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Chapter Text

They had been stalking this deer for about an hour now. Kanan and Ezra had split up to flank it. Ezra couldn’t see the doe from his vantage point but he could smell it in the air. He just had to be careful that he didn’t move up wind of it and spook it away.

He padded softly along through the tall grasses, keeping himself as low to the ground as possible. He kept his ears perked up in case anything suddenly changed. The last thing he wanted to do was mux it up again. 

Sure, Ezra had never hunted before meeting Kanan, but he felt like he should be doing so much better than this. His timing was off, or he approached the quarry at a bad angle, or he just made too much noise… Kanan was blind and he could do this just fine! (Yes, he knew Kanan mostly used his scent and hearing while hunting, but Ezra had those senses too!)

They needed this. Not only for the food, but they could sell the parts for some needed extra coin. And they only had the chance to get a kill this big once a month while Ezra was turned. 

He breathed shallowly through his nose, inching closer towards the scent of the deer. His job was simple: run towards the deer, grab it by the ear and knock it down so that Kanan could go for the throat. He rolled his shoulders in preparation. The scent was strong now. He could practically taste it in the air. Poking his head just over the grass, he confirmed the deer’s location.

Then the wind shifted, and the deer’s head snapped up in alarm. 

Ezra’s heart skipped a beat, and he broke into a run. The deer immediately turned to flee. Out of the corner of his eye he spotted a dark blur that was probably Kanan also cutting dirt toward the quarry. Ezra pushed his legs to go as fast as he could, ignoring the burn in his muscles. He couldn’t even allow himself to feel glee as he realized he was catching up on it. His angle was good. He was so close, just one last push…

The deer suddenly kicked back its hindlegs. Ezra managed to dodge out of the way, but it made him stumble and slide into the ground. 

No! He could do this! He managed to untangle his legs and continue the pursuit. He ignored the advice Kanan had given him earlier…

“Slip ups happen. And when they do, it’s best to stop the pursuit and reserve our energy.”

But Ezra was certain. He could do this and finally earn his keep!

The deer ran along the ridge of the hill before darting downward. Ezra’s lungs felt like they were about to burst as he followed. Going downhill gave his muscles the barest of relief, boosting his confidence. He could do this, he could do this, he could…!

The slope of the hill suddenly changed, and Ezra found that his paw somehow missed the ground. A yelp escaped him as he tumbled down the hill, his body pounded against a few bits of hard ground and sharp rocks. He finally settled at the bottom of the hill, shaking his head to orient himself. By the time he was able to look around, the deer was gone.

Ezra hung his head in dejection. He failed. Again. Even trying his absolute hardest… With a huff, he stood up and shook his body out, feeling bits of grass and dirt fly out of his fur. The Sun had set now, so they would have to go home empty handed. Kanan couldn’t hunt in the dark. His other senses were good, but his limited sight meant he could basically see nothing at night. And he still needed to be able to see the shape of the ground in front of him to run. 

He trudged up the hill to face Kanan. Even though he always assured Ezra that it was fine, that most hunts fail anyway, he couldn’t help but feel that Kanan was going to be disappointed with him. Not only did he stumble twice, he didn’t stop when he was supposed to. He wasted time and energy. 

At the crest of the hill, he looked around, trying to spot Kanan. He blinked as he realized he didn’t really recognize where he was. Nothing looked familiar. He sniffed the air, trying to catch Kanan’s scent. But either the wind was wrong or he had run a lot farther than he had thought. Ezra started trotting the direction he came from. At least, he’s pretty sure this is where he came from. The deer hadn’t exactly pulled foot in a perfectly straight line… 

Ezra shivered, feeling very much out in the open. He lowered his head and crouched slightly as he walked, reminded of the old days where he wandered through the West alone. Before Kanan took him in…

If only he was in human form. Then he could just cry out for Kanan’s name to try and find him.

Wait. He could howl. Duh. It might scare prey off away but it’s not like they were hunting anyway. 

Ezra sat on the ground and put his head up to let out a long howl. This was something he loved doing. It always felt primal and right. And when Kanan started to show him the ropes of how to be a werewolf… howling together with someone else made him feel at home. It was the first time in so long that he felt like he was part of a family again.

His howl ended, and he waited, his tail was wagging softly against the ground as he waited for Kanan’s reply. A few seconds later he heard it, an authoritative howl in response. 

Ezra’s ear twitched. It sounded off. Not only was it short, it seemed almost… higher? Maybe with an edge of desperation?

His heart started to pound loudly in his ears. Did Kanan get hurt? Did he fall and get hurt and Ezra had just gone off on a wild goose chase and abandoned him?

He ran in the direction of the howl. His legs were tired and aching but Kanan was in trouble.

As he got closer, he caught a whiff of his scent except… it was wrong. It wasn’t tinged with blood or distress. It was…

Ezra’s stomach dropped as he stopped his tracks. This wasn’t Kanan’s scent. He didn’t recognize this scent at all. Was this another wolf?

