Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Nines yawned and leaned back in his chair, arms stretched up. The grainy infrared trail cam footage had shown nothing interesting all throughout his shift. The light of the full moon poured into the Ranger's cabin from the curtainless windows. Nines didn't mind doing the odd hours of 7 pm to 3 am as it meant he didn't have to interact with anyone except the guys working the shift before him. He did, however, feel sorry for the poor bastard who had to come in after him. A 3 am start usually means a 2 am wake-up call, and that's just fucking hopeless.

At least those on the night shifts didn't have to deal with the daily influx of entitled assholes, self-endangering idiots, and littering douchebags. What Nines did have to worry about though were poachers.

Beep. Beep. Beep.

A trail cam alert went off, movement had been detected in section 4A. Nines sat back up properly to have a look. The grainy image showed a wolf caught in a bear trap.

"Fucking poachers…"

He got up, put on his Park Ranger jacket, and headed out to his truck, a beaten-up old white ute with the local Wildlife Conservation department logo painted on the side.

He started up the old truck and drove off into the reserve. A few minutes later he saw the trapped wolf in his headlights and parked. It was a very ragged-looking brown wolf and possibly starved though it was hard to tell. Its chest moved out of rhythm with an irregular breath and made no indication it was aware of the truck's arrival.

Nines climbed out of the ute and carefully approached the injured creature. Its left hind leg was caught in the metal jaws and would likely require stitches. He knelt down next to the trap, keeping careful watch of the unconscious wolf, and slowly freed its leg. Still, the wolf made no acknowledgment. It was well and truly unconscious.

With the leg free, Nines went back to his ute and grabbed the first aid kit from the glove box. It didn't have much but it had antiseptic and bandages so it'll have to do until he can get it somewhere with the proper equipment.

Speaking of, there's no way any kind of veterinarian place would be open right now. Especially none that would take in a wild, injured wolf. It would have to wait 'til morning.

But where would it stay until then? I can't just leave it here…

Nines pondered this as he disinfected and bandaged the leg. With a heavy sigh, he reached a conclusion.

I'll have to take it home… At least my shift is officially over now…

It was exactly 3 am, the next ranger would have taken up their post by now. With a great huff of exertion, he lifted the wolf up and placed it into the back of his ute. He also disarmed and collected the bear trap, it was too dangerous to just leave lying around.

By 3:05, Nines was on his way home and he pulled into the long gravel driveway by 3:38. A few sheep lifted their heads as he went past before resuming their sleep under the old oak tree. The chickens clucked and cawed as they scattered out of the way and to their coop. The old wooden house may have looked like something out of a horror story to anyone at this time of night, but to Nines it was home.

He followed the gravel driveway around to the back of the house and parked the ute near the old dog kennel. Nines didn't have any dogs, the kennel was just left behind by the previous owner. And now it seemed that it would come in handy after all.

The kennel itself was spacious enough to accommodate the sleeping wolf, however the doghouse not so much. So Nines pulled the old blanket out and laid it down on the concrete pad and then carefully placed the wolf on top of that.

He checked that the bandages were still holding up before filling up the water bowl and leaving some raw sausages for the wolf when it eventually woke up. Nines locked the kennel before finally heading inside and settling down with dinner and eventually falling asleep.

Gavin awoke the following morning with a numb yet blasting pain in his ankle. As his senses came to him, he was bombarded by the unfamiliar smells to the point his eyes were beginning to water. He groaned as he rolled onto his back and sat up. His tired brain took a moment to realise he was in a cage, no, a dog kennel. He saw a couple of chickens walk past, clucking contentedly as they searched for food. Then Gavin noticed the raw sausages in the food bowl. It made his own stomach growl in hunger.

Shut up. Get out of here first. Food later.

With pained groans, he pulled himself to his feet and wrapped the old blanket around his naked waist. He stumbled towards the kennel gate, managed to slip his hand through the wire mesh, and slide the bolt out. Just as he swung the gate open, the backdoor of the house opened as well.

Shit-

Stepping out of the house was a tall man with hastily combed black hair. He was wearing a well-worn black tank top, black shorts, and rain boots, and was carrying a bucket full of chicken feed. The man stopped and carefully placed the bucket down when he noticed Gavin.

“Who the hell are you?”

Chapter Text

“Who the hell are you?” The man squared his shoulders.

“Who the fuck are you?!” Gavin snapped back. 

“What are you doing on my property?” The man slowly walked over. Gavin could now see the ice blue eyes that narrowed into a suspicious glare.

“I don’t know! I just woke up here?!” Gavin hobbled to the side, trying to keep the distance between them.

The man's eyes glanced down at Gavin’s leg, noticing the now loose bandages around his left ankle. Confusion filled his face but the man slowly relaxed.

“You’re hurt. You should sit down.”

Gavin scowled, about to respond with a scathing ‘I’m fine’ but his stomach got in before him.

He raised an eyebrow, “and starving, I assume?”

Gavin swore under his breath.

“Sit down… I’ll bring you some food.” Without waiting for a response, the man went back inside.

Gavin huffed and slowly slid down onto the dirt, his injured leg stretched out in front of him. The last thing he remembered was tumbling over as his leg got caught in the bear trap. So did this man free him? Bandaged his leg and brought him here? But why? Who the hell was he?

A few moments later the backdoor opened again and the man walked out with a plate of scrambled eggs on toast and a mug full of tea. He gingerly handed them over to Gavin. “Here… My name is Nines by the way.”

“That’s a number, not a name.” Gavin scoffed as he accepted the food.

Nines walked back over to the bucket of chicken feed and started sprinkling some out for the wandering chooks. “It’s what people call me, then. How about that?”

Gavin huffed and slowly munched down on the toast.

Nines turned back to Gavin after feeding the chickens. “And what about you?”

“Hm?”

“What’s your name?”

Gavin hesitated a moment, taking a long drink of tea. This 'Nines' guy must assume he’s a werewolf or something by now, right? Whether he knew beforehand is still up for debate. It must have been very late or very early that Nines had found him but why was he out in the woods at that time, to begin with?

“...Gavin.”

“Well, Gavin. You look like you could use a shower. And some clean clothes… and that bandage will need changing, the wound redressed and possibly stitched… but I’ll let you finish your breakfast first.”

He started to walk back inside.

“Wait.”

Nines paused and turned to look at him. “Yeah?”

“...How did you find me?”

He blinked for a second, confused before the dots started to connect in his mind, “...oh... I work as a Wildlife Conservationist and Park Ranger… I saw, well, you on the trail cam.” And with that, he turned back around and headed inside.

Gavin looked down at his toast and chewed thoughtfully. “Maybe… Maybe I can hide here…”

But what I really need is that shower and clothing…

He wolfed down the rest of his toast and chugged his tea before carefully hoisting himself back onto his feet. He took a moment to breathe and stabilise himself before hopping up to the backdoor of the house.

The old wooden door creaked open and Gavin found himself in a simple and old-fashioned kitchen. The only thing that looked relatively modern was the fridge. This man even had a non-electric kettle that just sat on the stove.

There were even more unfamiliar smells, but one that was more pungent than the rest; the smell of cat. It reminded Gavin of his own home…

He carefully hopped in and used the kitchen bench to help himself get around. Gavin heard footsteps thump down the staircase, and through the hallway before Nines walked into the kitchen with a pile of clothes and a towel in his arms. He tucked the pile under one arm and held out the other. 

“Here, let me help you.”

Gavin flinched back, letting out an involuntary snarl. Nines raised his hand in surrender.

“Hey, I’m not going to hurt you. I just want to help.”

Gavin stared at him for a moment longer before his shoulders slowly relaxed and he hobbled slightly closer to Nines. Nines took this as a good sign and put one of Gavin’s arms around his neck and helped him into the hallway and down to the bathroom. Once Gavin could use the shower to support himself he quickly let go of Nines. The taller man seemed to understand and placed the pile of clothes on the bench.

“Take as long as you want, just keep in mind the hot water is limited.” And with that, he left, closing the door behind him. Gavin sighed softly and began his shower.

Nines went into the kitchen and started rustling around in the pantry, feeling a familiar feeling brush up against his leg.

“G’morning Ghost, ready for breakfast are you?” The mottled grey cat meowed in response. “Alright, alright. No need to yell at me.” Nines smiled down at the old tabby who was trying to herd him over to her food bowl. He grabbed the box of cat biscuits and poured out a small handful into the bowl, Ghost immediately getting her face in the way to start eating. “Ugh, stupid cat. Now you have biscuit dust all over your head…” He chuckled and gave her small ear scritches. The old cat purred as she ate, content.

Nines smiled and went out the front door to the sheep paddocks. He was greeted by the bleating of the small herd, only 5 sheep in total, but their wool was still worth selling at markets. The sheep allowed him close enough to test the length of their coats.

“Almost time for shearing, huh?” The sheep was silent as it ate at the grass. “Alright, I’ll leave you guys alone.” He wandered off, inspecting the fence in case anything needed repairing. But everything looked fine for now. What did catch his attention was a car parked at the end of his driveway. It wasn’t particularly unusual for someone who was lost to park on the side of the road out here in the middle of nowhere, but something about this car, in particular, gave Nines a bad feeling.

He made his way out of the paddock and up the driveway to the car. The driver inside rolled down their window as he approached. Nines waved as he greeted them, “Hey? Can I help you?”

“Yeah, actually. I’ve been investigating an increase in wolf activity in the area for the USDA. Have you seen anything out here?”

Chapter Text

“Wolves?” Nines squinted at the man, he wore aviator glasses and appeared to be wearing a nice suit. 

“Yes, wolves. They’re incredibly dangerous and can cause problems for farmers and their livestock too.” He gestures to Nines’ sheep. 

You’re definitely not a wildlife expert of any kind if you think wolves are that dangerous. Next, you’ll be telling me they have alpha/beta social dynamics. Idiot.

“I’ve seen evidence of bears poking around, but no wolves.”

The man nodded, making a few notes on his notepad. “Well, if you do see anything, feel free to call or email me” He rummages around his car before handing Nines a business card.

Nines gave a small nod, “yeah, sure.”

“Well, have a good day, sir.” The man then wound up his window and drove off. Nines stood there for a moment, watching him drive away.

