Work Text:
Pleasantville Pack
calikocat
Word count: 4501
XXX
Everything that they had ever seen, faced...none of it had prepared them for this. Because Garth was standing there, shaking gun trained on them, eyes wet with tears and apologizing for what he had to do. Apologizing for having to kill them all. Merton, Tommy, their kids.
Luckily Garth never saw Sparky and Vince coming. And luckily they didn't kill him, listened when Merton told them to stand down.
Because Garth was family, and you didn't kill family. Though they really needed to figure out why Garth thought he had to kill them all.
xxx
Things had been weird for them since high school; luckily they rolled with the punches so well that weird became normal. Even with the vampires, the demons, witches, and zombies they lived with it. What else could they do? It’s not like they could run away, the weird just kept showing up at Pleasantville. And despite the absolute insanity of their Senior year, it hadn't prepared them for the worst of it, even with Tommy turning into an Alpha during one of their dust ups with a vampire nest.
Things started to get complicated during their first semester at State when Gil showed up at their dorm room, bloodied and broken. The only survivor of the Syndicate. Hunters had attacked, unprovoked and Gil had barely gotten away, the others, close to twenty wolves in all, were dead. Gil begged asylum, begged to join their small pack...and with only a shared look between them Tommy said yes. What else could he say? Gil was alone, and Tommy was responsible for him, and he'd have to live with what he hadn't done. So their pack gained a member, and all the funds the Syndicate had had at their disposal. Not to mention the castle with its huge library. Merton was in heaven...and it wasn't too far to commute to State.
With Gil's addition to their pack they learned things about werewolves that weren't in any of Merton's books. Things that wolves kept hidden because of the hunters. Things like...there was more than one type of werewolf, there were in fact, two types. One line that descended from a creature called Eve the Mother of All...and then Tommy and Gil's kind. True werewolves, which made sense as Tommy could actually turn into a wolf now and not just his wolfman form.
Tommy was an Alpha. Highest ranking wolf in a pack. Merton, despite being human and a witch, was a Beta. Gil...his ranking was Beta...but Gil was different. He was also an Epsilon. That had been a bit of a shock. True wolves had a third gender that for all appearances looked male and could father children should their mates be female. But if they took a male mate, they could give birth. The details had been a little messy and Tommy could have done without the image in his head of Gil taking on a she-wolf form to give birth, but it was need to know information. Especially with an Epsilon in their pack, but it was a relief to know only a born wolf could be an Epsilon. Though knowing Gil would go into a regular heat was nothing like having to walk by the locked bed room door when the Epsilon was actually in the middle of one. Yikes.
The next need to know information Gil had given them was just as important. He told them about Hunters, and not just the ones that had taken out the Syndicate. Gil told them about other packs that had been decimated, particularly the Kolton Pack in New York State. The Kolton Pack had been peaceful, though they hadn't mingled with humans much, living in a community on their own by Lake Champlain close to the Adirondack Mountains.
One day in 1995 Hunters took out the entire pack in a hail of bullets and fire. Now it was called the Red Wolf Massacre; and not because of the bloodshed but because the Alpha of the Kolton bloodline took the form of a red wolf. A bloodline that now as far as anyone knew was gone forever.
The story drove home their need to be discreet, their need to be careful, none of them wanted to end up like the Syndicate or the Kolton Pack.
So life went on. They honored the dead wolves of the defunct Syndicate and moved into the castle and continued with their classes. They of course had to slay the occasional monster and Merton kept up his magic while Gil made copies of all the books in the library so they'd have backups. But life was good. Until Merton's magic spiked a bit a couple of years later.
Which brought Sparky back into their lives.
xxx
Merton had been getting a little stronger each day, his magic growing the more he used it. Then one day, during a simple spell, something went wrong. Merton's magic spiked out of control and knocked him out so thoroughly he was unconscious for a day. Sparky showed up at the castle the next morning.
Despite Sparky's initial bond with Tommy he came back because of Merton, as it was Merton's meddling and magic that had transformed him from an invisible hell beast to an adorable puppy. Because of that Sparky had refused to stay with his new owner that Tommy had picked out for him, which was just as well.
