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Broken Pieces

Chapter Four

By Roofles

This is a Semi-Continuation from the previous chapter.

"Alan! I got you!" PB pounced on the human from behind, who jumped, startled by the sudden intrusion into his personal space as the giggling brown-furred wolf tackled him to the ground in their field.

"PB!" They struggled. PB was the strong one now. He was the bigger guy and loved taking advantage of that with his beloved friend. "No fair! You always find me!" They giggled and laughed, though. PB knew he didn't mind.

Didn't mind him. They always enjoyed the attention he couldn't give anyone else. PB wasn't allowed to do anything like this at home.

Alan was enjoying this just as much as the wolf was. The others in the pack didn't like it as much as PB did. It confused the wolf. Why did he get so worked up and excited by touching and tackling, wrestling with the other boys when no one else seemed to? He'd get all excited and feel funny things whenever he did.

And PB loved that. Loved the way it made him feel. Overpowering the human like this only increased his enthusiasm for it. It was secret, now, between the two of them. And PB loved that all the more.

Things that only grew and blossomed ever more with the human before him. Things that, PB was sure, Alan felt too. His nose never lied to him before! He could smell it. Smell Alan's excitement just as PB was when they wrestled and played like this.

It made him feel... not alone.

"That I do!" PB's long tail wagged. "You can't hide from me! This sniffer is just too good! I got your scent; you'll never be able to get away." PB wiggled his snoot at the human.

Alan booped it suddenly, making the wolf's large ears perk up as his eyes widen, comically reacting to the simple touch. His nose was sensitive, and when Alan touched it like that, shivers ran up his back and formed a smile on his face. He loved shoving his sensitive nose against the human, sniffing him all up.

PB's ears splayed out as he chuckled, trying not to show embarrassment... or excitement. Hesitant, as if afraid Alan would reject him as the others back home, his pack, had. His packmates had turned their noses up at him and his interests. Instead, he'd sate his strange desires with this human who seemed to feel the same as him!

PB licked the human's finger, making Alan gag.

"Ew!" The child, his beloved human friend, pulled back and made a face. Even making a face, Alan was cute. "Disgusting. Dog breath!" He'd gag and react, every thought crossing his face for the wolf to see.

And he loved it...

Loved him...

And...

"Oh..." PB realized as if standing on the sidelines watching the two boys playing together in the field, away from others. Looking in on the memories of that day.

Back then, Alan, like everyone else, thought PB was a dog. A Pomeranian. He was so... fluffy. It was hard to distinguish him from a dog, let alone a wolf. He couldn't blame them, only wishing his pack didn't pick on and tease him so much about it.

The others bully him, humiliate, and hurting him to increase their standing in the pack. Putting him in his place and telling him he'd never amount to anything but someone's omega-bitch...

Alan didn't, though. Alan never did. This human, his human, never said such things to him. Never hurt him, as they had, they would... Alan was the brightest thing in the wolf's shitty, seemingly hopeless life.

"I wish I was just a dog...." PB, standing there on the sidelines, said as he watched the two children play. If he had been a dog, then maybe... maybe things could've been different? It would've fixed so many things in his life. It would've created a whole new set of problems to deal with, but...

But PB was sure he'd have been able to carry those burdens, unlike the ones placed on him now. Fate could be so cruel. He wasn't a strong wolf, not like the Alpha's son. No, he was more like his mother. Someone he'd never known after being ripped away from her after weaning.

Never to hear the song she sang to him.

PB never had the kind of family Alan, or others did. Alan's family was terrible, but at least they acknowledged he was their son. PB didn't even have that. His father ignored him, using his mother as the Alpha had ordered. Produce a litter when told and forget about them after.

His pack was supposed to be his family, and he hated them.

The pack family teased him enough as it was! If any of them learned what those at school called him, even his teachers, his life would become hell. To be called a dog was one of the greatest insults for a proud wolf. They still tore into and mocked him endlessly... but that was just the tip of what they could've done.

Or would do.

Making fun of him. Pulling on his fur. Swatting his ears. Hitting him. Yanking his tail. Laughing at him as no one would come to his aide to help him...

Hit him.

Beat him...

Mark... him...

PB wanted to cover his ears, to recoil and pull away. Cower away from it all. From their taunting voices. The pain he felt just recalling their memories. These memories? No, these were supposed to be the happy ones! The comforting sanctuary he would come to during the darker times dealing with the family.

His happy place...

