"Easy! Easy!" Sebastian yells. "Be careful with him! If I see a single scratch on his hide that wasn't there before, I'm coming back for your skins." He doesn't mention that he's going to have these men investigated anyway, to find out who exactly put those fading scars on his mate, trying to make him change into his wolf, but those aren't details anyone responsible for the safe relocation of his mate in his cage needs to know right now. Sebastian watches with hawkish eyes as Hunter's men load his mate's cage into the back of Sebastian's truck. He would have preferred to have the boy sit with him in the back seat, cradled in his arms, where his wolf could feel him against his skin and fill his nostrils with his scent, but the boy is too unpredictable. Sebastian doesn't know what's going on in his mind, or in the mind of his wolf - if he's waiting for an opportunity to attack, or an opening to make his escape. Personally, Sebastian would be doing both if he were in this boy's position. But the only one who would be able to wrangle him back underneath this powerful silver moon would be Sebastian's wolf, and Sebastian can't risk releasing him, not in front of Hunter's men.

If they had claimed each other, Sebastian and this boy, controlling him wouldn't be an issue, but Sebastian's certain his little mate won't accept a claim from him yet. Even a one-sided claim could be useful in keeping the boy under control, but that's not something Sebastian's willing to do here.

Plus, he's not going to force him. He has no desire to rape his mate.

There are several steps involved in claiming a mate. Bonding is one. That's where Sebastian has to start, what he hopes to achieve in the next few weeks – being around one another, gaining the boy's trust, gaining his wolf's trust, while teaching him what will be expected of him once he decides to be a good boy and come out of his self-induced vegetative state.

When the cage is safe in the bed of his vehicle, Sebastian climbs in the back and, with the help of his best friend Wes, secures it with ratchet straps to ensure it won't slide when they travel. He has no intention of taking the highway, or the city streets. Traveling out in the open where anyone can see them would be a foolish move on Sebastian's part, especially when he assumes Hunter's men might try to tail them.

Sebastian is far from stupid. He knows Hunter didn't want to let this boy go, not when Sebastian wanted him so badly. Hunter was right that Sebastian spent a lot of time in the pens, and not just Hunter's. Sebastian has been looking for a mate in pens all over the world. His name is almost as notorious in the underworld wolf trading market as Hunter's, and yet he bought nothing. Now he chooses to buy a boy with no discernible wolf traits or background that Hunter knows of. Hunter would be an imbecile, as well as a disgrace to his profession, if he didn't want to know why. He's most likely got a few men lying in wait to follow Sebastian's truck when he leaves, and Sebastian's ready.

There's a secluded road to his house that cuts through the forest. It spirals back around a few times through a confusing labyrinth of unmarked dirt paths before it reaches his compound, with the entrance carved out of solid rock and obscured by a stone façade gate, lined with steel. The rocky roads alone make it difficult for anyone driving anything other than an ATV to keep up with him, and the thick tree cover doesn't allow for airborne drones to track him. The only way someone might succeed in following him is on foot, but no human could ever run that fast. A wolf might, but there are no wolves searching for him, and even if there were, they'd have more to fear from Sebastian than he would from them.

Sebastian stays in the bed of the truck with his mate's cage while Wes drives, keeping the cage uncovered to let the moonlight shine through the bars, hoping that it will entice the boy to change. Sebastian hears the boy's wolf breath in deep and sigh sadly, but the boy doesn't move for the entire drive, and Sebastian, in spite of himself and his wolf's impatience, is impressed.

They pass through the stone gate. The grey cement tunnel to Sebastian's compound blocks out any view of the sky, and the boy's wolf sighs again, shutting himself down, and shutting Sebastian's wolf out.

It's alright, boy. Sebastian soothes his wolf when the beast whines. It won't be forever. He can't stay locked in there forever.

Wes parks the truck around the back of Sebastian's house, where a sliding glass patio door leads straight into the kitchen. They unstrap the cage, slide it carefully out of the bed, and carry it through the door, past the kitchen, past the dining room, and into the living room. Sebastian is prepared, he has been for months, with layers of thick canvas tarps laid out to protect his tile floor from the metal cage. Wes helps maneuver the cage while Sebastian uses a drill to unfasten the screws, but only on one side, this way he'll still have the boy cornered in case he tries anything.

Wes doesn't say a word while Sebastian works. He doesn't think a thing, knowing Sebastian might sense his uneasiness, but there's a part of him that wishes Sebastian would wait till he's gone before he opens the cage. He's not sure about his friend's choice of mates. Besides the fact that the boy in the cage looks a little young for Sebastian and a lot malnourished, there's something about him that doesn't sit right with Wes, something about his calm, his quiet.

