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Pack Mentality

Summary: In the years after his escape from his family's pack, Tobi has learnt to survive on his own. The only problem is that in this day and age, a wolf without a pack is a walking target. With no alpha to protect him, Tobi spends his days looking over his shoulder until he runs into an old friend. It's a far from happy reunion as Tobi releases just how much danger he's in. This new pack invites him with open arms. Unfortunately, they don't care whether he's interested in staying or not.

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Chapter Seven

Another Bid for Freedom

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They spent nearly two hours in the forest. Despite the moment of weakness Anton showed in his interest in Tobi, the alpha had been weirdly civil for the remainder of the walk. The rest of the day had been dedicated to researching the forest and town on his phone.

Tobi looked around the massive dining room this next morning for several long moments but Holly's red curls were definitely not visible. She wasn't there. Ignoring the delicious looking breakfast foods, he walked a slow lap around the room. Several people glanced briefly in his direction and then went back to ignoring him. He sniffed. It was difficult with the powerful aroma of cooking meats, toast and coffee but he was almost sure Holly's scent was not there. She hadn't been down this morning. Had something happened? Was she sick?

Tobi turned to leave and nearly walked into Anton as he crossed the threshold into the room. Tobi stiffened.

"Good morning Tobi, I hope you slept well?" the man said, ever the polite host. Tobi forced a very ridged smile that made his jaw ache.

"Fine thank you alpha." He tried to edge around the man but of course, Anton didn't shift for him.

"Surely you haven't eaten already?" Anton inquired; blue eyes fixed on him like a hunting hound to a pigeon.

"No, I haven't. I'm going upstairs to wake Holly. She overslept," Tobi said in a firm voice, half daring the man to contradict or refuse him. Instead, Anton smiled, making the bottom of Tobi's stomach drop.

"Ah, I'm afraid she and Emily have already left this morning. They had some errands to run for us in town. We thought it would be a good opportunity for you to explore the grounds and meet the pack," the alpha said, his tone casual. Tobi resisted the urge to grit his teeth together.

"Perhaps I'll see her in town then?" Anton's smile widened, showing sharp teeth.

"Perhaps, but I doubt it. She'll be very busy today. Come, have something to eat." With very little choice, Tobi turned back around. He fetched a warm plate and began to angrily stab at a few pieces of bacon. He wasn't sure he believed that Holly had left the enormous manor house but with Anton so close, he couldn't go and check. Tobi carried his plate to a spare seat and sat down. As he ate, he carefully studied the people around him.

Many of the younger wolves avoided his eyes all together, huddling nervously together as though it was Tobi that was the real threat. The older members of the pack read newspapers of talked amongst themselves. They seemed more relaxed and less interested in the newcomer. He wandered if it would be more difficult to get information from the younger wolves or the older?

Now more than ever, Tobi wanted to find out if any other wolf had managed to escape this pack. The alphas seemed determined to keep him and Holly apart today. Well, if they wanted him to mingle, he would. The trouble was, there wasn't a single wolf that he approached that didn't shrink away from him.

He refilled his coffee cup and startled what he hoped, looked like a relaxed stroll around. He tried to catch the eye of a young woman hunched over a sketch pad. The second she felt his eyes on her, her head dropped lower until her cheek was practically glued to the table. He waved at a teenage boy who looked to be roughly seventeen. The freckle faced teen jumped as though he had been bitten.

Before Tobi could make his way over, the teenager all but fled out the nearest door. Annoyed, Tobi picked a new target and moved. A young man in his early twenties was putting his empty play on the tray to be taken back to the kitchen. He looked up and froze as Tobi came over to him.

"Good morning," Tobi said cheerfully.

"Good morning," the other wolf said hesitantly. He made to step around Tobi, but Tobi shifted, blocking off his retreat.

"Nice morning," Tobi said, trying again for conversation. The man gave the room around them a vaguely panicked look.

"It is. Excuse me, I have to get to work," the man said, his tone almost pleading.

"Oh, okay. I'm Tobi by the way. What's your name?" Tobi asked stubbornly.

"Look..." the man hissed, leaning in and lowering his voice.

"Please don't talk to us," he whispered. His eyes darted nervously from door to window as though he expected a bullet to shoot through the openings.

"Why?" Tobi asked eagerly. The man shook his head, his face pallid and sweat dampening his short hair.

"Because!" The wolf hissed. Tobi raised a pale eyebrow.

