The Home

Fourteen

Alexander woke at first light. He flipped over in his bed, grumbling. If he wasn't going to be living in that stupid village anymore, why should he bother waking up at the same time that they would?

He sighed and stood, pulling on a crisp new white v-neck shirt. Pure cotton, exactly how he liked it. He stretched slowly, feeling it tug at all of his muscles, and then paused. He knew the auras of everyone who was in the home by now. Yet he felt something new, something magnetic.

He ran his fingers through his hair and stepped out onto the landing, investigating the room next to his. It smelled like dog. His face scrunched in disgust and he ambled downstairs, past Abby's study and the library, and to the front door. It was bolted shut. Alex opened it with ease and glanced around for the wolf, wondering where he'd gotten off to. Maybe he should go find him.

-----------------


Damn it, Rollin grumbled, curling his legs into his body. He breathed in the damp earth and groaned; God was he sore. It felt like the top layer of his skin had been ripped off while he ran up a mountain of sand. He felt the last tingling of werewolf magic slip off his body as he fell further into the ground. His muscles ached something awful, and he knew that he would curse up a storm if anyone dared touch his skin.

"You mother fucker," he spat at the wolf.

He took a moment before he decided to take in his surroundings. He looked passed the carcass, and saw trees upon trees; green, orange and brown. A bird sang as the leaves and his hair rustled with the wind. He sighed and laid his head back down, closing his eyes. Just for an hour or two...

-----------------


Alex loved the forest. Maybe it was an elf thing, some one with nature bullshit or something. And he was, sort of. Touching a tree let him sense all the nearby life, sentient being or simple plant. He was himself most when he was enveloped in its warm light. It would always be home to him.

He followed the scent of dog through the forest, touching the trees occasionally to make sure he was going the right way. The wolf had romped throughout the entire forest, doubling over his own scent and making it harder to find him through smell alone. Annoyance passed through Alex's mind as he glanced around the thick trees. Wolves were so annoying. Always paranoid, running around and destroying things. He paused next to a torn plant and kneeled, fueling a gentle healing spell through his fingertips and returning the plant to like-new.

He stood again and moved through the forest at a slow, steady pace. He wasn't in any rush to head back to the Home, and it needed an escape. A way to vent frustration. A drink, sex, something, anything.

The smell of dead animal turned Alex's nose and he followed it to its source, pausing at the sight laid out before him. The wolf - rather, the human who on occasion turned into a wolf - lay bare, a half eaten deer next to him. Alex made a slight gagging noise and nudged the wolf's foot.

Rollin breathed in and smelt the damp earth, the bark of a tree—or rather, multiple trees—and a decaying deer? No wonder I slept like the dead. The small hairs on the back of his neck lifted. His wolf was prowling; he didn't like to be below anybody. Rollin opened his eyes, and with his sharp vision, he saw the sunlight showing through the tops of trees. Seeing the shadow above him, he stood as quickly as his 'magic' allowed. He was not some lowly wolf. His teeth snapped when he felt the first stages of a shift. When he finally saw the lanky male before him, he nearly rolled his eyes.

For God's sake, STOP!

He groaned when he felt the beginning of a migraine. It was different for his kind - the inner battle with his beast. It was like playing tug o' war with another, and when you lost, you lost consciousness and became a puppet for the beast. He never had this problem when he was with his old pack; Rollin and his wolf were one then. Now every wire was tangled up.

He unclenched his jaw and breathed out harshly through his nose. He brought a shaky hand up and pressed the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger. The rushing in his ears ceased and Rollin whined like a pup. He just wanted to sleep!

Alex watched the wolf's reaction with mild disinterest. He probably should feel scared, threatened, terrified maybe. But just as wolves were one with the forest, so were elves.

"Oi," he grumbled. "If you're gonna go all alpha on me, the least you could do is tie me up first." He couldn't help a cheeky grin at his flirty comment. "If I knew this is what you'd look like I would have brought you a care package." He stretched his long arms, eyeing the naked wolf from head to toe.

"Not an alpha," Rollin mumbled instinctively, rubbing his forehead. He sighed at the last bit of pricks leaving his head, and when he faced the other male his eyes crinkled at the corners. The human half of the wolf didn't mind this creature with the pointy ears. Rollin thought he was amusing. His wolf was uneasy with the foreigner, and would most likely continue to be until he knew what the new creature was.

