Pack Dynamics

Prologue

From birth to age 12, Casey did not belong.

Anywhere.

He didn’t belong on the hospital loading dock where he had been left as an infant, wrapped in newspaper, only hours old.

He didn’t belong in any of the half dozen foster homes he was shuffled between as a child.

And he most certainly did not belong here – Westridge Youth Detention Center. Juvie. And for what? Running away from his most recent foster mother.

Mrs. Charles with her dishwater grey curls was his ninth foster mother. He had unaffectionately named her the “Holy Mother” because of her habit of forcing him to kneel by his bed at night and say his prayers – while she fondled him and did less than Christian things with his prepubescent body.

So, yeah, he ran away, and yeah, he might have head butted her and knocked her flat with a left hook to do it. He’d do it again. In a second.

Casey huffed to himself, throwing his small rucksack on a bottom bunk in the juvenile hall’s barrack-like accommodations. The whitewashed walls and flickering florescent lights were annoyingly bright and the whole place smelled like piss and bleach. To add insult to injury, because it was Friday, he would be stuck here at least two days before he could be charged and put before a judge to be handed a sentence.

He wasn’t even there ten minutes before trouble showed up in the form of two older, malicious looking boys. At least 14 or 15 years old, they swaggered over and stopped in front of him. Casey stood to his full height, not wanting to be at a disadvantage, despite the fact they were at least a foot and half taller than Casey, who was small, even for 12.

Casey didn’t like the look in their eyes. At the very least, these boy were looking to beat some frustration out on a smaller target, as most... well even as 12, Casey was far from innocent and he knew there was worse things than taking a few punches.

He knew he looked like an easy mark. Small and lean with and strange tawny-gold hair littered with darker, near black patches. His wide amber eyes where fringed with dark, thick lashes, and his lips were red and plump. There was no way around it, he was pretty – and he hated that fact.

“Hey, runt.”

Casey barely contained his eye roll. How original.

“I want this bunk.” The fatter one on the left sneered.

“Yeah,” said the taller, thinner one, throwing his stuff onto the upper bunk. “We’re taking these.”

Casey made a show of looking all around, “But there aren’t any other empty bunks.”

“Who cares, you little shit? Get outta here before I pound you down.”

Casey set his jaw stubbornly. “No.”

“What?” The big one looked comically disbelieving that this little ‘runt’ was standing up to them.

“I said no.” Casey drew it out slowly, as if talking to an idiot.

The tall one stepped forward, fists clenched, readying to swing. Out of the corner of his eye he saw another boy approaching. Fuck, he hoped it wasn’t twiddle-dum and twiddle-dummer’s friend, because he wasn’t sure how much more he could stand before he snapped. And plus, the new guy? He looked as dangerous as the other two looked ridiculous: Older, taller, with unkempt black hair and an eerie fluid grace that made Casey’s blood run cold even from a distance.

So focused on this new boy, Casey didn’t even process that the two bullies in front of him were crowding close until one of them pushed his shoulder. He stumbled back, eyes never leaving the black-haired boy.

A low preternatural snarl filled the air.

Oops, he hadn’t meant to do that. Casey kicked himself mentally to not keeping himself in check. His freakishness was a secret he tried hard to keep under wraps. It was something he struggled to do constantly since he had discovered this mutant aberration shortly after he had turned seven.

When he was upset he made cat noises. Like real honest-to-goodness cat noises. He also tended to bite and scratch if cornered. Not to mention his eyes. They changed into feline slits.

At first it had happened uncontrollably, scaring and disgusting potential parents in turn. He had been sent to doctors who could find nothing wrong with him despite hours upon hours of painful, invasive tests. When he was finally shipped back to the group home he had spend hours in front of the bathroom mirror, learning how to control the look of his eyes, hiding his defect away.

But now, tired and frustrated, he let it out; he stood up to the two boys and hissed, eyes flashing into slitted orbs.

They both looked like they were going to piss themselves, the tall once snapped “freak” as they both high tailed it to the other side of the room as far away as they could get from him.

Casey watched them go.

“Neat trick.” A voice spoke from behind him, the pitch a deep rumble for a boy who was not yet out of his teens.

Casey’s head snapped around, the boy he had seen moving in their direction earlier was leaning casually against the bunk bed frame, looming over him.

The new kid looked about 18, tall with filled out muscles. He was wearing black jeans and a worn black tee shirt. And, he was staring at Casey in a way that made him tingle all over in warning.

Feeling trapped, Casey’s hands fisted at his sides, he looked up belligerently. “What? Is this your bunk, too?”

The stranger didn’t even blink. “Is now. You want top or bottom?”

