"Is this... is this what you meant that day? Back in the pack house, medical ward? About... wanting to die? Because of the abuse?" Tobias said nothing, his very silence confirming those allegations.

Felix opened his mouth, to no doubt make a further attempt at persuading him to reconsider letting him help, when he suddenly paused in that position, lips parted wide open. His eyes glazed over and unfocused. Tobias ignored that oddity and simply waited for the werewolf to say what he had intended to say. An action that was heavily delayed.

He must be either speaking to his wolf or someone contacted him through the pack link, Chase deduced swiftly. Most likely the latter. Tobias hummed in acknowledgement, bracing his entire weight on his hands behind him and leaning backwards. He let a stray ray of sunlight warm his face, its gentle caress succeeding in smoothing out his frazzled nerves.

A curse rudely drew Tobias away from his momentary peace, eyes falling open to see Felix scrambling up to his feet in a hurry. In the same rushed manner, he removed the strands of grass and dirt from his clothes with a harsh brush from his hand. Tobias watched the scene unfold before him, feeling both mildly confused and relieved. Confused because he was clueless to what triggered the sudden frenzy, and relieved because whatever was making Felix react peculiarly, had also successfully caused him to drop their previous topic.

"My friends are on their way here, right now," was what he said when Felix finally decided to fill him in. That single sentence was enough for Tobias' muscles to instantaneously contract with immense tension. 

"Why?" Tobias asked, a smidgen of suspicion sneaking into his voice which was otherwise emotionless.

"They want to meet the person who I turned into a werewolf. I'm the first of our age to turn someone, and I'm pretty sure they're all curious about you," Felix rattled off, eyes staring elsewhere as he combed his fingers through his hair. After he deemed himself decent for his friends' upcoming arrival, he then extended a hand towards Tobias on the ground still. For a second, he contemplated whether to accept the offering or not. A flip of his coin cured his indecision, he grasped the hand and allowed himself to be pulled to his feet. Unlike Felix, he calmly dusted his clothing to rid himself of the light layer of dirt and grime that had settled on the back of his shorts.

"When are th-" he was cut off quite abruptly.

"FELIX! THERE YOU ARE!" Out of the corner of his eye, Tobias could see the werewolf in question facepalm himself so hard that it resulted in a loud smack resounding in the quiet forest. The exasperated reaction at the arrival of his friends had him smiling lightly.

At about twenty feet away, they spotted their newest arrivals, flawlessly weaving through the dense trees. Tobias counted four individuals, an equal distribution of gender between them. Two huge towering males, one taller than average female and the other a girl of average height and rather delicate frame. He scrutinized all four in the near distance, wary about what their presence there meant for him.

Front and center, was a blonde male, visibly boisterous from how he yelled loud enough for the entire forest to hear him and closed the distance in an alarming pace. Tobias could just about make out the brown in his eyes, face adorned with a smile wide enough to rival Felix's. He looked as if he had dressed haphazardly before coming, or ran recklessly through the woods. Perhaps both, if he happened to have shifted to a wolf on the way over.

Next was the tall girl, decked out in black. Black hair, black t-shirt and black converse. The only colors she had on her were the dark blue high-waisted denim shorts she wore and the brown of her eyes. Hair tied in a loose braid and draped over a shoulder. She walked with a confident swagger that most girls were envious of.

She looks like the kind of girl who wouldn't hesitate to punch you in the nuts and laugh at your pain, Chase noted, his voice even.

Thank you for that colorful imagery, Tobias deadpanned.

The other two seemed to be a couple from the looks of it, entwined hands and all. A calm, well put together black-haired male leading his petite brunette partner. They were lingering behind their friends, walking sedately. Tobias watched as the girl hugged her partner's arm, giggling the entire while, but not obnoxiously.

All in all, he didn't know what to think or to anticipate. The only werewolves Tobias had knowingly conversed with were Felix and Landon, the pack doctor. Plus, the latter was mostly due to formality and necessity rather than out of desire.

Let's just see how this plays out before jumping to conclusions, okay?

Yes.

Chase growled, the sound vibrating their shared conscience. Would you stop it with that coin already? Make your own damn choices!

Don't you fucking dare tell me how to live my life, wolf. This coin is all I had for the past six years, and I trust its judgment for it never led me wrong. Despite its odd responses at times, Tobias snapped, having had enough of Chase's constant nagging about the coin. The very thing that had kept him sane for all these agonizingly lonely years.

Instead of replying verbally, Chase merely growled once again before vanishing.

"I told you that I was busy, guys!' Felix exclaimed as soon as his friends were within hearing proximity without him having to raise his voice. He narrowed his eyes as a sudden thought occurred to him. "And besides, you never bother to visit me on my patrols before."

"Duh! Obviously we're not here to see you, dumbass," countered the blonde boy, smirking good-naturedly. By now, all four of the strangers had reached where Tobias and Felix stood, a good five feet apart. The former meeting the speaker's eyes head-on unwaveringly. "We're only here to meet Tobias, and we'll be on our merry way."

All eyes turned to him, making him flip the coin to release his agitation at the unwelcome attention.

"Tobias, these are my friends, Danny, Rowena, Jerry and Beth," said Felix, pointing each of them out as he spoke their name. While he was visibly nervous, Tobias could only guess that the other four were waiting expectantly, for something from him. 

After a few seconds of an awkward silence, he spoke, "you already know my name," taking a wild guess that an introduction was what they sought.

That earned him some light chuckles, though that was not at all his intention. Tobias stared at them with a vacant expression, until the petite girl came closer toward him with her arms outstretched. He instinctively flinched and took a substantial step backwards, eyes riveted to the ground. He didn't want to see the looks on their faces at his unconventional, yet deeply ingrained aversion to touch.

And yet you let Felix touch you, and touched him openly in return... whispered his subconscious.

He's... different, somehow...

I think it has something to do with the reason he approached you the first time, Chase added quietly. I'm uh... sorry, about earlier... I shouldn't have lost my temper like that. I suppose I'm just impatient, expecting you to change so soon.

It's fine.

"Sorry, force of habit. It's a wolf thing," the girl, Beth, said, smiling apologetically. She let her arms drop and retreated to Jerry's, her partner's, side. "It's lovely to meet you, Tobias. Felix has been hiding you from us for too long."

As thankful as Tobias was for them not pointing out his less than polite reaction, Beth was too friendly for his liking. He gave her a barely there, close-lipped smile which was the most he could muster up at that point. It seemed to do the trick for them, especially for Felix, who instantly returned it with his own blindingly bright one. His plastic smile became a little more genuine.

"It's alright. Just not a big fan of... people in general."

And cue the awkward pause.

What did I say now?

You're too honest for your own good, Tobias.

"It's cool, man. To each their own," said Danny, the loudmouth. He turned to Felix. "Whatcha doing after the patrol? Maybe we can hang out for a while, get to know Tobias better and all. Did you give him a tour yet? I like those! We don't get many visitors, or new pack members anymore."

Felix rolled his eyes. "You're a warrior too, Danny. You go on patrols, which are almost the same as touring."

"Please?" All of them seemed so used to his begging that they didn't bat an eye at it. The two black-haired girl and boy looked content to remain in silence for now.

"You can come, but only if Tobias is okay with it." All eyes once again turned to him, making him groan internally.

Felix!

A/N

Whew! This chapter sure took a lot out of me! It was a bit difficult to write since I wasn't sure what Tobias' reaction should be to meeting Felix's friends.

I feel like this story is really coming together so well! What do you guys think? Let me know in the comments!

-RL-

❤️💖❤️