It probably hadn't been a good idea to just let a reformed hell hound wander around free. Instead now that Sparky was a somewhat normal dog, except… well he could still breathe fire. Merton hadn't been able to get rid of that particular quirk, but he was a normal sized, visible dog and he became Merton's familiar, as he'd already had a partial bond with Merton's magic. And they had thought that would be the last of Sparky's surprises.
So things settled down again and with Sparky there to balance his magic Merton didn't spike again. They continued their classes, battling the occasional monster, and just living life.
Except they hadn't realized a witch's familiar could take human form. No one freaked out more than Merton when Sparky flowed from his dog form to a human during research one day...just...wow. Well, maybe Sparky was a little more freaked out by the situation. Suddenly being able to communicate with words had left the guy pretty floored. As had the sudden need for clothes. It sent Merton back to his books and really plugging himself into the magical community which was vast and intricate. More so than werewolf pack hierarchy.
Merton, however, didn't socialize with the Witch community very often, finding a lot of them to be snobs. Most didn't approve of his lifestyle, namely his involvement with a werewolf. Some had seemed beyond scandalized that he'd transformed a hell hound into a dog and now had Sparky as his familiar. No one had ever heard of a witch doing that. They called Merton an abomination. Merton told them to shove their pentacles where the moon didn’t shine and that was that.
Again life went on. They continued to live in the castle Tommy as the Alpha, Merton his mate, Gil and Lori a part of their miniscule pack and Sparky as Merton's familiar. Sparky even had his own room. Lori wasn't around much being away at a different college, but she always made it back for the full moons.
Then, in their last year of college...things got weirder...because Vince came back.
xxx
They had thought they'd seen the last of Vince after Merton locked him away in the trunk again, when in fact he'd attached himself to some other lonely child and became their companion. They were in their last semester when Vince suddenly showed up at the castle.
Tommy had come down the main staircase to join the others for breakfast in the dining room. He'd frozen when he saw Vince sitting beside Sparky, in his human form, at the table, chatting like old friends. Cautiously he'd made his way to the end where Merton and Gil were seated.
“Merton.”
“Yes Tommy?”
“Why is Vince here?”
Merton made a sort of hysterical squeak and then laughed. “I'm trying not to think about that.”
“Is it bad?”
“It depends on your definition of bad really.”
Tommy looked from Merton to Gil and focused on the Beta. “Gil?”
Gil didn't quite meet his eyes. “For a little while now Sparky and I have noticed that Merton's scent has changed.”
Tommy thought about that, it was something that he'd noticed as well. “I know. What does it mean?”
“What do you mean you know? How has my scent changed? Why didn't you say anything?”
Tommy shrugged. “Your scent has changed before.”
“When?”
“Back in high school...” Tommy felt his eyes grow wide. “When that alien chick used you for an incubator.”
Gil perked up at that. “So he's been pregnant before?”
“Yeah. Just with alien spawn though...and she hasn't been back.” Tommy blinked and focused on Merton's flat stomach. “So...”
Merton bit his lower lip and nodded. “Gil went out and got a few test kits. They were positive, all of them.”
“When do you think it happened?”
Gil actually blushed a bit and wouldn't meet Tommy's gaze, but he was the most experienced wolf, having been one all his life so he was who they went to for answers. “Um, probably the last time you knotted.”
Merton blushed as well and made another sort of hysterical sound. “Remember when that was the new weird thing in our lives? I mean who would've thought knotting was a thing.”
Tommy just smiled, sank to his knees and pulled Merton's chair away from the dining table so he could nuzzle at his mate's clothed abdomen. “We're going to have puppies.”
“Baby.” Merton clarified. “As in one, not a litter. We're not calling the kid a puppy.”
“Actually we generally do refer to our young as pups or cubs.” Gil smiled brightly. “This is going to be very exciting; you're going to have our pack's first pup.”
“Baby.” Merton insisted vehemently. “Will it be human or...”
Gil shrugged. “With mixed couples it’s always a guessing game; the little one could be either.”
Tommy rumbled contently into Merton's stomach. “We're going to be parents...” Then he blinked and looked up at Merton's lifted brow. “But why is Vince here?”
Merton sighed heavily and put his hands over Tommy's. “Since I created him, there's a bond between us similar to the one I share with Sparky...he felt the change in me and came to help.”
“Help?”
Merton frowned. “He's already declared himself our live in Nanny.”
Tommy snorted and hid his face in Merton's lap. “Oh god.”
“It’s not funny.”
