar door. 

He had to warn Jared, and this would be the only moment available.



Unwilling Ch. 06



~*Jared*~

He had been thrown into the cellar unceremoniously, like a sack of potatoes. Harry tried to dampen his fall with his own body, but somehow Jared managed to dodge his crouching form and not land on the floor, though it must have looked quite inelegant.

The door fell shut behind him, his captors were moving up the stairs again.

"Jar-" Harry began, but Jared shushed him viciously.

Only when the second door on the upper end of the stairs fell shut he looked at Harry and smiled with relief. 

"You're alive, thank god," he grumbled, and then sat down hard with a huff. His legs burned and pulsed from the bumps and bruises he had gotten through all that dragging, but the pain was dulling already.

The distant sounds of a brawl came from upstairs, then they could hear a bit of shouting, and both recognized the voice instantly.

"That asshole." Jared bared his teeth at the memory of 'Mr. Sultry', but Harry's cheeks reddened instantly.

"He's not that bad," he replied, and tried to hide a smile. The small upturn of his lips stopped instantly when Harry realized that Jared must have been with Darwin when they caught him.

"Where's Darwin? Is he alright? Is he alive?" he wheezed through the sudden rapid beating of his heart. His pulse was in his throat, loud enough for Jared to hear.

A pang of jealousy ran through Jared's body once more, but he swallowed it. There were bigger fish to gut, and Harry and Darwin would always be this close so he'd better get used to it.

"I think he's alright. I threw myself at them to give him time to flee, but he's still hurt. I'm more concerned about what he's doing right now though." Jared gave Harry a hard stare, punctuating his next words. "He turned and followed the car as a wolf." 

By the way Harry blanched he knew about Darwin's wolf, and more than Jared had been told.

"Oh... that's bad. That's really, really bad," he wheezed, and looked around once more. "We need to get out here and find him before someone kills him!"

'You don't say,' Jared thought, but didn't say it out loud. Upstairs the commotion had stopped, but there was still a trace of murmur in the air, like a hint of many voices talking at a distance.

"Have you found an escape route yet?" he asked and glanced at Harry.

"There's a window I could probably squeeze through, but not with my hands bound like this." He wiggled his arms behind his back to make his point.

"We could do something about that, but I won't fit through that window, and there are people with guns outside," Jared huffed and rubbed his itching nose against his knee. It didn't help the burning scrapes beneath the Jeans.

"Well," Harry said, his breath indicating the onset of hysteria, "we could break down the door and fight our way free, or,... or we could take one of them as a hostage and negotiate! Did they take your mobile phone? We could call the cops!" The last words were breathy and gaspingly spoken, then Harry started to suck in air like a drowning man.

Jared swore. "Don't you change now, I swear, I will pummel you! Breathe slowly, Harry!"

It only took a split second for him to realize that barking patronizing orders wouldn't really help. Muttering curses he scooted closer, ignoring the burning pain on his legs. The jeans would chafe anyways, he couldn't wait for his skin to heal.

"Harry, stop that," he ordered, this time with a calmer voice, "Come closer and lie down, put your head onto my lap. Just like that. And now press one finger after another against your palm, one goes down, the other goes up." 

As Jared listened to Harry's breath calming more and more, he stared at the ceiling and tried to suppress a growl. Crazy as it was, he wished it were Darwin here with him, not Harry, even if that would have meant their death. On the other hand, Darwin would never have panicked like that, and he certainly wouldn't have taken kindly to being ordered around.

Harry made a low purr and it caught Jared's attention. He could feel Harry breathing in deeply against his lower belly, then exhaling, and the hot wash of air made Jared shudder and his crotch react.

This was not good.

"Let's see if we can get rid of these cuffs, shall we?" Jared huffed and wiggled away. He was used to his body being a man-whore, but now it started to bother him. There was a feeling of wrongness about being aroused by other men, although his body didn't seem to agree yet. It was embarrassing, to be honest.

"Do you have any chewing gum or tin foil on you?" he asked.

"I'm not sure. Can you reach my pockets?"

Jared shuffled closer again, awkwardly turning around. His fingers touched Harry's flank and he struggled to reach down and fumble around in his jeans pocket.

"Whoa, that was a bit too far!" Harry chuckled.

"Shut your cake hole, I found something," Jared answered, intently groping around in the small space.

"I can feel that."

Growling softly Jared pulled out a crumbled piece of chewing gum paper and instantly retreated. "I really don't get how you can think of sex right now," he grumbled, trying to flatten the foil coated paper between his fingers.

"I'm not, I'm just really nervous. Trying to lighten the mood, y'know," Harry admitted, watching Jared's hands intently. "What are you trying to do?"

"These are steel cuffs, right? I'm trying to make a shim."

"A what?"

"A shim. It's a way to open cuffs if you find yourself in a, uh, bind." Rubbing the foil against his palm he formed a flat double layered slice and then leaned forward. "I need your eyes now. I need to get the edge into the gap above the teeth, like cracking a door lock with a credit card. Tell me where to move it."

It took a few tries to get them coordinated, but after a few minutes of fruitless fumbling Harry finally announced the foil being in the correct place.

Jared sighed. The intricate gymnastics had set his arms on fire, but he wasn't done yet.

"Now just one more-" he muttered, then tightened the cuff. The click was muffled, and a second later Jared's hand was free.

"That's a cool trick. Where did you learn that?" Harry was visibly impressed.

"Well, let's just say my one and only ever girlfriend was a bit nuts." Jared grinned, then suddenly turned his head and froze, listening intently.

The next moment he wasn't sitting next to Harry anymore, but standing behind the door, pressed against the wall, his face looking feral and intent.

Harry hadn't even really seen him move, he had been that quick. He would have said something, but in that moment the door opened and Rayne scurried through the small gap, looking nervous.

He had one split second of warning when Harry's eyes got wide, then Jared grabbed his arm, spun him around as he twisted it behind Rayne's back and pounded his head into the wall mercilessly.

~*~

"Don't hurt him!"

Grating Mr. Sultry's face against the wall a bit harder Jared threw an unfriendly look at Harry. "Why not?" 

For a moment he put more pressure on Rayne's twisted arm. The pained groan that followed made him grin happily. Oh yes, he'd had a whole long car ride to sit through just to get here, and now he was going to enjoy this.

"Jared!" Harry stumbled to his feet and came closer, his face worried for... that guy? His expression made Jared tighten his grip just a little bit more. "Before you turn him to mush, would you please, please just ask him why he's here unarmed and alone?" 

Jared answered the plea with another hard slam against the wall, followed by a gratifying gasp of pain from his victim. His anger was a new taste on his tongue, tangy and thick like pre-cum. He liked the taste, and he liked the promise it held. 

Revenge.

Unfortunately Harry was right, though the thought of delaying his revenge made Jared bare his teeth unhappily. The fun would have to wait at least a little bit longer.

"Fine." He lowered the pressure on Rayne's arm, grabbed his hair with his other hand and pulled his head back enough to be able to look at his profile.

"Talk. And do it fast and to the point, I'm not renowned for composure."

Harry sighed relievedly, and Jared shot him a curious look. That boy acted like they had a relationship, which was impossible as far as Jared knew. They had known each other for a maximum of a few hours. He'd have to ask Harry about that later.

Rayne sucked in a deep breath, trying not to wince at the pulsing pain in his arm and face. "I'm here to rescue you, I swear! But we need to hurry if you want to save Darwin too, and you'll have to promise to take me with you!"

Jared snorted. "Take you with us? Why would we do that? You're the reason we are here in the first place."

"Because I can't stay here, okay? I know Carl's plans, and I know they won't work, I'm as good as dead if I stay. Even if I wouldn't let you get away."

Jared thought about it for a moment. It had been made painfully clear that they wouldn't be able to stay in Banes, even if they managed to escape the pack. To do so would mean their deaths. He hadn't thought that far ahead though, and he needed to find out what Carl really intended to do. His back still itched with the need to hurt someone, anyone who meant harm to him, Darwin or even Harry, but Mr. Sultry probably wasn't the right target.

Switching his hand from Rayne's back to his throat and keeping his arm locked behind his back Jared spun him around, keeping him off balance by stepping between his legs.

"Uncuff Harry," he ordered, his voice giving no room for discussion, and Rayne wasn't going to argue about it. He fumbled for the keys with one hand and did his best to unlock the cuffs as Jared listened to his labored breath. He could feel Rayne's pulse against his fingertips and itched to press down on his throat, but held back grudgingly.

Only when Harry turned around rubbing his wrists did he loosen his grip just enough to stop hurting Rayne, but didn't let go of him altogether. 

"Check the stairs and listen at the door upstairs, Harry," Jared barked, and watched the submissive slink away without a comeback. 

The door creaked, Harry's steps sounded at the stairs, then there was silence.

Jared shoved Rayne forward and let him go at the same time, watching him fall to the ground and roll away to get out of Jared's reach. It was gratifying not having to play a role anymore, and for once Jared let go on his tight grip on his presence, letting it flood the room.

There was no way to deny him being Alpha anymore, and Rayne shuddered when the intense feeling crept over his body and brought his pulse to his tongue. He had seriously underestimated Jared, he suddenly was painfully aware of this.

There was a special rage in the air, and it promised pain.

"Tell me." Jared's voice had dropped an octave and become a deep, vibrating rumble that carried through the tension like a whip lash. It wasn't a demand, it was an order no-one but another Alpha could have denied, and Rayne didn't try to.

"Carl plans to get rid of all the submissives in his pack. He's got that crazy idea that they don't need them, that they'll get more powerful without them, and he won't be swayed. He told the others he just wants you, Harry and Darwin gone, that he doesn't want to harm you, but it's a lie. They are looking for Darwin right now, and if they find him they'll kill him. I told them I was on their side so I could help you get away, but you'll have to take me with you. They'll kill me if they find you gone. And even if they don't, I'll never survive the massacre that'll ultimately happen without submissives around."

"And you really expect me to believe that kind of horse shit?" Jared replied chuckling. He couldn't smell traces of lying, and he couldn't see any telltale signs of it in Rayne's body language, but what he had heard just wasn't believable. Nobody was that crazy. Nobody was able to make others believe such crazy notions.

A shot rang outside, the sound carried through one of the air vents, followed by hurried footsteps from the stairs.

Both Rayne and Jared had first looked to the air vent and now switched their gazes to the door, only to fixate on each other again when Harry stepped through.

Rayne broke the shocked silence first. "We really don't have time for this right now, but I promise to tell you everything as soon as I can, okay?"

Jared didn't budge, staring him down with a glint of aggression in his grayish eyes.

"What do I have to do to convince you I meant what I said?!" Rayne hissed, and this time Jared could hear his voice reel in time with his racing heart beat. He really was nervous, at least that much Jared believed.

And he also could think of something that would make him believe Rayne's honesty concerning his wish to set them free and go with them.

Jared took a step forward, and this time Rayne didn't move back.

"Prove your allegiance to me," Jared growled, standing proud and imposing, inches from Rayne.

There was a short pause and everyone held their breath. Jared could see the inner turmoil Rayne had to fight at his command, and took it as another sign of truthfulness, but it wouldn't do anyone any good as long as Rayne couldn't follow up with actions.

Then Rayne breathed out, closed his eyes and tilted his head, baring the side of his neck and his throat to Jared.

A short baring of his teeth was all he could manage, then his head rushed forward and his teeth clamped down around the quick pulse of Rayne's artery.

When Rayne made a pained sound that close to Jared's ear he had to fight against the need to bite through skin and blood vessels, and he instinctively wrapped his arms around the vulnerable man to press him closer, to feel his tension against his body. The fight for dominance wasn't over yet, and Jared silently prayed that Rayne would decide to fight him so he could kill him without regrets. Another mouth to feed and care for hadn't been planned.

Just when Jared thought he wouldn't be able to hold back any longer Rayne suddenly relaxed in his arms, giving in to the silent demand for submission.

Another shot rang out, more muffled this time and probably a good distance away, but the sound made Jared open his jaws and let go of Rayne.

In a split second Harry was there, kneeling next to Rayne and grabbing his upper arm to help him back up. "Done? Then we really need to leave, like, right now!" he hissed.

~*~

They had a hard time avoiding the hunters around the pack house, but as luck had it everyone was looking for someone from the outside, so no-one watched the house.

Only when the three reached the woods things got more difficult. With Jared bringing up the rear and Rayne leading they managed to dodge two groups of search parties, but it was Harry who finally caught Darwin's scent and lead the way from there.

Jared would have been able to do so himself, but he was preoccupied with keeping an eye on the dark werewolf staying curiously close to Harry. Something was going on between those two, there was no denying that, but that also was a topic for another day. Still, Jared wouldn't have been able to live with himself if he found Darwin only to have to tell him that he had gotten Harry killed in the process. So he watched Rayne watching Harry, and kept a look out for additional search parties.

Their path led them out of the woods and into the outskirts of the city where farmland and fallow fields bordered on new housing sites. The wind blew in cold gusts, flattening the dried and frostbitten grass every so often, and the night sky was spotted with bits of clouds and stars. It was a dangerous area with nowhere to hide, but at least it made following Darwin's trail much easier and faster. The group broke into a jog and only stopped when Harry suddenly drove his heels into the ground and sniffed loudly.

"Someone is following him, and closely at that," he whispered breathlessly. His worried glance met Jared, but there was no need to talk further. Instead they broke into a run, following the dead straight scent trails leading into Banes and right onto the grounds of Banes Central University.

They stopped next to the bleachers at the edge of the multi-use sports field, confused by the path their search had lead them on. Jared and Harry exchanged a puzzled glance, then Harry said, "this doesn't make any sense. Darwin's wolf would never ever come here."

"Why not? It's where Darwin lives, isn't it?" Rayne interceded.

"Yes, but it's not Darwin's wolf's home."

"What's the difference?"

Jared took a few steps into the direction the scent had lead them so far. Statsby Hall was straight ahead, dimly lit by a few of the dozens of windows. "Darwin has no control in wolf form. And his wolf doesn't live here. He'd never try to hide in a campus full of human students." But if Darwin had gained control over his wolf, he would probably come here because of all the witnesses, and because he knew where to go and where he could hide. He would know that his hunters wouldn't go all out for fear of being seen.

Jared turned around. "We can solve this puzzle later. Let's find Darwin first, before his executioners do."

Rayne still looked confused, but he didn't argue. They followed the concrete path leading back to the dorm buildings at a brisk pace, not quite running yet, but also not dallying anymore.

Then they heard a shot ringing through the night air, and ran.

~*Darwin*~

The wolf had managed to follow the car as far as the unused ranger's hut before he had had to keep his distance to avoid getting caught. Now he lay in the bushes about ninety yards down the road, trying to keep an eye on the pack house without getting caught by the patrols.

The wind hit his face in gusts, carrying the smell of burnt fuel, other wolves, pain and pine resin with it. It was not a steady breeze, but the flurries were strong enough to pull at his fur when they came, and they were unrelenting.

The wolf watched silently as the humans pulled his mate out of the car. The way they dragged him inside unceremoniously made him growl softly as his muscles tightened, ready to jump forward and defend his Alpha against such a treatment. But once again there was that strange, unsettling voice inside his head, telling him to stop and wait, pointing out the danger of such an idea. They had guns, the voice whispered. They were waiting for him to fuck it up and come out, it argued.

The wolf knew that voice. It was his human half, the one he had pushed into the back of his mind for years, just like it had pushed him back when it had control over this body.

When Jared disappeared into the house the wolf hesitated once more. He wanted to follow, to get closer, but he could smell the armed patrols around the house and in the woods surrounding it. They hadn't noticed him yet, but if he changed position they probably would catch his scent. On the other hand, the wind would likely change directions anyway, as it always did in such unsteady weather conditions. They would find him sooner or later, if he found out useful information before that happened he at least would have something to go with.

Keeping low to the ground the wolf sneaked along the bushes lining the grass clearing around the house. He stopped ever so often when one of the guards walked by, listening intently to the voice in his head telling him what their faces and gestures meant. He hadn't had any real interaction with human shaped werewolves before, never mind real humans, and his shapeless, bodyless companion was all he had to get around them. It was thrilling.

When he reached the end of the 'wind cone' he had mapped mentally by judging the direction and changes of the wind gusts, he cowered down once more. Lights were on in the whole ground level of the house and the wind carried bits and pieces of heated voices, steps and other noises. The strange openings below that level were illuminated differently, and once again the human side filled in the blanks for the wolf. Those openings lead down to a cellar much like the one the wolf had been kept in every full moon cycle, and the lights meant someone was down there.




Unwilling Ch. 06



The human voice was very sure he would find Jared down there, and the wolf crawled forward in anticipation. He'd just have to crawl in, and then- 

The front door crashed open and the bang of wood against wood made the wolf jump and turn tail instinctively. Behind him he could hear loud voices and shouts, but he didn't turn around to find out if they had seen him. He just ran.

There were multiple voices, the sounds of steps on grass and leaves and the disconcerting cracks and crunches of bodies shifting shape, but no gun shots. Both the wolf and the human mind knew that this was a good thing. It still meant they would have to keep running, but it also meant that they hadn't been made yet and could find a suitable place to hide and sneak around their enemies.

The thought of the other presence in his body made the wolf uncomfortable, even more so because he knew that the human mind felt the same. It felt strange to agree on something negative about each other, like a mirror that made its image talk back and forth.

The constant distraction also made the wolf stumble over unearthed roots and step onto dried leaves and twigs. He just couldn't concentrate on finding his way in the darkness, and it was its demise.

When he crashed through a particularly troublesome thicket, he suddenly heard a shot ring out behind him, followed by the whistle of a stray bullet. The shock made him jump and start to run again, and this time human and wolf were in tune on what had to be done- there was no time to sneak around and back to the pack house. They needed to shake off their tail first.

This time they ran to the edge of the forest before they slowed down, but another shot rang and bore into the ground next to the wolf's feet. The animal side was hesitant to enter the city, but the human side was quick to take over and point the all-to-well known way. Darwin had trodden this path many times, and the woods weren't safe anymore. Why not try the human's favorite hiding places next?

The yips and barks of wolves on the hunt was enough to persuade the wolf, and off they went again. As they ran along the grassy fields at full speed, they heard their pursuers breaking through the undergrowth behind them. Fortunately they had fallen back enough and wouldn't shoot them at that distance, at least not near the suburbs to their right, but it wouldn't last forever. Darwin already felt the last of his injuries acting up, the change hadn't been able to heal him completely after all.

He could run quite well, he could jump and duck and turn, but a feeling of weakness was seeping into his muscles. There was no way he would be able to fight if he kept running for much longer. If he took the next best place to hide - his fathers house - he would risk him and Mary for nothing. They wouldn't be of any help. Even if they tried, he would only get them killed.

There was only one other place he knew well enough to hide in with enough people there to keep those gun slinging lunatics from having a shootout: the campus of BCU.

The wolf wasn't quite convinced, but it didn't need to be. If it couldn't trust his human brother, it was lost anyway.

With a burst of speed they crossed the last meadow, ran across the sports field and jumped through a gap in the bleachers, then nearly crashed into a group of girls standing next to the bike racks in front of the dorms, and finally slid into the small impasse behind the building. 

The cramped space was filled with giant wheeled dumpsters. It was a perfect place to hide and get his bearings, though the smell was horrible.

Over his labored panting he could hear the agitated shouts of the girls, and the human side translated their jumbled voices as good as he could. Something about a wild dog, coyote, calling animal control and his size. They quieted down soon enough, laughing softly and turning their attention back to their own topics. It made Darwin's human side envy them. Would there ever be a life where he didn't have to fear for his life? Be able to stand in the darkness, talk to his friends and think nothing of predators running by?

It took a few minutes to get his breath back, and with the increasing calm came the pain. His muscles hurt from the unusual amount of strain, the stink of garbage made his stomach feel queasy and ruined his sense of smell, and the surroundings made the wolf nearly hysteric with nerves, but he didn't budge. The hunters probably were around the corner by now.

A moment later he could hear the surprised screams of the girls, followed closely by the sounds of running feet and a wolf-like snarl. Squeezing his furred frame deeper between the dumpsters Darwin watched two men with rifles and a wolf run into the dead end, but only the wolf passed him. The men just stood at the entry, watching and blocking his only way out.

This wasn't what Darwin had hoped for, not at all. 

This was his impending death.

~*~

The wolf seemed to sniff through every gap and crevice, although he probably had the same difficulties Darwin had. The air in the concrete backyard was so saturated with rotting garbage, it even felt warmer and more moist than the air in the forest. On top of the unbearable stink and the scents left by the multitude of rodents, cats, dogs, raccoons and foxes frequenting the place the wolf was probably just as nose-blind as Darwin was. Not that it helped, after all they had him boxed in securely, and it was just a matter of time before the searching wolf would come back to his hiding place and simply use his eyes to find him.

