Running with Wolves Ch. 05

A huge thank you to all of those who voted and commented on my last chapter of RwW. Please continue to send me your feedback, both positive and negative. They are both a great help. As usual, a big thank you to my editors MarieFlower and mordbrand for cleaning up my chapter. It's a bit shorter this time but I hope it is still worth it! Enjoy.

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Flint sat in the passenger seat of one of the SUVs, still waiting for everyone to finish getting ready to leave the abandoned airstrip and head back to the Den. He had his door open and his legs hanging out the side so he could face his father, who was leaning against the vehicle next to him. Next to Flint stood his brother, Cole, dressed and mirroring their father's stance against their own vehicle. He could see his mother out of the corner of his eye talking with Misty, the twins, and Augustine about what was going to happen when they got back to the Den. When they did finally manage to get back it would mark an end to the insanity that had been the past 10 hours.

"You are having quite a night, Orion," Lily Pine Glen chuckled. Orion grunted and shook his head, still leaning up against the side of an SUV. "First your daughter finds her Destined, a human one at that, and then he escapes, only to end up leading you to a Sistema. I had heard of things such as this as a child, but I had grown to believe them to be legends. Luna must truly hold favor for the next generation of your pack."

"A Sistema, Madam Alpha? What is that?" Cole asked. Always the curious one.

She smiled at him, the gentle creases of her face becoming more pronounced. "It is said that when a human is born to become a wolf's mate, they are given a sort of, gift, I guess you could say, in order to help them survive so they can find their other half. It is believed this gift can draw Destines together, creating a cluster of them in one group. It is called a Sistema."

Flint had heard the term before. He had spent many hours alone in his parent's library and study, reading their books and journals containing common Were and their own specific pack's history. He knew that finding a human Destined wasn't uncommon, but it was infrequent enough that it was still a big deal when it happened. There had been a few documented cases of two Destines being found at the same time, but those were almost always sibling pairs. Very rarely were the two unrelated and just coincidently together at one time. But three Destines together in one group that had just happened upon each other? There had been one Sistema many, many years ago according to the records, but it was not well documented and many believed it had been sisters or cousins and not singular Destines that had found each other. There hadn't been one in so long many didn't believe in them any more.

Ash Pine Glen came walking around the back of the SUV, having been sorting out his own pack over the phone. They were antsy back in the city, worried and wondering about what was going on with their Alpha. "Alright Orion. I need to be getting back to my own people. May we speak with your runaway now?"

Orion sighed and straightened. "I apologize for the delay Alpha Ash. I understand there is much to do now that the treaties have been signed. I hope the incidents tonight have not put ours in jeopardy before the ink has even dried."

The old wolf raised his hand in a dismissive manner, but smiled slightly. "None of this could have been foreseen or was done with malicious intent, Orion. There is no reason to worry about our borders. I simply wish to speak with the boy, as is required by the new treaty. If we do not lead by example and hold to their guidelines strictly, all the work we have done will fall apart before it has time to take hold."

Orion's body slightly relaxed in relief, which only Flint noticed. The worry of whether or not Pine Glen would reignite the fighting had been weighing heavily on his parents. To hear the neighboring Alpha was not going to go to war over this was a relief to him. "Then let us go, so that we may both return to our Dens."

They both turned to leave, Lily shadowing close behind. Flint considered following but even the thought of moving exhausted him. So he sat right in the car and closed his eyes, his brother's soothing growl lulling him to sleep quickly.

*

Two cars away, Dominic sat with an arm around Samantha inside one of the large expensive cars. They smelt new, or at least not often used. It tickled his nose, making him want to sneeze. His new bandages itched slightly and the sling they had put him in was annoying, but he was warm and he could see Ben, Garrett, and Jarod in the car next to him safe and unharmed, so he was relaxed.