"Until the alphas have decided if you are allowed to stay, they will be watching all us in case we interfere."

"Interfere?"

"You put us at risk, talking to us. If you try to leave, they'll punish anyone they suspect of helping you!" he whispered urgently. He was drawing back from Tobi as though Tobi was about spit poison at him. Tobi stepped to one side and the man bustled passed, head down, still looking side to side with all the confidence of an escaping convict.

Well. That went... horribly.

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By noon Tobi had largely given up trying to talk to people and instead spent his time exploring the labyrinthine manor. George had an annoying habit of just popping up in whatever room Tobi was exploring, polishing a piece of silverware or dusting shelves. Tobi had the distinct feeling the massive wolf had been sent to keep an eye on him. With every room in found, he couldn't help but be equally impressed and worried.

It was obvious this pack had a lot of money and connections. It wasn't that he thought Holly was a liar, but he had hoped that maybe her opinion on the pack had been coloured by her own experiences of it. It was starting to become clear that she wasn't exaggerating. Everywhere he went smelt of wolf but every now and again, he caught the underlying scent of something much older and earthier. An odd creeping sensation followed him all morning.

By mid-afternoon, Holly still had not come back and Toby he returned to his bedroom, fed up with his overgrown silent babysitter. He grabbed his phone off the charge and brought up a satellite image of the area, studying it closely. The trees of the old forest were so dense that it was impossible to see any dirt roads or pathways even when he zoomed in all the way. There was a squiggly line that promised a road heading north but it stopped about three miles in.

Instead, he looked for the creek he and Anton had walked along yesterday. After a bit of searching, he found it. His heart gave a leap when he saw just how close to the town it went. He bit his lip. He and Holly had said their goodbyes. He knew if there was a chance for him to leave then Holly would be furious if he didn't take it.

He could go into town on the pretence of finding Holly and head straight for the water. It wasn't much of a plan, but it was a plan. He doubted that Anton would expect him to try and leave in the middle of the day without Holly. He turned off his phone, grabbed his wallet and bandana and stuffed them carefully into his jeans pocket. Trying to look relaxed and unruffled, he went in search of George. He wasn't difficult to find as the massive wolf was loitering in the corridor outside his room.

"I want to go into town and wait for Holly to finish her errands, maybe grab a coffee. I don't mind walking, or do I need to organise a car...?" Tobi asked as casually as he could. George blinked dark eyes. The butler pulled out a phone, tapped the screen a few times and then looked down at him again.

"The car will be ready in five minutes," the man rumbled. It was the first time he had heard the wolf talk. The deep tone matched the man's immense frame. Tobi nodded.

"Okay thanks." It was too awkward to stand there so Tobi took himself outside to wait for the car. Close by was a young-looking man pruning rose bush buds. The man glanced up at him and gave the smallest of waves. Tobi waved back. The man's eyes flicked up to somewhere behind Tobi and then quickly dropped back down to the bush he was working on. Without needing to turn around, Tobi could sense George somewhere close on his left. He gave an annoyed huffed and resorted to pretending the man was there.

The car arrived; the driver once again silent as Tobi climbed in. As soon as he opened the door, the hair on his arms rose. He paused; half hunched to climb in.

"Problem, sir?" George rumbled. The smell was immediate and unmistakable. His nose twitched.

"It's nothing," Tobi growled as he climbed in and slammed the door shut. If the driver protested the rough treatment, he said nothing about it. Inside, the smell was much stronger. He sat rigidly in the leather seat. As the car pulled away from the manor, Tobi glanced around, skin prickling. The scent of leather cleaner was thick in the air but it not quite strong enough to erase the strong smell of blood. Tobi studied the upholstery, nails hardening into claws.

Whose blood was it? It wasn't old. Maybe less then a day or so. Could it be Holly's? Had they finally decided she was responsible for Tobi escaping the night before? Was he still going to leave if there was a chance Holly was lying injured somewhere? Bile rose in the back of his throat.

He didn't think it was her blood. He was completely sure, but some part of his instincts told him its wasn't right. George hadn't looked bothered one way or the other when Tobi had mentioned going to meet Holly. Would the massive wolf have said anything if he had known she wasn't there to be found?

The drive into the small town was short and uneventful despite Tobi's increasing unease. He didn't even bother to say good by to the driver, just opened the car door and fucking legged it out onto the street. It took several calming breathes for his heart to stop thudding in his chest. He tried to walk slowly, to stroll down the street like the pretty tourists. He peered into windows with his hands buried in his pockets. Calm. Breathe.

