Author's Note: Hey everyone! I'm back with Chapter 4 :) It's a bit on the shorter side this time but we're setting up for some excitement in the near future. I hope ya'll enjoy it!
To Urutiyori: Sabo is such a sweetie to Lu while Ace is still unsure lol XD Yeah, Dragon and Luffy will have some issues to work through for sure :'). We will be seeing Dragon again in the future! Thank you so much for the review!
To too addicted to fiction: He's definitely precious and adorable. I'm so glad you're enjoying it so far and thanks so much for the review!
To YAAAAAAAAAS: Gotta love ASL ;) They're great and I love them. You're very welcome!
To kris: I'm so glad!
To Smiley-Nami: Thank you! Here's an update for you :)
To Irene Sharda: He did mess up, poor kid. I actually really like writing Dragon as a father even though I don't have much source material to work from lol. It is definitely going to be interesting ;)
To Hoppeless Romantic: I'm so glad you're enjoying it so far! Oh yeah, I like that song! Good choice for this story ;)
To Wishfull-star: Thank you so much for the compliment!
WARNINGS:
- Ace questions his life choices
- Hint of angst/dealing with emotions
- Alcohol
When Luffy woke up, it was to the pleasant sound of birds and the smell of something delicious wafting into his room. He yawned and sat up, wondering for a moment if Dad had made his favorite again…that is, until he opened his eyes and the reality of his situation came crashing down.
'That's right…I'm not at home anymore.' He thought, ears falling as he remembered the events of the previous day. The lycans Ace and Sabo had taken him away from everything he'd known, but the worst part was that his Dad let it happen. Luffy wiped sleep from his eyes and tried not to think about it.
Surely Dragon had a good reason…
Against his will, the tail attached to his lower back started to wag when the smell of food grew stronger. Luffy sniffed the air and identified…sausage, maybe some toast…definitely something sweet too. Though he was reluctant to wander around in the weird bar the wolves called home, he was hungry, so he climbed down to the wooden floor.
A quick glance revealed Ace and Sabo weren't around, so they had to be downstairs.
Luffy padded across the hallway and took the stairs slowly, ears perked as he tried to catch any conversations his captors were having, but he couldn't hear anything except the sizzling of food on a griddle. When he nervously peeked around the door, his eyes were drawn to Ace. The big-bad wolf was in an apron with a pink bunny on it and looked to be cooking waffles.
"How'd you sleep, pup?" Ace asked suddenly, making Luffy jump. He didn't look up from what he was doing while Sabo, who sat at the bar, smiled at him.
"Um…fine, I guess." Luffy responded, honestly unsure what to do. He walked forward at Sabo's insistence and sat down next to him, wringing his hands together nervously. The blonde lycan appeared to be having some sort of muffin.
"Are you hungry?" Sabo asked after taking a moment to smell him, "Ace is making more food than he could possibly eat on his own."
Luffy nodded immediately, drooling when Ace flipped the golden-brown waffle.
A few minutes later, he dug into a large plate of delectable breakfast foods, tail wagging vigorously as he did so. Ace might be a kidnapping jerk, but he was pretty good at making meals. Sabo just sipped on his tea with a soft smile on his face, watching him closely.
"T-Thanks for the meal…" Luffy muttered when he finished, nervousness returning. Across from him Ace nodded in response to his statement while popping a mini-sausage into his mouth. Under the stares of the two lycans, he found himself asking the question that had been in the forefront of his mind since he woke up. "Um…what're you gonna do with me now?"
Though his knowledge of werewolves was slim at best (seeing as he just found out they existed), he figured they weren't keeping him around and feeding him just because. Were they going to eat him?
"First of all, Luffy, we aren't going to hurt you." Sabo quickly answered, putting his tea aside, "We understand that you're just as confused about everything as we are and don't hold that against you. That being said, in your…condition, it would be irresponsible of us to expose you to danger. If anyone saw you, lycan, Shikari, human, or otherwise…there's no telling what they'd do."
"So I really am your prisoner…" Luffy whispered, ears drooping against his hair. Sabo's expression turned sorrowful while Ace's remained neutral.
"We don't want to think of you as a prisoner, pup…we just want to make sure you're safe while we figure out what's going on."
"Why don't you start by telling us the whole story." Ace put in, drawing Luffy's gaze upward, "How did you end up like that?" The boy shrugged and absentmindedly stroked his soft tail that came up into his lap.
"My Dad said I ended up like this cause I forgot to take my medicine…" He said, bottom lip trembling as he remembered his many mistakes, "I-I messed everything up. Dad said to never go to a gas station or an aquarium and I went anyway! Then I got tired, didn't take my pill, and grew fur."
The two lycans glanced at each other but didn't say anything, so Luffy continued.
"T-Then the Jellyfish man from the aquarium and the crazy-hair guy from the gas station tried to kidnap me and-and…" Luffy trailed off, sniffling as he recalled how his family had put their lives on the line to save him. "…and now I'm here."
He flinched slightly when Sabo leaned over and put a soothing hand on his shoulder, squeezing lightly, while Ace placed a hand on his chin. The Alpha wolf seemed to be deep in thought.
