Chapter 1 – Escape

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                The skidding motorcycles met in front of the old library.  The two riders stood silent for a moment before killing the engines to face the problem that had brought them here in the middle of the night, on a full moon no less. 

                “How bad is it?” Chun asked warily as he removed his helmet.  He wore it for show rather than necessity; laws of man dictate that he wear one.  

                “Well,” Jiro yanked off his own helmet, “on a scale of one to ten, one being a minor hiccup and ten being complete and utter disaster,” he cocked his head and contemplated a moment, “I’d say we’re at about an eighteen.”

                Chun rubbed his tired eyes, willing the stress and fatigue away.  He’s been fighting the pull of the full moon all night; now was not the time to lose control.  “How the hell did it get like this?”

                “I have thoughts but that’s not important right now, you have better things to worry about,” Jiro replied and lead the way.  “Best prepare yourself; this one isn’t going to be easy.  And I’ve got a bad feeling that it’s about to get a whole lot worse.” 

                “No ,” Chun followed in silence for awhile as they made their way to the back, down a narrow set of stairs, away from the commonly used areas of the ancient library, and through the steely doors beneath.  From there, the two navigated through the elaborate maze used to conceal something completely different from the surface of their quaint little town.  

                From beyond the labyrinth was a different world – sterile walls of concrete and granite, a stark contrast to the countrified feel of the town above.  Here’s where order was kept, ruled with an iron fist that force the barbarianism of what they were into submission.  Within these walls, their kind kept their secrets from the prying eyes of the rest of the populous, protected and caged. 

                “They’re keeping him in isolation,” Jiro said before Chun could ask.  “He isn’t completely back to himself yet.  The blood…” He glanced over one shoulder to give his friend a pained look. 

                Nodding with understanding, Chun took a deep breath to brace himself.  Bloodlust after a kill made their kind even more dangerous than they already were, and it influenced those around them.  “Have they convened the council?”

                “They’re gathering now,” Jiro answered grimly, “And the Alpha is on his way.”

                He winced, “Doesn’t give us a lot of time.”

                “I know; I’m sorry.  I’ll see if I can stall while you bring him back.”

                “Just give me as much time as you can,” Chun patted Jiro’s shoulder. 

                “He’s counting on you,” not to put too much pressure on Chun’s shoulder.  “But he would understand.”

                “I know,” Chun said quietly, “But we’re like brothers.  I can’t let them hang this on him.”

                Jiro nodded his understanding and opened the door for Chun, ushering him in before shutting it.  He didn’t want to see; he couldn’t bring himself to look. 

                Chun stood a moment to allow his sharp eyes to adjust.  The room was dimmed to help calm the prisoner – bright lights agitated their animalistic side.  The cage was small for a man his size, no more than four by four feet, forcing him into a seated position.  He was outwardly calm, his head bent over his lap, silent and still.  But Chun approached with caution.  He could still smell it on him: the blood and rage. 

                “Calvin?” moving around to face him, “Can you hear me?”

                The eyes that looked up were golden in color and dangerously wild.  They weren’t the eyes of a man; those were the eyes of a predator.  And in a blink, he lunged forward, half formed claws deforming the steel bars, lips pulled back in a snarl to reveal canines that still hadn’t retracted completely.  Dried blood still clung to his upper torso, neck, and jaw, stark against his pale human skin.  Caught midway between the change; he was physically more human than wolf but his mind was still trapped on the other side. 

                “Cal, you’ve got to snap out of it,” Chun ordered sharply as he sat in front of the cage, staring his friend down.  “They will kill you if you can’t defend yourself.”

                The claws slowly released and retracted but he threw his head back and howled at the unseen moon.  The pain and rage echoed in his cry and Chun felt himself unconsciously responding, his body suddenly going into survival mode, wanting to wail alongside him.  It took all his will power not to shift as he watched awareness slowly eke back into Calvin’s bright intelligent eyes.  His fangs retracted as he made the final physical push back to man.  And as his mind cleared of the bloodlust, it processed the events of the night with a human heart.  The tears that followed were silent and heartbreaking.

                “Take a deep breath,” Chun advised quietly.  “Let it out slow.”

