Unwilling: a shifter romance

by Hannah L. Corrie

  "So we're kinda like high school jocks?" Darla asked in a small voice, but there was a lilt of humor in those words. She was unsure if jokes were okay, but unable not to make them. This was a good sign, so Rayne grinned and nodded curtly.

  They had been sitting like this for the last fifteen minutes, ever since Rayne had caught Darla trying to sneak out behind his back. She had said she wanted to fix the window because it was cold and that she had to do it from outside. She had tried it from the inside and all she got for her troubles were a few cuts on her fingers. He believed her. She had also said she wanted to fix it because she planned to stay in 'her' room whenever Darwin was home, but that was unacceptable.

  Harry and Darwin had gone to town for shopping and Jared was walking the perimeter to search for weak spots in their defense. Rayne had decided to use their alone time to teach Darla the basics she should have gotten from Jared, or anyone else but Rayne, for all he cared. It was better than having her climb out the broken window or try to sneak out on him again.

  "Since dominants like us are so preoccupied with ranks, hierarchy, and being the damn hardest son-of-a-bitch around, this frequently leads to troubles. If the members of a pack in-fight too often, their tempers rise too much and the fights for rank and position escalate. Think of it like this: If all the people around you are a potential threat to your life and you have to fight them on a daily basis over basic things like a spot to sit in and a glass of juice, at some point you decide to make sure they'll never bother or hurt you again." It was one of the problems Rayne fought against every time he joined a new pack.

  A new member was a threat to everyone, so every single dominant provoked and attacked them. Every measure against such a thing only lead to dead ends for the new members. If you told a group of dominants that every new wolf would start at the bottom of the hierarchy and that they couldn't rise beyond a certain point, it did help keep things calm. Unfortunately, it also helped keeping potential weak members in power and better fitting dominants out of the higher positions.

  Sighing, he took a sip of coffee and put his mug on the couch table. "This is where submissive werewolves come in. They aren't meant to fight and protect territory and they aren't particularly motivated to rise in a hierarchy. Something about how they act and move lets us sense they aren't a threat to us. Submissives keep the peace by the one way that works: They just project it and it rubs off on everyone around them."

  At Darla's puzzled expression, Rayne chuckled. "Not that Ghandi kind of peace you are thinking about. There's nothing Zen about submissives, although I met a submissive yoga teacher once who made me fall asleep within ten minutes of stretching. It's more like," he sighed, shrugging, "they act like a buffer between us, like a safe haven where we don't need to feel threatened. If you are surrounded by submissives, you're safe, and it calms those instincts to fight and protect your status. They respect your rank in the hierarchy without threatening to take it away from you. They don't do in-fights for power because they have their own social structure, so there's no need to keep an eye on them all the time. Even if you put them in their place, they simply roll over and show their throats, which makes it almost impossible to harm them any further. The only reason a submissive might join a fight is a threat to the pack as a whole." He made a short pause, then he went on, "And the only reason to harm a submissive is them being a threat to the pack."

  For a moment, Carl's face appeared before Rayne's eyes and he shuddered violently. Carl had found reasons to harm a submissive and Rayne had helped. Knowing how wrong it had been, how crazy Carl's reasoning was, only made the shame worse.

  Darla's unperturbed voice disrupted his train of thoughts. "Is that the reason you ran from Banes?"

  It was such an innocent question, but still so hard to answer. "Yes and no. It's hard to explain, because there are so many abnormalities that led to where we are now, but I'll try. Every healthy pack consists of an alpha and a bunch of dominant and submissive werewolves. Ideally, there should be as many dominants as submissives, but that's hardly ever the case. A few more dominants than submissives are manageable, more submissives than dominants can make a pack weak. And of course, every pack tries to get the mixture just right, sometimes by force. It's not that unusual that submissives are wooed away or stolen, and in some cases another alpha comes into a territory and tries to take over altogether."

