‘Faster!’  Tyler urged his legs to move faster that he had ever ran before.  Running was the one thing he had come to enjoy lately.  That and spending time with Mandy.  She was the only one that never looked at him as though he was a freak.  Or as if she expected him to suddenly grow a second head or something equally disturbing.

But now running was dreadful, he felt as if his legs could not give him what he needed from them.

{Idiot.}

Tyler nearly stumbled at the explosive statement that came from within.

{No I’m not!}  He stated hotly, hoping that he was not loosing his mind like others thought he had already.

{You know me.  I have been part of you since the beginning.}

‘Aha!’  Tyler thought as he realized that it would be his wolf speaking.

{At last the penny dropped.}

{Now is not the time to be sarcastic.  My father and the others are in danger.}

{Well, we can reach them a lot sooner if you let me run.}

{I suppose we can.}  Tyler admitted to himself at last as he felt himself relax.  He smiled at that.  Relaxed when he was running as if his life depended on it.

Relaxing even more his body changed almost instantly from the one footstep to the other.

[Dad!  There is a rabid wolf running directly at you!]

Tyler smiled a toothy grin when he felt his father’s surprise on two levels.  The first level being the one he was so familiar with already and the second level that would now connect them verbally as well.  Very handy, this pack link.

Tyler sensed that the rabid wolf was closing in on his father, much quicker than he was getting to the wolf, who was now running like hell because he could hear the wolf thundering behind him. 

At the same time Alex heard from Tyler he sped up.  He had ‘heard’ that Tyler was close and if he had judged the distances correctly, Tyler was much too close to the rabid wolf than he liked.

Tyler shouted all sorts of profanities in his head when he realized what his father was trying to do.  His father was trying to get to the rabid wolf first so that he could protect his son.  And the other pack members of course, but Tyler knew from the fierce way the fire sound of his dad was bristling that he was feeling very protective over his offspring.  Tyler’s confirmation came when he heard his dad speak; or rather, order him.

[Tyler, get your butt home, right now!  Tell Rudi to come and meet me with about five other fighters.]

[You must be crazy to think I would leave you alone.]  Tyler growled his frustration out loud as he let the order from his alpha wash right over his head.  Immediately he regretted acting like such a child.  His angry growl only served to make the rabid wolf run faster.  His own body thundered over the ground as he inched closer and closer, but he knew that his dad would meet up with him first because they were so much closer to each other the he was.  Never the less, he did not give up, instead he put more effort into it.

And he reveled in the strange new sensations of all four limbs shooting him across the ground like an arrow flying through the air.  ‘I should not have waited this long.’  He thought as the trees passed as nothing more than a blur.  From within Tyler could feel a new resolve take hold of him.  He had been foolish trying to keep himself from changing just because the other people around him were not equipped to deal with someone like him.  But now he was done trying to fit into the mould everybody was trying to force him into.  He was not normal.  He was not ordinary.  And it was time they learnt to deal with it or go to hell; because he was done with playing nice.

A soft sigh flowed through him.  He would have to sit down with his parents and have a talk.  He regretted that they would feel betrayed and hurt, but it was inevitable.  If he was going to reach the full potential of who he was, they would have to realize that changes would have to be made.

He realized that his father and the other wolf had met up when he could no longer feel the slight vibration of their running on the ground.  Could he hope that his father would not engage straight away?

The snarls and grunting told him well enough that the two wolves were at it.  He could only hope that he reached them before his father got bit.  The thrashing between the trees got louder and angrier and then he saw them.  Without hesitation he thundered into them, sending them flying in separate directions.  Instinct alone had him facing the strange wolf, his back to his father.

He stepped away from the stranger and closer to where he could feel his father.  He sniffed the air to see if he could smell any blood on Alex.  Relief left him nearly lightheaded as he could get nothing off of his dad.  Now he could concentrate on the other wolf.

Straightening up out of his crouch, he pulled himself up to his full werewolf height.  And to his surprise found that the other wolf was a tiny little thing.  Whoa!  Tiny but so bloody angry!  He quickly shut off the angry sound he was getting from the stranger like it was a trumpet blaring in his ears.

With no warning the other wolf jumped at him.  His smaller size did not bother him in the least.  No external factors normally registered for rabid wolfs.  The lived off of the anger and fury that lived inside of them like it was a parasite.  Leaching off all of the human emotions until the wolf was nothing more than an empty shell with nothing left inside.

The small wolf moved like it had no regard for the normal laws of physics.  The moves it made should have been painful but he carried on as if his body was numb.  Tyler and the small wolf went at each other like mad dogs, snapping at each other, trying to get a good grip.  Of course Tyler had the extra burden of trying to stay away from the small wolves teeth.  Eventually Tyler decided that he would let the other wolf try to get him, while he just stayed out of the way of those damn teeth.  The small wolf was already tired from running all the time and should start slowing down sometime.  If he could concentrate on dodging the teeth, he would save more energy and as soon as the other started slowing down, he would attack.