Outside in the light of the new dawn, he could see Sol's back turned to him. In front of her, along with some others he hadn't remembered the names of, was Misty. She really was beautiful, all soft and slightly curved with an infrastructure of steel, if her grip was any indication. The shirt she put on after her dress had been destroyed was big on her, the collar drooping down to show a peek of clavicle and shoulder but otherwise hid her figure under the excess fabric. Ever since confronting him about his sexual orientation, her confident stature had drooped a bit, like she got a C- on a test she thought she had done well on. That analogy, for some reason, seemed to fit her far better than he intended it to.

Dominic was so focused on Misty that he startled when someone knocked on the window opposite him. He looked over to see Orion through the tinted glass. The big man gestured for him to come out, so Dominic eased his arm from around Samantha's sleeping form and pulled the latch of the door. When he slipped out, she stirred, but stayed asleep. Penny lay next to her on the seat surrounded by a blanket to keep her in place. They would be fine for a moment.

Orion had moved to the back of the car where a man and woman Dominic did not recognize already stood. The man was older looking, his black hair pushed back with white starting above his sideburns and moving up to his temple before sprinkling in throughout, a slightly droopy mouth, and round nose. He was also tall, maybe 6'7", and his eyes were a bright hazel. Dominic assumed all werewolves shared that trait. Good to know.

The woman with him was lovely in her blue off-the-shoulder dress. It was covered in rhinestones, making her 5'11" frame sparkle whenever every she moved. Her white hair was done up in large curls that framed her soft face and stopped just below her chin. She was the type of woman Dominic could see giving you a nice welcoming smile with a lovely personality while running her mob family with an iron fist.

Orion lifted his hand towards the strangers. "Dominic, I would like to introduce you to Alpha Ash Pine Glen, and his mate, Madam Alpha Lily Pine Glen. They are the Alphas of the territory the Mayfield Estate now resides on, and therefore are its owners."

Dominic nodded, understanding now why he was being introduced. "Sorry about the gate, and the car, and your guy I tranquilized, and your party. Didn't mean to crash it."

The man, Ash, smirked a bit. "Well, considering it wasn't my party, I have no issue with that. The men and van were not mine either, so you will have to speak with Alpha Orion about those incidences. I only wish to speak with you about the gate. You did quite a number on it."

"If you are expecting me to pay for it, I can't. We have about 80 dollars to our names, which I highly doubt will cover the cost. I could work for you until my debt is paid if you would let me." Dominic rubbed at the new bandages, feeling slightly embarrassed. He began calculating in his head how long it would take to work off what was probably a very expensive gate, factoring in the five to six weeks Garret had said it would take to heal.

Lily laughed lightly. She had a sweet laugh. "Oh dear, there is no need for that. Orion has already taken care of that, as the Alpha should. We simply sought to speak with you on the matter and receive an apology, which we now have. Your reasons for doing as you did warrant a bit of grace on our part." She stepped forward and placed both hands on Dominic's face. "Do not worry about what it took to get to this point. Just focus on becoming a wonderful new pack member and everything else will fall into place."

A feeling of warmth spread though Dominic as she smiled at him, and he had the sudden urge to cry. Only one other woman had ever looked at him like she did, like he was worth something, and it had not been his mother. He dropped his eyes quickly and just nodded once in agreement. She patted him lightly on the cheek.

"Mate, I believe we received what we came for." Alpha Ash suddenly whistled very loudly. Dominic watched as men and women gathered from the darkness all around them.

'They must be the security detail.'

The Madam Alpha gave Dom one last smile, then turned to go and linked arms with her mate. She gave him one last glance. "It was wonderful meeting you, Dominic."

"You as well, Madam Alpha." He hoped he addressed her correctly.

Once they were out of sight, Dominic looked to Orion. He looked more relaxed than before. "What was that about? They came all the way out here, just for an apology?"

Orion nodded. "You will learn more on this later, but the gathering you interrupted was a celebration of the war between our people finally ending. We signed all the treaties this morning. However, there are some that are not happy with this, so we are all having to be very strict about following the guidelines of our agreements. If we do not, then those who are against peace will use it as an excuse to get out of their own. They will reason that why should they have to follow their treaties when we are not?"