“Get lost.” Casey hissed at him, letting his irises elongated again in warning.

The older boy just snorted, his muddy, dark eyes never leaving Casey’s. “Yeah, that little trick ain’t going to scare me away as easily as it did those two fucktards.”

Then the boy proved why. Casey nearly choked on air as the boy’s eyes filled with blackness, lights from over head reflected weirdly red from deep inside. He then made a growling noise from deep in his chest that caused Casey’s hair to stand on end.

“Who are you?” Casey flinched at the crack in his voice. He took a step back, his knees hitting the paper-thin mattress. “What are you?”

“Mason Rossi.” The boy introduced himself casually and then his voice dropped lower, “Wolf.”

“You’re...Y...” Casey couldn’t comprehend what was going on. He had never met someone who could do anything similar to what he could. He hadn’t even thought they existed. “What?!”

“Don’t play stupid. I know you’re one, too.”

Casey’s throat tightened, “A wolf?”

The boy, Mason, barked out a laugh. “No stupid, a shifter.”

“A what?”

“A shapeshifter. A cat from the stench coming off you.”

Insulted, fear temporarily forgotten, Casey inhaled deeply, he didn’t smell anything bad. Just the musk of the teenage in front of him; he smelled earthy, like night air and woods. It smelled really good actually. Casey just stared in confusion.

“Jesus.” Mason swore softly. “You don’t even know, do you?”

Casey’s gaze hardened defensively. “I’m not stupid or something. There’s no such thing as shapeshifters.”

“Your parents never told you?”

Casey shrugged dismissively, “I don’t got parents.”

“A pack?” Mason pressed, looking around briefly to make sure no other delinquent was close enough to overhear.

“A what?”

The dark haired youth gestured impatiently. “Or whatever you cats call it. A colony or a pride, or whatever. A family.”

“You’re crazy. I’m not a cat.” Casey shook his head, backing up a little on the bunk in case this new boy really was mentally unstable. “And not that it’s any of your business, but I don’t have a family. I’m all on my own, and that’s the way I like it. I take care of myself.”

For a moment Mason just stared at him, Casey could practically see the wheels turning in his head. Finally, his jaw set as he appeared to come to a decision. “Not any longer. I’ve started my own pack. You’ll join it.”

“You’re crazy.”

The black haired boy’s lips twisted into a dark smirk. “You can’t call your new Alpha crazy.”

Casey scowled a little, only half understanding anything this dark haired boy said. “What the hell is an Alpha?”

Mason leaned a little closer, smirk still in place, “The Alpha is the strongest member of the pack. The leader.”

Casey just opened and closed his mouth. It was clear he did not even begin to understand.

Mason made it simpler for him, “It means I’ll get to tell you what to do.”

Casey’s lip curled in a small sneer. “No one tells me what to do.”

Mason’s smile grew ominous, “Until now.”

~~~

The following Tuesday found Casey being dumped off at a new foster home. It was one he had never been to; one specifically used for delinquent boys, with more regulations and higher levels of supervision.

Which would explain why it was currently 9:15 p.m. and he was in bed, in the dark. The house locked down at 8 p.m. and lights had gone out fifteen minutes ago. He already hated it here. The house “parents” looked at him as if he were something gross on the bottom of their shoes, and the other, older boys looked at him like fresh meat. He wanted to split the second he stepped foot in the place, but the judge he had met with had been very clear on the fact if he continued to run away, he would be placed in the juvenile justice system for a stay much longer than the two-day weekend stop over. And quite frankly, juvie had been an experience he was not eager to repeat.

Except for Mason... Casey groaned and turned in the bed, pressing his face into the pillow. He refused to think about that ass. The whole two days the older boy had followed him around like some sort of demented bodyguard or stalker.

He had staked out the top bunk above Casey. He followed Casey to the lunchroom, the TV area, even into the showers, hell, he even tried to follow him into the bathroom, but Casey had hisses and scratched him, and he had waited outside.

For the entire 60 hours Casey had been stuck in juvvie, Mason had stared down anyone who even tired to come close to him, including the guards.

It was weird having someone constantly around like that, but Casey thought he actually might have gotten used to it...

Oh well, Mason was gone now, he might even still be locked up for all Casey knew, no point even thinking about it. After all, it wasn’t like he was ever going to see the other boy again. He wouldn’t lose sleep over it.

It was close to midnight when he drifted off into a restless slumber.

The creak and squeak of the window opening jolted him awake shortly thereafter. Jerking upright, his heart hammered in his chest as he scanned the room. He had exceptional night vision, but there was no moon tonight and it was incredibly dark.

It was the smell that penetrated his sleep-fogged brain first. Infinitely familiar after only two and a half days. “M...Mason?”

“That’s right kitty.” The low voice spoke, letting Casey pinpoint his location in the room.

He let the kitty comment go, focused on more pressing matters, “What the hell are you doing here? How did you find me?”

“I tracked you. Your scent is quite... unique.” The voice was getting closer. Suddenly a hand clasped his shoulder in the darkness. “You didn’t really think I would just let you go, did you? You’re part of my pack now.”

“I’m not going anywhere with you!”

“Yes. You are.” Casey could hear his smirk in the darkness, “Two reasons.”

Casey waited, trying to appear indifferent. “Well...?”

“One, you hate it here. You don’t belong here. Two, you’re a member of my pack. And my pack stays together. C’mon now, and grab your stuff, quit wasting time.”

It really didn’t take long to weigh his options. Stay here, where he had nothing, or go with Mason Rossi and maybe have a chance to find something. He rolled out of bed, tugging on clothes in the dark before grabbing his rucksack, still packed with all his meagre possessions.

“All right, let’s go.”

Mason’s eyes flashed, inhuman, in the dark. He amended, “Let’s go home .”

