------

I had someone ask why Noventa didn't kidnap Relena. The reason is he had no
reason or need to kidnap her. He kidnapped Duo because he was afraid his
plan would be revealed, or figured out by Duo. Relena had nothing to offer
him, and knew nothing. Sorry it took so long I have had this chapter for forever, but I wanted a buffer in case I hit a tough spot which I did and just never got around to uploading

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Heero's POV~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As light cast over the whole room my heart froze at what I found.

A figure lay upon an old make shift bed, tied to the wall, a thin fur was tangled around his figure. I don't know how long I stared in shock at the rare form Duo had shown me before I left with the youths to hide in the forest. My knees finally fell into motion and I stumbled over to his side. His skin was flushed red and his body was shaking, but he didn't seem to be awake. I brushed the hair away from his face and felt the heat emanating from his forehead.

I had to get him help, but I couldn't take him out there like this, it would cause too much trouble. No one else knew Duo looked like this, that he could change into a human form. Who knows what some of the more traditional pack members would think, a fight could start over whether or not this was a demon of some sort and if we should treat him. I gently ran my thumb along his cheek as I laid my hand against his face and spoke in a steady voice

"Duo, I need you to change your form. Come on, just switch into something different."

He didn't change but I knew he could hear me, his forehead would scrunch together in annoyance and he would moan every now and then. I kept insisting, gently, that he needed to change. I was on the verge of giving up and just taking him out like this when I felt his form shift.

He grew bigger, white hair suddenly covering his form; this must be his half form. I didn't know he could change into this form, but I didn't have time to ponder it. I knew I couldn't carry him out of here alone; he was only slightly smaller than me like this. He needed to go to the clinic which was in the center of town, and Noventa's dwelling was on the edge near the forest. I ran back out through the secret entrance and the door to Noventa's dwelling. I went to the first place I could think of, and before I knew it I was banging on Trowa's door. Trowa's father was the town healer; he would know what to do. I kept hitting the wood as hard as I could until the door swung open, revealing a very annoyed looking Trowa

"What in the forest is wrong with you Heero? The sun just rose, we are trying to sleep!"

I found the words spilling out of my mouth, probably faster than they made sense.

"Duo is in Noventa's dwelling behind a secret entrance. He is really sick I need help moving him and I need your father to look at him."

I was left trying to catch my breath when I was finished and Trowa just had a confused for a few minutes, probably processing what I said in his head. Suddenly his father appeared in the doorway, looking sleep mussed.

"Trowa go with Heero to move Duo to the clinic, I will gather my things and hopefully be ready by the time you get there. Do you know what is wrong with him Heero?"

I nodded my head, then shook it, deciding to explain, adrenaline taking over my control. "He has a high fever, and I think I saw a few infected wounds. I... I don't know what else is wrong."

He seemed to realize I was losing control and just nodded and told me calmly to take Trowa over to where Duo was and then to take Duo to the clinic. I nodded and turned, expecting Trowa to follow me.

It kind of turns into a blur from there; we got to Noventa's dwelling and Trowa helped me carry Duo out. I think he may have asked when Duo got his half-form but I am not sure I responded or not. The scent was Duo's and that was enough to convince Trowa. Duo stayed limp the whole time we moved him, not even making a sound. We came through the doors to the clinic to see Trowa's dad, Harris, setting up his instruments. He motioned to the nearest bed and we quickly set Duo down on it. It had been covered with furs to make it warm.

Harris shoved Trowa outside and told him to make sure no one else came in. I was stationed at the inside of the entrance, I think mostly he just wanted me out of the way, but knew I wouldn't leave. I watched him run his tests. He was looking over Duo's wounds, taking his temperature, injecting him with things before he finally laid a fur over him, covering him up.

I had heard Trowa talking outside a few times to people who had come to see Harris. They seemed to disappear just as fast as they came though. I saw Harris washing the wound on Duo's neck, and I flinched, remembering it was one of the ones I gave him.