Swallowing hard, Ezra ran in a different direction. Coming face to face with a wild wolf was the last thing he needed. He had no idea how to fight, particularly in this form beyond random biting and clawing. It was best to stay clear. 

But if that wasn’t Kanan… where was he? Why hadn’t he responded to his call? 

The only warning he had was a swell of the wolf’s scent and a sharp snarl before something slammed against his side. He was suddenly pinned to the ground, a low growl reverberating in his ears as teeth gripped his scruff. It was like when Kanan would grab him to give him a slight reprimand, except this grip was bruising. Ezra whimpered, afraid that the teeth might pierce his skin. 

Ezra started trembling as he realized he was trapped. He couldn’t fight back, this wolf had him completely vulnerable. Was this really how this was going to end? After all this time, everything he had done to survive, he was going to be killed off by some wild wolf…?

But then something strange happened. The wolf let go of his scruff. It slowly backed off of him, leaving him lying on the ground. Ezra blinked, shakily getting up. He didn’t know what was happening, but this might be his only chance to get away.

The dark wolf was gazing at  him intently, standing just a few paces away. It chuffed softly as they took a step back towards him, and Ezra flinched back, his hackles rising. A low whine escaping his throat. This wolf was a full adult, bigger and stronger than him. Their ears flicked foward, their gaze tracking him the same way the wolves in Nebraska had when he had gone to find his sister. 

It chuffed again, its tail rising as Ezra’s clamped between his legs. He whimpered as his ears flattened against his head, and he crouched to the ground. He searched around desperately. Where was Kanan?! He couldn’t be that far right…?!

The wolf growled, the sound low but its meaning unmistakable. Ezra shook his head in denial, but then the wolf took another step toward him. His ears flattening further, he laid down all the way and rolled onto his back, hoping the display was enough. He shouldn’t have run so far from Kanan. He should’ve followed Kanan’s advice after the first stumble. 

Ezra’s eyes widened as he watched the wolf suddenly transform. There was a heavy lump in his belly as he realized this wasn’t just a wolf: this was another werewolf. But the transformation wasn’t like Kanan’s. The process was slow and the cracking of their body was sickening. But a human form came out of it. A thin but well muscled woman with a thick leather collar around her neck. 

“Hmm, my first catch~” the woman cooed. “And a whelp at that! Hearty as a buck by the looks of it. This will certainly please my master.”

Ezra did not like the sound of any of that. He slowly rolled so that his belly was to the ground again. Now that she was in human form, he should be able to get away, right? If he took off as fast as possible, there’s no way she could catch up with the time it would take her to shift again. 

His thoughts ceased as the crackle of dried grass thundered in his ears. His head whipped around, and he saw an unfamiliar man approaching. He was lithe and taller than even Kanan with pale skin and hair. He had a coil in his hand, and Ezra found himself paralyzed with fear. What was going on?

“Good job, Seven,” the man said brusquely, running a hand over the woman’s hair. She smiled and rubbed her head up against his hand. “It’s been a long while since we’ve had ourselves a new recruit.” The man sniffed the air, and his lip curled. “Of course it’s another filthy half-breed…”

Run. He can just run. They’re both in human form, he just needed to move. 

He broke out into a gallop away from the two terrifying strangers. It would take them time to shift. He could do this. He just need to - 

He let out a high pitched yelp as teeth sank into his right thigh, and he once against stumbled to the ground. Ezra could barely register tha pain before a length of rope was wrapped around his neck and pulled tight.

“You’re not going anywhere~”

Chapter Text

Kanan’s head was throbbing as he slowly regained consciousness. The last thing he remembered was making a dash for the deer… before receiving a hoof to the face. Evidently, he had misjudged the distance between himself and the dark blur that had been their target. 

He gave a careful shake of his head as he sat up. Luckily he was in wolf form, so he had recovered from this injury quickly. A kick like that to a human could have killed them. 

Ezra. Standing up fully and shaking out his body, he sniffed the air, trying to find the boy’s scent. Worry churned his stomach when he couldn’t immediately smell him. The sun had set now, and since it was a new moon, it was impossible for him to see anything. Kanan knew these lands like the back of his hand and could easily find his way home, but Ezra was not nearly as familiar with the region. 

Kanan began to amble along the base of the hill he had fallen. He assumed Ezra had continued on after the deer without him. The pup seemed to always get tunnel vision when he put his mind to something. Kanan kept his nose in the air, trying to catch a whiff of him. How could have Ezra gotten so far away? Kanan couldn’t have been unconscious for that long…

Unless Ezra was hiding. He had been trying so hard to get a kill today. The pup was still convinced that he had to earn his keep, and he had seen today’s lesson in hunting as a perfect opportunity. If he thought he had failed, he probably dug a hole somewhere to curl up in and brood. 