They weren't allowed to intrude here! Yet, here they were. These dark memories and thoughts, feelings of pain, were slipping in and tainting the good ones PB had. It was all he had left...

And they were trying to take them away too.

PB wanted to shout at them. To tell them not to intrude! To bark, yell, bite, and snap his teeth until they would leave these memories be! Let him have this! At least let him have the good times with the man he loved...

Don't let them ruin these too...

They molded and folded, melding together as they broke apart. Pieces fell all around him as he crumbled to his knees, crying as he tried to distinguish one from the other. Shattered, broken pieces of his memories crumbled around him. Indistinguishable from the other. Trying to put these broken pieces back together without combining the good with the bad...

Then, that warm touch on his arm made the small pup look up, hoping to hear his name from the only man that mattered...

...

PB's eyes snapped open, and he had to turn to look toward his blind right side to see who had touched him.

"You hide this time!"

No one was there, yet PB wanted to say he heard him. His nose twitched, but he couldn't smell the human's scent.

"You hide, and I'll come looking for you, okay?" That smile. Those days in the field, together. It brightened not only his day but his life. It was his sanctuary away from home. It was his happy place...

"Okay," PB mouthed the words he had said back then. He was shaking, nearly convulsing as he tried to bite his lip. He didn't have the fangs, too, not anymore... "But you got to promise."

"Promise?"

"Promise you'll find me... Okay?" PB had to ask, had to know. The others, those back home, would invite him to play games. Tricking him, fooling the puppy, and letting him play along... before abandoning him in the woods, leaving him behind, or just outright not including him in their games as he stood there on the sidelines, looking in...

No one had come looking for him when he'd gotten lost in the woods. He was just a pup! And no one, no member of his pack, his family, had come looking for him as the muddy, cut-up, and tired puppy finally managed to find his way home.

The runt of the pack.

Worthless.

A nobody.

Why would someone bother looking for him? He was better off just... gone...

"You're a silly guy. You know that, PB?"

A waste of space. Of food! Of air! They had called him so much worse.

"I like you...."

A disgrace his biological father had told him after the meeting, by chance, seeing him for the first time. PB hoped, maybe, that if he met him, he'd... what? Be accepted? The pack didn't have such familiar bonds, and PB had hoped that at least his biological father would recognize and accept him...

"Promise."

No. No one had, not until he met the human.

"I promise..."

PB could only accept that. Believe in him. Trust in him. He had no one else after all... other than Alan, no one else seemed to care if he lived, breathed, or died...

"I'll never stop looking for you, PB. No matter how many years" years... "it would take. I'll find you," find you... "I promise..." Promise... "Just wait, okay?" Wait...

"I'll wait for you...."

That's all this was, PB concluded with a single sad nod.

"Alan's still looking for me...." PB muttered more to himself, lying in that hospital bed a week later in this empty, bland room. That was all. Alan was looking for him, and PB had to wait. That's all he could do... right?

PB couldn't look for the human, no. Then they'd find him! If they found PB, then they'd find Alan... was Alan okay after that night? How many days had it been? What day even was it...?

PB shook the unnecessary thoughts from his head. He only needed to focus, believe, and listen to his human. If he did, then maybe... he could be seen as a good dog? Instead of a wolf... he was a rather lousy wolf anyways.

Maybe this way, PB could pretend to be a dog for the human. Dogs and humans got along extremely well in society, some of the few races that did. Most in society kept to themselves. Dogs and humans were some of the rare exceptions to this rule.

They could be that PB was sure--the rare exception.

Soon enough, he'd burst through the door and hug him! Wrap his arms around PB and nuzzle his face against the mane of fur around his neck. Breathe in his scent as PB felt that familiar weight against his side. Hugging, holding him.

That smell. He needed that smell again in his lungs. It gave him life--a strength to keep going on.

PB's arm twitched, and he tried, tried to mime hugging someone, but couldn't. His body felt so weak. Tired. And he didn't have the energy even to move. His ass was beginning to get a bed sore, but he'd still sit here and wait.

"That's alright," he concluded. "Alan will find me... I'm sure...." And there was that doubt again--that lingering fear.

After all, if Alan could find him... then they could too.

PB closed his one good eye and turned away from the door, trying not to whimper or cry as he waited. Waited for the man to return. To hide here, away from it all. In the safety of this place. Wait to be found. To be hugged. To be rescued. To be saved...

And the morning hours ticked into the afternoon, and those began to slip by as well. As PB lay there, waiting and waiting, fearing for what might find him. No one checked in on him. There were no visitors or guests. Who would care for him, after all, enough to take time out of their busy day to come to check in on the ragged, beat-up wolf?

