Running with Wolves Ch. 09

Cliff looked shocked, disbelief coming in through his and Kate's mating mark. "What?"

Cole hissed as debris was pulled out of his thigh. "The only explanation is that he is a lone wolf now. How else would he be disconnected from us and not be a rogue?"

"If he was a lone wolf, his link would be completely open, allowing me to reestablish myself once again as his Alpha. His is closed. He has accepted someone else as his Alpha."

"How is that possible?" Sol was immediately on alert. "The only way that could have happened is if a wolf from another pack got close enough to connect with Flint while he was vulnerable."

Kate growled lowly. If another pack came in and established Flint as one of theirs right after he became a full werewolf, that would be a direct violation to the treaties, and would give Five Rivers grounds to take action against them. Pup Snatching was a serious no-no, even before the treaties, but the practice had been a common tactic during the height of the wars.

"No, that isn't it. The bond is strong, whoever it is is within a half mile radius."

Cole shook his head. "No way a trespasser is that close and my Unit hasn't noticed them."

While the family continued to theorize and argue about Flint, Kate began thinking over how a trespasser could get that close without setting off any alarms. Cole's entire Unit was on high alert around the Den, along with most of Kate's, save Cliff. Clay was out there too, and Kate knew for a fact there was no one better when it came to holding the perimeter and sniffing out invader. That ruled out another pack having anything to do with this.

Kate noticed movement in her peripheral. "Madam Alpha." She thrust out her chin, pointing out who she was talking about discreetly. "We weren't the only ones out there with Flint."

The entire family froze, their eyes locked on Dominic as he once again dropped his head down to pull his hands through his hair.

Hale was the first to speak up. "Are you an idiot? That isn't even possible."

"Who else could it be?" Kate countered. "Flint didn't link with someone from our pack, there isn't another pack in our territory, guest or trespasser, and he isn't a lone wolf. What else could it be?"

"He's human!" Hale hissed. His eyes were beginning to shift color, his emotions getting the best of him, even with April's warnings.

"It's the only thing that makes sense." Kate countered, feeling her wolf rise up to the challenge. She wouldn't win this fight, but she had no problem with that. She would get brownie points just for going up against him. Cliff placed a hand on her back, silently telling her to watch herself.

Kate and Hale began to go at it, the family either taking sides or trying to keep the peace. It was escalating to the point Kate could feel the others in the infirmary become worried.

"He's a Destined." Amethyst's voice was quiet, but it stilled the others.

Hale, who was wound up tight from the argument with Kate, snapped at his sister. "What the fuck does that have to do with anything?"

Amethyst glared at her brother, but didn't comment on his reaction. "Destined humans are genetically predisposed to become wolves anyway, right? What if, what if Dominic's wolf instincts are stronger than we originally assumed? What if, because of that, Flint was able create a link with him, even if he technically isn't a werewolf yet?"

Hale was still staring Kate down, not willing to back down from a challenge to his dominance. "I don't see how that's possible. And I can guarantee it's never happened before."

"But think about it. It has happened before. We do it all the time. Our pups are born practically human, with just the most basic of instinct in them, and the parents have to create a bond after they are born so that that small amount of instinct can begin feed off of theirs and begin to develop. What if Dominic's wolf was stronger than we originally anticipated, and Flint was able to create a bond with Dominic's open link and become a member of his pack?"

Hale and Amethyst began to argue over her theory. It was beginning to escalate again and become less about Flint and more about their own sibling issues when it was finally put to an end.

Sol silenced everyone with a sharp growl. She waited for everyone to calm down before she spoke. "We can't be certain of anything at this moment. For now, let's just be glad that Flint is alive and with us. We will finish this later." Sol glanced around at the pack members surrounding them. It was no secret that every one of them had heard their conversation. "Kate, I want you to go and retrieve Dominic and his group and take them to my study. There are some things we need to discus."

Kate nodded, hopping down from her bed and motioning Cliff to come with her.

As she approached Dominic and Garrett, she realized almost at once that something was off. Dominic was far more agitated than before. He had gotten up and was pacing the lengths of his and Garrett's beds. His forehead was covered in sweat and his body language was that of someone nervous and ready to bolt. His friend was attempting to calm him down, but Dominic didn't seem to be hearing any of his words.

Kate was trying to figure out what his problem could be when he suddenly disengaged from Garrett and began walking towards the exit doors on the other side of the infirmary.

Kate attempted to stop him. "Hey, whoa, Dominic what's wrong? Talk to me, what happened?"

Dominic kept trying to get around her, but would not allow her to touch him. His breathing was shallow and his feet constantly moving. It was as if he was coming off something and was itching to go find a fix. "Yeah, um, I just need some air. It's uh, kinda crowded, and I just need to get some air. So could you just let me by?" Dominic tried using his arm to push past Kate and resume his path to the door.