"It makes things tedious, but it is a small price to pay for peace." Sol walked up to them, apparently finished with her conversation. "Dominic, I must speak with you."

Dominic narrowed his eyes a bit. "What the hell is going on, Sol? Why were those three all over Samantha and Ben?"

"That, is what it is supposed to look like when a wolf finds their mate."

Dominic started a bit. "So it's true..."

"Yes, both of your friends are Destined Mates to wolves of our pack. Now, under normal circumstances, the wolf would immediately take their human into their home and into seclusion until the bond is complete and the human is turned, however," Sol put her hand up when Dominic went to argue. "these are not normal circumstances. So what we will do, is all of you will be taken to our Den, but kept separate for a time in your own dwelling. We will integrate you all into the pack gradually, but, Dominic, I must warn you. We cannot keep up this arrangement for long. The longer you and your friends are left unturned, the more difficult this whole situation will become."

Dominic pushed a hand through his hair. "I don't like this. None of us wanted this, Sol, and now you're telling me none of us have a choice?" He was supposed to be the only one affected by this, now his entire family was being taken in by werewolves and half of them were apparently going to apparently be married off to them. He should have never come here.

"I know this is not what you want to hear, but there is nothing you or any of us could have done to change it. Just give it some time and you will see that you can have a home with us, a real home, Dominic."

That got to him a bit. Make this place a home? An actual home? They had been trying to find a place like that for so long, ever since they struck out on their own. Maybe they could actually turn this around and create something from it.

Dominic shook his head. All of this was happening too fast. He knew it. "I know we cannot fight, or run from you, but you have to understand something, Sol. I agreed to come with you because we have no other choice. That is all I agreed to do. Whether or not I agree to this mating thing is a different matter all together. You can't force us to do anything."

Sol nodded. "I understand."

"No," Dominic stared her dead in the eye. "you don't."

*

The sun was just cresting over the over the mountains when the wolves had finally finished clearing out any trace that Dominic and his group had ever been there. The Grinch would assume they had just left, and other than him there was no one else who would even notice they were gone. From this moment on, they were ghosts in the world.

Not that that it was much different than how they were before.

Dominic was in the back in the SUV with Samantha and Penny. Cliff was driving them down the old road leading away from the airstrip, a woman named June next to him in the passenger seat. Everyone was quiet as they made their way back in the direction of the city.

Samantha glanced around as the trees blurred around them. "Where are we going?"

June glanced at them in the rearview mirror. "To the Den."

"I know that, I just meant where exactly? This road leads to the city. Is that where you live?"

"Oh, no, we don't live in the city. Too crowded and polluted. Our home is located in the Nature Reserve. The airstrip you have been living in is right on the edge of the neutral zone between two wolf territories. You are lucky you were so close to our side and that no one has noticed your presence up until now. The Birch Pack is not fond of humans on or near their territory. Neither is ours for that matter." That didn't sound promising.

The vehicle made a hard right onto a service road. Dominic had noticed it before but never had the inclination to go down it. The reason being that not far down the road, around a short bend, there was a tall chain-link fence barring the road that extended out to block a good distance of forest on each side. Their SUV paused behind the lead car at the security gate. As they rolled to a stop, Dominic noticed that none of the people from the two cars ahead of them were getting out to open it. They waited for some time, just idling in place. It got to the point that Dominic was about to ask what they were waiting for, when a movement in the trees caught his eye.

A woman came weaving through the trees and onto the path on the other side of the gate, out of breath with a huge smile on her face. She was dressed in a basic black tank and camouflage cargo pants with her hair tied back in a tight ponytail and a radio attached to her waist. Not two seconds later, a massive wolf came bounding after her. It was down on all four paws, mouth open and tongue hanging out one side. The large animal was running so quickly that it ended up overshooting the road. He tried to stop his forward momentum, but ended up sliding sideways on a muddy patch and back into the trees on the other side of the road, tumbling with a yelp out of sight. The woman stopped and looked back, doubling over in laughter. The lead car honked its horn in impatience and she spun around, continuing to the gate while still laughing.

