Author's Note: End of the arc! There will be a short time-skip into arc two. Thanks to everyone who's stuck with the story so far and who'll be continuing! Also, inverting posting schedule as I try to get back on track with the writing: "Dreamers" will now be posted over the weekend, and this will be posted on Wednesday.

Arc One Epilogue: Homecoming

Marius forces himself to wait three days between the time that Enjolras' pack allows him to choose a den on their territory and going to see Cosette again.

He chooses a den on the edge of Enjolras' territory, as close as he can get to Cosette's house. Her house isn't actually in Enjolras' territory, though. It's in Geroux's territory, and Marius tries to keep his shoulders from hunching and his head from dropping down as he crosses over the clearly marked pack line. He's been trespassing everywhere he goes for the last few months. His new status as… whatever he is with Enjolras' pack doesn't change where he needs to go and what he needs to do, though.

Because he needs to see Cosette. It's a burning, desperate hunger in him that he's only been able to control by telling himself that going to see her too quickly will draw attention to her.

Sliding into the garden using his usual route, he lurks, impatient, waiting for her to come out.

He doesn't have long to wait. Before five minutes have passed she slips out the door, jacket and shawl on but askew, as though she dressed hurriedly. Her eyes scan the garden, a look of almost painful hope on her face.

Slipping forward so that she can see him, Marius smiles at the young woman. "Cosette."

"Marius!" She hurries forward, heedless of the snow and ice, and throws her arms around him. "Oh, Marius, you really are here. I don't know why I thought you might be, it was a silly thought, but I decided to come check anyway and here you are! Oh, I've missed you. I thought perhaps something had happened to you, or that you decided you didn't want to associate with me any more, and… oh, but something did happen to you."

Cosette pulls away, her eyes narrowing as her hand reaches up to stroke gently along his face, glancing over the healing scrapes and bruises. Her fingers pause at his split lip, dance across the scab on first his upper and then his lower lip, and he closes his eyes as he happily inhales her scent, tries to memorize the feel of her fingers against him.

"Marius, what happened?" There's surprise and anger in Cosette's voice, but it's a defensive anger, one that his wolf knows isn't directed at them. "Who did this?"

"It doesn't matter." A hand on each of Cosette's hips draws her closer to him, their mixed scent filling the air around Marius with a heady perfume. He still can't decide if she smells more like fall or like spring, like the season of mating or the season of birth, but he loves her scent all the same. "It's healing. In a few days you won't even be able to tell anything happened."

It would heal even faster if he had a pack, his body drawing on the pack-magic to speed his healing, but Marius suspects Cosette won't like hearing that.

"It does matter." Cosette's voice is firm and certain. "Someone hurt you. I want to know who and I want to know why."

"It was a spat with some other wolves—a territory dispute, I suppose." Shrugging, Marius rests his head against Cosette's shoulder, sniffing surreptitiously at her neck as he does. Perhaps she smells more like spring, like new life, new growth. "It was two members of a pack who's driven me away from their territory in the past. They found me on neutral ground. They… didn't want me there."

"But I thought neutral ground was supposed to be safe for you." Cosette pulls back from him, presses him up into a standing position, that same look of disgruntled anger on her face. "Why did they attack you, if it's supposed to be a safe haven for all wolves?"

Marius tilts his head to the side, studying Cosette. How does he describe this in a way that she'll understand—and in a way that won't sound too bestial, won't frighten her? "I'm a stray. I don't have an alpha or a pack to defend me. It's like… I suppose the packs could be seen as countries. Very small countries. They've all agreed to leave each other alone on neutral territory, but I don't belong to any of the countries. If I'm injured, there won't be anyone to get upset about it. None of the packs—countries—involved in the neutral ground agreement will have been injured. Does that make sense?"

"I'm upset about you being hurt." The fingers of Cosette's right hand glance across his lips again, while her left rises almost idly to touch her own mouth. "But… yes. I suppose I understand what you mean. It seems… cruel, though, that they'd attack you just because you don't belong to one of them. Why don't they just leave you be?"

"All the packs are worried right now. The humans keep trying to stir up rebellion, and there's an alpha who's been… changing things." Marius finds himself moving closer to Cosette, pulling her to him as he considers Enjolras and his pack. He still doesn't know what to make of the strange female and his wolves.

He's found himself getting rather fond of Courfeyrac, despite his intentions. The female had helped him to find a place to stay, and there was a sense of friendly joviality about Courfeyrac that Marius found hard to resist.

The stray who saved him, Grantaire, has also been a frequent presence in his life, whether Marius wishes it or not. The male seems to be very determined that Marius not give up on looking for a pack, that Marius consider the political views of Enjolras' pack… though Marius isn't sure that Grantaire understands them all that well from his drunken ramblings.

