Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Tommy genuinely had no idea what was going to happen next. He wasn’t quite ready to make all the choices, even if he had brought this upon himself. He killed Dream. And now he had to face the consequences of his actions, and the current consequences were talking to the man that had just knocked on the door.

Hmmm. If he just didn’t answer…Would he go away? Dream wouldn’t have let him in, but Dream wasn’t here, and Tommy didn’t know if he had the manpower to threaten him away the way Dream used to. Both of his packmates were upstairs, taking a nap while Tommy went over some more of Dream’s papers. They hadn’t been as helpful as he had hoped, but he needed as much information as he could get his hands on.

He doubted the man would go away on his own.

“Open up!” a voice echoed through the locked door. Yup-there it was. The man could probably smell him sitting in Dream's old chair. Might as well go let him in before he got upset. He got up from where he sat and started the tedious process of unlocking the door.

“SP business! I don’t have all day, so open up!” the wolf outside was obviously getting impatient, but Tommy was struggling to unlock all the locks quickly when Dream had been the only person allowed to open the door before.

Seriously. There were so many keys on this key ring. He only really knew what half of them opened. He had had Ranboo make him some soft keychains to muffle the rattling noise after it spooked him one too many times. They did an alright job, and he could walk around and unlock things without making himself or the boys lock up.

“Kid. Open the door,” and, right. So much for letting him in before he got mad. Tommy could recognize that tone of voice.

He finally felt the last key click into place, and he opened the door to reveal a burly man, though that was expected for a werewolf. Though him and his boys were scrawny, they still had some substantial muscle mass, and he knew that they were the exceptions in the wolf world. He sniffed. The man smelled like an office, paper, ink, and cleaning supplies. He had a briefcase and shoes that were both fancy and easy to slip off. They stared at each other for a few seconds before Tommy gestured that he could come inside.

“Thank you. My name is Chris Lawrance of the Arizona Pack. I’m here to talk to your Alpha about the finances.” he was still speaking with a hint of frustration, as if he didn’t want to be there. Tommy sat back down in Dream’s chair. The man, or Chris, he supposed, stayed standing.

“That would be me.” he told Chris, after a brief pause. “I’m the Alpha of this pack.”

“You’re Dream?” he said, “The Alpha of the Wyoming Pack?” He looked skeptical, probably on account of Tommy’s thin frame and young face. Tommy had gotten this question a lot lately, but it still didn’t seem like the information of Dream’s death was getting out very fast.

He would just have to get it over with. “No, good guess, though. I’m Tommy. I killed Dream a month ago and took his mantle.” Tommy answered.

The man immediately recoiled, surprise evident on his face. He sat down, too fast for Tommy’s comfort, on the couch across from him.

“What did you need?” Tommy asked, feeling drained already. He hated talking to people he didn’t know, and he hated the expectation that he prove himself every time he met someone knew. While he didn’t miss Dream, not at all, and he recognized that this all was a small price to pay for him being gone, a small part of him wished that he didn’t have to worry about the politics of the wolf world.

Chris took another moment to catch his breath and get over his shock. Tommy fidgeted with his keyring. While his heartbeat rose a little at the clanking of keys, the metally texture of them was pleasant and he enjoyed both the minor distraction from the strange wolf in his living room and the reminder that he could make noise and not be punished for it.

Chris seemed to gather his thoughts and said, “I was here to talk to your pack about why the taxes due to the state and due to the SP were not paid last month, but I think I just unearthed a much larger problem. How old are you?”

A much larger problem?

Tommy could identify a trap before he stepped in it. “Why do you need to know?” It might have come out more of a snarl than he meant it to, but Dream wasn’t there to tell him off for it.

“I don’t mean to step on your toes here. It's just that,” Chris paused, “um, legally, a minor is not allowed to lead a pack.” The man’s chin inched upwards, and Tommy’s eyes followed the movement. It was probably an unconscious behavior, one Tommy had modeled many times in the past. He would not be submitting to anyone now.

“And what would happen, theoretically, if I was not of age?” Tommy was not admitting anything to this man who had played his cards too soon. Tommy was not gonna let anything happen to him or his boys while he was still alive. He had killed one tyrant. He was not afraid to kill anyone who tried to control him again.

Chris’s chin inched upwards again. “Theoretically, I would have to report it to the Shadow Patrol. They would probably do some research into your situation, and then find you a suitable pack to stay with until you turn eighteen, where you could take custody of your pack again. I…”

“And,” Tommy interrupted with a soft growl, “If I am of age?” He definitely did not want more random government officials in his home. He was sure he could take on Chris from Arizona, who wanted to talk about finances. He was not sure he could take on a whole task force of fully grown, well fed werewolves, at least not until he bulked up a little.

This past month had been good for his pack. Without Dream’s stranglehold on the money, they could afford enough groceries. They could afford anything they wanted, really. The Wyoming pack was not swimming in money, but they had enough to last them a long time if they spent it wisely. However, Dream’s version of spending it wisely was starving half to death, shivering under too-thin blankets in an unheated house in the middle of winter. Tommy and his boys were not as thin as they were a month ago, but they had a lot to catch up on if they wanted to ever be as big as Dream was.

Brows furrowed, Chris responded, “If you were a legal adult, I would still need to report the change in power to the Wyoming Branch of the Shadow Patrol. A new Alpha has to be monitored to ensure that they are capable of leading a pack. They need to agree to work with the Shadow Patrol and will be watched closely for a full year before they are trusted as a leader.” He seemed to hesitate once more, and then raised his chin up just a little bit more. “I…hate to ask, but, um, do you have any documentation with your age on it? Like a birth certificate or ID?”