The door suddenly burst open, revealing a light golden half-form that was Quatre. "Is it, is it really true? Is he here? Did you really find him Heero?"

I nodded slowly and he gazed over to the bed that Harris had just moved Duo too, after finishing the bandages around his neck. I could see tears forming in the corner of Quatre's eyes as he ran to Duo's side. Trowa came in just behind him.

"I am sorry, the rumor is flying all over town, and he gave me the look, I couldn't say no." Harris and I nodded in understanding, Quatre could be very convincing. I walked slowly over to Duo's side, almost afraid to touch him. Quatre was practically crying at the sight of him and looked afraid to touch him as well.

I gently ran my fingers over his hand, not sure how to feel. I wanted to be happy that he was alive, but he looked horrible, he didn't even look like he was alive. I was to blame for all of this, I did this too him. I jumped to conclusions, attacked him, and chased him away. Would he hate me when he became lucid again? Would he become lucid again? I couldn't blame him if he hated me, I deserved it.

I heard Harris talking and turned to stare at him blankly. He seemed to catch on that I had not heard and repeated it again, slightly louder.

"I think we should keep Duo here for a few days, moving him like this is risky and if something goes wrong he can get help faster here. But if he gets better, in a few days you can take him home. I don't like that he will probably be exposed to a lot of noise and disturbances here, but for now, its necessary he stays."

I nodded quickly, gently taking Duo's limp hand into my own, and squeezing. The joy that had been denied me earlier slowly began to fill me. It sounded like the doctor was optimistic about his chances, which was good. But I needed all the details.

"What do we need to do, how bad is it?"

He seemed to catch on that I was slowly coming out of my stupor and went back to talking normally. I had to give Harris credit; he was a very wise man.

"Well I won't lie the fever is very bad, as are the infections in his wounds. But none of the wounds appear to be life threatening. Right now his system is weak, so fighting off the infection has been hard. I doubt Noventa was treating his fever or infection in any way and Duo was probably already weak and tired when it set in. He was also dehydrated and a bit delirious, but with the ability to fight the infection with medication, and to stay hydrated and warm he should be able to overcome this. The hardest part is the infection and the fever it is causing. Infections are a tricky thing, a somewhat healthy wolf can lose to an infection others can be on deaths door and fight off an infection no problem. He could be well enough to be moved in a few days or we could be in here battling this for weeks. Only time will tell."

I nodded, still holding onto hope. Our best chance was if the medications were effective against the infection. Hopefully with being cared for Duo's body would also become strong enough to fight off the infection. I can only imagine the stupid grin I had on my face, because I was getting a weird look from Harris. After a few minutes of letting Quatre, Trowa and I, hover around Duo he finally stepped in.

"Alright, I know you are happy to see him, I am sure everyone will be. Duo just has a way of making you like him, willingly or not. But right now he needs to be left alone, all this noise and movement is just going to bother him. I will try partially covering the windows to dim some of the lights in here and hopefully things will be quiet for the next few days so he can sleep peacefully. You can come back tomorrow and see him again for a few minutes."

We all rose to our feet and heading out to start the day. It wasn't that we wanted to leave, but we knew the doctor was right, Duo just needed to be left alone aside from medical care. Half the day was spent fixing some of the more odd rumors that had started, and letting everyone know what had happened. Trowa was set up as a permanent guard outside the doctor because wolves kept trying to come in and get glimpses of Duo. Some even faked injuries or claimed to be sick to try and get in. Most were disappointed when the doctor came outside to treat them.

The next morning the three of us were stationed outside the clinic, waiting as Harris opened the door to let us in. Harris had slept in the clinic to keep an eye on Duo, Quatre had dragged Trowa out of bed; but that was after I had banged down Quatre's door when I woke up early and couldn't find anything else to do.

Duo was still asleep and Harris gave us an update on everything. The infection in the wounds had died down a lot, although his fever was still high. He had not become conscious since we brought him in but he was probably very tired. We weren't allowed to stay for very long and got kicked out to start the morning's work.