"If I was a dog...." PB muttered, sure that if he were, maybe someone... someone would come to check on him.

That Alan would come then... He couldn't blame his friend... for not wanting to see him. He was pathetic. He was pitiful. PB wasn't a good boyfriend... or a good wolf. Or a good dog... Alan deserved someone who...

But the wolf didn't want to let him go, despite it all.

People had feared and hated him the instant they found out who or what PB was. He had experienced the best and worse of the world in his young childhood years. Everyone at school and outside his home loved and cherished him. Showering him with praise and attention while at home with the family, they mocked and teased him relentlessly for his cute appearance.

"A wolf isn't supposed to be cute!" They'd laugh at him.

Then... PB grew up. His soft, fluffy appearance began to sharpen into something more... dangerous, deadly, feral, and wild. The wolf finally barring his fangs. PB was young, innocent, and didn't know they would hate him for being... alive.

All those who had loved him turned on him the next second, discovering what he was.

His friends stopped hanging out with him or calling him. The teachers excluded him from their lessons, and he was alone during recess. No one wanted to play with a wolf... no one wanted to acknowledge and see him for who he was. It was easier, easier to pretend they didn't exist.

That he didn't exist.

What if he pretended to be something they once thought he was...? Then maybe they'd...?

Except for Alan...

"He was always so bad at this game...." PB tried to reassure himself with hyperboles. "Walk off a ledge if I wasn't there to stop him... he couldn't find himself out of a paper bag!" He chuckled lightly, trying to focus on... grasp... hold onto those good, warm fuzzy thoughts. His right hand grabbed at the sheets."Bet he's turning over every rock and tree trying to find me...."

The thought wasn't comforting.

"Checking the stream... Calling. Calling out for me. Wanting me to jump out. To find him. To track him down again, instead of!" And there was that uncomfortable yet familiar venom to his words again, like bile seeping from his lips at the dark thoughts sinking in. It stung his throat, yet the tears in his eyes burned far, far worse...

PB clenched his hand on the sheets, looking down.

"He's just running late...."

Humans were terrible trackers... Alan would take all day to find him if PB didn't go to him before it got too dark. Humans couldn't see in the dark. They didn't have fangs or furs. They were so... helpless.

"It's getting late...." PB muttered, needing to turn his whole head to look out the window. The sun was setting. And still, no one had come by to check on him. Check on the wolf with a cone around his neck, a bandage over one eye, a cast on his leg, and bandages covering the rest of him. "I'm sure... tomorrow, will be the day."

PB didn't feel comforted by those words.

"You have to head home?" How many times did PB have to ask Alan that? The human was too skittish and nervous to tell him. PB said the words aloud, with closed eyes. Yet, in the darkness of his right eye, his right side, he could practically remember that day.

Those days.

Long gone...

"It's my folks." Alan tried to explain. Not wanting to stress how serious it was for him. PB knew how rough a family could be. Since Alan's folks found PB wasn't some dumb cute dog, they had begun trying to separate the two. To keep them apart.

PB had almost loved the challenge back then when he had the energy and the strength to fight for it. For him! Now? PB wasn't sure anymore...

"Of course. Right. You got to go. Again. I don't think they like me much." PB had tried to tease, to joke. It sounded as hollow as he felt.

"Worried you'll just pee on the floor." Alan would tease back, far more playful than PB had. PB resented Alan for leaving because that meant... he would have to return to his family. When Alan was gone, there were no more reasons to delay returning to a place he'd never called home.

"I only did that once!" PB found himself smiling despite it all. And, for some reason, that made it hurt all the more. An ache in his chest as his right hand grabbed blindly at the sheets, searching for that hand to hold.

"Tomorrow?" Alan smiled back. And it was worth it to suffer like this for that smile.

Right...?

"Tomorrow!" PB just yipped happily, giving him a firm hug, ending up reassuring the human again. He always shouldered their burdens, concerns, worries, and doubts. Having to, needing to be the strong one in their relationship...

"Promise..."

"That's right...." PB opened his eyes again, staring blankly forward in that dull hospital room. "Tomorrow... That's all. He'll be here... tomorrow. His parents must've called him. They had called Alan back home... He couldn't disobey them, ever... even for me...." And his full face fell at that.

Did their love mean so little...? After what PB had given Alan, could the human not even stand up to his hick parents?