“It’s a little funny.” Tommy mumbled into his lap before raising his head. “At least we can all see him now.”
“He really is quite interesting.”
They both stared at Gil for a long moment. Neither had the heart to tell him that Vince could shoot lasers from his eyes and plasma bolts from his hands.
xxx
The pregnancy was hell on almost everyone. Merton's hormones were all over the place and his cravings were as strange as they'd been when the alien had impregnated him. The only real difference was the pregnancy lasted nine months instead of a week. That was why it was hell. They were infinitely glad that Merton hadn't really started showing when graduation rolled around, and the robe totally hid the barely there baby bump. The end of college also brought Lori back home full time, though she got her own apartment in town rather than move into the castle.
Vince was practically in heaven. He'd designated the room next to Tommy and Merton's as the nursery and started decorating. What was weirder...was that whenever he went shopping, with Gil or Lori of course, they weren't comfortable enough to let Vince out on his own...just...no. Anyway, whenever he bought something...he got a second similar item. It was like he knew something the others didn’t; maybe it was because he was Merton's creation. Either way, the day Tommy, Gil, Lori and Sparky started hearing two little heart beats from Merton's growing stomach Vince had only smirked.
Merton was having twins...or possibly a litter of two.
It was rather easy to avoid Merton's parents; they'd always had a sort of hands off approach to raising their kids. Tommy's parents were another story. They showed up at the castle about seven months into the pregnancy...and had just stared at the young man they'd come to see as a son-in-law in complete surprise.
Everything had come out then. Tommy being a werewolf, Merton being a witch, they left Sparky and Vince's origins in the dark, but they definitely came clean about what was happening to Merton.
And then his mom insisted that Vince show her the nursery and his dad had tears of happiness in his eyes. They were going to be grandparents and Bob and Sally Dawkins couldn't be happier.
xxx
One of the cooler things about the castle was that it had an infirmary, which more than came in handy the day Merton went into labor. They'd been going over the books in one of the studies trying to figure out just how much money they'd inherited from the Syndicate when Merton's contractions started. Oddly enough Merton remained calm. It was Tommy who flailed about before carting his mate to the infirmary, howling the entire walk there to let everyone know it was time.
Gil was put in charge of the process. Vince called Tommy's parents and Lori to let her know even though she wasn't able to be there. Sparky offered moral support and helped Merton focus so his magic wouldn't fire off accidentally. Tommy fainted at one point the first time he saw the blood, not because blood bothered him, but it was Merton's blood and that made all the difference.
He came too when the first cries filled the air and Vince helped him to his feet and placed the first baby in his arms. A girl. Tommy stared at her in awe and a moment later the second baby was handed to him, a boy. He swallowed and looked at an exhausted Merton, who was propped up, pale and sweating, but reaching for their children. Tommy handed the girl to him and they counted her fingers and then her brother's and smiled at one another before they kissed.
Adalynn and Bailey Dawkins watched their parents with sleepy expressions and flickering yellow wolf eyes.
xxx
Things nearly imploded a month after the birth when Lori showed up at the castle with Becky...and Garth.
Garth Fitzgerald IV. Merton and Becky's first cousin on their mother's side.
For their visit Sparky stayed in his animal form and Vince went invisible. Becky wasn't in the know and they weren't sure how they felt about her knowing any of their secrets. Lori, for her part, was apologetic that she'd let it slip to Becky that Merton and Tommy had kids now. It was only bad luck that Garth had been with Becky at the time.
Or maybe not bad luck because both Adalynn and Bailey seemed to adore Garth and he was good with them. Their eyes never flashed yellow anyway which was a blessing. They really didn't feel like explaining that at the time.
They made themselves at home for a couple of days, Becky was nowhere near as annoying as she'd been in the past, a result of growing up Tommy supposed. She was in her first year of college now after all. Garth too was in college and had already promised to get them several pamphlets on caring for children's teeth, as he was about to enter dental school.
All in all it was a peaceful visit and Becky and Garth were headed back to State before a week had passed. Lori apologized again for letting things slip and stayed close for a few more days before heading back to town. It had been too long since they'd spent so much time together.
The twins’ first full moon was pretty uneventful; they were too young to actually shift, though their eyes flickered gold the entire night. So Merton and Vince stayed inside while Tommy, Gil, Lori and Sparky went for a run in the surrounding woods to burn off the extra energy.
