Running with Wolves Ch. 22

"What happened, Samantha? Ben told me the gist of it, but there has to be more to it."

A single tear fell from her eye, but she quickly wiped it away. "There's no excuse for the way we handled you being gone, Dominic. I know that Ben probably told you about Jarod, but it wasn't completely his fault.

"None of us were empathetic to him; we didn't work with him or help him with his problems, we just got frustrated with his OCD. With his anger. We couldn't deal with our own shit, so we used Jarod as an escape to vent our frustration. We turned on him, Dom. At the moment we all needed each other the most, we shattered under the pressure." She was in full tears now, hiccupping lightly as she clutched his arm. "We were horrible to him, and now he's gone. Everyone is gone."

Dominic shook his head and embraced Samantha more fully. He pulled her against his chest, tucking her chin beneath his chin while his hands rubbed her back. She continued to apologize while he soothed her, giving her the time she needed to grieve. Ben, who had stayed silent, was also shedding tears. His wide shoulders were shaking as he tried to hold them in.

"Everything will work out. We just need to get everyone back together and work it all out."

Samantha's tears fell harder. "But how? We don't even know where Jarod is."

"Well, I doubt Sol and Orion just let him loose in the city. I'm sure they will let us know where he is." Dominic called out, and after a second's pause Thunder opened the door. They obviously hadn't gone far to have their talk. "Thunder, is there a chance your people in the city can find Jarod?"

Thunder nodded. "He has been hard to keep an eye on because he refuses to stay put, however he was warned about leaving the city. It won't take us long to pinpoint his exact location."

Dominic smiled. "See? All we have to do is go and we can sort this whole mess out."

It didn't look like Samantha believed him fully, but she smiled back anyway. They would fix this. Dominic swore it to himself that he would.

*

Flint flinched as a heavy hand slammed with three large thumps against his bedroom door. He slid sideways away from Garrett, who had been using his thigh as a pillow while he read. He instantly missed his Destined's warmth, but they couldn't slip up again; things were already tenuous as it was.

Next to him on the bed, Garrett snapped the old classic shut and eyed the door with suspicion. He noticed it too. Those knocks were not that of the Omegas that brought them food, nor those of Flint's parents. There wasn't supposed to be any one else coming to see them.

"Would you hurry the fuck up?" There were more loud bangs on the door. Flint instantly calmed hearing Ben's crass language through the thick insulated door. Garrett popped up quickly and lightly jogged to open the door. Flint used the time to allow himself and his wolf the pleasure of caressing him with their eyes. He had a lovely back that swooped into the drooping rise of his jeans.

He must have felt it because just before opening the door Garrett looked back and lifted a suggestive brow. Flint flushed deeply at being caught. His Destined only laughed and unlocked the door. His expression dulled significantly as his pack member came into view. "Hey."

Ben shifted. "Hey." They stood silently for a moment, Garret staring neutrally at Ben, while Ben did everything he could to avoid eye contact. "Dominic is back. He's trying to get the band back together. He asked if I would come get you." Garrett just continued to gaze neutrally at him. It was clear Ben's discomfort was rising as the seconds ticked by. "Aren't you going to say anything?"

Flint's eyes shot wide as Garrett slammed the door is his friends face. There was a string a muffled curses and another, more aggressive bang on the door that was more out of anger than a desire to get in.

"Don't you think that was a bit harsh?" Flint snapped his mouth shut as Garrett turned a steely gaze to him. He had to remind himself that, though he was a part of Dominic's pack, he was not yet part of their family. This was not something he could input on.

There was silence for a long moment. Garrett stayed by the door, leaning against it with his arms folded over his bare chest and his legs crossed at the ankles. His grey eyes were closed while his pony tail acted as a cushion between his head and the wood. He stood patiently until there was another, much lighter knock. He straightened up, but waited another few seconds before opening the door just wide enough for them to see each other. He wasn't going to give Ben an inch.