                With his breath hitching in his throat, Calvin slowly complied even as the tears continued to wash away the blood and grime on his face.  “Is she alright?” he asked when he finally found his voice.  He looked at the blood on his body in mounting horror.  “How bad was she hurt?”  The silence and Chun’s inability to look him in the eye was all the answer he needed.  Dropping his head again, Calvin wept.  The pain and regret was so palpable that it physically hurt Chun to watch. 

                “It wasn’t your fault.”

                “I killed her.”

                “It wasn’t your fault,” Chun repeated firmly; he's got to get it through Calvin's head.  “You couldn’t have known what was going to happen out there.”

                “I should have waited.  I shouldn't have let her…”

                “Stop it,” Chun ordered sharply.  They didn’t have a lot of time and self recrimination wasn’t going to save his friend.  “Listen to me, I need you to concentrate and tell me everything that happened tonight.  I have to know if I’m going to defend you in front of the…”

                “Don’t,” Calvin said tiredly, so utterly defeated.  “Just don’t.”

                “Cal!”

                “I…” he didn’t even have the strength to fight for his life.  “I should have stopped her.  I should have known.”

                “Calvin…”

                “She was so sure,” he wept again, his pain choking him.  “So damn sure…”

                *Of course she was,* Chun thought bitterly.  *How could the spoiled little princess believe otherwise when you were the one thing she may not be able to have?*  And now his friend would pay the price for her arrogance.   “Listen to me Cal, you have to pull yourself together.  Let me help you.  Let me do the talking for you.”  Silence met him.  “Calvin, are you listening to me?”  They didn’t have a lot of time left before he would be dragged before the Alpha and the Council of Elders for judgment.  “They’re going to try to hang this on you.”

                “Let them,” Calvin sighed, ignoring the throbbing pain in his back now that he could feel again.  “I don’t care anymore.”

                “Self pity doesn’t sit well on you,” Chun snapped.  “I’m not going to let you throw your life away.”

                “Does it matter?” he wanted to know, finally looking up.  Those sad hopeless eyes were so hard to look into, so far removed from his normal self.  “It’s not like I have anything I need to stick around for.”

                Sitting back on his haunches, Chun stared at his friend.  This was a mere shadow of the eternally happy boy he had grown up with in a dreary orphanage full of pups that had never known a real home.  “Has she really all the life out of you?  Does our friendship really mean so little now?”

                Shamed, Calvin closed his eyes.  “I’m tired of trying to fit in here.”

                Chun felt his shoulders drop; his anger and indignation deflated in pain.  They’d had all been trying to fit into a pack that never truly accepted any of those left behind by the old territory war.  Chun, Calvin, and the others were the last of the old regime.  Bigger, faster, stronger, they were just different enough growing up to be ostracized by the lankier Southern pack that had invaded their territory and decimated the peaceful dwindling pack.  But they had tried.  Calvin most of all had been willing to keep the peace and try to fit in.

                “I’m not going to give up on you,” Chun declared very simply. 

                For a moment, it looked like Calvin wasn’t going to respond.  But he finally nodded and sighed.  “Do what you can.”  He looked up with aged eyes.  “And I’ll do whatever you want me to.”

                “If it comes down to it,” Chun said seriously, “are you willing to run?”

                “Are you coming with me?”  If he ran, he’d be leaving his brothers behind to certain death.  The council was just looking for a reason to finally be rid of them.  This would give them one. 

                “Didn’t we promise that we’d always stick by one another?” Chun reminded him, a ghost of a smile on his lips.   “If we run, we run together.”

‡‡‡‡‡‡‡‡‡‡

                Head pounding with pain, heart sick with regret, Calvin wanted nothing more than to crawl into the darkness somewhere and simply fade away.  The roar of the Alpha barely registered in his mind, it wasn’t much compared to the roaring in his own head.  The horrors of the night replayed itself in his mind: the clear full moon, the newly sharpened blade, the bitter taste of the herbal inhibitor, the trickling of fresh blood, the scent of cooper… and then it all went murky: all of it - the rage, the hunger, the need, all of it so dark and dangerous; so uncontrollable.  Then there was her beautiful face: smiling, offering, hesitating, unsure… then running, falling, screaming… and then nothing.  Silenced forever. 

                “… justice must be served!” the Alpha was barely under control.  His rage was bright in his unnaturally glowing eyes, the animal just under the surface, ready to break through at any provocation. 

