Despite not being keen on turning around and going back home, that was exactly what we did. I will admit that I was pissed as all hell about it, so I drove back with a little cloud of doom over my head. It also didn’t help matters that the gnomes were Not Happy About Anything. They remained with me the entire ride, watching Quatre and Third like they would cease to exist if they didn’t. Gob remained standing on the dashboard, small fists resting on his hips as he oozed disapproval. Gus Gus literally had his nose pressed into Third’s cheek, the gnome standing on the Adze’s shoulder and staring him dead in the side of his face. Third kept his gaze straight ahead. It was almost funny, except I was surprised at how deep the well of dislike ran. I sensed Third’s bewilderedness, but was glad he didn’t take any action against Gus Gus. If so, Third and I were going to have it out, probably to someone’s death. Gus Gus was my buddy, and I wasn’t going to tolerate anybody giving him shit.

As one could imagine, the tension was high the entire ride as anyone with eyes was throwing their race’s version of the Stink-Eye. There was absolute quiet: no one talked, no music was played, hell, I didn’t think anyone even sighed. There was only silence and shade being thrown.

At long last we reached the house. I pulled into the driveway a little too fast which made the tires screech when I braked, but I was tired of being in the car and just wanted to take a piss and go to bed. Shoving the car into park, I cut the lights and killed the engine as I glanced at the clock. It was just half past two in the morning. Ah well.

Without a word I got out, Quatre an instant behind me. Third remained where he was as Gus Gus hadn’t moved. When I stepped towards them I huffed a laugh. Gus Gus currently held his .45 down by his side, and appeared to be itching for an excuse to use it. “Come on, bud,” I said fondly, cupping one hand around his waist as I let him stand on my other. Once I lifted him out of the car the other gnomes followed, surrounding me in a miniature but deadly circle of protection. Third got out and quietly closed the door. He appeared wary. I snorted a laugh. He glared at me.

We stood in our little circle of not-friendship before I decided to get this show on the road. I cleared my throat. “So… what now?”

Quatre’s face was still full of grief. I was annoyed with him; after all, this could have been handled so much better if he had just come to me… but I also wanted to hug him so tight he would shit himself. “When the preparations are set I will come for you,” Quatre said softly, voice tired and face drawn. I thought that we all were probably at the end of our rope, especially him. “Wufei will call for me. I will tell him that we were tracking independent leads that did not pan out.” He seemed to be debating what to say. That made me more alert. “Try not to say more than that,” he finally said. “And mention nothing to Trowa, please. The situation is… precarious.”

Precarious? Precarious how? Was Quatre kicking it with someone else? I backed up a step and glanced at the Adze. Was it Third? Going shifty-eyed from Third to Quatre and back again, it didn’t seem like it. Both of them were watching me, giving me a ‘this human is crazy’ kind of look, but I didn’t care because I found my answer. Third felt more… subservient to Quatre, if that made sense. More apt to serve him than lead him. So whatever their relationship was, it wasn’t as lovers or equals. Huh. Satisfied, I simmered down. Wait. What else could he mean then? “Quatre-”

“Good night, Primus,” he interrupted with a bow, simultaneously shrinking until he became a mouse. Not wasting time he skittered away into the grass, Third following in his firefly form.

I huffed a breath. “The fuck,” I whispered to myself, running my hand through my bangs. Did tonight just happen? Christ, I felt like the day just started five minutes ago.

The gnomes puffed out of existence as if they were never there. Exhausted, I trudged up the stairs and did my nightly adulations before going to my room. There, I found that the gnomes had congregated on my bed, either having a quiet smoke or sipping on their stouts. That actually looked like a good idea. “Anyone need anything from the kitchen?” I got a few ‘no’s’ and head shakes in answer, so I grabbed myself a beer before I joined the guys on my bed. We drank or toked silently, each of us trying to absorb the craziness of the day. Nothing was said or needed to be said.

It was nice.

***

Gob’s voice wasn’t loud, but it was urgent. “Duo, wake.”

I shot out of bed before my eyes opened, snatching my Jericho from under my pillow before bringing it forward to be nozzle-to-forehead with Auda. Horrified, I dropped it. “Auda!” I gasped, “I’m so sorry!”