I bet him or one of his buddies were the ones who set that trap…

Gavin hobbled out of the bathroom, the clothes Nines provided were slightly too big on him but he wasn’t about to complain. The smell of the flowery detergent was comforting, and the good quality shampoo and body wash made Gavin feel cleaner than he had been in a long while.

But he couldn’t get too comfortable yet, his ankle was still a huge pain. Literally. So he stumbled down the hallway and into the kitchen, searching for a first aid kit. A hiss alerted him to another presence in the room, a mottled grey cat with its fur puffed up, back arched and ears flattened back against its head, was standing between Gavin and its food bowl. 

Gavin put his hands up and carefully backed away, “uh… good kitty… no need to hiss at me…”

The cat grumbled and slowly settled back down but did not take its eyes off Gavin. He slowly lowered his hands, looked around the kitchen and spotted a packet of cat treats within arm's reach. He picked it up and gently shook the packet, “Want some treats?”

The cat’s tail swished slightly but its ears perked up attentively. Gavin carefully got down on his knees and opened the treats packet, poured a few onto his hand and held it out towards the cat. “Here, c’mon…”

The cat watched Gavin for a moment before slowly stalking towards him, nose twitching as it sniffed out the treats. Gavin stayed as still as he could and let the cat approach him. Eventually, it got close enough to sniff his hand and the treats, and then finally munched the few treats.

“Good kitty… see, I’m not that scary…”

The door opened and the cat immediately ran over to its owner. Nines smiled as the cat brushed against his legs and purred. “I hope you’re not scaring off our guest,” the tall man carefully picked up the cat who nuzzled Nines’ face.

Gavin scoffed, “only threatened to shred me if I got too close.”

Nines tsked, “Ghostie, you’re not a feral cat anymore. You can’t be threatening to shred people!” He chided the cat as if it was a misbehaving child.

Gavin raised an eyebrow, “Ghostie?”

Nines let Ghost jump down to the floor and walked over to Gavin to help him back onto his feet. “Her name’s Ghost, she was a stray cat that was terrorising my chickens but disappeared every time I tried to catch her, so I named her Ghost.”

Gavin grabbed a nearby chair and carefully sat down, grunting at the pain in his ankle. “Creative.”

Nines scoffed, grabbing a first aid kit. “How are you with needles?”

Gavin shrugged, “I’ll be fine, just get it over with.”

Nines nodded but passed him some painkillers and a glass of water anyway.

Gavin downed a couple of painkillers as Nines focused on setting up the stitching kit and making sure everything was sterilised. He grabbed a chair and sat opposite Gavin, he carefully lifted Gavin’s foot onto his lap. He got a cotton ball and disinfectant and carefully cleaned the wound and the skin around it.

Gavin hissed in pain but did his best to not flinch, gripping the sides of the chair tightly.

Nines glanced at him before starting to stitch the wounds closed, eyebrows furrowed in focus. It took a few minutes before Nines cut and tied the thread and began to bandage the ankle. “There. It’s not perfect, but should hold as long as you stay off of it.” He gave Gavin a pointed look.

Gavin raised his hands in surrender, “Yeah, yeah, fine…”

Nines carefully set Gavin’s foot back down and then stood up and washed his hand. “Good. Your ankle is also possibly broken, but without an x-ray, it’s hard to tell… and I suspect you don’t want to go to the hospital for one.”

Gavin shook his head, hugged his uninjured leg, his right one, into his chest and glared at the wooden floorboards. Nines leant back against the sink with his arms across his chest, trying to read Gavin’s body language.

“...There was a guy at the gate asking about wolf activity in the area.”

Gavin looked up at him immediately, eyes wide with fear. “Did you-?!”

“Relax, I didn’t tell him anything. Nor do I ever plan to.” 

Gavin slowly relaxed, letting out a sigh of relief, “So… what did you say?”

“Just some garbage about bears digging in my trash,” he smiled at his little pun before going serious again and placing the business card on the table. “The man claimed to be from the USDA but I seriously doubt it.”

Gavin picked up the business card and studied it, Nines’ rant about the man’s lack of wildlife knowledge was just white noise to him.

So this is the guy who's been tracking me down this whole time… Adam Brown… Where do I recognise that name from?

“-but whatever, what do I know? I only have a degree in this shit.”

Gavin put the business card back down as he refocused on Nines. “A degree in what, sorry?”

“Zoology, the study of animals, and a minor in environmental science.”

Gavin nods slowly, “So, animals and their habitats?”

“Yeah, basically.”

Gavin looked back down at the floorboards and hugged his leg to his chest again. “...and… what do you know about werewolves?”

Nines studied him, mildly surprised by the question, “Well, not much, aside from a kind of pop-culture knowledge, but how accurate that is…?” he raised his hands in a kind of half-hearted shrug.

Gavin’s fingers tapped on his leg nervously, “Well, to start with… the full moon thing is partially true…”

“Partially?”

“...A werewolf can… ‘shift’ when they want… the full moon just makes the… urge to… stronger.”

Nines’ rubbed his jaw thoughtfully, “...and… does it hurt?”

“The first time was the worst… but… then I guess your body gets used to it…” Gavin looked over at Nines. He expected to see scepticism, this guy was a zoologist after all. But instead, Nines looked serious, ice blue eyes laser focused with a slight frown on his face.

“...You seem to be taking the fact that werewolves are real pretty well…”

Nines shrugged, “Well when there’s one sitting in my kitchen and wearing my clothes, it’s a bit hard to dismiss.”

“You aren’t… scared, at all?”

“Of you? No. I wouldn’t have let you into my house if I thought you were dangerous.”

Gavin frowns, “You aren’t scared I might lose control?”

Nines shook his head, “I know how to deal with wild animals, and none would try to hunt and kill a human if easier, tastier food was available.” He gives a sly smile and gestures to the fridge.

Gavin scoffed at him, “Sounds like you’ve got it all sorted out.”

“I like to keep a well-stocked kitchen, is all.”  

Chapter Text

Nines checked the time on his watch, "So, I work night shifts which means I should be going back to sleep about now. Feel free to make yourself lunch or watch TV or whatever, just stay off that damn leg."

Gavin rolled his eyes, "Yeah, I know."

"Good. I'll make some dinner tonight before I leave, and I'll be back sometime after 3.30."

"Got it. Have a nice… nap or whatever."

Nines nodded in response and started walking to his room.

"Um- Nines?" Gavin called just before Nines left the kitchen.

"Yeah?"

"...Thanks for… helping me…"

Nines gave a small smile, "No problem, Gavin."

Gavin let out a small sigh once the tall man had gone upstairs before making eye contact with the old cat. “Don’t stare at me like that.”

“Mrr,” Ghost responded before trotting past him and into the living room. Gavin hesitated a moment before he carefully hopped after the cat. The living room was just as rustic as the kitchen with all sorts of nicknacks and pot plants littering every flat surface. Ghost had made herself comfortable on an old armchair with a blanket folded up like a cat bed. Curious green eyes watched Gavin as he hobbled over to the sofa, the man groaned as he laid down and lifted his injured leg up onto the armrest. The painkillers were starting to kick in, but as the sharp pain in Gavin’s ankle was subdued the dull pain of every muscle in his body came to his attention. A painful reminder of what he had been through. Gavin groaned again and rubbed his eyes with his palms, the exhaustion had finally caught up to him and he slipped into unconsciousness.

Nines made his way downstairs at around 5.30 pm, rubbing sleep from his eyes. He paused as he reached the bottom step after hearing an odd sound. He listened for it again, and sure enough, there was some kind of rumbling sound coming from the living room. Nines cautiously walked over and peeked his head into the room.

The setting sun was casting the room in a dull orange light. Another strange rumble drew Nines’ eyes towards the sofa where he saw Gavin passed out, drooling. The shirt Nines’ had loaned him had ridden up with one hand resting on his stomach, the other hand hanging off to the side. Nines quickly realised that the strange rumbles were from Gavin snoring away.

His eyes then fell onto Gavin’s injured ankle, the bandages were still clean so he knew the stitches were holding. Nines was still amazed that the unconscious wolf he had found the night before and the man now asleep on his sofa were one and the same. It threw his worldview into question, if werewolves existed then what else did?

Nines shook his head, he didn’t have time to follow that line of questioning right now. Instead, he slipped silently away and into the kitchen where he got to work making dinner. He turned on his radio and hummed along as he cooked enough spaghetti bolognese for himself and a starving werewolf.

Gavin slowly came to consciousness with a delicious smell that made his stomach rumble loudly. His eyes slowly came into focus as he saw a plate of spaghetti sitting on the coffee table. He slowly sat up, his muscles no longer ached but he still let out a hiss of pain as he shifted his ankle. Gavin cleaned the drool off his face before wolfing down his dinner. 

As he ate, his mind began to wake up. Looking around the room he noticed that Ghost was no longer sleeping on her chair and that on the floor next to the sofa was a small pile of pillows and blankets. Nines had obviously come by a couple of times and yet Gavin hadn’t woken up. Normally he would wake up to every little noise or change in smell.

However, he had to admit that there was something about the small home that made him feel safe. Combined with his exhaustion, it led to Gavin having the best sleep he'd had in about 3 months. And he wasn't about to start complaining.

Gavin soon finished eating his dinner and promptly heard Nines trot down the stairs. The tall human poked his head into the living room before filling the doorway and leaning against the frame. He was wearing his ranger uniform with his high-vis jacket draped over his arm, "How are you feeling?"

"Better," Gavin grunted as he lifted his legs back onto the sofa, he had to admit that Nines made the uniform look good. 

"That's good, I'd just thought I'd check in before heading off to work," Nines’ fingers tapped on the door frame lightly, “Do you need anything before I go?”

Gavin thought for a moment before shaking his head, “Just letting me stay here is… plenty, already… and I don’t really have any way to repay you…”

Nines’ eyebrows furrowed as he folded his arms across his chest, “I don’t expect payment. I don’t know what happened before I found you, but you looked like you’d been through hell. You still do. It's the least I could do to help…"

Gavin let out a humourless laugh, "If only more people were as nice as you… maybe then I wouldn't have ended up in this situation…"

There was an edge to his voice that made Nines frown. "I'm sure whatever happened wasn't your fault."

Gavin just shook his head, "...go do your job, I'll be fine…"

"Have a good night, Gavin." Nines disappeared down the hallway, then the old ute rumbled to life and rolled down the driveway.