Cliff scoffed out a low laugh. "Damn children, the lot of 'em. We'll be lucky if they haven't burned the whole place down."

June chuckled. "You're telling me. At least Thorn and Cascade were here to watch over them."

The light brown wolf, now considerably darker from his roll in the mud, came barreling out of the trees once again, trying to catch up with his companion. Only to once again gain too much momentum and start to slide when he tried to stop. The woman barely got out of the way in time to not get flattened against the fence.

"Then again, they might have been overrun and tied to chairs in the main hall." Cliff commented.

Finally, the girl got the gate open and swung wide enough so the cars would fit through. The SUV rocked forward, the wheels taking a moment to catch before gaining traction and pulling them forward. As they passed through the gate, Dominic looked over to the two outside. Even with the tinted glass, he could tell they could see him. Her eyes grew wide, and the wolf's nose began twitching towards their cars.

They gained speed and the trees began to blur again. It was a pretty drive with the trees changing color to bright yellows and reds. The sun was beginning to filter through the canopy, creating little spotlights all over the road. The pavement gently curved back and forth as they travelled onward, lulling Dominic to the edge of sleep but not enough to actually get his brain to shut down. The nap he had gotten on Garrett's shoulder would end up keeping him awake for at least the day. He needed to keep his brain occupied.

"So what's this Den place like? Does it look like what it sounds like?"

"Well, not anymore." June turned slightly sideways in her seat so she could look directly at them. "At one point a long time ago, our Dens probably did closely resemble a domestic wolf's den. With the wars going on, structures were often simply built because raids and battles would end up destroying them. So they were either very primitive in construction or dug into the ground. Caves were also used, but if a pack was caught unaware, they could be easily trapped inside and picked off, or burned alive. With modern technology, that isn't, or I guess I should say wasn't, so much an issue anymore. We are able to better protect the perimeter of our main living space far better with it, so we now live in a far more permanent structure. Our home is quite large, and we added to it some years ago, so it is even bigger now."

"Sounds like an interesting place." They continued to talk about the Den as the caravan sped on. Apparently about three decades ago there was a large quantity of wolf Destines that had been brought to their pack, and the sudden burst in population had forced them to add on more housing. June mused out loud that she wasn't sure where Madam Alpha Sol was going to put the new group of humans that wasn't dead center of the pack. Evidently they were going to have to shuffle some people around once they got there.

It was quiet for some time after that as they drove for over two hours through the thick woods. As they continued on deeper into the woods, Dominic began seeing flickers of movement in the dense trees around them. It was just a flash of gray or brown every once in a while, then more frequent, until soon he realized they were completely surrounded by giant wolves, all running with the caravan. They were vocalizing to each other; a cacophony of growls, barks, and yelps, all layering over each other and growing louder with each wolf that joined the movement. It was an uncomfortable feeling, having so many surrounding them and making such a considerable amount of noise. Samantha started to shake a bit against Dominic's side, pulling Penny close.

"We'll be fine." She looked up as Dominic spoke. "Just breathe. I won't let anything happen to you."

She smiled up at him, relaxing back against his side. When he looked back up, he caught Cliff staring at him in the mirror. The werewolf quickly averted his eyes back to the road. Dominic just adjusted the two girls closer.

It was a smooth drive, considering. The pavement felt newer than what they had been driving on before. Whatever they were headed to, it was getting close.

They made a sharp turn. Without warning, the dense trees gave way, and Dominic was faced with what could have passed as an early 19th century university campus.

The building was massive, easily three stories from the looks of the front. The brick it was made of was slightly worn, and dulled to a brownish-gray from time and exposer to the elements. Moss had taken root on the walls, adding some vibrant color. In front was a set of double doors underneath a stone porch that took up the center third of the building's front. Above the door was a round stained glass window with some kind of symbol formed in the artisan decorative piece. It looked like a roughly shaped pentagon made of blue glass with the grey and white shape of a forward facing wolf in the center.