Work Text:
They had him handcuffed to a chair. Tommy had to admit it was definitely not ideal, but he didn’t really have any other option than to just wait them out.
He had already tried to bend the metal around his wrist even a bit, but despite the full moon coming tonight, Tommy was too weak. The drugs they had been putting in his food and water to keep him compliant fucking sucked. He was totally at their mercy, and even if he would never in a million years give in to them, they weren’t going to give in to Tommy either.
It was all so stupid. All he wanted to do was go for a walk to mark out the woods before the full moon. He was on a special trip with his pack, Ranboo and Tubbo, and with them being humans, he had to scout out the land before in case of any dangerous animals. Tubbo and Ranboo may not be werewolves and couldn’t participate in the full moon as he did, but they understood Tommy. They were his pack since the day they met in foster care and Tommy would do anything to keep them safe.
All of them had been planning this little vacation through the countryside for months and finally saved up enough money, ready for Tommy to experience his first full moon outside of a city and maybe even find a new place to live somewhere nearby the forest Tommy was scouting.
Despite how hard saving up the money had been, they stuck together and figured out a plan, all getting emancipated at sixteen to live together. With a whole year of salary saved up from shitty jobs, they were free to truly start the next part of their life, and that began with Tommy securing the forest. How could he have known he was walking into claimed territory? Being a werewolf didn’t exactly come with instructions, especially since Tommy had never met another were before (Tommy irrationally blamed Ranboo for all of this if only because Ranboo would squawk at the accusation. It brought a little smile to Tommy's face in such an awful time).
Despite knowing how useless it was, Tommy kept trying to pull at the cuffs every few seconds. Maybe he would get lucky and break the wood of the chair they were attached to, but realistically he had been trying for two weeks and so far had made no progress.
The only positive side of the drugs (which wasn’t really all that good, but Tommy needed to have something to hold onto) was that they only made him physically weak, mentally he was fine.
Well fine other than being kidnapped and locked in a basement cell for two weeks, but generally, he was fine.
He had to be if Tommy didn’t want to lose his mind.
With one last struggling shout, Tommy gave up. It was better to reserve his energy, or at least that's probably what Tubbo would be telling him. Tommy had nothing else to do though. He was chained to a chair in an empty room with only one metal door in front of him that was locked and out of reach.
All he really could do to occupy his time was to dwell on who took him.
He may have never been properly educated on werewolf shit, but even Tommy knew who took him.
It was the Syndicate, the most infamous werewolf pack to ever exist.
They were a small pack of only three people, similar to Tommy’s pack, but they couldn’t be any more different from each other.
The Syndicate had no known location, which explains how Tommy accidentally stumbled upon their territory, and they were known for being ruthless to any wolf who got near them, tearing them apart. At the very least Tommy was lucky they didn’t seem to want to kill him, although he had no idea what they had planned instead.
Two of the members from the pack were worse than the last one. The blonde and the brunette were creepy, always smiling and trying to learn things about Tommy, although he mostly just swore at them and never gave them what they were looking for. Like why the fuck would they want to know Tommy’s favorite foods and color? Right wrong’uns they were.
The pink haired one was just scary and quiet, although he was definitely the better option when it came to one of the pack members visiting Tommy since he never tried to talk and even looked uncomfortable at having Tommy locked up, although maybe Tommy was just projecting.
In the end, they all made Tommy’s wolf crawl under his skin so he didn’t trust any of them.
After keeping himself awake for the past few hours to see if the full moon coming tonight would have any effect on his strength, Tommy was finally ready to just give in and sleep, aware that he wouldn’t be able to free his wolf this full moon and instead be in pain for the next week because of it. Yet before Tommy could try and get as comfortable as he could chained to a chair, he heard footsteps approaching from outside and the lock jingle. The door slowly opened with the heavy creak of metal as Tommy tensed, waiting to see which of the assholes would come in.
Tommy, of course being perpetually unlucky, was greeted with the awful smiling face of the blonde-haired man. Tommy liked to call him Asshole but he insisted his name was Phil despite it clearly not fitting him. A dickhead like him didn’t deserve a normal name. At least Wilbore and Technobitch had dumb names to go along with their dumb faces.