Kanan sighed, his chest aching slightly at the thought. It’s been months, and Ezra was still nervous that Kanan was going to kick him out. He should know by now that that wasn’t going to happen. Kanan would never abandon a pup to fend for themselves. He knew what it was like to live alone in the wilderness, with no family and no pack.

Finally, he caught a whiff of Ezra’s scent. It was faint and coming from the… the mountains to the West? Kanan huffed in annoyance. He had told Ezra to avoid the mountains. The Washoe people would be migrating into the valley to their winter houses soon, and he didn’t want to cross paths with the humans if he didn’t have to. 

Unable to see the ground, he had to tread carefully, but he picked up the pace as he followed Ezra’s trail. It was slowly getting stronger, but after a couple of miles, he started to smell something else. Kanan almost immediately recognized the scent, and it had his hackles rising.

Other werewolves. Two of them… near his pup.

Kanan began to run. A couple of stumbles and falls were nothing compared to the need to get to Ezra now. What were other lycan doing out here? Kanan hasn’t encountered other lycan besides Ezra since that disastrous day in Texas. Was it a new pack that had wandered into his territory?

The scent of the three of them suddenly swelled, and with it, the bitter tang of blood. 

Fear was wrapping around his chest as he slowed, sniffing along the ground. He found where the blood had been spilt, and an instinctual snarl tore out of Kanan. It was Ezra’s, and it was accompanied by the sharp and depressingly familiar scent of Ezra's fear except now it was so strong that clearly Ezra had been terrified. 

There had been a struggle, and it had ended in his pup bleeding and afraid. 

Kanan’s lips curled as he continued to follow the trail, his mind focused on a single goal: find his pup and rip out the throats of those that hurt him. 

Unfortunately, there was a downside to a lycan’s accelerated healing. Ezra’s bleeding hadn’t taken long to stop. His scent and fear still lingered in the air, but it was also fading fast with the shifting winds. Kanan kept his nose to the ground, sniffing desperately to keep track of the trail. 

He ended up at a blue elderberry bush. One of thousands that littered the foothills. After that… the trail vanished.

No… nononono…! Kanan curled the area, sniffing deep at the ground, his ears perked up and straining for any sound that could indicate where they were. But there was nothing. They must have used the bush to cover their scent. And with these berries being so ubiquitous, there was no way to track them. 

Kanan dug his paws into the earth in distress. What was he supposed to do? Ezra was his responsibility, he promised himself he would take care of the pup and now he was gone. 

He sat on the ground, trying to focus. He couldn’t go into a spiral. If he was going to find and save Ezra, he was going to have to start thinking straight. 

There’s no way Ezra could fight off two werewolves on his own. So while they had injured him, they hadn't killed him. They wanted him alive. But for what? To increase their pack size?

He thought over the other two scents. One was definitely a shewolf. And unless he was somehow mixing her and Ezra’s scents, she was also a Bitten. But the other lycan’s scent stood out from the other two. He was like Kanan, naturally born. Maybe he was trying to expand his own pack.

Depa had never mentioned packs stealing pups to increase their numbers before, but then again, she had only ever known her own pack. And Kanan had never encountered any in all his years of travel. At least, not in the wilderness. He understood wolf behavior, but werewolves weren’t just wolves. 

Kanan pointed his snout westward towards the mountains, the direction the trail had been going before it had gone cold. But he had no hope of navigating the mountains, not alone, not at night. The chances of getting lost or injured were too high. And he couldn’t just abandon Sabine at the station. 

As much as it killed him, Kanan turned and headed eastward, walking over familiar land back home. He needed to talk to Sabine, and then he would set off in the morning with Phantom. It would be faster that way than on foot in any form. 

Stay strong, Ezra. I’m coming. I promise I’m coming for you.

Ezra was panting with exhaustion as he limped behind the larger lycan. The pain in his leg had lessened, but it was still weak, making it difficult to keep up. His legs had already been aching from the chase earlier, but now the pain in his muscles was almost unbearable. The rope around his neck was tight and made it difficult to breathe, especially when the larger wolf yanked on it hard. He couldn’t hold back the desperate whines that highlighted each breath. 

He was going to die. He was certain of it. He had already fallen a few times. And every time, the shewolf snarled and grabbed his neck or ears painfully, yanking on him until he managed to get his legs back under him again. If he were in human form, he’d be sobbing at this point. What would they do if he passed out? Would they just drag him? Carry him? He had no clothing with him, and he shivered at the idea of these two handling his naked body. 

What did they even want from him? What did the man mean that he was a ‘new recruit’? For what?

Ezra whimpered as he was yanked along again. Where was Kanan? He’d find him, right? He’d come after him… right? 

But it was still the dead of night. Kanan was completely blind under these circumstances, and these other two lycan had forced him to cover his scent. Even if Kanan wanted to find him… would he even be able to?

In the distance, Ezra could suddenly see some form of light. It didn’t have the blue tint of the night sky, so it wasn’t a reflection of stars on water. It looked to be some sort of manmade light. They seemed to be walking straight towards it.