This boy is waiting. Wes doesn't know how, but he can feel it, just as he can feel that when this boy finally breaks out of his cocoon and shows Sebastian his true face, he's going to bring a shit storm of trouble with him.

Whether Sebastian knows this or not, for whatever reason, he leaves the unscrewed wall of the cage closed.

"Are you going to need any help with him, do you think?" Wes asks, regardless of his trepidation.

"I'm good," Sebastian says, patting his friend's shoulder. "Don't worry about me. I've got this covered."

"Alright." Wes takes Sebastian at his word, because what else can he do? Sebastian knows more about this stuff than Wes does. But as much as the boy in the cage unnerves Wes, everything in Sebastian's life usually seems to go his way. Wes can't really recall a single thing that Sebastian ever wanted that he didn't get, so he has to believe this will turn out well, too. "But call me if you need anything."

"Hey," Sebastian says, "if I need anything, I'm runnin' on over."

Wes chuckles, but it doesn't make him feel any better about leaving Sebastian alone.

"I'll talk at you tomorrow, man. Unless your boy wakes up. Then I guess I won't hear from you…"

"For about a week," Sebastian finishes. "Possibly the month." He winks, and Wes chuckles again. His best friend is insatiable, always has been, but in this case, there's more hope than crass in his suggestive tone. Sebastian has been searching the world for a mate. He's wanted one since college, someone like him, who would understand what it's like to be rare and endangered.

And the loneliness that goes with it.

Wes can only pray this boy is meant for him the way Sebastian wants him to be.

Sebastian waits for his friend to leave, driving off the compound in his 4Runner, before he returns to his mate. The boy hasn't moved, not even extending a leg to try and knock down the wall of the cage, and Sebastian has to wonder if this isn't the elaborate defense mechanism he originally thought. Maybe the boy and his wolf have given up. Sebastian can't quite believe it, and his wolf, with the taste of this boy's protector fresh in his mind, refuses to accept it.

Sebastian sets up the living room to take care of the boy properly, laying down a bed of towels, and bringing out a bottle of his own body wash and a basin of water, warm and scented with lavender to bathe his mate with. The boy's skin is white, but above ground and out of the pens, with the pure silver light of the moon shining on him in all its glory, Sebastian can see a sheen of dirt, clumps of it in his hair. Sebastian can't imagine where the boy has been doing his business, if he has been at all. He's been catatonic for a while, and with no food or water. His wolf probably shut that part of his body down for his own comfort.

Sebastian pulls out the loosened section of the cage, carrying it off to one side and leaning it against a wall. Then he picks up the boy in his arms. Without the cage, the boy still weighs quite a bit. He seems to be slighted by starvation, so Sebastian imagines that must be muscle he's bowing under the weight of. He carries the boy out and lays him down on the towels. Sebastian looks at him, free from his cage, and waits to see if he'll make a move. But he doesn't, and Sebastian uses this time to examine him. He tries to picture the wolf within him, itching to be let out the way his own wolf is itching to have him. Sebastian sees him a lot like himself, only a bit smaller, with silky fur that absorbs the moonlight and shimmers like stars on the surface of the water. He's a magnificent looking human, even curled in on himself like this; he must make a phenomenal wolf.

Sebastian crouches beside him. He puts a hand on the boy, gently on his shoulder, and feels the boy withdraw. Without moving a muscle, he retreats into his own body, and his wolf climbs a bit closer to the surface. He doesn't make a move to change, he's just there, pacing, guarding his other half while Sebastian's hand continues to touch, to stroke down the boy's naked back to his behind. This boy's body is strong, Sebastian can feel it, layers of defined muscles below his skin from running, from hunting, from hiding. Sebastian's wolf salivates at the thought of getting to the wolf beyond his grasp, but Sebastian fights him down.

"Now, now," Sebastian tuts, "don't worry. You'll get your chance. Back away. We need him to trust us, or you'll never have him."

Sebastian hears the boy's wolf huff, and he smiles.

"Such a defiant creature," he coos. "Such a beautiful, stubborn, strong-willed mate I have."

The wolf huffs again, and Sebastian reacts, swatting the boy on the rear. He thinks he hears the boy squeak, sees him flinch a little around the eyes and mouth, but he remains motionless otherwise.

"So, you didn't like that, Moondancer?" he asks, massaging the boy's warmed cheek with his palm. "Or did you?"