Auda didn’t seem upset. If anything, he beamed at me like a proud parent. “No apology necessary, Primus.” He bent down and picked the gun up, holding it out to me until I dazedly took it from him. “It was my fault for entering unannounced. I will not make such an error again.” Still smiling, he bowed. “The Packmaster requests your presence in an hour in the antechamber. I will be back to escort you.” Heart still racing, I just nodded. “Until then.” Spinning on his heel, he walked out with a pep in his step as he whistled a cheery tune.

Yeeeaaahhh….

I glanced around for the gnomes, but they were no where to be found. Wide awake now, I dismissed them from my mind and went ahead with my usual morning routine. Once I showered and dressed, I wrestled my hair into a braid and had a light breakfast of coffee, toast with nutella and a banana. After brushing my teeth I stretched out on the couch to catch up on some TV. I was in danger of falling back to sleep when Auda came back to escort me to the house. We chatted idly about the latest episode of Dancing With The Stars until we reached the house, where Auda went about his way as I entered the living room.

Immediately, my hackles rose. The house was empty, which in and of itself was not unusual. It just felt… devoid. It was a different sense of emptiness. I couldn’t really explain it. It felt empty of energy, empty of positive life, if that made sense. Cautious, I made my way up the stairs, my senses strained to the point of tingling. When I was a third of the way up I could see Trowa standing in front of the red antechamber door. I wasn’t comforted. Trowa’s presence felt different. It felt coiled, more tightly wound. Any thoughts about convincing Quatre to talk to Trowa fled. I couldn’t tell you why, I just knew that Quatre and I would get the short end of the stick if he did. So I took a deep breath and decided to face what may come.

As I reached the top, I noticed the stillness in his frame. He felt more coiled the closer I came. “Morning Tro,” I said neutrally.

He didn’t respond. Not even a grunt. Frowning, I noticed that his eyes seemed a bit… misty. Not from crying per say, but it was apparent Trowa was upset about something. I stepped closer. “Tro?”

“They are waiting for you,” he said, a deep sadness enveloping me for an instant as he said those words. It came from him.

That was why he was holding himself in so tightly. He was keeping his feelings from me. It wasn’t enough. I took a deep breath and let it out to clear his sadness away. “Trowa, is something wro-”

He didn’t answer. He only opened the door and stood there, stone-faced, as I walked passed him.

Looking around, I saw that Quatre was seated on the floor to the left of the dais, facing forward but not looking at Wufei. He also didn’t turn around to greet me like he normally would have.

Something was wrong. Catastrophically wrong.

As soon as I entered far enough into the antechamber to be out of the door’s way, Trowa closed it. The door closed quietly, but it still felt like a gunshot to me. I even flinched. Wufei didn’t care. “Duo.” He nodded to the space in front of him. I didn’t hesitate. I stepped forward to where he indicated, and lowered myself to my knees on my doggy pillow before sitting back on my feet.

Our Packmaster was seated on the dais on his red not-dog pillow (he was insulted that I ordered them in bulk from Pet Smart for the members of the Privileged, yet everyone including him was using them), staring at me with a blank expression. Now, Wufei wasn’t frothing at the mouth. He wasn’t stomping around in a rage, and he wasn’t sprouting fur uncontrollably. Regardless, I could tell that my lover was absolutely livid. He spoke as soon as my ass touched my heels. “I have changed my mind,” he said. I jerked back, confused. What? “Quatre,” he said, eyes remaining on me, “you will step out for this conversation after all.”

“Yes, Packmaster,” the shape-shifter said quietly before standing and exiting quietly.

The door had barely closed behind him before Wufei launched himself at me, nearly knocking me to the floor. He grabbed me by my upper arms, bringing me nose to nose to him. His eyes were so black and large, they seemed to take up all of my vision. I saw nothing else save him. His hands shook from his attempt to hold himself back. I was terrified. I gasped in surprise.

“Who is he?!” he snarled, in that weird two-toned voice of a human and a werewolf.

I shook my head in confusion. I had no idea what he was talking about “Who is who?!”

“Who is it that you are seeing?!”

I was even more confused. “What?” I croaked.

Wufei started to simmer down then. My bewilderment was tangible. He took a couple of deep breaths and leaned back slightly. He didn’t let me go, but his grip loosened some. I didn’t dare try to free myself. I knew he wasn’t going to turn me loose until he got good and ready to. “You snuck out last night.”

Fuck. “Yes,” I said, softly.

“You snuck out to see someone.”