A bit of hope poked at Ezra. Maybe they were stopping soon? Surely they had to be tired as well. Ezra put all of his focus and will power into not falling again. Not until they at least reached that light. At this point he could barely keep his eyes open. He stared down at the ground right in front of him, hoping he didn’t trip again. He didn’t want to be grabbed and dragged again. 

Suddenly he was walking through a wood threshold onto wooden planks. As soon as he did, his legs buckled and he collapsed to the ground, panting heavily. There was a yank on the rope around his neck but Ezra was so dragged out, all he could manage was a pathetic whimper.

“Useless half-breed…” 

There was a kick against his side and Ezra yelped at the sharp pain. That had him scrambling to his feet and stumbling in the direction the rope was pulling him.

“Careful, Seven,” the man said, his voice calm and disinterested. “There’s no need to damage our new recruit prematurely. 

The rope was tied to a bedpost, and Ezra trembled as he once again collapsed onto the dirty wooden planks. He looked up at his two captors. He had no idea when they had shifted, but the man was putting on clothing. He wanted to ask them why. What were they going to do with him?

The woman - Seven? What kind of name was Seven? - didn’t bother to put on any clothes. She sauntered over and knelt beside him. That was when he noticed the number ‘7’ was engraved into the leather collar around her neck. 

Then there was a hand in his fur. It was almost gentle, except it was heavier than he was used with Kanan or Sabine. The hand lingered on his body as it stroked down the length of his body. The woman gave him a smile, and a shiver ran down his spine and elicited a small whimper. 

“Still has his puppy fur~” she cooed softly. “Although it’s starting to thin. I bet he’s not much younger than Twelve.”

“Optimal age for the program,” the man commented, straightening his clothing. 

Ezra groaned as he felt his body start to shift. His breathing quickened and panic seized his throat as he realized he was going to be unshuckled in front of these strangers. The rope chaffed against his neck as the fur melted away to skin. As he assumed his human form, he immediately curled in on himself in both modesty and from the chill of the fall mountain air brushing over his body. Even inside this cabin it was almost unbearable after being in his wolf form all night. As he curled up, he numbly noticed the pink and puckered scars on his legs from where the wolf had bitten him earlier. They had almost completely healed during their journey. At least they weren't as deep and ragged as the ones in his shoulder from the wolf that had turned him.

“Get the welp some water and blankets,” the man said. “We don’t want him getting ill.”

Ezra’s eyes burned with tears at the dispassionate way these two were regarding him. As much as he wanted the blankets, what he wanted most of all was to just go home. He just wanted to be with Kanan. 

As the woman got up to do as the man said, and Ezra shakily reached up for the rope around his neck. He had to get this off. It was suffocating him and chafed against his skin. He reached around for the knot along the rough length of the rope. When he found it, his fingers fumbled, trying to figure out how to undo it.

“Nah ah ah.” Ezra let out a strangled choke as the rope was suddenly pulled up roughly, lifting him off the ground slightly. “You’re not going anywhere, pup~”

Ezra gasped and hot tears started to fall down his cheeks. The way she said ‘pup’ sounded wrong and gross. It was nothing like the way Kanan said it. 

“Where do you think you’d go?” she asked with a knowing grin, wiping a thumb over his cheek. “In this form? You’d collapse and die from the cold in less than a mile.” She ran her fingers down the side of Ezra’s neck, making him shiver. “So be a good boy and settle.”

She let go of the rope, Ezra fell bonelessly to the ground, coughing for air. His gasps turned into sobs as he realized she was right. His muscles were weak and still burning with pain. With no clothing or shoes or enhanced sight, there was no way to escape.

A blanket was dumped unceremoniously on top of his trembling body. Desperate for reprieve from the cold, Ezra grabbed the edges of it and managed to wrap it around himself, making sure some of it provided a layer of protection between his body and the cold wooden floor. 

Then he curled up into the cocoon, hiding his face from the world as his shuddered breathing shook his body. This had to be a nightmare. A horrible, twisted, impossible-to-imagine nightmare. Any second, he would wake up with Kanan’s warm body pressed against his, safe and sound in their bedroom.

A loud clack made Ezra flinch, his head snapping up in alarm. A wooden bowl of water had just been placed down in front of him, the woman walking away again. She shifted back into her wolf form, and Ezra cringed at the horrible sound of the cracking and groaning of her body. Then she shook herself out and curled up near the head of the small bed where the man was sitting. 

Ezra swallowed and looked down at the water. Reaching out a hand from into the cold air, he picked it up, the water sloshing around from his shaking. The angle in which he was lying made it awkward, but he didn’t have the energy to sit up. He put the edge to his lips and started to sip. Then it turned into great big gulps. The water was so cold it almost burned his insides, but he was desperately thirsty.

All too soon, the bowl was empty, and Ezra let it fall from his hand as he curled back up tightly. With the water chilling his belly, his exhaustion finally began to pull him into blissful unconsciousness. 

