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Chapter Ten

Theirs

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He half expected Anton to mount him or for the onlookers to want to establish their dominance over the new wolf. In Nathan's pack, fresh meat was free game. To weak to defend themselves after the claiming, new wolves could be brought to the brink of death by the brutality of their new pack.

At least that's how it had been in Nathan's pack.

He had not been expecting Anton to lay beside him, his large tongue lapping at the deep bites. Lorena seemed somewhat calmed by her play. Her licks were far more painful than her mate's, her teeth nipping as Tobi's sore ear and chest, but she nuzzled him all the same.

Timidly, a few older wolves came forward to nip at Tobi's shoulder or lick at his muzzle. His choice to fight Lorena despite the obvious disadvantage had apparently earnt him some respect. They waited until his flanks stopped heaving. When he had caught his breathe, Anton nosed him. Taking the hint, Tobi got shakily to his paws.

'Now, we hunt!' Lorena howled. She spun and charged into the forest, many of the pack following hot on her tail. Anton stayed by Tobi. He looked up the dire wolf.

Was this really happening? In response Anton prowled around him. He could smell the male's excitement but what was stranger was that he could feel the male's excitement too. Tobi had never felt this kind of connection with another being. Supposedly mate bonds were similar, but his own mother had no affection for Tobi's father. They had mated for rank status, not love so no mate bond had ever formed.

'Come.' Anton's command was absolute. Despite his sore paws, Tobi was soon loping after the massive wolf, away from the well-kept lawns and into the friendly trees.

Tobi's experience of pack hunts was very limited. Nathan's pack lands had been nothing like the grandeur of Lorena's and Anton's territory. With very little forest and a pack that loved the contemporary technologies and advancements of human society, Nathan had not conducted true hunts. Instead, most of the senior wolves drank on the full moon. Then, once they decided they were drunk enough, they released a cow onto the pack land. They gave it a blundering few minutes head start before they all descended on the poor animal in a frenzy.

It was less of a hunt and more of a game in torturing the creature. Tobi took some satisfaction in the knowledge that if a wolf like Nathan ever did come nose to muzzle with a wolf like Lorena, he would probably shit himself. As for Tobi, he had always been too small to fight his way to the kill. He and the other youngsters were forced to fight for scraps. As he got older, he stopped bothering. It wasn't worth the injuries.

Injuries made him a target.

Since he had escaped his old pack, he had learnt how to hunt. He had nearly starved to death in the process in that first year. Tobi was too small to take down anything large. Even a young doe could kick, and Tobi just wasn't big enough or strong enough to muscle down an animal that large by himself.

He had gotten by mostly on small game. Voles, rats, stouts, rabbits and the occasional unobservant bird had made up his diet when he had first left. He had made the mistake of eating carrion by the road, desperate and hungry. The memory sent a shiver through him. The old meat had made him violently ill. He learnt from that mistake the hard way.

Now, as he followed Anton's dark shape through the trees, he became aware of a feeling he had not experienced before. It could only really be described as exaltation. He felt alive as he raced through the forest, the pine needles deadening his tread and the cold air seeping into his hot fur. This was how a hunt was meant to be, a test of strength, perseverance, cunning and teamwork. As he picked up on the trail of the herd of deer, he knew which way Anton wanted him to go.

They dropped to a trot, shifting in an out of the huge mossy boulders as they got closer to what Tobi suspected was the clearing. Anton wanted Tobi to be seen, his ghostly white pelt clearly visible even in the gloom. He would spook the herd, turn them into the wind and send them flying down the hill towards the stream and the waiting she-wolf and the rest of the pack.

He and Anton went together, Anton's powerful howl electrifying the air, and identifying their position. As Tobi crested over the last massive boulder, he heard the trumpeting snort of several large buck. Down below, bathed in the moonlight, their heads thrown up, was the herd of spotted deer.