Tommy knew for a fact that he had neither. Dream had “rescued” him and the rest of his boys from a rival pack when the three of them were very little. He had no reason to grab their birth certificates, social security cards, or anything of the sort before burning their pack to the ground. According to the local or national government, Tommy, Tubbo, and Ranboo were dead alongside their families. Dream worked hard to keep it that way. Tommy knew he was sixteen because Dream told him he was. He had nothing to give Chris, even if he had wanted to uproot his pack he had worked so hard to free.

Since he had nothing, he had to bluff. “I would not be willing to hand over my personal information without probable cause and a search warrant. You are lucky to be in my home at the moment.” Tommy just had to hope that Chris would not see through the lie.

Chris seemed to wince, minutely. “I see,” he said, bringing a hand up and dragging it down his face. He stood slowly, a careful maneuver, and reached a hand toward Tommy.

Tommy stared, for a moment, as if the offered hand had offended him. He stood. He then reached out and shook, quickly and forcefully, before releasing his hand and bringing his own back toward his chest. Hmm. He wasn’t quite used to touching strangers yet. Most of his life had just been kind touches from his pack mates and painful touches from his Alpha. Dream. He no longer had power over Tommy.

Anyway. Chris.

“May I show you the door?” Tommy asked, “Or would you like to stay for a drink?” Tommy accentuated the offer with enough fang that Chris would have to be dumb to not recognize the threat.

Chris, obviously understanding, made for the doorway. As he opened the door covered in locks to leave, Chris turned back. “Tommy. As much as I would love to let this be. I have to tell SP about this. I legally have to. I trust you have your pack under control, and to have killed your own Alpha at such a young age, you’d have to be very powerful. But the law demands supervision of new Alphas. You’ll probably be hearing from them within the week.”

Tommy would just…deal with that later. When the time arose. He did not say anything more to the man in his house.

Just before the door slammed behind Chris, Tommy heard a quiet, “Good luck, Tommy,” and then nothing else as the man walked away.

Tommy felt a heavy weight overcome him. A pressure built behind his eyes, and he sank against the closed door. He didn’t know if he was handling this right, and all of the pressure fell on his shoulders, as Alpha. He felt like sobbing. The weight centered on his chest, and he recognized the pit where his very soul should rest. Maybe if he cried he would feel better? But then Tubbo would recognize his puffy eyes and ask him what had him so worked up, and he’d have to confide that maybe he didn’t know what he was doing, after all. Anything was better than Dream, but at least he knew how to act under Dream’s guidance. No one had warned him that being an Alpha would be so hard.

He had to blink away the tears that had collected under his eyelashes, and then he decided that sitting on the floor feeling sorry for himself was not the solution. He stood, locked the door, and walked into the kitchen. He could provide food for his sleeping pack, at the very least.

Chapter Text

Tommy whipped up some scrambled eggs and bacon, and grabbed a few oranges. That felt like a well balanced meal. Ish. Well, the boys would probably like it.

Speaking of the boys, a loud clatter could be heard from upstairs.

He made them breakfast-might as well go see if he could catch them for breakfast in bed.

Tommy put on a well-worn smile and brought the plates upstairs. The room still smelled of Dream, and his matcha scent, but they had cleaned as much as they could, and now the room they shared smelled mostly of grasses and meadows, with a touch of smoke.

“Tommy! Big man! You’ve brought food!” Tubbo exclaimed from where he was hanging, upside down over the bed.

The bastard could probably smell it as he was making it downstairs, but waited until Tommy was right outside the door to say anything. Lazy ass.

It was worth it to hear Tubbo’s voice without fear.

“Good morning, Tommy. Thank you for making us breakfast.” Ranboo was just as feral as the rest of them. Tommy wouldn’t let this polite facade fool him. Tommy set the plates of food on the dresser.

“Good morning, fuckers. We’ve got a situation. I think I need your help.” Tommy replied. Both of his boys perked up at that, Tubbo flipping back over and sitting up. They knew it had to be bad for Tommy to ask for help. He may have a slight tendency to take all of the responsibility upon himself. Like the situation with Dream.

“What’s going on? Are we being hunted?” And. Oh yeah. That’s why he didn’t ask Ranboo for help with things. He tended to catastrophize immediately. Tommy could see the slight tremors in his hands as Ranboo looked up at him.

Tommy closed the gap between him and the two on the bed. He set a hand on the back of Ranboo’s neck and laid both of his legs over Tubbo’s lap. Ranboo took a deep breath, seemingly calmed, and Tommy felt that even if they weren’t 100% ready for this conversation, he was there to help them calm down.

“I spoke to an agent of the Shadow Patrol while you guys were out.” Ranboo gasped, and Tubbo went through the motions of checking him for injuries, “Boys. I’m fine. He couldn’t have hurt me if he tried.”

“The important thing that y’all need to know is that I can and will handle whatever happens. But some help looking into local law and Shadow Patrol regulations would make my life easier. I have no problem lying to the SP to get what we need. But I don’t think I…”

“We” Tubbo interjected.

“...We could win an all out brawl with these guys. Even assuming they play fair, none of us are full grown werewolves yet. Dream wasn’t the biggest werewolf out there, and I still had a hell of a time taking him down.”

“You wouldn’t be by yourself, Tommy,” Tubbo said. Tommy knew that! He, just, also knew that he wasn’t gonna let either of the younger boys get hurt. He had worked so hard to keep them safe, and it wasn’t enough until Dream was out of the picture. He wasn’t gonna put them in an unsafe situation again.
“I know, Tubbo,” Tommy replied, “I just want to keep you safe. It’s my job to keep you safe.”

“And it’s our job to protect and support you,” Ranboo said.

“Yeah big man! We’re not gonna let you down,” Tubbo emphasized. They were trying to make him feel better, but his stomach sank with the kind words. He didn’t want to watch them get hurt ever again.

-----

Technoblade genuinely had no idea what was goin' to happen next. Apparently, Dream, his old rival, was dead to his Beta. Years of peace and affirmations that everything was goin' well, and he’s dead at the drop of a hat.

