Not Mine

Chapter VIII

Tobias woke up and he couldn't breathe. He bolted up and tumbled out of the bed, his body drenched with sweat. His heart was tight in his chest and his jaw was locked. He felt rage and anger and fear and he didn't know why. He yelled through gritted teeth. He had no idea what came over him. He looked around Carter's room, where he had been sleeping, and experienced the sudden urge to get out. He just knew that if he didn't, he would break everything in the room. The air he was pulling into his lungs wasn't doing anything. It tasted stale. He had to leave, he had to get out of the room. The walls seemed to be closing in on him. Gasping for air desperately, he darted out of the room, nearly ripping the door off of its hinges in the process. He fell against a wall but pushed himself back up and managed to make his way out of the house. He was so confused, he couldn't get a clear thought in, all he could think of was escape and air. Finally, outside, he tumbled into the cold air and fell to his knees on the damp grass. He looked up to the moon for some kind of answer, his chest rising and falling rapidly. He coughed and sputtered as he tried to get himself back under control. When he tried to pick himself up, he was only able to stumble forward for a few metres before he collapsed against a tree and doubled over; gasping for breath.

"What the fuck man?" Rob yelled from door. Apparently, Tobias hadn't been quiet when he was stumbling through the Miler's corridors, desperate to breathe. Tobias looked over his shoulder at him before throwing up into a bush.

"What's the matter with you?" Rob asked, taking a few slow steps towards him.

"I don't know!" He snapped. He turned around and punched the trunk of a tree. He felt bloody rabid. He punched it again, desperate to release some tension from his muscles. His whole body was wound up.

"Dude, stop!" Rob yelled. Tobias spun around with the idea to run over there and knock his ass out when he saw Jocline and John emerge from the house, startled and confused from being woken up. His eyes met with Jocline and he had to look away; it looked like Carter standing there.

"Tobias?" Jocline called, concern clear in her voice. Tears began to stream down Tobias' cheeks, and he turned quickly and lashed out at another tree.

"Tobias, what's happening." John demanded to know, cautiously taking a few slow steps forward and keeping himself between the Beta and his wife.

"I don't know..." Tobias sobbed through gritted teeth as he kicked the tree once more before dropping to his knees beside it. He could no longer hold back cries that racked his body, his heart was twisting in his chest and all hope drained from him.

"Do you think it's a mate bond thing?" Jocline whispered to John. Tobias's heart sank further. What was wrong with his mate if he was feeling this way?

"Call Brenny." John said quickly. Jocline disappeared back into the house as fast as she could.

Rob stood in the door frame, speechless and frozen as he experienced Tobias in a way he had never seen before. He watched on, motionless, as John reached out to Markcus. Tobias was sick again and crying his heart out in the light of the moon as Rob clenched his fists. Tobias howled to the sky without any hesitation before slumping forward. He dug his palms into the ground and ripped out grass as flashes of anger and sadness alternated in his mind. He couldn't do anything, or think about anything. All he was able to do was experience the medley of emotions.

It only took a few minutes before the Alpha and his son arrived on the property in their wolf forms. They quickly shifted, tugged on some shorts and then studied the situation. They gave Tobias some space and walked a wide circle around to meet John, never taking their eyes off of him. The four men stood and watched Tobias cry in shock. Jocline soon joined them from the house, pulling her jacket tightly around herself.