  Rayne hesitated, trying to figure out how to proceed with his explanation. Forcing hours and hours of education into a few meager sentences was not an easy task, but Darla needed at least enough knowledge to understand Darwin's position and not get into trouble with Jared.

  "Whenever another dominant enters a pack's territory, he has to ask for permission first. Anything else would be considered a hostile takeover and dealt with accordingly. Alphas are never welcome, but there have been a few cases where an Alpha was allowed to travel through or stay for a while as long as he or she kept away from pack members."

  Darla's face lit up at that and she nodded. "So Jared was allowed to stay?" she asked, frowning thoughtfully.

  "Yes. A special clause for students and college graduates applied to him, because most of them are way too young to be a real threat to a seasoned alpha. That clause can be revoked, but it's there, and it was the reason Jared was allowed to enter Banes territory at all."

  Her questioning eyes fixated on Rayne's face. "And he got, well, uninvited because he boinked Darwin?" she asked, grinning at her own words. "I mean, now that he's Darwin's boyfriend, that counts as 'wooing' away a pack member, right?"

  "Again, yes and no. It's the reason Carl told his pack, but not what made him go after us in the end. There are things going on in the Banes pack, strange, bad things. A lot of people got hurt or died and Darwin somehow got the brunt of it, but nobody really knows the whole picture. Darwin won't talk about it, but what I've seen is enough for me to choose Jared's and Darwin's side. And as hard as it may be to believe, Darwin is one of the good guys."

  Darla's face increasingly darkened with every word Rayne said, but that last part made her snort derisively. "Yeah, right," she sneered, shaking her head as she dragged her fingernails harder across the upholstery beneath her hands.

  Rayne sighed. "I understand that you're angry at him. But why do I have the feeling you don't know why you feel this way?"

  Scratch, scratch, scratch, was all he got as an answer, as she once more picked at the armrest. Her forehead wrinkled with concentration, but she just couldn’t seem to grab that one thought that might have given herself— more than Rayne— an explanation for her feelings.

  Darla slammed her fist on the armrest. "Is there a reason?" she ultimately squeezed out, staring at Rayne as if trying to read his mind. It was hard to tell if she was playing dumb or simply being stubborn.

  "Yes, of course," Rayne offered. "You've got enough reason to want to kill him, to be frank. And I'm the one who'd have to stop you, so I'd at least like to make sure you understand why you're taking this road. And don't tell me you aren't thinking about it, I can see it in your eyes."

  Something changed in her face and she looked away, trying to hide those emotions dancing through it. "Why would I want to kill Darwin? He's nothing to me." This time her voice sounded bland, but the sheer absence of emotions gave away more than enough.

  "He bit you. He's the one who ruined your life," he said like it was nothing.

  Those words echoed through the cabin like a deep, thundering bell. Darla gaped at him with a look of sheer horror on her face.

  "What?"

  Harry

  "Please, no more," Harry groaned, hugging the five plastic bags full of clothes to his chest. He sat on one of those futons for patient husbands and boyfriends right in the middle of the busy designer store, trying desperately to take the weight off his burning soles.

  They were two hours into their shopping spree through the small town of Renton and already Darwin had broken his promise not to visit one of those fancy shops. Harry didn't so much
dislike designer clothes per se, he simply feared what would happen if they set foot into one of those establishments. It happened every time.

  "Stop your whining, I'm almost done," Darwin's disembodied voice answered from one of the changing cubicles. Cloth rustled, then he stepped out, presenting what amounted to screaming white, boot-cut, pants with black ink-like swirls along the sides. "Do this pants make my ass look fat?"

  He looked gorgeous.

  "No, they fit nicely," Harry sighed, "just like the last five pairs you tried on and can't afford. Can we please finish our tour and go home? My feet are killing me."

  "Yes, yes. Gimme a minute." Darwin disappeared and the rustling of clothes continued.

  It weren't just his feet, though. Harry prided himself on being relaxed and fun, but today he just couldn’t get his mojo going. Him being this grumpy and whiny was unusual, but try as he might, he couldn't pin down the reason.