“SABINE!”

She jolted up from her seat, her heart pounding in her ears. “What…? Kanan?!” She ran to the front of the station. There was just enough light filtering out from the building to see Kanan running down the road. “Are you okay? What’s wrong?”

“Pack your things,” he said tersely. “We’re heading West at dawn. Pack light. Focus on ammo. We can forage as we go, and there are plenty of fresh water sources along the route.”

“The route?” Sabine frowned. “Kanan, you’re not making sense. Where are we going? Where…?” She looked around. “Wait, where’s Ezra?”

Kanan’s nostrils flared, and Sabine could see now that he was shaking.

Sabine’s stomach dropped. “Kanan, where’s Ezra?” Instead of responding, he walked past her and into the station, but Sabine was close behind him. “Kanan…?!”

“He’s been taken,” Kanan snapped, walking into his room and grabbing his war bag. “Ezra and I got separated. When I tried to find him…” His hands were shaking badly as he started stuffing his bag with clothes. “All I found was his blood. And the scent of two other werewolves.”

“I…” Sabine shook her head in confusion, trying to straighten out what Kanan was saying. “Ezra was taken by werewolves?”

“Yes. So pack up. We’re leaving at dawn.”

“Why dawn? Why not now? Why did you come back here instead of going after him, can’t you track them?”

“Because I’m blind!” Kanan shouted. “And because they covered their scent. I can’t wander the mountains blindly at night, and I couldn’t just abandon you here!”

“I would have been fine!” Sabine snapped. The thought of Ezra being taken violently… that annoying kid who liked to roll in refuse and steal her stuff, who was so shy and insecure that he feared asking for help for the most basic of tasks, but was always eager to learn… It made her stomach roll. “Why can’t we leave now?!”

“Neither of us can track him at night,” Kanan growled. His shoulders were shaking violently as his fevered packing suddenly ceased. “All we do is risk getting ourselves injured or lost. Our best bet is to leave at first light. Phantom will be faster than two wolves…” Kanan started nodding insistently. “This is the best I can do…” he murmured, more to himself than Sabine. 

“And just leave Ezra alone out there? With werewolves who spilt his blood?”

“SABINE!” Kanan barked, suddenly spinning towards her. “This is all we can do!” His voice cracked, and his expression crumpled. “We can’t act rashly…” He was choking over his words, his milky eyes turning suspiciously wet. “If we don’t keep our heads, we might never find him.”

He suddenly squeezed his eyes shut and Sabine saw a tear fall down his cheek. It rendered her speechless, her breathing catching in her throat before she could spit out a retort. It was rattling to see Kanan so undone. He had always been protective of Ezra and showed an almost fatherly affection for him… But Sabine was realizing that Kanan actually saw Ezra as his own. “Kanan…” 

He quickly turned away from her. “I don’t know what’s going on…” he said quickly, his voice strained. “But I will not abandon you. And I will not risk either of us injury. Especially if it means we might never find him.”

Despite the situation, Sabine felt her heart stutter at Kanan’s vehemence. Specifically, his insistence that he not leave her behind. “I-I would have been fine,” she repeated. 

Kanan gave an amused huff, turning slightly back towards her. “I know,” he said quietly. “But you’re family, and you deserve better.”

She forced out a laugh despite the slight burn behind her eyes. “Your concern is noted,” she said flatly. “But I get that with your blindness…” She cleared her throat, forcing herself to ignore the nausea starting to build up in her stomach. “... this was the, um, best course of action.”

Kanan just nodded stiffly. “So go back. Try to get some sleep.”

Sabine looked up at him. He knew there was no way she was going to be able to sleep. Not knowing that the kid had been taken by werewolves that had drawn blood. And obviously there was no way Kanan would be able to get a wink. “I’ll pack my war bag,” Sabine promised. “But maybe we should stop lying to each other… And maybe try to figure out a plan instead of pretending to sleep?”

A humorless chuckle bubbled out of Kanan. “At the very least, we should rest before going on our hunt.”

“Hunt?” Sabine echoed.

“You know what I mean…” Kanan said tiredly.

“Yeah, I do.” She sighed. “Alright. I’ll pack and I’ll rest… And then I’ll get Phantom ready.”

Kanan’s lips were thin as they pressed together in a strained smile. “Good.”

Chapter Text

Exhaustion kept Ezra down for a bit, but the cold would drag him back to wakefulness with his uncontrollable shaking. His muscles were tense and cramping from the bone deep cold and the horrid trembling it was causing. The rope was constantly chafing at his skin, and he swore it was tightening as the night dragged on. He was in a fitful pain ridden nightmare all throughout the night. 

And then the man got up. He didn’t acknowledge the other wolf or Ezra as he put on a poncho and left this miserable building. Ezra could only sleepily blink after him. The sun had not yet risen, the world was just a dull grey, hinting at the light to come. 