It’s not like Dream was a great guy, but something had to be Very Wrong in a pack for a Beta to kill their Alpha like that. Hell, Techno didn’t even know Dream had a pack. He had told Techno that he was alone up there in Wyomin'.

He’s just now learnin' that there’s a Beta powerful enough to kill his old friend, as well as possible other wolves that had been under Dream’s leadership.

The SP agent he had talked to seemed adamant that the Beta was underage, as well. Not only had the Beta been strong enough to kill Dream, he either was not fully grown or young and small enough to seem under the age of eighteen.

Techno had no idea what to do. He already had a stable pack dynamic without adding a newly minted Alpha plus unspecified pack into the mix. Phil balanced Techno out, by bein' a more sympathetic ear to cry to when Techno was apathetic and by bein', if only minorly, less threatenin' in appearance.

Niki was less bloodthirsty and had a more even head than the both of them, everyone in the pack had a role and everyone fit in.

How could he ruin that, in good conscience?

And, if he didn’t offer, would the SP really ask him to?

Techno had some thinkin' to do.

Chapter Text

Strollin' through the compound, Techno could already tell he was not goin' to enjoy this next conversation. He had called both his Beta and his Gamma to the main house to talk.

He already had his mind set that they weren’t going to take in Dream’s pack. He didn’t do well with strangers, he liked to feel safe in his own home, and he didn’t want to deal with some upstart kid that was probably a danger to himself and the people that he was protectin'.

Besides. If they wanted a new kid around the compound, they could tell Phil and Kristin to hurry it up and have some pups. Or he could bite someone he knew they liked.

It didn’t have to be this kid that they knew was dangerous. It didn’t have to be another Alpha and their pack.

So. Techno could not, in good faith, accept these kids into his home.

Besides, they killed Dream, and you know what Techno says about Orphans.

He reached the main house, his home, and walked in. Phil and Niki were already settled into the War room, sitting in their appropriate chairs. He sat in his chair at the head of the table, flanked by the packmates he trusted the most.

“Phil. Niki. Thank you for meetin’ with me,” Techno said.

“Of course, mate. Was there anything on your mind in particular, or?” Just being next to Phil made everythin' better. He was so glad he had him as a Beta.

“Yup. I received a call yesterday. From the Shadow Patrol,” Techno answered.

“Oh, really? What did they want?” Niki asks.

“My old…rival, Dream, was killed,” He wished he didn’t have to have this conversation at all, actually.

“Good God! Who was strong enough to kill a rival of yours?” Phil exclaimed. They hadn’t even reached the hard part yet.

“Apparently Dream had a pack out there with him. And his Beta, who looks suspiciously like a kid, killed him about a month ago. He didn’t tell anyone, and the only reason someone made the trek out there to check on them is cause they missed a SP payment. The kid probably didn’t know they needed to bribe the fuck outta the government to stop them from sniffin’ around their business,” Techno filled them in.

“Jesus fucking christ, mate! Beta’s don’t just kill their Alpha’s for fun,” Phil was obviously not gonna let this go as easily as Techno wanted him to.

Techno just wanted to be done with this. He could go back to not worryin' about random teenage Alphas popping up, and he could be proud of the fact that not only did he talk to the SP officer, but he talked through his decision with his most trusted pack mates.

“You said he looked like a kid? Is he eighteen?” Niki asked. And. Right. The kid might not even be old enough to lead the pack he stole from Dream.

“They weren’t sure. They said he kicked the agent off of their property pretty quick. The guy walked in there woefully unprepared to deal with a new Alpha,” Techno answered.

“Wait. If this is a kid, what’s gonna happen to him? Minors are not allowed to take the role of Alpha. Do we even know if he is a true Alpha? Has he proven an Anubis form?” Phil asked.

“Phil. I don’t have the answers to those questions. No one has an answer to any of those. The SP has had one interaction with the kid, and he threatened the agent out of his house when the questions turned just a touch too invasive. They only called me cause I knew Dream,” Techno responded.

Please. Phil. Techno had already decided not to keep the kid.

“Well. Keep us updated. If he is just a kid, he and his pack will need someplace to go, and we have the space,” Phil said.

“No no no. Phil. You don’t understand, c’mon Phil. This kid is dangerous. He killed my rival, remember. And you know how much I hate people I don’t know in my compound. Uh uh. Nope,” Techno immediately replied.

“Your call, Alpha. But don’t make any large decisions without thinking about it,” Phil responded, showing Techno his neck to prove he wasn’t challenging his authority.

“I have thought about it! And I don’t want anythin’ to do with the kid,” Techno argued.

“ Hey...hey. Techno, we’re not trying to fight you on this. We’re not undermining your judgment. We trust you,” And that was why he invited Niki. While he and Phil tended to get a bit hot-headed, Niki was strong enough to be heard and she tended to keep the conversations productive.

Feeling a little better, Techno said, “Thank you, Niki. Well. I just wanted to keep you guys in the loop. That’s all I wanted to talk about.”

“Of course, mate,”

“Anytime, Techno,”

“Alright. I’m definitely not goin’ to go hide in my room. Get outta my house.” Techno said, with just a hint of fondness for his Beta and Gamma.

Talking to his packmates hadn’t fixed the Dream situation, but he felt a little less anxious about the whole experience.

He hated when Phil was right, but talkin' through things did occasionally make things better.

He headed upstairs, ate a snack, and decided a nap would be good for him.

Chapter Text

Tommy felt he had a better grasp on what was going on than he did a few days ago.

After hours of research, both of Dream’s notes in his office and the books in the local library, Tommy had a wealth of information on the Shadow Patrol.

It still wasn’t looking good.

Tommy knew Dream was paranoid, but he hadn’t realized the extent to which he’d gone to erase Tommy, Tubbo, and Ranboo from history. They didn’t have social security cards, they were missing their birth certificates, and they definitely were not registered with the SP. That was another thing he’d have to rectify before the SP would leave them alone.