I was shaking my head ‘no’ before he even had a chance to finish his sentence. I kept my eyes locked with his. Although I knew I was meeting up with Quatre, I was not seeing him in the way Wufei was thinking. So I knew that he smelled the truth of my statement as I meant it. “No, I didn’t sneak out to see anybody.”

He paused. “There has been a… scent around you.”

I didn’t know what story Quatre weaved and I didn’t care, because right now it was every man for himself. He should understand. It was the way of the shape-shifter, after all. “I know,” I said, deciding then and there to tell as much as I safely could. Sorry Quat, but right now the hell with you. “I’ve been investigating what it is.” Which was true… kind of. There were so many questions surrounding the Adze that what I did know meant nothing. “Mariemaia brought it up to me after the Hunter’s attack.” I hated mentioning her, but I was just as sure that she told Wufei about it. “It has been mentioned by others too.”

“Any idea who?”

“Yes,” I answered, walking a hair-thin line. “A shape-shifter.”

“What kind?”

What did that mean? That he was an Adze? A Chimaeran? I let my confusion show. “I don’t know.”

He seemed to believe me. For an instant a look crossed his face, one that he has gifted me with before. He looked at me with great concern and squeezed my arms again, but this time in worry rather than anger. “And yet you sneak off by yourself,” he whispered harshly, giving me a small shake, “where whomever this is can easily snatch you up or kill you.”

I could feel an expression of sadness come over my face. Here was the man I fell in love with, the one that cared about me and my safety. Here was the man who killed a hobo for attacking me. The one that made me his Untouchable even before I became his Primus. The one that threatened the existence of others so that I could be saved. Where has this man been? I wanted him back! “Wu, talk to me,” I started, reaching a hand up to place on his cheek. “What’s going on with you?”

His face closed off immediately, becoming harsh once more. He squeezed harder, this time to the point of pain. “Why did you sneak out?”

I frowned. “Wu, stop. You’re hurting me.”

He didn’t let up. “Why?”

I started to squirm. “I do what I want. You are not the boss of me.”

His expression became thunderous. “The hell I am not.”

I tried jerking my arms free. My legs were hurting from the position Wufei had me in, and quite frankly I was done with this shit. “Let me go.”

He frowned. “I am not finished-”

“Let me go!” I screamed into his face, panting harshly.

His nostrils flared in fury. “I am your Alpha!” I could feel him trying to force his will on me. I squeezed my eyes shut and turned my head, slamming my shields into place. I was not going to be incapacitated like that again. “You do not command me! I command you!”

“Fuck you!” I screamed into his face, wrestling with him now to get free.

“What did you say to me?!” His voice went up ten octaves. It was almost funny.

“I said you could go eat a horse’s dick!”

He gave me a slight shake. It rattled me good, but when my eyes stopped rolling around in my head I tried to bite him. “Enough!”

I spat in his face.

“So help me, Meiran, I will-”

We both froze, staring wide-eyed at each other. After a few seconds Wufei let me go and returned to his seat on the dais, staring passed me at the wall. He didn’t even wipe away the spit from his cheek. He sat upon his pillow, frozen.

When he released me he had inadvertently flung me down onto the floor. I pushed myself up to my hands, but my lower half remained folded under me. My hair was in disarray from trying to get free from his grip, and my eyes felt as wide as saucers. It felt as if the air in the room held its breath along with me. I didn’t want to ask. I didn’t… “Mei-Mei… Meiran?” I said, shakily. “W-who… who is Meiran?”

He didn’t hesitate. “That is not up for discussion.”

I gasped, completely taken aback. I was hurt. “What?” It came out as a watery whisper.

“I will not repeat myself.”

I didn’t even think about it. It just came out. “I snuck out last night to get away from you.” I was shocked to find that it was somewhat true.

He jerked back as if he’d been slapped, but rallied quickly. “Then you shall have your wish,” he said, voice choked. Although I rarely felt Wufei with my gift like I did others, I could tell that my retort cut him. Deeply. This fight left us both wounded. “Quatre has requested that you journey with him. He believes he has found where the Hecate’s home base is, and wishes to destroy them. He will need you to read their minds, if you are able, to ascertain if they lie or not when he questions them. You will go as a representative of the Shenlong, and shall act accordingly. You are dismissed.”