He walked in as Tommy glared at him, his smile never wavering.
“Tommy! It’s nice to see your awake mate! I know you’re not very happy with us right now, but I do have some good news! Since it’s finally the full moon tonight we can let you out and get things on the road,” Phil claimed, clapping his hands together as if what he said was a done deal and would really reassure Tommy.
His attitude pissed Tommy off instead.
“Fuck you! Let me out you bitch! I didn’t mean to come into your territory and if you let me out I’ll be out of your hairy ass right away!” Tommy shouted, still trying to reason with Phil despite his anger.
“Now mate, you know we can’t do that,” Phil said in a placating tone, his eyes shining with fake sympathy as if he wasn’t one of the reasons Tommy was locked up, “I promise everything will make sense soon. You’ll even want to stay,” Phil ended calmly. The right prick, thinking he was at all reasonable.
“No chance of that happening asshole! Nothing will change how I feel! I just wanna go home!” Tommy didn’t miss the way Phil’s eyes darkened at Tommy’s mention of home and he struggled not to flinch at the cold gaze that made his wolf want to whine.
“Well if that’s how you feel we will check on you later tonight. Enjoy your time mate,” Phil said coolly, turning around swifty and walking out the door, ignoring Tommy’s shouts to be released as he locked it.
With a harsh breath, Tommy slumped in the chair. No point in shouting at a man who had already walked away.
Prime, Tubbo and Ranboo were gonna kill Tommy when he finally got out. Two weeks locked up with no word was probably driving them mad. It was enough to drive Tommy crazy, not having his pack with him and being around foreign and violent scents, his wolf never having a moment to rest or be released.
Tommy hated the fucking Syndicate.
———
After what felt like hours of sitting in the chair with Tommy’s back aching from his uncomfortable position, Tommy could really start to feel the effects of the full moon hitting him. His joints had begun to ache and his senses sharpened, making the stale air and the gross scents of the other were’s assault his nose.
It was starting to get really uncomfortable, the moon calling him and Tommy being unable to respond. He should be running through the woods with Tubbo and Ranboo by his side right now, not being held captive for accidentally invading someone’s territory.
Everything fucking sucked.
At least he didn’t have to wait for much longer, Tommy thought, as his ears picked up the sound of three different footsteps approaching the door. How fucking fantastic. Three pairs of footsteps meant that Tommy now had to deal with the whole stupid pack, especially the worst one-
“Sunshine! Great to see your awake! It’s almost time for the fun to start,” Wilbur cheered, making a beeline for Tommy after Phil unlocked the door to let them all in.
Tommy hated Wilbitch so much. He was the reason Tommy was stuck here in the first place, not to mention the stupid fucking nickname he never stopped calling him.
All Tommy had done was a small run through the woods when Wilbur in his wolf form found him. Tommy had tried to reason with him, telling him he would leave immediately, but Wilbur chose to shift back to his human form and shoot Tommy with some sort of dart gun he had on hand like a wrong’un, knocking Tommy out before he could even react.
Tommy had woken up handcuffed to the chair, drugged and locked up by none other than the Syndicate pack.
Before Tommy could ask what Wilbur meant by “fun,” Technoblade went behind Tommy and unlocked the cuffs, freeing Tommy’s hands.
Now Tommy, despite wanting to lunge for the door and make a break for it, knew that wouldn’t be the right move. Not with the other assholes blocking the door. Maybe if he lulled them into a false sense of security by acting compliant they would let their guard down in a better place for Tommy to try and escape from.
Rubbing his raw wrists and glaring at Phil, Techno, with surprising gentleness, held onto Tommy’s arm and led him to the door, Phil and Wilbur moving out of the way to follow.
“Where are we going? Why am I being let out now?” Tommy questioned, not really expecting an answer given how little they had given him for the past two weeks.
To his surprise though, Phil was the one to talk, not Wilbur who usually you couldn’t get to shut up when Tommy actually gave him any attention.