This routine went on for almost a week, the only change being Harris saying Duo had opened his eyes a few times for a short while. Duo's fever had finally broken on the sixth day. The nervous excitement in the pack seemed to die down after that, people knew what had happened and even though most of them didn't get to actually see Duo they were willing to leave him alone.

It seemed like luck was finally on our side, there had been no signs of the forest pack and we found the tunnel in the back of Noventa's dwelling and closed it off. Only speculation could be had, as to what was happening in the other pack. We suspected without their inside source they had backed off for a while. Which gave us time to rebound from everything, but with the word of Odin's death spreading like wildfire we soon had visitors. Zech's and his to-be-mate Treize had returned to the lands of the field clan the day after my father died. He promised to return later to figure out how his pack stood with ours now that Odin was deceased.

It was the rumors that brought the black wolves to our pack. I hadn't seen them myself, as they were here while I was in the forest. Their leader, Wufei had come to us to figure out negotiations. It usually tradition that the new pack leader would travel to the other lands to make negotiations and not vice versa. But these were odd circumstances, most of Odin's pacts had not yet been carried out and we still felt too vulnerable to send anyone out of the pack.

He approached me, since I was the "leader" for now anyways.

"I am not quite sure how we are to handle this situation. My pact with your father was not fully carried out on either side. I would like to renew the same deal with you, if possible. Or at least negotiate similar terms."

I was getting ready to run boundaries when he had approached me. I promised to discuss it later with him and headed out with a few of the guards to check the grounds. I saw him heading over to talk to Quatre as I left, but he was nowhere in sight when I returned.

I tracked down Quatre easily enough and started asking questions. "What happened to Wufei? I saw his guards but cannot find him."

Quatre got this kind of weird, pondering look. "Well after you left he came to talk to me, asked me some weird questions for a while and then we just talked. Not too long ago he asked if I knew everyone in the pack and if I would be able to find a friend he made last time he was here. I answered yes, and then he asked me where Duo was. I told him Duo was ill and was being kept at the clinic and then he nodded and walked off."

I thanked Quatre and then quickly made my way over to the clinic. After Duo's fever had lessened, shortly before it broke, Harris had taken to leaving Duo alone in the clinic. The plan was to move him back home tomorrow if he was still holding up well. The pack had been warned to stay out of the clinic and that doctor Harris would be making home visits should anyone need help. Because the clinic is basically in the center of the village we hadn't felt the need to leave a guard, since the pack agreed to stay out.

Anybody could have just walked right in there and that thought scared me. I barreled into the door, it slammed open under my weight and I was left with a rather angry looking Wufei glaring at me. He was slightly larger than me in his half-form, but he was also older, so I still had a chance to catch up. He had a small mane of longer hair along his neck, much like Duo.

"You should not be in here."

I said in the most threatening tone I could manage. He was sitting in a chair he had pulled to Duo's bedside. His hand was clasped around Duo's and as I spoke he put his finger to his lips in the universal sign of silence.

I glared for all I was worth then felt like melting when I saw Duo's eyes opening. He looked up at Wufei, probably woken up by all the noise I made, and kept blinking and squinting. All the windows had been completely blocked, leaving the room mostly dark, he probably couldn't see much of anything. Wufei squeezed his hand and spoke softly to him, running his other hand gently over Duo's cheek.

"Hello my angel; I am sorry if we disturbed your sleep."

I felt my whole body bristle at the comment, and motioned to the door for us both to leave. He stood up gracefully and then leaned down to nuzzle Duo's cheek which earned him a loud growl from me. Duo's eyes were already mostly closed again as he drifted into the land of dreams once more. Wufei just smiled, with a deep smug look and then followed me out of the clinic. I took him to my house to settle this.

I slammed the door behind him and spoke in a not so subtle hostile tone. "Tell me the terms that you took with my father, and we will get these negotiations completed as quickly as possible. Then you are to leave with the next rising sun."

He seemed to keep calm despite my clearly aggressive attitude. His voice steady and if it belonged to someone else it would probably have been soothing as well.