                “The council approved the mating ritual,” Chun’s voice was calm and steady, never reaching a disrespectful tone.  “That’s why there were beta guards.  They were supposed to ensure that this didn’t happen.”  It wasn’t an accusation; it was a statement of fact.  Chun was a master of it. 

                “He seduced her.  He tricked her!”

                “She walked into those woods knowing perfectly well what was supposed to happen and what might happen if she wasn’t his one true mate; every woman is made to understand.  Genie wasn’t a child, she’s been taught from the cradle; she knew the risk and what the ritual entailed,” Chun argued, only partially ignoring the Alpha’s rant.  “SHE told you she had the dream; SHE was certain.”

                The council looked hesitant, torn even.  It was true.  The girl had confirmed that she had had the dream, the one every member of their pack hoped to receive: the mating dream.  Before a True Mate, only the men can shift by the power of the moon.  But only the women would receive the telling dreams – those guiding dreams that have mated their kind for centuries.  Some men wait their whole lives without a True Mate, their soul’s other half, the one that can propagate their kind and give them near immortality.  To be falsely mated, marriage by the laws of man, meant diluting the bloodline and no life eternal; and for a female pack member that chose that path, it meant never knowing the animal within her.  But a True Mate, one destined by the moon, meant everything.  

                “She… did say that she had the dream,” one of the elder reluctantly admitted. 

                “That’s why she was allowed out there with Calvin and the guards,” Chun drove the point home.  “This was a sanctioned ritual that had the wrong ending.  He is not to be blamed.”

                The Alpha seethed with anger seeing the telling signs of weakness in the council.  “I cannot accept this.  She was my only child and one of the few females in this pack.  Her death cannot go unpunished.”  His eyes were inhuman as he stared at Calvin.  *I will make you pay.*

                The six elders glanced at one another.  “That is true.  Genie was one of the few females of child bearing age.”  Mother Nature was fair; she didn't provide their kind with many that can prorogate.  “It’s a shame to lose one so young.”  None of them looked particularly heartbroken though.  “And yes, some form of punishment should be doled out for this.”

                Chun clinched his jaw and started again – he will argue it as many times as it takes.  “By logic, he had not done…”

                “Banishment seems appropriate,” one of eldest suggested gravely, obviously in deference to the Alpha.  “As he has taken away one that might have continued our kind, banishing him from the pack and its protection would serve in this situation.”

                Heart in his throat, Chun stared aghast.  Expulsion from a pack meant something almost worse than death for a lycanthrope; it would mean open season on the exiled wolf.  “The punishment is hardly befitting given that he…”

                “I accept,” Calvin said quietly, the first words uttered since they brought him before the council.  He looked up; eyes dull with exhaustion and heartache.  “I accept the banishment.”

                Wanting to physically stop the momentum of this insanity, Chun felt himself lurch toward his friend.  “Cal…”

                He shook his head in defeat.  “It’s fair.”

                “Then its decided,” the council head looked at the seething Alpha and spoke with a sternness.  “He shall have three day's time to leave, never to return again.”

                Snapping his teeth shut, the Alpha looked at Calvin with murderous rage.  “Be gone in three days or I shall bathe my daughter’s grave with your blood.  And if ever you step foot within my territory…”

                “I won’t,” Calvin replied, feeling no need to hide behind his usual social façade.  He was done.  “You’ll never see me again,” and let it all end there.

‡‡‡‡‡‡‡‡‡‡

                Pulling her helmet off, Rainie remembered at the last second to take it in with her as she grabbed the insulated tupperware strapped to the back of the motorcycle.  Walking in through the front door, she asked, “Where is he?” before tossing the helmet on the couch. 

                “Showering,” Jiro answered, getting up to greet this wife.  He gathered her in his arms a moment, allowing himself that strange inner peace only she could offer him.   “He’s had a rough night.”

                “I’ll bet.” 

                It was after three in the morning now and the rest of the “Orphan Pack” were gathering at Calvin’s house.  There were only a dozen of them left now from the old regime with only Jiro mated; an unexpected event when Rainie came to visit a cousin two summers ago – she never left.  After the tribunal, Chun and Jiro had hurriedly taken Calvin back to his place, calling the others en route with specific instructions.  They knew that time wasn’t their friend tonight and things were far from settled.