“You didn’t think we would leave you in that room during a full moon, did you mate? That would just be torture,” Phil said, pointedly ignoring Tommy’s mumbled comment that them locking him up in general was torturous, “It’s finally time for you to join us, for us to help you. You’ll get it when we get outside though so don’t worry,” Phil said with a chuckle.
Tommy may not have been able to see Phil, but even he could hear the creepy smile in his words, the possessive tone. It made him shiver. He didn’t know what to expect but at least they were taking him outside and giving him a chance to get away or find someone to help.
They may be a notoriously scary and violent pack, but even they were hopefully not crazy enough to get humans involved and would likely let Tommy get away if he found a normal person.
At least he hoped so.
With as much self-control that Tommy could maintain, Tommy avoided speaking the rest of the walk through their fucking old-ass mansion despite Wilbur doing everything in his power to annoy Tommy, calling him nicknames and pestering him with questions, pouting when Tommy didn’t respond.
Tommy was gonna bite the bitch before he got away, that was a promise.
“Here Tech, give him to me,” Phil said, moving his hands in place of Techno’s once they got to the entrance of their house, or at least what Tommy assumed was the entrance. Tommy hadn’t seen it when he came in due to being knocked the fuck out, but he assumed it was a safe bet.
Techno unlocked the front door and Tommy, seeing the opportunity with being in Phil’s weaker grip, instantly yanked his arm out and pushed through Techno and Wilbur, sprinting outside. He had only made it a few feet towards a familiar forest though when Tommy suddenly was frozen in his place by a sound.
Freezestopstay.
A deep guttural growl, sounding almost like a roar, emitted from Phil. Tommy couldn’t even control his breath, the sound made him feel like clawing his skin off. He had never heard another werewolf before and this sound was one he could definitely have lived without ever hearing.
“Now Pup,” Phil started, his voice scarily even, “We will have none of that running away nonsense. If we are to be family, you have to trust us, and I promise, we will be a family. We could feel it the moment we all met you, you will finish our pack and make it perfect, whether you want to or not. It’s time for you to shift little one.”
Yeah fuck that, Tommy may not be in control of his body but even he wasn’t stupid enough to shift into his smaller, adolescent, and weak wolf form in front of three clearly older and bigger wolves.
Also what the fuck was with that family bullshit? Tommy knew they didn’t want to kill him but to try and force him into their pack? What the fuck. It was unheard of.
“Philllll, he’s not shifting, I think you need to make him,” Wilbur whined, walking up to Tommy and ruffling his hair, knowing Tommy couldn’t fight back still, although Tommy could now twitch his fingers. Just a bit more and the growl Phil made will have worn off, then Tommy could shout or some shit to get someone’s attention.
“You're right Wilbur, he needs some… persuasion,” Phil said, walking in front of Tommy to look him in the eyes. Tommy tried to scowl and growl at him but he could barely twitch his facial muscles. Phil found it amusing though based on the tiny smile that graced his face.
Phil put his hand over Tommy’s heart, and with one word, had full control over Tommy in a way Tommy didn’t know was possible.
“Shift.”
Within one breath Tommy could feel his body pull itself apart, rewriting itself to fit his wolf form. It was the longest and most painful shift he had undergone since his first one. He could feel his joints crack and his bones break against his will, and even though he tried to stop the shift, he couldn’t.
After excruciating minutes of pain, Tommy felt himself fall onto the grass before the forest, his four legs splayed under him, his breath coming out in harsh, short pants. He didn’t even know someone could force a shift.
Tommy truly didn’t know what he had gotten himself into.
“Now I didn’t want to do that to you Tommy, but eventually you’ll learn that listening the first time is the best option. I never want to hurt my pack so hopefully you only need that lesson once,” Phil said from above Tommy, crouching onto his legs to be at Tommy’s level.
Tommy glared up at him and did the last thing he could think of to rebel, no longer able to shift to his human half but also not frozen by his instincts. Tommy howled as loud and long as he could.
Familylovehelpcome.
It was a pack call, something he taught Tubbo and Ranboo to recognize. They might not be nearby, but if he couldn’t get away they were his last hope. Even if they couldn’t save him at least they would know he missed them if they heard his call.