With a smirk, longing to ferret his mate out, he pulls back his hand and strikes the boy a second time on his bottom. His wolf whines, but the boy's breath catches, and something else happens.

Lying dormant between his powerful legs, the boy's cock twitches.

"Nice," Sebastian says. "So my new mate enjoys a spanking? That's good to know."

Sebastian starts washing the boy, with a hand towel and the warm water. He works the body wash into the boy's hair, dissolving away the clumps of dirt, and bringing out its natural color – more of a chestnut shade than the plain, flat brown it was. Inside his mind, Sebastian hears a flurry of voices and whimpers not meant for him. The two sounds meld so seamlessly in tone and pitch that Sebastian has a hard time distinguishing one from the other, but he knows for certain who it is.

The boy, locked inside the body, comforting his wolf.

Sebastian sits perfectly still and listens as snippets pass through his head.

"…it's okay…will be fine…not to worry…"

"You are going to be fine," Sebastian says, returning to bathing his mate, "because I'm going to take care of you. But you need to give me something to work with. Like maybe…a name?"

The boy's wolf turns on him and growls protectively.

Never.

Sebastian chuckles.

"Never say never, little one."

We don't belong to you, the wolf declares. We never will.

"That's so cute that you think you have a say," Sebastian says, the thrill of bickering with his mate speeding his heart. He's gotten the boy's wolf to communicate with him. It may hate him, but it's a start. "I have a bill of sale that says you belong to me. Ergo, you belong to me. Correction, you belong with me, for we are the same, little one, you and I. So we'd best stick together." Sebastian tosses the wet washcloth into the basin of water, muddy with dirt and dust from the boy's body, and starts patting him with a dry towel. "You know, you're missing out on a perfect power moon by being obstinate."

The wolf whimpers, and Sebastian knows that he's considered that. The wolf knows what he's missing out on by staying trapped inside the boy's body, by not convincing the boy to come to and talk to him. But the wolf will not be swayed.

We'll do as we please, he snaps.

"Well, seeing as we only have a few more hours till sunrise, I'm going to take advantage and go for a hunt." Sebastian stands and begins to unbutton his shirt, staring into the boy's blank eyes as he strips naked in front of him, hoping to tempt him and his wolf in this way. "You can come with me for a run and feel the wind in your fur…"

The boy's wolf grunts weakly in disgust, and Sebastian shrugs.

"Or stay here, my stubborn mate. There's no way for you off the property. It's completely wolf-proof, even for one of your immense power."

Humph! How do you know?

"Because," Sebastian says, dropping his shirt to the ground and starting on his pants, "I tested it on myself, and I dare say, my power equals yours."

Sebastian's pants fall to the floor, then his boxer briefs. He stands naked in front of his mate, raising his arms over his head, lengthening his spine, feeling his wolf come more alive. Sebastian nonchalantly walks away, waiting for any sign that the boy or his wolf will come with him. He rounds the corner, out of sight, and waits, scenting the air with his desire for his mate, to lure him out from hiding. But it doesn't happen. Sebastian would have liked it to, but he didn't expect it. But he does need to stretch his legs, so he walks out the sliding glass door into the night and lets his wolf take over.

Lying on the towels and the tarps in the living room, the boy and his wolf wait. They're used to waiting, and an hour, two hours, is nothing compared to the waiting they've already done. The boy's wolf sniffs, trying to sense where Sebastian might be, but he smells nothing other than the man's territorial markings, made a while ago, and he hears nothing. Sebastian's gone hunting, off somewhere far.

This is his chance.

The boy barely moves as his body changes, transforms into the form of his wolf, silver-white fur rippling down the length of his body, absorbing the wedge of moonlight shining in the dark room.

Are you alright with this decision? the wolf asks the boy.

I am, the boy responds. And you? I know how much you longed for a mate.

The wolf sighs. I know. But I need to make sure that you're safe. My responsibility is to you. If I find a mate, then we find him together, and he will be a wolf and a man who will love us both. I will not have you be a possession, and nor will I.

And I have a responsibility to you as well, the boy says. I want to see you happy. That wolf, he can make you happy. I feel it.

I appreciate that, but it's both of us together, or none at all. The wolf thinks about the boy's words, and decides he needs to ask. But, do you think you could fall in love with that human? I mean, he's handsome as human's go, is he not?

The boy inside the wolf's body smiles.

I guess, he says. But…I don't know.

He saved us.

Yes, the boy agrees. He's rude, pretentious, and self-centered, but he saved us. I think he'd take care of us.