"This 'medicine'…could you tell me a little more about it?" Sabo asked softly, obviously trying his best not to scare him any more than he already was.
"I-It was supposed to help my scar heal and not hurt as much…at least that's what they told me." Luffy explained, putting a hand on the mark the lycans had identified as a bite. Sabo hummed and released him.
"I see, and when you missed just one, this is the result…how interesting…"
"And these people that tried to kidnap you, were they human?" Ace asked while Sabo mumbled to himself. Luffy shook his head.
"Dad said they were werewolves from a pack that's been after me for a long time."
Ace frowned at that and straightened up.
"This pack have a name?"
"I don't know…he never said."
Luffy looked between Ace and Sabo when they both went silent. They were staring at each other, like they were having a silent conversation. Were they worried another pack was going to attack or something?
"Um…is everything okay?"
"Yes, sorry." Sabo answered, smile returning, "Actually, Luffy, identifying this mystery pack might be a good idea."
"What? Why!?" Luffy exclaimed, standing to his feet in surprise, "I just said they tried to kidnap me!"
"I know, but if they've been chasing you for as long as your father said…" Sabo continued, gaze firm, "…your sire could be among them." Luffy blinked in shock at that statement, tail falling against his leg. He hadn't even considered that as a possibility. If they found the person who turned him into a lycan in the first place, maybe they could help get him out of this messed up situation!
"Tell us everything you can remember about the wolves who chased you." Ace stated while removing his apron, "Any detail could be important."
That afternoon, Sabo sat at the bar with his laptop, surfing the web for any information that could be helpful. He smirked when yet another yelp came from outside. As the hours passed, Luffy started getting restless and had already made two escape attempts, so now Ace was on 'pup duty'.
Based on the yelling, it was going great.
Sabo took a sip from his mug and scrolled through the list of registered packs in the area, the vague descriptions Luffy gave them in the forefront of his mind. All werewolves could access the list and it was encoded in a way that was supposed to keep nosy Shikari out. With a click, Sabo sorted it by pack size and location, hoping to narrow down his options.
'There are quite a few packs in the San Faldo area.' He mused, eyes lingering on Ace's favorite pack, run by Edward Newgate, AKA Whitebeard. They were by far the largest pack in the area with thousands of lycans running wild under their alpha's name. Despite Ace's continued refusal, members came by the bar regularly trying to recruit him.
Of course, Ace had a good reason to refuse seeing as his bastard of a sire had originally belonged to their pack.
Refocusing on the task at hand, Sabo clicked through all the possible packs, trying to make a connection between them and Luffy. The pup's description of the 'jellyfish man' was most detailed but still didn't give them much to go on.
"Maybe I should expand the search…" He mumbled, unsure how to continue. It wasn't like the website gave pictures or anything so he was doing this research based solely on what he knew of the packs…which wasn't ideal. Besides, if the pack in question was based elsewhere, his local search wouldn't bring up anything of use.
"Find anything?"
"No, not yet." Sabo answered, barely holding in a laugh when a soaking wet Ace entered the bar. He held Luffy over his shoulder and the pup was definitely gnawing on him. "Have fun out there?"
"He tried to run again…fell in the creek." Ace muttered in an annoyed tone, "…and ate my lunch."
"You just need to protect it better!" Luffy exclaimed, squirming on the alpha's shoulder, "Now put me down! I-I…I definitely won't run again." Sabo chuckled to himself at the pup's ridiculous poker face. What a terrible liar.
"Like hell you won't." Ace shot back, growling under his breath as he flipped the kid back onto his feet, "Go get yourself cleaned up before I decide to tie you to something." Luffy stuck his tongue out at the alpha before rushing through the bar and up the stairs, dripping water all over the floor.
"You can't really blame him for trying to escape." Sabo said while Ace snatched a towel out of the closet and started to dry his hair, "He's scared and, technically, we are holding him here against his will."
"He's trouble…" Ace mumbled before releasing a sigh into the towel, "So you really didn't find anything? Not one lead?"
"Not even a single breadcrumb." Sabo replied, leaning on his hand, "This may be more difficult than we anticipated."
That evening, both Ace and Sabo changed into slightly nicer clothes and got ready to open the bar. Thankfully, Luffy had tired himself out after five escape attempts, two dips in the creek, and a run-in with a very confused black bear. It was Sabo's job to make sure he was comfortable (and secure) upstairs while customers were around.
The beta wolf walked downstairs when Ace turned their sign from 'closed' to 'open'.
"Well, the good news is that he's exhausted." Sabo explained with an amused huff, "I've got him on the beanbag with the TV remote so hopefully that'll keep him busy until he conks out."
"If he makes a run for it…it's your turn to catch him." Ace answered while retreating to the bar, earning a laugh from Sabo.
"Yeah, yeah. I'll handle it."