Once again the wolf and the human clicked into each other like gear wheels. They would die here, but they wouldn't go down without a fight. Those people were not their pack, they were enemies, and no amount of submissiveness would make them into anything else.

Darwin's human mind agreed with the decision, even though his intellect still argued that submissive wolves were not supposed to fight anyone, just like he had learned from his former pack. It amused the wolf to no end. If one's life was in danger and flight was out of the question, fight was the natural thing to do, no matter who you were.

Both of them froze when they heard the sniffing come closer, and then the shape of the searching wolf filled the front of the gap they were in.

The strange wolf snarled and froze too.

Darwin pounced.

Garbage cans rattled and clanked as the two furred shapes went at each other's throats growling and barking. There was no need to think anymore, Darwin's whole being was filled with clicking teeth, scratching claws, the taste of fur and blood in his mouth and the distinct smell of wolf in his nose. Both of them were screaming like banshees, a mixture of pain, agression, and nervous yips, intensified by the echoing walls of the dorms and the tinny feedback of the dumpsters.

They rolled out onto the concrete path like a furry, angry wad, splattering blood everywhere as they bit and shook each other.

Behind him Darwin could hear the two men run closer and he could hear the clicks of the loaded guns, but they didn't shoot... yet. Either they didn't want to risk shooting their mate, or they were afraid of attracting even more attention, but for now they just stood there and watched over the barrels of their rifles.

The cuts, rips and bite wounds only started to hurt when both wolves let go of each other for a second to catch their breaths.

It also was the moment one of the men chose to pull the trigger.

The bang of the rifle echoed through the impasse like thunder, but this time there was no whistle, only a sharp pain in Darwin's chest. It felt like an invisible fist hitting him at full speed, made him stumble backwards and sit down with shock.

He heard the screams of a girl only when the ringing in his ears stopped, but before he could make out anything else, all hell broke lose.

Suddenly the backyard was saturated with people, and all of them were fighting. 

The intense smell of testosterone, anger and something much more comforting - Jared's personal scent - blew away the heavy stink of garbage, as the Alpha threw himself on the wolf that had attacked Darwin, and simply twisted its neck. Behind him two more shapes were struggling against the armed men, but the fight didn't end as quickly. Another shot rang through the night air and bit into the wall high above their heads, then the five shapes somehow rolled out of the backyard and in front of the dorms.

Confused and filled with pain Darwin limped into the deepest corner of the impasse, keeping an eye on the entrance to the backyard as his blood dropped steadily onto the concrete.

A figure ran into the backyard, turned and stumbled backwards, whimpering with fear as he - or she? - kept an eye on the exit, only looking down when their foot bumped against the lifeless body of the other wolf. Whoever it was, they hadn't seen Darwin and kept coming closer and closer, carrying with them the stink of panic and hysteria and the sounds of a frightened, fragile female.

One of Darwin's paws lost its grip in the puddle of blood he was sitting in, and the small sound of claws on concrete made Darla turn around and cry out with shock.

Darwin was hurt, bleeding heavily, frightened to death and alone, with nothing left but his will to survive. He growled, bristling at the threat his wolf assumed in the frightened figure.

Darla turned and ran screaming. Her scream was cut short as the hurt wolf jumped and bit her shoulder, riding her struggling body down. Just before they hit the ground Darla hammered her elbow into Darwin's furred head, making him let go and throwing him against the dumpsters where he landed in a heap of fur and agony.

With a low whine he twitched one last time, then everything went black.

~*Jared*~

It was shocking how close they had been to the pack hunters the whole time. They sprinted along the front of Statsby Hall with Jared taking the lead this time, turned one corner Jared hadn't even known existed, and all but ran into the three werewolves. The shot had given the impression of distance, but it had been an illusion, a trick for the ears.

Jared could see Darwin still in wolf shape sitting near the end of the impasse, and it didn't take more than one look to see that he was hurt, bleeding, losing the fight. The two human shaped werewolves were pointing their rifles at him and the lone wolf shaped werewolf stood in front of them, but it was all a blur. He should have gone for the two men with rifles, but his rage overruled his mind easily.

That wolf had attacked his mate. That wolf was going to die first.

Behind him he could hear Rayne and Harry grapple with the gunmen, fists hitting bodies, the metal clank of the trigger mechanism being pulled and the groan of wood and steel being pulled in two directions at once, but he didn't care. He grabbed for the wolf's head just as it tried to turn around and snap at him, and twisted.

There was a sharp, dull cracking sound, and for a few seconds the furry body continued to twitch and shiver, radiating heat and confusion. Then the still warm body lay still in his hands, and he let it go. Deep satisfaction flooded his system, rewarding him for having his revenge, and a roar itched through his throat, wanting to be let out.

Jared's moment of victory was cut short when another shot rang out. The bullet bit into the wall above them, showering him with plaster crumbs. Ah yes, his victory wasn't yet earned.

Baring his teeth he swung around and joined the fight for the rifles. Rayne had already unarmed one of the men, proceeding to beat him into a handy pulp, but Harry was having problems. His adversary wouldn't give his gun up that easily, mainly because he managed to cower Harry with a growl that would have sent other submissives to the ground. 

But not Harry. He held on to the gun for dear life, turning his head to the side in an awkward angle to avoid the still quite human set of teeth threatening to clamp down on his throat.

Jared barreled into both of them instead of just joining the skirmish for the gun. The three of them crashed into one of the garbage containers, whirled around and fell, rolling out onto the concrete path and into the group of girls that had been standing in front of Statsby Hall.

"Call the police!" one of the girls screamed at the other two, and they staggered away. Jared knew that voice, but he didn't have time to look up and confirm it was Darla. The strange wolf still wouldn't give up his gun, and he proved to be quite capable to protect himself. Somehow he managed to roll them around, land on Jared's chest and expel Harry from the scuffle like an annoying insect, proceeding to beat Jared with both fists.

He hadn't taken in consideration what Jared would do without a submissive in the way. Jared tried not to listen to the panicked screams of Darla, Harry's fearful voice as he grabbed the rifle and threw it away and the sickening crunch of breaking bones from Rayne's direction, and he tried to hold on to his consciousness as his attacker split his lip, broke his cheek bone and even managed to knock out a tooth. Instead he focused on his hand, felt for the burning pain of moving bones and the itching of growing fur, and then shoved his partially turned hand into the chest of the last pack hunter.

It felt like punching through a brick wall, but he probably could have done that too. The startling pain made the wolf above him freeze with shock, and even when Jared started to dig into his chest to grab and squeeze his heart he could do nothing else but twitch and gasp for air.

Jared felt the innate need to keep his hand in there and watch that man die as he ground his heart to mush, but there was no time.

Another scream from Darla, followed by a scream from Harry made him yank out his hand and push the dying man to the side. The wound in his chest even started healing a bit, but Jared was sure enough that he would stay dead. Jumping up he tumbled into the impasse, and stared down at a twitching female body and the bleeding wolf right next to her.

Rayne was standing at the feet of Darla's unconscious form, Harry had his hands pressed against the bleeding bullet wound in Darwin's chest. Darla's shoulder was bloody and in tatters.

Shit.

"He bit her... He bit her!" Harry was repeating it over and over. Rayne crouched down to pull the cloth from Darla's bloody shoulder, then looked up to Jared and just nodded. They both were pretty pale.

Sirens were howling in the background, slowly closing in on them. The other two girls had probably called the police.

Their time was running out fast. Jared turned around and barked, "pick them up and run to the car park, we gotta leave!" This time he didn't try to keep an eye on Rayne. Things had changed once more.

Rayne carefully picked up Darla and Harry threw Darwin's sleek furred body over his shoulder. Blood was everywhere, the metallic scent hung thickly in the air, mixed with the stink of rotting food and the innate smell of autumn night.

Baring his teeth Jared had one last look around. It had been too good to be true from the beginning anyways.

~*Darwin*~

He didn't come to out of his own volition. A wave of pain woke him, making him gasp for air and whine helplessly. It was hard to make out his surroundings, but the vibrations and shaking meant they were moving, probably by car. The warm, tender softness beneath his head smelled like Jared, and as soon as he made another pained sound a hand touched his head and stroked his hair soothingly. He was lying half on Jared's lap, but his legs were tangled with someone else's arms, and the space they were in felt cramped.

Opening one eye Darwin stared at the faux leather covering of a car seat, complete with a figure sitting in it. It was a small car, smaller than anything he had ever seen, and the engine chugged away like very old cars tended to do. Outside it was still dark, but the darkness had a blackish-blue quality to it, like it was beginning its retreat from the sun. The car was obviously heated, but Darwin still felt feverishly cold and weak, and a short glimpse down his body showed nothing but a jacket draped over him. He was naked, buck naked, and being cradled by two men: Jared at his head, and Harry at his thighs.

Somewhere behind him a female sounding voice joined him, groaning in agony. A few thuds followed, sounding like someone having a seizure, then the sounds stopped. Nobody paid attention to it.

Licking his lips Darwin weighed his options. He felt tired and hurt to his bones and incredibly glad for the peace of the moment, but not knowing what was going on gnawed at him. Finally he coughed, which hurt like hell, swallowed more carefully, and murmured, "who's driving?"

A sudden stillness at his legs proved that Harry hadn't noticed he was awake. The hand on his head just kept stroking him. Of course Jared had noticed, but now Darwin could feel his eyes staring a hole into his temple. 

"Rayne," he answered, and his voice sounded soothing and calm, like the purr of a sleepy cat.

Darwin knew the name. "The rogue Carl adopted in? That Rayne?" he asked, not giving a shit how thick with distrust his voice sounded.

"Yes, that Rayne." The strange voice sounded like caramel, or toffee, thick and sticky and resounding. It reminded Darwin of phone sex ads, but this voice had a more natural modulation to it than the commercials could ever hope for. Hereditary, not a thespian act. He didn't like how much he liked that voice, and snarled softly.

"He's on our side now." This from Harry, earnest as ever, and so trusting.

Jared's hand never stopped petting him. "I have to agree. He saved us, and you in the process. He even got scratched for his troubles."

Rayne snickered at that comment. It felt like an inside joke between those three, and suddenly Darwin felt jealous. Swallowing another bitchy comment he turned his head down and breathed in Jared's scent, letting the incredible warmth of his lap pull him back into tiredness.

Another rumbling from the trunk jerked him awake before he could doze off. "What's that sound?" he asked warily.

For a few seconds there was silence, only broken by the tumult from behind. It felt uncomfortable for so many reasons, and nobody seemed ready to break it.

Darwin sighed, pulling at Jared's pants leg with one hand. "There's somebody locked in the trunk, isn't there?" he grumbled, keeping his eyes closed. Not that it would help against the truth, but it felt like a good way to brace for the obvious answer.

It took a few seconds for someone to man up, and it was Jared. Of course it was Jared.

"Yes, there is."

Darwin opened one eye to peek up at his face. In the dark it looked pale and old, as if the sunshine had been sucked out by the last few hours. "Do I have to pull every detail out of your nose, or will you please tell me what's happened?"

He did. He started with him, Rayne and Harry breaking out of the pack house, and he only paused for a short moment before he told Darwin who was in the trunk, and why.

"Darla's got the fever from your bite, and she's unconscious. My car isn't big enough for all of us, and if we are stopped by the police, having her sit in the front seat all bloody and near death would be kinda bad. So we stuffed her in the trunk." Jared made it sound so simple, so practical. They couldn't risk leaving her behind, their only means of transportation was a small, antique VW Beetle, and they had been hard pressed to hurry, so into the trunk with her.

For a few moments Darwin let the silence settle once more, trying to breathe around the tight knot in his gut. He didn't remember being bitten himself, but after years and years of pain and suffering it was hard to hear he had put someone else in just the same spot. Darla hadn't even done anything to him, she had just been at the wrong place at the wrong time. He felt horrible. Horrible and dirty, stained.




Unwilling Ch. 06



Worse than that was the silence. Nobody said anything, no encouraging words, no reassurances, no consolations to make him feel better about it. Darwin understood though. There was nothing to feel better about, he had ruined Darla's life, and no amount of words or pleading would ever change that. If you bit someone, it was your own responsibility to deal with it. It didn't matter if you meant to or if you didn't, wolves didn't care about good intentions, just actions. Through his actions he had made her one of them, and now it was his obligation to deal with it and make sure she didn't do something stupid. If she survived, of course.

Just when Darwin started to feel pressured to say something, anything to break the silence, Jared leaned forward and pointed at the dirty veneer of a lone gas station at the side of the highway.

"Pull out here, we have to get them cleaned and patched up before sunrise. And we have to plan what do to next."

The Beetle rumbled over the broken concrete parking lot and rolled to a halt right next to the bathroom doors. There was an old pickup truck sitting to one side, but it looked broken down. Nobody else was around. Rayne got out and went to check if the bathroom doors were unlocked, which they weren't, then trotted around the grimy building and disappeared into the shop up front.

A few minutes later he came back, carrying a bundle of unfamiliar packages, soda cans and snacks in one hand, and the key to both bathrooms in the other.

Piling his load onto the front passenger seat he sorted through it and held out a few items for Jared to grab. It looked like clothes, but the overhead light hurt Darwin's eyes too much to take a closer look. Instead he rolled around and buried his face in Jared's lap. When Jared started to twitch and gasp and tense up, Darwin finally realized how close to his crotch he had positioned his face and sat up with a flustered gasp. "Sorry!" he squeaked, cut short by another wave of unpleasant aches in his shoulder.

Jared didn't seem to mind. In fact he just grinned and held out some kind of can, just like the ones you normally bought paint or glue in. Only this one didn't contain any liquids, judging by the label picturing a set of nice, firm buttocks barely covered by hot pants with violet and green leopard dots.

"Those will do nicely, don't you think?" he purred, watching him with a particular kind of warm darkness in his eyes.

"Give me that," Darwin harrumphed as his face turned a pink color. He snatched the can out of Jared's hand and grabbed the other clothing items Rayne held out, only to realize that he couldn't carry them and hold on to the jacket around his mid-section at the same time.

"Here let me help you." Jared grabbed the clothes without waiting for an answer, and proceeded to guide Darwin out of the car. His last glance met Rayne's eyes. "You two make sure to call your parents and friends and tell them what happened. Harry, find out what you can about Darla, and if anyone will miss her find a cover story." He turned away from the car to follow Darwin, who was already limping to the bathroom doors, and added, "and someone please find out if we've got cops on our heels!"

~*Jared*~

The bathroom was just like any other gas station bathroom at the side of a highway. Somebody had tried to clean it at one point during the last week, but it had been a meager effort that had been limited to the floors and ceramics. Jared didn't need his superhuman senses to notice the stink of urine, feces, cigarette smoke and body odor hanging thickly in the air.

Even Darwin seemed taken aback by the slap of scents hitting them at the door, and he stood there blinking confusedly for a few seconds.

"I think I'll get an STD from just standing here," he rasped, hesitant to step onto the dirty white tiles.

Jared carefully shoved him into the small room, right to one of the stalls, his right hand hovering next to Darwin's arm in case he stumbled. "Don't be melodramatic, you can't get sick from anything in here. Just don't touch needles or blades if you find any," he joked. Wedging himself into the stall after Darwin and getting the door closed behind them was no small feat, but he managed.

"What are you doing?" Darwin grumbled indignantly when the stall door fell shut.

Softly pushing him onto the toilet seat Jared grinned and replied, "Helping you. We need to check your wounds. Somebody shot you, remember? We wouldn't want the bullet to stay in there just to have to cut you open later, now, would we?"

He could see a glimpse of Darwin's old self peeking through his eyes when he made a displeased, grumbling sound, but the little flame flickered and died down quickly.

Jared didn't like it. He decided to push Darwin a little, just enough to see if he was truly broken or just... bent out of shape.

He got down in a crouch, tugged at the jacket, and tried to wrench it out of Darwin's sudden death-grip. "Take that off, I need to look you over."

Darwin lifted an eyebrow, looking incredulous. The jacket around his hips was the only piece of clothing he had, and he obviously wasn't going to let go anytime soon.

"Get out of the stall so I can dress," he snarled with furrowed brows. The spark was back, but only just. Still, Jared clung to it like a life line. Not that he planned to give in to Darwin's demands.

Growling lowly he curled his fingers into the piece of clothing, and tensed every muscle in his upper body until he felt the cloth of his shirt cling tightly to his bulging arms and shoulders. He could watch Darwin's eyes grow wider, hear his breath quicken, and then tugged sharply just when Darwin's fingers relaxed with surprise.

The jacket fell away, and for a few short seconds Jared was left to stare at the glorious naked body sitting before him, breathless with wonder and lust.

Darwin's hand cut the moment short as he slapped him hard.

"Out. Now!"

~*~

Jared's cheek was bright red. Grinning at himself in the mirror he felt over the heated hand impression in his face, then turned around to lean against the rickety sink as he watched the dance of naked feet and shadows beneath the bathroom stall door. True, he had aggravated Darwin once more, but it had been for a good cause. The slap proved that Darwin was still himself, and although his face burned where it had been hit it made Jared happy.

"Just underwear and trousers, remember! I still have to check that bullet wound," he said over the shuffle of clothes and feet.

Instead of a reply Darwin shoved open the stall door and stalked out. His bare feet made obscene, soft slapping sounds on the tile floor as he walked in front of Jared, then the blond hunk received another disdaining glare.

"I heard you the first two times. Could you please stop baiting me? I'm sick and tired of having to be vigilant around you." Jared could hear the strain in Darwin's voice, though it was hidden beneath the usual sarcastic lilt. It sounded like Darwin needed a hug, but at the same time Jared was suddenly afraid to just give it.

"Okay," he said instead, and meant it.

Pushing away from the sink he stepped closer to Darwin, letting his eyes feast on his naked chest as he leaned forward and softly touched around the angry red rim of the bullet wound in his shoulder. It was already healing quite well, so Jared leaned closer and looked over Darwin's shoulder to look for an exit wound at his back.

"I really don't want to cut you open," he mumbled, then shuffled around him to have a closer look.

There it was, sitting beneath his shoulder blade, probably contorted by the change of shapes from wolf to human. The hole was even smaller at his back which was puzzling. Darwin had been shot from the front, and the exit wounds always were nastier than the entrance wounds. At least that was what Jared had been told.

"Is it bad?" Darwin whispered, staying as still as possible. His face looked surprised and pale in the mirror, his usually piercing eyes were dark with the remnants of shock, pain and fear.

Jared returned his gaze in the mirror and instinctively stepped closer, turning his head to blow a soft, hot puff of air against Darwin's neck. He could see Darwin's face relax as he lowered his head to the side, baring his neck to Jared's mouth. The gesture filled Jared with happiness, but it also awoke the sudden need for closer contact, skin contact preferably. The instinct to touch, hug, stroke Darwin was so sudden and surprising, he stepped away instead and shivered.

"No, it's not bad at all," he replied throatily, "it's a through-and-through, clean, already healing. You're good to go."

Jared couldn't see any sign of realization on Darwin's face. If the submissive had noticed Jared's short moment of unsettledness, he didn't show it. It was probably better this way, though Jared felt dissatisfied with Darwin's lack of perception or interest in him.

Not that there weren't a myriad of reasons for Darwin to be preoccupied.

"Put on your shirt and the jacket too, it's cold today. Do you want to call your father?" Jared asked, walking over to the bathroom stall to pick up the jacket.

When he turned around, Darwin was already dressed and holding out his hand for the last piece of clothing. "Yes. I think it's time to tell him I'm not dead." His voice was once again void of emotion or sarcasm, the spark was gone from his eyes.

This time though Jared knew Darwin would be alright. All he had to do was give him time.

Half an hour later everyone but Jared had finished their calls. They would have let him go first, or second, or third, but he really had no idea whom to call and what to say. 'Hey Tobias, guess what, I just ruined the life of my sweetheart!' or 'Neil, good to hear your voice! I was driven out of Banes by the local Alpha because I stole people from him, can you help me out?' just didn't sound like the greatest of lines for a family reunion.

His never-ending rivalry with his older brother Tobias didn't bode well in any case, but as much as Jared hated to admit it, Tobias was probably the only person in the states able to help him at that moment.

Rolling his shoulders against the beginning tenseness he stepped into the plastic soundproofing dome, threw in his last quarters and dialed. 

He had to wait about five rings before someone picked up. Luckily it was Tobias, not his wife Casey. Jared really didn't like Casey.

"It's one o'clock in the morning, so this had better be good," Tobias drawled into the phone. His normally so businesslike voice was rough from sleep and tiredness.

"It's Jared. Don't hang up on me, okay? I really need your help."

A short, surprised silence followed. Jared could visualize Tobias staring a hole into the air as he collected his thoughts. "Are you for real?" was the first thing Tobias came up with.

He must really be tired, Jared mused with a grin. Tobias usually was so good with words.