He didn’t have a single form of identification, much less anything with his true age on it. In some forms, this was very helpful! Not having a presence in paperwork meant that there was no proof that he was not 18. He wouldn’t have to disprove those forms if they did not exist.

But he also didn’t have anything to prove he was 18. He had to prove his age to the SP sufficiently enough that they would leave him alone, and he didn’t have anything but his word. And. Well. He’d claim his word was good enough, but he was lying to them, so maybe they shouldn’t believe him.

Chris from Arizona wasn’t lying to him, either. Minors were not allowed to have packs, under any condition. It didn’t matter that Dream had abused them, or that he had proven that he was strong enough to protect his own. It didn’t matter that he was older mentally than a 16 year old should be. The rule was universal.

There were no exemptions made in SP history.

So Tommy had to lie.

And even if they fully believe his lie, they would still monitor him and his pack to ensure that he was safe for his pack and for the people in the town around them.

Tommy didn’t know how he was going to get the best result out of this. He didn’t even know if he was going to get a good result.

He could mess this up and Tubbo and Ranboo could be hurt. They could be separated or, even worse, find themselves with another guardian like Dream.

Everything could go wrong.

Tommy heard a knock on the door downstairs.

Well.

Showtime, baby.

The boys knew what they were supposed to do if someone knocked on their door. They also knew the signal that meant that Tommy needed help, or that they needed to run away.

Tommy only hoped that he had prepared enough to get a good solution.

Tommy unlocked the door and opened it to find an unfamiliar werewolf. He looked peeved that he had had to wait for Tommy to unlock and open the door, but otherwise was mostly calm.

He looked at him for a moment, and saw that he looked nothing like Chris. While Chris had been here with the assumption that they would do some paperwork and he’d leave, this man almost looked like he was here for a fight. He was bigger than Dream was by quite a bit.

“Well, kid, are you gonna let me in, or just keep starin’,” the man asked, his voice rumbling through the house.

“I will… let you in. Welcome to the home of the Wyoming Pack,” Tommy would not submit to anyone again, not after Dream, but when dealing with a man this big, it couldn’t hurt to be polite.

“Thank you. I’m Brett Cooper, head of the Pack Division in the Shadow Patrol. I’m here because you killed your Alpha, and because there were suspicions that you were under the age of eighteen. Could you make me a cup of tea? I didn't have the chance to grab a cup before I came over here.” As he talked, he moved to the kitchen counter, where he could watch as Tommy rummaged through one of their cabinets.

“Sure,” Tommy agreed.

As Tommy found a bag of tea that was not matcha, he grabbed the kettle and said, “Well, Good morning, Brett. My name is Tommy.

“So, Tommy, Alpha of the Wyoming Pack, I need you to realize that we have a lot to cover. Since we didn’t know that your former Alpha, Dream, was dead, we didn’t have the chance to work with you when it happened. Even though it’s been, how long? A month, was it?”

“Yes,” Tommy responded.

“Even though it’s been a month now, we still have to follow the procedure for when an Alpha dies. We recognize that with werewolves, changes in power can easily equal death to the loser, but in the eyes of the typical law it is still considered murder. I’m here to work with you to prove that Dream’s death was necessary in the change in power, otherwise you could be prosecuted for it. That’s what the Shadow Patrol was made to help with.”

“Do you understand everything that I’ve told you so far?” Brett asked.

“Yeah, I think I get it,” Tommy replied.

Even with all the research Tommy had done, he still felt out of his depth. He had thought most of these questions would be about verifying his age, not about Dream. And what was that about prosecution? Tommy didn’t even realize jail time was even an option.

“First and foremost, do you know your full name?”

“Last I heard, it was Theseus Wastaken. I go by just Tommy, however,”

“Thank you. And how many people were in your pack before you killed Dream?”

“There were four of us,”

“Including you, correct?”

“Yes, including me. Four total members,” Tommy answered.

“So, for the record, I have your previous Alpha, Dream, as well as you, the current Alpha, Tommy. Can I have the names of the remaining two pack members?” Brett asked.

“Tubbo and Ranboo,” Tommy really hoped that giving up his boy's names wouldn’t be something he regretted in the future. He wanted to comply, but he also wanted to walk out of here with everything he wanted. He didn’t know what the balance was with Brett.

The kettle started to screech behind Tommy, causing him to jump.

He quickly gained back his composure and grabbed a cup out of the top cabinet to pour Brett his tea. He noticed him pull out his phone, and it looked like he was maybe texting someone as Tommy was busy in the kitchen.

“Thank you for making me a cup,” Brett said, as Tommy placed it in front of him.

“I’m going to continue asking you questions now, if that’s okay with you? We can take a break if need be,”

“No thank you. I’m good to keep going,” Tommy would like Brett to be out of his house as soon as possible.

“Alright.”

“What was the pack dynamic before the previous Alpha’s death?” Brett questioned.

“Dream was the Alpha, I was the Beta, and Tubbo was acting as Gamma. Me and Tubbo didn’t have much influence, though. Dream made all the decisions.” Tommy didn’t know why the agent cared about any of this stuff. Wasn’t he just here to see if Tommy was old enough to be an Alpha?

“Okay. Did Dream ever punish you or your packmates in a way that felt unfair or unjust for the behavior that caused the punishment?”

“Why do you need to know, asshole?” Tommy snapped back.

“Tommy. I don’t mean to offend you. I am merely trying to ascertain if you killed him in self defense or not. You do not have to answer the question if you do not want to,” Brett reassured.

Tommy frowned. This shit had haunted him for years and Brett was reducing it to a few questions. It didn’t feel like he cared about Tommy or his boys. Would he even be believed if he told the truth?

Might as well get it over with, though.

“Yes. It frequently felt like his punishments were too harsh,” Tommy gritted out.

“Thank you, Tommy. I appreciate you working with me here,” Brett replied, his tone even.

