Chapter Text
Marco watched closely as Ace threw yet another punch at the striking dummy, digging his bloody fist into the compact straw, growling deeply. For the past few hours, no one, aside from a commander or Pops had been able to go near him with his alpha pheromones released like they were. Hopefully, after some physical exertion, he would calm down enough to at least hear reason.
"Any luck?" Marco turned as Izo approached, the man's eyes looking over Ace with concern. He shook his head.
"No. We can't even get close to him, yoi. I haven't seen him like this since we found him all those years ago." When Pops had found Ace, he had been a rabid pup on the verge of going feral. Wolves and humans, for nearly his entire life, had ferociously hunted him, and it nearly drove him mad. With training and kindness, Ace had overcome his feral behavior and managed to, somewhat, control his inner alpha.
But now, it was as if he had reverted to his old self, and if he was not stopped, he would hurt himself and those who tried to help him. Izo took a deep breath, closing his eyes, "I can understand his pain. I never imagined one of our own would betray us."
Marco nodded, "Teach has been part of the pack for almost as long as I have. He was the last one I expected to be a traitor, yoi." Their conversation was interrupted as Ace let out a yowl and completely transformed into his wolf form, his clothes ripping in the process.
"Crap." Izo muttered. Marco narrowed his eyes, releasing his alpha and allowing his will to flow across to the growling wolf across the room. In his wolf form, Ace was quite a sight. He was large by wolf standards, standing around four feet when measured from the shoulder, with jet black fur and eyes that glowed silver. The only thing that broke his majestic visage was the fact that his ears were a bit too big for the rest of him and tended to flop over on themselves.
Even after taking the brunt of Marco's alpha, Ace snarled and crouched, readying himself to attack, his claws scraping against the ground. He was beyond being reasoning with. Typical.
"Izo, step back, yoi. I'll handle this."
Stripping off his clothes as he walked forward, Marco smoothly and seamlessly allowed his body to shift into his comfortable wolf form, something he had mastered over many years of life. His light-colored coat was a stark contrast to Ace's, his blue eyes blinking as they adjusted to his canine senses. Although the younger wolf was larger, Marco was not worried. The larger wolf does not always win.
With a roar, Ace charged towards him, jaws snapping at his neck. But Marco was ready for him, swiftly dodging and slamming himself into the black wolf's side, knocking him over. Ace scrambled to his feet snarling as he began to circle him. When he charged again, Marco met him head on, scratching and biting, inwardly smirking when he dug his teeth into the younger's scruff, throwing him to the ground once again, not releasing his flailing brother.
Submit! His alpha demanded as he ground his teeth deeper causing the younger alpha to whine in pain. After about five minutes of this, Ace went still, barring his neck to Marco, accepting his defeat. Slowly releasing his hold on the other wolf's neck, Marco backed up and sat on his haunches, his tail swaying across the ground as he waited for Ace to change back into his human form.
"Honestly, dear, you should know by now that you aren't good enough to beat Marco," Izo huffed, approaching with Marco's discarded clothes, "In fact, there are very few in the pack who can even challenge him. He may not be large, but he will run circles around you every time." Ace, now back in his human skin, glared.
"Shut up, Izo."
Marco chuckled as he transitioned back into his human form, stretching when he stood up, "Are you feeling better, yoi?" He turned and took his folded clothes from Izo, beginning to dress again. Ace shuffled on the ground, pulling his legs close to his chest.
"I… I think so. Thanks for bringing me back, Marco." Said wolf nodded in response, buttoning his shorts. Ace continued.
"I'm just so… angry," He scowled, growling under his breath, "Teach was my subordinate! He was my responsibility and I had no idea. If I had known maybe-" Marco cut him off.
"There was no way you could have known, yoi. No one had any idea. Not even Pops." Ace snarled.
"We should have known. I should have known. I am going to make him pay." Marco's eyes narrowed.
"Ace, that is not a good idea. He has kairoseki and is probably anticipating you going after him, yoi. It could be a trap." Ace leapt to his feet.
"I don't care! I'll kill him for what he's done!" Izo sighed, stepping forward.
"Why don't we continue this discussion later. Ace, let's get you covered up. It's a bit… distracting trying to have a serious talk when your clothing is lying on the floor." Tilting his head, the raven head looked down at his nakedness.