I sat there for a while longer, in shock. Finally, I pushed myself up to my knees, then to my feet. I bowed absently, before stumbling towards the door. It opened at the right time to allow me to leave without a break in my stride. Trowa’s face remained blank, but his shock at my appearance was so strong it was a physical thing. It hit me hard in the chest, making me gasp. I stopped for a second to get my breath back and closed my eyes. I was starting to get double vision. My hands faintly trembled. Shit. I felt like I was going to pass out.

As if sensing what his feelings did to me, Trowa reeled himself in. The shock seemed to be blown away by an invisible breeze to be replaced with a calm energy. I took several deep breaths, feeling as though if I breathed deep enough I would breathe the calm in.

“Good Duo,” Trowa whispered under his breath. “Keep it going.”

I continued for another minute just to make sure I had my bearings. With one last breath I opened my eyes. I turned to Trowa and gave him a small smile of thanks before facing forward and making my way down the stairs.

The house was no longer empty. Many of the Shenlong were there now, probably due to the bad feelings coming from Wufei and myself. I wasn’t exactly sure how it worked. Their eyes were heavy as they followed me, but I did not feel condemnation like I thought I would. I felt their concern and worry, especially Abdul, who’s fez even looked depressed. My eye line lifted and I saw Quatre standing at the back of the room, near a corner away from everyone else. My eyes widened when I noticed that Quatre had a large, dark, angry looking mark that seemed to encompass his nose, the areas under his eyes and cheekbones. I turned away quickly and slightly stumbled on a step. Several hands shot up as if to catch me if I fell, but I didn’t register them. I was too overwhelmed over the fact that Wufei had punched Quatre in the face.

My mind emitted nothing but static as I walked out the door, down the porch and across the yard, under the Honey Locust tree, past the pet cemetery… I didn’t register anything. I opened the door to the back porch listlessly, passing by Howard and Hilde at the kitchen table without so much as a glance. I gingerly sat down on the couch as Howard and Hilde entered the living room. I felt their concerned gazes like a laser. “Duo?”

I sat there a moment, dumbfounded. With my hair and clothes looking like I ran through a wind tunnel for shits and giggles, I knew I was a hot mess. “I don’t know what I’m doing,” I said at last, turning to face Howard and Hilde.

My twin tilted her head to the side. “You don’t know what you’re doing about what?”

I snorted, looking down at the floor. “I don’t know that either.”

Hilde frowned at me, whereas Howard mumbled something under his breath before heading back into the kitchen. Looked like he didn’t want to join my pity party. Neither did Hilde apparently, as she remained standing and crossed her arms. Not a comforting gesture. “Well… what is it?”

I ran my hand down my face and back and forth a few times across my jaw. I didn’t know what to say or not to say, as my family had moved from being concerned for my welfare, to concerned for my welfare but having an attitude of, ‘Well, what’d you expect? You’re fucking a werewolf.’ I understood that attitude, I just wasn’t in the frame of mind to deal with it. “Nevermind,” I mumbled at last. “Don’t worry about it.”

“Hn.” Without another word she turned and went back into the kitchen. I slumped into the couch and stared at the blank tv screen, listening to the snow in my head.

***

It couldn’t have been longer than twenty minutes after I left Wufei’s that I heard the back porch door open and Howard’s apathetic, “The fuck happened to you?” Whoever it was said something too low for me to hear, but I heard my uncle’s, “He’s in the living room, but whatever it is y’all are doing you ain’t doing in this house. Take that shit outside.”

Huh?

I rose quickly and made my way into the kitchen to see what was going on. “Howie?” As I entered, I saw that it was Quatre leaning halfway into the kitchen from the porch. He looked horrible. The bruising on his face looked just as bad as it did earlier. Now that I was paying attention, it was also apparent that the shape-shifter has lost some weight. His hair seemed to be limp and stringy, and his skin was on the side of too pale. His eyes still had the haunted look they did last night. What was happening to my friend? “Quat?”

“We leave shortly,” Quatre said in a voice that just exuded exhaustion. “You have ten minutes to pack. Be sure to pack and dress to represent the Shenlong. I do not know how long we will be gone.” With that he leaned out of the doorway, allowing the screen door to slam closed. Howard and Hilde turned towards me, both with an eyebrow raised.

“Going somewhere?” Howard asked snidely.

“I guess I am now,” I said, then spun on my heel to go pack. When I passed back through to head to Wufei’s, I didn’t offer my destination and they didn’t ask for it.

I guess enough ‘not’ said.