After that, Ezra wasn’t able to get any rest. He was too aware of his frozen body that continuously shook painfully. This blanket had not been nearly enough to stave off the fall mountain chill. He just wanted to be at home, curled up in the warm bed with Kanan. 

There was the sound of a yawn, and Ezra peaked his head out to see the shewolf - Seven - standing up and stretching her body out. And then there was that horrible crunching sound again as she shifted into her human form. She stretched out her body, her bones cracking and popping. Ezra quickly looked away from the naked form. It made him queasy how comfortable she was being naked. He was also baffled as to why she would shift when it was so damned cold. 

“Sleep well, little ducky~?” he heard her ask, his voice making his stomach churn. There was the sound light footsteps as she walked over to him. Ezra burrowed himself deeper into his blanket. If he hadn’t already been shaking hard from the cold, his fear and apprehension over this baffling woman would have made him tremble instead. He didn’t want to be here, he just wanted to go home…

Ezra yelped as a hand twisted in his hair and yanked him out of his cocoon. “Don’t worry~ In just a couple days, you’ll be safe and sound at the Facility.”

The cold suddenly seemed secondary to the terror of this woman’s promise. Whatever this ‘Facility’ was, Ezra knew he wanted nothing to do with it. “W-Why…?” Ezra whimpered.

His face was suddenly hit to the side with such force that he was sure his neck had cracked. Ezra gasped for air at the unexpected assault. 

“You… are a half-breed,” Seven said evenly. “You don’t speak unless your betters give you permission.”

Ezra didn’t know what that meant but he couldn’t stand to be hit or beaten again so he kept his mouth shut.  

“You are like me,” the woman said. “We were bitten, not born as lycan.” Her fingers traced from Ezra’s hair down the length of his neck, making a cold shiver run down his spine. “Soon, you will learn to serve as I have learned.”

She suddenly let go and he collapsed to the ground. He rubbed the sore spot on his head as she stood back up and reached over to untie the rope from the foot of the bed. Just as he barely recovered from his last assault, the rope was suddenly yanked harshly. It twisted and rubbed against Ezra’s neck, making him yelp as he was pulled toward the door. There was no reprieve in the pulling, so Ezra had to scramble to keep the blankets around his naked body as he was forced outside in the frigid and damp morning air. 

His feet stumbled from smooth wood to cold wet dirt, packed down with use and relatively clear of rocks of twigs. He looked out at the forest beyond. There was no clear path or road. Ezra’s breathing shuddered. They didn’t seriously expect him to march through this underbrush with no clothes or shoes… did they?

Seven stretched lazily, somehow unbothered by the cold against her body. Ezra found himself staring at her hand, which was only loosely holding the rope connected to his neck. His head was buzzing, imagining how easily it would be for him to take the rope from her hand and run…

He looked in the direction they had come from the previous night. He wouldn’t have to make it far, right? If Kanan was coming after him, he couldn’t be far behind. Ezra just had to run far enough to find him. To catch his scent. Or for Kanan to catch his scent. Seven had her guard down. Her shifting was always slow. All he had to do was run.

Run. Run! Run!

Ezra yanked the rope from her hand before twisting and running as fast as he could. It felt as though his frozen muscles were cracking and shattering under the sudden strain, but he pushed through the unnatural sensation. He ignored it, just like he ignored the feeling of branches and rocks whipping past him and digging into his skin. There was no pain, but he knew it was bad. It just didn’t matter. Not right now.

Jumping over a log, the blanket suddenly snagged hard on something. Ezra yelped as it was yanked away from him, his exposed body tumbling down a small hill. 

He couldn’t go back for it. He was already cold anyway. It didn’t matter. He just had to get away. 

All he could hear was the sound of his own harsh breathing as he scrambled back to his feet and kept running. He wasn’t sure how his body was able to move, but it did. He wanted to yell out for Kanan, but that would waste precious air, and he needed every bit of it in his lungs propelling him forward. He just had to keep going. He just had to - 

There was a sharp snarl and something hit his back, making him land on the ground with grunt. He tried to scramble back up again, but then he felt teeth at the back of his neck, pressing against his skin. A whimpering sob bubbled out of Ezra as he reached forward futilely, as if every inch closer to home would make the difference.

That horrible crunching echoed in the forest air, and Ezra felt skin against skin. There was a tsking in his ear. “Foolish welp~” A hand was smoothed over his hair. “Did you really think you could get away?”

A sob bubbled out of Ezra as she stood and yanked him up onto his feet. He cried out as pain shot up through his feet. Now that his attempt to flee had failed, he was feeling the bits of forest detritus that had pierced the soles of his feet. 

Seven pushed him forward with his hand. “We need to get back to the cabin before the Grand Inquisitor returns.”

Hot tears ran down Ezra’s face as he stumbled through the forest completely naked, led by the rope tied tightly around his neck. He was utterly humiliated. His body was aching and dragged out, sharp pin pricks of pain covered his skin from the cold and scrapes he had suffered… Hopelessness started to descend over him. What if Kanan couldn’t find him? He was blind and didn’t know these mountains like he did the valley. What if never caught Ezra’s scent?