Suddenly he caught sight of someone he recognised. He hurried to catch up.

"Hey, Eliana isn't it?" The teenager turned mid stride; her freckled face brightening with a smile.

"Hi Tobi! Out by yourself today?" she asked happily. She wasn't alone. Her friend had stopped too. He was about her age but looked far more cautious, his green eyes narrowed on Tobi's face. He had a ridiculous sideway sweep to his dark hair as though he thought the mess made him look roguish as apposed to if he had just stepped out of a tumble drier.

"Sort of. I'm just grabbing a coffee whilst Holly finished the last of her errands," Tobi answered, testing the waters. The boy's eyes narrowed further but Eliana nodded, apparently unconcerned.

"She shouldn't be to long. I saw her dropping off some books to Mrs Stevenson half an hour ago." Tobi let out a long breathe. So, Holly was okay. Feeling this would be a fair give away that he was up to something he instead said:

"That's great. I'll stay in town then. See you at dinner." As he turned to walk away, he distinctly heard the boy mutter:

"We shouldn't be talking to him El, he's not pack."

"Come on Dean, Lorena said we should be making friends with new wolves. Besides, what if he stays?"

"Yeah, well, then I would be questioning why his old pack doesn't want him," he hissed. Tobi stiffened. He wanted to turn around, grab the kid by his throat and tell him to go fuck himself. He didn't though. He just kept walking. When he was absolutely sure there was no one from the pack watching him, he pulled out his phone and checked the co-ordinates. If he went out of the small suburb on the westward side, he should find the creek.

He strolled along a bit more, even went into a café and bought himself a coffee which he carried down a side street and abandoned in a trashcan. He tucked the wallet and phone into his bandana and fixed the bandana around his neck. With a deep breathe, he toed off his shoes, stripped off his shirt and allowed the shift.

It was a little strange to be in wolf form in the middle of the day and so close to human civilisation. He trotted quickly off the pavement and into the friendly trees. His heart began to thump again as he entered a thicket of brambles and stopped to listen. He half expected the hunting howl to ring through the warm air. There was nothing though, just the soft sound of wind through pine needles.

He went.

It took so long to find the creek that Tobi was beginning to think he had gone the wrong way. He stepped in, lowered his muzzle and drank, feeling the cool water tugging at his legs. He started down the creek at a steady trot but soon stopped again. Anton had specifically shown him the little water course. He would undoubtably believe Tobi would use it.

The idea that a hound could not follow scent through water had long since been disproven as wishful thinking. The water may dampen his scent a bit, but it would not break the line. Tobi doubled back and got out on the other side. He did his best to leap right out onto the shaly rock so that his pawprint would not show on the soft dark mud right at the bank of the creek bed.

He leapt from rock to rock, trying his best not to leave marks on any soft earth. The sun was already getting lower. It was hard to say but he guessed it was creeping to five in the afternoon. He would not have long before the pack would sit down for dinner and alphas learned he would not be joining them. They would also undoubtably know where he went into the forest.

This thought pushed him to go faster. Where the forest floor gave away to thick leaf litter or rock, Tobi loped, going as fast as he dared whilst dodging anything thorny that might snag his fur.

It was then that he heard the hunting howl.

Hackles rising Tobi paused to listen to the distant howl. It was not yet dinner time. As he broke into a trot his mind raced. It was too early! It had to be that Holly had finished whatever she was doing. Someone, maybe Eliana, maybe George, would have told Lorena or Anton that Tobi had gone into town to meet with Holly. Holly would come out and Tobi wouldn't be there.

He bounded down into a small valley and then straight up the other side, flanks heaving and muscles straining. If he had been able, he would have stopped, checked his current co-ordinates and then pushed on again but he didn't have that luxury. He needed to put as much distance between him and wolves pursuing him. An old exhilarating fear crept down his spine as he ran.

This was it. He wasn't going to get another shot before the full moon. If he were caught here, now, the alphas would not let him leave the manor. That's if they didn't kill him outright. His one advantage was that he had much more of a head start then last time. The howl was a long ways behind and he hadn't left an obvious trail once he had entered the creek.