As predicted, at the sight of the white wolf and the enormous shadow that was the male alpha, the herd fled in terror, their tails and hindquarters flanking. Tobi chased them, not getting too close in case the large bucks kicked or turned their antlers to him. Tobi's heart was pounding furiously in his chest, the aches and pains of his fight forgotten in the building heat of the hunt.

His mouth filled with saliva as the sweat of the deer scented the air. Steam was rising off their coats as they thundered down the ridge, leaping the rotten logs that had collected at the bottom. As the larger of the buck jumped to clear a stump, an enormous shadow lunged from its left.

Lorena locked her jaws around the animal's throat. It went down with a shrill noise of panic, legs kicking. In seconds, three more wolves tore from cover to help pin the mammal down. A second noise of distress cut the air as Anton knocked out the back legs of a fleeing doe. The doe scrambled to right herself, but Anton's bulk hit her shoulder, teeth locking into her neck.

The remaining herd fled into the trees, the sound of their hooves growing fainter. The night air was soon field with howls, calling the pack to the clearing where Anton and Lorena stood over the bodies of their kills. Tobi rocked on his paws. Now that the adrenaline high that had sent him madly into the forest was cooling off, he was weary. Memories stopped him from going forward. He could smell the blood and meat. His stomach clenched in hunger.

He shifted. Anton lifted his head, muzzle grizzly with blood. He chuffed. He looked expectantly at Tobi. When Tobi didn't move, he growled. Tobi started violently when something touched his shoulder. Holly had padded up beside him, her tail lowered and submissive. She licked his ear. Apparently whatever scuffle Lorena had with her was over because Holly seemed calm. Tobi sniffed her over, but she wasn't hurt. His own cuts and scrapes were starting to ache. She pushed him gently towards the fallen doe.

The rest of the pack were closing in. He could feel their excitement but there was not the mad frenzied blood lust of his old pack. He watched a couple of pups wrestling, their tails wagging. A tall looking brown female who was apparently the pup's mother was licking at Lorena's muzzle. The giant she-wolf stepped aside and allowed the mother to pull free a large chunk of meat which she carried back to her young. Slowly, cautiously, Tobi came over to where the doe lay.

_'Those who participate in the hunt may eat first along with the pups.'_Anton told him. It was still very strange to hear actual words in his own head. Tobi's ears flattened and he crouched. It was an invasive feeling that he didn't like but there didn't seem anything he could do about it. Holly nudged him again encouragingly. He stepped in beside Anton, the heat of the huge alpha seeping into his shoulder.

Tobi looked hungrily down at the doe but still didn't eat. He watched as Anton lowered his muzzle and began to rip open the chest cavity. Other muzzles, small and large moved in to help themselves. There were a few yips and whimpers, but it was mostly from the young pups who wiggled their way between the adults, begging for the softer scraps.

Tobi swallowed hard. Unable to ignore his hunger anymore, he licked at the shoulder. When there was no pain, no flash of teeth in his direction, Tobi started to eat. He ate with the kind of desperate aggressive hunger of a wolf expected to be pushed from the kill any second. He could feel the stares of a few packmates, but he didn't care. He almost choked on a particularly large hunk of meat.

Anton was suddenly over the top of him, shoving him hard and growling. Tobi's tail swept low in sudden fright. He started the edge away, thinking his turn was done when Anton grabbed him by the scruff and shook him lightly. It was not a vicious sort of attack, more what a parent would do to a misbehaving pup. Tobi gave a small yelp of surprise and fright.

_'Slow down'_came the warning. Anton dropped him and huffed. Tobi shook for a moment. He felt horrendously out of place. This was so far from his usual experience; he couldn't help but expect an attack. Meekly, he went back to the kill. A hot tongue swept over his ear. Anton crouched beside him, licking his frazzle fur until it flattened. Slow, very slowly, Tobi relaxed.

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Tobi was so full; his stomach had a visible bulge. He was laying in the grass, Holly beside him. Around him, the pack was playing or grooming each other. Both kills had been eaten. As Tobi lay quietly, a few wolves he hadn't met before came over to him curiously. Now that he had been officially accepted as pack, they seemed keener to check him out.