And so life was calm once more.
xxx
It was nearly two years later when things started up again. 2005 was a pretty busy year. Gil was plugged into the werewolf grapevine and in contact with a handful of packs when word came through that the Hale Pack in Beacon Hills, California had been slaughtered in a house fire. The only survivors were Laura and Derek Hale...and Peter Hale was in the hospital, catatonic, burned and unable to heal.
None of them could even begin to understand the horror of such a thing...except for Gil. Gil who with their permission extended an invitation to Laura Hale, now an Alpha because of her mother Talia's death, to visit if she needed time away from Beacon Hills.
Laura didn't respond right away due to the investigation of the fire...and the arrest of the woman behind it. Kate Argent. A Hunter. When she did finally respond it was to say they were getting a late start because of the trial...and then Derek had gone into heat which delayed them another week.
When they did finally show up at the castle, a stop in their migration to New York City, they were pale and exhausted...and somewhat broken.
They did what they could for the two young wolves. Tommy taught Laura, who was just a year older than Becky, everything he knew about being an Alpha. He also answered questions about everything they had ever faced while guarding Pleasantville. While Merton saw to other needs, mainly the need for pack. He offered companionship, home cooked meals, and talked about everything he could think of to make both feel included. However the only time Derek cracked a smile was when he was holding or playing with the twins. He was good with them, understandable as he'd had younger siblings before the fire.
The Hale siblings stayed through a full moon and ran with Tommy and Gil as well as Lori who always seemed to saunter back in time for a good run. And then all too soon they were saying good bye and heading for their final destination.
However Laura took Tommy and Merton aside one day when Derek was out of earshot and said with a deadly seriousness; “If you ever hear rumors about an Alpha in Beacon Hills, squash them. Don't spread them.”
They had shared a look and Tommy asked; “Why?”
She let a small growl escape her lips. “Because there is an Alpha there. A ten year old boy. The last of the Kolton Pack.”
Holy crap. “Gil told us they were all gone.” Merton gulped. “So...no one knows about him?”
“Our pack knew. His mother and ours were friends...and don't ask how...but Derek is his. He's the one that brought on Derek's heat...and he's the reason Kate Argent is in prison.”
Tommy nodded and smiled. “Sounds like he's on the right track. Don't worry Laura we'll keep quiet. You just take care of yourself and your little brother.”
“I will...and thank you.”
And then they had left.
xxx
It was nearly three years later, the twins were almost five, when Garth made an unexpected visit. And Bailey had tripped down the stairs in eagerness to see his favorite Uncle...and wolfed out as he tumbled.
And that was how they came to have Garth pointing a gun at all of them as he cried out an apology before Vince and Sparky knocked him out and tied him up. Then they waited...because they needed answers...and Garth was family. You didn't kill family.
xxx
They moved Garth into the living room while he was unconscious and everyone left the room on Tommy's orders except for Merton. Tommy stayed just outside the room out of sight so that Merton was alone with Garth when he came too. Garth woke with a start and strained at the ropes that held him to the chair he was in. “Merton?”
“You're okay Garth.”
“Bailey...he's...”
“A werewolf.”
“How?
Merton shook his head. “Not until you tell me why you think you need to kill us.”
Garth swallowed and blinked back a few tears. “I'm a Hunter.”
Merton felt the blood drain from his face and knew he'd gotten even paler. “Oh Garth, no. Why would you turn into that kind of monster?”
His cousin seemed surprised by that. “Hunters aren't monsters. We gank the monsters.”
“Garth, the only thing I've heard about Hunters, is horror stories. Stories of when they've wiped out entire packs unprovoked, simply because they could. Genocide, Garth. It’s not cool. Bloodletting is actually very messy and nightmare inducing.”
Garth looked a little lost at his words. “Packs? Merton what are you talking about?”
“Werewolf packs. There was pack in New York, that lived in a community by Lake Champlain. The Kolton Pack. They were wiped out in '95 by Hunters. We call it the Red Wolf Massacre. No one was left. And here just a town over a group of Omegas was wiped out...Gil was the only survivor and he joined our pack because he had no place to go...and more recently a Hunter by the name of Kate Argent seduced a young wolf of 16 and burnt his entire family alive in a house fire...not everyone in the pack was a wolf...some were human. Humans can be pack.”