"Yes. Remember when you told me not to mess up with the local pack? Well... I kinda did. But I had a very good reason, I promise! And I'm not coming back if you think that's why I'm calling, I just need-"

Tobias didn't let him finish. "So, let me guess," he drew out, "you fell in love with some local werewolf, decided she's the one and claimed her. The local Alpha thought you're stealing his pack members and threw you out or challenged you or something, and now you're afraid of sleeping in your rust bucket of a car. How am I doing so far?"

A breeze of cold morning wind blew over Jared's back, making him shiver involuntarily. Baring his teeth at the phone booth he sighed, then closed his eyes. "He's the one." Damn Tobias.

This time he could hear his brother breathe in sharply, but he didn't hang up. "Excuse me?"

"He. Not she. He's the one. But yeah, you're nearly spot on. Except for the negligible fact that I claimed him because they would've killed him otherwise. The rest is sadly accurate." There was no use in denying or explaining, at least not at that moment. Not as long as he needed his brother's help.

Tobias had always suspected Jared being gay, but it had never been a big deal. Jared had tried women, that much Tobias knew, but the family had had their suspicions for too long a time to be surprised by it now.

"Fine, he. I already told you my opinion on this. It's the same shit that got you thrown out here, but since you couldn't keep it together for your own family, I didn't have much hope you'd manage it for anyone else. So, what can I do for you now that you fucked up, lil' bro?" 

For a moment Jared wished he could strangle Tobias through the phone, just because he had been right once more, but the instinct vanished as quickly as it had come. Love for each other in good as in bad times had never been the issue for his family.

"Gloat all you want, dickhead," he growled with a smile at the brotherly play-fight, "you still gonna help me. You won't risk having to take me back."

"Well that's the truth if I ever heard it."

"I need a car, at least I need to use the family credit card to buy a car," Jared explained, hesitant to give away too much information. His family was well off, but they weren't rich - two tornadoes in two years had made sure of that.

"Did your junker finally break down?" 

"Well, no, um." How did you tell your brother that you had involuntarily formed a pack just two hours earlier? Jared hesitated, then decided to treat that tid-bit of information like a band-aid. He ripped it off in one move. "I kinda sorta have a pack now, courtesy of the Banes Alpha. We don't fit into my Beetle, and it won't carry that much weight for much longer."

This time Tobias crunched the phone. "You what?" he hissed, just short of yelling at him.

The phone bleeped its 30 second warning tone, and Jared inserted another quarter.

"I got a pack. Many people, bigger car," he repeated, trying not to sound small at the audible scowl from the other end. He wasn't the useless little brother anymore, damn it!

Tobias made a drawn-out groan. "Okay, just to paint a picture here... You find someone you think is the love of your life. You piss on some Alpha's porch to get him, getting run off and homeless in the process. And just to add insult to injury, you drag not one, but bunch of people down the shit hole with you. And now you need to buy a car to fit all the people who's life you've ruined?"

Jared blinked, staring hard at the number pad in front of him. 

"Yes." 

There wasn't much else he could say, and he was already growing tired of Tobias' domineering tone of voice.

"Fine." It was a short, crisp answer, void of all the sarcasm and exasperation Tobias had shown before. 

It flabbergasted Jared. "Really?"

"Yes. You'll have to pay it back once you settle down, my bank account is no charity. But for now buy that damn car and take care of your victims. And call mom as soon as you have done so, she'll freak if you don't after I tell her what you just told me." There was a hint of pride in his older brother's voice, although he tried very hard to sound disgruntled.

A relieved smile played on Jared's lips. "I will. And thanks, bro. Talk to you soon."

Things were definitely looking up.



Unwilling Ch. 07



~*Darwin*~

Through all the shock, the pain and the last remnants of fear Darwin's mind had huddled into a tight ball around one simple problem: why the hell wasn't Jared touching him anymore? The glorious jock usually never hesitated to use any and every chance to paw him whenever he felt like it, but now he seemed actually frightened to do so.

Had Darwin been too snappy in that gas station bathroom? Or maybe his wolf had driven Jared away, just as promised. Whatever the reason, Darwin could sense Jared throw glances at him here and there, but he never did anything more than that.

Jared even had volunteered to walk across town and buy a new car, although that probably had something to do with his credit card. There was a sad possibility that Rayne of the dark skin might get arrested if he tried to buy a brand-new Dodge Nitro with a credit card in someone else's name.

But still, that didn't rule out the possibility that Jared had volunteered just to get away from Darwin. Nibbling on his lower lip he looked through the back window of the Beetle. Harry and Rayne were standing at the trunk deeply immersed in their conversation, and even that made Darwin wince. He had had no chance to reconcile with Harry yet, but Harry seemed to be doing well enough. Without Darwin. With that rogue wolf.

It was petty of him to be jealous, but he felt justified. All of them had lost something, that was true, but Darwin had been the only one to get hurt repeatedly. Nobody seemed to care. 

Well, except for Darla, he had bitten her, that counted as hurt. And Jared was out buying a brand new car with money he'd had to borrow from his estranged brother because he had nothing but the clothes on his body. And Rayne had given up his only safe haven to help them. Harry had even been kidnapped because of him, for god's sake! 

All of a sudden his egoism made Darwin want to crawl out of his own skin with disgust. When had he started to think like that? No wonder Jared kept his distance, he probably had noticed Darwin's feelings before he himself had.

And adding to all of this was Darwin's acceptance of Jared's superiority. After all, Jared had fallen in love with him when he had still tried to pass as a dominant, and now he was stuck with a whiny, groveling--

The deep honk of a shiny new car ripped him from his self-pity, and not a second too soon. With a shudder he crawled out of the Beetle, threw an instinctual smile at Jared and did his best not to limp too transparently as he walked across the small parking space.

He wanted to help them load whatever goods they had left into the new car but his shoulder still hurt and bled when he tried to lift something heavy, so Jared simply shoved him into the car and told him to wait there as they finished. 

Darla was draped onto the back seat this time, and Harry and Rayne took on the job of holding her steady. It left Darwin with the passenger seat next to Jared, and another good chance of getting the Alpha's attention. He'd just have to try harder.

"What are you going to do with your old car?" Darwin asked as they pulled out of the parking lot. The little Beetle looked very forlorn in all that empty space. He wouldn't miss the cramped space, but the car had enough character to look like a lost puppy.

Jared sighed, then threw a short glance into the back mirror. "I don't know. It depends on how long we're going to stay away. I'd hate to lose it to be honest, it's my first car."

Rayne hummed sympathetically. "First one's always the hardest. I still remember when I-"

"When are you going to tell us about that pack in Canada?" Jared interrupted gruffly, taking a moment to look at Rayne's dark face in the rear view mirror. Darwin could see those hard lines reappear on the jock's face. They were new, having started to appear only since Carl's pack had gone on the offensive and started to attack them. They were strong lines, very male, but also very sad to see. Jared looked positively cold, like a winter sun.

Rayne was silent for a moment, long enough to make Darwin put up with the pain in his shoulder and look back. The dark one looked down at Darla's face, obviously trying to come up with the best way to start. It was unusual to see him at a lack of words, and Darwin would have liked it on any other given day. This day he wanted to crawl back and shake him.

"I think it's best I tell you how I myself met them, maybe that will be enough to make you understand why Carl's plan will never work," he finally said, sorting through Darla's hair.

"It was six years ago, and I was very new to this whole pack thing. At eighteen you don't really think about the future the same way you do at twenty-one, or any time after that, and I had nobody to talk sense into me. My first pack didn't want me anymore, so I decided to find out about a legend, the same one Carl heard. A story about some pack up north that was somehow different, more powerful than any other pack." 

He hesitated for a moment, smiling tightly. "I wanted to be strong, I wanted power more than anything. If my parents had been stronger, they wouldn't have been killed by hunters, I told myself. And since I didn't want to die, this was the way I chose."

Darwin huddled into his seat. George had always told him that there was such a thing as hunters, especially when he told the story of how he had found him as a kid. His adoptive father was quite sure that the wolf who had bitten him had been hunted and killed by the men who called themselves hunters because they never found him. It had kept their pack in hiding for weeks before they dared to show themselves in their wolf shapes again.

"It took weeks to get to the Canadian border. I didn't have a passport or visa, but you know, such things don't stop a wolf. The hunger was a bigger problem, especially because it was salmon season and there were bears everywhere." Again Rayne hesitated, then he took a deep breath and added, "and you can probably guess where this is going. I was near death and ripped to shreds when one of the mythical werewolves found me. I have no idea how he carried me to that hunting cabin, he was slightly smaller than Harry and sinewy like a teenager, but he did. And he patched me up too."

Jared huffed and slowed the car to enter the highway. "Very magical, but so far I can't find anything unusual in that," he grumbled.

White teeth flashed as Rayne grinned. "When I asked him if I could join his pack, he said no. I asked why," he threw a glance at Jared's profile and finished, "he said, because they're all Alphas."

The words didn't register at first because the sentence made little sense. There was no dumbfounded silence or gasps of shock, just the slightly embarrassed rustle of clothing as they all changed position. After a short while Harry piped in.

"What do you mean? They had more than one Alpha?" He sounded as nonplussed as Darwin felt.

"No, I mean they are all Alphas. Every single one of them."

Flitting his gaze from Harry to Rayne and finally to Jared, Darwin saw the deep frown lines form above his brows. "That wouldn't work. I'm from a family with three Alphas, my dad, my brother and myself, and we nearly killed each other for years. I had to leave because it got so bad. Alphas don't mix." The words sounded angry, and Jared shook his head animatedly. "No way."

Rayne went back to stroking Darla's hair, again looking down at her with hazed eyes. "I couldn't believe it myself. Hector, my savior, tried to explain it to me but it just sounded too ludicrous. I wanted to come to his pack house and see it myself, but he wouldn't let me. He even threatened me with death if I tried to go near them. You wanna guess why?"

All three of them waited for a few seconds for him to go on, but he only answered his question when Darwin sucked in air to ask the obvious.

"He said, because they're all Alphas, no dominant or submissive is allowed anywhere near them. As soon as that happens, they would start fighting over them, sooner or later, but most likely sooner. Hector said the only reason their pack works is because there simply is nothing to fight over. Then he gave me three-hundred bucks and stuffed me into the next bus home."

Another silence swallowed the car when Rayne ended his little tale. Jared still frowned and his hands kneaded the steering wheel with a vengeance, Harry was too nervous to pitch in and Darwin was too busy watching them all shy away from the next logical question.

Finally he relented because someone had to. "Fine. Let's say your tale is true. Are we still going there? I mean, they would take Jared, but we're still fucked." And he really didn't want to give up Jared, although he didn't say that out loud.

Surprisingly it was Rayne who answered, not Jared. "Yes. We have to go there. They know things about Alpha powers. Things we'll need if we want to defeat Carl. That's still what we're trying to achieve, right?"

Darwin nodded, chewing on his lower lip as he looked over to Jared. His expression hadn't changed a bit, and it worried him. In the end it was Jared who would decide what they would do or not do, he was their Alpha. 

"Fine. Sounds good to me. Just tell me where to go."



~*~

~*Jared*~

There was a special place in hell reserved for car seat designers, Jared was sure. Ten hours of constant driving in an unfamiliar car had set his back on fire in a way he wouldn't wish on his worst enemies, and they still had a ways to go. At least Carl's men wouldn't follow them this far, and at the moment they were as safe as they could ever hope to be.

The climate was fresher, colder and somewhat wetter here, and the constant scent of ice, pine resin and wet sand hung in the air. It smelled clean and healthy, and like a very bad place to be in winter. They parked beneath some trees next to another gas station with all heaters on a low, steady blow, and everyone was asleep except for Jared and Rayne.

Jared didn't want to take his eyes off Rayne, who still huddled into the phone booth on his hunt for a phone number on his 'friend' Hector, but a soft, constant snoring right next to his elbow beckoned him to turn his head.

He had been so good until now, keeping his hands to himself, giving Darwin all the space he needed to collect himself off the metaphoric floor, but the need to get closer was increasingly hard to ignore. It just didn't seem natural not to touch Darwin, his mate, his partner, especially when he was so distressed. But Jared had promised to behave. Behaving himself included not groping a wounded man, even if he was snoring cutely.

He smiled down at the black haired boy curled up in the passenger seat. A strand of hair hung into his face and Jared unthinkingly brushed it away. Darwin felt hot, nearly feverish, but nothing close to the fever he'd had in the cabin two days ago. He didn't need to worry about his body, but Jared knew the emotions Darwin seemed to go through.

A distance was growing between them, and Jared didn't know how to stop it. Maybe it was natural to feel alienated after so much violence and stress, but that didn't make it any easier on their relationship. Brushing his thumb over Darwin's cheek Jared sighed. Why couldn't things just go back to being easy and light like before?

The back door opened and Rayne piled into the car, waking everyone but Darla with the sound of the door slamming shut. Jared quickly pulled away his hand and tried to look inconspicuous, but Rayne had probably seen him pet Darwin like a love-sick fool before he even got into the car. Damn it.

"I got it. I even talked to Hector directly, although he didn't remember me. He's meeting us at some place about 120 miles north, right near the border. Since you're the only one with a passport, we'll have to stay on US-soil, but Hector says he knows just the place for us," Rayne babbled excitedly and shoved a piece of paper through the gap between the front seats. "Here's the address for the meet. And now I'm gonna take a nap too."

*

Another three hours later the car stopped once more. Rayne explained that Hector wanted to meet Jared on his own and without his pack, seeing as how he didn't have one of his own and wanted to avoid confrontation, so everyone but Jared got to stay in the car.

Walking around after such a long drive was an experience in itself. Jared's back still hurt, but adding to that his feet had fallen asleep sometime in the night. Now he needed to pay close attention where he went to avoid falling onto his face.

The address they had gotten led to a small bar, or diner, depending of the time of day. It looked derelict and dirty, but it also had this kind of homey vibe to it that you only found in the oldest and most worn-out of places, the ones that kept their customers coming back for years and years and showed it.

Jared would not have chosen a place like that to meet a new Alpha. Too many people, too much noise.

Thankfully the diner was nearly empty when he walked in, only filled with stale cigarette smoke and the distinct smell of spilled beer. Some scents stuck to a surface like glue, and no amount of cleaning could do anything about it. There were only five people inside, and one of them was a grumpy looking bartender with a beer gut. Two men were sitting at the counter and brooding over their glasses, which left Jared with a biker-type guy at one table to the left, and another thin, lithe and kind of geeky looking guy on the other. But which one was Hector?

Only one way to find out.

Jared let go of the control over his powers just a little, just enough to tickle where it met with another werewolf's powers. At the same time he kept a careful eye on both contestants, waiting for a reaction.

One heart beat later four guys stared at him with open curiosity. It wasn't friendly interest, more like the way a sated wolf watched a bunny hop by. The single person not looking at him seemed to be the skinny guy, but it still meant he was standing in a room chock-full of werewolves, who now knew what he was. Shit.

Jared swallowed. "Ahm," he stuttered, "I'm looking for Hector." Best say something before they decided to treat him like the intruder he was. He carefully turned to the four men, keeping the door and the last man at his back. If they decided to attack, he would be able to flee, or so he hoped.

"You must be Jared," a nice, firm voice said from behind. It was like magic. The voice spoke, and the next moment all four werewolves lost interest in him, turning back to their drinks and respective tasks.

Jared turned around to face the one man he hadn't thought about as a real danger, feeling foolish. The slim, lithe man at the table waved him over, but Jared had to do a double-take before he believed his eyes. The one Alpha actually in the room with him looked small and harmless, young like a high school graduate, and probably fit beneath Jared's chin, but the way the others reacted to him indicated power. It was hard to connect the way Hector looked with any kind of influence, but there it was, for everyone to see.

Hector grinned boyishly at the expression on Jared's face. "Yes, I often get reactions like that," he mused, and pointed invitingly at the seat across from him. "Please, have a seat. Let us be civilized monsters."

It took Jared a good few seconds to shake off the astonishment and get moving. He slipped into the seat with careful movements, slower than he would have moved with friends, making every gesture deliberate and easy to follow. Hector observed him intently as he got seated, raising an eyebrow at his behavior.

"You seem to have experience with Alphas," he finally stated, and gave an approving nod. "That's a rare feat. Most of us die before we can learn from our mistakes."

This time Jared had to smile. "I have years of experience with Alphas. There were two in my family," he explained and leaned back with what he hoped looked like casual amusement. Two Alphas meeting could go bad so easily, it was best to start with the most phlegmatic, good-natured mood possible. It made the way down to violence that much longer.

"There 'were'?" Hector cocked his head.

"Well, I had to leave my family because of the tension between us, and my father died in a car crash two years ago, but my brother is still alive. I can't go back. And I don't have a reason to anymore."

The bartender arrived with pencil and paper at the ready and grumbled something unintelligible. Jared interpreted it as an invitation to order. "I'd like coffee with milk and one sugar, and baked beans with crispy bacon and scrambled eggs please," he said, and the burly man shuffled away.

Jared fixed his eyes on Hector's face, but not on his eyes. "Are those people from your pack?" he asked, sounding curious. They didn't feel like Alphas, but one could never be sure.

"No. They are from the local pack. Their Alpha stays with us for a few days every month, so he owes me. He's allowed you to stay as a guest if you agree to come to Crystal Peak every day. And if I agree to you staying here, of course." Hector smiled at that, and there was something in it, something like humor and spite mixed together. He looked wary, like someone whose optimism had been worn down to sarcasm with a smile.

Jared's coffee arrived and he took a deep sip, reminded of how tired he was by the flavor. The coffee was heavenly, with real cream and real sugar, something to enjoy instead of gulping it down for the boost.

Hector's eyes never left his face as he tasted the coffee. He watched like a student learning the secrets of drinking a hot beverage, and he watched like a vulture waiting for the last twitch from a wounded animal. It was a challenge to Jared, and an obvious one at that. Fights had broken out between pack members for less, but Hector surely knew that, or wouldn't he?

It took nearly a minute before he'd had enough. Then Jared set down the cup with an audible click, returning the stare directly now. "Why are you trying to provoke me?" he asked, still trying to sound reasonable and pleasant. He'd had too much fighting in the last few days to want another conflict, but that didn't mean he would back down or cower.

Hector held his stare for a few more moments, then he stretched languidly and turned his gaze to the bartender, who was carrying two plates towards them. It looked accidental, but it wasn't. He also didn't answer instantly, but waited for the food to arrive and the waiter to go. His plate held French fries drizzled with some kind of blackish-brown sauce. Little crumbles of cheese floated in the liquid and melted over the fries. It looked like a horrible, tragic kitchen accident and smelled like greasy heaven.

Hector started his meal without hesitation, and he seemed to like the dreadful stuff. "I wanted to see how well you control your instincts, and if you know how to act when someone challenges you," he mumbled around a fork-full of dripping fries. He swallowed and added, "and I wanted to find out if you want to join so bad you would debase yourself to get in."

Jared frowned, but Hector just grinned and shrugged.

"What would you have done if I had attacked you?" Jared finally grumbled and started to eat himself. The eggs were heavenly, as were the baked beans and the bacon, but the food also made him remember how tired he was again, just like the coffee before.

"I would have hurt you, maybe killed you," Hector replied calmly. His brown eyes held only warmth, but it was the warmth of a forge, ready to melt and burn if you got too close.

Jared wanted to protest or joke about those ominous words, but sitting there and staring at that geeky face, the brown unkempt hair, the small shoulders and thin arms, he still believed it. The possibility for violence was there, right next to that slow, simmering heat and the calm, confident voice.




Unwilling Ch. 07



"I believe you would. I'll even believe you could, but that brings me to another problem," Jared finally replied calmly. "What about my pack? Where are they going to stay, will they be safe there, and what happens to them if I get killed?"

Hector smiled like Jared had said something intelligent at last. He shoved the last of his soggy fries into his mouth, chewed heartily and swallowed, then he waved for the check. "Your pack can stay at one of our holiday cabins next to the border. It's up in the mountains and at this time of the year nobody goes up there but us. They will be left alone as long as they behave like guests are supposed to. And if you get killed for whatever reason, I personally will make sure they are accepted into a pack of their liking. Sound fair?"

For a few heart beats Jared just stared down at his half eaten food, trying hard to process Hector's words. Maybe he was too tired to find the catch, but the whole arrangement sounded good. Heavenly even. Like a chance to finally relax and get their wits about them. If there was a flip side to Hector's offer, Jared just couldn't see it.

He put the fork down and nodded. "Sounds fair. I accept the terms like you explained them. But we'll need one day to sleep, rest, eat and calm down before I start my trips to your pack."

Hector climbed out of the booth and dropped a few bills onto the table. "Fine with me. One day for you, so we start the day after tomorrow. I'll call you with the details of where and when this evening, so stay near the phone. Now get your pack to the cabin before you drop down where you stand, you look like the living dead."

His soft laughter followed him outside, and Jared was left sitting there and staring at his plate. Only when the bartender grunted and put a piece of paper onto the table did he snap out of his trance and got up. On the paper he found an address and a phone number with 'Glacier View Holiday Resort' written next to it. At least the cabins had a picturesque name, promising to be a good place to recuperate.