Gavin stayed where he was on the couch for another good 20 minutes before he felt an uncomfortable itch start to spread through his body. He tilted his head towards the window to see the light of the full moon streaming in. "Fuck."

Gavin promptly rolled off of the couch and stripped as the itch turned into fire, boiling his blood and searing his skin. Gavin managed to remove all of the clothes Nines had kindly lent him before the change fully took hold. His pelvis shifted and lengthened, forcing him onto all fours. His hands and feet morphed as the bones shrunk or lengthened and shifted around into paws with nails turning into claws. His clavicle broadened, sternum and ribs all shifted positions. His spine extended out past his rear into a tail. His teeth all sharpened into canines, and his nose and mouth extended into a muzzle. Every single muscle, ligament, and tendon was stretched and retracted and pulled into position. The transformation was finally completed as a thick coat of dirt brown fur encased his body. It took the better part of a minute and once complete, Gavin was blasted with a headache-inducing wave of scents and smells that his now even more acute senses were being overloaded with.

Gavin's ears flicked and his nose twitched as he started to filter out the unnecessary information. Slowly his headache subsided and he shook himself off, ridding his body of the remaining discomfort. Gavin took a deep breath through his nose and finally consciously picked up on Nines' scent. It was subtle, even in his own home, and carried a hint of Earl Grey tea. It was comforting.

What the hell am I doing? Gavin grumbled to himself as his wolf instincts took over his tired body. He buried his nose into the pile of pillows and blankets where Nines' scent was the strongest before fully burying himself into it. An annoyed growl rumbled through his chest even as his tail thumped in happiness, the weight of the blankets combined with Nines' scent gave Gavin a sense of security he hadn't felt in a very long time.

Nines waved to his colleague as they drove away before walking into the Ranger tower and getting settled into work. He checked through the log book, reading through the entries since his last shift. He skimmed through all the typical guest-related incidents before finding something odd: sometime before 4 pm trail cam 4A had gone missing.

A twist of anxiety took hold of his stomach. Out of an abundance of caution, Nines got out his phone and took a picture of the log entry before accessing the archived footage and scrubbed through the 4A footage from around 3 am the previous day. When Nines had first spotted Gavin.

He expected to see the unconscious wolf caught in a bear trap, with himself and his truck turning up a minute later. But there was nothing. It was just an empty forest. Even the alarm-set-off tag had been deleted.

Nines sat back in his chair with a shaky breath, and for the first time wished he wasn't alone. He held his head in his hands and attempted to reign in his nerves by going over what he knew:

1. Someone placed a bear trap in the forest. 
2. The same day he took in a werewolf, a guy came by his place asking about wolf activity.
3. Someone got access to the ranger tower during the day and tampered with the archived footage.

They had to be all connected, there were too many coincidences. What he couldn't be sure of is if they knew Gavin was a werewolf or if they were just really sophisticated poachers.

Either way, Nines was now in the line of fire. The prospect of it being one of his own coworkers also floated in his mind. Panic gripped his heart and sent shivers through his body.

He got up from his seat and paced back and forth, shaking off the panic and refocusing his mind. He couldn't start spiraling now, he still had his entire shift to get through.

It was going to be a long night.

Finally, 3 am rolled around and Nines clocked off. He let out a sigh of relief as his truck started up and he drove home.

The relief didn't last long as he soon saw the headlights of a much bigger pickup truck speed towards him in his rearview mirror. Nines' gripped his steering wheel tightly as he continued driving just as he was.

He saw the truck pull out into the left lane and Nines eased off the gas to allow the truck to pass him more quickly. But instead, the large black truck hit his rear wheel, causing him to lose control and fishtail off the road and into a ditch.

Nines' seatbelt prevented him from flying out the shattered front window, but he felt pain spread across his chest. His head was forced forwards, the airbag preventing him from smashing his face into the steering wheel but he still felt his nose crack. The whiplash blinded him momentarily and he fell unconscious a second later.

Chapter Text

Gavin grumbled awake as he heard a truck rumble closer to the house. He untangled himself from the pile of blankets and pillows and sloppily redressed himself. He soon froze in place as he realised something was wrong. He took a deep breath through his nose and strained his ears. He couldn't get a good smell of the driver yet but he could hear that it was a different truck, it was bigger and louder.

Anxiety hit his chest like a bowling ball and he frantically searched for a place to hide. He heard footsteps approach the kitchen door and jiggled the locked door. Gavin finally got a whiff of the stranger and immediately recognised it. There was no hiding, he had to run.

He heard the intruder start picking the lock and Gavin bolted to the living room, opening the window and silently slipping out into the garden below. A moment later he heard the kitchen door swing open and heavy combat boots stomped into the house.

Gavin snuck around the outside of the house and passed by the large black pickup. Even in the dark, Gavin could spot damage on the front right bumper and the paint transference from another vehicle.

Fear gripped coldly onto his chest, but not for himself this time. He had to find Nines. Gavin heard the intruder ripping apart the house, searching for him, and decided to just run for it.

Gavin continued to run, barefoot, along the deserted roads. The pain in his ankle was now long forgotten. He followed the faint trail of Nines' scent he could pick up, or thought he was picking up. He started to think he was never going to find Nines until his scent started to become stronger, with an undertone of something else.

The closer Gavin got, the stronger the scent was. He quickly realised it was accompanied by the smell of human blood and he began sprinting. A few minutes later Gavin came upon a ute that crashed into the ditch.

"Nines?!" Gavin ran over to the driver's side and ripped the door off. He took a moment to catch his breath as he looked over Nines' injuries. The human's nose was broken and dripping blood, bruises formed around his eyes. The shattered glass had cut up his arms, with some shards having been embedded into his face and shoulders. At least the structural integrity of the truck chassis had prevented Nines' legs from being crushed.

Nines' eyes fluttered open, his blue eyes unfocused and glazed over with pain. "G-Gav…?"

"I'm here, man, I'm here. You're gonna be okay," Gavin attempted to comfort Nines, despite himself freaking out.

Nines' eyes closed again as he tried to shift his arms, letting out a low groan as he did so. Gavin frowned, gently placing a hand on his arm to keep him still. "Stay still, I'll figure something out…"

Nines kept moving his arm however, eventually pulling his phone out of his pocket. It was miraculously unscathed. Nines opened his eyes again and pressed the phone into Gavin's hand, groaning out an instruction. "C…Call Connor…"

Gavin hesitated a moment before doing as instructed, calling the emergency contact 'Connor.'

It was the longest, most stressful wait Gavin had ever experienced.

"Hello?" A groggy voice finally answered.

"Is this Connor?" Gavin asked, trying to keep the panic from his voice.

"Yeeah?"

Gavin took a deep breath, "Nines has been in a car crash and asked for me to call you."

Immediately he heard Connor spring to action, "When? Where? I'll be right there."

Gavin gave him the location of the crash as best he could. He heard Connor swear under his breath. "I'll be there in 20." Then the line went dead.

Gavin let out his own string of curses before focusing back on Nines, seeing him drift back unconscious. "Hey, man. You gotta stay awake, Connor is on his way." 

Nines let out another small groan before murmuring semi-coherently. "First aid… in back…"

Gavin put Nines' phone in his pocket and began to search for the first aid kit, finding it in the metal chest in the flatbed. He moved back to Nines' side and started to clean and bandage what he could, talking to Nines the entire time to make sure he stayed awake.

It felt like forever before Gavin spotted headlights driving towards them. A modern, silver sedan parked on the side of the road with the headlights still on as the driver got out and rushed over.

"Nines?!" Gavin moved aside to allow Connor to kneel by Nines' side. He quickly noticed the similarities between the two and concluded that they were likely brothers. The anxiety in Gavin's chest started to ease, especially as he saw the small smile on Nines' face.

"Hey, Con… fancy seein' you here…"

Connor frowned, "I warned you against doing night shifts, I knew something like this would happen…"

Nines' expression dropped to a frown and tried to explain but was incomprehensible.

"He was run off the road," Gavin translated. 

Connor looked back at Gavin, "How do you know?"

"The damage to the left rear bumper, and I bet there's tire marks on the road."

Connor eyed him sceptically before standing up, "Get Nines and his stuff into my car." He then pulled out his phone and flashlight and started taking photos of the car and tire tracks.

Gavin put Nines' arm around his shoulder and started to gently shift him out of the car and into his arms. "You're gonna be okay…" He murmured as Nines grimaced in pain.

Once out of the car, Nines' head dropped to Gavin's shoulder and he mumbled incoherently again. Gavin swore under his breath again and walked carefully over to Connor's car, "You gotta stay awake, Nines." He held the human with one arm for a moment as he opened the car door then gently placed Nines down on the back seat. Nines grumbled incoherently again, his hand weakly grabbing Gavin's arm.

Gavin gently pulled himself from the human's grip, "I'll be back, I just gotta grab your stuff, okay?" Gavin then slipped back to Nines' truck and rummaged through it, grabbing anything he could find. He put Nines' stuff into the trunk of Connor's car, except for his jacket which Gavin wrapped around his shoulders. He then put the seatbelt around Nines, the injured man mumbled and grimaced at the pressure on his chest.

"You'll be okay, Nines…" Gavin attempted to comfort him as Connor got back into the driver's seat.

"So, what's your name?" Connor's dark brown eyes glanced back at the stranger comforting his brother.

"...Gavin," He eventually grumbled out as he put his own seatbelt on.

Connor eyed him for a moment longer, his scrutinising gaze softening as he saw Nines resting his head on Gavin's shoulder. "He sure trusts you…"

Gavin grunted a little, feeling embarrassment flooding his face, "I really don't know why…"

Connor scoffed at him and started up the car, "So, how did you meet Nines?"

Gavin looked out the window, formulating his answer carefully, "...He… he found me in a… bad spot and has been helping me get back on my feet."

Connor turned the car around and started driving down the road, "So have you been staying with him?"

"Yeah…" Gavin quickly looked back towards the front, "But it's not safe to go back there."

Connor frowned at the fear that made its way into Gavin's voice but stayed focused on the road, "Why?"

"Just- Trust me. Please."

Connor took a deep breath, "Okay. Fine. We'll go to my place. But you better explain yourself."