Flint couldn't see Ben, but he could tell by his voice and the sound of his feet shuffling against the carpet that he was uncomfortable with being forced to say what it was Garrett wanted him to say. "Look... Dom didn't send me over here. He was going to come, but I volunteered to bring you over." Garrett continued with his silence, but he relented somewhat with a lifting of one dark blonde brow. "I know you're pissed at me-" That got a snort out of Garrett, and Flint guessed he received a glare in return from the resulting short silence. "I'm sorry, okay? I know I fucked up. You were trying to keep shit together, and I wasn't helping. Now can you stop being pissed at me and come back?"

Flint held his breath as he waited for the answer.

"Give me a second to change." Garrett went to close the door, then stopped. "We aren't okay, Ben. We still need to talk." The door thudded shut before there was any response. Flint sighed, somewhat relieved to see some mending of Dominic's pack.

It had been a few weeks since the incident with the twins and Jarod. Thunder had been just as much in the wrong by attacking another pack as Flint was for harming him. Even if Samantha was his Destined, he had no right to intervene in another packs business, especially a nonphysical confrontation. However, hurting him in retaliation could have caused a serious incident, something like those of the international variety.

Flint had felt insanely guilty for hurting someone who had been kind to him while he had still been unable to shift. It took him over a week to go to Storm to ask forgiveness, but the powerful Beta had been quick to offer his own apology first. Things between them had smoothed over quickly after that.

What had not smoothed over were the relationships within Dominic's family. Garrett had been trying to keep everyone together since the moment Dominic lost control. In any other group he may have succeeded, but this was not a normal group and he was not dealing with a normal situation. This was a Sistema, a group of people with stronger instincts than your average human who had been living together under the guidance of one of their kind. They may not have realized it, but having Dominic gone was like the Five Rivers Pack losing Sol and Orion; they slowly came apart as a pack.

The day after the confrontation that left Storm hurt, Sol and Orion had come to discuss the situation and how things were going to be handled. Since then the interaction in the group had been sporadic and tense at best, because of the fight that had occurred during the meeting between the three remaining males of the group.

Jarod had decided to take the opportunity to try and convince the Alphas there was no reason for him to be residing in the Den. Garrett had protested to try and change Jarod's mind, but Ben interrupted, saying he should leave. The room had erupted. Ben and Jarod went at one another with a vengeance, and Garrett's own stress led him to fall into the trap as well. It had dissolved into a screaming match that turned into an all-out brawl. Flint had pulled off Garrett, dragging him kicking and screaming from the sitting room and down the hall.

"I can't take this..." Garrett had clutched Flint around the neck, whispering his grief into his neck. He had tried to focus on comforting his Destined, but feeling his hot breath on such an intimate place had been hard to ignore.

Flint had done his best to give comfort. "Everything will be fine. Dominic will over take his wolf soon and then he will come back."

Garrett had shaken his head, but pulled back to smile in gratitude anyway.

In that moment, seeing Garrett's red rimmed eyes and wet cheeks, he looked so beautiful Flint couldn't help but lick some of the moisture from his cheeks. It was not meant to be anything sexual, just something two close Were would do for one another, but it had sparked something in Garrett. As he had moved from one cheek to the other, his head had darted forward and their lips had met in a gentle kiss. The casualty of it had quickly changed, becoming something of a desperate clamor to share as much of their pent up feelings as possible.

Being eight inches taller than his Destined had given Flint the advantage of leverage, and he quickly had Garrett against the hallway wall. Their tongues clashed awkwardly against one another, trying to find a rhythm. Garrett had taken the more submissive stance, letting Flint test and taste all he liked. He tasted like an ocean breeze; clean, crisp, with an undertone of wood and salt. It traveled from his lungs to his head, just as the tiny mewing noises Garrett emitted traveled right to Flint's swelling member.

With his Destined up against the wall, their tongues thoroughly engaged, and their pelvises grinding against each other to relieve some of the pressure, neither man noticed the footsteps coming towards them, or the stunned intake of breath from the Were that usually stood guard out in the main hall. It wasn't until Flint caught Fog's scent that he flung himself away from a dreamy eyed Garrett and stood staring back at the big Beta with growing panic. Only after Sol's direct orders with her full authority did that feeling begin to subside.