"I don't see the problem." Marco rolled his eyes.
"Come on, pup. Let's get you covered up, yoi."
"I am not a pup!"
"Whatever you say, Ace."
Luffy decided he didn't like the Scouting Corps. Most of the members were stuck up nobles who were placed there on purpose, so they wouldn't have to be on the front lines. They weren't even that sneaky! Didn't you have to be at least a little sneaky to be a scout?
"Oi, brat! Get over here! It's your turn to spar!" Luffy rolled his eyes as the "leader" of the scouts yelled for him from across the field. The man, whose name he was pretty sure was Spandex, was ridiculously weak and enjoyed messing with his subordinates. His hair was stringy, and his face was partially covered by a leather mask, supposedly hiding an injury he received from a werewolf.
"I'm not getting any younger!" Luffy snorted at that before making his way over to him. Spandex smirked at him.
"All right, now that the runt has decided to grace us with his presence, let's start up a match. Bellamy get over here and show the kid how it's done." Luffy blinked up at the large blonde man, taking in his wide build and a face that just said, "punch me". Bellamy licked across his teeth.
"Oh, I'm going to enjoy this." Spandex raised a hand, before bringing it down and signaling they begin. Expectedly, Bellamy charged right at him, showering him with different combinations of kicks and punches, all were easy to dodge. After a few minutes of missed attacks, Bellamy growled in annoyance before sliding behind him and attempting to catch him in a head lock.
Ducking under his arms, Luffy hit him hard in the stomach before finishing with a strong roundhouse kick to the jaw. It was very satisfying to watch him fall to the ground, unconscious. Turning around, he saw Spandex's lip curl into a snarl.
"You… you must have gotten lucky, runt." Luffy gave him a bright smile.
"No, he just wasn't very strong." The surrounding scouts scoffed while Spandex glared at him.
"The only reason you're here and not on the front lines is because your brother happens to hold a high-ranking position. If I had any say in it, you would be fighting alongside your street rat friends! Go clean our weapons! It's the only thing you're good for." Luffy padded away from them, ignoring their taunts. Some fights weren't worth fighting. As he neared weapon rack, his foot caught on something and he fell, face first, to the ground.
Spitting out dirt and blood from his mouth, he looked up and saw a broad red headed man smirking down at him. It was obvious that he had tripped him.
"Awww… Is the little kitten angry?" Luffy scowled up at him, wiping away the blood from his split lip with his hand. The man licked his lips before reaching down and pulling him up roughly by his arm.
"You know, Spandam, I could think of a few other uses for a cute little thing like him." Luffy wasn't sure what he was implying, but he knew it couldn't be good. The other scouts began to eye him strangely. The young boy ripped his arm out of the other's grip before pushing past him and running back to the tents. He didn't know why, but he had to get out of there.
Luffy didn't stop running until he arrived. His breathes coming quickly, he sat down on the soft grass and enjoyed the serenity of his surroundings. Zoro had shown him this place, a small grotto in the cliffs surrounding the camp that opened into a cave with no ceiling, allowing the sun light to flow in and reflect beautifully off the water that pooled in the center. The small teen bit his lip, not really paying attention to the blood that ran down his chin, as he curled in on himself and trembled. That guy… what did he mean by use? The way the others had eyed him honestly made him feel… dirty. Against his will, tears started to well up in his eyes.
"Luffy? You all right?" The boy jumped and whirled around, only to relax as he saw who had entered his safe place, furiously wiping at his eyes to hide his weakness from his best friend. Zoro propped his swords, all three of them, against the cave wall and settled down next to him, his eyes moving over Luffy's bruises and bleeding lip.
"D-did you follow me?" Luffy asked, angry at himself for stuttering. Zoro examined him calmly.
"It wasn't hard. You flew through camp like Whitebeard himself was chasing you down." The teen looked down in shame. He hadn't meant to draw so much attention. "Cap, what happened?" Without even thinking, Luffy told Zoro everything, from his somewhat tense relationship with Sabo to the most recent incident. He was his best friend after all, always by his side through thick and thin. When he finished, they sat in silence for a moment before Luffy looked up and was shocked at the rage in Zoro's eyes.
"Zoro?" The green-haired man gripped him by his shoulders.
