Home Again Tobias's POV

When Gavin bounded out of the forest and towards me, I could tell by his body language that something was up. And when he shifted and heaved up what was left of the hunt, - looked like rabbit - he crumbled on the ground, wrapping his arms around his body. I helped lift him up and into the clinic where I laid him down on the bed. I was feeling better; the herbal plants and medicine finally working. Lu Garou were quick healers anyway, but with the plants it made the process faster.

Gavin's body shook as he continued to throw up his stomach. "What's wrong w-with me?" He stuttered, his eyes searching mine. His pale face was paler than usual, his hair sticking to his clammy forehead.

"Nothing. You shouldn't have phased back into a human right after eating. And why weren't you with the pack?"

"I don't really know..." Gavin's quiet voice shook as he began to cry. He sat up and held his face in his hands. "It's like… I didn't know who I was. It was exciting and scary all at the same time."

"Well sure, that's what it's like to hunt. Your human side succumbs to the animal side. You're more animal than human, and you can't be both. If you would have stayed with the pack and…digested as a wolf, you would have gotten your mind back. The same thing happens when it's cold outside. We have the urge to be covered in fur and be close with the others of our pack. It's so strong that soon after the change, we lose our humanity all together. It's like… our human skin cannot support us during the winter, and we have to let it go." I tried to explain the best I could to him as I rubbed his bare back. The nurses gave him some pain relievers and rubbed a lotion on his stomach to calm him down. "It's weird, really. You have no… recollection of anything you did as a wolf. You remember when you began to shift and that's it. Sometimes you don't even get that. And that's scary."

"Sounds like it. Will it happen to me?" He asked. His body had stopped trembling and sweating.

"Yes, it will. Every winter we leave the house and live in the woods for the winter months. But come spring, we all begin to fall back into humans."

"I'm tired." Gavin said, turning away from me and pulling the covers over his shoulders.

"I'm sure you are, I'll let you sleep." I said, climbing into the bed next to his.

"You need your sleep too, Tobias. But first. we need to take the stitches out before you leave, might as well take them out now." The silver haired woman, Beverly, said.

And they did, they cut out the stitches where my wounds were, not even leaving scars. Thank you herbs! Sometime after that I had fallen asleep, my breath pulling in and pushing out. I dreamed about snow covering the trees and the city houses. The dream drifted to my old home, the endless valley of snow that blanketed anything it touched. A pack of wild wolves danced in the opening, their fur covered with flakes of snow. They nipped at each other, trying to make the blasting windy winter a little more bearable. Not that they would remember it come spring, but in those days, it was living day by day. I knew those wolves as they sang to the starry sky. They were my pack, they were my family. I woke up around just before the dawn. I laid there in bed, remembering my home that would never be home again. Part of me couldn't wait for winter, to be free of this life, if only for a couple months. To run through the forests with no limits, no rules, just the thrill of being me. Like the time when I had insisted on going outside, even when Momma said no. But she covered me in thick clothes to go outside anyway and enjoy the snow while I still could. I remember running toward Sunny's house, my nose running and my lips chapped from the cold. I ran up to their shed in the back of their house. Sunny's dad was usually in there working on something with Sunny to accompany him. I saw that the door was slightly ajar, so I let myself in. What I didn't know was that once I opened the door it hit the loose shelf to the left, making the items on it topple over and close the door behind me. The door locked from the inside, so I was locked in before I realized that there was nobody in here. I tried to open the door but it was no use, I would have to wait till someone heard me or needed something out of the shed.

I sat in there for awhile, the sun setting and getting colder by the minute. I had lost my voice from shouting and my face was starting to freeze. Now it doesn't take much to trigger the change when it's cold, even the slightest patch of skin exposed to the cold wind would shake you to your core. The last I remember was trying to pull on the door knob, knocking on the wooden door and curling up into a ball trying to keep what was left of me warm. I remember beginning to shake uncontrollably from the cold, my skin feeling like it would peel off my bones. The next thing I knew I was inside Sunny's house, her mother wrapping me in a layer of blankets to keep my warm. She sat me by the fire and rubbed my sore face with a warm cloth. Sunny was there, wrapped in her own warm clothing. When Sunny explained what had happened, I had no memory what's so ever.