What if Kanan wasn’t looking for him? 

Ezra’s breathing hitched, a lump getting lodged in his throat. Not only had he muxed up the hunt and refused to have listened to Kanan’s instructions, he followed a howl that had clearly not been Kanan’s and got himself attacked. What must Kanan have thought when he realized just how stupid he had been? 

No… No, Kanan cared about him. He always told Ezra that screwing up was alright, Kanan always went out of his way to assure him that Ezra was wanted, that he wasn’t a burden…

But that was before the Pony Express closed. That money was drying up. At least Sabine knew about guns and traps. What did Ezra know? What use was he if not tacking up the horses up for the Express? He was just another mouth to feed.

The rope was yanked harder, and Ezra stumbled and fell onto the cold packed-in earth. A quick glance confirmed they were back at the cabin. And the man - the Grand Inquisitor? - was standing at the doorway. “What happened?” he asked, his voice stern.

“The welp tried to escape,” Seven said, her shoulders slumped and her head bowed slightly. “Didn’t make it far, and I easily recaptured him.”

“So the no count welp has some instinct to survive,” the man said thoughtfully. “Excellent. A good sign that he will take to the program well. But of course, such insolence needs to be corrected.” 

There was a soft thump, and Ezra saw that he had tossed a bag to the ground. He just remained where he had fallen, trembling and crying into the dirt. He just didn’t know what to do or even what to think anymore.

“We'll give him a sound slicking for his transgressions before we get him dressed. I think twenty lashes should do...”

They weren’t able to come up with much of a plan. It wasn’t complicated beyond finding Ezra and ripping out the throats of the werewolves who had hurt his pup. Kanan and Sabine had packed and then sat quietly together. Sabine disassembled and reassembled her revolvers several times. It must have kept her mind occupied. For Kanan’s part, he just kept his eyes closed and tried to rest as he listened to her work. The soft clinking of the metal was soothing to his panic and guilt ridden mind. 

Then Sabine touched his arm, and he opened his eyes to see that some pre-dawn light had just started to make itself known. 

Sabine got Phantom ready, attaching both their war bags and their essential supplies to the rig, while Kanan shifted and got a head start towards the mountains. Sabine would walk with Phantom and follow him, sticking to the road as Kanan searched off the beaten path for any sign or scent of Ezra or the other lycan. 

He dipped back towards the road to check in on Sabine, both to assure her that he was alright and to verify that he hadn’t wandered too far. He would cross Phantom’s path, chuff, and continue his search. If he caught onto a trail, he would let her know. It took all of Kanan’s self control to just not surge ahead. It wouldn’t do to drag himself out. 

It wasn’t until midday that Kanan finally caught Ezra’s scent. It was bitter with fear, making Kanan’s growl and his hackles rise. He surged along the trail, and quickly came upon a cabin. It was sparse, with a single bed and not much else. The scent of his pup and the other two lycan were strong here. One lycan slept on the bed while the other had slept in the corner. Ezra… he had been forced to sleep on the floor as well. But once midnight had passed he would have been completely unprotected. Whoever these lycan were, they better had given him some clothes. 

Surveying the area, he tried to figure out what direction they went. A hint of blood suddenly hit Kanan’s nostrils, making his stomach drop. The injury Ezra had suffered when they took him should have healed long before they made it here. What did these bastards do to him?

He found his answer when he found a long flexible branch with flecks of blood along its length. 

Kanan dug his paws into the dirt as he let out a snarl. What kind of monsters brutalized a kid like this? What could possibly be the justification? He was going insane knowing how terrified Ezra must be. He sniffed around the area, finding the trail continuing on until it ended with another damned elderberry bush. They had covered their scent again. 

He chuffed in frustration. At least he knew they were on the right track and the general direction they were going. The only consolation he had was that if Ezra was injured, it would slow them down. 

Meeting up with Sabine, Kanan shifted and got dressed. “They stayed at a cabin,” he said shortly. “From the scent, they probably left at dawn. I know what direction they headed before they covered their scent.”

“Well what are we waiting for. Let’s get going!”

“We will,” Kanan said. “But I know there’s a town not far ahead. I want to ask around and see if they saw anything.” They were either all traveling in human form or the two bastards were escorting a human child through the woods in their wolf forms. Either way, it would be a notable sight. 

The town was just a bit smaller than Masonic. Kanan didn’t want to linger too long anyway so he went straight to the general store. It was a logging town, most people out for the day. It would be the only place to have people in it this time of day. Sabine tied Phantom up and led him inside by the arm

“Welcome,” the woman said as they walked in. “You’re not from around here…”

Kanan almost chuckled at the confusion in her voice. He supposed they made an interesting sight, a teenaged Celestial leading a blind vaquero.