There was nothing else to say, so he didn't. He walked outside and got into the car to drive the last leg of a journey he didn't want to go on ever again.

~*~

They settled into a holiday cabin far away from the main building. It didn't look like one of those small hunting cabins or cinder block huts movies sometimes showed, but more of a small, roomy and romantic holiday bungalow, complete with three rooms, a kitchenette, a balcony and a pier leading onto a smallish lake. Getting Darla into the house proved to be a challenge, her convulsions having given way to delirious, feverish resistance, but Rayne managed. He looked like someone who had seen it before and wasn't impressed. Jared was confident he'd manage whatever Darla was going to dish out, so he let them do their thing without interfering. One problem down, dozens to go.

They didn't have any luggage to carry in, and it left the three of them walking around looking confused and disoriented for a few moments. Harry finally turned and followed Rayne into the cabin. Jared could hear him talking to their new companion, then the sounds of kitchenware clanking and clattering took over, accompanied by the soft hiss of the gas stove and the soft murmur of voices.

Darwin had sat down at the wooden stairs by the front porch. He looked scrumptious even though the baggy sweat pants and Jared's sweater flapped around his lithe body like curtains. He was pale and silent and statuesque in his stillness, fixated on the cool, pale mountain sky. The bullet wounds had stopped bleeding, but the bite wounds on his arms and his throat would need another day or two before Jared would be able to stop worrying about them. Or other things involving his mate.

The need to go to him, to touch him, smell him, feel his skin had gotten nearly overwhelming at this point. It moved through him like a wave of adrenaline, similar to the almost painful tightening in his abdomen when he was aroused, but not quite the same. For a few moments he tried to fend off the instinct, but all he got for his efforts was a sense of restlessness and irritation. He was simply too tired to keep fighting.

With a low growl he gave in, stomping stiffly to the stairs and the huddled form sitting on them.

The growl also broke Darwin's daydreaming, and he turned his head to watch Jared's approach. There was still nothing in his pale face, no emotion, no life, no fear or joy. He looked shaken, exhausted, and fed up to the point of not giving a damn about anything anymore.

Jared hated that expression. It made him bare his teeth.

As soon as his shadow touched Darwin's body, the black haired werewolf leaned back, turned his head away and bared his throat, all without any change of expression. It was a submissive gesture, plain to see and without any wiggling room for interpretation, but Jared froze nonetheless.

"Stop that." He fought to keep the impatience out of his voice and managed to sound just crisp instead of angry. Anger wouldn't get them anywhere right now.

Darwin didn't seem to have the same qualms. "Stop what?" he asked with a level voice that somehow managed to hold a lot of blame.

"Stop doing that. Stop acting like the 'submissive of the year'. It's not you," Jared growled. At the same time he realized how he must have looked, stomping over, growling, baring his teeth, tense with irritation. The realization softened his face and took the edge off his anger, and with a sigh he turned sideways and sank onto the stairs next to Darwin. "Just tone the submissive display down, okay? I didn't mean it like that," he added with a hint of exasperation in his voice.

Darwin's eyes were ungracious, but he stopped showing his throat and sat up again. "Maybe you think you don't, I'll give you that. But all Alphas are the same when it comes to power. Once you got it, you'll use it. I'm just preparing myself."

"Why are you punishing me for something I never had any control over? I didn't choose to be Alpha, just like you didn't choose to be submissive. We are what we are, but we also are what we always were. Nothing has changed!" Jared had never spoken those words aloud before. It was funny having to defend something he had always despised himself, but somehow his problems had started to look insignificant and small the more he found out about the other side of the coin. About Darwin's side. 

Unfortunately sitting next to Darwin didn't stop the itching in his mind, it just got stronger.

Darwin at least had the grace to look guilty, clueless to Jared's plight. "I know, I know. I'm sorry. It just irks me to know that you wouldn't change what I am if you could. That you like me being submissive even though I hate it so much." He was silent for a moment, but it was a thick, desperate silence, filled with unspoken words. Then a wave of helpless anger washed over his face, disappearing as quick as it had come. 

Darwin husked, "I hate even more how much I like doing... these things. It gives me pleasure to show you my throat, it feels almost electrifying to see you react to it. To see you soften and calm down. It's a rush that I could get addicted to, and that frightens me even more."

Jared held his breath for a moment, trying to digest those revelations. His body took some time to decide between the rush of sudden lust boiling up at the thought of Darwin getting pleasure from submitting to him, and the pang of surprise that submitting did actually bring pleasure instead of just being an instinct you simply followed. Dominating other werewolves held perverse pleasure for him, pleasure that was so intimate and private that he wouldn't talk about it to anyone but Darwin, but he had never thought about the experience from another point of view.

Another wave of prickling need rushed over his back and along his arms right into his fingertips, and this time the intensity was enough to make the sensation almost painful.

He must have made some kind of noise, because Darwin's face changed to a probing glance. "Are you hurt?" he asked cautiously.

Darwin's worry fueled the need to touch him. Jared whimpered, slowly scooting closer to him, slow enough to give him a chance to flee if he wanted to. The smell of wounds, blood, exhaustion, cheap gas station soap and Darwin's unique smell filled Jared's head until he felt dizzy with sensory overload, and had to close his eyes for a moment. 

"Jared, look at me!" Darwin commanded, and touched his shoulder. "Are you hurt?"

That one small touch was enough to break down the last of Jared's self-restraint. A soft sound escaped his throat, then he rushed forward and wrapped both arms around Darwin's body, very careful not to press down on his wounds, not to move him too much, but desperate to get as much body contact as possible.

The feeling of Darwin's lithe form against his own made him shiver with relief. He made another sound low in his throat, dangerously similar to a contented huff, and nearly missed the small relieved sigh coming from the man in his arms. He didn't dare comment on it, but smiled silently. Maybe he wasn't the only one on edge. Maybe his mate just hid it better.

"Now I'm not hurt anymore," he whispered, not even trying to keep the satisfaction out of his voice.

"That's good. So, are you going to say something in return?" It was hard to be sure, but Darwin sounded better than before. Maybe he really felt it too, that strange need to be close, the irritation when they were apart, all of it.

Jared mulled it over, allowing his hand to stroke Darwin's flank just a little, enough not to spook him and ruin the moment.

"I would, but..." He let the word trail off, turned his head and rubbed his nose against the crook of Darwin's neck, "... there is nothing to say. I wouldn't change you for the world, sorry. You are perfect. Perfect for me."

He meant it, and with those words spoken aloud a mixture of anger and joy rippled through him. Darwin didn't reply though. For a second Jared feared they would argue again, but then Darwin sighed and stood up.

Jared clung to him until they both were on their feet again, then he let go. The itching didn't return, a good sign.

"I think Harry is trying to cook dinner. If you don't want to go hungry, we should intercept," Darwin said, and this time his voice sounded light and humorous, almost happy.

Jared returned the small smile playing on Darwin's lips as he climbed the five steps behind him. They were safe, at least for the time being, and regardless of the things that had brought them here, Jared was content with the world.

~*~

~*Darwin*~

All the worries and troubles from before vanished the moment Jared hugged him. The jock rubbed his face against Darwin like a big cat, filling Darwin's nose with his scent and his mind with that powerful, calming presence. The feeling titillated him, entrancing in its power, and coming to him so naturally he didn't even notice the change. A second before he had felt threatened and lonely and subdued, and suddenly he let this... this stranger, for lack of a better word, cuddle him like a life-sized teddy bear. And he was content letting him do it.

When they finally broke the connection to stand up Darwin had to remind himself of the things he had just said. How he hated his reaction. How he was sure Jared wouldn't respect him anymore, now that he acted like the submissive he was. He still doubted Jared's reassurances, but he felt better. Not perfect, but better.

"I think Harry is trying to cook dinner. If you don't want to go hungry, we should intercept." 

He turned and trotted up the wooden stairs. Jared was following close enough Darwin felt his breath on the back of the neck, but he didn't comment on it. He liked having him this close, but he wasn't going to admit it out loud.

Darwin opened the door and started to step inside, but the view right in front of him made him stop dead in his tracks. 

"What the heck?"

Rayne turned his head towards the door, looking decidedly guilty. In front of him and encased by his arms and the kitchen counter stood Harry, beet-red and huffing for breath in a way Darwin recognized as an expression Harry normally reserved for the bedroom. They both seemed at a loss for words.

There was a soft snicker behind Darwin, but he didn't look back. "Are you pawing my best friend?" he asked sharply and stomped into the cabin, making a bee-line for the kitchen corner.

Harry looked panicked, but Rayne didn't twitch a muscle. A small but pleased smile crept over his dark lips as he watched Darwin come closer like a pale, dark-haired storm. It only vanished when Darwin shoved him away, being replaced by anger in the next moment.

Rayne shoved back, and his hand pushed hard against the open wound on Darwin's shoulder. The pained scream was just enough to put Jared into gear, but he didn't manage to catch Darwin before he fell to the ground, groaning in agony.

Holding his shoulder Darwin saw Jared's face scrunch up with anger through a haze of pain, and for a moment he thought the blond hunk would actually hit Rayne. And Rayne looked just as ready to hit back, stupid as it may be. The whole situation only halted when Harry whimpered with fear, cowering against the counter as best as he could, all but sandwiched between Jared and Rayne.

"Stop this," Harry begged with a shivering voice, his eyes closed so hard there were white spots on his eyebrows. "Please stop this, I can't take any more violence. Please!"

It did as much good as it did bad. Jared seemed shocked and ashamed when he saw Harry's fear, but Rayne glowered with anger. He looked like a car owner who had found a scratch on his brand-new Mercedes, Darwin thought, Harry being the Mercedes in this equation. Yes, definitely ownership, not love, not yet. "A submissive attacked me, and you pick his side?" Rayne hissed, and there was tension in his upper body that spoke of anger.

The tension ruined all chances of ending the conflict there and then. Jared stepped close enough to corral him against the counter next to Harry and got right into his face. "If that's all that's needed to startle you, you really should work on your self-confidence, my dark friend. That was a submissive who shoved you, not some big hairy dominant trying to push you around. He was trying to protect his friend because he doesn't know you, and frankly if he hadn't, I would have." 

Although Jared spoke with a crisp, hard, but controlled voice, Darwin could see a vein on Jared's temple grow until it stood out like an angry snake. There was no doubt to his conviction when Jared added, "and if you ever shove my mate like that again, I will take it as the challenge it might be. Do we understand each other?"

Rayne tensed his arms until the muscles stood out in stark relief. He wasn't bulky or overly muscled, but it was enough of a show to make Darwin scramble backwards a bit. The air got hard to breathe as both werewolves let go of their tight control over their respective powers, and in a heart beat their presence filled the room to the brim. Darwin didn't want to lie on the floor next to them if they started fighting, but the pain had left a shaky, numbed feeling in his head and he just wasn't sure if he would be able to stand up.

"He had no reason to get physical with me! I didn't do anything Harry didn't want," Rayne growled back, and grabbed Harry's arm with one hand. The grip wasn't painful, but another gesture of ownership. That touch alone told everyone clearly, 'this is mine'. Rayne hadn't earned that gesture in Darwin's book, so he growled, although softly.

Jared grabbed Rayne's arm and pulled his hand away from Harry. "You haven't earned the right to act like this yet," he said firmly, echoing Darwin's thoughts like they were his own. "And I really don't need this kind of tension on the first day we are safe, so you'll keep your hands to yourself until Darwin," Jared pointed to him, "is okay with it. I won't have you ruin their friendship over your libido, and I won't have you stir up trouble in the first week."

Rayne looked livid. "You can't order me to-"

"Excuse me, the tomato sauce is starting to smell burnt. Please go somewhere else for your testosterone tango until I'm finished cooking," Harry suddenly mumbled, trying for cheery even with the slight waver of fear in his voice. It took the tension out of both dominants, much like deflating a balloon. And just like that the fight was over.

Rayne looked at Harry like he had been hurt, but he walked into the main area without another word. Harry went back to stirring the pots with now shaking hands, and Jared waited until Rayne sat down, then helped Darwin up.

"You shouldn't have done that," Jared stated softly but audible for everyone as he supported Darwin and led him towards what Darwin assumed was a bathroom. "You're not a dominant, and you don't need to play the role anymore. Rayne could have hit you instead of just toppling you over, and he would have been in his rights to do it."

Jared didn't sound happy at all, but it was true. It left Darwin angry and helpless but that didn't make the words any less valid. "Would you just shut up and let me sit down? I feel sick," he finally mumbled, but the words sounded as hollow as he felt. He wanted to crawl into a bed and sleep until the day was over, and it had only just begun.

"Fine. I'll check your wound in the bedroom then," Jared huffed and changed course. They both felt Rayne's eyes follow them, but the heat was gone, and with it that neck-ruffling feeling of clashing powers.

Darwin had no glance left for the interior of the bedroom Jared steered him into. He tried to sit down softly, but Jared had to maneuver him like a fragile old man to keep him from blacking out. When Darwin finally lay on the bed he was happy to be conscious. It wasn't that the wound was so bad, and the pain was already fading. It felt more like a deep exhaustion, maybe even late onset of shock, that knocked Darwin on his ass like this.

Jared did his best to work around his state, checked his wound and even helped him out of the sweater to make him more comfortable, but Darwin only noticed half of it. When the door finally shut behind Jared, he already was dozing.

~*~

When Darwin came to again he felt better. The sun still shone outside so he hadn't slept the whole day, and the smell of spaghetti and meat sauce wafted through the gap beneath the door, enticing him to get up and join the others. His shoulder still hurt, but it wasn't as bad as before and the bed rest had helped him regain some of his energy.

He felt positively perky, which was unusual in itself. He was never perky. Grumpy, sarcastic, forward and calculating, yes. But happy? Never. Something was definitely wrong with him. Listening into his own mind he tried to find out what had changed, but there was nothing, no answer echoing from the depths of his muddled mind. There was only the soft tug on his heart, beckoning him to go find Jared and relish the closeness he offered.

Pulling on his sweatshirt he stumbled to the door and opened it just enough to have a look through the gap. Rayne and Jared were sitting at the small dining table next to the kitchen counter, both working their way through a pile of spaghetti. Harry was nowhere to be seen, but Darwin could hear the shower buzzing somewhere in the cabin, and Jared's hair was still wet.

He tried to sneak through the door without being noticed, but it didn't work. As soon as he set one foot outside the bedroom, both pairs of eyes turned to him and gave him a once-over. Jared smiled, Rayne didn't. Darwin didn't hold it against him. After all, he was the reason Rayne's perfectly good evening plans with Harry were ruined. Served him right, for all Darwin cared.

Maybe it showed on his face because as soon as he sat down next to Jared Rayne got up and went to wash his dishes without so much as a second glance. Or maybe Jared and Rayne had had a good, long conversation about how to act around each other, and Darwin still had to have his part of it.




Unwilling Ch. 07



For now, all Darwin cared about was the smell of food coming from the big metal pot in the middle of the table. The food wasn't hot anymore, but still warm enough to savor, and Darwin hadn't eaten anything worth calling 'food' for nearly two days. "Smells good," he murmured more to himself than to Jared as he filled his plate, piling together spaghetti and meat sauce until it started spilling over the rim of the dish.

He felt Jared watching him as he dug in but didn't comment on it. He had been watched continuously for days now, and Jared was finally wearing him down. And since he had agreed to be his mate he had a whole life of being stared at by that hunk ahead of him. If they didn't get killed soon, of course.

Only when Darwin's plate finally showed through the mess of noodles Jared stopped staring and instead leaned back and slid down into a more comfortable sitting position. "I promised Rayne that you wouldn't attack him again," he commented, stretching his arms before he placed his hands behind his head. "And since I'm pretty sure that promise is worth shit, I also told him he'd be allowed to punish you next time. I won't like it, but you're responsible for your own actions and I seem to be the only one forgetting that."

"I can take care of myself," Darwin grumbled, but the words didn't hold their usual bite. In hindsight he'd been damn lucky, and he knew it. Had it been Carl and not Jared, he probably wouldn't be able to get out of bed right now. And seeing as how Rayne had lived his life up until now, he could have reacted worse and nobody would have held a grudge. A dominant who didn't hold his own quickly went down the social ladder, and the deep end was a place worse than anything Darwin had ever experienced, because it didn't let you go once you were there.

There was only one thing he could say in this moment, and it wasn't meant for Jared. Darwin looked across the room to the kitchen sink and watched Rayne's back twitch and tighten under the constant movements of his hands. 

"I'm sorry. Shoving you was way out of line." He didn't bother promising not to do it again because he was with Jared on this one. It probably would happen again. Maybe not soon, but some day he'd get into it with Rayne again, and there was no use denying that.

For a few moments Rayne didn't react, but kept washing the dishes. The anger was still visible in his movements, but either Rayne was the most peaceful dominant Darwin had ever seen, or he had already found a solution with Jared because after a short silence he just shrugged. "Alright," he finally answered, and turned off the water.

When Rayne turned around he watched Jared's face for a few heartbeats, then his dark eyes jumped to Darwin. He still looked miffed, but Darwin got the feeling his bad mood wasn't about being shoved. "But you're gonna have to give me something. I'm not a saint and you piled up enough attitude for a day."

Darwin turned down his eyes and forked the last remnants of his dinner around on the plate. Rayne was talking about Harry, the one point Darwin didn't feel like giving in on.

"What do you want me to say?" he finally asked with a level voice, "I don't know you well enough to trust you with my best friend's heart. But I know him, and I won't let you hurt him." And hurt him he would, Darwin knew. There was no way around getting hurt in a relationship, but if there was a way to keep the hurt to a normal, healthy minimum, he was ready to take the heat. The problem was how to ensure Rayne understood what Darwin meant.

"I don't oppose a relationship between you and him, but Harry is not as resilient as me. He'll give in instantly and trust you completely, whether you've earned that trust or not. And as long as I don't know if you'll stay with him at least long enough to give this between you a chance, I will get in your way."

Rayne sighed irritated. "So what you're saying is, I have to play the good boy if I want to be with Harry?" He looked to Jared next, pointing at Darwin accusingly. "And you're just gonna sit there and let him dictate the rules?"

Jared, who had kept his mouth shut diplomatically for the whole discussion, tilted up one eyebrow. Darwin couldn't interpret the expression on his face, but it looked neutral enough.

"We're all new to this pack thing. The way I see it, the only two people really intimate with each other are Harry and Darwin, and I'm willing to trust his judgment for Harry's sake. He says it's best for Harry if you go slow, what's there to object to?" He turned just enough to look at Rayne more directly and added, "if you think Harry is the one for you, you've got all the time in the world. You'll never be happy with him as long as Darwin doesn't back you up, and you know it. So just prove your intentions to him, it's not asking too much."

He sounded very reasonable, and very Alpha-like. Darwin looked down at the plate to hide his own expression from both of them, mostly because it was a bad moment to fawn over Jared. 

Rayne didn't look any happier than before, but he kept quiet. He wiped his hands and put away the dishes, then he turned around and grumbled, "I'll go have a look around," and left without another word. It was good enough for Darwin. 

~*~

~*Jared*~

Rayne stayed away for nearly two hours. When he came back he looked calmer but not happier, and didn't seem to be in a talkative mood. Darwin had finally let himself be talked into a shower after helping Harry get Darla settled, and now Harry was in Darla's room reading a book as he watched over her.

It left Rayne with no real choice of what company to keep. When he sagged onto the couch next to Jared, he brought a breeze of frosty air with him, telling of the temperatures outside. Jared, a southerner by heart, dreaded the thought of walking outside without a real coat, but Rayne didn't seem troubled by the weather.

Jared was holding one of the nature magazines he had found in one of the drawers, but his mind didn't follow the stories. It was a place to put his eyes, but his thoughts were on other things altogether. 

"I need your help to make this work," he said, not looking up.

Rayne shuffled around a bit as he took off his sneakers, then pulled up his legs. Maybe he did feel cold after all. "Good of you to realize that," he sniped, but the words lacked real anger.

Jared sighed and put down the magazine. It landed on his knees, then slid lower and folded together as it came to a halt between his thighs. "Me asking you for help is not a bargaining chip for going around Darwin, you do realize that?" he asked without expecting an answer, watching Rayne's face do the dance of a beaten man. 

Rayne had hoped, that much was obvious, but he let go of that hope just as quickly. "Fine, I'll let it go for today, but only because it's been a long fucking day and I don't feel up to round three." He smiled at his own words, but the expression quickly disappeared. "What do you need?"

Jared was relieved Rayne didn't try his nerves a third time, but he hid it as best as he could. If Rayne knew how exhausted Jared felt he probably would ride him one last time just for the sake of winning.

"I don't trust the locals, and that Hector guy gives me the creeps. We need to set up guard shifts, and we're too few to leave out the two beauties. You and me can't stand guard all the time, but I'd like to have you organize the schedule and give Darwin and Harry the least dangerous shifts."