"Hey. Flint, we need to go." Suddenly, Garrett was within inches of Flint's face, waving to get his attention. Flint flinched, only to regret it as it yanked the coarse denim of his pants against his groin. Garrett glanced down, seeing the evidence of his arousal before he could hide it.

Garrett smirked with a devilish look in his eye. "I was wondering what you were spacing out about." He leaned in just close enough they could feel each other's breath on their lips. "Maybe later I'll follow through. No biting though." And with that he swiftly leaned down and nipped Flint on the chest before yanking on his polo and heading for the door.

Flint was stunned for a moment. "Hey, no fair!" He couldn't walk right as he made his way after his Destined, limping and shuffling to try and avoid the unpleasant sensation of his jeans scratching his more delicate flesh.

Ben was still in the hallway and looked thoroughly annoyed by the teasing the two exchanged as they made their way to go see Dominic. Garrett and Flint had to be extremely careful when they were out of the privacy of their room so as not to ignite suspicion in anyone else. Fog was enough of a risk, but that did not stop them from sharing loaded glances and lingering touches. Needless to say, Flint's erection was not fully gone when they made it to the old sitting room.

Ben entered with a bang, smacking the door open in a show of agitation. Garrett ignored his outburst, focusing instead on hugging Samantha who rose to greet them. Flint was surprised to see Thunder there as well. He had not seen either twin since he had gone to apologize.

"Flint." The highest ranking Beta of the pack greeted him with what Flint could only recognize as nervousness. That did not bode well.

"Thunder, it is good to see you. How is Storm?"

"My brother is healing fine. He is the reason I asked to speak with you, Alpha Dominic, Madam Alpha Misty."

Over to the right, there had been a quiet but heartfelt excited gathering. Garrett was holding Dominic tight in a vice like hug, whispering words of apology and gratitude that he was back. Dominic held his back just as tightly. With one last squeeze, he turned to answer Thunder.

"I'm glad he is doing better. This entire situation is kind of a mess." He went to sit done in one of the new chairs the Omegas had brought in after the incident. Flint and the twins had really thrashed the apartment, breaking almost all of the furniture and damaging the walls and bookshelves. It had all been fixed, of course, and all of the blood had been removed from the floors and walls. There was only the faintest trace of heavy cleaner in the air.

Everyone followed his lead of getting comfortable. Misty placed herself right next to Dominic, unwilling to let anyone else place themselves at his right. Garrett settled on his friends left with Samantha curling up on the couch next to him, and Ben took up his customary place against the wall, arms crossed and eyes alert. Flint sat next to Garrett, but made sure to stay at a proper distance; Thunder was not a part of their pack.

Thunder stayed standing, his chin slightly tucked and shoulders forward. It was appropriate when dealing with another Alpha, but looking at Dominic, it was clear he had no idea. It was only made clearer when he said. "You can sit down, Thunder. And I'm not an Alpha, so you can stop calling me that."

Thunder, understanding who he was dealing with, gave a bit of a shake of his head. He stayed standing. "Until such time that you accept Madam Alpha Sol's invitation to join Five Rivers Pack, you shall be treated with the respect of an Alpha. This is your pack, and I must address it as such.

"My brother and I attacked one of your people. It was provoked by a need to protect our Destined, but it was not a justified action. We humbly beg your forgiveness, and will accept any punishment you demand of us."

From beside him, Samantha shifted uncomfortably. "Thunder, what are you talking about? You didn't say anything about this." Thunder silenced her with a look.

"We attacked you in your home, destroying it, and harmed your pack. You are within your rights to demand compensation from our possessions and our bodies."

Flint was not surprised by the offer Thunder gave to them; it was customary within Were culture. But looking around the room he realized that the others would not understand. He was about to explain when Misty leaned in close to Dominic.

"We are allowed to demand equal and a half in compensation. If they damaged our possessions, they must replace them plus half. It is the same with their bodies. What they did in damage to Jarod and Flint, we are allowed to extract the same damage and-"

"Half. I got it." Dominic did not look comfortable with the decision being placed on him. He glanced around the room, letting out a deep sigh. "Everything in here is fine. I don't need anything like that from you anyway. You said you could find Jarod, right?" Thunder nodded. "When you find him, tell me where he is and we'll call this square. I'll go get him as soon as you find him."