“Now, can you describe what the event that ended in Dream’s death looked like?” Brett asked.

“I tried to keep it as traditional as possible, even if Dream was adamant that he didn’t fight me. He didn’t want to give up power over me. If I had asked him and prepared a time, like normal packs do, he would have crippled me the day before to stop me from winning. I had to sneak out to even look up how to challenge him. I ended up following him outside one day, said the words as quickly as possible, and shifted. When I started fighting he had no issue fighting back. I won.”

Tommy reflected on the moment briefly. It was both a planned and an impulse decision. He knew that he wanted to get it over with at the next opportunity. But it wasn’t until he found Ranboo bloody and crying that he charged out after Dream.

Brett’s phone pinged and he glanced at it.

“Did you feel like you were protecting one or both of your packmates during this event?” Brett’s words were quiet.

“Yes.”

“Did you feel as if Dream would have killed you if you had not killed him?”

“Yes. Without hesitation.”

“Okay. Thank you, Tommy. That should cover all of our bounds in Dream’s regard,” Brett seemed both relieved and sad about the situation.

“The next course of action is a power assessment. We need to know how strong you are and get you and your pack registered with the SP. Typically we do power assessments and registrations at a younger age, but since Dream never told us you even existed, we’ll have to do them now,” Okay. Perhaps they were just assuming that he was 18. It would be really nice if he didn’t have to lie at all.

“After that, we’ll have to find a pack that’s willing to take you boys and is strong enough to handle you. You’ll stay with them until you’re a little older and then we can reassess the situation,” Brett said, as if that made any sense to Tommy.

“Wait. Wait, wait, wait. Why do we have to go to a foster pack? I’m old enough to lead,” Tommy objected. Chris said if he was of age he wouldn’t have to leave. The regulations of the Shadow Patrol didn’t say any different. He had done the research. Were they not even going to give him the chance to lie?

Brett grimaced, “When you told me your true name I had one of my agents look for any documents you or your packmates could have. They didn’t find anything in the databases, but they did find three gravestones that matched your names. They said that you were 16, as of this April, and that Tubbo and Ranboo were both 14. That puts all of you under the minimum age to lead a pack,” He looked a little ashamed.

Tommy wanted to scream and cry at the same time. He had a plan for how this conversation was supposed to go, and then it wasn’t what he expected at all. He had hoped that he could sway the conversation and stay here, but apparently there wasn’t anything he could do.

There wasn’t anything he could do.

“Fuck you, Brett,” Tommy said bitterly, “Get the hell out of my house.”

“If that’s what you want, Tommy. We’ll be back tomorrow to take the three of you in for that power assessment. After that it’ll probably be about a week before we can find a pack willing to take you boys in. I’m sorry, Tommy, that you have to deal with this.” Brett sounded both firm and apologetic. Tommy could tell he wasn’t budging on this.

“Fucking, Fine! Just get out!” Tommy was almost shouting at this point.

“Goodbye, Tommy. I’ll see you tomorrow,” Brett said, before standing and exiting.

Tommy locked the door behind him and then promptly burst into tears.

Chapter Text

As soon as the door had been shut, Tubbo and Ranboo had rushed down the stairs to comfort Tommy. With both of his packmates on his lap, Tommy felt a little better and a little worse, at the same time.

He had failed them.

And now he had no idea what was going to happen next.

What did a power assessment even look like? Would they hit Tommy until he couldn’t stand? Would they force him to transform over and over again until he collapsed from exhaustion?
Would they see how much silver he could tolerate before they had to call a medic in?

His mind was racing with all the possible, horrible expectations of what the next day would be like. And, the worst part, Tubbo and Ranboo would be coming with. He couldn’t hide them away like he had been doing so far, and Tommy couldn’t protect them like he was supposed to be able to do, as their Alpha.

He was supposed to protect them.

He cried into their arms, heaving for breath, unable to stop his sobs.

Ranboo made a few soft, comforting noises, and Tubbo stuck his whole neck into the space under Tommy’s chin.

They let Tommy cry himself out, and Tommy felt both more worn and a little less fragile by the end of it.

They decided on an early bedtime and Tommy didn’t have it in him to argue.

The next morning, as Tommy woke up, he was overwhelmed with a feeling of dread. The power assessment was today, and he still had no idea what it entailed. Worse, he knew the SP would be coming at some point today, but Brett never specified when, so he was stuck waiting the whole day for them to arrive.

He took the first shower in Dream’s bathroom, using the toiletries he had bought for his pack after Dream had died, and then went to go make food as the two younger boys took their turns in the bathroom.

He decided to make pancakes, and if the SP agents came into his house while he was cooking, he’d fucking make them wait outside the door.

Breakfast came and went without incident, or a knock from the SP.

Clean and fed, the only thing the Wyoming pack could do was wait.

And then waiting got really boring.

“Tommy. Can’t we do something? Anything, big man? I think I’m dying,” Tubbo complained.

“I don’t want them to catch us off guard, Tubster,” Tommy replied, trying to hide his boredom.

“Please, Tommy! Can we go outside? Please?” Ranboo begged. Tommy was being ganged up on by his younger brothers.

It didn’t help that he hated denying them anything.

Less than a month ago they would not have dared to ask to leave the house just for a bit of fun.

“Fine, fine. Let's go outside,” Tommy gave in, and unlocked the door so the boys could run out.

They were lucky it wasn’t snowing. It was just barely spring in Wyoming, and it wasn’t unheard of for it to snow all the way until summer. It wasn’t warm, but it wasn’t truly cold, either. Not with the sun shining. He still brought out their newly bought hoodies for any of them to put on if they got too cold.

Tubbo and Ranboo were running around, chasing after one another. Whenever Ranboo would catch Tubbo, he would scoop him into his arms. When Tubbo caught up to Ranboo, he would kick him in the shins. All in all, and hopefully, Tommy thought to himself, good werewolf playing.