The decision is yours, my friend, the wolf says. I will do as you choose.

The boy thinks it over. He has much to be grateful to this man for, on behalf of him and his wolf. And this man seems to know about them, about the power they possess – a power that keeps him from his family, and school, and the life that he loved. A power given to him by his mother, who passed and left him years ago. Maybe this man can help him unlock it, but at what price? He seems to expect something in return – something the boy isn't ready to give. The boy could do it to see his wolf happy, especially since his wolf has protected him for so long. But he can't come to a decision here, not with the smells in this place assailing his nose with messages that send his olfactory nerves into high alert.

I think…I would be able to think better outside, the boy decides. Something about this place…it feels like a cage, too.

I understand, the wolf concurs. Let's go.

If we change our minds, I'm sure we can return, the boy reasons.

Yes, but he'd give you another spanking for running away, the wolf teases.

Can we not talk about that, please?

The boy can deny his feelings to himself, but he can't hide his feelings from his wolf. He's not sure he could fall in love with this man, but his touch does excite him. Still, he can't overlook the fact that this man bought him – paid the trappers who kidnapped him and tormented him so that he could own him, like a pet or a trophy. He doesn't want to be owned. He doesn't want to be used, and his wolf agrees. If that is their only option, then he doesn't want to be this wolf's mate.

He wants him and his boy to be free to decide, and fall in love in their own time.

He wants his boy to have the choice to whom he parts with his virtue.

The wolf stands, but not right away. He rises to his feet in stages, his haunches swaying as his back paws fight for purchase on the towels. He lurches forward, clumsily propelling himself to his front feet. The wolf stumbles left and right, trying to stand still for a moment, to feel the ground beneath him, adjust to his head being raised to this height, and become accustomed to the hundreds of smells bearing down on him – markings and perfumes and artificial, honing in on the scent of nature, and freedom, somewhere beyond.

Are you ready? the wolf asks. The boy is even more unsteady than his wolf. His lack of energy causes the wolf's knees to wobble, unwilling to work after being locked in one position for so long, and his stomach, empty as a drum, rebels. A swoop of nausea almost knocks him back to the floor, but the boy recognizes that time is running short. They can't tell from here exactly where Sebastian is, and they don't know when he'll be returning.

I'm ready, the boy assures his wolf. Let's go.

He pads onto the living room floor, flinching when his nails scrape the smooth tile, the sound echoing throughout the room as if he were wearing a bell. He takes a few steps and stops, a few more steps and stops, trying to minimize the noise, but it puts him at a crawl, traveling so slowly through the house that he might as well stick around and try his luck with battling Sebastian. Twenty minutes of this goes by, and he makes it to the kitchen, his heart pounding in his ears as he tries not to let his nails click-click-click on the floor, but the whole house seems to be made specifically so that he can't hide in it. Little furniture, no carpets on the floor, no plants in pots anywhere around that he can hunker down behind, flatten himself out, and hide his shadow. He reaches the corner, and the sound of wind whooshing fills his ears, overwhelming even the frantic drumming of his beating heart. He smells the fresh clean air; the grass, cut yesterday morning; the sprinkling of dew settling in as the late night turns into early morning and grows colder. He peeks his head around the corner and finally sees it – his escape through the sliding glass door, left open a crack, and the great silver moon shimmering high overhead, calling out to him, telling him to run. Run fast and run far, with whatever strength he has left.

Alright, the wolf says to the boy, on the count of three. One…two…

He doesn't reach three. He rounds the corner at a bolt, his feet tripping underneath him, but he needs to be out, be gone. A new scent has entered, or re-entered, and it spurs him forward, forcing him into this desperate attempt at making a break for it.

But the boy and his wolf feel the man's presence outside, and they know it's already too late.

Gotcha, they hear, and through the sliding glass door, an enormous silver wolf stalks in, growling in defense of his territory, and not just the house and the property beyond, but that which he's staring at, chomping at the bit to claim.

Realization comes to the boy's wolf as he catches a complicated scent that was created, very cleverly, to mask this wolf's own. He may have gone for a run, but he wasn't out very long, lingering nearby and waiting for the boy and his wolf to leave.

You tricked us, the boy's wolf gasps.

I knew you'd answer the call of the moon eventually, the silver wolf says. It was only a matter of time.

Sebastian's larger wolf growls and pushes forward, backing the boy's smaller wolf towards the wall.

Well, well, well, the man within the beast chuckles as his wolf chuffs at its mate, hello, Moondancer. Nice to meet you.