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ROWAN CAIN
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To say he wasn't excited about their plans for the day was a gross understatement. He wanted to go, sure. He might have been one of the last to sigh and raise his hand, but he knew they had to do it. To leave. For Reggie.
Fuck Reggie. When they found him, Rowan was going to beat the shit out of him.
He turns sleepy eyes towards the window, it's frost covered but he can still see out easily enough to guess the time. The sun will be up so quickly, and soon the early risers would be getting to work. He's already pushing his time. He should move, the bed's cold anyway, but if he closes his eyes he can still feel Noah there. His warmth, his kisses, his nagging tone telling Row to get up. Barely remembers Noah going. Might have threatened to leave him?
As if.
He wishes they would have had just a bit longer. He doesn't worry a lot, but he's worrying now. There's so much out there they don't understand, and regardless once that gate is breached... things will never be the same again. This is it. His last second of normalcy. And he's alone.
He gets up finally. Finds half his clothes wherever they fell the night before. Laces his boots tighter than usual, drags a beanie over his messy hair and glances at the room one last time. It's Noah's, but it might as well be his too. Thinks about making the bed - he never does and it drives Noah crazy. But that feels really final. Like it'll mean they never expect to get back into it.
He grabs his bag off the ground, swings it over his shoulder, and pulls the baggie of nuts free from the corner between mattress and wall. They're too valuable to leave behind, and anyway, he's hungry.
He walks out of the Calloway house like it's any other day. Like it's not some ungodly hour of the morning. Like he's just going to work - a few hours after Noah, as always. Like he's not leaving with the possibility of never coming back.
He didn't say goodbye to anyone. Not his brothers or his parents. Didn't know how, and if he'd tried, they would have known something was up, so he didn't bother. It won't matter anyway, because once Everett realizes his ice tools are gone, he'll know Rowan did it. And when he doesn't come back for a couple of days, they'll know he's gone. They'll get it.
It's fucking cold outside but it's not like he expected any less. It's just going to get worse too, the farther away they get. He glances at the outline of the gates he can see from here, wonders what they're doing. But then he imagines Reggie's smiling face and remembers.
They have to find him.
He deserves better.
His place isn't far from Noah's, but if he goes the right way he can swing by the Den - the large enclosure on the edge of the community that held the wolves. It'd take a few extra minutes but he doesn't care much. Just wants to pop in and pop back out. He's not sure who will pick up the slack when he's gone. Regardless, they'll do a shit job. But the dogs are strong, they'll be fine.
It takes a few minutes but he has a key that lets him in through the front door. The Den is half building, half fenced off land. Always cold to keep the dogs acclimated, but providing them some shelter for health reasons. The wolves are awake mostly, though still curled up together, watching him without moving though their ears are perked up.
He drops his bag and crosses the dark cabin to pull down the jar of frozen peaches. That gets their attention, and he smiles as he listens to them all hurry stand and paw at the gate, needy whines reaching his ears. "Calm down I'm coming."
The way they're trained they sit when he raises the jar, and one by one he calls out a name and tosses the frozen treat high over the gate into a waiting mouth. It's only when he's nearing the end of the list that he realizes someone is missing. "Where's Mika?"
No one answers him, so he stands up on his toes to look passed the others and near the back. Mika's still laying down, half inside half out, his nose buried in the snow, both eyes focused on him. Right one amber, left one icey blue. Rowan taps on the gate and frowns at him. "Hey. Lazy ass. Come say goodbye."
It takes awhile, but eventually the wolfdog stands, shaking snow off it's face and walking over. It takes Rowan only a moment to catch sight of the angry red welt across Mika's snout. It's not deep, not bleeding, but it looks like it hurts. His jaw snaps and every levelheaded thought he's known for having flies right out the fucking window.
He's so sick of this shit.
He opens the gate and whatever his posture says keeps the others off of him, but Mika saunters through, more interested in the peaches in his hand. The shortest of the pack but still comes up to his waist. Rowan tosses him a treat and watches him move. Seems okay.
He sets aside the jar and drops to his knees to get on Mika's level. Lets the wolf press their noses together in greeting before he moves gentle fingers over the welt. Mika rumbles at him in warning, but Rowan just gives him a sharp look. It was a belt this time, he thinks. Can see where the metal dug in. Where the leather lashed. There are other scars. Criss-crosses that disrupt the pattern of his fur, one that's still pink beside that amber eye. It'd taken Rowan months to heal that one.
His blood runs hot and he's pissed. He stands up and grabs his bag off the floor, throwing open the office door and turning into the small vet clinic. There are lightweight emergency backup kits under the sink and he has a key for that too. Grabs one and tosses it into his bag before retracing his steps.
There isn't much in the office, but there is a big fuckin map, and it stops Rowan dead in his tracks. He doesn't think it's exactly reliable. Distance isn't measured. But the communities are on there. The fucking wilderness is on there. He grabs a chair and climbs up it, digging his fingers into the cloth at each corner until the damn thing comes down. Folds it up and shoves it in his bag too.
For the hell of it, he goes through drawers and opens cabinets, looking for anything else. The area is mostly for the dogs, information on them, shit he already knows. He grabs a spare knife, thinks about tipping the desk over, but freezes when the last drawer falls open to show walkie talkies.
They're solar powered, work long distance, and valuable as hell. The hunters use them in case of separation, or in case a dog gets too hurt they aren't going to find the others through howls.
Rowan grinds his teeth so hard they hurt.
He takes three.
"Noah's going to kill me," he decides as he walks through the Den without looking back. Mika's watching him with interest, and stands to attention when Rowan snaps his fingers in the wolfdogs direction.
"C'mon," he says, shouldering the door open. "Don't fuckin howl."
Mika slinks out ahead of him, like even he understands what they're doing is breaking so many laws. He snatches the peaches off the counter once more, opens the gate, and throws the jar hard enough most of them fall out before it hits the ground and rolls away. The other dogs are much too interested in the treat to care about what he and Mika are doing.
He pulls a still full jar down and pushes it in the last empty space in his bag before following Mika outside. It's getting brighter now, and he's flying by the seat of his fucking pants. There's no time - or space - for him to get Everett's tools now.
He sighs and cracks his neck. His friends are going to hate him. But his decision is made, and he doesn't have the time to hesitate. He motions to Mika to follow him, and hauls ass to the meeting place.
He tries to be nonchalant when he descends. Eats his nuts casually, like maybe if he acts normal enough no one will notice he's got a fucking wolf following him. The rest of his friends are already there, sporting bags that had much more helpful shit than he was carrying.
He catches sight of Noah's and winces.
Oh.
He's in so much trouble.
"Hey."