Rayne nodded, his face showing approval. "You'll be gone all day, every day, right? And we'll need to go shopping for groceries and clothing soon. Then there's Darla." He sighed deeply and rubbed the bridge of his nose in exasperation. "She won't be a problem today, but tomorrow she will. If she survives the fever. We can't have her run away half-crazed and panicking, so someone will have to stay with her at all times."

Jared closed his eyes at the list Rayne recounted. He had known most of the things before Rayne brought them up, but they sounded so much worse put together like that. They were a half dozen hands short, and there was nothing he could do about it.

"So one of us sleeps in her room until she dies or until we are fairly sure we can trust her. One of us has to be awake and keep guard, I'll be gone most of the time, and one of us can actually sleep. Sweet!" he groaned, and Rayne chuckled in reply.

"Welcome to your very own pack. Fun, isn't it?"

It took a bit of compromising, but in the end they found a guard schedule that gave everyone enough time to actually sleep, eat and have a few minutes to themselves. Rayne would take the first watch, then Harry would relieve him, and at noon Darwin would relieve Harry. Jared would take the evening watch, as long as someone other than him cooked dinner. Surprisingly Rayne didn't argue when Jared carefully suggested Harry should sleep in Darla's room for the time being. Maybe he was just a better person than Jared because it gave him the opportunity to share a room with Darwin whereas Rayne would be alone against his will.

Judging by the knowing look Rayne shot at him when he got up and walked to the bathroom, Rayne knew exactly what Jared was thinking-- and what part of Jared was calling the shots.

Jared himself didn't spend another thought on Rayne as soon as Darwin's smell flooded his nostrils. He stopped at the door to the bathroom, listening close to the wood. He could hear the shower running, but there were no sounds of someone splashing around, and Darwin had been inside for a long time already. 

Knocking softly Jared grabbed the door knob, asking, "can I come in?" But there was no answer. He waited for a good minute, then he knocked again and just opened the door.

The bathroom was filled with steam and Darwin's scent. The heat slapped Jared like a dizzying wave as he crept inside, and he had to lean against the door frame to keep his footing. 

"Are you trying to cook yourself?" he grumbled and reached to the side to close the door. Maybe there was some purpose to the temperature, and in that case letting the room cool down by keeping the door open would not add any brownie points to his account.

Darwin was sitting in the shower cross-legged and motionless, his face turned upward into the hot stream. He still wore his sweater, which now was soaking wet, but the rest of his clothes was piled onto a chair next to the sink. The intense scent was coming from them, or to put it more bluntly, they stank to high heaven.

Jared was unsure what to do, so he stayed next to the door. "Darwin?" he asked again, shuffling his weight from one foot to the other. This new quietness was disconcerting to say the least.

When Darwin finally turned his head and opened his eyes Jared took a breath of relief. "What's wrong?" he asked more quietly and took a step closer.

Darwin replied with a soft laugh. "I can't get out of the damn sweater," he slurred with a strange note in his voice. He sounded drunk, numb maybe, or dizzy from the heat, it was hard to tell. But whatever the reason, it was enough to get Jared over his insecurity.

"Because of your shoulder?" he asked, pulling his own shirt over his head quietly. It felt stupid to try and not make a sound while undressing, but he didn't want to upset Darwin any further today.

Darwin didn't seem to notice, or he simply didn't care. "Yeah. I tried, but every time I lift my arm the pain starts. I thought I could tough it out but it just made me dizzy." His eyes followed Jared as he stepped out of his pants and underwear and for a moment there was a glint of fire in them, but he didn't move from where he was sitting.

The damp heat brushed against Jared's body as he walked closer. The fine blond hair on his body caught the minuscule droplets, making him tingle all over and his cock react. Darwin did look at him as he stepped into the hot stream and crouched down next to him, but all he did was laugh softly. "We always end up in the shower," he mumbled with a grin, then huffed as Jared grabbed his sweater and pulled it off his body.

The wet cloth made a slurping sound as it hit the floor outside. "There's no way that will get dry until tomorrow," Jared said, and turned back to Darwin. The shoulder wound was pale pink colored and uneven, but that actually meant it healed quite nicely. It probably still hurt like hell though, especially if Darwin tried to lift his arm above his shoulder.

As soon as he tore his eyes away from the wound and looked over the rest of Darwin's body, his pulse rose. 

The black-haired man looked miserable and luscious at the same time, his wet hair sticking to the gaunt, fine-cut face and the eyes, oh the eyes... The icy blue iris had given way to his dark, dilated pupils, nearly jumping out of his pale face in startling contrast. A small smile tugged at the edges of his bloodless but still full lips, not fitting to his usual abrasive temper. His expression was that of a man thinking dark, lustful thoughts, fitting to his situation but surprising nonetheless.

The water was too hot though. Jared leaned over and turned the temperature down, accidently pressing his chest against Darwin's face in the process. The young man started shivering instantly, even though the water still was warm enough to make Jared sweat just kneeling near it.

"I hate you. You make me weak," Darwin slurred, then he pressed his face against Jared's chest and inhaled deeply. His too-hot hands stroked up his sides, then he embraced him mid-height and pulled him into the stream.

Jared came all too willingly, spreading his knees to pull Darwin between them and against his body, trying to stop his shivering through closeness.

"You make me weak too," he mumbled with a small grin, sounding disarming. "But you're also the reason I try to be strong."

Darwin's hard cock came to rest against Jared's crotch, animating his own length to twitch in synchronicity with it, and sending waves of prickling lust up his stomach. He wanted nothing more than to grab both of them and bring them to completion there and then, but there was something so open and helpless about Darwin sitting forlorn and wanton in that shower. Jared feared for his heart, afraid of hurting him by rushing things.

He could wait. And he would wait.

Instead of grabbing both their cocks and giving them what Darwin clearly wanted he grabbed for the bottle of shower lotion and maneuvered Darwin half out of the stream. Feeling his feverish hot skin beneath his kneading fingers was nearly as good as sex, especially because this time there was no resistance. A part of Jared's mind wanted to worry about that as his fingers reached the perky, peach-fuzzed behind, but Jared quickly shoved those thoughts away. 

Darwin didn't have a lot of hair on his body, but he had it in all the right places, and it was incredibly soft beneath Jared's fingers. He didn't want to stop touching him, but the heat was too much for his beaten body.

"Why did you turn up the temperature so much?" Jared asked and tugged him back beneath the stream to wash off the soapy suds. Now only his hair needed washing and he could finally drag Darwin to bed.

Darwin laughed. "I was cold when I undressed and the water didn't get warm fast enough, so I turned it higher. Then I had that fight with my sweater and the pain made me dizzy in addition to cold, so I sat in the water to get at least warm. And it got hotter and hotter until I was too dizzy to turn it off or get out." He paused for a moment, then put his arms around Jared's chest and licked a trail of water off his skin. "But I'm not cold anymore," he then added, chuckling softly.

All Jared could do was shake his head and try not to blow his load at the feel of his tongue against his chest. How could someone so infuriating also be so damn sexy?

"I'll do my best to keep you warm for much longer, but first we need to wash your hair," he murmured and proceeded to rub shampoo into the black strands of hair until foam dripped from his hands. Darwin didn't move from his touches, but hummed contentedly as Jared doted on him.

After such a long time being unable to get anywhere close to Darwin without him getting worked up, angry or moody, it was still thrilling to be allowed to touch him to such an extent. At the same time Jared could feel how fragile their truce really was. One wrong move, one step too far, and Darwin would explode in his face and probably deny him for good. He would have loved to capitalize on Darwin's affectionate state, but it would have been a short-lived joy. 

Instead he pulled his soapy head into the water stream, rinsed his hair carefully and tried not to lose his mind over the things Darwin did with his tongue. It was the hardest thing he had ever done.



~*~

~*Darwin*~

Maybe he should have told Jared what else he had been doing in the shower, seeing as how his initial story sounded ridiculous to any sane person. But Jared wasn't sane, at least not when it came to Darwin. He was obsessed to the point of forgetting any and every other matter as soon as Darwin shed his clothes.

Darwin liked that, he liked it a lot.

Of course, he himself suffered the same effect when Jared's naked, hunky body was concerned. He usually just hid it better. That evening was an exception to that rule.

His shoulder did actually hurt enough to make him dizzy, but the pain didn't come from trying to undress. It had grown with every minute he spent trying to get off, until there had been no strength left to get out of that sweater. And of course, all the work had been for nothing. He hadn't reached his peak, try as he might. At least the hot water had helped him wrestle his cock into submission before he poked out someone's eye.

Jared's obtrusive behavior was a ways out Darwin hadn't expected though. He should have seen it coming, after all Jared was pushy, hard-headed and hadn't accepted any of his rebuffs so far. And for some reason Darwin didn't want to think too much about why Jared wasn't drilling him for details. It was a more than welcome change of pace.

Getting washed by surprisingly careful hands was another nice surprise, although it ruined all the work Darwin had done to keep his libido in check. Those nimble fingers massaged his back and hair in a most exquisite way, exciting him enough to forget they were still in the bathroom with company in the adjoining room.

Would Jared have gone for the kill, Darwin would have let him take what was his right there and then. A week ago Jared also would have done that without hesitation, but not this time. He did react to Darwin's searching tongue and fingers, but every time he got close to the 'good parts', as he called it, Jared would catch his wrists and maneuver him somewhere less susceptible to lust, and carry on soaping him up and rinsing him down.

When Jared grabbed his wrists once again, Darwin had enough. "Don't you want me?"

The question made Jared go still and look down at Darwin's face with a confused expression. "Of course I want you," he finally answered, letting go of one of his arms to turn off the water, "but I'm not sure you're yourself right now. If you aren't, you'll rip me a new one tomorrow."

"And if I am? Myself, I mean."

Jared thought about that for a few moments, then he shrugged. "I'd miss an opportunity I've been waiting for, and I'll probably rip myself a new one."

He knelt there thinking for a few seconds, and his face showed the effort with deep wrinkles between his brows. His breath hitched when he attempted to say something, but then he hesitated, looked down at Darwin's face and murmured, "I'm missing an opportunity right now, aren't I?"

Darwin smiled and nodded.

Swearing softly, Jared grabbed him and pulled him into his arms, standing up easily with the added weight. Stepping out of the shower, he sat Darwin down onto the single stool the little bathroom offered, and got a towel. "You could have given me a hint," he mumbled with an amused lilt to his voice as he rubbed Darwin's body dry, but only got a broad grin.




Unwilling Ch. 07



Yeah, he could have, but that would have ruined all the fun. Darwin knew he was acting strangely, different than before, but he hadn't been himself then. Hadn't been for a long time, too afraid of giving away his secrets and getting killed for it. He was still afraid, still acted guarded and unemotional most of the time, but the moments where his real self broke through the mental walls he had erected became more frequent with every day they were away from Banes.

He looked at Jared's face, scrunched with concentration on his task of toweling off Darwin like a toddler, and felt a hot wave of love and desire wash through his chest. The realization that this hot, sun-kissed jock was his, and only his, hit him with such a force it left him giddy and breathless.

His heart jumped, then raced with sudden excitement.

"Take me to bed, Jared."

metajinx / Unwilling Chapter 3 /



Unwilling Ch. 08



~*Darwin*~

After sitting in the shower for what had felt like eons, Darwin suddenly couldn't get out of it fast enough. The feeling of wanting Jared went from being there like a mild after-thought to roaring through his body like a fire storm in the blink of an eye. His overheated skin felt too tight, his cock thickened so quickly he got dizzy from it, and his fingers tingled with anticipation. He couldn't put words to it, but there was no need to. The only need present was that of Darwin touching Jared, as often and as intimately as he could.

Maybe it was just the knowledge of actually being allowed or even expected to be close to his mate that finally gave him the freedom of mind to not hold back anymore. But whatever it was, strangely enough, Jared didn't seem to feel the same way.

Sure, he carried Darwin to their shared bedroom in a newly-wed kind of way as soon as he was dry enough- and decent enough, by the ways of a towel around his waist-, and he even draped Darwin onto the bed. But instead of ravishing him like they do in a two-dollar-romance novel, Jared did the opposite. 

As soon as Darwin was lying there in all his almost-naked glory, Jared took a big step backwards. His breathing sounded ragged and harsh, a sheen of sweat was coating his forehead and his pulse was a living thing at the side of his neck, but that was it. He didn't touch, didn't come closer, he looked almost afraid to move.

The amount of self-restraint Jared exerted would have been funny if Darwin weren't so horny.

The artificial light from the lamp overhead did nothing to really show the glory that was Jared, but even without the play of sunshine the man looked good enough to eat. He still wore his towel around his hips, and the white cloth stood in stark contrast to his tanned skin and the light coating of hair on his arms and chest. There was a slightly thicker, t-shaped patch of fur between his nips that trailed down to his navel in a thin line, but in the yellow twilight it was nearly hidden by the grooves of muscles around it.

There also was a visible bulge in the front of his towel.

Darwin still felt a little dizzy and overheated, but the way his breath hitched had nothing to do with the hot shower he'd had, and everything with the way his own cock reacted to Jared's presence. He was strikingly handsome, and Darwin wanted him.

"Come closer," he whispered, afraid someone from the outside might hear him. 

Something close to fear passed over Jared's face, and he shook his head slightly. It looked involuntary and unintentional, but it was still a silent 'no'. Tension sang through the blond hunk's body, enough to accentuate the contours of his muscles in a beautiful display of fitness.

Darwin bared his teeth in frustration. 

"If you don't come closer, I'll have to do everything on my own," he threatened with a haughty purr in his voice, and slowly trailed his fingers over the edge of the towel on his own hips. His hands were shaking with nerves, but he managed to wrap them around the knot keeping the towel where it was, and untangle it without fumbling. 

The last time he had been this forward, he still had pretended to be a dominant with no hope of being ravished and the secure knowledge of having to do all the ravishing himself, of having absolute control over everything that would happen. But this time around it felt different, another form of nakedness, and a total loss of control. The idea of luring Jared into bed with his body held a very exciting new possibility.

Jared's face tightened as Darwin carefully unraveled the towel. With every inch of heated, naked skin he revealed, the tension in Jared seemed to grow and strengthen. The play of muscles along his arms and abs finally proved too much for Darwin's cock, and with another hearty throb it parted the soft cotton and pushed its way into freedom.

Jared fixated on that movement with a glare of pure hunger. He even took a half-step forward, but then he froze once more with an expression of torment on his face. His valiant attempt on restraint was crumbling before Darwin's eyes, but he still held on. 

The only warning Jared got was a flash of fire in Darwin's eyes. Then Darwin wrapped his hand around his throbbing flesh, trailing upwards with a sure grip around the length. When he flicked his thumb over the swollen, flared tip he groaned softly, and rubbed the drop of clear liquid over the spongy head.

An involuntary shudder wracked his body, and he sighed.

It was enough, finally. Jared gave a low growl, then he took two big steps to reach the bed and crawled on it with controlled haste.

Darwin stilled, but kept his hand wrapped around his own cock. The scent of lemon showering gel and industrial fabric softener flooded his nose, hinting how close Jared was, but he still didn't close that last bit of distance. Darwin growled frustrated.

"Would you please, please touch me?" he groaned, giving his cock another tug that made him shudder. At this rate he would be spent before Jared even laid a finger on him, although that particular thought had its own allure.

Jared leaned closer, supporting the weight of his muscular body on one arm as he hovered over Darwin's writhing form. He looked guarded, but hopeful, and very, very excited. "Will you think the same tomorrow, or is this going to blow up into my face as soon as we're done?" he asked softly. Something about Jared's demeanor set off alarm bells in Darwin's head, but the guilt was stronger. Jared looked so cute, it was hard to focus on anything else.

"I promise, I want this. I want you," he murmured, and tangled his free hand in Jared's short, blond hair. He didn't get much farther than that, though.

The words barely had left his lips when Jared grabbed for Darwin's wrists. He pulled his hand away from where it had grabbed Jared's hair, and he extricated his other hand from around his cock with a sure move.

"Good. It's my turn now," Jared growled, grinning suddenly. "I held my promise to give you space and go slow, and you asked me to break it, remember that."

Darwin struggled against his forceful grasp. "You played me," he accused breathlessly, but there was nothing he could do against Jared's manipulations. He didn't really want to break his Alpha's hold, so he didn't put all his might into his struggling, but he probably wouldn't have been able to anyway. His cock twitched and released another clear drop of pre-cum at that thought.

Jared guided his hands to the top edge of the bed, putting his fingers around the headboard. "Hold on to that and don't let go, or I'll stop," he ordered with a fierce glint in his eyes that made Darwin do as commanded without hesitation.

Then Jared swooped down and closed his lips around one of Darwin's nipples, sucking and licking it without reserve. His strong, warm hands stroked over Darwin's flanks on their way down, then took a tight hold on his ass cheeks. Every lick and pull on his sensitive nip sent a wash of stomach-clenching lust through Darwin's body, heightening his arousal until it was hard to hold on to the headboard.

Darwin really wanted to feel those warm, strong hands on another part of his body though. Wiggling in Jared's grip, he tried to rub his leaking cock against Jared's abs to get some kind of friction, only to have him tilt his body to break the contact.

"Oh no, you don't," Jared purred and grabbed his waist to push him down. "I want to enjoy this, you just keep still."

It felt good to struggle against the grip Jared had on his hips, but Darwin didn't keep it up too long. He didn't want Jared to stop, and distracting him from what he had wanted to do would only draw out his own suffering.

Ever so slowly, Jared mouthed his way across Darwin's chest to nuzzle his other nipple, only using his teeth once and sending a spike of pleasure and pain through his body. His thumbs pressed into the grooves next to Darwin's hip bones, and this too triggered a flash of lust that roared directly into his weeping cock.

His tongue left a wet trail as it licked downward and crossed his taut stomach, dipped into his navel and finally reached the outskirts of his pubes. 

Darwin stopped breathing for a second. 

His wet glans brushed against the stubble on Jared's neck.

With a mighty shudder, Darwin let go of the head board with one hand, and grabbed the root of his cock to stop himself from spurting. Someone was groaning, but the sound was muted and distant and didn't sound like himself at all.

Hot air brushed against his hand and cock as Jared laughed silently, and this too made Darwin cringe with the need to come. He gasped for air.

"Don't let go, I don't want you to come before I've buried myself in you," Jared whispered. "And don't think you'll get away with disobeying my command that easily!"

He waited for Darwin to nod once, then his hands stroked along the undersides of Darwin's legs, grabbed him at the knees and bent him in half.

When Darwin's knees touched his chest, he blushed a deep red and made an embarrassed huff. It was a strangely erotic feeling to know where Jared's eyes would wander, now that his ass was being presented like this. He was torn between the need to cover himself and make Jared look away, and the need to squirm closer to Jared's hovering body.

When Jared finally leaned forward and his hot, wet, slippery tongue touched heated skin between Darwin's butt cheeks, he nearly let go of his cock. His fingers spasmed around his precariously hard flesh as he gasped and groaned harshly, but somehow he managed to hold on.

"Jared, so close," was all he could mumble, then all thought was lost with the dip of a tongue.

Jared rimmed him like he kissed, intense and demanding. He forced the tip of his tongue into his twitching hole, only to pull back and trace the tightening ring all around his entrance. Every time the blond Alpha repeated this, Darwin loosened up a little, having to harden his grip on his weeping erection a little more.

When Jared finally stopped his ministrations, Darwin was more than ready to beg for more, but unable to form coherent words. Luckily, no words were needed.

Jared let go of Darwin's legs, and they settled across his thighs with the squirming Darwin couldn't suppress. Leaning across him, Jared opened the uppermost drawer of the night stand, pulled out a travel-sized package of lube and grinned. "You won't believe what kind of stuff you can find in vending machines at some rest stations."

"You didn't buy condoms? Confident fucker," Darwin huffed, only to fall silent with a shudder when Jared breached his ring with one slick finger. They wouldn't need condoms, at least as long as none of them had had unprotected sex with a human in the last month. Being a werewolf came with its perks, one of them being the inability to get sick. They could carry diseases from one human to another, but they'd never get symptoms themselves, with very few exceptions.

Still, the words made Jared grow still for a moment. He stared down hard at Darwin. "You wanna tell me something? Or maybe about someone?"

Just when Darwin tried to answer, he inserted a second slick finger into his channel, scissoring them a little. It burnt enough to drive Darwin from the brink of orgasm, but not enough to soften his cock. At the same time, Jared coated his own cock in lube. His hard flesh looked angry, dark and glistening as it was.

"Depends. You fuck Harry?" Darwin replied, and regretted the words instantly. Where had that come from?

Jared stilled once again, staring at his face with furrowed brows as both hands came to a stand-still. For a second he seemed at a loss of words, and a little bit guilty, but before Darwin could drive his fangs into that expression Jared shook his head and rubbed the tips of his fingers against his prostate.