"Dominic. Hey Dominic, wait-" Kate reached out and grabbed a hold of Dominic's arm.

"Don't FUCKING touch me!" Dominic yanked his arm free from her light touch and took up a defensive stance against her. She wasn't expecting him to react so violently and could feel Cliff reacting to another male acting aggressively towards her. She placed a hand against her mate's stomach to guide him away from Dominic, not wanting him to escalate the situation farther. The shout had directed all the other wolves' attention in their direction as well.

"Dominic, it's okay. Everything's fine, I just wanted to ask if something was wrong."

"I'm fine I just, I just need some air." Dominic's skin was pale. His eyes were as wide as a scared deer's and kept darting his eyes around at all of the wolves in the room, his heart rate speeding up every second. "Just let me out. I need to leave."

This time Kate allowed him to pass. He walked as quickly as he could to the door and through the threshold, Kate close behind. Others followed them out, but she wasn't paying them attention. Kate was more focused on trying to figure out what was wrong with Dominic. He didn't seem any better now that he was outside, he was still pacing back and forth on the gravel road that surrounded the Den.

"Dominic?" Sol tried to approach. Dominic snapped his eyes to her, freezing on the spot. He began slowly backing up away from the small crowd that had followed him and Kate out, a low rumble resonating in his chest. His hands had begun to shake.

In a second it all clicked for Kate. Without thought she sidestepped and blocked Sol's way. "Madam Alpha I think it would be best if we all just gave Dominic a little space."

Kate could feel the atmosphere around them change. She had just overstepped her Madam Alpha and blocked her path. In any other situation Kate would feel guilty and ashamed for her behavior, but she was the only one there that had any idea what was about to happen and she had to give Dominic the space he needed.

'Cliff, get them to go back inside and give Dominic some space.'

'Kate-'

'Cliff, I love you but we don't have time to debate this. None of you have any idea what he is about to go through and he needs to not be surrounded by wolves.'

Kate could feel his confusion and apprehension, but his trust in her was strong. "Madam Alpha Sol, Alpha Orion, perhaps Kate is right. There are quite a few of us out here. Perhaps a few less wouldn't hurt?"

There was brief hesitation, but Sol ultimately elected to give the order and one by one the group began to shrink. All that were left was Sol, Orion, Misty, Cliff and Kate. The entire time the others were evacuating the area, Dominic never settled down. He just continued to pace, dragging his hands through his hair almost continuously while his heart rate kept rising.

"Mind telling us what you believe is going on Kate?" Orion was the first to speak.

Kate answered in a low voice, so as not to disturb Dominic any farther. "Dominic was telling Garrett that ever since Flint bonded with his wolf and shifted back, he had been feeling strange. He's restless, pacing, claustrophobic. He growled at Madam Alpha Sol when she approached. I think that Amethyst is right, that Flint accepted Dominic as his Alpha and created a bond with him, and I think because of it his instincts have begun to develop within him."

Misty growled. "That can't be. I haven't..."

Kate understood her upset. The first bond between a human and a wolf should be with their mate, but there was no way to know they could have known this would happen.

As they watched, Dominic continued getting worse. His breathing was becoming erratic; Kate could hear his fast and unsteady heartbeat. His entire body was beginning to shake and most of his body was drenched in sweat. Kate could see the signs of him being pushed over the edge. Kate looked to Misty. "He needs you to help him."

"But I don't know how-"

Orion cut her off. "Misty. Do your job and help your mate. Need I remind you that had you done what was needed in the beginning, this would not be an issue?"

Misty snapped her mouth shut and gave her father a dirty look, but she didn't dispute his words. She thought a moment, taking in the situation and her options, before finally taking a deep breath and stepping forward.

Kate kept close behind her. "Okay, Misty. I need you to listen. Right now he has a foreign entity inside of him that is mutating his body chemistry as we speak. The world is changing around him by the second and he is becoming overwhelmed."

"What do I do?"

"Usually you would have a mating mark to help you but for now just try to help him calm down. Get him to focus on you so that we can talk him through this first portion of his transformation."

Misty cleared her throat. "Dominic? Dominic I need to talk to you."

Dominic didn't notice her at first, he was too disoriented. When she spoke again he finally turned around to face her. His dark blue eyes were glassy. "Misty?"

"I know this is happening really fast but I need you to trust me, okay?" She took another step forward. "Just, just breath. Start taking deep breaths." Dominic took in a deep breath, and she took another step forward.

"Misty, what's going on? I can't, I can't-" Dominic began hyperventilating, before falling forward at the waist and throwing up. When he straightened back up, Kate watched his eyes cross.

"Oh no." Kate ran past Misty, barely making it in time to catch Dominic as he passed out and fell like a stone.

~~~~~

:) I would say I'm sorry, but I'm not. Just know I love all of you and hope you enjoyed this chapter.

A big thanks to my editors MarieFlower and my new editor markrane. Welcome to the team buddy!