“Just passing through,” Sabine said casually. “We’re… looking for a friend who might have travelled through here earlier today.”

“Oh, you mean the soldier? Yes, he stopped by this morning just after dawn.”

Kanan had to suppress his surprise, but a heavy knot settled in his stomach. A soldier took Ezra? He supposed he should at least be relieved that he had gotten Ezra some clothes, but he was reeling from the knowledge that the military was somehow involved in his pup’s abduction. 

Sabine’s grip on his arm tightened, expressing her own reaction to the revelation. “Uh, yes! We are, uh, in his employ.” Kanan noticed that she was starting to exaggerate her accent. “We were taking care of some things for him. We just wanted to make sure… Colonel Smith was on track to get to San Francisco.”

Kanan almost cringed. It was risky to spit out a random name and destination without actually knowing anything. 

But the woman evidently hadn’t been told much. “Oh I see…” There was still doubt in her voice, but it was suspicion. 

“Oh!” Sabine put a hand on Kanan’s chest. “This is Colonel Smith’s trainer! He may be blind, but his knowledge of horses is very good! He teaches his children!”

“Ah, that would explain why he needed clothing for a shaver,” the woman said. “I was curious about that…”

Kanan straightened at that. “Did you see him?”

“The child? No, it just seemed to be the Colonel.”

Of course. They wouldn’t lead a naked boy into a town like this. That would attract too much unwanted attention. “Thank you,” Kanan said, keeping his voice even. 

“We just wanted to make sure the Colonel was on track to make it back to Fort Point,” Sabine added, starting to lead Kanan out of the store. “Thank you!”

“Of course! Good luck with your master!”

When they were outside and next to Phantom, Sabine turned so that she was facing Kanan. “What does a soldier want with Ezra?”

“I don’t know,” Kanan growled. “But it can’t be anything good.”

“You don’t… You don’t think they’re trying to weaponize werewolves, do you?”

The world suddenly collapsed around Kanan, a memory flashing violently before his eyes…

“Caleb, corre!” Depa yelled, surging towards the charging wolf. 

“Coronel, ESPERA!” Caleb yelled, holding his rifle at the ready. It was like the world had slowed. Depa transformed, but the wolf immediately went for her throat. Horror consumed Caleb as he realized that she was basically dead. “NO!” he screamed, shooting his weapon.

“Kanan?”

He collapsed into the present. “Sorry?” 

“Ezra… is someone trying to turn him into a weapon?”

Kanan huffed, viciously pushing down the memory and emotions that accompanied it. “That would seem to be the case. I see no other reason for a military man to violently abduct a werewolf like this.” He turned his face westward. “Once we leave town, I’m going to scout ahead again. With just you on Phantom, we should make better progress than they would, no matter what form they’re in.”

Sabine had a hand on his arm again, and she led him out of town, presumably leading Phantom with her other hand. Kanan didn’t usually need this much assistance to get around a town, even in human form. But he was finding her touch reassuring. An anchor in all the chaos that was brewing in his mind. 

It was easy to tell when they were out of town. The blurred buildings disappeared to be replaced by the familiar scent of the mountain forests. Moving to the side of the road near a dense part of forest, Kanan began to remove his clothes. “With any luck… we’ll find Ezra before sundown.”

“I hope you’re right,” Sabine said, taking his clothes to put them in his war bag. 

So do I, Kanan thought. If they didn’t… No. Kanan wouldn’t even consider it right now. “I’ll make contact with you at sunset no matter what.”

“If you find the bastards, come get me first,” Sabine said. “You’re blind, and I know that affects you even in your wolf form. I don’t want you fighting them without backup.”

“No promises,” Kanan growled. While Sabine was making a good point, Kanan was already feeling his protective instincts going overboard. If he catches a whiff of Ezra’s blood and fear and it was fresh… he didn’t think he’d be able to keep himself back. 

“Kanan…” Sabine said imploringly. “If you go after them and get hurt, there will be now way I’ll know. You could die out there in the middle of forest, and I’ll just be meandering to San Francisco barkin' at a knot...!”

“Alright, alright…!” Kanan put his hands on Sabine’s shoulders. That’s right. It wasn’t just Ezra. Sabine was also part of his pack. He can’t just act recklessly. For both their sakes, he has to keep his head on straight. “Unless I have a prime opportunity to get Ezra back… I promise, I’ll come get you.”

He felt her relax under his hands. “You better,” she bit back, although the relief was evident in her voice. 

He gave her shoulders a squeeze before stepping back and shifting. Shaking himself out, he chuffed and gave her hand a lick of assurance before sniffing along the ground in search of some lingering scent he might be able to follow. He doubted the town had any other visitors today. So the smallest scent of anything was likely to be them.

Then he caught it. It wasn’t Ezra, but it was just the faintest remnant of one of the wolves that had taken him. Kanan let out a small snarl. They were only half a day behind them. They could do this. They could close the distance. 

We’re coming, Ezra.