He leapt onto a fallen log and then paused to listen again. There were faint sounds, but they were quite a way off. He looked down the valley, weighing his options. It would be easier to take the clear deer trail but that would leave a hard scent line to follow. There was much rougher country to the south. It would slow him down, but it would also be much harder for a larger animal to come after him. The risk would be if Lorena headed him off again. He didn't think she could in a vehicle like she had last time. The road he had seen on the map that led to a camping ground was in the opposite direction.

He jumped down and headed for the rough tangle of undergrowth on the lower side. Hollows, thorns and roots made the way painfully slow going. Twice he heard the baying of a hound and the howl of a wolf. When he tried to go faster, he stepped on a bramble branch hidden in a thicket, the thorn pricking his paw pad. He had to stop and carefully back out of it.

He picked his way through until he passed a puddle of foul-smelling stagnant water. He paused at it thoughtfully. Coat hot and damp, his natural scent would be strong. He heaved out a sigh and stepped into the puddle, rolling as best he could without soaking the bandana still wrapped about his neck. He stood, shook and kept going, sneezing ever now and again from the smell. Gross, but necessary.

Every now and again there was the baying of a hound or howl from the pack but to Tobi's excitement, they seemed to be coming from far behind. If they had his trail, they were struggling to stick to it. He didn't stop though. He continued leap and climb, doing his best never to touch soft ground. His muscles were screaming with fatigue and his throat was dry from panting.

Whenever he passed a pool, he would pause only to snatch a few mouthfuls of water before he went on, the sun sinking lower all the time. As he had suspected, there were no booby traps in this part of the forest. It was to close to civilisation where a hiking human may stumble upon it. He was getting farther from pack land and closer to freedom.

As the sun stole down, the thick forest was plunged into darkness. Tobi gave up trying to hide his trail. It was too difficult in the dark. He forgo stealth for speed, galloping where he could down gullies and along fern covered ridges. Sometimes he found a deer trail, other times he had to force his way through chest high heather and bracken.

His blood pumped hot and his tongue lulled as he pushed himself to go faster. Faster. He could still hear the howls on the wind. They sounded deranged, excited and angry. He was pulling away from them and they weren't able to catch up fast enough.

And yet, just once when Tobi paused on one ridge, sides heaving, he had looked back down the way he had come and seen something dark shift in the gloom. He couldn't say if it was a wolf and the air carried nothing to him but as he watched, the shape seemed to slip between the trees on the far end of the valley. He didn't wait to see if it was just his own mind playing tricks on him.

In spite of the red dots of fatigue that danced in his vision, the shaking in his legs and aching in his paws, Tobi kept on going, trotting on and on. Every step took him further from the territory, further from Holly. He did feel guilty, but she had made it clear that she wouldn't or couldn't come with him. The night sounds got louder as the forest floor got darker. He crossed and zigzagged every stream he found to disperse his scent. He would need to stop soon.

Though it was hard to tell, he would guess that he had been moving at nothing slower than a trot for nearly eleven hours. Still, he didn't feel safe. It seemed impossible that anyone could have followed him and yet every time he stopped; he was sure that someone else was in the space behind him. The shadows moved in all directions, encouraged by the night wind and fuelled to be larger by Tobi's exhausted mind.

Finally, he sniffed up an old badger den. It was old, abandoned and small but it would do. He was too weak to continue tonight. He dragged himself into the den. He did little more than fall onto his side, flanks heaving. His eyelids dropped down on their own accord. As Tobi drifted into a deep sleep he could have sworn somewhere in the distance, a howl sought him out.

--

His dreams were strange and restless. He felt himself sinking, paws scrabbling as the earth melted away on either side to swallow him down. He could see himself, his coat ghostly white against the gloom of the earth tunnels and stars. As massive creature filled his world, blue eyes like polish lapis invaded his thoughts.

"Do you think you've escaped?" the voice asked, deep and resonating.

"Yeah, I think so," Tobi thought back snidely.

"It's only distance Tobi. We'll be seeing you soon..."

Tobi woke with a sharp jerk.

He was painfully stiff and sore, not to mention hungry. He lay for several long minutes, just trying to breathe comfortably. The dream swam about like fish in a fast stream. He felt on edge but the more he thought on the dream, the less he could remember. He wiggled out of his makeshift den. The sun was peeking through the trees. It was early and it was quiet. He risked shifting back into human form to retrieve his phone and turn it on to check his co-ordinates.

He had come a long way. A new heading in mind, he turned the phone off, rewrapped the bandana, shifted and started off. With any luck, he could reach the next town before the pack caught up.

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END

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