They certainly looked like they were having fun. Tommy supervised and watched for any sign of a car pulling up.

After about 15 minutes, they came over and asked for their jackets. Heh. L.

Tommy gave them another 15 ish minutes outside, and then the anxiety of being out of the house got to be too much, and then he called them inside. They looked at him a bit sadly, but they also understood.

They cuddled up on the couch until Tommy heard a knock on the door.

For the third time this week, he went to unlock the door, but this was the first time Tubbo and Ranboo were downstairs when he opened it.

It was Brett, accompanied by two other werewolves Tommy had never met before.

“Hello again, Tommy,” Brett waved.

“Hello, Bitch,” Tommy responded.

“Are you ready for today?”

“As ready as I’m gonna be,”

“Alright. Well, the nearest facility is about an hour and a half away, by car.” Brett told them.

“Okay? It’s not like I can tell you no. Fucker.” Tommy replied, bitterly.

“I guess you’re right, Tommy. I’m sorry your situation has to be this way.” Brett seemed resigned about the whole situation, “Will you and your boys get in the car?”

“Fine,” Tommy looked at Tubbo and Ranboo, and then in a much softer tone said, “We’re leaving now, yeah? Put on your coats before we go outside.”

As Tubbo, Ranboo, and Tommy put on their shoes and hoodies, Brett brought his two agents out to the car.

They got into the already running vehicle, Tommy in the middle row with Brett, and Tubbo and Ranboo in the back row. Tommy was quiet throughout the whole drive, resting his head on his chin. He wished everything would stay where it was, but all the control he thought he had was ripped out from his hands.

When they got to the SP facility, Brett had the teenagers get out of the car. He brought them into the building, the two extra SP agents splitting off from the group. There was an entry room with a receptionist's desk that they bypassed, and then they were brought into an indoor practice room that looked kind of like a courtyard. Tommy wasn’t sure what it was called when there was a chunk of outside indoors.

“This is the room that we do our power assessments in,” Brett said, interrupting Tommy’s thoughts. Tommy noticed a few practice dummies as well as some technology he was unfamiliar with littering the room. One of the dummies was shaped like a large wolf. It was still made of the same material of the other dummies.

“We do power assessments one at a time, to see where you fall on some of our scales. I know this can be stressful, but the pack members who are not participating can watch, and we will try not to separate you boys further,”

Brett must have noticed how close Tommy was keeping Tubbo and Ranboo to him. To an outsider, they all probably looked calm, but Tommy could see Ranboo trembling and the hard set of Tubbo’s jaw that told him how uncomfortable his boys were with this situation. It was all very unfamiliar and new. However, knowing that they were just one room away, watching, calmed Tommy’s nerves a little bit.

“I’ll go first,” Tommy volunteered. If it was awful, he could try and get Tubbo and Ranboo out before they had to do theirs. If it wasn’t too bad, he could reassure them before they had to go in by themselves. They hopefully wouldn’t torture him too bad if his young packmates were watching.

“Sounds good. I’ll get the room all set up. There will be a portion of the assessment that will require your wolf form. I will let you know when that is needed when it comes up.”

“Okay.” Brett started rummaging around the room, grabbing a weird block out of a box hidden somewhere in the floor, and then grabbed a small, black, log shaped item out of a compartment in one of the trees. Why? Why was this room so weird? And what was Tommy expected to do in there?

“That should be everything we need for our test. I’m gonna take Tubbo and Ranboo here to our viewing room, where they’ll be able to see everything that goes on. You will receive instructions via a loudspeaker. If you are uncomfortable doing a task, please either let us know or bark three times in wolf form and we will move on,” And with that, Brett left the room, and with Tommy’s nod, Tubbo and Ranboo followed him.

As Tommy was waiting for Brett to reach wherever he was going, he fidgeted with the bottom of his hoodie. He only had to wait a few minutes when the loudspeaker clicked on, “Hello, Tommy. Can you hear me?”

“Loud and clear, bitch.”

“That’s good. We can hear you as well. Are you ready to start your power assessment?”

“Yep.”

“Sounds good. Some of these instructions are script-based, as in we ask the same questions to every wolf that comes in here. However, if something unusual happens, I may ask you some follow-up questions to see how far you’ll go. Does that sound okay?”

“Yes,” Tommy was getting impatient with all of the talking shit. If they were gonna torture him, why would they talk to him so much beforehand?

“Perfect. Your first task, Tommy, is to show your fighting skill, as a human, against one of the training dummies provided in front of you.”

That didn’t sound too bad, actually. Tommy walked up to the dummy. Just to see what happened, he punched it lightly.

Nothing happened. He didn’t know why he expected it to.

He punched the dummy harder. Nothing broke. It barely even budged. Well. Obviously, he. The Biggest Man. Could hit the dummy. He whacked it a few more times. It felt pointless.

“What am I trying to achieve here, big man? I’m not trained in martial arts. This dummy isn’t trying to kill me. I don’t understand what I’m trying to prove.”

“The goal of this test is to assess how strong you can punch. You can also kick, or in any other way attack the dummy, as long as you are in human form.”

“Ah. Cool.”

Tommy, now understanding that this task was meant to be pointless, hit the dummy a few more times. He punched it hard enough that it tilted, almost falling over, and then kicked it a few times. Once he got bored uselessly hitting the dummy, he looked back up, waiting for the loudspeaker to kick on once more.

“Alright. In one of the black boxes to your left, there should be a clipboard with a paper and pen attached. On it are a few fictional situations involving your pack and outsiders. Please take a few minutes and describe the solutions you would implement in these fictional situations.”

On the sheet there were a variety of questions like, “What would you do if a lone wolf entered your territory uninvited?” and “If a pack member challenged you, how would you de escalate or control the situation so it does not end with death?”