Apparently Emmeth, Sunny's father, heard all of the commotion I was making. He headed out to check what all of the howling was about and sure enough, it was me, as a wolf, clawing the walls to try to get out of my small prison. He said that what was left of my clothes were scattered everywhere, non recoverable. Emmeth said that he couldn't let me get away and run into the woods alone so he cornered me in the back of the shed and scooped me up into his arms. He carried my small wiggling body into his home and held me close to the fire, wrapped in blankets. I guess it took a lot of coaxing and stroking of my fur to get me to phase back, but when I did, I wouldn't move away from his body heat. At the time, I didn't find it that funny, but looking back now, I found myself laughing to myself in the quiet of the clinic room. Emmeth said I had a wildness in my eyes as he cornered me that he was afraid that I would attack him and drag him into the snow. At least I wouldn't have been alone in the woods for he would have been with me. He said he was on the verge of shifting himself, it was one of the coldest nights before the whole pack fell into fur. So I spent the night with Sunny and her parents, wrapped in many blankets. We all shared the same bed to keep each other warm through the night. My father came for me in the morning and gave me a small lecture on not going out by myself, especially in the winter. Momma vowed not to let me outside during winter anymore, especially not alone. It was a good thing Emmeth found me when he did, his shed would have been in pieces.

I sat up in the bed and stretched. Gavin stirred too, a yawn filling the eerily quiet room. I shifted my legs off the bed and felt the floor before I stepped down. Cold. Probably not a good idea right now. No wonder the nurses wore shoes.

"Tobias, you up?" Gavin said, rolling over to face me.

"Yep, how'd you know?"

"Heard you laughing." He said. I could see his eyes blinking in the semi-dark room.

"Oh yeah, just remember things from when I was younger."

"Must have been great."

"Well… the memory wasn't pleasant, but it's mine." I smiled a little, looking out the window. "They're back." Gavin sat up too and went to get out of bed but stopped when he put one foot on the ground.

"Oh! It's cold." He said, bringing his leg back up.

"Yeah, better not chance it, not when you just had that episode last night"

"Good idea, I prefer being warm right now." He said as he wrapped he blankets around his body.

Outside, the pack came back into view, men in their anthro form and women still as wolves. I saw that Eros had separated our pack from the rest, obviously ready to go.

"Come on, Gavin. We have to go now." I said as I shifted into my anthro wolf, still sitting on the bed.

"Right, ok." He said finally and did the same. We both stood up and walked outside. I fell on my hands to walk on all fours in respect of the other wolves around me. Gavin followed my lead but I stopped him.

(Gavin stand up. You don't do this but I have too.)

(Why do you?)

I took awhile to answer as he walked on his legs. (Because I'm an omega, it's out of respect toward the Alphas. Plus if you do it, it shows them a lot about you, they'll judge you quickly and you don't want that.)

(Oh.) We walked through the crowd, the wolves looking Gavin up and down and yowling at him.

(Gavin you go up ahead, I have to say good-bye to my friends.)

(Ok, see you soon Tobias.) Gavin said as he walked off toward our family. I bounded off to the back of the pack when I spotted Gino and Pan wrestling. Gino was holding his own against Pan, but of course he could take Gino if he wanted too. They were just happy to be in each others company. Dawn was on her haunches as sat next to Salem's big figure. The pups were bouncing off of them, trying to get them to play. Kids. I yipped for them, making Cash flick his ears in my direction as he raced up to me.

"Tobias!" His small wolf body wiggled as he pawed my arm. I growled at him and flipped him over, careful not to hurt him. He was just a wolf, meaning that he was still a little fragile. I trotted up to them, Harley joining Cash in on the fun. I sat down too, my legs curled up in an awkward human/wolf way. Harley was trying to jump on my back while Cash weaved in and out of my arms to get a hold of my neck fur.

"It's nice to see that you're doing well, Tobias." Dawn said as she rubbed up against my shoulder.

"Thanks."

"Gino's not too happy that you stepped in, but he'll get over it." Salem said leaning in closer to me. I wrinkled my nose in the air and scratched behind my ear.

I rolled my eyes, so very human. "Whatever."

"So I guess you're leaving huh?" Dawn said, her ears falling back a little.

"Yes, thought I'd stop by. You know, say goodbye."

"I'm glad you did." Dawn tilted her head to the side, a hint of sorrow in her voice. Pan and Gino had stopped wrestling and came over to me. Pan pushed my shoulder and gave me a toothy grin. Gino stayed back, but still nodded toward me. I pulled Dawn into me and held her close.

"I'll see you all for sure next year, but maybe I'll catch you sometime before that." I said, letting her go and shook hands with Salem, Pan, and Gino. Gino was a bit reluctant, but he took my hand anyway. I pulled Harley off my back which she had climbed on and set her down next to Dawn. I pushed Cash's head away playfully, pawing at him as he tried to come back for more. Pan scooped him up and wrestled him to the ground. I stood up to go, finally ready to leave this place. I turned to leave but Dawn called me back.