The relief in Thunder's posture was noticeable. He said a quick thank you before kissing Samantha on the forehead and leaving. She promised to be back soon.

The silence that filled Thunder's absence was strange. It was a mix of feelings, culminating in an odd and uncomfortable weight on everyone in the room. It wasn't broken until Dominic finally spoke. "Everything really is fucked up, isn't it?"

There was a pain in his voice Flint had never heard. It was the pain of someone who had realized that a relationship they had been trying to save for a long time had been over for far longer than that, and they had just never noticed. Samantha tried to speak, but her words never came. Behind them, Ben's fists tightened into solid balls.

After a time, it was only Garrett who was able to muster up a response. "We fell apart. I don't know what all everyone has told you, but it boils down to that we couldn't keep our shit together. As soon as the first domino fell, we all toppled over."

With a deep sigh, their friend and sometimes leader leaned forward and rubbed his face in exhaustion. "We need to fix this. We've been through too much shit together to break away now." He flopped back again, turning his eyes to everyone. "Jarod is probably squatting. Once they find him I'm going to go and bring him back so we can sort this out with him."

Garrett shifted. "Jarod wasn't the only issue. All of us need to take responsibility for our part in this." He didn't say any names, but even so Flint knew his words were being directed at Ben.

Dominic noticed it too. "I was thinking we should wait until everyone was together, but should we all just hash it out right now?" His tone dared for someone to make this a confrontation.

Garrett was going to respond, but Ben beat him to it. It was clear being called out like that had struck a nerve, but his words were surprising. "I know I fucked us all up. If I had kept my shit together, we probably would have done a lot better." He wouldn't make eye contact with anyone, choosing instead to stare at the floor. "I want to go with you, Dom. I need to make this right."

There was a short silence as everyone took in and excepted what Ben had said.

"Actually, Dominic, I need to go into the city as well." Flint had raised his hand as if he were in class again. He blushed and tried to discretely put it down. "There is a friend I need to talk to about Garrett and my situation. If we don't act soon things could become worse."

Hearing his worry made Dominic worry. "Have things gotten worse since I left?"

Garrett shrugged one shoulder. "We were caught kissing by Fog. Sol has taken care of it for now but if her authority over him slips even a bit he will be able to tell someone what he saw and it will get really bad for us."

"When was this?"

Garrett gave Ben a brief glance. "I was pretty emotionally drained by the time the fight happened and when Ben and Jarod stated getting into it I snapped. Flint backed me off and took me to where I could cool down."

Dominic lifted one brow. "And you ended up sucking his face?"

Flint blushed bright when Garrett's face split into a shit eating grin. "I was emotional and he took advantage. If Fog hadn't come up on us, I think he would have taken me right there. It's almost too bad we were in a camera blind spot; I would have liked to have that video." There were a few subdued laughs all around, but the reality was not lost on them. He and Garrett would not be safe in the Den much longer. They needed to find a solution, and quickly.

*

For a few hours they sat and talked about the time Dominic had been away. Samantha was glad he was back, but nervous as well. A lot had happened since he had left; things between her and the twins. When conversation started winding down, she stood up and as casually as possible went over to Dominic. "Hey, can I talk to you for a sec?"

He looked up and smiled at her, and for the first time she noticed his eyes weren't quite the same as they had been before. Before they had been a deep rich blue. Now, around his pupil, was a gold to green band that was barely noticeable unless you were looking right at them. It unnerved her, but she could still see her Dominic in there. He was just changing a little, just like her. They were all doing it on some level.

"Sure." He slowly got to his feet, only to sway a bit when he reached his full height. He was massively tall now; Samantha only reached his chest where before his chin just grazed the top of her head. Just another difference in him. "But not too long. I'm starting to fade." Maybe not so different.

They went to their old room, a bitter sweet thing for her. They had lived together for so long, laying side by side first for warmth and comfort, then so he could help with Penny. He had done everything she needed of him, and more, but now she felt as if she were betraying him. It broke her heart.