As for the rest of Enjolras' pack… they've done as Enjolras said they would. They've stayed away, giving Marius time and space to settle into his new lodgings.

"Marius?" Cosette's fingers glide along his cheek, her head resting gently against his shoulder now. "What about the alpha changing things?"

"He and his pack are… different." Marius shrugs, a motion that would shiver his ruff to show his discomfort were he in wolf form. "I don't know how to describe them, Cosette. I'm quite certain I don't understand them. I'm half convinced that they're quite mad, actually. But… they helped me. Some of them saved me when the others were trying to kill me. And they've given me a place to stay and access to the university, so I can begin taking classes and tutoring again."

"Truly? You've got a safe place to stay now?" Cosette's smile is brighter than the sun in the sky. "Ah, I'm so relieved to hear that! Though it's rather cruel of you, don't you think, saying that they might be mad when they've been nothing but kind to you? Unless they did something, as well…"

"No." Shaking his head, Marius allows one of his hands to slide through Cosette's hair, the strands silky-smooth across his fingers. It's strange to feel a human's hair, so much longer than the hair their people tended to grow. "They've been far kinder than most wolves would have been. That doesn't necessarily preclude them being mad. Or does madness always go with cruelty in humans?"

"I… don't think I know enough about madness in people to comment." A bemused smile pulls at the corners of Cosette's mouth. "If they've been letting you stay on their territory, does that mean that you'll possibly become one of their pack?"

"No." Shaking his head, Marius makes his voice as firm and authoritative as he can. "I won't be taking a pack, Cosette. I'm going to stay with you, if you'll have me. I'm going to be human… as human as one of my people can be."

"But…" Cosette purses her lips, her fingers toying with the collar of his shirt. A new shirt, paid for by Courfeyrac when it became clear that getting the blood out of his old one wasn't going to happen, and Marius forces himself not to think of that.

He doesn't want a pack.

He wants Cosette.

Cosette draws in a sharp, startled breath and presses tighter to him. "If you're sure, Marius. Just… don't sacrifice something important for me. Please. I want to see you happy."

Holding Cosette to him, Marius draws in a long, slow breath. "I am quite happy where I am."

Cosette laughs, a soft, breathless sounds, and nuzzles her face against his neck. "I suppose I should tell you how to get to church, then. If we're really going to do this."

"Yes." Marius' voice rumbles in his chest, low, possessive, determined. "You should, because we are going to make this work."

It takes Cosette a good thirty minutes to make sure he knows where the church is. Humans think of the city strangely, in terms of sections and street names rather than pack territories and smells, and it takes them a few minutes to find a common point of reference where they can start. She has no concept of where the pack lines are drawn, of who controls what part of the city, and it's both frightening and enlightening to hear her tell him where to go.

She doesn't understand that she's asking him to trespass.

She doesn't understand, still, that the city is divided for him in ways that it isn't for her.

She won't understand, he decides. He can be clever. He can use neutral trails, the ones that lead to and from the university through every pack's land, and trespass only when he has to, and use the humans to hide his scent as best as possible like he's been doing for the last few months. It should even be easier than usual, because he'll intentionally be going to places that have a great number of humans, trying to blend in with the seething masses of people that attend the church every Sunday.

If he's careful, Bellamy's pack won't find him.

He really hopes they won't find him, because his split lip still hurts and he's a bit afraid that they really will follow up on their threat to kill him if they catch him again.

"Is everything all right, Marius?" Cosette's fingers trail along his cheek again, the touch fire-warm in the cool winter air.

"Yes." Taking her hand in his, Marius tentatively, uncertainly purses his lips and places a kiss on the fine bones of the back of her hand. He's seen humans do this before. It's a part of courting a human.

Cosette blushes furiously, her eyes dropping to the ground, one hand rising to tease at her hair. "Oh… this is so silly. Here I've been pressed to you, closer than I should be, longer than I should have been, and yet it's this… Marius, you really ruin all sense of propriety and perspective that I have. Do you realize that?"

Marius shakes his head, eyes wide with puzzlement. "No. Did I do something wrong? Did you not like that?"

"No. You didn't do anything wrong." Cosette's hand traces his cheekbone again, a blush still fire-bright in her cheeks. "Well, you did look terribly serious and a bit confused when you kissed me, like… like you were trying something very alien to you, which I suppose you are. Do wolves not kiss each other's hands?"

"My people have a very different courting ritual, yes." A courting ritual involving magic, involving scent, involving the seasons in a way that Cosette won't possibly understand. Involving the seasons in a way that might frighten Cosette, being so different from humans, displaying a bit more of his people's bestial side than other parts of their world would, and he doesn't want to frighten her. "I'd like to try your people's rituals, though."