"Oh, no, deary. You're not gonna fuck this up," he growled, "I did not fuck Harry, and you're not getting out of this the easy way." And just to prove how much he meant those words, he inserted a third finger and built up a slow pace that robbed Darwin of his faculty to speak.

Every thrust of those fingers sent another wave of mind-numbing pleasure through his body, and when Jared pulled out, Darwin was ready to beg. He must have made some sort of noise, because Jared crooned at him when he shuffled closer.

"Shh, you'll get someone to barge in if you keep that up," Jared murmured, and hoisted his legs over the crooks of his arms. With another shuffle and nudge, the flared head of his cock slowly breached Darwin's ring.

The feeling was like nothing Darwin had ever experienced before. It wasn't so much the sex itself, he'd had that before, but never with a dominant of his own species, and surely never with an Alpha, or his mate. His body went numb and hypersensitive at the same time, turning him into whimpering goo under Jared's careful moves. He could feel every inch of Jared's cock entering his body, stretching his insides to accommodate his length and girth. When Jared finally bottomed out, Darwin let go of the headboard altogether, and instead tried to hold on to Jared's arms.

"That's the second time you disobey me," the blond hunk growled, but there was a strain in his voice, hinting how hard it was for him too to hold on to his senses. With a suppressed groan, he grabbed for Darwin's wrists with one hand, pulled them together and pinned them to the bed above his head. He started moving, but it was too slow and too careful to match what Darwin really wanted. His other hand never left Darwin's waist, pulling him against his slow, deliberate thrusts.

As much as he wanted to scratch and groan and get Jared to let go of his control, he couldn't. He couldn't move, couldn't squirm, couldn't even stop himself from tumbling closer and closer to the brink of orgasm. All Darwin could do was take the sweet torture Jared put him through. Every thrust rubbed against his sweet spot, making him groan and gasp and shiver as a light coat of sweat started to build up on his captive body, as Jared's muscled form moved above him.

A shiver ran through Jared's taut body, and he picked up speed until the sound of flesh slapping against flesh filled the room. Darwin could feel Jared's cock twitch in its tight confines, warning him of his impending orgasm. But just before Jared spurt, he dipped down his head, nudged Darwin's chin to the side and opened his jaws to bite him at the crook of his neck. 

The pleasure of pain shot through him, finally making Darwin erupt with a harsh groan and twitching limbs. It very nearly made him forget how to breathe as he bucked and strained against Jared's grip.

Only seconds later, Jared added his own shout as he coated his insides with his cum, thrusting three more times before he sagged onto his mate and gasped for air. Their sweat mingled just as their juices had before. The air was thick with the smell of sex and male exhaustion.

Darwin never wanted to lose this one moment of pure, true bliss, but at the same time he knew it was impossible not to. He also knew that he would spend the rest of his life hunting it like an obsession.

~*~

Five hours later Darwin crept through the darkened kitchenette, wearing nothing but the sweat pants Jared had given him on the other day. As much as he had wanted to stay in bed and bury himself in Jared's warm body and scent, he couldn't sleep any longer. His body hurt in all the right places, but his skin still tended to itch from time to time. It was his body's way of reprimanding him for that way too hot shower, and it sucked.

Luckily, the coffee maker was an old model, one that only worked with already ground beans. Darwin couldn't function without a cup of coffee, but waking up everybody with the clarion sound of a bean grinder would have been out of the question. Coffee didn't taste as good from pre-ground coffee powder, but that was one thing he could live with.

The sky outside the window was still dark, but there was a blueish tint to it, and a touch of cold in the areas near the windows. The sun would rise in the next hour, which limited the time Darwin had to work out how he should react to Harry's and Rayne's glances. He was sure they would snicker and stare and probably make embarrassing remarks about the sounds they had heard last night. Darwin blushed just thinking about it, and adjusted his crotch with one hand. He could still feel Jared and every time his back entrance twitched with the memory, he popped a boner. He felt like a silly teenager.

Just as the last drop of coffee dripped into the pot, the door to Harry's bedroom opened. He looked sleepy and disoriented, following the scent of fresh coffee like a sleep-walker through the dark room. Darwin pulled out another cup and filled it for his friend, smiling to himself. Some things didn't change, come rain, storm or sunshine.

"Why are you up so early?" Harry mumbled as he grabbed his mug, leaning his pert ass against the kitchen counter.

"I could ask you the same question," Darwin rebutted, and hid his grin behind his own beverage. Harry didn't look awake at all, but he had always been a heavy sleeper and pretty much useless in the morning.

Harry yawned around the first sip of unsweetened coffee. "Darla was trying to get out of bed for most of the night, so I couldn't sleep much. But now she's settled down," he explained.

Darla. Darwin had forgotten about her for just a moment, but the guilt over what he had done to her quickly returned at the mention of her name. "I'm sorry you had to watch her. I'll let you sleep tonight." Unloading his problem on Harry was unfair, but Darwin planned to make it up to him. "If you're not too tired, we could go shopping today. Leave the warriors at home," he offered, clutching his own mug tightly. He still had to talk to Harry about what had happened, and maybe apologize. No, definitely apologize for his behavior.

"Sounds fun. But no designer shops-" Harry started, but the rest of his words was toned out by the sound of cracking wood and glass.

Too shocked to move, they stared at each other for a few seconds, long enough to have Rayne come through the front door and yell at them, and to take off again.

"Shit. Darla," Harry whispered, his eyes going wide with realization.

Shit, indeed.

They both started running, but Harry was a bit faster and entered his bedroom first. Darwin followed close behind, gasping when he saw the destruction in Harry's bedroom. The bed was empty and littered with shards of glass, and the window was ruined. Darla had obviously used her moment of solitude to try and make a run for it, and she wasn't going to be caught easily, judging by the way she hadn't even bothered to try and just open the window.

"She's feral," Harry gasped, but Darwin didn't bother answering that. He started running and jumped out the same way Darla had. It wasn't easy dodging the shards of broken glass, but then he didn't try anyway. All the cuts would be healed before he'd be back at the house, and there definitely was no time to put on shoes.

As Darwin started running, he could hear screaming somewhere in the distance. It wasn't exactly a female voice screaming, it was more of a barking, high scream, and it didn't bode well for Darla. As Darwin ran into the outskirts of the pine dominated forest, he could see some bushes rustling, then a thin, young tree shook followed by another scream and the dull thud of flesh beaten by flesh.

The next scream was male, and it sounded outraged. Darwin ran in its direction, pumping his arms to gain more speed. It would be his fault if Rayne killed Darla, or, although improbable, Darla killed Rayne. Either way, it was a loss he didn't want to risk.

Darwin skidded to a halt when he reached the small clearing the fight was taking place. It was a sight to behold.




Unwilling Ch. 08



Both Darla and Rayne were fighting in what looked like the middle of their respective shifting, and both didn't look the least bothered with it. Maybe the pain of rearranging bones, joints and muscles was enough of a distraction to make them not feel the wounds they were ripping into each other.

The winter morning air was thick with the scent of pine resin, ice and firewood, burning cold as Darwin took deep, harsh breaths. It was too dark to see the ground in detail, but where the light from the rising sun hit the tree trunks, he could see spatter patterns of dark blood. It was still warm enough to steam slightly, which meant the fight he was seeing hadn't escalated. They weren't fighting to the death, at least not yet.

"Rayne!" he yelled, only to have to jump out of the way as the two half-furred shapes rolled closer. He stumbled into a lush, many-branched bush that scratched his back to all hell, and he had to fight a few moments before he managed to untangle himself from the plant.

Just as he got back to his feet, a heavy, sticky, furred shape hit him at chest height and toppled him over again. This time he hit his head at the base of a tree and made a pained sound that was nearly drowned out by the angered growl of whichever werewolf was now straddling him. God, he hoped it was Rayne. If Darla was truly feral and without instincts to prevent her from attacking submissives, this would be Darwin's last moment alive.

At the same time, his head started to hurt fiercely, and he made another high keening pain sound. It wasn't his usual reaction to such things, but more of an instinctual reaction to the growl above him. He wouldn't have made it anywhere near Carl, but being with Jared made him slip up more and more.

The wolf above him stilled, eying him warily. He- or she?- slowly lowered their head to sniff the air above Darwin's mouth, and he could feel the claws on his chest bore into his muscles a bit more. He didn't dare move, but he couldn't halt his rapid, fearful breathing, not even with the weight of a werewolf crouching on his chest.

One of the dark, furred ears twitched confusedly, but finally the wolf hopped off him and started to turn away.

In that moment the other wolf made their move and tackled the dark one to the ground. This one was colored the natural gray and brown of a timber wolf, and he didn't seem to have any problems with putting the other wolf into its place.

Within seconds, the dark wolf was lying on its back, struggling and gasping for air around the teeth of the other wolf that had grabbed its throat.

A pair of hands came out of nowhere, grabbed Darwin's arms and pulled him back to his feet. Jared's scent floated his senses just as the Alpha wrapped his arms around his chest and rubbed their cheeks together as if to scent-mark him. "You alright?" he murmured, but Darwin knew his eyes were on the conflict in front of them.

Jared would never have let him get killed. And he had been close. Darwin sighed a breath of relief. "Yeah, just a little bump to the head," he answered as muted as Jared, but he turned his eyes away. Rayne was winning, and those fights for dominance always made him queasy.

Harry was standing three feet away on the other side of the tree his head had hit, wringing his hands nervously. Darwin knew that Harry's pack was healthy and 'normal', for lack of a better word, so he probably wasn't worried about the outcome. It did mean, however, that Harry was worried for Rayne. Like someone in love would.

All of a sudden, Jared let him go and walked around him towards the wolves, leaving Darwin to stumble and brace against the tree. Darla had finally stopped struggling against Rayne, and he was just about to let her go. Jared crouched down three feet away from them, resting his elbow on his knee as he bent forward. He was probably scenting Darla to imprint her personal smell to his memory, but he kept enough distance not to panic her again. Right now she wasn't herself, more wolf than human, as a werewolf was bound to be on his or her first change.

"Can you manage alone, Rayne?" Jared then asked the other wolf, who was shaking the remains of aggression off with an indignant huff. He answered with a soft growl and a pointed look over to Harry.

Sighing, the Alpha got up again and turned. "Harry, please accompany them. Darla seems to have joined the ranks of dominants, and your presence will definitely calm her down," he said to the brown haired man, who perked up and nodded with a grin. He was definitely happy to oblige.

Accompanied by the sounds of another shape change, Jared walked back to Darwin and embraced him with a deep sigh. "That leaves us for guard and sleeping," he mumbled, pressing his face into the crook of Darwin's neck and inhaling his scent deeply. "Do you feel up for guard? I'm still pooped."

Darwin's heart gave a painful thud. It might not have looked like much, but Jared trusting a submissive to keep guard while he was sleeping was actually a very big deal. It proved he trusted him, and it proved he wouldn't treat Darwin like a kept trophy.

"Yes. I love you," he whispered. It was the right thing to say.

~*~

Keeping watch actually was quite exhausting, as Darwin found out. He walked in wide circles, keeping himself to the edge of the clearing around the cabin so he wouldn't get blinded by the rising sun, and stayed warm by jumping up and down, rubbing his arms and stretching his legs whenever the cold became too intense. Every rustle of leaves or crunch of pebbles caught his attention and made him look around nervously hoping it was nothing, because, honestly, what was he supposed to do if someone came and attacked him?

After three hours of not being allowed to read, to watch TV or to sit down and get warm he was more than happy to see the three wolves break out of the woods and trot towards their cabin. The sun had risen completely and it was getting a bit warmer with every hour, but the air still had a nip to it and carried the smoky smell of snow. If they stayed here too long, they would get snowed in. Darwin wasn't all too keen on being stuck in the mountains for the whole winter.

Walking around the house in Rayne's thick coat, he kept an eye on the dark brown wolf he had come to know as Darla. She looked happy and exhausted as she pranced around the other two wolves, snapping at grass and sticks and sniffing the ground. Darla the human probably wasn't aware of what really was happening, still locked inside herself with her emerging wolf-sister steering their shared body, because she sure as hell wouldn't have looked like a bouncing puppy if she were. Finding out you'd have to cope with wolf instincts and perpetual changes for the rest of your life was a horrible thing for someone not born as a werewolf, Darwin knew. Nobody coped well with that revelation.

He reached the front door at the same time as the three wolves, and of course Darla growled at him as he moved to open it. Freezing in mid-motion, he rolled his eyes and tried to keep his irritation out of his face as he waited for Darla to decide what she wanted. This was one of the reasons Darwin hated being a submissive. Having to wait for other people to do whatever the damn they pleased, and being unable to do anything about it.

It was Rayne who shortened their stand-off. Maybe he was cold too, but whatever the reason, he snapped at Darla's cheek and made her squeal and back off. "Thanks, it's getting too cold for that shit," Darwin grumbled relieved, and finished opening the door.

The wolves piled in, Darwin followed. He shouldn't have, he knew that much, but with three wolves having roamed the countryside for miles, there was no way anyone would be able to sneak up on them in the next fifteen minutes, and he was tired of walking around, hungry and in a bad mood.

Surprisingly, Jared was awake and preparing breakfast. The wolves crowded around his legs to rub themselves against him and licked his hands with happy little yips, and even Darla joined the happy reunion. They filled the room with the smell of dog breath and wet fur. It was a better scent than what would follow as soon as they changed back- the smell of lymphatic fluid, wet bone and blood had its own throat tingling odor, and Darwin wasn't looking forward to it. 

"Guys, maybe you could shift outside?" he suggested as soon as the group quieted down a bit, and Darla growled at him again. Her dislike for him was palpable, if unusual. Was her wolf remembering what he had done? Or maybe he hadn't lost all of his learned dominant behavior, and something on him provoked her? Darwin was at a loss for answers on this one.

As the group trotted out again, he left the door half open and walked over to Jared, who kept putting bread into the toaster and piling toasted slices on a plate. He felt better the minute he hugged his Alpha, and breathed in deeply.

"You haven't showered yet, you still smell like sex," Darwin mumbled with a hushed voice, and rubbed his cheek against his shoulder blades. "And you're awake. Were you checking up on me?"

Jared gave a deep growl of satisfaction, leaning back just enough to assure Darwin his touch was welcome. "Maybe. Would it be a bad thing if I worried about your safety?" He pulled out a few packages of hotel size butter, jam and peanut butter, then he reached down and grabbed one of Darwin's hands to kiss his palm.

The hot lips on his hand were distracting, and the warm breath wafting against his fingers made his cock throb with interest. It made it hard to remember the question, and even harder to get angry. "So I froze my ass off out there, and you were in here watching me the whole time?" he finally grumbled with a breathy note in his voice. Having managed to utter the words made him proud nevertheless.

Jared laughed, and the vibrations continued through Darwin's arms and chest and right into his libido. He probably would have said something in return, but just when he took his next breath, the door swung open again, and three naked people piled in.

Darla looked very, very pale and shocky, and she was clinging to Harry's arm with fierce resolve. Rayne stopped next to Jared, but the other two didn't slow down in any way, but hurried to their shared bedroom. Darla shut the door in Harry's face and left him staring at it with confusion. A few seconds later he turned around stark naked, and shrugged. "She wasn't good outside, but she was as okay as a person could be in this situation. I don't know what happened."

Three pairs of eyes turned to Darwin, and then hurriedly looked away. There was no way to know what they were feeling, but their thoughts were all too obvious: In their eyes, he was the reason for Darla's misery. And they were right. Totally, absolutely right.

Darwin frowned, then his expression hardened. 

"Let's eat breakfast. Harry and I need to go shopping soon, if we're supposed to do it for all of us," he grumbled defensively, then grabbed the bread plate and turned away.

Rayne went to get clothed with Harry's eyes following his naked butt, then Harry wrestled his way into the room with Darla, only to emerge seconds later with a puzzled frown and a bunch of clothing in his arms. "She won't come out yet, it's too crowded for her," he proclaimed with a shrug.

"Or maybe she doesn't want to watch you get dressed," Jared replied with a grin, and sat down with the plate full of breakfast spreads in his hand. "But that's okay. It's Rayne's turn to get rest, and I'm her favorite person in this cabin. She'll be fine with just the two of us."

He looked totally relaxed as he prepared his first slice, like he couldn't care less about the goings-on around him. The sight irritated Darwin more than Darla's behavior. Why wasn't he stating the obvious? Why was everybody dancing around Darwin having bitten Darla, when it was screaming into their face like this? Maybe Jared thought Darwin couldn't take it. Maybe they all thought he was too sensitive and weak to be taken serious.

Or maybe he was overreacting.

There was too much going on to trust his own feelings right now. Sighing, Darwin sat down next to Jared, and hooked his ankles around his shin. It was all the contact he allowed himself for now, and even that he only did because there was no way he could sit next to his mate without having the naughtiest thoughts.

"We'll need shopping lists from both you and Rayne, and from Darla. Clothing sizes, food, toiletry, whatever you need, you write down. We'll handle the rest," he said with a voice much more euphoric than he felt. No need to darken the mood, he thought, it would happen soon enough, and everybody would finally speak their mind. It was inevitable.

Darwin wasn't sure if he was looking forward to that moment.



Unwilling Ch. 09



~*George*~

Carmen, the youngest werewolf of the Banes pack, was fidgeting. Her being able to do that while sitting down in the most comfortable recliner George owned was a feat for itself, but she also made it look easy. "Do I really have to?" she asked for the third time, her eyes pleading more to Mary than to George, whom she had found to be utterly untouched by her unease.

Mary, being her aunt and thusly put in the most unfortunate position, sighed and threw another glance at George. His brows were still furred, and his forehead wrinkled with resolve.

"Yes. You know George is a good man, and he is still Beta. Only formally, but he can still pull rank if he wants to." 

Mary sounded as unhappy as George felt about the situation, but it couldn't be helped. Being told his son was dead once had been enough of a wake-up call for George to stop making others' lives easier than his own. 

Just two days ago Carl had called and told Mary that Darwin had changed allegiance. That he had broken the rules, and that Carl had had to kill him. Mary had tried to cover the phone and stop him from listening in, but it had been too late.

Now George knew that the pain of a stroke was nothing, absolutely nothing compared to the pain of losing a child. That day, George had thought his cowardice had cost him his son's life, and now that fate had given him a second chance, he wasn't going to throw it away just to save Carmen some trouble.

Her young eyes held some of the arrogant sullenness only beautiful teenage girls could afford, and she made an unflattering sound of protest, crossing her arms beneath her developing bosom. "People don't really talk to me, you know? I'm just the young girl allowed to sit in because of some archaic rules," she tried to argue, but George knew better.

"You don't need someone to tell you personally what went on, you just need to listen. And you did listen to what the others said about Darwin, didn't you?"

Carmen had the grace to look caught. No teenage girl had ever turned a deaf ear to rumors, especially not outrageous ones. 

"Maybe," she huffed and blushed.

The blushing gave George a thought of a different kind, and suddenly he grinned. "You don't want to talk to me because I'm his father, is that it?" he pressed gently, and scratched his chin. Carmen having a crush on Darwin was surprising, but not unusual. Everyone knew Darwin was as handsome as he was gay, but knowing and feeling were two different things, more so for a young heart. As long as Carmen didn't get her hopes up on a future between her and his son, there was nothing to worry about.

Carmen turned crimson and ducked her head until her raven-black hair slid into her face, but didn't answer. There was no need to, her actions said everything.

With a touch of his fingers to the joystick, George wheeled his chair closer to her. He couldn't lean forward without the risk of toppling over, but he had found out over time that people reacted the way he wanted them to if he just moved as a whole. It made Carmen look up and meet his gaze.

"Listen to me, girl. I will not make you go against Carl's orders, and I will not ask you to do anything that could get you in trouble with him. But Darwin is my son, and I have a right to know what's going on," George said, pleading to her with his eyes but ordering her with his voice. "One day, Darwin is declared a traitor and pronounced dead. The next day, suddenly everyone's hunting for him, so he's very much alive. How did that happen?"

Carmen crumbled after a few seconds of staring. George could feel Mary's disapproving glance burn into the back of his head, but he didn't care.

"Well, obviously Darwin has a boyfriend-" Carmen began, and was promptly interrupted.

"A boyfriend?! Who? Is it someone from the pack? He never told me!" George ranted, and only remembered to breathe when Mary touched his shoulder.

The girl on the sofa made a surprised face, then hesitantly resumed explaining. "I don't know, really. I just know he has a boyfriend who seems to be an Alpha, and that Darwin lured that guy into Banes to overthrow Carl," she said, hesitated again, and then added, "which Carl found out. Are you alright, uncle George?"

