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.