"Tobias?" Her small voice filled the air. She was human again; her clothes barely hanging on her body. She really slipped into them fast.

"Yes, Dawn?" I answered back, turning to her. I still stayed on my paws I looked up to her.

"Take care of Gavin, he looks up to you more then you know."

"I know. Goodbye, Dawn." I turned to leave but again her voice called me back.

"And Tobias. Keep your head in the light, and don't look back. Follow your heart and it'll lead you to the truth." She smiled, her fingers running through the fur on my face.

"Dawn?" I say, not sure what she means.

Dawn moved back and sat down near Salem. Salem watched me with sorrowful eyes, his bright green irises shining in the early morning light. Dawn smiled at me as she rested her hand on Salem's arm. "Goodbye, Tobias." I nodded to her and began to walk toward my pack.

As I walked through the crowd of Lu Garou, my mind drifted to some far away place. Thinking of what Dawn said, my past, the present and future. What would my future be, and why would I have to follow my heart to know the truth? I shook my head. It was just Dawn and her weird Alpha mottos, no worries, right? I didn't notice when I returned to my pack, my head still in the gray foggy clouds. Then we were gone. We moved back into the forest and away from our family back toward our home. I felt Gavin's presence fall next to me; he gave me gentle bumps to let me know he was there. Our walk through the woods was a long and quiet one. No one bothered to talk let alone joke with one another.

We finally made it home after hours of walking on the frozen ground. I longed to lay on my bed and suck in the darkness of the night. Along the way, Gavin had began to drift off, bumping into me and walking off the trail. I had to guide him most of the way almost like I was dragging him. Poor kid, he must be exhausted, but there was no way that the two of us could fit in the bed if we were both anthro wolves. When we got closer to the house, the fur on the back of my neck began to stand on ends. Something wasn't right, it was too quiet. There was no candle light in the nearby windows; even the bats had fallen silent. Eros growled for us to stay quiet as he crouched down and moved out of the forest, Vince and Sneer flanked him. I was on full alert now, trying my best to get Gavin awake. I moved toward Momma, my nose sniffing the back of her ears, letting her know I was there.

(What's going on, Momma?) I thought to myself then projected it to her mind. She was silent for awhile, her ears scanning the area for any sudden movements. There were none.

(Eros smells…them.)

(What? Them? Why would they be here?) A growl rumbled in the back of my throat.

(I don't know, but he doesn't want to take any chances.) Momma growled in her head as Evaline dug herself in my mother's stomach. She watched me with wary eyes but I gave her a reassuring lick on her head. Gavin pulled up next to me, fully awake now. I focused my ears to hear my father walk into our home, teeth bared and claws ready. After awhile, they yipped for us to come along. Beck moved in front of us as he lead us quickly to our home. When we walked up to the house, it reeked of vampire. The house was wrecked, chairs flung around and what was left of our food laid on the ground, rotten.

"What the hell happened!" Liko growled as he pushed his way past everyone, his clawed hands clenched at his sides.

"Vampires happened. They were probably looking for Gavin." Beck answered, glancing at Gavin who backed away behind me.

"Smells like more then one."

"Damn no good rotten parasites." Sneer snarled. "Trying to sneak up on us. To bad they didn't follow our scent to the valley. That would have been fun!"

"Hush! They could still be around here! We all have to keep watch tonight, no sleeping, dosing, or resting your eyes. We're all on full alert!" Eros growled to us. "Fresh yourselves up, do whatever, but if I catch you sleeping, so help you…" He glared at me and turned away, his lips curled back in at ferocious sneer. I flattened my ears then moved toward my room, Gavin following behind me.

"This is all my fault, I'm causing all this trouble." He peaked into the others rooms, each torn up.

"Stop feeling so sorry for yourself. It's not your fault, so don't blame yourself for everything that happens." I spat back, my tail flicking back in forth in annoyance. Everything was out of place and ruined. I stood up on my legs and pushed my door open and…

It was perfectly fine. Nothing was ripped or broken. It was the same as how I left it before Gavin and I went to join the pack before leaving to the valley. "What the?" I said, sniffing my room. A vampire had been in here, but who?

Gavin stepped into the room and perked up instantly. "Chester."

"What?"

"Chester was in here, that's probably why he didn't mess up the room!" Gavin smiled, his tail wagging.

"How can you possibly STILL like him. How can you like any of them? Look what they did to our home! We're lucky no one was hurt! Next time I see your… Chester, I'll rip him apart!"