"Well I am sure you know most of the common terms of alliance. If either pack is in danger they may call on the other for aide; whether the call is for warriors or food, unless it would put the provider in grave danger. Neither pack is to attack the other on punishment of leader disbarment, and possible execution. Should either pack lose their territory, the other is obligated to take them in. The leaders are to remain loyal to each other until death, and thus the end of the contract."

I nodded; these were the typical terms of any peace treaty. I motioned for him to continue on what most considered bribes. The bribes were gifts or promises offered by one or typically as proof of their commitment to the treaty or to entice someone to accept it.

"The promises were kept to a minimum. I was eager to return to my pack and I am sure he was eager to finish all negotiations with me. He wanted some of our rare herbs that our doctors are famous for, that only grow in the caves. Along with some furs from cave bears and a few birds we raise for food. In exchange for these items we were to receive mountain lion furs and a few dried herbs that only grow in this region.... there was also the promise of a pack member in this pack, would be ... sent to live with us."

My eyes grew wide in shock; I could tell he was wording things carefully. It was not uncommon for pack members to be exchanged, or "given" as bribes, but usually it was with the consent of the individuals and it was usually because they had chosen to leave. But there were exceptions, and I wouldn't put it past Odin to be one.

"Which pack member?"

I think I already knew in the back of my mind what he was going to say, but I had to have confirmation, I needed to hear it to make sure. He hesitated, clearly feeling uncomfortable discussing this particular part of the pact.

"...Duo"

I felt myself go rigid; every hair on my body raising and a growl escaped my mouth before I could stop it. I took a moment to take a few breaths and calm myself. Since neither side of the contract had yet been carried out, he had no claim to Duo. Usually the exchanges took place a year after the pact was made; it was like a trial period. I said the first thing that came to my mind.

"You can't have him; he is not leaving with you!"

I could see his hair rising and his eyes growing dark, he wasn't going to let this go without some sort of a fight. I quickly defused the situation.

"Was Duo aware of this... deal? Did he accept these terms, or was it just Odin?"

Wufei seemed to be back to his normal calm once he realized I wasn't going to try and kill him where he stood.

"Odin had ... insinuated that Duo had been made aware and accepted, even going so far as saying so once. But I saw how he, and the others treated Duo, I doubted he asked, or even let him know. I still felt... alright with the deal, despite my suspicions of Duo's lack of knowledge, merely because I felt he would be better cared for in my clan."

He seemed to grow very bold at that moment, as if a fire was lit inside him.

"Based on how I have found him upon my return, I can see my assumptions were not unwarranted. It was not hard to find out what happened by talking to a few members of your pack. You attacked him, more or less, you did this to him. Your actions have just solidified my belief that Duo does not belong here, he deserves better."

As much as I wanted to shout at him and deny all his claims I knew they were somewhat true my father tended to treat Duo differently. I can only imagine how he had been treated while I was gone. Duo had always done his best to ignore it and let it go. But with all the youths gone and so many of the pack concentrated on other things Duo had probably been ignored completely and maybe mistreated a little.

His claims about me hurt the most because they were true. I couldn't argue with him on any of it. He was right, about just about everything. Maybe... maybe Duo didn't belong here with us. I knew for sure he deserved better, but I wasn't ready to admit it that Wufei was better right then.

"You can't have him. I am tired now, we will continue negotiations tomorrow."

He nodded curtly and left. I stood there for a few minutes considering what was to come. I let out a long and frustrated breath. I was moving Duo back tonight, I couldn't wait another night, and I couldn't leave him unguarded with Chang around. I went through the door determined to find Harris. Unless it was seriously going to hurt Duo he was coming home, tonight.

-------------------------

Look, look! It's not a complete cliffhanger. Just seemed like a good place to stop this chapter and start fresh with a new one. I hit a huge snag with this story and started hating the two chapters following the next one and ended up deleting them and started to rewrite them today with much more success and happiness so hopefully that gets me back on track.

-------------------