                “I brought food,” Rainie said weakly, “I didn’t know what else to do.”  Even before Jiro informed her of the evening’s fall out, her cousin had called with a nasty warning; Rainie had hung up on the .  She may be a Southern Brown wolf by birth but her heart is with her husband and his Mountain Gray brethrens – no one comes between her and her mate, not even family. 

                “Thanks,” Chun said tiredly, resisting the urge to lean back, “I’m sure he’d appreciate it.”

                “The others?” she asked, sitting on her husband’s knee as they gathered in the dining room. 

                “On their way,” Jiro answered, pouring coffee for her.  “Benji and Sean both had to go home to exchange cars so they’ll be a little late.”

                “Were they out hunting?” she asked, her eyes dark with worry as she looked out the window.  She and Jiro stayed home on full moon nights when those that lacked better control were out and about. 

                Chun shook his head, staring the warm coffee cup between his hands.  “Chasing down Aaron and Wes actually; those two went hunting.” 

                “They usually don’t go far,” Rainie murmured to herself, knowing the boys kept close more for safety in their limited numbers than anything else.  She could feel the tension in Jiro and gently rubbed his arm.  “It shouldn’t be long.”

                “Yeah…” Chun stared a moment at the couple, their harmonious actions evoking envy in him.  He wanted that, the comfort of a mate, and understood why Calvin had gone through with the Mating Ritual despite his own misgivings.  Not for the first time, he wished his girlfriend shared in their secrets; that he could confide in her the same way he sees in Jiro and Rainie.  Perhaps it was time for him to consider opening his world to her and risk it all.  He may never find a true mate but he’d have her – and in his heart, that was enough for him. 

                “Where’d you go just now?” Rainie asked gently.

                Smiling gently, “I was just thinking of Ella.”

                “How is she?” Rainie asked, knowing that it was hard for Chun.  Dating a human wasn’t unheard of but always considered just a phase.  But for Chun, she doubted it – there's something between them that Rainie could see that could be just as powerful as bonded mate. 

                “She called earlier to let me know she was going out of town for a few days.”  He sighed, suddenly glad she was gone for the time being; it was safer.  “I’m… I’m going to tell her when she comes back.  I think it’s time.”

                Jiro looked surprised.  “You sure?”

                “If she’ll have me,” Chun said quietly, “I’m sure.”

                “You haven’t been dating very long,” Jiro pointed out.  He couldn’t help playing devil’s advocate.

                “I know,” Chun replied mildly, “But I feel…”  He tried to find the word for it.  “I feel at peace when I’m with her, like nothing can touch me.  I would be okay if I was suddenly alone with just her.”  He laughed reluctantly with some regret, “Well, maybe not on a full moon.” 

                “You’d be okay going Lone Wolf?” Jiro asked soberly, referring to when a pack member retreats from the pack; unlike Calvin’s situation.  It was a serious decision, one not done lightly. 

                “Sixty good years with her?” Chun considered it for a moment with a smile, “I think I can live with that.”

                Exchanging glances, Jiro and Rainie held off their obvious need to discuss this with Chun until another time.  Right now, they had more pressing things to consider. 

                Looking up suddenly, Rainie stared towards the East for a moment.  “I think Selina and Kirsten are here.” 

                Jiro frowned gently and squeezed his wife’s hand.  “Can you have them move their bikes into the garage, yours as well?  Tell them to keep their helmets on until they get into the house.  Have Kirsten stay by the door and tell the others to do the same.”

                “Why?”

                “I’ll explain later,” Jiro said quietly then watch his wife nod with wary concern.

                Glancing at his watch, Chun shook his head.  “We’ve got less than two hours.”  He took a breath and wished for dreamless sleep.  “I don’t know what to do for him.”

                “You’ve already done what you can,” Jiro reassured him.  “He’s alive, that’s important.  We can deal with whatever else comes after.”

                “I’ll deal with it on my own.  You guys just keep your heads low,” Calvin advised from the foot of the stairs.  He was dressed casually but ready and was towel drying his hair, his eyes so dull and dead it didn’t appear to see anything.  “My banishment isn’t going to be the end of this.”  His voice was full of regret as he stared at his friends.  “I’m sorry.”