"Listen to me, Luffy. If something like that ever happens again, you come straight to me. Understand?" The boy nodded, wincing as his friend's grip tightened.
"Those men are bad news. Stay away from them if possible; fight back when you must. Be especially wary of Eustass Kidd, he's dangerous." Luffy nodded his head again, leaning into his friend's arms, enjoying the comfort. Zoro hugged him and stroked a hand over his hair, scratching at his scalp, knowing how much physical touch meant to him. He heard Zoro growl.
"They're more like animals than the wolves they hunt." Luffy sat up, giving his friend a soft smile.
"Thanks, you know, for always being there." Zoro cracked a grin.
"Anytime." Luffy's eyes brightened.
"You smiled!" Zoro's face instantly reverted to its normal scowl.
"Did not."
"Did to."
"Did NOT!" Luffy grinned widely, poking Zoro on his forehead, "Did to." Zoro sighed.
"Changing the subject, I hear Sengoku is finishing some secret operation. Supposedly, it will give us a huge advantage in the fight against Whitebeard's pack." The teen's ears perked up at that.
"Really?"
"Yep. Should make things interesting around here." Luffy hummed, messing with the grass he was sitting on. "You could at least show a little bit of interest."
"I just… don't really care about that stuff." Zoro smirked, picking up a nearby stone and tossing it into the pool.
"Yeah, I know. Okay, well, how about the Festival of the Moon that's coming up soon. I hear you're taking part in the ceremonial dance." Luffy's head shot up, a blush spreading across his cheeks.
"H-how did you find that out?!" Zoro's deep laugh echoed off the cave walls.
"I have my ways. It should be fun, might distract you from everything else." His eyes gleamed, "Besides, I hear the dancer's garb is really something." Luffy groaned, burying his face in his hands before flopping over onto his back.
"Ne, Zoro. I'm gonna take a nap." His friend nodded, settling himself against the walls.
"I think I'll join you."
"'Night, Zoro."
"It's not even dark outside, stupid Captain." Luffy giggled and grinned brightly before allowing himself to go limp, savoring the cool grass against his hot skin, falling asleep in seconds.
Ace slowly tip-toed around his sleeping brothers and sisters, a packed bag flung over his shoulder. For hours Marco, Izo, and his fellow commanders had attempted to distract him from his quest with sparring, discussing threats from other packs, etc. He had nodded as if it was working. The freckled wolf loved his family, they had done so much for him, but nothing was going to stop him from completing his duty. Thatch would be avenged.
Closing the door softly behind him, Ace made his way to the side entrance of the keep that led out into the forest. He would slip out quietly without involving anyone else. What he did not expect to see was Pops, sitting cross-legged in front of his exit, drinking from a large keg. Ace narrowed his eyes.
"Don't try to stop me, Pops. I'm doing this whether you approve or not." The massive alpha swallowed and gently placed the keg on the ground next to him.
"Son, if your heart is truly set on this foolish quest, I won't stop you." Ace's eyes widened a bit at that. "However," Whitebeard's sharp gaze fixed Ace in place, "I will discourage you from tracking down such a dangerous man." The old wolf clasped his hand into a fist.
"Something about this entire situation seems off." His eyes softened, "Will you listen to your old man and heed my advice? Stay here, where you're safe." Ace smiled gently at the alpha who he called father.
"I'm sorry, Pops. I have to do this." Whitebeard's expression morphed into one of sorrow, but he moved out of the young wolf's way.
"Very well. Be safe, son. Know that if something goes wrong, we will come for you." Ace nodded before stripping off his clothes and stuffing them into his bag. After securing said bag across his chest, he slowly transitioned into his wolf form, flinching as his joints re-arranged themselves. Not wanting to look into Pops' eyes, the black wolf took off running into the forest.
As he ran, his breath quickened as he got further and further away from home, the trees becoming blurs in his vision. Eventually, he slowed to a brisk walk, putting his snout to the ground, trying to locate Teach's scent.
It was easy to differentiate from the others, the foul stench of ale and blood filling his nostrils. He snarled, locking in on the trail and beginning to follow it, his mind flooded with images of the fat, repugnant wolf he was tracking.
When he found him, there would be no mercy. The Whitebeard pack afforded no penance to traitors.