"I will," Gavin settled back into his seat, making sure Nines was still okay. "But I want Nines to be fully conscious when I do…"

Connor silently accepted the terms and drove them back to his apartment.

After a careful 30-minute drive, Connor pulled into the car park behind his apartment building. Connor shut off the engine before turning to look back at Gavin and Nines, "Will you be okay to carry him inside? I'll grab his gear."

Gavin gave a small nod and carefully picked Nines up into his arms before walking up to the entrance of the building and waiting for Connor.

Connor put Nines' gear into a bag and slung it over his shoulder before locking the car. He held open the door for Gavin, the light from the hallway washed over them and he finally noticed the gruff man was barefoot. He raised an eyebrow at Gavin with a silent question.

"I didn't have time to grab shoes," Gavin grumbled as he walked inside.

Connor scoffed and led him down the hallway to the elevator, "My place is on the third floor. You still alright carrying him?"

"Yeah, don't worry about me…" Gavin huffed, the run had drained most of his wolfish energy and the adrenalin was wearing off but Nines felt light in his arms.

Connor gave a small nod and stepped into the elevator, pressing the third-floor button as Gavin stepped in beside him.

"How's he holding up?" Connor asked as the elevator started moving.

"Unconscious. But he seems to have stopped bleeding…" Gavin mumbled, unfamiliar smells were bombarding his senses again and fueling his anxiety.

Connor gave a small sigh in response but asked no further questions as the elevator opened up on the third floor and Connor guided Gavin down to his apartment.

Connor swiftly unlocked the door and held it open for Gavin, "Just place him on the couch."

Gavin gently placed Nines on Connor's couch as he heard Connor close and lock the door. His focus quickly shifted to the strong smell of dog that coated the apartment, it was immediately followed by the clacking of claws on the wooden floorboards.

Gavin only just got a glimpse of the black and white dog as it barrelled towards him.

"Rosie-!" He heard Connor try to halt the dog but she slammed into Gavin, making him fall to the floor, and started sniffing him from head to toe.

Gavin groaned as he pushed the curious nose away from his face, "phckin' bulldozer…"

Connor finally grabbed Rosie's collar and pulled her away from Gavin, "I'm sorry about her, she's way too excited about visitors."

Gavin only grunted in response as he sat up and eyed the dog. Her dark, intelligent eyes watched his every move, fluffy tail wagging away. "...Rosie, was it?"

Rosie's eyes lit up as she heard her name and pulled against Connor's hold on her collar. "Yeah, she's mostly Border Collie with a bit of Samoyed, hence all the fluff."

Gavin gave a small nod and held his hand out towards the dog. Connor let go of her collar and Rosie immediately went to sniff Gavin's hand then nudged her nose into his palm, asking for pets.

Gavin obliged, running his fingers through her thick, fluffy fur.

"If you keep her occupied for a bit, I'll see to fixing up Nines more." Connor had brought over a big box of first aid supplies and begun to carefully remove Nines' shirt.

Gavin let out a small grunt in acknowledgement and continued lavishing the lucky dog with pets but he could feel the hairs on the back of his neck stand up as Connor stared at him occasionally. Eventually, Gavin let out a sigh of annoyance, "What do you want?"

"...That scar across your nose is very distinctive… Detective Reed."

Gavin felt panic grip his chest as he quickly turned to face Connor, "How did you-?"

"I've read your file. One of the best detectives in the city disappears for 3 months and is presumed dead? I'm certain everyone in Detroit knows your face."

"Shit-" Gavin groaned, rubbing his face tiredly. Rosie gently nudged her nose into his chest, sensing his anxiety.

"Ya know, Hank, Officer Chen and Officer Miller never gave up searching for you. What happened?"

"I- I can't talk about… I should leave. I've already gotten your brother into trouble-"

He heard Connor stand up suddenly, "You fucking what?!" Connor's voice was still at a moderate volume, but the rage was evident in how he spat out the words.

Gavin scrambled to his feet and faced Connor, hands up defensively, "I didn't intend for this to happen- I didn't know they'd go after Nines-"

"What fucking shit have you dragged my brother into, Reed?!" It took all of Connor's self-control to not scream at the top of his lungs.

Gavin took a deep breath, trying to stay on top of the anxiety building in his chest. The urge to just tuck-tail and run was strong. "Connor- I- I just fucking can't talk about it right now-" his voice trembled, he sounded pathetic.

"Right," Connor's voice was scathing and unimpressed, but there was less of an edge, "You'll explain once Nines is coherent. I remember." He folded his arms across his chest, sneering. "But you have to tell me one thing. Why is Nines home not safe?"

Gavin gave a slow nod, giving himself time to regain his composure and not sound like a fucking coward, "The reason I said his house was unsafe, and the reason I knew he was run off the road, was because the guy who did it showed up at Nines place. I disappeared out the fucking window the moment he showed up. I saw the damage and paint transference on the front bumper of his truck and ran off to find Nines."

Connor glared at him for a moment longer before closing his eyes and sighing heavily. "Nines is stable enough for now… I'm going back to bed. In the morning, the three of us are going to have a nice long chat." His voice sounded exhausted and frustrated as he pushed past Gavin and disappeared into his bedroom.

Gavin's eyes fell back onto Nines. The tall human appeared to be sleeping peacefully now that his injuries had been properly taken care of. Bandages covered his torso and wound around his arms. His nose had been set back in place and supported by tape and a thick layer of cloth. There was still the scent of blood that set off Gavin's anxiety, but he managed to force it down as he sat on the floor with his back against the couch. He took a deep breath in through his nose and smelt the faint notes of Earl Grey that were so comforting.

Nines blinked awake with a groan, his mind slowly focusing through the numbing pain. He registered a light but constant pressure against his shoulder and turned to see Gavin's head resting there. Craning his neck a little further he saw Rosie laying across the werewolf's lap. Wait. Rosie?

"You're awake," he heard Connor speak up softly from where he sat across the room. Nines managed to focus his eyes enough to see the concern in his older brother's doe-brown eyes, "How are you feeling?"

"Like I got hit by a truck," Nines managed a small chuckle at Connor's unamused expression. "When can I go home?" Nines asked with fake annoyance, he knew his brother could be overbearing.

"I dunno. You'll have to ask your friend," There was a touch of venom in Connor's voice he wasn't expecting.

Nines frowned at him in confusion, "What do you mean? What did Gavin say?"

Connor folded his arms across his chest, "That your place wasn't safe. That the fucker who ran you off the road had shown up there."

Nines' hazy mind took a moment to comprehend what Connor had said, but as soon as he did his mind suddenly cleared with a wave of realisation.

Connor saw it too and walked a few steps closer, "What? What do you know?"

"The driver just wanted me out of the way. He was after Gavin. Still is, I would imagine."

Connor's eyes narrowed in suspicion, "Why?"

Nines' gaze turned back to Gavin, who appeared to still be asleep, "It's not my place to say… Gavin has put a lot of trust in me and I don't want to break that."

"Trust?! Niles, do you even know who the fuck he is?!" Nines immediately looked back up at Connor, he never used his real name. Before Nines could respond, Connor took another step closer and continued his rant, "Do you even know his full name? It's fucking Gavin Reed, by the way. You know, the guy dad worked with who went fucking missing?!"

There was a low, very low, growl that Nines felt more than he heard as Connor took another step closer. A warning. Connor didn't appear to notice it as he continued his rant. Nines carefully sat up, despite his protesting ribs, and purposefully used Gavin's shoulder as leverage. He felt the rumbling falter. Connor was furious, yes, but Nines knew he wasn't a threat. Connor was furious because he cared.

Nines waited patiently for his brother to shut up before speaking, "I might not know who he is, nor what has happened to him. But I know what he is, and that's enough for me to make my decision to trust him." He looked directly into Connor's eyes, daring him to challenge his decision.

All that fury soon dulled into mild frustration, "Well, for the record, I think it's a stupid decision." Connor grumbled as he walked into the kitchen to make breakfast.

Nines scoffed at him, "What else is new? Seriously, Connor, I'm an adult. I can make my own decisions-" He saw Connor open his mouth to retort, "- without your fucking criticism all the damn time." Connor promptly closed his mouth and avoided eye contact as he made breakfast. 

"Isn't he just a fucking delight," Gavin grumbled, his eyes still closed.

Nines sighed, "He's my older brother, he's allowed to be overbearing now and then."

" Fucking - how long have you been awake, Reed?" Connor glared at him over a bowl of cereal.

Gavin opened his eyes and glared right back, "Since you started yelling at your brother, asshat."

Nines rolled his eyes, "Jesus fucking Christ… you two are the absolute worst."

Connor continued glaring at Gavin until he blinked in confusion and turned his harsh gaze to Nines, "Also, hold on, what the fuck did you mean by you know what he is?"

Nines blinked, having forgotten he had let that slip, " Oh … Gavin, I'm so sorry- I didn't mean to-"

Gavin cut him off with a dismissive wave of his hand, "He was bound to find out eventually, he's your brother and a cop…"

"How did you-" Gavin just pointed to the picture on the wall of Connor graduating from the Police Academy, Lieutenant Hank Anderson's arm around his shoulders as they both smiled proudly. "Oh. Right." Nines sighed softly and turned his gaze to the floor, thinking over his words carefully.

Connor watched the two carefully, Gavin was trying to play it cool but his face had visibly paled and he was fidgeting with the long strands of Rosie's fur. Nines' knee was bouncing up and down with nervous energy. What was Gavin that had them so worked up? A super-spy? Some big wig billionaire? A cyborg? Hell, maybe even a mafia boss?

"Gavin's a werewolf..."

Connor blinked, his brain refusing to process the information. "What?"

"Gavin is a werewolf," Nines repeated himself but more confidently, making eye contact with Connor.

"You're joking," Connor knew Nines was serious but he still couldn't believe it. "A werewolf?"

Gavin's muscles all tensed, again he felt the urge to run and hide, but Nines' hand was placed back on his shoulder and squeezed gently. He looked up at Nines and saw he was still staring intently at his brother but didn't say another word.

Connor sighed heavily, rubbing his face tiredly, "Fuck me, man, it's only like 8am… and I still have to tell dad about your little accident."

Nines sighed and took his hand off Gavin's shoulder as he laid back down on the couch, "Do tell him that you've already given me enough of a grilling that I don't need him freaking out too."

