Fangs Or Tails?

8 | Chapter

"It was the right thing to do," Felix tried to reassure himself, on the verge of a severe breakdown. The knot in his chest only got larger the further he watched Tobias' figure walk away from him. Away from his life, after refusing to have any part of it.

Did... did we just get rejected? The voice was shaky, croaking out those dreaded words.

I think... we just were, buddy. A sharp whimper cut through his mind, followed soon after with a splitting headache.

Felix felt the urge to let out a loud forlorn howl into the darkening sky bubbling up in his throat, the first of the stars peaking out from behind dense clouds. He only barely managed to swallow the animalistic instinct to broadcast his pain to his family. His pack.

The verbal announcement was unnecessary, considering that his entire family was sure to have been listening in to every word. The confirmation to that came in the form of a warm hug engulfing his back. The tears escaped then, when Felix turned around in order to embrace his mother better, seeking the comfort she once provided. It didn't help that the only arms he wanted to be wrapped up in were unattainable. Those arms didn't want him, and he certainly didn't deserve them. He let the tears run freely at the recurring thought that refused to settle in.

"Shh... there, there, baby," his mother crooned, patting his broad back soothingly. "You did nothing wrong. He's clearly going through some personal things right now, honey. Just give him time. I'm certain that he'll come to you when he's ready. We just have to be patient till then." Felix couldn't get a word out, so he just hugged her tighter and hoped that it got the message across that he appreciated her words of advice.

He also spotted his father hanging back, with his little brother in his arms, blissfully asleep and unaware of the commotion. He didn't have to say anything for Felix to know that he had his support as well. The man may not be much of a talker, but his actions spoke for him.

Felix was lucky to have all three of them.

But what about Tobias? Did he have anyone? The mere thought of it pained him worse than before.

"Felix? What happened? Is Tobias alright? Landon refuses to tell me anything." A familiar voice broke through the dismal atmosphere, effectively pushing Felix into pulling himself together. Instantly releasing the tight hold he had on his mother and wiping his face on the sleeve of his t-shirt, he straightened himself up enough to face the newcomer.

A tall man even surpassing his own height, and carried himself with all the confidence and power of an Alpha wolf. Short shaggy blonde hair covered his scalp, friendly eyes peeking out from underneath wavy bangs. A normally cheerful and welcoming persona, was overrun with worry for his dear friend.

"Adrian," Felix greeted him, his voice sounding gruff from his crying bout earlier. "Everything's alright. Evidently Tobias hadn't... wanted to be saved, and didn't take well to the news that he was no longer human. He got worked up over it all and finally demanded to leave. So I... I let him. I let him leave. The last thing I want is for him to hate me even more for keeping him here against his will."

Adrian pressed his lips together in a grim line at Felix's words, rushing to explain himself at his friend's confused expression.  "I know that your heart was in the right place when you made that decision, Felix, but you have to realize something. Tobias is no longer a human. He's a newly turned werewolf. It takes a while for them to become accustomed to their new abilities, and being out in public amongst humans is the worst place for him. He could unknowingly be attracting hunters. Right now, he's a danger to both himself and others. You need to find him and bring him back here."

"Yes, alpha," Felix said with wide eyes, kicking himself for taking such rash decisions on his own. Now because of him, Tobias was in danger. Again.

But when he and his family went out to look for Tobias, he was already long gone. It seemed as if he couldn't wait to get away from the place soon enough. Dejected at failing him once again, Felix howled in agony, his family joining in with mournful voices. The united howls of the pack rose up into the night sky, giving support to their miserable brother.

                                                     ***

"Heading to school already?"

Considerably startled at the sudden booming voice cutting through a deep set migraine, Tobias warily glanced at his father leaning against the doorway to his room. He had just slung his backpack over his shoulder and got ready to leave, swaying a bit on his feet.

After he'd been allowed to leave, Tobias hightailed it out of there. It was tricky to navigate the forest, but thankfully he had entered a less dense part of it. Leading him to safely reach the other side. He easily found his way back to the apartment from there. Having scoured the entirety of the town and its outskirts six years ago, when the pain was still fresh.

Tobias passed out the second his head hit his flimsy pillow, despite it being a restless one. Too many disturbances in the night reached his ears, sounds that hadn't bothered him before. A dog barking somewhere in their neighborhood, the constant drip drip of their leaky faucet, footsteps and talking from the surrounding apartments... there was no end to the list of noises that kept him from his much needed slumber. He never heard such an abundance of sounds from the confines of his room before. It was as if his hearing had suddenly amplified tenfold, each new sounds waking him up at bizarre hours of the night. Until finally, he decided to give up on sleep when the chirping of birds woke him up at the crack of dawn.

I feel like I'm running on a few minutes of sleep... and sporting a major hangover simultaneously. I'd rather die than deal with him today. Oh wait, I don't have that luxury anymore.

Thanks a lot, Felix, he thought bitterly.

"Yeah, what of it?" Tobias replied, feeling incredibly short on patience.

"Absolutely nothing." The man raised his hands in a motion of surrender, to show that he meant no harm. Tobias had his doubts, seeing that the man was never not violent. "I just wanted to wish you a good day at school. Can't a father do that?" He smiled, revealing yellow teeth. Somehow he managed to twist an innocent gesture into something far more sinister.

His expression flattened at that, though inside, anger simmered on the stove. Tobias never felt such rage before, not even towards his abusive father. All the memories of the man's drunken attacks flickered past his mind, the pain and weeks of recovery. The flashbacks made him see red, desiring nothing more than to pummel the grinning son of a gun's face to the ground. It took a surprising amount of mental perseverance for Tobias to hold himself back. Keeping the blossoming fury under lock and key proved to be exhausting his strength reserves faster than it was possible to be replenished.

"Of course you can..." Tobias left the rest of the sentence unsaid, but obviously implied. He smiled a plastic smile.

...if you actually were a father.

Only then did he notice the overwhelming stench of alcohol emanating from his father. Wrinkling his nose due to the horrendous smell, Tobias slipped a hand into his pocket. The precise grooves of the coin's engravings served to calm him, albeit a miniscule percentage. The unexplainable anger still ravaged within him like a caged tiger, just waiting to be unleashed to cause chaos.

His father watched him for a moment longer, an unreadable glint in his bloodshot eyes. "That coin... I'm surprised you still have it," he exclaimed.

Tobias froze, not having realized that he has subconsciously drawn out the coin from the depths of his pocket and begun to flip it. He instantly halted the movement, clutching the metal tightly to obscure it from view. He'd long since learned that anyone who showed interest in the coin, did not have pure intentions.

"I'm leaving," Tobias declared abruptly, sensing that his control over his strange temper was close to snapping. A mild sense of deja vu washed over him at that declaration. Ignoring it, he shoved past the man standing in his wake, and left the apartment. And soon, the building itself.

A/N

Another chapter finished! Though this one seemed rather like a filler chapter... but I promise it was important to be written. The next chapter is quite interesting too...

What are your thoughts on the story's progress so far? And what of Felix's POV at the beginning?

-RL-

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