~~~

Whatever Casey had expected when he followed Mason that night, an abandoned town house basement was not it.

They had to climb in a window because everything else was boarded up. There was a small generator running the back of the large open basement. It only powered a small floor lamp and a space heater, so the room was near black. As Casey lowered himself in, he heard the shuffling of feet, and he could smell the scents of 4 or 5 others. He felt Mason sliding in behind him. His presence warm and oddly comforting; the only familiar, safe thing in his new world.

“Ugh, what stinks?” A voice spoke from the darkness.

Casey jumped, stepping back into Mason. He felt a blush rise on his cheeks, Mason had said the same thing in the detention center, and again earlier. Did he really smell? It wasn’t the first impression he wanted to leave on his new...pack.

“Oh, shut up, Ty, you’re not funny.” It was a different voice, a female voice. She stepped into the light; tall, and dark, with eyes uncannily identical to Mason’s. That mystery was soon solved. “Hi, my name is Nora, I’m Mason’s littermate.” She held out her hand.

Littermate? Casey stepped closer to shake her hand and there was a gasp when the light hit his frame.

“Oh, fuck no.” A new voice, young and growly.

“He’s a...” Nora, the sister, urrr littermate, stared at him in astonishment, “You’re not a wolf.”

A low whistle sliced the air and a huge, bulky bear of a teen ambled into the light, “I’d say not, look at that coat.”

Casey self-consciously touched the ends of his hair, he knew the black patches were bizarre, most people he meet had sort of written it off as a bad, homemade dye job.

“I’m Ty, by the way.” The towering teen introduced himself. He was blonde and thickly muscled, but he did have the same dark eyes as the others.

A wiry, brown-haired youth entered the circle next, his entire posture screaming ‘fuck off’. He looked younger than the others, probably closer to Casey’s 12 years old. He looked spitting mad. “I repeat. Fuck, no. We’re not letting that...thing into our pack.”

Casey was about to point out that joining their group was definitely not his idea, thank you very much, and he’d be very happy to leave, considering these people were seeming more and more like real loonies.

Mason growled behind him, putting the hair on the back of his neck on end. “My pack, you mean.”

Casey watched as the other teens averted their eyes, shrinking back in a manner that would become very familiar to him as submissive posturing.

The wiry kid melted back, still glaring at Casey from under his lashes, clearly struggling to keep his temper in check, “Yes, Alpha. Sorry.”

Mason’s firm hand landed on Casey’s shoulder. “That’s Eugene, he’s a little shit, but you’ll get used to it.”

“Don’t forget me!” A cheerful voice chimed in. A young girl entered the circle of light. She was a little pudgy, mocca skinned, with a cloud of black curls framing her face. Very different from all the others except for her black eyes.

“And Jessica.” Mason smirked at her, “The last member of our pack.”

“I’ve never met a cat before.” She looked at him curiously.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Casey snapped.

“You don’t know?” Nora looked from Casey to her brother, “He doesn’t know? Jesus, Mase.”

“Relax. Don’t get your hackles up. I told him. It apparently just hasn’t sunk in yet.”

“What hasn’t?!” Casey demanded, hating the way everyone appeared to know something he didn’t.

“The fact we’re shifters. And you’re a big kitty.”

“You totally are.” Eugene sneered already recovering his attitude from Mason’s rebuke. “And we’re dogs. And in case you didn’t know, dogs eat cats.”