Connor gave a small nod, "Yeah, I'll try but you know how he is… There's also the small matter of his workmate, who's been missing for 3 months, suddenly showing up." He gave Gavin a pointed look.

Gavin sighed heavily, "I'd rather not have to deal with Anderson if I can avoid it-"

"I don't think there's any avoiding it now," Connor interrupted, "These bastards who are after you nearly killed my baby brother. Hank is going to get involved whether you like it or not."

Gavin closed his eyes and sighed again, "I'm sorry you've all been dragged into this mess… into my mess…"

"Well, if you want this mess cleaned up then you better start from the beginning." Connor had finally sat down with his cereal and began eating, watching Gavin intently.

Gavin could feel Nines watching him with curiosity, even Rosie's ear had perked up. He took a deep breath through his nose and out through his mouth. Once again the subtle scent of Earl Grey calmed his nerves.

"Right… from the beginning…"

Chapter Text

~3 months earlier~

Gavin yawned as he made his way up the stairs of his apartment building. It was well after midnight and Gavin was eager to sleep off the aches and pains of a long day at work. He soon made it to his apartment and fumbled with the keys for a moment before unlocking the door and stepping inside.

Normally, Gavin would be greeted by the incessant meowing of his two cats but his apartment was dead quiet as he pulled the door closed behind him. Something was wrong. Very, very wrong.

Gavin rested one hand on his holstered gun as the other flicked on the lights. His apartment was just as he left it, an organised mess. Gavin took quiet, cautious steps towards his bedroom and slowly pushed open the door.

"Mrrrrooow." Two sets of green eyes stared up at him from under the bed. One hissed at him.

Gavin frowned and took his hand off his gun to lie down on the floor and meet his cats at their level. "What's wrong?" Just as he was about to extend his hand out to the scared cats, he heard the footfalls of heavy boots stalking towards his bedroom. That’s what’s wrong…

Gavin quickly got back onto his feet and hid behind the bedroom door, silently drawing his gun. Adrenaline coursed through Gavin's body as he waited for the intruder to appear. Not long later, a tall shadow loomed in the doorway. Gavin's cats scrambled further under the bed and out of sight. Gavin's muscles tensed as he waited for the right moment to strike. The figure paused in the doorway for a moment and Gavin could feel his heart beating rapidly in anticipation. It felt like forever before the intruder took a step into the room. Gavin kicked the bedroom door into the man, causing him to stumble sideways, and stepped out from behind the door with his gun trained on him. 

"Put your fucking hands up, asshole."

The tall man was well-built, wearing all-black tactical clothing with a black ski mask. Only his eyes were visible, catching the light of the main room. The man watched Gavin with mild amusement as he stood back up to his full height, easily over 6ft. His height and bulk alone wouldn't have intimidated Gavin, but those eyes unnerved him. A glowing, sickly orange. Something was seriously wrong with this guy, there was something about him that sent a cold shiver down Gavin's spine, something Gavin couldn't place but knew wasn't good.

Gavin gripped his gun tighter, "Put. Your hands. Up. I won't tell you again." Despite his nerves, Gavin's voice remained steady. Like hell was he going to let this guy scare him in his own fucking home.

The man kept his amused gaze on Gavin as he slowly lifted his arms above his head. But in the split second that Gavin had started to relax, the man lunged, a hideous snarl escaping his chest. Gavin quickly shot the man, the first bullet tore through his shoulder but it did nothing to slow him down. The second shot missed and flew into the ceiling as the intruder tackled Gavin to the ground. Gavin's back hit the floor with a heavy thud and knocked all the air out of his lungs, the gun easily wrestled from his hands.

The intruder held Gavin down with one hand on his chest, the other held his gun up for inspection, "It has been a long time since any of my prey have put up such a fight-"

"I ain't done fighting, jackass," Gavin hissed out once he regained his breath and tried everything he could to get rid of the man sitting on top of him, but nothing worked. The man was impossibly strong.

Again, the heinous orange eyes watched him with amusement, "Good. I have high hopes for you, Detective Reed. "

Before Gavin could register what had been said, a sudden, sharp pain spread from the side of his head and he blacked out.

Gavin groaned as he slowly came to, a pounding headache kept his eyes closed. He tried to rub his face only to find his arms wouldn't move. He mumbled in confused delirium and slowly opened his eyes. At first, the bright white lights blinded him and worsened his headache, but slowly his eyes adjusted and he turned his head to see his arms restrained to the metal table he was lying on in nothing but his boxers. Gavin summoned what meagre strength he could and tried to free himself, but it was no use. He was completely, firmly, strapped down.

"Ah, Good. You're awake," A friendly voice called as footsteps entered the room. Gavin turned his head to see an older man enter the room. He was short, shorter than Gavin, skinny, balding, and had a face you could easily forget. He wore glasses and a pristine white lab coat. "How are you feeling?" He asked casually as he checked Gavin over, checking his eyes, his ears, his heart and his blood pressure. Gavin refused to say a word, his glare was enough. The old man sighed and scrawled down notes onto a clipboard, "Very well, I shall make this quick. I cannot guarantee it will be painless, however."

"What do you want from me?" Gavin tried to growl, but it came out as more of a croak.

The man had moved out of Gavin's cone of vision and was messing about with something, "Me? I'm just doing my job. I hold no grudge against you, Mr. Reed. But I cannot speak for everyone else…"

"Who-" Gavin quickly shut up as he saw the man again, now holding a syringe with a nasty-looking needle attached to it. Panic spread through his chest and his breath caught in his throat.

The old man gave him a sympathetic look and a gentle pat on the shoulder, "I'm sure he'll come to see you soon enough. But for now, you may want to brace yourself…"

Without much more warning, the man injected something into Gavin's veins. At first, it just felt itchy, but it soon spread through his entire body. Everything was itchy and he couldn't move, let alone scratch anything. The itchiness quickly left his mind, however, as things started to change . His body started to change. His bones changed places, changed shape, and his muscles screamed in pain. He screamed in pain, writhing on the bench as much as the straps would allow.

The pain was unbearable, and soon Gavin's brain forced him unconscious.

Gavin slowly blinked awake, letting out a low groan as every muscle in his body started complaining. His face was half buried into a shitty mattress with a puddle of drool forming under his mouth. He closed his eyes again for a moment before finding the strength to slowly push himself up, managing to sit up and open his eyes again to look around.

Three concrete walls, the fourth wall made of steel bars. A single mattress on the floor. Gavin was in a cell.

He looked down at himself, his tired brain confused by the hospital gown he wore. But slowly the memories of the old man and his terrifying needle resurfaced. Gavin felt panic rise in his chest as he looked himself over more carefully. Nothing had changed.

But something had changed. He could feel it. He was different .

Gavin suddenly had to cover his nose and cough, a strong smell had suddenly blown into his cell. It stung his nose and made his eyes water. He then heard footsteps make their way down the hall, they seemed to take forever to get to him. Surely they weren't that far away?

As the footsteps got closer, the smell got stronger. By the time the footsteps had reached his cell, the smell was suffocating.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't my dear Detective Gavin Reed," a cocky voice drawled as a man around Gavin's age came into view. With his perfectly slicked-back hair and immaculate suit, Oscar Vettori looked just like how Gavin last remembered him. When the detective and his team took down Vettori's drug smuggling ring. Even his stupidly expensive cologne was the same. It was like the takedown had no effect whatsoever on the bastard's bank account.

"The fuck do you want, Vettori?" Gavin glared at the man. He felt a strange rumble build in his chest, disguised slightly by his coughing. That fucking cologne was already headache-inducing before all the… whatever the fuck was happening.

Oscar gave his charming, poisonous grin, "Well, after your little escapade," his grin died into a disgusted sneer, "and after I managed to avoid the courts… I decided to lay low for a while, work on my self-care, you know?" He shrugged before giving Gavin his snake-like grin again, "Oh, I forget. Gavin Reed? Self-care? Never."

"Get to the fucking point." Gavin's voice was normally kind of rough, but there was an extra gravel to it now.

Oscar seemed unperturbed and waved him off, "Well, while I was lounging at this luxury resort in Cali, a rather strange-looking man came up to me with a very… shall we say, interesting proposition." Oscar flashed his signature grin once more before pacing back and forth as he spoke. "Yes, you see the world is a very dangerous place, Gavin, and there will always be people willing to buy their security… for the right price, of course. But this man wasn't just trying to sell me security, oh no." He shook his head and crouched down to Gavin's eye level. "No, he offered me something even better," his voice was soft now, barely a whisper, and yet still Gavin could hear him as if he was right next to him, "No, he offered me a chance at revenge."

The two men locked eyes, neither backing down. But as Oscar's words sunk in, Gavin felt his heart start to race.

The fuck has he done to me?!

Oscar must've seen the spark of anxiety in Gavin's eyes, as the man's face splits into his poisonous smile. "You did so much more than just destroy my business, Gavin. You played with my heart too." Oscar drew himself back to his full height, smile gone again. Instead, it was replaced by a cold fury, "And now, I get my turn."

“You’re not going to get away with this, Vettori,” Gavin growled, “The DPD isn’t just gonna let one of their own disappear.”

Oscar scoffed at him, “They’re not going to find you, Gavin, not here. And do you truly believe any of your colleagues actually care about you beyond your professional abilities?”

Oscar may as well have just stabbed Gavin, though that would probably have hurt less. Yes, Gavin knew he was an asshole, that he wasn't well-liked, he didn't exactly make friends. But the idea of his workmates just up and forgetting about him twisted the metaphorical knife in his stomach and made him feel sick. Though that might just have also been a side effect of Oscar's pungent scent.

As Gavin looked down at his clenched fists, Oscar gave his serpentine smile again, "I hope you'll enjoy your stay, Gavin. Because I know I will." He laughed to himself as he walked off.

Gavin didn't know how long he sat there for, at times trying to quell his racing heart and regulate his breathing before he slipped into an anxiety attack, other times his mind was racing a million miles an hour as he desperately tried to come up with an escape plan. But eventually, he felt an itch start to spread through his body.

