Omega
Rating: 16+
Pairings: Neal/Kate, Peter/Elizabeth – nothing graphic
Warnings: OOC, AU/AR, violence, language, some mildly graphic torture scenes
Disclaimer: I do not own White Collar or anything associated with it. I do not own the term "Dire Wolf". If I owned anything of value then I wouldn't be living with my folks trying to save up every single penny I come across.
Summary: Neal, an omega dire wolf, is on the adventure of a lifetime after he is snatched by poachers. Alternate universe/reality with White Collar concepts and characters.
Notes:
The Dire Wolf is a real animal, though not represented accurately here - I'm just using the name because it fits and it sounds cool.
Events from White Collar do happen, but they may be out of order or otherwise changed around.
I may have invoked my right to use my artistic license when it comes to wolves, wolf behavior, pack terminology and roles, legal stuff, medical stuff, etc.
I wrote this thing twice. Two different versions. I chose this version (the second) because I liked it better. The free write was over 40 pages and 20,000 words, unedited.
I will not set an actual goal for the chapters on this story, but I aim to keep each chapter (following the prologue) over 4 pages!
The prologue is a lot of background stuff – not a lot of serious action.
Expect a chapter a week – I have most of this thing written out, just have to bulk up the final couple of chapters and take some time to re-read and proof the others. I also have, oh, real life to contend with!
Man, the introduction took up a full page in itself. I really need to stop rambling!
Oh, one last thing….
Big THANK YOU to my beta reader, Logan'sDrover!
O~O~O
Prologue
Words: 1,384
Pages: 3.25
O~O~O
Kate was gone, and not in the out-for-food-I'll-be-back-later sense of the term. Her scent was old and faded, even missing in some key areas - such as around the stream and other water sources inside pack territory - and she wasn't returning his mournful calls. None of the wolves from neighboring packs had seen her in the past few weeks, either.
And she wasn't the only wolf missing from the pack – just last week one of the hunting party didn't show in time for a hunt, the month before that a young pup was taken from one of the dens on the outskirts of the territory, and at the beginning of the year two youngsters never returned from a swim in the nearby river.
But it wasn't as if his pack, one of a handful hailing from the southwest, was the only one missing some of its members. Other packs gradually began to send word: one or two missing here, a handful there. North, south, east, west, and everywhere in between – no territory was left untouched, it seemed.
While it wasn't uncommon to occasionally lose a pack member – often times to death or the call of forming their own pack - there were just too many going missing at one time. The ages didn't line up, either. One was too old to lead a pack of his own, one was too young. They were all in perfect health - not stricken by disease or injury – and remains where never found. It was beginning to look as though wolves where being taken forcibly.
Which was why Neal found himself planted firmly outside the mouth of a cave, hundreds of miles from familiar pack territory, scanning the surrounding woodlands for any sign of danger. Situated in other locations around the mouth of the cave, as well as deeper in the forest, were omega wolves from other packs. Hunters where scattered about as well, hidden from sight.
It was the job of the omegas to keep an eye out for humans, specifically for poachers, and it was up to the hunters to defend the caves from said poachers long enough for the wolves inside to use one of the many tunnel systems to escape to safety.
The wolves meeting inside - among them his alpha - were meeting to determine what could be done about the poachers encroaching onto their territories. As dire wolves, their species had human-like intelligence and the ability to change into a human form – this made them perfect targets for poachers looking to earn a reputation and gain a trophy (dead or alive). It was also rumored that black market auctioneers also looked for dire wolves to sell as pets to the criminal public – Neal had heard that they were worth a small fortune.
As the result of overly enthusiastic hunting their species had almost gone extinct near a hundred years ago, this prompted early alphas into starting a riot that left thousands of humans dead. A truce was formed between the human government and the governing branches of the dire wolf population, and now it was illegal to hunt dire wolves unless it could be proven that the wolf in question was wild or rogue.