He waited until he found his gap.  In a move he had learnt from watching his mother, he ducked underneath the next attack and kicked the wolf in his under belly, sending it crashing into a tree.  Dread fell over him like a bucket of icy water.  He had not seen that his father was right there.

Alex did not wait for an invitation and stepped right up.  He was just glad that the rabid wolf was not trying to rip Tyler to shreds anymore right now.  They went at it for a while and their movements were so furiously fast that Tyler could not butt in without putting his father in danger.

Suddenly everything froze around Tyler.  He could see his dad flying over the other wolf, his body well out of reach.  The only thing was that his right hind leg was not.  Fear for his father sent him crashing into the fray, not caring that he would be exposed.  His father would be safe at least.

With absolute horror Alex saw from the corner of his eye how the strange wolf dug his teeth into his son’s shoulder.  Tyler, seeing the opportunity to end it, reached down to grip the neck that was now wide open.  His son’s teeth sunk into the thick fur, broke skin and crashed through bone.  Then Tyler shook his head, pulling the wolf away from his body; making the other wolf’s teeth tear through the fleshy part of his shoulder with a sickening sound.  With one quick shake the snapping of bones were heard and the wolf’s body sagged down onto Tyler’s teeth and he let go; the wolf dropping to the ground in a heavy thump at his feet.

Ignoring everything else Tyler looked at his dad to make sure that he was alright and he sighed in relief, there were no signs of blood anywhere.  His father was alright.

Alex stepped up to Tyler.  [What the bloody hell do you think you were doing?]

Tyler decided to let his father rant for a while.  While he listened to his father blow off steam, he noticed that he was looking down at his father.  This puzzled him and he wondered about as he listened with one ear until his dad said the one thing he shouldn’t. The one thing he and his wolf would no longer tolerate.

[I ordered you to go home and send Rudi!]

[You will never order me again!]  He spoke softly, sighting hard against the urge to challenge his father for speaking to him like.

Taken aback Alex stopped mid-rant and looked at his son.  Really looked.

Tyler was bloody huge!  He towered over him like he was a freaking toddler!  He sent a quick glance to where the others were standing.  They were standing there as if they were rooted in the ground.  Their wolfish faces looking all weird and twisted as they tried to process what had happened.

[Rudi!  Get over here; and hurry please!]

[Sure thing boss!] 

Alex relaxed as his beta replied.  Rudi should be here soon then he would have someone with some sense to talk to.  Not that the other pack members did not have sense.  They just never understood Tyler and he needed to talk this through with someone who was not biased.

Cassy would have been the perfect choice, but come on!  She was Tyler’s mother.  She was going to be even more biased than anyone else!  But she would be pissed that he hadn’t called her in.  Before he could reach out to her Tyler interrupted him.

[Don’t!  We will talk to her later.  About this and other matters that are more private.]

Alex hated agreeing because it felt too much like he was giving in to the slight tone of command his son had used; but he knew Tyler was right.  If Cassy came here now; they would end up having a rather private discussion where everybody else was present.

While they were waiting for Rudi, Tyler went over to the body of the stranger.  In death he had shifted back to his human form.  He sniffed carefully as he tried to figure out something that had been bothering him for quite some time now.

[Human.]  Tyler said as he moved back to his father.

[What!?]  One of the other pack members spoke up for the first time.

[He was human.  Somehow he must have been unfortunate enough to run into a rabid wolf and gotten himself infected that way.]

Alex gave quick orders that the unfortunate man be taken away and buried.

[Why not just dump him somewhere else, he was a bloody rabid wolf for Pete’s sake?!]

[Because he sure as hell did not go looking for this!  He is a victim of very unfortunate circumstances; got it?]

They accepted Alex’s verdict and did as they were told, nodded their heads and three men stepped up to carry the man away to burry him.

Not long after that Tyler heard the other round of patrols coming in close to them and he let his father know.  Alex sent the rest of them of to intercept and lead them around the spot where the fight took place.  He and Tyler were the only two left as they waited for Rudi to come.

Alex shifted as he walked closer to Tyler.  He was anxious to see how the wound on his shoulder was healing.  And he kept his mind busy with worrying about that.  Because that was much better than wondering when his son would be going rabid on them.  He was bitten.  G*d, his son was bitten!  Agony at the thought that he could not protect his son ripped through him; making his stumble.

In a flash Tyler shifted and then he was there, reaching his hands out to his father, holding him up.

“Dad?”

“Oh my G*d!”  Alex breathed, laboring at the once easy task.  “Cassy is going to kill me this time.”

Tyler chuckled softly.  “Why will mom kill you this time?”

“I let him bite you!”  The words sprung from his mouth and hung in the air between them.

“You didn’t let him anything!”  Tyler protested.  “You bloody nearly got yourself bitten!  Then mom really would have killed you.”

“Yeah.”  Alex admitted as he stared blindly into his son’s half smiling, half frowning face.  “How can you be so calm?”

“I don’t think anything is going to happen.  To me, I mean.  I still feel the same.  I could feel his saliva in me, but there was something that burned it up.  Like paper in a fire?”  Tyler let that idea simmer around in his head for a while.  Then he nodded.  “Yes, like paper or wood in a fire leaving just the ash behind.”