“Aww Phil,” Wilbur said in an annoying high-pitched tone from somewhere to the side of Tommy, “He’s doing a pack call. I think he’s ready to finally have someone to respond to that call.”
Phil cooed at Wilbur’s incorrect words. “Don’t worry Tommy, you’ll never be alone again,” Phil said smugly.
He didn’t know what the fuck they were talking about. He most certainly was not lonely and he did have a pack who responded to his call, he just didn’t have them right now because of these bitches.
At least Techno was silent like usual, almost seeming separate from everything that was happening. One less asshole to deal with.
Tommy’s breath finally was evening out and his body was gaining strength from the full moon shining, no longer leaving Tommy feeling extremely weak and in pain from the unconventional shift.
He stood up on his shaky paws, wary of the three men surrounding him, letting loose a little growl to make his displeasure known when Phil reached out a hand to pet his head.
Tommy was met with narrowed eyes and before he could even blink, all three of them had shifted around him, boxing him in.
Compared to his small golden-furred wolf, they were huge. Wilbur was the smallest, a dark brown wolf that was still easily two times Tommy’s size. Phil was a similar color to Tommy if a bit lighter and just a bit bigger than Wilbur.
Technoblade though, his wolf was terrifying. While Tommy logically knew Phil was the scariest, being the oldest and the leader of their pack with an air of power always around him, Techno in both forms looked terrifying. He was huge, a rustic-reddish color with scars littering his body. He may not be the leader of the pack, but he was definitely the protector.
Tommy didn’t know how they planned on making him part of their pack, trapping Tommy into their family, but he knew he couldn’t risk sticking around to find out. He wouldn’t give them the satisfaction of winning, so with a quick lunge to his side at the weakest link, Tommy bit into Wilbur’s side drawing blood and earning him a sharp whine, before quickly turning to dart into the woods, letting another pack call out as loud as he could.
Tommy had praised himself that he would bite the bitch so at least if they were planning on hunting him down and killing him now for not submitting to their shit family idea Tommy could have the satisfaction of drawing blood and keeping his promise.
Instead of no verbal response as he expected from his constant call, Tommy heard three distinct wolves from behind him respond, something that irritated Tommy’s instincts. They weren’t pack, yet they tried to answer him. He really wanted to tear them apart.
He stopped howling to try and cover his location dodging fallen branches and jumping over dips in the forest, using his smaller side to his advantage to maneuver the woods quickly, although they were still on his heels no matter what he did.
Tommy pushed himself as much as he could, but his body was weak from the drugs still in his system and from the forced shift. Not even the full moon could give him enough strength to outrun three older and more powerful wolves.
Tommy glanced behind him, searching for the wolves, but didn’t see them. He whipped his head forward again only to immediately crash into a blurred body that jumped in front of him.
He let out a whine as the wolf pinned him to the ground, trying to get Tommy’s belly to be displayed, a sign of weakness Tommy couldn’t afford. He tried to wiggle, to bite at the paws pinning him, but that earned him a terrifying growl of stopsubmitfreeze that made his body lock up again.
Looking up Tommy met the icy eyes of Phil. Stupid pack leader powers. It was unfair that Phil’s growl could control even a wolf not part of his pack.
Tommy, with the last of his free-will, choked out a painful howl of savemepleasehelp, begging Tubbo and Ranboo to hear him, to rescue him.
Techno and Wilbur padded up to Tommy, helping Phil to pin him down, Tommy’s jugular displayed perfectly for teeth to sink into. Tommy may not have ever met another werewolf, but even he knew what they were trying to do.
When a pack leader bites into the neck and draws blood, a pack bond forms if the wolf is unclaimed, which Tommy technically was. He may be the leader of his pack, but they were humans, not necessarily a real pack no matter what his instincts told him. Pack bonds were always meant to be consensual, so to be pinned down like a dog Tommy felt righteously angry and upset. No words strong enough to encapsulate the agony he was feeling inside.
Tommy had no defense to stop Phil from forcing Tommy into his pack, to never be able to leave their side unless he or Phil died or Tommy won in a challenge fight for leadership against Phil, all options that were either terrible or impossible.
