The Lycan

Cages

"Alrighty. Got everything situated..." Liam muttered to himself.

The wolf was currently on the x-ray table, not bound or sedated like he normally would for any other animal, seeing as the wolf was supposedly his mate and sentient, it listened.

"Okay, I'm just going to take a couple of pictures, then, they develop and I can look at them, see if you are alright and if any internal mechanisms were damaged from your fight the other night." Liam said as if he explained and reassured every animal he oversaw.

The wolf huffed, obviously not too thrilled about laying there for longer than necessary, earning himself a pat on the head for good behavior.

Liam moved the wolf in positions for the correct pictures and sent them to the computer.

"Hmmm... you can't shift, correct?"

The wolf shook its head yes, Jasper has not shifted, nor could he from this form for a very long time. He supposed maybe an alpha of a pack might be able to command a shift out of him. He would try anything to be back to his two spirited self, before the years of torture, just to be able to control what form he was in would be a giant relief.

"Well that's good, I am a vet after all. I can't do shit for most human issues... this leg though. Hang on, let me take a couple more pictures. Thanks for holding still... I don't know your name. I think I already said my name was Liam." Jasper relaxed listening to his human talk. It was comforting being in a different environment, sure, it was unnerving at every new point that it got to, but he didn't seem to be in any immediate danger like he had been all those years.

His senses were constantly analyzing his surroundings for anything unordinary, he held still for his mate but he felt uneasy and wanted to curl up and hide away.

"Okay, I'm going to see if I can get Sebastian to come back here, supposedly from the pack house, then we'll show him what's going on, okay? But I need to put you back in the cage, I'm not exactly supposed to leave animals out here."

Jasper was left in the small cage in the empty room, he surprisingly couldn't hear Liam making the phone call just outside the door in the hallway. Must be soundproof, he mused.

In the cage, he couldn't exactly relax, but it did feel safe, like no one could get to him, but it reminded him too much of past traumas and being locked up in a different but similar cage. He was covered, the world falling wouldn't reach him, but he wasn't exactly free either.

The door opened and in came a stoic Liam. "Sebastian is on his way. I'm going to do some check ups in the other room in the meantime, are you going to be okay in here?" Liam didn't wait for a response and left to the back kennel room.

Jasper wasn't good at telling how much time passed, but he was used to time feeling like nothing, or forever, and never knowing.

He felt safe enough to lay down, but he had backed himself into the cage as far as he could go, fur peeking out from the metal bars. The door squeaked open and in walked Liam with a beautiful and tall wolf. He looked like an army vet but the nice button up he had on implied otherwise. 

"Wow..." The man came forward and despite his beauty and alluring scent of violet and woods, common for pack wolves, I had to fight not to bare my teeth. I had held my ground against scaring my human mate, mostly because he was more scared of me and my lycan simply saw him as no threat. But this male was strong and definitely had alpha and beta genes. He would stand a good fight, but I would still win. The only reason I still let him within my proximity.

"You're beautiful" He knelt down, but as if sensing my uneasiness, he backed away.

He turned around and walked back to Liam who was observing from near the operation table. "What did you want to show me, Li?"

Liam took out several x-rays and placed them on a wall with a light that glared perfectly into Jasper's eyes.

Sebastian stared at the wall with the pictures for a few moments before swearing lightly under his breath.

"Do you know what that means? I mean, I've never seen that in a shifter before, no one in your pack at least, or even your old one." Jasper's ears perked up at that. Sebastian was part of a pack. He could be surrounded by a pack again. He tried not to hope too much for them to let him join. But that would mean severing his ties with... no. He wouldn't join, not if he could feel it.

Sebastian turned, eyes furrowed in thought, before glancing down in the cage as Jasper stared right back.

—--

When Sebastian had said they were going to transport Jasper to the pack house, he didn't have this in mind. Once again, he was in a cage, surrounded by other cages, but this time, rattling in the back of an SUV. Liam was driving, and he would bet money that Sebastian had chose shotgun. At least they had put a fleece blanket in there to prevent cold and harsh turns and bumps from affecting him too much.

When the car finally stopped Jasper was just shy of losing whatever he had eaten in that dumpster. He heaved a sigh of relief but that soon turned to fear as the sound of slamming doors made its way to his ears. The trunk was open and he was greeted by the sight of his two mates and a third individual.

Every wolf is born to a rank: alpha, beta, gamma, omega. Wolves can sense it, it's in their scent, their aura almost. This sense is heightened if they are the pack alpha, beta, or omega. This third individual was very obviously the pack beta.

Jasper had subconsciously lowered his head in submission but also with challenge if this beta so desired, as he was right now staring Jasper in the eyes.

"Well he's certainly interesting, that's for sure." Said the beta.

Sebastian put an arm up against the betas chest and pushed him back so he was no longer staring him in the eyes. "He's our mate so. Back. Off. Matheo."

Surprisingly, instead of retaliation for the show of disrespect the beta just shoved him off and chuckled. "Relax Seb, I'm not trying to challenge him or you for your place as his mate, I was only curious."

Both Sebastian and Matheo rolled their eyes at the same time and turned their heads to look at Jasper again. Even in their actions Jasper saw the similarities. Must be related, he mused.

Too focused on the two brothers, Jasper didn't notice Liam from the left side opening his cage door. His hackles immediately raised in alarm.

Noticing this, the three men backed up in a large semicircle around the back of the SUV.

"Are you sure this is okay, won't he run?" Asked Matheo.

"I doubt with his hip he'd be able to get very far... but I'll mind link Zaine anyway," Sebastian's eyes closed in concentration, doing just that. "He's the fastest tracker we got, afterall."

Mind link. Jasper almost remembered it from his past before the past. He yearned to go back to before everything happened.