Tommy once again could not decipher the meaning of this task, but this time he did not question it. He just filled out the questionnaire as best as he could, and then looked up when he was finished.

“Thank you, Tommy. In that same box, there is a puzzle cube. Please solve it to the best of your ability.”

Tommy looked at the cube. It was black as the main color, but it had knobbs that were in a few different colors.

He tested it by pulling one of the knobs. It didn’t do anything that he could see. Pushing the knob in revealed that it made a small noise. Every other knob also made a noise, ranging from very high, to very low. He pushed the knobs in sequence from the highest to the lowest, and the box clicked open to reveal a hershey kiss.

“Can I eat this?” Tommy asked.

“Yes, Tommy.” Tommy popped the kiss in his mouth, “Now you have a choice to make. Would you like to try a few more puzzles, or would you like to move on to the wolf half of your assessment?”

Hmmm. More chocolate? Or transforming into a wolf? At least he knew the result of the puzzle boxes was good. “I’d rather do a few more puzzles.”

“That works. In the box furthest to your left, there are three more cubes, ranked from easiest to hardest. Complete as many as you are able and then we will move on.”

“Okay.”

Tommy found the box at his left, and opened it. There were the three cubes, as promised.

Tommy grabbed the left-most cube and looked at it. This cube had a lock on one side that spun, as well as a variety of numbers on every side without a lock. Some of the numbers were black, some were in all the colors of the rainbow, and some were painted a silvery color so that they shone. Above the lock was the word, “RED”. Tommy first tried finding every red number, but there were far more than he could fit on the lock. He frowned at the cube for a moment, and then entered “18, 5, 4” into the number lock and it popped open. He ate the kiss inside.

The next cube over seemed to be a solid black smooth cube. Upon closer inspection, he found a notch in one of the sides, and the black casing on that side popped off. It revealed another side covered in numbers, this time all black on the white background. He tried to discern a pattern, then played around with the sides to try and find more notches. He popped off the opposite side to find a five digit number lock. He looked, but did not find any more notches in the smooth cube. After trying to puzzle out the numbers for a minute, he picked back up the two side pieces he had previously discarded. After doing so, he realized one of them had small notches in the plastic, and he popped out five tiny squares. He then lined up the side piece with the numbers, and entered the numbers that peered through the plastic into the lock on the opposite side. The cube opened, revealing another kiss. He saved this one for later.

The last box had a map on one side of it, and then six locations written out on the side next to it. One of the sides popped off to reveal a purple lock with a center button that moved, surrounded by an up, down, left and right arrow. The last side had a location named on it. Assuming that location was the focal point, Tommy looked at the map and identified which cardinal direction each of the six locations on the map was from the main location. He then put them in the correct order, and pushed the button on the lock toward the arrows that the directions signified. The lock clicked, and the cube opened, revealing the final kiss. He didn’t eat this one, either, just set it aside for later.

“I finished my cubes.” Tommy pointed out.

“Good job, Tommy. The next part of your assessment requires you to be in your wolf shape, so if you would transform for us, that would be helpful.”

Tommy shifted. Traditionally, shifting was a very easy thing for werewolves. It was well practiced, something they did often, both out of necessity when the full moon approached, and for fun, among packmates.

This was not the truth for Tommy and his pack. Dream had hated shifting. He had demanded that they never do it outside of the moon, as it could get them caught by hunters. Even on full moons they were not allowed to run outside as wolves, but instead were locked downstairs in silver chains, to guarantee that no one would recognize the boys for werewolves.

Shifting was something Tommy had done every full moon for his entire life, and he could only think of two times it had not ended in pain.

He was hoping this would be a third.

As he slid into wolf form he automatically slunk into a defensive position, a growl already low in his throat. He was far bigger than he was as a human. Even though he was still malnourished as a wolf, he was huge. More weight on his bones, and he might stand up to a man's chest. He was tawny in color, having retained some of the blonde from his hair in his wolf form.

“Thank you, Tommy. I’m going to ask that you bark once to signify a no, and that you bark twice to signify a yes. Can you understand me?”

Tommy woofed twice.

“I’m glad. We are going to be doing some basic cognitive tests, followed by a few strength tests. In short, we want to know how smart you are and how strong you are in wolf form. Is that okay with you?”

Tommy woofed twice again.

“Alright. Look to the box on your far right. Open the box and you should find a puzzle cube similar to the ones you did as a human.

Tommy nosed over and found the cube. It smelled like peanut butter. On one side, there was a relatively simple maze, which he could alter by tilting the cube. He could move it by picking it up in his mouth and rotating his whole head. He moved the tiny metal ball until it fell into the hole at the end of the maze. The cube clicked open. Mmmmm peanut butter. This shit was the bomb.

After Tommy had licked all of the peanut butter out of the inside of the cube, he barked twice at the ceiling.

“Nice job, Tommy. Next, there is a tripod shaped mount that you can place the log shaped sensor on to prepare for the next test.”

Tommy looked over at the log contraption he had noticed Brett take out of the tree earlier that day. He picked it up in his mouth and looked for the tripod thingy. He did a first pass over the floor and didn’t see it. Hmmm. Where was it? He knew that it was in there somewhere, cause Brett had told him to find it. Another pass revealed a folded up metal thing that could be a tripod, if he unfolded it.

He dropped his log, and went to go nose over the metal. Brett, as well as a few other werewolves had touched it recently. It had a rubber band closing the legs together. Hmmm. He didn’t want to snap it if it was important. He licked it a few times, and then slowly drug it up the pole with his teeth. After a few minutes of slowly dragging the band up the pole, the legs sprung out! Success! He grabbed it and brought it to the center of the room, where the log was. He picked up the log and tried to stick the thin metal of the pole through the hole in the middle of the log. After a few tries, it slid in! Nice!

Tommy barked at the ceiling two more times, signaling that he was ready for his next instruction.