Wilbur let out rumbling sounds, things that were meant to make Tommy feel calmhappypackfamily but all it did was make Tommy angrier. They could force him into their pack but he would never consider them family.
With those sounds in his ears, Phil lunged for Tommy’s neck, sinking his teeth in and making Tommy let out a high-pitched yelp of pain, his eyes drifting to look at Techno’s wolf.
He didn’t know how a pack claim was meant to feel, but this was awful. It just felt like his neck was being torn apart, he didn’t feel anything connecting him to the other wolves, instead he kept letting out a pack call for Tubbo and Ranboo as his throat was torn into and as Techno almost looked distressed at Tommy’s pain, although he was probably imaging it.
At his calls, Phil sunk his teeth further into Tommy, realizing just as Tommy was beginning to that whatever magical bullshit was supposed to be happening just wasn’t. A pack bond was almost instantaneous, it was never drawn out since that could result in the death of the new initiate.
Despite this, Tommy was still at Phil’s mercy, and even though he couldn’t feel a pack connection, that didn’t mean it was going to continue to not work or that Phil wouldn’t just accidentally kill him from blood-loss.
Tommy felt his eyes close, his wound exhausting him, but before he could truly lose consciousness, his eyes flew open when the sound of a gunshot rang through the air.
“Let him go or the next shot goes through you!” Someone shouted. Someone Tommy didn’t think he would see again.
It was Tubbo.
And Ranboo was there too Tommy supposed, standing next to Tubbo just a few feet away from Tommy, but Tubbo had a gun so excuse Tommy for being more excited to see him.
They had gotten the gun as a safety measure when doing pack runs in case they ran into any dangerous animals and couldn’t run away fast enough or have Tommy protect them. Tommy had never been so glad for the purchase than right now.
With a growl Tommy could feel though his body, Phil released Tommy who instantly sprung up out of his pinning, being let go rather easily by the three wolves, although that might have something to do with their fixation on Tommy’s pack.
In a second Phil had shifted, leaving his sons in their wolf form and squinting his eyes at Tubbo and Ranboo, looking them over with distaste.
“Now this is unexpected. I was wondering why the bond wasn’t falling into place. Who could have guessed a were actually formed a pack with humans of all things? It’s something that should be impossible,” Phil said, disgust dripping in his tone.
“L-look Sir,” Ranboo started, clearly overcome with nerves but steadying himself for Tommy’s sake, “We just want Tommy and we can leave. We’re his family and he clearly doesn’t want to be here. We don’t need to r-report you to the authorities for kidnapping if you give our brother back to us. H-he won’t ever join your p-pack,” Ranboo finished, stumbling a bit to assert himself at the end.
Tommy would have almost been proud of Ranboo if Tommy hadn’t seen the way Phil tensed up.
Phil got a calculated look in his eyes, everyone blessedly ignoring Tommy as he slowly crept away from the wolves to put some space between him and them, and at the same time, sadly putting space between him and his friends.
“You're right, mate,” Phil said, surprising Tommy, but his tone made Tommy know something was off, “We can’t have him, not when he’s still tied to you two. I guess we'll just have to fix that,” Phil stated, before shifting and lunging at Ranboo who yelped and froze up.
Tommy growled and, with surprising agility, tackled Phil from behind, knocking off his trajectory so Ranboo could move away.
Tubbo fumbled with his gun as Tommy tussled with Phil and Wilbur tried to help. Tubbo let out a shaky shot that hit nothing and left Tommy disorientated enough from the sound for Techno to grab Tommy’s scruff in his teeth from behind, leaving Tommy basically useless.
Phil’s eyes showed a stormy anger brewing in them. Whether he was angry at Tommy for interfering or angry at Tubbo and Ranboo, Tommy couldn’t tell. With a huff, he looked away from Tommy and met Tubbo’s eyes, crouching down and getting ready to deal a killing blow.
Tommy couldn’t let him. He was trapped by Techno, but he wasn’t useless. Phil was obsessed with him, obsessed with Tommy being family. Maybe if Tommy distracted him, his friends could get away.