The question was prompted by George's dumbfounded expression, and he didn't react to it until Mary touched his shoulder again. "What? Oh, yes, I mean, no. But I will be," he stammered. It all made no sense, no sense at all. To George, the story Carmen told sounded like a bad soap opera plot, not like anything even remotely related to his boy. Darwin would never do such a thing, never. He was a levelheaded young man, loyal and trustworthy, and Carl knew that. Carl had watched Darwin grow up. He had to know. 

So why was Carl hunting Darwin?

"Carl had Rayne, Dennis and Greta catch Darwin's friend from college, and I think they are out right now to find Darwin and his boyfriend to bring them in for sentencing. But you're not supposed to be there," Carmen added, fidgeting nervously. Her gray eyes flashed through the curtain of raven-black hair like little stars on a night sky, always away from George's searching glance.

"George, please calm down. You know what happened last time you got this worked up!" 

It took Mary's worried voice to snap the old man out of hyperventilating with rage. Of course, he couldn't shut off his anger on command, as much as he wanted to.

"What does he think, that I'd provoke a revolution, a palace revolt, if I'm there?!" he finally yelled at nobody in particular. "What in god's name has happened to Carl to make him act like this!"

His speeding heart made his pulse thud painfully through his paralyzed side, and for a moment he thought the shooting pain would be the last thing he ever felt. But what would happen to Darwin if he died now? 

As a disabled man, George had always known people were holding back around him for his sake. He may be partly paralyzed, but he wasn't stupid, or blind. It had bothered him for a good year, especially in the beginning when he had had to fight to utter a single sentence, and had to be fed and washed and clothed by nurses, unable to do anything but drool and scream silently inside his head. People had listened to his stuttering, halting speech, taken one look at his distorted face, and ceased really talking to him. It wasn't cruelty on their part either; it was a fact of life that nobody liked one-sided conversations.

It had been a frustrating, depressing time, but hard work on his part and getting over the shock of the changes on part of everyone else had slowly mended that wound.

Other things would never be mended, and George knew. He knew his son, Darwin, kept secrets from him. He could see it in his eyes, could tell by the dark circles around them, and by the way he kept to his bed on some days. He just couldn't do anything about it. Doctors had told him to not get upset so much because it could cause another stroke, so he tried to keep calm. But fear of another stroke wasn't why he always hesitated to ask Darwin what was bothering him, no; the real reason was so much more cowardly.

Whatever it was that had bothered Darwin for so long- and kept bothering him-, wouldn't be fixable by a broken man, like George was.

And George was afraid, so afraid. If he made Darwin talk, Darwin would tell him his secret. It had to be something bad, something really awful, to torment him so much; and if they talked about it, Darwin would get his hopes up. He would expect him to help, and that was the one thing George couldn't give. It was something he should be able to do as a father and as the late pack beta, something that went without saying for every other father and son, but not for him. So he hadn't asked.

Having to let Darwin fend for himself like that had worn George down like a leaden weight on his neck for months, but that night he decided it was enough.

"Call Graham, uncle George. He was supposed to tell you," Carmen pleaded, and her voice was shivering with suppressed tears. When he looked at her, he could see fear written plainly on her face. This time, the guilt was strong enough to calm him down, and with him coming down, the two women in his living room also seemed to get calmer.

"I'll do just that, then," he huffed, letting Mary pat his shoulder. There were a lot of things he'd want to ask Graham.

~*~

Forty-five minutes later, George fought another kind of rage as he tried not to smash his phone. Graham was being nice, but in that dodgy kind of way only guilty people showed. Of course, he stressed, George's exclusion had nothing to do with him being the one voice speaking in Darwin's favor, and everything to do with him being of fragile health. Carl, so Graham said, was worried how George would take their decision, however it might turn out, so he'd ordered him to stay away. 

Somehow, this bothered George more than the shame over his own fragile state. Some changes in life came sneaking in undetected, slowly and over time, but Carl actively keeping George away from pack business was new; not something he hadn't seen coming at some point in time, but definitely new. All the time since his stroke and all through his recovery, George had been hard-pressed to keep Carl from overwhelming him with constant visits and pleas for attendance. There had been no meeting or big decision Carl had wanted to keep George away from. Over time this had ceased and become more sporadic, but at no point in time had Carl ever plainly told him to stay at home, to not attend. 

When had their relationship changed this much? George didn't know.

Maybe the outrage he was feeling wasn't anything more than camouflaged self-pity, but something just seemed... odd. Not overly so, but just on this side of not right.

Graham interrupted his thoughts. "Is Carmen still visiting with you?" he asked, sounding nervous and trying not to let his nerves become audible. He failed miserably, but not being able to lie convincingly was one of Graham's more endearing traits.

There were strange crunching noises in the background, then George heard a few muffled voices talking, then a shuffling of feet and the clank of a door followed.

George frowned. "Yes, she is still here. Do you want to talk to her?"

"Yes. Wait, no, it's alright. Tell her the meeting starts in fifteen minutes," Graham mumbled distractedly. "And sorry again, George. I know this sucks, and I hate to do this to you."

Swallowing his anger, George said his good-byes and ended the call. For just a few moments, he relished the silence. He sensed there wouldn't be many more moments like that in the near future.

"What did he say?" Carmen whispered. She sounded like a rabbit trying not to attract the wolf's attention, and failing at it.

The look George threw her was enough to make Mary take a step closer to her niece, and he had to take a deep breath and concentrate on relaxing to wipe the grim look out of his face.

"Listen, Carmen. That meeting starts in fifteen minutes. Mary's going to drive you over there and come back, but she'll pick you up as soon as it's over. I want you to find out everything there is to know about what's been going on with Darwin, but you mustn't do or say anything that might arouse suspicions. If Carl asks about me, tell him how angry I was at being left out, but do not mention that you told me about Darwin's boyfriend. And if anything dangerous happens, or something that might endanger you, call. Understand?"

By the look on Mary's face, George would get a stern talking to later. But Carmen nodded hastily, and that was enough of a compensation for him.

As the two women drove off, George watched them disappear into the night through the front window. The days of cowardice were over.

~*Rayne*~

"I don't understand," Darla said, her left hand gripping the mug of coffee tightly. "How are Darwin and this other guy, Harry, not like me?" Her eyes were surrounded by dark blotches, her skin was pale and looked feverish, and Rayne could see her ribs still hurt by the way she sat, motionless. Only parts of those signs of distress were his fault, the rest was obviously from just not sleeping very well.

Rayne sighed. How had he gotten stuck with babysitting again? Ah, yes. It's still better than having to go shopping.

"You feel it when you look at them, how they move, how they look at you, don't you?" Rayne asked, wiggling himself deeper into the easy chair he had occupied for their talk. "They are different from you and me, and different from Jared. You can feel that, right?"

Darla nodded grudgingly, picking at the armrest of the sofa she was sitting on. Her right thumb left small spots of blood where it touched the upholstery, but they were nearly invisible on the brown cloth, so Rayne didn't comment. It wasn't his home, after all, she could bleed wherever she wanted to. 

"They are submissive werewolves, which means..." His voice trailed off. How was he supposed to describe something beyond any description to someone who had no idea whatsoever about his world? With a shake of his head, he decided to start anew. "There are three types of werewolves that we know of. Alphas, dominants and submissives. Each one of those types has their own purpose in a pack. You and me, we are dominants. We're supposed to be the army of a pack, the soldiers, those who protect and fight. Whatever curse made us the way we are, gave us the instincts to do so. We're always on the look-out for threats to our pack and to our dominance, always trying to better our position in a pack, to find out where we are in a hierarchy, and to defend our place against anyone challenging it."

"So we're kinda like high school jocks?" Darla asked in a small voice, but there was a lilt of humor in those words. She was unsure if jokes were okay, but unable not to make them. To Rayne this was a good sign, so he grinned and nodded once.

They had been sitting like this for the last fifteen minutes, ever since Rayne had caught Darla trying to sneak outside behind his back. She had said she wanted to fix the window because it was cold and that she had to do it from outside. She had tried it from the inside, and all she got for her troubles were a few cuts on her fingers. He believed her. She had also said she wanted to fix it because she planned to stay in 'her' room the whole time Darwin was home, but that was unacceptable. 

Harry and Darwin had gone to town for shopping, and Jared was walking the perimeter to look for weak spots in their defense. Rayne had decided to use their alone time to teach Darla those basics she should have gotten from Jared, or anyone else but Rayne, for all he cared. It was better than having her climb out the broken window or try to sneak out behind his back again.

"Since dominants like us are so preoccupied with ranks, hierarchy and being the damn hardest son-of-a-bitch around, this often leads to troubles. If the members of a pack in-fight too often, their tempers rise too much and the fights for rank and position escalate. Think of it like this: If all the people around you are a potential threat to your life, and you have to fight them at a daily basis over basic things like a spot to sit in and a glass of juice, at some point you decide to make sure they'll never bother or hurt you again." It was one of the problems Rayne had to fight against every time he joined a new pack. 

A new member was a threat to everyone, so every single dominant member had a reason to provoke and attack them. Every measure against such a thing only lead to dead ends for the new members. If you told a group of dominants that every new member would start at the bottom of the hierarchy, and that they weren't allowed to rise beyond a certain point, it did help keep the peace. Unfortunately, it also helped keeping potential weak members in power, and better fitting dominants out of the higher positions.

Sighing, he took a sip of coffee and put his mug on the couch table. "This is where submissive werewolves come in. They aren't meant to fight and protect territory, and they aren't particularly motivated to rise in a hierarchy. It's something about how they act and move, that lets us just know they aren't a threat to us. Submissives keep the peace by the one way no modern country was ever able to: They just project it, and it rubs off on everyone around them." 

At Darla's puzzled expression, Rayne laughed softly. "No, not that Ghandi kind of peace you are thinking about. There's nothing Zen about submissives, although I knew a submissive yoga teacher once who made me fall asleep within ten minutes of stretching. It's more like," he sighed, shrugging, "they act like a buffer between us, like a safe haven where we don't need to feel threatened. If you are surrounded by submissives, you know you're safe, and it calms those instincts to fight and protect your status. They know your rank in the hierarchy without threatening to take it away from you. They don't do in-fights for power because they have their own social structure, so there's no need to keep an eye on them all the time. Even if you attack them to put them in their place, they just roll over and show their throats, which makes it almost impossible to harm them any further. The only reason a submissive might join a fight is a threat to the pack as a whole." He made a short pause, then he added, "And the only reason to harm a submissive is them being a threat to the pack."

For a moment, Carl's face appeared before Rayne's eyes, and he shuddered violently. Carl had found reasons to harm a submissive, and Rayne had helped. Knowing how wrong it had been, how crazy Carl's reasoning was, only made the shame worse.

Luckily, Darla's unperturbed voice disrupted his train of thoughts. "Is that the reason you had to run from Banes?"

It was such an innocent question, but still so hard to answer. "Yes, and no. It's hard to explain, because there are so many abnormalities that led to where we are now, but I'll try. Every healthy pack consists of an alpha and a bunch of dominant and submissive werewolves. Ideally, there should be just as many dominants as there are submissives, but that's hardly ever the case. A few more dominants than submissives are okay, more submissives than dominants can make a pack weak. And of course, every pack tries to get the mixture just right, sometimes with force. It's not that unusual that submissives are wooed away or stolen, and in some cases another alpha comes into a territory and tries to take over altogether." 

Rayne hesitated, trying to figure out how to proceed with his explanation. Forcing hours and hours of education into a few meager sentences was not an easy task, but he had to give Darla at least enough knowledge to understand Darwin's position, and not get into trouble with Jared.

"Whenever another dominant enters a pack's territory, he has to ask for permission first. Anything else would be considered a hostile takeover and dealt with appropriately. Alphas are never welcome, but there have been a few cases where an Alpha was allowed to travel through, or to stay for a while as long as he or she kept away from pack members."

Darla's face lit up at that, and she nodded. "So Jared was allowed to stay?" she asked, frowning thoughtfully.

"Yes. There's a special clause for students and college graduates, because most of them are way too young to be a real threat to a seasoned alpha. That clause can be revoked, but it's there, and it was the reason Jared was allowed to enter Banes territory at first."

Her questioning eyes fixated on Rayne's face. "And he was, well, uninvited because he bonked Darwin?" she asked, grinning at her own words. "I mean, now that he's Darwin's boyfriend, that counts as 'wooing' away a pack member, right?"

"Again, yes and no. It's the reason Carl told his pack, but it's not really what made him go after us in the end. There are things going on in the Banes pack, strange, bad things. A lot of people got hurt or died, and Darwin somehow got the brunt of it, but nobody really knows the whole picture. Darwin won't talk about it, but what I've seen is enough for me to choose Jared's and Darwin's side. And as hard as it may be to believe, Darwin is one of the good guys."




Unwilling Ch. 09



Darla's face was darkening with every word Rayne said, but that last part made her snort derisively. "Yeah, right," she sneered, shaking her head.

Rayne sighed deeply. "I get that you're angry at him. But why do I get the feeling you don't know why you feel this way?" he deadpanned, hoping to provoke her into speaking her mind. 

Scratch, scratch, scratch, was all he got as an answer, as she once more picked at the armrest. Her forehead was wrinkled with exhaustion and concentration, but she just didn't seem to be able to grab that one thought that might give herself- more than Rayne- an explanation for her feelings.

Darla finally slammed her fist onto the armrest, making it groan with force. "Is there a reason?" she squeezed out, staring at Rayne like she was trying to read his mind. It was hard to tell if she was playing dumb or simply being stubborn. 

"Yes, of course," Rayne offered, fed up with her excuses. If they kept going like this, nothing would be accomplished. "You've got enough reason to want to kill him, frankly said. And I'm the one who'd have to stop you, so I'd at least like to make sure you know why you're taking this road. And don't tell me you aren't thinking about it, I can see it in your eyes."

Something changed in her face and she quickly looked away, trying to hide those emotions dancing through it. "Why would I want to kill Darwin? He's nothing to me." This time there was nothing in her voice, but the sheer absence of emotions was more than enough of a giveaway for Rayne. 

"He bit you. He's the one who ruined your life," he offered, like it was nothing.

Those words echoed through the cabin like a deep, thundering bell. Darla gaped at him with a look of sheer horror on her face.

"What?"

~*Harry*~

"Please, no more," Harry groaned, hugging the five plastic bags full of clothes to his chest. He was sitting on one of those futons for patient husbands and boyfriends right in the middle of the busy designer store, trying desperately to take the weight off his burning soles.

They were two hours into their shopping spree through the small town of Renton, and already Darwin had broken his promise not to visit one of those fancy shops. Harry didn't so much dislike designer clothes per se, he just knew what would happen if they set foot into one of those establishments. It happened every time.

"Stop your whining, I'm almost done," Darwin's disembodied voice answered from one of the changing cubicles. There was a short rustle of cloth, then he stepped out, presenting what amounted to screaming white boot-cut pants with black ink-like swirls along the sides. "Do this pants make my ass look fat?"

He looked gorgeous.

"No, they fit nicely," Harry sighed, "just like the last five pairs you tried on and can't afford. Can we please finish our tour and go home? My feet are killing me."

"Yes, yes. Gimme a minute." Darwin disappeared once again, and the rustling of clothes continued.

It weren't just his feet though. Harry prided himself on being relaxed and fun, but today he just didn't seem to be able to get his mojo going. Him being this grumpy and whiny was definitely unusual, but try as he might, he couldn't pin down the reason for his mood-swing.

Of course, objectively, he shouldn't be surprised by unusual emotions. He, along with everyone else in their small pack, had been attacked, threatened and uprooted into a godforsaken strip of hinterland woods, where they were stuck for god knew how long with nothing more than the clothes on their backs and whatever small savings and credit limits they had left on their bank accounts. Now that he had time to think about it, Harry surmised he had taken the whole disaster pretty well, laid-back as he thought himself to be. Better than Rayne, and definitely better than Darla; her, nobody could blame for a temper.

But this unrest he was feeling? It had nothing to do with being an easy-going guy, and nothing to do with their recent problems. He hadn't felt it at the cabin, and he hadn't been too upset in the car. He was upset now, so something must have changed.

Drawing a deep breath of perfume-clotted air, he looked at the creamy-white wooden floor, then threw a glance over the tastefully scattered clothes hangers and mannequins along the white and peach painted walls. 

He didn't want to be here, that was for sure. The lady at the register had thrown both of them more than one funny look, and had stopped looking at them altogether when Harry had had to help Darwin into one of those too tight jeans he so loved, and man-parts had had to be touched.

The better question was, where would he rather be?

You know where, his mind instantly answered, and was just as quickly squashed down. He was so not falling in love with that Rayne-guy, of all people this world had to offer!

Luckily, Darwin chose that moment to step out of his cubicle, wearing his own clothes. "I just realized the shops around here close earlier than at home. If we don't hurry, we won't get any food today," he observed, then grinned at Harry's grumpy face. "Yeah, yeah, you told me so, I get it. Thanks for sitting this out."

The bell above the front door chimed happily as they left the store. It still rang in Harry's ears as they walked down the street, heading for the 'BigBuy' sign hovering in the distance. "Not that this was an unusual event, but how come you'd rather spend half an hour trying on clothes you can't buy, than be at home with Jared?" Harry finally asked. "I thought this whole mating thing was kind of a true-love-deal." At least he himself felt the increasing need to get back to Rayne, but that was something best kept silent.

Darwin shrugged nonchalantly. "We needed clothes," he said without looking at Harry.

"We already have clothes," Harry retorted and held up the plastic bags he was carrying.

"I liked the stuff in the window display," Darwin tried again and started chewing his lower lip as he walked faster. He was trying to out-walk Harry and look inconspicuous at the same time, and it wasn't working.

"I'd believe you under any other circumstance," Harry admitted, still smiling slightly as he tried to keep up on his shorter legs, "but something else is going on. You don't want to go home, is that it?"

The glass walls of the 'BigBuy' came into view, and Darwin stopped walking. He looked nervous, ashamed maybe, and distraught. The cold near-winter wind tugged at his hair and blew into the flimsy sweater he was wearing, carrying the scent of sewer with it. They both shivered with cold.

"I want to go home," Darwin finally answered, but kept his gaze turned to the ground. "I just don't want to go where she is. She hates me, and she's got every right to do so, and there's nothing I could say or do to make it better. Except for giving her as much space as possible."

He was talking about Darla, that much Harry got without having to ask. He didn't understand Darwin's thoughts though. Did he mean he wanted to kick Darla out? Or did he want to leave the pack? "So you plan to stay in Renton indefinitely? Get a small apartment, work at the gas station? Maybe have an illicit relationship with a married guy named Buzz?" he only half joked. Even after more than a year of friendship, Harry was still puzzled by some of Darwin's idiosyncrasies.

Darwin's amused laugh was relieving to hear. "No, silly, of course not. Who would watch over your ass if I'd disappear?" he said jokingly, nudging Harry with his shoulder.

"Rayne would be most happy to," Harry answered with a grin before he could stop himself. He turned beet-red as soon as the words left his lips though, ducking his head embarrassedly. "Shit, and this after I promised myself I wouldn't bring him up!"

Darwin only snorted dismissively. "I get that you think he's hot, but I know you. You'd put out before you're sure he'll stick around," he said, slowing down just enough to match Harry's shorter steps. "And contrary to your love-sick attitude, he doesn't look that smitten with you. I might be wrong, of course," he added quickly when he saw Harry's face fall, "but we'll find that out if you just make him work for it a little bit."

Harry shrugged to that, but he looked thoughtful as they walked the last block to the one and only supermarket in Renton. There were only a few dozen cars in front of it, and most of the people they crossed paths with watched them go by curiously.

It took quite some time to gather enough food for five people, but Harry made sure they bought most of the essentials in big enough quantities to spare them another big shopping trip for the foreseeable future. As Darwin learned, if you bought enough coffee, flour, spices, polenta, rice, canned goods, tomato paste and noodles, there were a million and one dishes you could cook with only small items to add.

The only luxury they allowed themselves were a few fresh vegetables. Harry was checking out broccoli stalks for god knew what, when Darwin noticed a ratty looking guy watching them with obvious interest. He looked to be around forty, dressed in jeans riddled with machine oil stains and a checkered flannel shirt, flapping open like a blatant invitation to stare at his hirsute chest. His head was just as hairy, unkempt and in dire need of a shave, the mop of hair only kept in check by a baseball cap he wore backwards.

The way that guy stared directly into Darwin's eyes made him turn away instinctively. It didn't help though. Moments later the distinct scent of werewolf and old sweat floated over him, and he didn't need to turn around to know that guy was standing rudely close to him.

Harry looked up from the broccoli, but he looked down just as quickly and sneakily moved behind Darwin. Maybe it was just habit, after all, he had acted like a dominant for Harry before, but this time Darwin felt left alone.

"What'cha doin' here, puppy?" the guy drawled, leaning onto their shopping cart with both hands. If he were a girl, Darwin would have been able to look right into the cleavage and down to the belly button, but at least he was spared that small horror. His eyes never left Darwin's face, a straight and unwavering stare of challenge.