***

It was so bizarre how the world rarely coincided with my feelings. Bright, sunny days when I was depressed, or when I was in the mind to rampage like King Kong. The situation I was in furthered that feeling of disconnect.

The Pack was there to see us off, I guessed. Everyone stood in the front yard facing the house. It was the most cheerless crowd I had ever seen. No one spoke, no one smiled or laughed, and the cubs sat solemnly in their similarly-aged litters holding paws. I wanted to punch someone just from the sight of their drooping ears. Wufei stood on the top step of the porch. He wore his traditional Chinese attire with his hair free, where it reach down to his shoulders. Quatre and I stood on the step below Wufei, facing the Pack. What a sight we made; Quatre stood to Wufei’s right with his face smashed in, while I looked presentable but had my feelings visible on my face and in my scent. Quatre and I wore t-shirts and jeans to be comfortable, but both of us had our red robes that we wore in Siberia over our clothes. I decided to leave my hair loose, as was my habit when in front of the Pack.

When the moment was just right, Wufei raised his chin. “As Packmaster of Lagrange Five, the Shenlong Werewolves, I have felt nothing but pride to be your leader. With your strength and my guidance, we have achieved victory after victory,” he began, sounding as flat as a sheet of paper. “Our next victory is at hand, with the discovery of the Hecate’s location-”

I tuned him out after that, eyes surveying the crowd and finding nothing but unhappy werewolves. All I could see before me was row after miserable row of my Packmates. They could clearly see that there was turmoil between the members of their leadership and that they were helpless to do anything about it. Who were they to turn to? Hm? Who could they depend on when they could tell that we were at such odds with each other? Where could they go?

“-and they will be hunted down to be destroyed by your Primus, in mind and spirit, while devoured by the greatest Shape-shifter there has ever been-”

As my eyes moved towards the front I spotted Mariemaia, with Catherine’s arms around her. The pup’s watery eyes grew overwhelming in her face because of the distress. When her eyes met mine, I felt my heart shatter.

I couldn’t break her gaze as I felt my eyes welling. I couldn’t breathe through my nose, so I took a deep, shaky, very audible breath through my mouth. It was so loud Wufei hesitated for a moment. The silence was so apparent that I didn’t realize until then just how much Wufei’s voice projected when he spoke. Once the moment passed he continued with his speech. Another few sentences were spoken when I did it again, a tear also escaping my left eye. Wufei’s pause this time was even longer, and out of the corner of my eye I could see Quatre's gaze flick over to me in concern. I felt the eyes of all of the werewolves on me, lips pressed into tight lines as everyone could smell my grief. How could I let everyone suffer because of this? I couldn’t. I won’t.

I wanted to let this go. So I would.

I remained facing forward. Reaching back my with right hand as Wufei spoke, I fisted a piece of his shirt in my hand. The Packmaster paused and everyones’ eyes widened. The Privileged were expected to remain motionless during his speeches, and could be punished for being disrespectful. However, Wufei took a deep breath and continued on as if nothing had happened.

“-with your Primus as a truth-seeker, our enemies have no where on this Earth to hide-”

“I love you so much,” I whispered, but it was heard by all regardless. Wufei hadn’t stop speaking but his voice wobbled as his hand shot out to clasp over the one that held onto his shirt. I continued to break protocol. “I’m so sorry,” I gasped in an effort to speak around the frog in my throat. “I never meant to challenge you.” His voice held steady now, but I felt his hand trembling.

“As am I.”

Quatre’s breathed words brought dead silence. It was a long, long moment before anything happened.

Slowly, Wufei raised his right hand up, aiming for Quatre. I tensed, fearing that he may hit him again. He didn’t. Carefully, he slid his fingers into blond hair before gripping gently. Quatre immediately yielded, his eyes falling closed as his shoulders dropped and he exhaled. I could see Trowa’s eyes falling closed as he rolled his head back in relief. Heero did as well. Catherine blew out a deep breath that ruffled her bangs while Sally gave a small smile in relief. Wufei tightened his grip on Quatre and I, then continued speaking as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened. He didn’t let us go.

The atmosphere was completely changed now. The Pack wasn’t happy, but they were calmer. It was obvious we each knew what we had done wrong and were going to sort it out. We would all be okay. We had a hell of a hiccup, yes, but it wasn’t going to stop anything.

Wufei, Quatre and I had forgiven each other, for any and all trespasses. That was enough for now.

(tbc)