  Of course, objectively, he shouldn't be surprised by mood-swings. He, along with everyone else in their small pack, had been attacked, threatened and uprooted into a godforsaken strip of hinterland woods, where they were stuck for god knew how long with nothing more than the clothes on their backs and whatever small savings and credit limits they had left on their bank accounts. Now that he had time to think about it, Harry surmised he had taken the whole disaster pretty well, laid-back as he thought himself to be. Better than Rayne and undeniably better than Darla; her, nobody could blame for a temper.

  But this unrest? It had nothing to do with their recent problems. He hadn't felt it at the cabin and he hadn't been too upset in the car. He was upset now, so something must have changed.

  Drawing a deep breath of perfume-clotted air, he eyed the creamy-white wooden floor, then threw a glance at the tastefully scattered clothes hangers and mannequins along the white and peach painted walls.

  He didn't want to be here. The lady at the register had thrown both of them more than one funny look and started ignoring them when Harry had to help Darwin into one of those too tight jeans and man-parts had to be touched.

  The better question was, where would he rather be?

  You know where, his mind answered and was just as quickly squashed down. He was so not falling in love with Rayne of all people this world had to offer!

  Darwin chose that moment to step out of his cubicle, wearing his own clothes. "I just realized the shops around here close earlier than the ones in Banes. If we don't hurry, we won't get any food today," he stated, then grinned at Harry's grumpy face. "Yeah, yeah, you told me so. Thanks for sitting this out."

  The bell above the front door chimed happily as they left the store. It still rang in Harry's ears as they walked down the street, heading for the 'BigBuy' sign hovering in the distance.

  "How come you'd rather spend half an hour trying on clothes you can't buy than be at home with Jared?" Harry asked. "I thought this whole mating thing was kind of a true-love-deal." He himself felt the increasing urge to go back to Rayne, but that was something best kept silent.

  Darwin shrugged nonchalantly. "We needed clothes," he said without looking at Harry.

  "We already have clothes," Harry retorted and held up the plastic bags he carried.

  "I liked the stuff in the window display," Darwin tried again and started chewing his lower lip as he walked faster. He tried to out-walk Harry and appear inconspicuous at the same time and it wasn't working.

  "Under any other circumstance, I'd believe you," Harry admitted, still smiling slightly as he tried to keep up on his shorter legs, "but something else is going on. You don't want to go home, is that it?"

  The glass walls of the 'BigBuy' came into view and Darwin stopped. He appeared nervous, ashamed maybe, and distraught. The cold near-winter wind tugged at his hair and blew into the flimsy sweater he wore, carrying the scent of sewer. They both shivered with cold.

  "I want to go home," Darwin finally answered, but kept his gaze turned to the ground. "I just don't want to go where she is. She hates me, she's got every right to, and nothing I could say or do would make it better. Except for giving her as much space as possible."

  He was talking about Darla, that much Harry got without having to ask. He just didn't understand Darwin's thoughts. Did he mean he wanted to kick Darla out? Or did he want to leave the pack? "So you plan to stay in Renton indefinitely? Rent a small apartment, work at the gas station? Have an illicit relationship with a married guy named Buzz?" he only half joked. Even after more than a year of friendship, Harry was still puzzled by some of Darwin's idiosyncrasies.

  Darwin's amused laugh was relieving to hear. "No, silly, of course not. Who would look after your ass if I disappear?" he said jokingly, nudging Harry with his shoulder.

  "Rayne would be most happy to," Harry answered with a grin before he could stop himself. He turned beet-red as soon as the words left his lips, though, ducking his head embarrassedly. "Shit, and after I promised myself I wouldn't bring him up!"

  Darwin snorted dismissively. "I see that you think he's hot, but I know you. You'd put out before you're sure he'll stick around," he said, slowing down enough to match Harry's shorter steps. "And contrary to your love-sick attitude, he doesn't look that smitten with you. I might be wrong, of course," he added when he saw Harry's face fall, "but we'll find that out if you make him work for it a little."