                “Don’t,” Jiro warned.  “Don’t you dare…”

                But Calvin needed to get it out in the air.  “They’re going make it worse for you guys because of me.  This is my fault.”

                “They never accepted us,” Chun corrected with all seriousness, “All their talk of uniting the people and putting aside the differences was just that, all talk.  They never once tried to accept us.  It’s bend to their ways or death to those that oppose it.  Genie was only just the latest thing to hold against us collectively.  This is not your fault.”

                “Damn straight,” Pets said coming in from the garage door as she pulled her helmet off and shook her shaggy head of hair.  “Don’t you forget for a moment that they’ll take any excuse to get rid of us.  This just happens to be a really good excuse but it’s still an excuse, nevertheless.” 

                “Where’d you come from?” Chun asked getting up to greet his sister.  Pixie pretty Pets was the only living blood Chun had left; he’d give his life for her. 

                “I rode in with the Ren sisters,” Pets explained, fixing her hair in the hall mirror before throwing her arms around Calvin hitting him in the back with her helmet.  “For your guilt over Genie’s death, I’m sorry; I wish it was otherwise.  For your pain in losing Genie if you loved her, I’m sorry; I wish you weren’t hurting.  But Genie was a spoiled with a superiority complex and I hate her for taking you away.  And you have no idea how glad I am to know that she’s not your True Mate; you deserve so much better.”

                Caught between shock and laughter, Calvin choked and hugged the girl that he’s always considered his own little sister.  “Thank you.”  Only Pets could ever be so cruel and so sweet at the same time.  Chun caught his sister’s eyes over Calvin’s shoulder and mouthed the same thing. 

                “Your tongue is going to get you in trouble one day,” Jiro predicted with a grin as he too stood to greet her. 

                “Until that day, I’m just going to keep speaking my mind,” Pets replied with a grin.  “Now… what can I do?”

                “Nothing at the moment,” Chun said and took her helmet to line up on the living room coffee table.  “Sit, we’re waiting for the others.”

                “You call the whole gang?” Calvin asked, pouring coffee.  His tiny home was sparse, never feeling quite like home, and he wasn’t exactly sorry to be abandoning it.  But it was still home and he still felt fear and dread having to leave.  “So I can say goodbye?”

                “This isn’t goodbye,” Jiro corrected, “This is just a ‘until we meet again.’  Don’t think for a moment we’re leaving you to survive out there on your own.  We are family.”

                “He’s right,” Rainie added, bringing Selina in with her.  “And we stick together, like it or not.”  Rainie finally understood why she never felt quite like she fit into her own pack until she met Jiro; she was meant for this one.  “We can all run together; start again somewhere else.” 

                “No,” Calvin shook his head.  “Too dangerous,” he frowned at them.  “Trying to find a territory on the run is asking for…”

                “I hate to agree with him but I do,” Chun said regretfully, “We can’t run together, not now, it’s too dangerous.”

                “Why?” Pets asked, cracking open a soda can.  “Us all gone is exactly what they want.”

                “That’s right,” Jiro murmured grimly, “All of us on the run is exactly what they want.  We’d make a great big target for the rest of the packs.  How long do you think we can last out there?  A few weeks?  A month?  What do you think is going to happen on the next full moon?”

                That silenced the girls, unable to reply.  So they waited in quiet contemplation for the rest of the pack to arrive.  One by one, they came, pulling their motorcycles into the garage and leaving their helmets on the coffee table.  The sobering tones set by the Calvin and the others left the rest of the pack in silence around the coffee table with their endless mugs of java.  When the last one of them arrived, pull in and was handed a cup a coffee, they turned to Chun for explanation and direction. 

                “They council has given Calvin three days to leave town,” Chun explained.  He didn’t need to rehash the other stuff, they already knew. 

                “That’s not a lot of time, but we can help you pack up,” Benji muttered with a frown.  He had been the furthest out and the last one to arrive.  “Have you thought of where you’ll head to first?”

                “He’s leaving at sunrise,” Jiro said to no one in particular.  The rest of them gaped at him for a moment then the barrage of questions started all at once.

                “QUIET!” Chun slammed his mug on the table, cracking the fragile ceramic and spilling hot coffee on his hands.  “You guys really think the Alpha will let him live to sundown?”