Oh no… no, no, no, no please-

He started scratching his arms, then his legs, his chest, neck, face, everywhere. Everything was itchy. The more he scratched, the faster it spread, until it encompassed his entire body and the changing began. Strangled cries of pain escaped his throat as Gavin could only writhe on the floor in pain, his muscles twisting and pulling and snapping as they made room for the changing bones. The mercy of unconsciousness evaded him this time as the pain grew to excruciating levels, even the hospital gown became painfully tight in places before being ripped through.

When finally the pain reduced to just a dull ache, Gavin got his chance to see what exactly had happened to him. The first thing he noticed was his large paws coated in brown fur. Panic began to build in his chest again as he swiftly checked the rest of his body: four paws, brown fur, a tail?! He lifted a paw to his face, rather clumsily, and could feel his snout, whiskers, and ears on top of his head.

What the fuck?!

In his panic, he hadn't noticed the footsteps approaching his cell, nor the newcomer's scent, until they spoke. "Ah good, you've survived."

Whirling around, Gavin saw the old man again. A threatening growl rumbled through his chest, deep and instinctual, as he backed away from the mad scientist.

The old man raised his hands in a placating gesture, "No experiments for today, I promise. I just thought I'd check in and see how you were faring with all the changes."

Gavin eyed him sceptically, but the old man did seem to be genuine as he studied Gavin from the safety of the hallway and wrote down notes onto a clipboard. A grumble of discontent made it out of Gavin's throat without permission.

The old man hummed in response, "I know you likely have more questions, and I'll do my best to answer when we meet again while you have the capacity for human speech, but for now I'll let you rest. I've been told that the transformations can take quite a toll, energy-wise, especially the first few." The old man gave an awkward, yet polite smile before leaving. "I'll see you again soon, Mr. Reed."

Gavin was left alone with his thoughts again, this time trying to understand what had just happened to his body. He was a wolf now? A werewolf?

A monster.

This had to be just some shitty nightmare.

It had to.

He was going to wake up any minute now and he’d be at home with his cats.

The bone-deep exhaustion and painful hunger pangs that hit him did nothing to support his nightmare theory.

How long had he even been here? Had anyone even noticed he was missing yet?

And his cats- Who’s looking after my cats?

Gavin curled in on himself as he thought about his precious furbabies, alone and hungry. They had always been there for him, even when no human ever was, and now they were all alone. He closed his eyes as they started to blur with tears even as he comforted himself with the thought his cats weren’t completely alone at least. They had each other. He could picture them curled up together on his bed; The oldest, Asshole, a 12-year-old Calico, always slept on Gavin’s bed, usually right in the middle. Gavin would always have to manoeuvre himself around him because like hell was he going to disturb his cute Asshole. Loki, on the other hand, was a recently adopted stray void who would sleep curled up on Gavin’s chest, or as close as she could get anyway.

Probably the only two beings on this earth who loved him.

Gavin didn’t know how long he spent curled up on the floor of his cell. There was no natural light and no clocks. He could have been laying there for hours for all he knew, feeling as if his stomach would dissolve him from the inside out if he didn’t eat soon.

That was until an unusual scent wafted down the halls and into his cell. It was familiar yet also foreign somehow. It wasn’t human, but similar. With it also came the unmistakable smell of food. Warm food. Good food.

Gavin managed to push himself to his feet and walked towards the bars. He wobbled slightly as he walked, it didn’t feel quite right to be walking on all fours. He then pressed his face against the bars, trying to angle his head to see down the hallway. But when he caught sight of the person carrying his food, Gavin scrambled away from the bars and to the far side of his cell. 

Heavy footsteps approached his cell until a familiar tall shadow stopped at the cell door. "Hello, Gavin Reed. We meet again." The orange-eyed man spoke. He didn't even have to try to be menacing, the unnerving orange eyes did it for him. However, combined with his now uncovered face, the churning pit of nerves in Gavin's stomach became worse.

The man's face looked like it was caught somewhere between human and wolf, with large fangs protruding from his misshapen mouth and Wolverine-esque sideburns. Even his ears had become pointer, coated in hair and had migrated to sit slightly higher on his head. His hideous mouth spread out into a grin, "I hope you're coping with the changes alright… because there are more still to come…"

The two watched each other for a moment longer before the man slid open a slot in the cell door and passed the tray of food through before closing it again. "Eat up. You'll need all the strength you can get if you want to survive."

Gavin took his advice and ate the simple yet nutritious meal after the man had left, then curled up on the mattress and tried to sleep. 

When he woke up an unknown time later, he was once again human. The bone-deep exhaustion had lessened but had not gone entirely. And once again, Gavin was strapped to the doctor's examination table in a new hospital gown. The smell of sterilising alcohol stung his nose. Out of sight, he could hear the doctor preparing his equipment. 

Gavin took a deep breath in through his nose and tugged on his restraints. They budged ever so slightly, but nowhere near enough for any chance at an escape.

"Please, try to relax," The doctor spoke, startling Gavin, "It'll be much easier for the both of us if you do."

He walked into Gavin's vision with another syringe, the needle on this one shorter and thinner than the first one. Gavin eyed the needle with a scowl for a moment before looking at the doctor. "So you're experimenting with turning people into werewolves? Is that what's going on here?"

"It's a part of it, yes." The doctors responded cryptically, filling the syringe with an unknown clear liquid.

"What's the rest, then?" 

The doctor hesitated to answer, "Private Security, I suppose."

"Werewolf bodyguards?"

"In a sense."

"For who?" Gavin couldn't help himself, the more information he had the better.

"For those who can afford it, I suppose." The doctor had pulled a stool over to sit on, seeming prepared to answer all of Gavin's questions.

Gavin scoffed, "People like Vettori?"

The doctor sighed, "Typically, yes. Those conducting illicit businesses often need our form of Private Security."

"Okay, so why werewolves?"

"Why not?" The doctor shrugged. “I personally find the... Changes rather fascinating to document.”

Gavin scoffed, “Of course… Alright, let's get this over with.”

“As you wish, Mr Reed.” The doctor stood again and grasped Gavin’s bicep, “You may want to relax your muscles as much as possible.” Gavin tried to relax, but his heart began hammering in his chest as the doctor loomed over him with the syringe. His heart rate continued to ramp up as he felt the needle pierce his skin and the unknown concoction was injected into his arm.

At first, it felt just like a flu vaccine injection, a weird numb chill flowing down his arm. But it was quickly followed up by a searing burn. Like fire flowing through his veins as it spread throughout his entire body. His muscles spasmed and forced him to pull against the restraints. A pained cry erupted from his throat that turned into an animalistic growl. His teeth sharpened to canines and his nails turned into claws. Gavin screwed his eyes closed as the burn entered his brain . Lights flickered behind his eyelids, unintelligible whisperings floated through his ears, hallucinations surely.

But then the whispers started to become clearer…

Give in…

Your pain will be over…

You’ll be free…

Don’t you want to be free?...

Free…

Yes. You’ll be free. Free from the pain. The loneliness…

I don’t want to be alone…

You won’t be alone anymore…

Join me…

Gavin…

Gavin’s heart rate started to slow. His breathing became shallow. Peace seemed to descend upon his body despite the burning in his veins.

But still, a small coil of unease stayed rooted in his mind.

This doesn’t feel right…

Something’s wrong…

This is wrong… wrong…

Fight…

I need to fight…

Fight it…

Fight.

FIGHT!

The searing burn came back to the forefront of his mind with a vengeance as Gavin bit down hard on his tongue.

And then everything went black.

He didn’t know exactly how he managed it, but in a semi-conscious state, Gavin had palmed the needle that had been used to stitch his tongue back together without anyone noticing. Back in his cell, and more consciously aware, a plan started to form in his mind.

Escape.

Freedom.

Gavin felt something coil in his chest. A wolf waiting to pounce. New, wild instincts joined with training and experience. 

He was going to get the fuck out of this hell hole.

With no clocks and no external light source, it was difficult to tell how long Gavin had been trapped in this sterile white hell. Nor did he know how big the place was. He knew he wasn't the only prisoner though, he occasionally heard the screams of pain of other poor souls being tortured. He only ever saw one of them, though. The experiments had driven them mad, howling and snarling while stuck in an awkward half-transformed state.

Gavin prayed he could escape before he succumbed to the same fate.

He couldn't dwell on it though, if he wanted to succeed. He had to focus. He had to try and recognise the patterns in the guard patrols and shift changes. He had to try and remain conscious through the doctor's experiments, to steal tools and better understand the layout of the complex.

And, most challenging of all, he had to stay calm. He had to keep a clear head, despite Oscar Vettori's attempts to rile him up. If he stayed calm, Gavin could learn to trust and use his new instincts and heightened senses. 

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. The guard patrolling outside his cell was about to leave. From then, Gavin would have about 15 minutes before a new guard would take his place.

15 minutes before the alarm would be raised, assuming they even bothered to check the cells.

The guard's footsteps disappeared down the hall and Gavin opened his eyes. He crept forward towards his cell door and carefully began picking the lock using the needle and a pair of scissors he'd stolen. He held his breath until he heard the faint click of the door unlocking. He held his breath for a moment longer.

No alarm. Good.

Gavin let out a soft sigh of relief and silently swung the cell door open and crept out into the hall. One door down. One door closer to freedom.

But now came the hardest part, finding the exit.

Gavin snuck barefoot down the monochrome white hallways until he came across a familiar room. Taking a peek through the windowed doors, Gavin saw the doctor sitting at his desk and compiling notes.

The door swung open silently and Gavin snuck up behind the old man, scalpel clutched tightly in his hand. He gently held the blade up the old man's throat, seeing him freeze up and hearing his heartbeat race.

"Tell me how to get out of here," Gavin growled into his ear.

"And if I don't?" The doctor's voice was surprisingly calm despite his situation.

"I don't want to hurt you. I just want to get out. But-" Gavin applied just enough pressure to the blade to create a shallow cut, "If you try to call for help, I won't think twice."

The doctor swallowed nervously, his voice wavering slightly. "Okay. Okay… you go back out into the hall, go back the way you came and then left at the next junction. If you keep going you'll find a sign saying "Cargo Bay." You follow those signs. They'll lead you out."

The scalpel blade was lifted away from the doctor's neck and Gavin silently scurried out, following the doctor's directions. Sure enough, he soon found signs leading him towards the cargo bay. But just as he reached a flight of stairs, all the white lights turned red and an alarm began blaring.