In the years that Rollin had been a wolf, he had never come across whatever this man was. All he knew now was that he carried magic, possibly related to the earth from the way he smelt of tree-bark. Back at the Home in the meeting room, his nose didn't tingle, but now it did. Rollin tried to recall the memory of the pointy-eared man’s introduction—Aita, was his name. And when Aita’s eyes roamed over him, Rollin didn’t shy away; his wolf was dominate and had no reason to be ashamed. When you're a creature of the moon, there was no place for modesty, especially when clothes were so fragile during a shift.

"Feeling generous?" Rollin bit back.

Alex smiled at the wolf, pulling off his sweater and handing it to him. "Unfortunately, you've caught me off guard. I'll be sure to bring more next time." He didn't know much about wolves. He'd only ever met a few lone ones in his forest in Italy, a few that had been kicked out of the neighboring pack. It'd be interesting to get to know this one, inside and maybe even out, if it was lucky.

He gave himself a smirk. "Anyhow, if you're by yourself, doesn't that kinda make you your own alpha?" He wondered about the wolf's pack, why it was alone. It obviously had difficulty with control.

Riiiip! He probably should have asked if it was okay to rip his sweater, but surely Aita knew that Rollin wasn't able to cover his goods with a sweater.

"No, or... maybe?" Rollin huffed, playing around with the clothing. "Fuck if I know, bud," he said with a shrug, admiring his now makeshift loincloth.

An Alpha in a werewolf pack was a wolf who kept other weres from going crazy and giving in to the beast. In a pack, an Alpha was the most dominant wolf, and his or her job was to keep the other wolves in line. It was instinct for a lesser ranked wolf to follow a stronger one. When a wolf was turned, the first stages they went through dealt with control. An alpha made it easier for the human side to find that control. The equally dominant ones had a choice to make a pack, or be on their own, and they could survive by doing so - as long as they didn't stay in their wolf form for long periods of time.

In Rollin's case, he had no choice but to be alone. He was forced away by an Alpha he once admired and stood beside.

Rollin felt heat rise from his chest to his neck at the thought of his situation. He could be an Alpha. He was dominant enough. But he had given in to his wolf willingly, and that made him weak. He shook his head; he didn’t deserve to be an Alpha even though he did survive those years riding backseat. I'm one of the crazy ones, Rollin snorted. A rogue wolf. They were the crazy ones who lost control. He had no rules and for all he knew he could have been leaving trails of bodies as he traveled. Hell, someone could be on his tail, thirsty for revenge.

Don't be an idiot, Rollin. The guy would be dead already. He shivered and grabbed his stomach when it rolled. He hated the taste of human flesh, but the beast didn't.

Rollin shook the thought away, and turned to grin at the foreign creature. He gestured to his crotch, where Aita's sweater was now snug against him, "Are you gonna want this back?" he asked.

Alex grinned at Rollin. "I think it suits you. Besides, it fits you better than it ever fit me." He winked and turned. "Come on, let's get you some people food, yeah? Before they start sending search parties." He stretched and began leading the way through the forest.

That strange aura ebbed at the corners of Alex's consciousness. He felt it tug at him the closer he got to the Home. He grew wary, apprehensive. Whatever that aura was, it was making the other part of him excited. He knew whatever did that couldn't be good. He sent a brief glance to the wolf who walked beside him, towering over him in a display of dominance.

Without warning he rubbed against him, and when Rollin gave a surprised grunt, he simply said, “Shut up, just go with it." Soon the wolf's scent had completely bathed him. Alex made a disgusted face as the two continued on their way.

Rollin felt a little awkward, knowing that Aita now shared his scent. He was used to sharing the same scent with his previous pack members – though that scent came from his Alpha. Still, it was weird knowing that his scent was now on this man. His wolf was miffed at the thought, but it wasn't prominent. That was almost enough to ease the wolf's ire.

Now Abby on the other hand... Rollin mused. He wouldn't mind if she shared his scent. His wolf, however, didn’t immediately agree. He was still iffy about her being human.

Rollin sighed as he walked behind Aita, not wanting him at his back, as they entered the building. He sniffed the air when his nose caught something new; it was like strong medicine boiled with wild grass. He made a noise in the back of his throat. He wasn't sure he could handle any more newcomers. Being surrounded by witches, vampires, whatever Aita was, and old dwarves was not his cup of tea.
♠ ♠ ♠

Below, characters are linked to their writers:
Khloe | Camus | Mabuz | Tahmoh | Rollin West | Lana Bristow | Rocio Ryland | Marina Austin | Blyme Brodim | Abigail Peston | Alexander Aita | Dillon Shepherd | Maxwell Alchemy | Mariaxielle ''Rogue'' Hartsong

Special thanks to:
exploding boy. and Mr. Darcy for editing.
She Said Poptarts for the banner and layout.