Nora punched him in the arm. “Loser. Don’t listen to him, Casey. Wolves are not dogs.”

“Same family.” Eugene snapped his teeth.

Nora faced Eugene and made a barking noise, which caused Casey to jump. Eugene returned a huffing bark.

Casey looked between them and stammered, “You guys are really...that’s impossible.”

“We’re shifters.” Nora confirmed, almost gently, she broke off her standoff with Eugene and swung around towards Casey. “You are too, Casey, even if you’re never changed before.”

He wet his lips nervously, “But not a wolf.”

“No,” Nora agreed. “You’re a cat, a big one.” She reached out and tugged the tip of his hair. “A jaguar by the looks of it.”

“Super rare.” Jessica chirped.

Casey didn’t know what to say, completely overwhelmed.

“It’s late.” Mason growled out, the comment a clear command.

“Right. Good night, Casey, we’ll talk more in the morning.” Nora gave his arm a soft pat.

“Night.” Ty nodded.

“Night, Casey, don’t let the bed fleas bite.” Jessica cackled to herself, retreated after the other two.

Eugene didn’t say anything, just turned with a glare and headed out of the light.

“Beds are over by the space heater. But for now, you’ll sleep in my room. I have my own - one of the perks of being Alpha.”

Mason took his arm and led him in the opposite direction. It wasn’t even a room, Casey discovered. Just some sheets hung up on a clothesline stretched across the end of the room. But it did create some privacy and a sense of security. There was a heap of blankets behind the curtain in the corner.

“Bed.” Mason prodded.

Casey was too tired and shell shocked to put up a fuss. He dropped his bag and crawled into the blankets. Mason lay down beside him.

Casey was just drifting to sleep when Mason spoke quietly in the dark, “It’s not always going to be like this.”

“Hmm?”

“This dump.” Casey felt Mason shift. “Our parents... the other wolves in our pack were killed a few years ago. By human hunters. We used to live in the woods up north near Sault St. Marie. I kept us together but... We couldn’t survive in the wild without the adults, we had to move to the city. Still not a lot of work for kids. But... I turn 18 soon. And I’ll be able to get us a real place. I’m going to ask the shifter Alliance for work. We’ll make a strong pack. I promise, Casey, you’ll never regret joining my pack.”

Mason’s hand rested lightly on his head, and Casey fell asleep to the novel feeling of being petted.

~~~

He woke up with a scream.

It was morning; light was sneaking in the edged of all the high, boarded up window. It was Casey’s first glimpse of the basement; it was also his first look at a silver and white wolf looming over him. So yeah, he screamed.

At once, he felt a large body shift against him on the blankets, his scream had woken Mason. Instinctively Mason’s body covered his, giving him a firsthand view of the older boy’s body morphing; sprouting fur, bones twisting, clothes tearing. Until, in a matter of seconds, a massive black wolf was covering him, snarling at the grey wolf, which turned tail and ran out of the makeshift bedroom.

As quickly as he had changed into a wolf, Mason changed back, shaking his mussed hair, jogging pants tatters around his hips, “Fucking Eugene. He was just trying to scare you.”

Casey shook with fear. “He’s... you’re...wolf...”

“Whoa, take a deep break.” Mason coaxed, leaning over him, concern clear in his eyes. “I didn’t mean for your first time seeing a shift to be like this. But I heard you scream, and my wolf just sort of... took over...” Mason’s hand came up to brush the hair off his forward. Black claws still stretched from each fingertip.

Casey flinching away.

Mason growled, “I’m going to kill that little shit.”

The curtains opened and a, thankfully, very human Nora slipped in. “Eugene just took off like his tail was on fire.”

“Knows he’s in trouble.” Mason rumbled concentrating on returning his hands to normal.

“Can you do that to?” Casey blurted out, kneeling up to peer over at Nora with wide eyes.

“Yes.” She confirmed soberly.

“And I can do that?”

“With some work,” Mason provided, “I’ll teach you how.”

Nora began to smile, “And I wanna be around when you do. I’ve never seen a real jungle cat before.”

Casey wet his lips, the idea bouncing around in his brain until he decided how he felt about being a real, honest-to-goodness shape shifter. Finally, he decided on, “Cool.”

Nora looked a little tentative. “So...does that mean you’re going to stay?”

Casey didn’t even get a chance to answer, Mason responded in a tone that broke no argument, “He’s pack now. I’m going to keep him.”

Casey scrunched his nose. He jerked his elbow back into the older boy, “Shut up. I don’t belong to you.” However, his words didn’t hold any heat. All three of them knew the truth.

After 12 years, Casey finally belonged.

To a wolf.

~~~