Wild wolves had keen intelligence but never shifted into human form, and where for all intents and purposes "wild." Many where so far gone from their human minds that they behaved like real wolves. So long as state laws permitted the hunting of wolves, wild dire wolves were on the menu.
Rogue wolves were simply criminals using their wolf-bodies for nefarious purposes, running and hiding from the law and usually traveling alone or in small groups. They were quite often violent and dangerous. If it could be proven that a wolf was rogue, it could be hunted and imprisoned – at the mercy of the hunter who caught it. Laws did not protect them, unless they were captured by the law itself. Many rogue wolves on the run would purposely turn themselves in to prevent a hunter from getting a hold of them for that very reason.
It was far more complicated than that, of course. There where by-laws, a ton of small print, and so forth. There where entire branches in the human and wolf populations that where dedicated to studying these laws so as to help wolves that had been captured, legally or otherwise.
Neal, at one time, had been a rogue wolf – that's how he knew the basics of wolf law. As a youngster, he had been separated from his father during a raid. Another omega took him in and taught him how to survive in the big city. Eventually, an FBI agent got too close to catching him and Neal had fled. Upon reaching the southwest he met up with his alpha, and was accepted into the pack. Kate, the alphas daughter, chose him as her mate and he vowed to leave his life of crime behind.
"Neal." Neal glanced up, startled from his thoughts, ears perked slightly as a small brown wolf shuffled over to touch noses in greeting.
"Mozzie. I'm glad to see you." Neal greeted the other omega, and his partner-in-crime. "Any news on Kate? Or any of the other missing wolves?"
"None. It's like they just vanished – poof! – without a trace. I tracked Kate's scent into our territory and Alex admits to seeing her a few weeks ago, but nothing after that. Her scent just dries up at the east end of our territory and I couldn't pick up the pup or the other one past the border." Neal nodded and slumped dejectedly.
Mozzie was one of the best trackers in the West – if he couldn't find Kate, then she wasn't in the immediate area. "She would never leave the Pack without me." Neal noted. "And I don't see Caleb, those youngsters, or the pup leaving either." He added.
"I didn't pick up any human scents, though. And that worries me." Mozzie revealed. "If humans are behind this and they can mask their scents like that, then we're in big trouble." Neal nodded in agreement. A twig snapped nearby and both wolves turned to study the area. After a while nothing else moved, and they couldn't detect any strange scents, so they returned to their conversation.
"I think we – or rather the Pack negotiators – need to talk to the human governments again." Neal revealed. "Poaching isn't uncommon, per say, but it has risen recently. And innocent wolves are being taken, now." Mozzie nodded his head in agreement. "I think I need to try and find her, Moz." Neal eventually said, turning to stare out into the woods.
"Neal, you're not lone wolf material." Mozzie said gently. "You've been with a pack for too long now – and besides, humans will think you're rogue. Again." Neal lowered his head. The one time he had ventured on his own near a human town after joining the pack, he had been mistaken as rogue. Not really an unfounded idea - as most lone wolves WHERE rogue wolves – but he had still almost been shot. He hadn't strayed far from his pack since then.
"She's an omega, so the pack isn't concerned about finding her." Neal finally said. "They're more focused on the pup and hunter – which I can't really fault them for. They're also more concerned with the bigger picture." Neal huffed in agitation and indecision. He wanted to get up and pace - he always thought well when he moved - but he wouldn't abandon his post.
"Let's wait and see what the packs decide." Mozzie finally reasoned. "And if we don't like the decision we'll go after Kate ourselves." Neal could say nothing; he just gazed at his friend with gratitude. The moment, however, was broken by the arrival of one of the younger hunters from an east-coast pack. Neal and Mozzie abandoned their conversation to join the ring of wolves now surrounding the newcomer.
They pushed their way through to hear the hunter speak. "There's a trailer with horses and humans about ten miles to the north." The wolf panted. "They didn't see me, but I got a good enough look at them." Teeth where bared as he spoke. "Cowboys."
Cowboys – the day just went from pretty bad to outright shitty.
TBC