Wolf (Andley)

A Piece of Me

Andy left to spend some time with his pack the following morning, planning to stay no more than two weeks. He really just needed time to clear his head.

Of course, he still felt terrible. He felt terrible about himself, everything he did, he felt terrible for upsetting his children and his mate. The voice in his head only grew stronger each passing day, but there was something about being back in the wild that quieted it. He couldn't quite place it, exactly, but it was his current suspicion that his inner wolf just needed to be... well, free.

Every wolf, when in the form of a human being, had what was commonly referred to as an 'inner' wolf. Just because the physical form was changed, it didn't change what was on the inside. Some can handle the adjustment just fine, with no problems whatsoever, when shifting to a human lifestyle, such as Ashley. Others, including Andy, it seemed, didn't handle it all too well. For a while Andy thought he had handled it okay, but it appeared that his inner wolf was beginning to become agitated and all of the bottled up emotions from the trauma following Drake's incident only made him more on edge. It was probably what had made Andy so moody at night. Night time was the time he had been accustomed to running and blowing off steam back when he lived with his pack. 

Andy hadn't had the liberty to run free as a wolf in so long, he had forgotten how much he loved it. How clear his mind was when he reached the top of the hill that was behind the patch of woods where the pack resided, it was almost magical. He could sit there for hours, just watching the sky and the clouds. There was nothing here for him to worry about.

No children to feed and put to bed, no dinner to make,  no house to clean. He was free for the next two weeks... 

Or so he thought.

Andy trotted back into the small clearing where his parents had their cave home, his white fur glowing majestically in the light of the half moon. He stopped when he realized the place was dead quiet. Maybe it was just that now he wasn't as used to the quiet woods anymore, but there was a sense of unease in his gut. A deep, threatening feeling that made Andy so uncomfortable that he shifted without a second thought. Normally he wouldn't without checking out his surroundings, but he had never felt this... in danger before.

There he stood, now in human form and looking around. If there was someone lurking, surely they wouldn't attack him if he was in human form, right?
Honestly, that was the best idea Andy could conjure up, not thinking of the possibility that whoever he assumed was sneaking around had witnessed his sudden form shift.

"Hello? Is someone out there?" He called out to the darkness. "I- I'm lost.."

Hopefully whoever was out there would believe that... Hopefully.

He turned around, and saw someone standing off in the distance. They were staring at Andy, but Andy couldn't see their face well enough to read their expression. Behind the figure was what looked to be some sort of jeep, specially made for off-road driving. There was also something glinting in the dull moon light... Was that a cage?

Suddenly his mind told him this was danger, this wasn't safe.

Unfortunately, before he could process the alarms blaring in his mind, his vision became increasingly blurry, his mind was fuzzy, his body went numb and limp, and all of a sudden- darkness.

Ashley grew worried when his mate hadn't returned home the following week. They had made a strict agreement that he came back, or Ashley would go get him, and right now it looked like that would have to be the case...
"Daddy's gotta go pick up Momma from Grandma and Grandpa, ok?" He told his children, straightening up and looking at Daniel, one of the members of the Purdy clan. "I should be back in a few hours, but I don't know exactly, so just watch them until I get back, okay?"
Daniel nodded and saluted him. "Yes, sir."
Ashley nodded back and left, driving to where he had first dropped Andy off two weeks ago.

"Alright.." He sighed heavily to himself and parked along the side, getting out to go retrieve Andy. Something he saw, however, as he began to walk down the small incline to the field that merged into the woods was a set of tire tracks. That was incredibly unnerving to Ashley, as the area Andy's pack was located was quite remote in relevance to the main city and almost nobody stopped here.

Even if someone did, they certainly didn't drive off into the woods. Ashley looked back to the woods and clenched his fists.
"Andy?" He shouted, pursing his together tightly. "Andy!"
There was no answer, and Ashley took off running. He shifted in the midst of his running as soon as he broke into the wooded area, searching wildly and sniffing the air to locate his mate. Andy had the best hearing of all wolves Ashley had known, so he should have heard Ashley's calling.

When he finally caught Andy's weak scent, he followed it with no hesitation. The only thing running through his mind was the possibility that his baby, his love, was gone. If Andy was gone, then he wouldn't forgive himself for ever letting him go. Ashley's worst fear was confirmed when he reached the clearing.

Not only was it completely empty, but there was no sign of Andy anywhere. Ashley howled desperately, barking and hoping for a reply of any kind.

But he received none.
Ashley took a few steps back to sit down and think about what his next move would be, but his paw landed on something small and seemingly fragile, as whatever it was gave a faint crack noise. Immediately he turned to look, and his blood ran cold.

It was small, and the casing had cracked a little when Ashley stepped on it, but it was nonetheless petrifying to see.

It was a syringe.

A/N: hi im in college and my classes start tomorrow lmao h e l p