Cosette pulls away from him, straightening and holding her hands demurely in front of her. A smile pulls at the corners of her mouth. "Very well, then. I will very happily be courted by you in a human fashion… so long as you allow me to court you in a… a wolfy fashion in the future."

Marius starts to shake his head in negation and pauses as Cosette's eyes narrow. "We… we'll see, Cosette. It'll be a few months before my people would start courting in earnest, anyway."

Both eyebrows rise, and Cosette tilts her head to the right. "Months…? There's… a specific time for courting among your people?"

"Later, Cosette." Marius can feel his face heating. "We'll talk about my people later. For now, you're going to tell me how I should act on Sunday."

"For starters, I think we should wait until your face has healed completely before you come." Cosette's fingers reach out to trace the split in his lip again. "Father will wonder where these injuries came from and what happened. Not making him suspicious will make our lives easier."

"All right." Marius sighs. "We'll wait, then. I'll come next week rather than this week."

"It doesn't mean we have to go that long without seeing each other, though." Cosette smiles up at him. "I can always teach you what little I know about human courtship while we wait… as well as what I know about our religion, which is significantly more."

Taking her hands in his, Marius smiles fondly down at the human who's changed his world. "Nothing would make me happier, Cosette."

XXX

"Enjolras."

Enjolras pauses mid-step, surprised and startled to hear that voice in this setting. Placing the book he had been scanning carefully in his bag, he turns to face the other alpha.

Gillenmorand is older than him by several decades—an impressive feat for an alpha. He's well-dressed, exceedingly well dressed, and he stands out from the students around him in more ways than one. Enjolras attempts to blend in with the human students, and sometimes succeeds; Gillenmorand doesn't deign to look at the humans, but they give him a wide berth anyway.

They may not be able to scent the other wolves on him—seven adults, two generations' worth of pups—or Gillenmorand's power, but they recognize a dominant predator in their midst.

An angry predator and a frightened predator, things Enjolras knows even before he scents the stress on the other alpha. Gillenmorand usually comes to the university only when he must, for the alpha meetings that occur every three months. It's even rarer for him to take part in the posturing and power-plays inherent in attempting to sneak up on and surprise another alpha.

Enjolras won't allow himself to be intimidated, but he also won't threaten another alpha who's so clearly worried. Not without additional provocation, at least. Giving his head a slight incline, Enjolras meets Gillenmorand's eyes for a handful of seconds before carefully looking away. "Gillenmorand. Is there something I can do for you?"

"You have my grandson." Gillenmorand takes a step forward, a cane he doesn't need held clenched tight in his right hand. "You will return him."

"Ah." Enjolras lets out his breath in a soft sigh. "This is about Marius."

"My grandson." Gillenmorand takes another step forward. "You will return him."

Enjolras doesn't back away, simply lowering his voice, hoping to attract less attention from the humans surrounding them. "He isn't mine to return."

"He was last seen in the company of your pack." Gillenmorand narrows his eyes. "Word is that he's staying on your land."

"He has been with some of my pack." Enjolras stays still as Gillenmorand takes another step forward, crowding into his personal space. The wolf inside him wants to snarl, to snap, to shove the older male away, but the instinct is easy enough for him to quell. He has no need to threaten this man; he has no need to fight with him. Doing either won't help his pack or his cause at all. He's glad that a few days have passed since he took Grantaire into the pack, that it is so easy for him to ignore his instincts again. "He is staying on my land. But I haven't taken him into my pack. Smell me; you know it's true."

Gillenmorand draws a deep, frustrated breath, his teeth bared in a half-snarl. Then he lets out the breath and takes a small step back, less confrontational, though not by much. "You're considering taking him into your pack?"

"He hasn't asked for it. He's specifically said that he doesn't wish to be part of my pack, actually." Having Gillenmorand so close to him at least means there isn't much chance of others overhearing any of this conversation.

"But he's staying on your territory." Gillenmorand's eyes narrow. "Why? What's your intention with him?"

Enjolras sighs. While he appreciates that everyone is apparently expecting great intelligence and strategy from him, having all the wolves in Paris assuming that every move he makes is part of some grand scheme is going to get very old very fast. "I have no designs involving Marius. He asked for sanctuary on my pack's land; I granted it. What he does now is not my concern or my doing."

Gillenmorand stares directly at Enjolras for a few seconds, and Enjolras forces himself to take slow, even breaths, to return the gaze without flinching but without doing anything to increase the tension between them. Finally the older wolf looks away, his shoulders slumping just slightly. "I… would be indebted to you if you would return my grandson to me."