"Shopping," Darwin replied as calm as possible, giving him his best frosty glare. "It's quite obvious if you bother to look somewhere else than my eyes."

Hairy guy cracked a smile, but it was just as lecherous as his behavior already suggested, and he didn't quit staring provocatively. "Why should I? I'm always up to a challenge, and you're making my day right now," he growled, looking happy all of a sudden.

It was enough of an incentive for Darwin to drop his gaze in an instant. He definitely didn't want a full-blown fist fight with a dominant werewolf the size of that guy, not in a supermarket, not outside of it, not ever. For the first time in a long time he realized, that, no, he definitely wasn't anything close to a dominant, and there was no amount of acting that would get him there. 

With a jolt of surprise, he realized he missed Jared. He even missed Rayne, although he couldn't bring himself to miss Darla. He just wasn't there yet. But if one of those two were here, they would set that guy straight in a heartbeat, and he'd stop threatening them.

That realization brought on another idea that sounded way better than trying to bluff his way out of this. After all, Jared hat explained to them there was a resident pack around here, and they had given their word to leave them be. Why not use that knowledge?

With a deep sigh, Darwin turned away, ending the fight for dominance. "You know, your Alpha promised to leave us be," he said, trying for calm, but sounding annoyed.

The shopping cart groaned under the increasing weight the guy added by leaning forward. "Well, that was before I knew there would be two tasty subs all on their little lonesome," he replied with a hiss and clicked his teeth with a broad grin.

So much for that idea.

Harry made soft beeping noises with his phone behind Darwin's back, and luckily, there was too much background noise for their opponent to hear them. Darwin couldn't turn around to find out what exactly Harry was doing there, but he hoped Harry was calling for backup. Not that it would help- the cavalry was miles away, and Darwin had the keys to their one and only car in his pocket. They were pretty much on their own.

A wash of fear ran up Darwin's back and made his hairs stand on end. What was he supposed to do now?

Fear turned into a knot of silent panic as he made a decision, that kind of knot that made him feel cottony and weightless and just a bit light-headed.

"Harry, please pay for our groceries and go home," he said in the most pleasant tone he could muster, pulling out the car keys from his pocket and handing them over behind his back. As Harry grabbed the shopping cart, Darwin made two steps forward, hustling the disheveled man away from it before he realized what was happening, and off Harry went. There was a bit of confusion as the guy tried to decide if he should go after Harry or stick with Darwin, but a bit of provocative shoving made up his mind for him.

It didn't do Darwin any good though.

The man couldn't really do anything as long as they were in the supermarket, there were simply too many eyes and ears around to 'wolf out' on Darwin, but he looked tickled enough. As Harry fled into the general direction of the cash points, Darwin was shoved back against the baskets full of vegetables.

"So, you decided to stand up for yourself, eh? Stupid, stupid decision," he growled and tried to grab Darwin, who skittered away through the protruding fruit displays.

"Nope, just trying to keep you busy until the cavalry arrives," Darwin replied with bated breath. He didn't try to flee, but he did his best to keep a few feet of distance between him and the dominant wolf. It was all he could do for now.

If he attempted to run for it, the wolf would chase him, and catch him sooner rather than later. If he fought, he would get beaten into a pulp for good measure. If he gave in, he'd probably get raped, or at least kidnapped to be integrated into that guy's pack, which wasn't that much better than rape. Out of options, and with time running out, he could only hope that Harry would hurry up and get help.

~*Jared*~

Jared was ripped out of the most pleasant dream imaginable, just felt minutes after he'd finally managed to lay down for a nap. Luckily for the culprit, it was the screeching of tires on gravel that woke him, not the loud bang the front door of the cabin made as it was ripped open without regard for the wall behind the hinges.

He sat up with a start, listening to the muffled voices outside as adrenaline-soaked blood rushed through his ears. Were Harry and Darwin finally back from shopping?

Jared crawled out of bed as his pulse calmed. One of the voices definitely was Harry's, but the other one was Rayne, and both of them sounded alarmed. Just as he grabbed the door handle, someone else pushed at it from the other side, resulting in a short tug-o-war before it swung open, leaving a decidedly panicked Harry to stare at Jared with his mouth hanging open.

"Oh, you're awake, good! We need to hurry," he wheezed, turning around before he finished his sentence. Rayne was standing next to the door, already putting on his jacket. His face looked grim.

"What's going on?" Jared asked, looking around the room blearily. "And where's Darwin?"

Harry went through the door before he could answer, and Rayne hovered there for just enough time to say, "Harry and Darwin were accosted by someone from the local pack, Harry came to get us, Darwin's still back there with that guy." Then he went outside too, leaving Jared to suffer through another bout of panic on his own.

All he wanted to do was storm outside and smash something, but at the same time all those little, stupid thoughts flooded his mind. Had they turned off the stove? Closed the fridge door and all the windows? What about the lights? It was an unsettling reaction to shock, but at least it helped him control his instant anger. Anger was a good tool, but only if it was controlled, and the confusion gave Jared just enough time to do that.

"What about Darla?" Jared yelled at the open door as he turned around to grab his sweater from the bed.

"I'm coming with," he heard her call from the outside. As much as Jared doubted it was a good idea to take a new werewolf into the city, there was no time to argue.

They piled into the car and drove off before the last door fell shut. Rayne was driving, mostly because Harry looked like he was about to keel over with panic, and Jared had been the last one out of the door and wasn't taking prisoners. Gravel sprayed and tires screeched as he raced down the steep mountain.

At least it gave Harry time to fill them in. "We were shopping for groceries, when this guy came up to us. He was acting weird from the start, didn't even flinch when we reminded him of the deal we have with the local pack. I think he's sub-shopping, and I think Darwin knows that. He kept the guy busy and made me run to get you," he wheezed through his rapid breathing.

"What's sub-shopping?" Darla asked with a puzzled, altogether too calm voice. She didn't care too much for Darwin's fate, but that had to be expected.

Rubbing his face, Jared decided to concentrate on her. It would give him something to do other than worry about Darwin.

"Rayne told you about submissives and dominants and all that, right?"

Darla nodded. "And Alphas, yes."

The car swerved onto the main road connecting them to Renton, and Jared had to hold on to the door handle to keep himself from tumbling into Darla's lap. "Well, some packs need submissives badly enough to go steal them," he explained with bated breath. "It's antiquated and cruel and requires a lot of stuff some would call kidnapping and torture, but those people don't care as long as they get the results they want. I've never met a pack that still practices that, but live and learn."

"So they're trying to steal what, Darwin? How should that work, in any imaginable way?" she said bemused, seemingly unbothered by Rayne's mad driving. "Even if they take him by force, the first moment he's not being watched he'll bolt. They can't keep him chained up for the rest of his life." 

When she saw the hard look on Jared's face, she blanched. "Or can they?"

The car was going sixty miles per hour right through Renton, and Harry was giving directions to the 'BigBuy' with panicked gasps. At least he wasn't showing signs of an impending shape shift, which was reassuring enough.

"They could, but normally it would be too much trouble to try shit like that. Submissives need a pack, and they need to connect to it. If you keep a submissive from his pack for too long, he'll find a new one and stay there. Their instincts are very strong, and all it takes to keep them is stopping them from running and being nice for a long enough stretch of time. If a submissive resists too long or keeps making trouble, they'd just let him go at some point." Jared suddenly grinned with fierce pride. "They probably wouldn't know what hit them if they tried to keep Darwin by force."

Yes, he'd definitely make their lives hell, but they would do the same to him. Jared hadn't lied when he had told Darwin how other dominants wouldn't be as tolerant as Rayne. They'd beat him to mush if he mouthed off to them, and they'd keep it up right to the point where either they got tired of hitting him, or where Darwin was broken beyond use.

The 'BigBuy' sign came into sight just as Rayne reduced speed.

"So what's the plan then? Are we talking angry words, angry fists or angry axe-murder?" Darla said, looking pointedly at Jared's face. "By the way, your eyes are turning yellow."




Unwilling Ch. 09



Jared took a deep breath and shook himself. He had known on some level what he must look like, but Darla had the eyes of a normal person, and for her to notice his eyes meant that everyone would. Not a good idea. Taking deep breaths, he tried to calm down his pulse, murmuring, "You do what Rayne does, or tells you to do. We don't want them to know that I'm the Alpha at this point, because they would just wait until I'm gone and grab Darwin again. That would be bad, because I'm going to be out all the time. Rayne on the other hand will be at home all day, and they won't get close to an Alpha. Understand?"

Harry looked over the back rest of his seat with a surprised expression. "That's brilliant! Where did you learn that?" he asked with admiring eyes. Rayne growled softly next to him, but he didn't react, and Jared didn't answer.

They got out of the car with Darla sticking close to Jared's side. The parking lot was nearly empty, now that the big supermarket had closed for the night, but a few cars here and there still waited patiently for their owners. It was enough of a hindrance to make looking for Darwin time-consuming and difficult. He could be anywhere, and Jared was getting restless as he walked away from the car.

"They wouldn't get close to an Alpha because he can make them do things, right?" Darla whispered, barely keeping up with the male's angry stride.

Jared wanted to snap at her, yell into her face that he didn't care about those things right now, but he couldn't. She was being helpful, hell, she even wanted to help the pack save one of their own, and he needed to do right by her if he couldn't un-wolf her. Taking a shallow, controlled breath, he nodded and whispered back, "that, and whoever that guy is, he is acting against the orders of his own Alpha, which means he won't get help from his own people if things turn sideways." A grim expression appeared on Jared's face as he followed Rayne and Harry, who was jogging circles to look for Darwin and that guy. "And boy, are things going to turn sideways if I get my hands on that hillbilly."

A call broke their hushed conversation.

"Over there," Harry hissed, trying to be quiet but failing. He was pointing over to a roofed shopping cart shelter to the back of the parking lot, then he started running with Rayne hot on his heels. Jared could only see two pairs of legs through the maze of cart wheels, but he trusted Harry to recognize his own friend.

"Remember, Rayne is the Alpha," he whispered to Darla and sprinted after the two. He had to rein himself in to stay behind Rayne. His first instinct was to charge and splatter whoever had dared to touch his mate against the cheap plexiglass wall, but that would mean war. War wasn't good business on their first day as guests.

What he saw when he finally reached the other side of the cart shelter left him feeling angry and amused in equal parts. The attacker actually looked like a hillbilly, unkempt and dressed cheaply in dirty clothes, and he had his hands on a very dapper, well-dressed Darwin, trying to pull him away from the shelter. Darwin, on the other hand, was having none of it. He had both arms clasped firmly around a steel crossbrace, spitting thick wads of saliva whenever the werewolf tried to come closer, resisting every attempt to peel away his arms from his safety spot. He already had a black eye and was standing crooked like something hurt in his back, but he wasn't going down easy.

The urge to break the guy in two bloody pieces was almost overwhelming, and he must have taken a step towards the two because suddenly Harry was there, grabbing Jared's hand like a frightened child. He didn't try to pull him back or stop him from moving, he didn't do anything else, but it was enough to calm Jared down. The touch reminded him that he was responsible for too many lives to risk them for jealousy now.

At the same time, Rayne stopped about five feet away from Darwin and his attacker. Darla was staying between Rayne and Jared, ready to pounce if the situation escalated any more. There was no need for introductions at this point. Any werewolf would have been able to hear them come closer, and at this short distance he probably smelled what they were too.

"Let him go," Rayne growled forcefully, bristling to the threat in his own words in a way Jared had not seen on him before. 

The guy pushed Darwin against the side of the shelter with one hand at his neck, forcing him tightly against the cold metal he was hugging. Then he looked over his shoulder, taking in Rayne's dark-skinned, angry form, and grinned. His teeth were yellow and crooked, and a piece of one of the lower teeth was missing, but it still was a dangerous, derogatory expression. "Who allowed the Mussulman to talk, eh?" he goaded, giving Darwin's neck a good shove and smashing his forehead against the plexiglass in the process. 

To anyone else it would probably have looked like blunt force, but Jared recognized the covert threat instantly. That werewolf was probably racist in some way, yes, but deep down he couldn't care less what color Rayne's skin was. It was just a test, a fight of wills, to find out what kind of flavor this new pack of guests really was. And probably a grab for power he couldn't get his hands on in his own pack. Jared wanted to step forward and take over from Rayne, fearing the dominant might misinterpret the situation and bring Darwin's life into danger, but Harry stopped him once more with a single twitch of his hand, reminding him of their plan.

Minute changes in Rayne's posture were enough to make his presence more imposing. He was positively dripping with menace and power, enough to give even Jared a pause. He had known from the beginning that Rayne wasn't a pushover, and definitely undeserving of his low rank in the last pack- or packs, if one was inclined to believe Rayne's stories-, but whatever tight grip Rayne was having on his own powers was now let loose. The result was breathtaking.

"I'm in no mood to play games with you. I've had a shitty week, and it will go on like that for the unforeseeable future," Rayne snarled with enough calm menace to peel off nail polish, "If you're looking for a fight you have found the right playground. But be aware that my people are itching to rip something apart, and we won't play fair."

Jared grinned like a hyena, and even Darla seemed to grasp the meaning of Rayne's words without further explanations. If the guy didn't let go of Darwin at once, they'd attack together and simultaneously. No duels, no going at it 'mano y mano', just good, honest violence. His teeth began to itch and pulse as his canines elongated and grew sharp tips, and this time, he did nothing to stop it.

A flash of uncertainty, doubt and worry went through the guy's face as he looked first at Rayne, then at Darla and finally at Jared, who was looming over everyone else not only in size and mass, but also in anger. He probably was trying to calculate his chances in a fight, and realizing it wasn't looking good.

His fingers around Darwin's neck twitched once, twice, then let go. Darwin instantly pushed away from the cart shelter and stumbled towards Rayne. Red imprints stood out starkly against his pale skin where he had been grabbed. The way he hunched over told Jared a story of other, hidden injuries, and the thought sent a jolt of rage through his body, making him almost lose control over his shape.

This time, not even Harry's warning tug could stop him from rushing forward, but he didn't go very far. As soon as he reached Darwin, he wrapped an arm around him and pulled him further back, pushing him behind his back to block the line of sight. Jared knew his face was on the way to grow fur, but he didn't care. Now that Darwin was safe, the panic deep in his chest settled and left all the space to rage, the need to rip the stranger into tiny, bloody shreds. 'One wrong move, just one, please,' his mind begged as he instinctively flexed his muscles, ready to pounce. Only Rayne and the necessity to keep their charade going held him in place, but only just.

If he knew what was going on behind him, Rayne didn't show it. "Good choice," he grunted, still keeping his presence on a level of lighthouse-like strength, "Now scatter. If I ever see you again, I'll let my pack rip your legs off."

There was a glimmer of hatred in the eyes of the unkempt werewolf as he turned around and ran, obviously unhappy about the way things had turned out. His last glance met Jared's, who was still hiding Darwin behind his imposing form, and he smiled at the retreating man. It was a nasty, vengeful smile, a promise what would happen if he saw him again.

"He's gonna try again," said Darla, sounding as ill-humored as Jared felt.

Rayne nodded. "Yeah, he will. God help him, but he will."

His dark gaze scraped over Jared's tense chest, then he turned away. "Let's go home. Someone please hide our Alpha's face until we're clear of human settlements."

~*Darwin*~

Everything hurt, but nothing was broken. 

It was a sobering conclusion, but better than the alternative. Darwin had never been so happy to hear Rayne's voice, and now, sitting in the car and huddled against Jared's body, his smell filling the air and his arm continuously stroking his flank, Darwin felt relief and happiness in equal parts. His stupid, idiotically heroic plan had worked, and he would- against all odds, at that- live to see another day.

Surprisingly, even Darla had come to save him, and was now chatting animatedly with Rayne, who once again had taken it onto himself to chauffeur them around. Harry tried to fuss over Darwin's scrapes and bruises, but every time he touched Darwin, Jared made a deep, rumbling growl and pulled him away from the searching hands. He probably would have done the fussing part himself if they had been alone, but right now he couldn't, so nobody else was allowed to.

The strange smell of his would-be-kidnapper clung to Darwin's clothes like a bad afterthought. He wanted to shower and burn his clothes, but he'd have to settle for simply washing them. As for the shower, the way Jared was acting promised no chance to do that anytime soon. Not before he had made sure his mate was alright and everything in order. 

Darwin could imagine how Jared would do that. Moreover, he was having a hard time not imagining it vividly, and hard-pressed to hide the bulge in his crotch at the same time.

When the car stopped, everyone got out quickly, relieved by the prospect of being 'home', of getting back inside the one safe haven they had. Everyone, but Darwin and Jared. Rayne threw a last glance back at them, grinned, and shooed both Darla and Harry inside to give them privacy.

As soon as Jared had the chance, he grabbed Darwin tightly and pressed him against his body from crotch to forehead. Possessive, powerful arms wrapped around Darwin's battered body, feeling and touching everywhere, and with each hiss and grunt of pain Jared growled softly. Darwin knew that Jared didn't hurt him on purpose, and the close contact and the scent of Jared's anger and jealousy flooded his mind with endorphins and shuddering lust that lessened the pain considerably. He could feel Jared's big, sun kissed hands reach the hemline of Darwin's sweater, then they disappeared beneath the cloth and stroked over his back. They felt incredibly hot against Darwin's cold skin, and the intensity made him gasp softly.

"Off," Jared grunted, pulling Darwin's sweater up with a swift motion. "It stinks of that asshole."

Although the air was nippy enough to harden his nipples with the first gust of wind that brushed his chest, Darwin complied happily. A strange, content feeling flooded his nervous system, fueling his need to feel Jared, his mate, against his naked body as quickly as possible. The sweater landed somewhere close to the front tire of the car, forgotten by both of them.

Breathing in sharply, Jared pushed him back against the side of the car, leaning him against the cold metal and inspecting his chest with quickening pulse. His eyes and fingers followed the few darkening patches of skin where Darwin had been hit, and the soft touches elicited a soft moan from his lips.

When Jared grabbed the waistband of his pants to open it, Darwin buried both hands in his blond hair. "Someone will see us," he gasped, making no attempt to stop Jared as he pulled off the pants, growling under his breath. Empty words, filled with the hope they would be ignored.

"They'll learn to cope," Jared replied, sinking to his knees in a quick motion. His lips touched the upper edge of Darwin's pubes and he licked a long, hot and cold line towards his chest. Darwin could hear the succinct clinking of a belt buckle, knowing full well that Jared was opening his own pants. His cock wept furiously with pleasure at the thought of having sex right there, against a car worth more than his college education, but his mind was still faintly concerned with the idea of dignity. It felt wrong not to at least protest, even if he didn't want him to stop.

"But,..." he protested weakly, tugging at the thick, sandy strands, holding his breath as Jared grabbed his thighs to mount them over the crooks of his arms. 

"If you want me to stop, just tell me," Jared whispered with a strained, shivering voice, and stepped close enough to rest Darwin's ass on his throbbing cock. The hard, pulsing rod felt giant and hot like molten lava against his cool skin.

Darwin wanted to tell him no, his modesty screaming at him, but it only made his own cock twitch harder. The lube he had bought- much to Harry's giggling delight- was inside in one of the shopping bags, and there was no time to go get it. Instead of stopping Jared, Darwin spat into his palm, grabbed Jared's cock and did his best to offer at least a little bit of lubrication. They wouldn't last long anyhow, already on edge as they both were. Jared shivered violently beneath the hasty, demanding ministrations, growling with eagerness.

When Darwin was done, he took a sharp breath, leaned forward and hissed into Jared's ear, "Fuck me."

It was all the invitation Jared needed.

With a pained groan from both of them, he sunk deep into Darwin's quivering hole, tightening his grip on his legs, pushing him firmly against the car. Jared twitched with need, his breath hitching as he tried to get a grip on himself. The burning pain was sharp and short-lived, enough to make Darwin tighten up and squirm until it faded.

"I won't last," Darwin groaned, and Jared leaned forward to capture his lips and silence the wanton sounds coming from them. It was a good thing, too, because when Jared started moving, only his fierce kiss muffled the lustful scream boiling up from Darwin's chest.

'Making love' would have been an insulting term for their wild, quick copulation. Jared thrust hard and quick, his hands keeping Darwin from sliding or falling down as their unrestrained movement rocked the big car on its suspension. With every thrust and push, Darwin could feel the raw power in Jared's body, feel the fear for his well-being and the relief of having him back rush through the Alpha's tense muscles, and when Jared finally came after just a few minutes of fucking his mate to high heavens, they nearly tumbled to the ground with the sudden relaxation of both their bodies.

Somehow, Jared managed to slide them down to the ground in a more controlled fashion, but none of them had any interest in moving yet. Darwin hadn't come, but he didn't care. Jared's scent and the distinct smell of his come flooded his mind and left him at utter peace, content with their reunion in a way he hadn't expected. His mate had re-claimed him, marked him with his scent, and they were home again, safe.

'Home.'