"No no, Tobias! You can't! He's good, I mean, he helped us escape, doesn't that count for anything?" Gavin pleaded. He began to whine in an annoying way.

"No it doesn't mean anything. You can't rely on anyone but your own kind, not even humans! They're lucky no one was hurt… they're very lucky. They better not be lingering around here or there will be an all out war."

"Why do you hate them so much huh? Why does everyone hate THEM!"

I snapped. "Because they're merciless killers and don't care who they wipe out as long as they make themselves better. A vampire is a vampire, no matter who they are. They probably would have got rid of you sooner if you weren't all cute and submissive to them! If someone like… like Liko came charging in, they would have made him into a floor mat! I hate them, I hate what they did to my family and I hate them for taking away my childhood!"

Gavin backed away, hitting the wall. He turned his head away, his eyes shut tight as I breathed in his face. I unclenched my teeth and looked at him, his small figure shaking underneath my fuming one. I whipped my head away and tried my best to memorize Chester's scent for the second time this month, it just wasn't sticking. Gavin moved to crawl up on the bed, curling himself into a ball and resting his head on his hands.

"Don't fall asleep if you know what's good for you."

"What do you care? I bet you want me out of your fur as fast as possible huh? You're quick to judge what I believe, and the one person who raised me. I think he raised me right. I mean, I want to see him again, but I don't want to go back there. Maybe if I could talk to him, somehow tell him to try and convince Travis not too-"

"That's a good dream, but from what I've seen, Travis won't have any of it. He'll want us dead that much more."

"You're right… he's pure evil."

"Yes, and those are the vampires that have to go. Evil like that doesn't just happen, it's inherited. Which means…"

"What?"

I sat on my chair and held my head in my hands. "If Chester didn't… inherit Travis's evil, who did he get it from?"

"Well… I do remember him talking to a ma- vampire one day. They came down to see me one day and the other man… he scared me. Like shook me to the bone scared. And all he did was smirk."

"So that's it. We have to dig a little more into Travis's past. Then maybe, just maybe, we'll get somewhere. I mean think about it. Your old pack, we don't know where they were located let alone how they were killed. Who did it, and why." I then scratched my head and rubbed my nose. "Then, why were we told to move here? We had no idea that a vampire coven ruled the city. It was a gypsy who told us to live here, but then later we were told that he was working for an important coven. Which one? And that letter… what was it about?"

"Letter?"

"Yeah, Chester came by and gave Eros a letter, what it was about, I don't know. But why would he give him a letter?"

"Beats me."

I paced the room a while thinking of the possibilities. What was this letter about? Was it a decoy? Or was it a warning? Either way, I had to figure it out for the pack's sake. Gavin sat up on my bed, his eyesstraining to stay away. I watched him as he scanned his surroundings, studying the claw and bite marks on the wood around the room.

"Hungry?" He asked, his eyes locked on my wooden bed post. They were gnawed to the max.

"Well when you're cooped up for awhile and you craving something to chew on, anything will do." I said, rubbing my eyes.

"Really? So you like wood?" He barked, his spirit slowly coming back. I snorted under my breath and stood up, stretching my arms and legs.

"Hey, I was in my chewing stage. It was right after my first shift. You'll see soon. You'll crave something to chew on and it'll probably be a poor innocent bed post." I laughed and moved over to my dresser. I looked into my mirror to see Gavin's slouching figure. "Gavin? I'm sorry about before… it's a sensitive subject for all of us. And, I shouldn't have gone off on you like that. It wasn't fair and you didn't deserve it. I'm sorry."

Gavin looked at me and smiled. "I know, Tobias. I guess I'm not used to people yet, and after everything in the last couple days, I guess I'm just tired."

"You look it. But you must get used to Eros's commands, if you don't, you can get yourself into big trouble."

"And that's what I have you for, for helping me." Gavin's tail thumped on my bed.

"Yep, you're right." I sat down next to him and we chatted through the night, both exhausted, waiting for the sun to rise. I had taken him around the house, showing him where everything was and who owned what. We all shared, but some of the pack were more protective over their things then others. I introduced him with the pack, even though he had met most of them. I even made some small talk to Liko, knowing that he would eventually get over what happened. I just hoped it was short lived, because that was the least of our worries. We played with Evaline and her groupies, all of them so proud of their new markings. She was so innocent and cute that I prayed nothing would happen to her like what happened to… Sunny. Evaline was close to Sunny's age when she died, and I made a vow to never let any harm come to her. I would not lose one of the important females in my life again…