Alex battled to think around the panic tearing him up; attempting to stay on the same page as his son.  “So, are you trying to say that the paper was dangerous, but the ash is not?”

“Why would ash be dangerous?”  Rudi asked as he shifted, coming to a stop next to Tyler.

“Whoa there cowboy!  Have you been doing steroids or something lately?”  Rudy walked around Tyler, stubbing a finger into the broadened chest.  “I am sure you did not look like this last night?”  Rudi frowned again, only noticing now that Tyler was as butt naked as he was.  “You shifted?”

Alex only muttered a quiet ‘yes’ as reply.  Now that Rudi had mentioned it, there was a whole lot more to Tyler than before.  He hadn’t only suddenly grown a hell of a lot taller; he had broadened out as well.  In fact, Tyler looked as solid as a concrete wall.  And the wound on his shoulder was gone.  Alex brushed of the dried blood as best as he could.  Yep, not a scratch left.

A spark of hope flickered in him.  If the wound was gone that was a good sign.  Wasn’t it?  As far as he knew, when a rabid werewolf bit you, there would be a mark.  The wound healed, but it left a scar.  He would have to do more research on that to be sure.

“Goodness boy, I imagined you would be taller than your old man, but not by this much.”

Alex rolled his eyes at his friend and beta.  “He’s not that much bigger than me.”

Rudi sent him a look that clearly sent the message that he did not believe a word he had just heard.  “So, why did you call me out here?”

Alex did not waste any time and let the words spill from his mouth.  “Tyler got bitten by a rabid wolf.”

“Where?”  Rudi stepped up and did a thorough examination of Tyler’s whole body; not caring that the boy seemed to be more annoyed than embarrassed.

Tyler shrugged the shoulder that had been bitten.  “This shoulder.”

Rudi took a closer look.  “You sure it was a rabid wolf?”  At the look in both the Grey men’s eyes he lifted his hands up in apology.  “I had to ask.”

“Yes, he was rabid.  And before he became infected, he was human.”

Wisely Rudi did not ask how they knew.  He only sent a quick knowing glance at Tyler’s face before going back to inspecting the woundless shoulder.

“I heard that if a rabid wolf bit you, it left a scar.”

“That’s what I thought too.”  Alex added excitedly.  “But if the wolf was not really rabid; what was wrong with him?  And how did he change in the first place?”

Rudi pondered the question for a long time.  “Perhaps you are asking the wrong question.  Maybe the question you should be asking is why Tyler is not reacting in the usual way?”

“So now the wolf is rabid again?”  Alex asked pretending to be annoyed.

“I thought you said he was rabid?”  Rudi answered all wide eyed.

Tyler rolled his eyes at the two grown men.  His father really missed his brothers and the carefree relationship they had with each other.  Luckily he had Rudi to step up and take over Brian’s position.  Not only as beta, but as friend and as close to brother you could get without sharing the same parent.  Come to think of it; they did.  Cassy’s dad was father to both of them in different ways.

“Let’s just get out of here.  I am sure we can continue this absolutely pointless conversation back home.”  In less than a heart beat Tyler was in wolf form, taking his own advice and going back home.

“Thanks man.”  Alex murmured softly as he stared at his son disappearing into the trees.

“Any time.”

Smiling appreciatively Alex sent a half smile to Rudi.  “Get yourself back home and rest.  You’re still doing the night shift.  We will talk about this some more tomorrow morning.  After I have made some calls to find out more about rabid wolves.”

“See you then.”  Rudi wasted no time in shifting.

Alex shifted as well and set off after Tyler.  He wondered if he could hope to reach home before Tyler got there.  Cassy would definitely be mad at him for not letting her know about Tyler shifting.  He wondered what he would have to do to get her to forgive him.

Cassy however was listening out for him and in that uncanny way of hers, she knew that something had happened and when he got home, she was already waiting at the kitchen door for him.

“Tyler shifted.”  He told her.

Cassy raised her eyebrow at him.  “I gathered.”

He looked behind him to see Tyler slinking up to the house, his ears flat against his head.

“Tyler shifted!”

Both parents nearly had a heart attack when Audrey suddenly screamed in excitement behind them.  Suddenly it sounded as if they had horses living in the house by the amount of noise they made thumping down the stairs.

It was a long night.  All his siblings were so excited that he had finally shifted that they were so worked up that Alex had to order them to bed.

As his brother and sisters disappeared upstairs Tyler let his father know that he needed to see them in his father’s study.

When Alex led Cassy into his study his was surprised to find Tyler sitting behind his desk.  The other kids have on occasion sat on his chair, but Tyler had never ever done that before.

“Sorry.”  An embarrassed looking Tyler said as he stood up and walked around the table, trailing his on the surface of the desk.  “I just wanted to feel what it would be like.”

“Don’t worry about it.  It will be yours anyway.”

Tyler looked as if he was about to cry.  Then he pulled himself together and faced his parents.

“No, it won’t.”