As a last ditch effort, Tommy let out a whine, a call of packfamilylovehelp that had Techno dropping him in shock and Phil and Wilbur freezing in place, whipping their heads around to stare at Tommy, their pupils blown a bit wide.
Tubbo seemed to get the message, but instead of running away like he was supposed to, he aimed his pistol at Phil, and with a steady hand Tommy did not know Tubbo had, shot him in the side.
Phil immediately howled in pain, collapsing to the forest floor. In a panic, Wilbur and Techno shifted to help their leader, leaving Tommy the opportunity to run to his friends and stand in front of them, guarding them with his body as blood dripped from his neck, the wound still making him woozy.
“Shit! Shit shit shit!” Wilbur shouted, putting pressure on Phil’s side, eliciting more whines. Yeah, a silver bullet couldn’t feel that great.
“We have to get him home and treated,” Techno said in a monotone voice, although he did sound worried.
Wilbur spared a glance at Tommy who growled, and though Wilbur looked frustrated and lost, he knew he couldn’t save Phil and get Tommy too. Wilbur looked back at Techno and nodded, both of them working to lift the weak wolf up.
Tommy could hear Wilbur mutter under his breath about getting revenge, about finding Tommy once they fixed up Phil, but by then it would be too late. Tommy would be gone.
Finally safe, Tommy shifted only to be tackled into a hug by his friends, blubbering about how worried they were and how stupid Tommy was while they fussed over his neck.
Tommy, with one quick glance at the Syndicate's retreating forms, met Techno’s piercing eyes that seemed to glow red in the moonlight. Unexpectedly, Techno mouthed “go” at Tommy and his friends, before looking away and taking Phil with him, ignoring Wilbur’s crazed rants.
Tommy didn’t trust Techno, but maybe just a little bit, Techno understood Tommy would never be theirs, and even though Techno was no longer looking, Tommy nodded his head at him as a small smile found its way to his lips.
Grabbing his friend’s hands and tugging them up, Tommy pulled them in the opposite direction out of the forest. Tommy was ready to leave this cursed vacation behind.
———
Running through the forest as fast as he could, Tommy narrowly avoided a pair of hands reaching out to touch him, whipping his tail at the offending appendages.
“OW! Watch the tail!” Tubbo shouted at Tommy, getting a playful yip back at him.
Ranboo was running to catch up, out of breath from trying to chase Tommy. Tommy, being the malevolent pack leader that he was, decided to be kind and take mercy on Ranboo and Tubbo, walking over to some big rocks and circling the ground, lying down in front of them.
“Oh thank Prime, a break!” Ranboo called out while wheezing, walking to sit on one of the rocks as Tubbo joined him. Tubbo reached his hand out as if to pet Tommy, but pulled away at the last second, making Tommy glance up to him in worry.
Tubbo was staring at Tommy’s scarred neck, the moonlight making the markings seem to glow. Tommy huffed at his actions and rubbed up against Tubbo’s leg until he gave in and started petting Tommy’s fur, letting Tommy relax back into the ground for a quick rest.
Tubbo and Ranboo had worried so much about the injury and freaked out when it scarred. Even now Tommy couldn’t take the bad memories away from them even if he himself had moved on. But at least in peaceful moments like this, they could all almost forget the full moon a couple of years ago that almost had Tommy losing his family. They could bask in the happiness of having their own territory far away from the Syndicate Pack where Tommy could protect Tubbo and Ranboo.
He was their leader, and finding this forest and making a house here with them had made their life complete.
Enjoying one last pet from Tubbo, Tommy got up and grabbed a nearby stick, turning to look at his friends with a wag to his tail.
“Yeah yeah we know Boss Man. Time for more fun. Get up Ranboo,” Tubbo said with exasperation, helping Ranboo up. Despite his protests though, Tubbo took the stick from Tommy and threw it as far as he could.
Tommy chased it and picked it up, turning to see his family holding hands and smiling fondly at him.
This was perfect. This life, this home, his Tubbo and his Ranboo. They were the perfect pack. Tommy was exactly where he belonged, he thought, as he trotted up to his friends to tackle them to the ground, ignoring Tubbo and Ranboo’s complaints.