Garth stared at him for a long moment, face pale, maybe a little green. “Werewolves don't live in packs.”
“There's more than one type of werewolf Garth.”
“What?”
Merton leaned back in his armchair and regarded his cousin. “The werewolves you hunt. What are they like?”
“They're...pretty mindless when they change. Killing machines and they always eat the heart of their victims.”
Merton grimaced. “They're feral?”
“Way feral.”
Merton nodded. “I can see why you'd need to put them down. They're probably descendents of Eve, the Mother of all.”
“Who?”
“You can read about her later, I've got a couple of books that make references to her. Now, let me tell you about a different kind of Werewolf. The kind of wolf that Tommy, Lori, Gil and the twins are.”
“Not you?”
Merton shook his head. “I'm a witch.”
Garth shuddered. “Merton...that's not...”
“Hey, don't judge. I don't go around sacrificing anyone, I don't like violence, the sight of blood makes me queasy and the only addiction I have is to Yoohoos..”
Garth gave him a questing look. “Do you kill bunnies for your rituals?”
“Oh gosh no. I don't deal in black magic! And none of us kill humans. And Tommy won't even kill wild rabbits during the full moon. He has no trouble decimating a bucket of extra crispy, but actually killing an animal? He can't do it.”
That seemed to satisfy Garth and he nodded. “Okay. I'm listening.”
“So just before senior year Tommy was bitten by something in the woods...”
xxx
Garth stared at him. “All those things just kept showing up in Pleasantville? Vampires, the Syndicate, demons? And the gazebo in the middle of town is really a Devil's Gate?” Garth shuddered. “Pleasantville is crazy yo!”
“You're telling me.”
“And...you really got turned to stone protecting Tommy?”
“Yeah, that wasn't fun.”
“And...here's the part that I'm really having trouble with...aliens are real?”
“Very real.”
Garth looked a little heartbroken. “I really liked Boylicious.” He shook his head. “But...the twins...how...”
“Well...the alien who used me for an incubator changed a few things inside of me. So...I gave birth to Adalynn and Bailey.”
Garth stared at Merton's stomach for a long while. “I don't want to know the details do I?”
“Probably not. Tommy missed part of the birthing because he fainted.”
That made Garth smile a little. “And they're Betas...with gold eyes.”
“All wolves are born with gold eyes. A Beta's eyes only turn blue when they've suffered severe emotional trauma...Gil escaped the Hunters before he witnessed them torturing his dad so his are still gold.” Garth winced at that. “And an Alpha's eyes are red. Tommy.”
Tommy slipped into the living room and stood just behind Merton and let his eyes glow as he smiled reassuringly at Garth. “An Alpha is also the only werewolf that can take full wolf form.”
“Dude. Really?”
Tommy nodded and stripped, which made Garth blush, and then he shifted seamlessly to his wolf form. A large tawny colored wolf with red eyes. He panted, tongue lolling out and gave Merton a messy kiss.
“Eww. Really Tommy? You couldn't have given me tongue a minute ago?”
Garth laughed at the scene they made. “I get it Merton. Things aren't as clean cut as I thought, and you were right to be cautious...and you should keep it up.”
Merton scratched behind Tommy's ears. “How'd you end up doing this anyway?”
“I uh...sort of killed a tooth fairy.”
xxx
The tooth fairy story was rather, haunting, and Merton didn't blame his cousin for dropping out of dental school and becoming a Hunter. He did however; promise to be extra vigilant in his research to be sure he didn't go after something that didn't deserve to be killed. Also Garth totally geeked out over their library and Merton's private collection.
Garth was sitting at a table in the library surrounded by books when he looked up at Merton, eyes a bit glazed from the sheer amount of knowledge they had. “I should probably introduce you to Bobby Singer.”
“Who?”
“He's the Hunter that taught me everything I know. He's a good guy...and if he knew about you guys...and your kind of wolf he might help keep other packs under the radar. You know?”
“You really think he's trust worthy? For us I mean?”
“Yeah.”
Merton and Tommy shared a look and Tommy nodded. “Just us at first, neutral territory. We don't want to overwhelm him.”
Garth nodded. “I'll set something up.”
Merton only hoped that Garth was right. That Bobby Singer would give them a chance and not shoot first and screw the questions.
XXX