“Very good, Tommy. Now please bite the log-shaped sensor as hard as you can. Don’t be afraid to break it, as we are trying to measure your bite strength,”

How was Tommy supposed to get at it? Just, go for it? Tommy supposed he would just try his best and then hopefully they could move on.

Tommy backed up the he was going to attack, and then sprung up, biting the log as hard as he could. He then threw it to the floor behind him, and woofed twice.

“Thank you, Tommy. I appreciate your patience with this process. I’m going to send down your pack members. Please take a few minutes to change back into your human form and talk with your packmates.”

Tommy woofed twice, happily. He loved Tubbo and Ranboo. And he missed them.

-----

Brett shook his head softly. He had known Tommy was strong. He had known he was dangerous. But this kid had done exceptional on his power assessment. He had beaten the scores of most full grown Alphas, far surpassing any typical werewolves score.

It wasn’t that he was upset that Tommy had done well. It's that he didn’t know where he was going to put the kid. Alpha’s under the age of eighteen were required to be “fostered” until they were old enough to be on their own. Tommy was, undoubtedly, a minor. They couldn’t just leave him to his own devices. But there just weren't very many packs strong enough to handle a teen Alpha of this caliber.

He had one in mind, but the prickly bastard wasn’t going to enjoy it.

He picked up his phone, and dialed a number.

“Technoblade, Alpha of the California Pack, I have news, and you're not going to like it.”

Chapter Text

Technoblade was very fond of routine.

Pay the bills on the first of the month. Check on Wilbur, at least once or twice a week. Tea with Kristin and Niki every Wednesday afternoon. Family Dinner on Sunday. Dishes after every meal.

Some things must be maintained. Regardless of whatever was happenin’, his routine kept him sane.

Which is why he was a little peeved when, as he was eating a steak Sunday evenin’, surrounded by his family, he received a phone call.

As his phone rings, the rest of his pack lower their conversations. Probably to listen in, if they had supernatural hearing, or just out of respect for a phone call, if they didn't. Assholes.

He sighed, and picked up the ringin’ phone.

“Technoblade, Alpha of the California Pack, I have news, and you're not going to like it,” a voice said. Techno was immediately on edge. While he didn’t recognize the man's voice, it had the ‘down to business’ attitude of a SP agent.

Great.

“Hullo. Who are you and what do you want?” Techno responded, flatly.

“Hi. My name is Brett Cooper, head of the Pack Division in the Shadow Patrol. I’m calling in regard to Theseus Wastaken, the Beta,” the man, Brett, apparently, cleared his throat, “Alpha, now, of the Wyoming Pack. I’m here with the results from his power assessment.”

“Okay? I’m not sure why that’s relevant to me. I already told the SP I didn’t want the kid.”

“Unfortunately, that brings me to the news. Theseus scored in the 95th percentile for Alpha’s across the nation,” Brett paused, giving Techno time to process that information.

Techno made eye contact with Phil, sittin’ directly to his right. At this point, all of the werewolf members of his pack had dropped the facade of not listenin’ in, leaving Wilbur, looking a little confused, at the far side of the table. Phil raised his eyebrows.

“Theseus is also 16 years old,” Brett continued, “You can see how that puts us in a regrettable situation.”

“Do you have any other packs that can take him?”

“We would, under normal circumstances. There's not many Alpha’s out there who are more competent than this kid. Dream would have been one of our normal foster options, that bastard.”

“Hey, now, the man is dead,”

“Regardless, Dreams definitely not an option, Sams witch is currently out of commission, and Xisuma's busy with something happening over in New York. I wouldn’t have called if I had any other options.”

Fuck, man. It maybe wouldn’t have felt as much like a betrayal if he hadn’t already convinced himself, and Niki and Phil, that he wouldn’t take them in. It didn’t sound like he had a choice at this point.

Bruh. Why’d he have to deal with this shit.

“You’re right. I don’t like it.”

“I didn’t think you would. I’m sorry to put you in this situation, but I need to call in your cooperation with the Shadow Patrol. A denial on your part would result in losing the protection of the agency.”

Techno’s eyes bled red as he felt the rage surge.

But.

Technoblade couldn’t do that to his pack. While he could probably survive as a loner, he wanted to ensure safety and happiness for his family for years to come. If Kristin and Phil ever decide to have kids, or if they found anyone they wanted to add to the pack later on, they had to be safe.

He would give the world for his pack, if need be.

In this case, that meant giving up his own comfort and ease in this compound for two years.

“Fine,” Techno growled, “Let me know when they’ll be comin’ down here.”

“Thank you for your coop-”

“And next time do not forget who you’re talkin’ to. If you had been here, I would have torn out your throat. Remember your place.”

Brett left the line silent for a few tense seconds. Then, “Yes, Alpha.”

Techno hung up the phone.

And make slow eye contact with every member of his pack. Niki didn’t look scared, but had her neck fully exposed, probably to help sooth him. Wilbur looked apprehensive. Kristin’s brown eyes had specks of orange in them, and a glint of danger was visible in her small smile. Phil met his eyes, and he immediately reached over to grasp his forearm. The familiar weight was comfortin’ and warm.

Techno took a deep breath in, and dissolved all of both the leftover anger from his posture and the red from his eyes, allowin’ them to fade to their normal brown.

“So. In account of recent news, we’re gonna need to get ready for a few new arrivals. That means cleanin’ out a few empty rooms, in case they each want their own. Wil, you’ve gotta prep the wards, for people not keyed to them comin’ in and out.”

“Techno, mate, you weren’t super excited about even the premise of these kids, and now they’re coming to live here,” Phil said, “I know we might not have much of a choice in the matter, but is there anything I can do to help?”

“Phil. At this point I’m gonna prep as much as possible before they get there, and follow my routine before they’re are three orphans here messin’ it up.”

Techno stands, grabbin’ his plate and their custom bought steel silverware, and he heads to the sink to start doin’ the dishes.