Sometime in the early morning an enormous black dog appeared in the clearing. Several of the young pups stopped their play and raced back to their parents. The sentry looked once in Tobi's direction, bowed its pointed head to the alpha and went to sniff at the kills. Tobi watched him for a long moment.

The beast was all muscle with a short black coat. He could see scars, old bites and claw marks long since healed over. He noticed that many of the wolves gave the huge dog a wide birth. There was clearly a story there. Tobi would have to ask Holly once they were back in human form. The rest of the night passed in slow sleepy silence. Tobi dozed, kept warm by Holly's company.

He was nudged away some time before dawn. He got sluggishly to his paws and followed Holly out of the forest and back towards the manor. Many of the others had already vanished for the night. As the sun peaked over the horizon, Tobi felt the animal side of his spirit recede. The shift took quite a bit longer than usual, his body stiff and sore.

"The day after to first full moon is always quiet. They won't expect many of us for breakfast or lunch. Go get some sleep. Don't miss dinner though or they'll go looking for you," Holly warned, picking a few twigs from her long red curls. Tobi nodded sleepily.

"Okay," he slurred. Holly had to practically drag him back to his room. As it was, he nearly went down on the stairs. Once he was inside his room, he collapsed onto the bed and passed out again.

He woke late in the afternoon. Even before he pried his eyes apart, he knew something was wrong. The bite marks on his throat were throbbing painfully. He felt hot and shaky, and the room swayed nastily as he sat up. He stumbled to the bathroom, his mouth pooling with cold saliva. His knees thudded painfully into the tile floor as he flung up the toilet seat just in time.

His stomach purged itself, the sound of the vomit hitting the toilet water enough to set off a second and third round of heaving. His muscles tensed violently, pain flaring in his chest. He hung weakly to the porcelain as he threw up what felt like everything he had ever eaten in the last five years. When it was over, he reached numbly for the toilet paper and blew his nose. The action set of another round of heaving as something solid hit the back of his nasal cavity.

Shaking all over, he slid sideways onto the tile floor. Sitting up set his head to pounding. He must have been there for a while because the bedroom outside was getting darker. He was going to miss dinner if he didn't get up.

He didn't care.

Apparently, someone else did because there was a hastily knock coming from the other room. Tobi stayed where he was. He distantly heard the door open and the sound of heavy shoes on the floor. There was a moment's pause, then the shoes receded, and the door closed again. Tobi closed his eyes weakly. His wasn't left to darkness for long...

"What do you want us to do doctor?" Why the fuck wouldn't people just let him sleep? There was a hand over his sweaty face.

"He's burning up. Have them bring some ice from the kitchens and help me get him in the tub." The sound of an elderly man echoed in the bathroom. Tobi was lifted from the floor. He barely made a sound as he was lowered into the bath, now filled with cold water. He was so out of it he hadn't even heard when they had turned the taps on. He blinked sluggishly.

The faces around him where so blurred, he couldn't even tell what gender they were. He could smell them though, Lorena as dark heavy caramel and Anton as strong black tea. It tickled the back of his throat and burned his already oversensitive nose. His body convulsed.

"Pass me that bin, he's going to be sick again." Something was placed under Tobi's chin as he started to heave again. He couldn't even lift his arms out of the water to hold onto the sides of the bathtub. He probably would have slid under if a pair of strong hands didn't catch him under the arms.

"What's wrong with him?" someone asked.

"He is reacting to the alpha's bite. It can happen sometimes though this reaction is rather violent. Normally a young wolf is born in or bonded with their new alpha early on in life. In the case of a new bite when they marry into a pack, the bond is severed mutually by the alpha of the old pack. Without knowing to much about this boy's history I would hazard a guess he certainly didn't leave with the alpha's consent or that he never carried a proper alpha bond to begin with." There was a pause at these words.

"His old alpha never claimed him?"

"I imagine he was born into the pack but no, for whatever reason, the bond doesn't appear to be reaffirmed as he grew older."