                “But… but…” Sweet naïve Kirsten stared wide eye around the table.  “The council said…”

                “A little ‘accident ‘would be out of the council’s hands,” Jiro pointed out, “Wouldn’t it?”

                The others could only swallow their fear and pain with mounting horror.  This was it.  There was nothing they could do but watch one of their own flee. 

                “Take my wheels,” Wes said into the heavy silence, determination hard in his eyes.  Quiet, sensitive Wes had always been the one that stood in the background and offered unquestioning support to this family – the only one he has left.  “I brought the touring bike and it’s got a full tank of gas.”

                “My helmet is retrofitted and Bluetooth equipped,” Aaron added, his frown of concern marring his youthful face, “with navi voice control for your phone.”

                “I’ll pack sandwiches,” Selina got up and headed into the kitchen, partly to help and partly to hide her tears.

                “I’ll help you,” Kirsten hurried after her sister, not even bothering to hide her weeping face.  The Ren sisters never knew their own kind the way the others have – this was the only family they’ve ever known. 

                “I’ll get the bike bags,” Wes said, getting up and gently patting his best friend Sean on the shoulder, reassuring the more impulsive man. 

                “I’ll help you pack,” Pets sounded funny even to her own ears.  “It’s better to have a woman’s hand when you’re packing.”

                “Thanks,” Calvin whispered to the turned backs and heavy hearts before he got up and followed Pets upstairs.

                “He’s accepted it,” Chun said once the room was partially empty.

                “How bad is it going to be?” George asked, speaking up for the first time.  “For Calvin, I mean.”  He glanced briefly at his cousin David and they both nodded in some silent agreement.  “Dave and I don’t have anything to tie us down here.  We can go with him.”

                “No,” Jiro shook his head.  “It’s best if he leaves alone.  He’s got a better chance on his own than if any of us left with him.”

                “We’ve got to hold the fort here,” Chun said.  “If even one of us goes with him, the council can cite him for uprising.  It’s an instant death sentence.” 

                “So we’re just going to let him go?  All alone?” Sean asked, his eyes fixed on the others.  He felt it more than the others, that rising fear of being pulled apart.  The Orphan Pack was the only thing that kept him feeling safe amongst the enemy; and now it was being threatened. 

                “He’s not leaving us,” Jiro sighed.  “Not really.”

                “He’s going to scout for us,” Chun explained. 

                “Scout?” the others asked. 

                “I am?” Calvin asked from the foot of the stairs.  He had left Pets to pack when she couldn’t stop babbling to cover her fears for him; he understood her reaction but it was driving him crazy. 

                “Yeah,” Jiro answered, gently squeezing Rainie’s shoulders.  “You’ll find a safe place somewhere and settle down.  And when you’re ready, you’ll call; and we’ll be waiting, ready to go.  Together we’ll start over again in a place of our own; just like it was always supposed to be.”

                Rainie nodded, her heart in her eyes.  “And we’ll be happy there; whole again.”

                “Until then,” Chun added, “We’ll hold down the fort there, make preparations and plan for the future.”

                  The pain in his heart at these words choked Calvin.  He was leaving his family behind for the dangerous outside world.  But the loss and fear meant nothing knowing that his brethrens had his back and was ready to follow him into the unknown.  It would be the only thing to hold him together for the long lonely dark months to come.

                “Enough of this mush,” Pets said, pulling the duffle down the stairs, “The sun is about to rise; say your goodbyes now.”

                Wes put the motorcycle pouch onto the table and the rest of them helped to pack it quickly with others shouting out suggestions.  Rainie and Selina packed food away and the boys all traded helmets and bikes to confuse anyone that might be watching the house.  It was agreed that the girls would stay behind, give enough of an appearance to put some doubt in anyone watching. 

                “Get as far as the tank will take you before you stop,” Wes suggested as he handed over the keys without hesitation.  “It’s pretty gas efficient so it should take you most of the day.” 

                Calvin nodded and slapped his own keys into Wes’ hands.  “Not as nice as yours but it’ll be something for you to use.”

                “We’ll have to ditch your helmet,” Benji said, tucking what cash they had all gathered into the inside pouch wishing he had more to offer. “They’ll be watching for your usual one.”