There has never been another alpha who offered to place themselves in his debt. Offering debt, purposefully placing yourself in a submissive position to another, isn't something that happens frequently with their people. Licking his lips, Enjolras lowers his voice even more and shakes his head. "It is not for me to return him to you. He is not mine—and even if he were, I would not order him to return to you. I can bring a message to him, see if he would willingly meet with you, but I will not force him to do what he does not wish to do."

"You could evict him from your land." Gillenmorand studies him, intent, lips pressed together in impotent frustration. "How your wolves can stand you giving up a part of their territory—"

"They agreed with me that it does us no harm and him a service." Enjolras' words are cool as he cuts over the male's rant before it can build up more steam. "He was not safe on neutral territory. He had no pack to protect him. He was attacked. My people saved his life."

A low growl rumbles from Gillenmorand's throat, his lips pulling back from his teeth in a vicious snarl. "Who attempted to kill him?"

The fury that rolls off Gillenmorand isn't directed at him. That is why Enjolras can manage to take a deep breath and keep himself from attacking the other man. "Two of Bellamy's wolves were working him over when my people intervened. They had stated that their intention was to kill him."

Hand tightening around the handle of his cane, Gillenmorand draws his wolf back under control with a visible effort and inclines his head. "I am… grateful, if your people truly saved his life. But it doesn't change that you have no right to keep him on your land, without a pack, without a mate."

Keeping his voice gentle, Enjolras lowers his eyes, acknowledging the honor that Gillenmorand does by thanking him. "He is free to come or go as he wishes, as I have said. It currently seems that he wishes to stay, that he has no desire to search for a pack."

Another low growl rolls from Gillenmorand. "If you behaved as a proper alpha and wolf, he would have no choice in the matter."

Enjolras raises both eyebrows. "You wish me to injure him? Perhaps to kill him in defense of my territory, when in truth he is no threat to me or mine?"

Gillenmorand's teeth grind together for a moment and his eyes drop away. "No. I don't want him hurt."

Studying the older wolf once more, Enjolras finds himself intrigued by the elderly male and his grandson. Once pups left the pack, they were usually left to their own devices. Oh, there could be fondness between parents and pups, and sometimes even between packs who frequently exchanged young wolves, but this is something different. "Why does he mean so much to you?"

For a moment Enjolras thinks the old man isn't going to answer him. Then Gillenmorand lowers his head and shrugs. "He is the last of my first mate's bloodline. His mother was dear to me, and he is as well."

Enjolras inclines his head again. "Your feelings do you credit. But Marius is old enough to choose his own pack and his own way."

"Marius is still young… young and foolish and easily confused." There's a fondness to Gillenmorand's words that shines through even when he insults the younger wolf. "When he stormed away from our pack, I let him go. I knew that given time enough he would come to see reason."

"You mean you thought that he would come crawling back to your pack in desperation after long enough wandering Paris alone." Enjolras' tone is cool again as he studies the other wolf. "I will not oust him from my territory simply because you expect it, or because it would make things easier for you."

"You're going to get yourself killed, and all of your pack with you." Gillenmorand's words are blunt, concise, his eyes meeting Enjolras' without flinching. One alpha to another, accusing Enjolras of being a poor alpha, of being unable to protect his people, and Enjolras finds his lips trying to curl into a snarl without his conscious volition. Gillenmorand's voice is cool, his eyes determined as he continues to meet Enjolras' gaze, clearly knowing the insult that he's giving. "I will not allow you to take Marius with you into death and damnation."

Forcing his lips into a human expression of calm again, drawing a slow, deep breath through his nose, Enjolras meets Gillenmorand's eyes evenly. "I don't intend to see my people killed, not if I can help it. I intend to see all our people freed—first the humans from the tyranny of the monarchy, and then, once the humans are capable of understanding and accepting us, the wolves from their terror and hiding."

"You're even more foolish than Marius." Gillenmorand spits out the insult as though it's the worst thing he can think to say. "When the Lady gifted you with power, all he did was ensure that our people will suffer even more than they already are."

"I am sorry that you feel that way." Enjolras speaks calmly. "I hope to someday change your mind, but you will not change mine. I will bring your message to Marius. If he wishes to meet with you, I will ensure that a missive with the time and the place finds its way to you. If he does not wish to meet with you, I will not force him to. Now, I have classes to attend. Good day."

Turning from the other alpha, Enjolras strides away.

He can feel Gillenmorand's eyes on his back for almost a full minute, the weight of the other alpha's regard an almost physical presence. Eventually the sensation stops, though, and Enjolras feels his breath come easier.

He'll do as he said. He'll have Courfeyrac speak with Marius, though he suspects he knows what Marius' answer will be. The strange stray seems determined to put as much distance as possible between himself and the rest of the Pack.

Rubbing at his temple, Enjolras hopes that the pack's relationship with Marius won't make things more complicated than they already are.