As usual, it didn't take long for the empty bar to fill up with patrons. Most of them were lycans and wasted no time ordering a drink, playing pool, or relaxing on the front porch. The Happy Rabbit appealed to them because it was out of the way and hardly ever frequented by humans. They occasionally got other creatures like vampires or spirits, but not often. About thirty minutes after they opened, two familiar figures walked through the door, drawing an annoyed groan from Ace.
"Yo, bartender!" The brunette with the ridiculous pompadour hairstyle chirped as he sat down at the bar, "Nice night we're having, huh?"
"It was nice until two of my most annoying customers showed up." Ace shot back while mixing a drink for another customer, "Don't you guys like other bars?"
The other lycans just laughed, like they usually did. Marco and Thatch belonged to old man Whitebeard's pack and desperately wanted to assimilate his pack into theirs. He continually rejected them but they just couldn't take a hint.
"Where's Sabo at tonight?" Thatch questioned, looking around for his blonde beta. Ace kept a neutral expression, not wanting to reveal that Sabo had gone upstairs to check on the pup they were hiding.
"Working. Now, are you two gonna order something or do I have to kick you out?"
"I'll have the usual, yoi." Marco put in, smiling fondly at him, "Thatch will have water."
"What!? No, no…I want whisky."
As he moved to prepare their drinks, Sabo emerged from the stairway and sent him a subtle nod that hopefully meant the pup was still where they left him. The beta smiled at the Whitebeards before joining Ace behind the bar.
"Good evening you two, how are things?"
"Not too bad, yoi." Marco answered, watching Ace work with veiled interest, "Our territory is peaceful and the Shikari have been surprisingly quiet lately." The blonde wolf also held the position of beta under Whitebeard, so he had a lot of responsibilities.
Yet he somehow always found time to come bother Ace.
"Woah, brother, what have you gotten into?" Thatch asked suddenly, holding his nose when Sabo walked by. Ace sent his brother a wide eyed look and the beta, to his credit, took the moment in stride and simply sniffed himself, acting clueless.
"I'm not sure what you mean…"
Ace turned his attention to Marco's drink. Thatch had a notoriously good nose so he was probably smelling Luffy. The pup still stunk of Shikari, stress, chemicals, and other unsavory substances. No matter how much he'd bathed over the past twenty-four hours, the smell still lingered.
"You smell of it to, Ace." Thatch continued, sniffing the air not so subtly, "…one of you sick or something?"
"Would we be open if I was sick?" Ace quickly answered before sliding their completed drinks over, "How about instead of telling your hosts that they smell, you focus on your drink." Thankfully, that seemed to distract the lycan though Marco was sending them a strange, slightly concerned look.
Understandable, considering the older wolf was a doctor.
"Are you sure you're both okay, yoi?" Marco whispered when Ace passed by him, "Even if it's just a cold, I can-"
"I appreciate the concern, Marco, but we're fine." He replied with a fake smile, "Totally fine."
Meanwhile…
Hours from San Faldo, a certain pack house was a bustle of activity. Low ranking members were rushing around taking inventory while the officers crowded around a table where a map lay.
"We lost them around here." Benn Beckman explained, pointing to a stretch of road, "If we assume they continued on this route, the base probably isn't far." A large, rather round werewolf took a bite out of a turkey leg before speaking.
"Okay, but even if we found the base where they're keeping the pup, are we just gonna raid it? Dragon and Garp ain't pushovers."
"It would be as covert as possible." Benn continued, puffing on his cigarette, "Avoiding a clash with Garp the Fist would definitely be preferable."
"There's also Whitebeard to consider." Yasopp, yet another wolf, put in, "We wouldn't want to show up with all our forces out of the blue…they might consider it a declaration of war."
"Not if we let them know what's going on." A new voice chimed in, silencing the room. Benn turned to face his alpha, nodding respectfully to the red-haired wolf. Shanks looked a bit run-down and had dark circles under his eyes but still had a presence that could intimidate anyone who was unprepared. "Whitebeard has a soft spot for pups…so maybe he'll help us."
The group of lycans went silent for a few seconds, considering the proposal, while Shanks ran his only hand over the spot on the map where they lost Luffy. Benn knew the wait was killing him. After fourteen years of searching, they finally found the pup…only for him to slip through their fingers.
"Right…but what exactly would we say?" Yasopp questioned, "'Hey, Whitebeard, we're trying to kidnap a young Shikari, care to help?'." Shanks cracked a smile at the sarcasm and withdrew his hand.
"We'll tell him that the Shikari are holding my pup captive." Benn raised an eyebrow at that.
"…so we lie?"
"It's not a complete lie." Shanks shot back, pouting slightly, "Luffy imprinted on me so he's basically mine."
"Don't let Dragon hear that…" Benn muttered with a sigh, "There's also the issue of whatever the hell they did to him. There's a good chance the Shikari used some sort of drug on him and we need to be prepared to deal with the consequences."
The wolves nodded solemnly, while Shanks growled under his breath. The alpha's protective instincts were coming out now that they finally had a lead. The way he was now, Shanks would do anything to get to the one he considered his own.
Benn pitied anyone who tried to get between them and Luffy.
"Send the message immediately. We're going to San Faldo."