"ALERT. SUBJECT #313 ESCAPED. ALL GUARDS TO STATIONS. LOCKDOWN IN EFFECT."

Gavin swore under his breath and bolted up the stairs, opting for speed over stealth. Leaping up the stairs, two steps at a time, he eventually made it up the three flights of stairs and burst through the fireproof door at the top. He stumbled into a large warehouse full of crates and transport vehicles, guards in the process of locking everything down.

Their heads all snapped towards Gavin as he stumbled in, but he ignored their shouts as he ran towards the large rolling door that was being pushed closed.

He leapt over crates and shrugged off attempts to tackle him, eyes solely focused on his exit. His heart hammered in his chest, an itch spread through his body, followed by a burn as he transformed mid-stride.

The raggedy brown wolf slipped out just before the warehouse door slammed closed and disappeared out into the wilderness.

Chapter Text

Connor blinked at Gavin, cereal bowl still full. “Wait, so. Let me get this straight. You got kidnapped and tortured by an underground, werewolf-soldier, private security… group . All because you pretended to flirt with a drug lord, broke his heart and dismantled his smuggling ring?”

“Well... when you put it that way, it does sound kinda nuts...” Gavin hugged his knees to his chest, the retelling had brought back a dull ache throughout his body. The day had barely begun and he was already exhausted.

Connor watched him for a moment before sighing and giving up on his cereal. He then walked over and sat in a nearby chair, arms resting on his knees. His expression was soft but serious, one Gavin recognised as the expression most cops wore when dealing with victims. “We’ll find out who did this to you and-”

“Where are my cats?” Gavin interrupted, feeling an ache in his chest from having been away from his fur babies for so long. “Are they okay?”

“They’re fine. Tina is looking after them.”

“I want to see them now-”

“I know. But we have to go through the proper channels first, alright? I can call Tina to come over and bring some of your own clothes, but then you need to go to the station and probably have a chat with Hank and Fowler.”

“Okay…” Gavin mumbled, shrinking in on himself as Connor left to make the call. Tina was Gavin's best friend, but he wasn't sure if she'd still want to be after everything that's happened. What if he wasn't even the same person? What if she thought he was a monster? What if-

Gavin flinched as a hand gently touched his shoulder.

“Gavin?” It was just Nines. Gavin let out a small sigh of relief, inhaling the scent of Earl Grey and relaxed somewhat as he turned to look at him.

Nines’ eyebrows were furrowed in concern and the corners of his mouth dipped into a slight frown. “Are you okay?”

“I'm-” I'm okay , no he wasn't. He hadn't been okay in three months! He was exhausted, scared, and in pain. Nines, who had only been looking to help a wild animal, got hurt. He didn't know if Orange Eyes was still after him if the brute would follow him into the city, if he'd hurt other people he cared about. He didn't know if he could trust his friends and former colleagues if they'd believe him. And if they did, would they think he was a monster?

Gavin couldn't look Nines in the eye as he slowly shook his head.

Nines held Gavin's shoulder firmly, “We'll get you through this; me, Connor, your friend Tina. Hell, even Hank will help. If you need anything, just ask. Okay?”

Gavin scoffed as he looked back down at the floor, “You’re the one who got rammed off the road by a psycho…”

“I’ll heal. I’m not going to let that scare me away from helping you.” 

“...Guess you’re psycho too then…”

Nines let out a kind of snort-laugh that quickly turned into pained wheezing and coughing as he clutched his ribs, “D-Don't make me laugh, it hurts..”

Gavin huffed, not at all pouting, “I'm serious, what kinda weirdo puts their own life in danger to help out a stranger.”

Nines had calmed down from his fit to respond after a moment, “Isn't helping strangers who are in danger part of being a cop? Just because I'm not a cop doesn't mean I can't help people…”

Gavin grumbled, seeing that he was definitely losing this round, “Well, as a cop , I don't think you should be risking your life like this… it's bad enough Connor, and I guess now Hank, have been dragged in and they are cops.”

Nines sighed softly, “I see your point.. I know I'm not as well equipped to deal with this sorta thing as Connor and Hank, but I was the one who found you in the woods. I was the one who got you out of that bear trap and patched you up. I started this, I'm going to see it through.”

Their eyes locked for a moment and Gavin felt an odd urge to shift and curl up on the couch with Nines but he resisted. Instead, he quickly looked down at the floorboards, embarrassment causing his face to turn pink. “Y-..you should get some rest.. and maybe get Connor to take you to the hospital or something..” He stuttered lamely, ultimately ending the conversation.

Not long later, Tina had arrived at the apartment with Gavin’s sports bag, which he normally kept in the station’s locker room, over her shoulder. Rosie was the first to greet her, of course. “Hello puppy,” Tina cooed. The border collie’s tail wagged happily as she received pets.

Gavin awkwardly stood up as Tina saw him. “Gavin!” She exclaimed, dropping the bag as she rushed over and engulfed him in a tight hug. At first, Gavin was tense and didn’t hug back, but the warm hug and the scent of lavender body wash began to break down Gavin’s walls and melted into the hug. Gavin buried his face into Tina’s shoulder, his tears staining her shirt, and wrapped his arms around her. He was cautious about hugging too tightly, well aware of his werewolf strength, but Tina didn’t seem to mind if he did. 

Tina pulled back from the hug after a moment and held Gavin’s face in her hands, gently turning his head this way and that as she inspected him. “You look good with a beard,” she finally spoke, a smile on her face despite the tears rolling down her cheeks.

Gavin chuckled a little, having not really thought about his unkempt appearance. He hadn’t really had the time to between escaping into the woods as a wolf and evading Orange Eyes.

Tina's expression turned sad again as she took note of the bags under Gavin's eyes and sunken cheeks. Her hands moved to Gavin's shoulders, able to feel the bones with concerning detail.

“You're scrawnier than I remember,” Tina tried to keep the conversation light-hearted as she jabbed Gavin's stomach.

Gavin gently swatted her hands away, “I'll be fine… how are my cats?”

“They're okay, they miss their dad though.” 

Gavin felt his heart ache for them, “I've missed them too..”

Tina gave a small smile, “I know… but first, here,” she handed the sports bag over to Gavin, “It's just the stuff you kept in your locker, but I imagine it'll be nice to wear your own clothes again…”

Gavin thanked her and went to shower. After his shower, he got dressed into the clothes Tina had brought him. A pair of black joggers and a grey Detroit Police Academy t-shirt. In the bag was also a set of clean underwear, socks, running shoes, a navy Detroit Police Academy hoodie, and a pack of cigarettes.

Unfortunately for Gavin's now super-sensitive nose, the smell of the cigarettes had coated everything in the bag. Gavin grimaced, I can't believe I used to smoke… He'd just have to deal with it for now.

The clothes hung a bit loose on Gavin's frame. It was the first time Gavin actually took notice of how much his muscle mass had wasted away. It would take some time training, and a healthy diet, to regain it. Not that I need the muscle, being a werewolf I guess… 

…

Ah, who am I kidding, I want that muscle back.

Tina drove Gavin to the precinct. The drive over was mostly silent, neither knowing what to talk about. It was still a comfortable silence, as Gavin was just happy to be reunited with his best friend. 

“Gavin…” Tina started as she parked her car. Gavin looked over at her.

“Yeah?”

Tina chewed on her lip in worry, “Connor told me a bit about what happened to you… and Anderson and Fowler aren't exactly known for their… gentle natures. Ya know?”

“I know, T…” Gavin fidgeted with the seams of his shirt until Tina reached over to hold one of his hands.

“...I could go in with you, if you'd like? To keep them in line.” To help you through it was what she really meant. They both knew, and they both knew Gavin wouldn't have accepted Tina's offer if she'd said it.

“...Yeah, okay…”

Tina gave him a reassuring smile before leading Gavin inside. The moment Gavin stepped inside he could feel himself becoming overstimulated already, the smells of a dozen different colognes and perfumes, the chatter of several dozen people. Gavin rubbed the bridge of his nose and he felt a headache already forming.

Tina noticed his discomfort and moved them quickly through to Fowler's office, the glass walls already set to opaque for a private conversation. Once inside the glass box office, the sounds and smells were dulled enough to give Gavin some relief.

But it wouldn't last long.

Captain Fowler and Hank were already waiting for them in Fowler's office. Fowler gestured for Gavin and Tina to sit.

The two older men then shared a look before Hank sighed and started talking. “Gavin… Connor called earlier and told us what you told him…”

Gavin shrunk into his chair, “...Okay, and?”

Hank sighed, “We need you to make an official report so we can begin tracking down the psychos who took you-”

“Just use what Connor told you.” Gavin folded his arms across his chest, feeling his heart begin to race.

“Reed,” Fowler said, “There are elements to the story that Connor told that is… well… unbelievable, to put it lightly.”

Gavin bristled at the implication, “I wasn't lying.”

Fowler held up his hands placatingly, “I never said that, I just think maybe with all the stress and whatever the hell those people did to you-”

Gavin suddenly got to his feet, hands clenched into fists at his side, “I know what happened to me! I'm not making it up!”

Everyone could see that Gavin's breathing was starting to become rapid and uncontrolled, fear evident in his eyes despite his aggressive tone.

Hank carefully stepped towards Gavin, “Take it easy, son. No one is saying that-”

“Don't-!” Tina couldn't finish her warning as Hank placed his hand on Gavin's shoulder.

Gavin snapped. “DON'T TOUCH ME!” With a deep, aggressive snarl, Gavin shoved Hank hard enough that the Lieutenant went flying into one of Fowler's bookcases. Gavin then backed away into a corner and slumped to the ground with his head between his knees and fingernails scratching at the back of his neck. Everything was too bright, too loud, too many smells. He felt like he couldn't breathe, he couldn't think, he just wanted everything to go away. He could feel the beginning of that itch starting to spread through his body. No no no please not here don't please no-

“Gavin…” Tina had knelt in front of him, hand held out, palm up. She didn't touch him at all, instead, she let Gavin dictate when and how much physical contact he wanted.

Gavin barely lifted his head as he clasped onto Tina's hand like a lifeline. Tina could feel Gavin was trembling like a leaf, a far cry from the headstrong and fearless man she had known. “Oh Gavin…” She manoeuvred herself so that she could sit next to him while still holding hands and gently rubbed her thumb in comforting circles on the back of Gavin's hand.