  Harry shrugged to that, but he looked thoughtful as they walked the last block to the one and only supermarket in Renton. There were only a few dozen cars in front of it and most of the people they crossed paths with eyed them curiously.

  It took some time to gather enough food for five people, but Harry made sure they bought most of the essentials in big enough quantities to spare them another big shopping trip for the foreseeable future. As Darwin learned,with enough coffee, flour, spices, polenta, rice, canned goods, tomato paste and noodles, there were a million and one dishes you could cook.

  The only luxury they allowed themselves were a few fresh vegetables. Harry was checking out broccoli stalks when Darwin noticed a ratty looking guy ogling them with obvious interest. He appeared around forty, dressed in jeans riddled with machine oil stains and a checkered flannel shirt, flapping open like a blatant invitation to stare at his hirsute chest. His head was hairy, unkempt and in dire need of a shave, the mop of hair only kept in check by a baseball cap.

  The way that guy stared into Darwin's eyes made him turn away instinctively. It didn't help. Moments later, the distinct scent of werewolf and old sweat floated over him. He didn't need to turn around to know that guy stood rudely close, but he turned anyway.

  Harry looked up from the broccoli for a quick peek, but glanced down quickly and moved behind Darwin. Maybe it was habit, after all, he had acted like a dominant for Harry before, but this time Darwin felt abandoned.

  "What'cha doin' here, puppy?" the guy drawled, leaning on their shopping cart with both hands. If he were a girl, Darwin would have been looking right into cleavage and down to the belly button, but at least he was spared that small horror. His eyes never left Darwin's face, a straight and unwavering stare of challenge.

  "Shopping," Darwin replied as calm as possible, giving him his best frosty glare. "It's quite obvious if you bother to look."

  Hairy guy cracked a smile, but it looked just as lecherous as his behavior initially suggested and he didn't quit staring. "Why should I? I'm always up to a challenge and you're making my day right now," he snarled, looking happy all of a sudden.

  Darwin dropped his gaze immediately. He didn't want a full-blown fist fight with a dominant werewolf the size of that guy, not in a supermarket, not outside of it, not ever. For the first time in a long time, he realized that, no, he wasn't anywhere close to being a dominant and no amount of acting would change that.

  He realized he missed Jared. He even missed Rayne, although he couldn't bring himself to miss Darla. He just wasn't there yet. But if one of those two were here they would set that guy straight in a heartbeat. That realization brought on ano
ther idea that sounded way better than trying to bluff his way out of this. There was a resident pack around here and they had given their word to leave them be. Why not use that knowledge?

  With a deep sigh, Darwin turned away, ending the fight for dominance. "You know, your Alpha promised to leave us be," he said, trying for calm but sounding annoyed.

  The shopping cart groaned under the increasing weight the guy added by leaning forward. "Well, that was before I found two tasty subs all on their little lonesome," he said with a hiss and clicked his teeth.

  So much for that idea.

  Harry made soft beeping noises with his phone. Darwin couldn't turn around to find out what exactly Harry was doing, but he hoped Harry was calling for backup. Not that it would help— the cavalry was miles away and Darwin had the keys to their one and only car in his pocket. They were pretty much on their own. A wash of fear ran up Darwin's back and made his hairs stand on end. What was he supposed to do now?

  Fear turned into a knot of silent panic as he made a decision, that kind of knot that made him feel cottony and weightless and a bit light-headed.

  "Harry, please pay for our groceries and go home," he said in the most pleasant tone he could muster, pulling out the car keys from his pocket and handing them over behind his back. As Harry grabbed the shopping cart, Darwin made two steps forward, hustling the disheveled man away from it before he realized what was happening, and off Harry went. There was a bit of confusion as the guy tried to decide if he should go after Harry or stick with Darwin, but a bit of provocative shoving made up his mind for him.