"He has been without a pack for some time then? Longer than we expected?" The voices echoed weirdly. They reverberated at different volumes inside Tobi's aching skull. He made a small noise of protest, but they kept speaking regardless.

"Its difficult to say exactly how long. More than a year."

"Is his life in danger?"

"I doubt it, but this certainly won't be pleasant for him, especially if he continues to fight the bond but he should pull through. He should have someone with him though just in case things turn nasty."

"I'll stay," said a man's voice.

"Anyone but you..." Tobi groaned. He heard Anton snort.

"You don't get a say in this, pup."

"His stomach and throat will be raw for a while. I don't expect him to be able to keep much down. We can only try to keep giving him fluids. Once his temperature has gone down, he can be moved back to the bed. We'll try him on some soup tomorrow."

The bin was taken away and Tobi was allowed to lean back in the water. It already felt as though it were warming against his skin. That changed not long after as he was jolted from a doze at the sound of more voices and ice being dropped into the water. He batted weakly at the hand that bathed him but lost consciousness again before he could protest.

The night was not a peaceful one. He threw up twice more. By three in the morning, his stomach had nothing left to give but its acid and his throat burned horribly. His whole body ached like he'd caught a particularly vile flu. He couldn't take anything for the pain because nothing stayed in his belly, not even the small sips of water he managed in the first few hours of the night. There was no position that was comfortable. He was hot, then cold, then hot again. Eventually, he curled into the fetal position and tried to make his mind go blank.

The smell of the toast Holly brought him for breakfast send him into another fit of heaving. The bites from Anton and Lorena had swollen up and oozed blood on the pillows and sheets. They were incredibly tender to the touch and Anton had taken to gently wrapping his neck in a wet hand towel to soothe the swelling.

The day passed slowly and without any improvement. Tobi couldn't sit up, so he couldn't read but he was also too uncomfortable to sleep and too sick to eat. Anton allowed Holly to visit, and she read to him for an hour. That had been nice before Tobi's headache reached such a pitch that he reluctantly asked her to stop. At dinner time he had attempted a thin chicken soup. It had actually stayed down.

For about an hour.

As the sun disappeared behind the mountains, Tobi settled for another disrupted sleep. He must have managed it because he started to dream. He looked out over a snowy shore front. There were no trees, no houses, just wind and grassy plains and the smell of ice and sea salt. The snow felt wonderful on his hot fur and sore paw pads. Above was a cascade of blackness splashed through with a vibrant spray of stars. He knew without being told that this was his ancestors land when wolves still roamed here.

Tobi had never seen his ancestral land; his mother having been taken to the mainland long before Tobi was born. How could she have left this place? It was desolate in the most breath-taking way. Tobi felt his heart aching at the sight of it. Then ached harder at the knowledge that he probably never would see it. Not now. Not now he was theirs.

He woke with his teeth bared, snapping at the hand looming over him in the dark. Anton was still beside him. He could see the man's impressive outline against the moonlight of the window outside.

"Shouldn't you be with the pack?" Tobi rasped. He could hear the pack's howls. Apparently, Anton had allowed the window to be opened a little for fresh air. With another full moon, the pack would surely be running the forest again.

"Lorena is with them,' Anton said simply. Even ill, Tobi couldn't ignore the man's presence. He stared up at the ceiling, muscles twitching. The bites on his neck throbbing with every beat of his heart. He could feel the man's eyes on him.

"Why me?" Tobi said finally.

"You have qualities we are looking for."

"Hairdressers are not that rare," Tobi muttered. Anton chuckled, his voice coming out in its deep malaises rumble.

"We both know you are much more than that. There's no point in hiding it. The entire pack has seen you now. You need to stop fighting us Tobi. You belong to us now," Anton murmured, running his fingers through Tobi's hair as though he were a favoured pet. Tobi showed his teeth, the only act of rebellion he could force from his weak body. Anton chuckled.

"You're ours," he purred again, and the word seemed to echo and reverberate through Tobi's head. Ours.

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END

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