Gavin let out a shuddering sigh as he slowly regained control of his breathing, the itch fading away. He let himself lean into Tina's side and closed his eyes. Once again he smelt the lavender body wash, a soothing scent that continued to ease his frayed nerves.

On the other side of the room, Captain Fowler had helped Hank out of the fallen books and crumpled bookcase and into a nearby chair. He made sure Hank was okay before looking over at Gavin and Tina. “Take him home, Chen. We'll continue this some other time…”

“Yes, sir…” Tina stood and carefully coaxed Gavin to his feet and led him back out to her car.

“At least now you'll get to see your babies again,” Tina tried to cheer Gavin up, getting rewarded with a meek smile.

“Yeah…”

Chapter Text

“You're a fucking idiot,” Connor spoke into his phone, pinching the bridge of his nose. He had just arrived at Nines’ house to check on the animals when his phone had rung. “I love you, and I'm glad you're okay, but you're a fucking idiot sometimes dad.”

Hank huffed at him through the phone speaker, “What else was I supposed to do?”

Connor sighed, “Well, for starters, maybe actually believe him?”

“I do!” Hank insisted, “I do believe him, I just- I mean, werewolves though? Really?”

“That implies you don't believe him, nor Nines.” Connor responded coldly.

Hank went silent for a moment, “...So you believe it then?”

“I do.” Connor replied firmly, “But if that’s not enough for you, go talk to Nines yourself. I’ve got to check on his animals.”

Hank sighed, “Alright, fine. Stay safe, Con.”

“Yeah, you too.” Connor hung up with a sigh. He then got out of his car and let Rosie out of the back seat. He pulled out a piece of paper from his pocket, reading the list of things Nines wanted him to do while Rosie ran around sniffing everything.

First was checking in on the small herd of sheep, making sure they were healthy and happy, and that their coats weren’t getting too long. Next were the chickens, scattering the feed and food scraps for them to eat and collecting any eggs. Lastly, Nines wanted Connor to check in on his cat, Ghost. To make sure she was fed, had access to water, and that her litter tray was clean.

Connor tended to the sheep and chickens relatively easily, despite Rosie following her herding instincts, and he had brought an egg carton to take the chicken eggs back home once he was done. But the moment he stepped inside the house he felt his stomach drop.

The house was a mess. Furniture had been torn apart, doors had been ripped off of hinges, and cupboards had been strewn open with their contents thrown across the floors. It was like a tornado had torn through the house. 

A tornado with claws… Connor thought to himself as he inspected the deep claw marks that had been left everywhere. Seems like this ‘Orange Eyes’ wasn't happy that Gavin had escaped… Even Rosie seemed to have sensed the residual rage as she stuck close to Connor's side.

Connor continued through the house, searching for Ghost, hoping the former feral cat had somehow avoided the carnage. It didn't take long to find her, thankfully. But based on the hiss she let out as Connor stepped into the bedroom, it was going to take some time to coax her out.

At Tina's home, Gavin was also trying to coax a cat out from under a bed. Well, two cats. Asshole and Loki had both fled to hide under the guest bed the moment Gavin had entered the house. He couldn't blame them, he doubted he smelt the same as before. 

The two pairs of green eyes just stared at him from under the bed, not at all interested in the treats in his hand. At least they aren't hissing at me… Gavin sighed, giving up and rolling onto his back to stare up at the ceiling. 

Gavin could hear Tina in the kitchen, on the phone as she cleaned up their lunch dishes. Judging by her use of the word “babe”, Tina was likely talking to her girlfriend. Gavin knew it was impolite to eavesdrop but it was a bit hard not to when you have super hearing.

“I know it's kind of sudden, but Gav doesn't really have anywhere else to stay, and his cats are here already.” Tina paused for a reply that Gavin couldn't quite hear. “He's- Yeah, he's quite fragile right now…” Gavin's stomach churned at the concern in Tina's voice. Gavin was the older of the two, he had filled the role of Tina's older brother for over a decade. He was supposed to be the one looking out for her, not the other way around… “You're a saint, babe.” Tina sighed with relief. At least Gavin now knew where he'd be staying.

As the conversation moved onwards, Gavin spotted movement out of the corner of his eye. Turning his head slowly, he locked eyes with Loki. The black cat had reached a paw out from the void to ‘steal’ a treat from Gavin's open hand. Realising she’d been spotted, Loki slowly withdrew her paw, taking a treat with it. The moment the treat left Gavin’s hand, the void darted forward to quickly snatch up the treat.

Gavin stayed as still as possible as Loki came back for another treat, softly cooing encouragement. “There we go, hello baby…” After a few more treats, Loki slinked out further followed by Asshole who snuck closer to snatch up the remaining treats. Gavin’s vision began to blur with tears as the two cats became reacquainted with his scent and rubbed their faces against his. Eventually, Loki sat atop of Gavin and started kneading his chest, purring away before settling down as a vibrating ball of fluff. Asshole soon joined her, purring contently.

Gavin held back sobs, not wanting to jostle the cats too much and risk them running away again, tears flowing freely from his eyes. I’m home…

Chapter Text

Gavin let out a rumbling groan as he settled into the bed, the waning moonlight filtering into the room through a gap in the curtains. He had piled the bed high with all the pillows and blankets he found in the closet before stripping down and shifting into his wolf form. After having lived mostly as a wolf while hiding in the woods for those nearly two months, it became the form Gavin felt the safest sleeping in.

The only problem was that Loki and Asshole didn’t want to stay with the ragged brown wolf. As much as it hurt, Gavin understood. In lieu of their comforting presence, Gavin instead buried himself under the pile of blankets. They smelled faintly of floral laundry detergent, a nice smell but not the soothing scent that his bone-deep exhaustion demanded.

The memory of the previous night wormed its way to the front of Gavin’s mind; the pile of pillows and blankets Nines had set out for Gavin, the warmth they held, the scent , how it washed over him and soothed his aching bones. The happy rumble that left his chest was embarrassing, but Gavin couldn’t dwell on it for too long as sleep washed over him.

Nines grimaced and held his ribs as Hank’s car drove over the bumpy country roads that led up to Nines’ home. He had spent the night in hospital having his injuries tended to, but there was only so much they could do for his bruised and battered ribs. 

Hank muttered an apology as he tried to make the drive as gentle as possible.

Nines shook his head, “It's not your fault I got rammed into,” he managed a small, pained chuckle.

Hank's frown deepened, “Don't even laugh about it, Niles. That lunatic could've killed you.”

“I know… I'm just… trying to ease the tension.”

Hank sighed and reached over to ruffle Nines’ hair before they both fell back into comfortable silence. Not long later they arrived at Nines’ home, police tape cordoned off the house while forensic experts were busy collecting evidence. One of Nines’ neighbours had already come by and moved the chicken and sheep to their farm. Seeing the empty chicken coops and empty fields made Nines feel strangely disconnected; he was home, but also wasn’t.

Nines flinched as he felt a hand on his shoulder and let out a hiss of pain as the movement jostled his bruised ribs.

“Sorry,” Hank lifted his hand from Nines’ shoulder, “Just wanted to ask if you’re okay..”

Nines took a deep breath, “I’m… fine. Everything’s just a bit… doesn’t feel real…”

Hank put an arm around his son’s shoulders, “You don't have to come in if you don't want to-”

“No,” Nines cut him off, “I'm fine. I can do this... Besides, I don't fully trust you to know exactly what I need to pack.”

Hank rolled his eyes, “Fine, but don't push yourself too much or else I'm dragging your ass back to the hospital.” 

“Yeah, whatever you say dad.”

With the permission of the forensics team, Hank and Nines carefully make their way through the house and pack just the essentials. Nines got Hank to pack his clothes into a suitcase while he searched for Ghost’s cat carrier and loaded the backseat with Ghost’s food, meds, kitty litter and favourite blankets.

The scraggly cat had been hiding under Nines’ bed again and had hissed at every attempt by the forensics team to pet her so it was a surprise to them all when the cat they thought was absolutely feral let herself be cradled in Nines’ arms and gently placed into the carrier without so much as a single scratch.

“You’re a goddamn cat whisperer,” one of them commented.

Nines chuckled and shook his head as he gently placed the carrier in the back seat and covered it with Ghost’s favourite blankets for comfort, “Not really, I’m just her favourite butler.”

Nines watched the scenery on the way home again, lost in his own thoughts. After some time, Hank suddenly spoke up. “Those claw marks…”

Nines looked over at him with raised eyebrows, “What about them?”

“What are your thoughts?”

Nines frowned, “Wouldn’t the forensics guys have all the details in a few days? Why ask for my opinion?”

“Because none of them are animal experts, kid.” 

Nines sighs, looking back out the window as he formulated his thoughts, “They were clearly made by some kind of large predator species, but I don’t think they’d match any known predator… more likely a humanoid hand with wolf-like claws…”

“You mean like that ‘Orange Eyes’ bastard Gavin mentioned?” Hank glanced over for a moment before refocusing back on the road.

Nines nodded slowly, “Yeah, trapped between wolf form and human form… Gavin’s able to fully transform into a werewolf at least,” he added after Hank sent him a questioning look. “I thought he was just a normal wolf when I first found him…” Nines trailed off, looking back out his window.

 Hank was silent for a moment, “You… took in what you thought was a wild wolf?”

“He was caught in a bear trap!” 

“An injured wild animal.”

“I was gonna call the wildbase recovery centre the next day! I knew what I was doing, dad.”

Hank sighed, running a hand through his hair. “...One of these days, you and your brother are gonna give me a heart attack.”

Nines scoffed, “You raised us like this.”

Hank huffed, reaching over to ruffle Nines’ hair. 

Connor drove carefully along the gravel track up to the ranger’s station, ahead of him was the unmarked black SUV of FBI agent Perkins. With the full extent of the forest stretching over state lines, it was necessary for the feds to get involved, even if Connor thought Perkins was an arrogant prick.

Together with the lead ranger they were going to investigate the area Nines had found Gavin, and the tampering with the trail cameras and video storage that Nines had reported. However, Captain Fowler had told Connor not to mention anything about werewolves. Not just because no one would fucking believe him, and rightly so, but because they don’t know who exactly had kidnapped Gavin and whether they had access to police, FBI or ranger information…