                “I’ve got a spare in the back, just bought it for in case,” Calvin said, nodding toward the storage room. 

                “You’re still taking mine,” Aaron reminded him and grabbed the bag for him. 

                “Don’t be hasty,” Sean advised, “drive as you usually would so you don’t get pulled over or something.”

                “Take the North road and cut across the hills,” David suggested gravely.  “George and I take it for hunting, very few people take that road and it’s hard to spot from the main highway.”

                “Try not to leave too much trails if you go off road,” Wes said as he strapped the pouch back onto the bike, buckling it down securely, quickly showing Calvin the functions.   “Refuel and get somewhere safe before dark.” 

                “Don’t forget to eat,” Selina said as she touched his face tenderly.  Hers was streaked with tears she didn’t hide from him.  “And rest.  Take good care of yourself.” 

                Kirsten couldn’t even get that much out, choosing to hug him tightly a moment before running back into the house, Selina chasing after her.  They couldn’t bear to watch him leave.    

                “Call me when you hit a rest stop,” Chun said, following Calvin to the garage, grabbing Sean’s helmet.  “Let me know you’re safe for the night.”

                “Don’t come back,” Pets warned as she hugged him tightly, her heart in .  “No matter what you hear, I don’t care how dire or ridiculous of a story it is, you don’t come back here.  You hear me?”

                He nodded soberly, unable to voice his emotions.

                “This isn’t goodbye,” Rainie said sternly as she stepped into his arms.  “This is just until we meet again, remember?  Find somewhere safe, somewhere with running grounds and clean water.  We’ll be right behind you.”

                “We gotta get going people,” Jiro called out, as he passed helmets around, everyone taking one that isn’t theirs.  “Stay safe,” he said to Calvin as he climbed on Pets’ oversized vehicle.  “I’ll see you soon.”

                “Stay well,” David and George knocked knuckles and got on Benji and Chun’s motorcycles.

                “Stay free,” Benji added sternly, taking Sean’s cross-country bike and Wes’ helmet.

                Aaron said nothing as he hugged his friend tightly, trying to hold back his own fears.  Everything he could say was in his eyes as he turned and got on a bike. 

                “Run fast and run far,” Sean and Wes patted his shoulder and grabbed Jiro and David’s bikes.  “We’ll be waiting for you.”

                “You guys know what to do,” Chun slammed on a helmet and head toward George’s bike before stopping to look at Calvin.  “Don’t feel bad, this is good for us: you escaping this place.”  He reached over and hugged his brother-in-arms.  “We’ll await your word.”

                Calvin nodded, swallowing back his fears and tears and put on the helmet Benji handed him and climbed onto Wes’ massive touring motorcycle.  With one last look at those that love and protected him, he started his engine, signaling the end of something for them all.    

‡‡‡‡‡‡‡‡‡‡

                «Trapped.  She was trapped, bound to the tree by ropes pulled taunt.  The scent of pine was overwhelmed by the scent of the fresh wound.  The cut was deep enough that it soaked the left side of her body with her own blood.  Fear obliterated any pain she might have felt.  Her only thought was of escape before the moon reaches its fullest, otherwise… 

                Oh god… The whining howl was raw from shifting vocal cords within his throat.  It was too late.  She could see the change in him; know that the wolf was breaking surface now.  The glow of those golden eyes told her that she would never get away in time.  The rumbling growl grew deeper as his chest expanded and his body changed.  She struggled harder, pulling at the ropes until her skin was raw and blood soaked the nylon strands, staining them red.  But she had to try, and keep trying until…

                SNAP!  The chain that kept him back had broken.  The wolf was stronger than the metal; he was in charge now, not the man.  And the animal had her scent.  She turned her head and tried not to scream as the wolf turned toward her with teeth bared….»

                Gasping, she sat up in bed and clawed at her collar, feeling for the torn flesh.  Finding nothing there but nervous sweat she took deep bracing gulps of air and tried to hold her trembling limbs still.  It wasn’t the first time the dream that was not a dream left her awake and shaking; she’s been having the same vision repeatedly on and off for the past three months.   But it’s never been so vivid.  And she’s never been more frightened. 

To be continued….

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Author’s Note:  Slow starts… I usual stuff.  Let me know what you think of it so far though; loved to hear some assessments.