"Tomorrow... he'll be here when his parents go back to work, right? Like always. When they were gone, he would visit me, then...." PB tried, tried to hold onto it.

Then we can be together; he'll be here. He'll want me. He'll love me and take care of me. I'll have someone that supports me... right? He won't... he won't abandon me too? Like my own parents did... like the pack did... not even looking for me. They'll, he'll... them... together...

The memories kept clashing. The two faces broke apart, the mismatching pieces forming together once more.

The good memories with the bad.

"It's his fault!"

"He told us about you. Where to find you!"

"He abandoned you."

All his fault... their fault... them, him, together. Mixing, matching. Lies burrowing, digging deep like fangs and claws. It was hard to tell where the lie ended and the truth began. Who was right? Who was wrong in all this?

The pain stopped when PB nearly gave up, throwing Alan under the bus instead of holding it for himself. PB had almost called out to do this to him. To reveal where Alan was! But he hadn't and didn't know... if it was because he couldn't talk anymore or because he genuinely wanted to protect the human.

How did he feel about this? When their love was tested? Did... PB, fail? Or did Alan?

"He'll turn on you. Betray you. All lies... that's what they do. They did. He did."

"Replace you with another...."

"Dispose of you like the trash he sees you as. Find a new plaything, a new toy... to play with, break, abandon and throw away too. Like trash. Disposable trash you are...." The Alpha's own words made PB whine. "That's what humans do."

The Alpha was always right, wasn't he? That's what they were taught. That's what had been beaten into them. To shut up and listen to the Alpha. To never question, only obey. He had disobeyed... that's why he'd been hurt.

Or was it because of the human? Did he hurt because of him...

PB wasn't sure. His brain was all over the place, and he closed his eyes, hoping that tomorrow would be a brighter day...

...

How many weeks or months was it before someone knew came into his room? The nurses checked on him but never talked to the wolf, who just stared blankly forward while they did their job. They didn't want to be here, and PB just tried to make their life easier by not interacting with them.

He knew they wouldn't respond. They didn't care for him. It was their job and nothing else.

Not until that door opened, and someone was there. PB's heart jumped as his nose twitched at the new scent in the air.

The door opened, and PB gave a start. His heart hammered in his chest as he tried to pull back and withdraw away from the door creaking open. Fear in his eye, in his heart, clouding his mind. All reason left him as his body reacted before his mind could process what was happening.

The smell of a wolf. That was what he smelled. And it scared him enough to piss on the bed.

Only one thought filled his head, body, and soul at that moment. Fear. Fear that they had tracked and found him down and would finish the job.

The door thunked against the wall, and PB inadvertently whimpered, letting out a low pitch whine as he shook, lifting his left arm to try and protect what was left of his face. He could barely see. He couldn't hear. His nose was overflowing with snot as the tears burned once more.

Someone came over quickly on heavy paw-padded steps, and the scent of wolf grew stronger. It was overpowering. The stench of another male wolf in the room scared PB more than he could ever explain outside a psychiatric ward.

"Please, don't hurt me...." PB whimpered pitifully, cowering away and waiting to feel the sting, the bite of their fangs and claws to finish the job.

"PB. PB!" Someone grabbed his arm, another taking hold of his shoulder. They were strong. Those fingers hurt. His once thick hide and luxurious fur coat couldn't protect him from those fingers holding him painfully hard.

PB was all skin, fur, and bones now.

Helpless. Helpless to stop someone from attacking him. Them. PB couldn't protect himself, let alone Alan. And Alan wasn't here to protect him...

"Alan." PB could only whimper as the male wolf grabbed hold of him.

PB could hear his nose sniffing. The other wolf sniffed all over him, cringing back at the wetness on the sheets before looking at his face.

"PB, it's me. It's Uncle Gristle!" A dark gray-furred wolf with sharp, gnarled features tried to calm down his convulsing nephew before turning his head and barking out. "Nurse! I need a goddamn fucking nurse in here, now! Or a doctor! Anyone! Don't make me come out there!" Gristle continued to try and hold his nephew to calm him down and stop him from shaking.

Gristle was rough. He wasn't used to soft love and tried his best to help. His help only did more harm.

He wasn't sure if PB was having a seizure or what, and only when the wolf forced his good eye open, looking into the grizzled face of his uncle... did PB calm down. Calm down enough to grab at him, hold him and... cry.

Gristle gritted his teeth, open arms as he grumbled, looking down at his nephew, not exactly returning the hug. They had roughed his nephew up. More so than was necessary. If Gristle were still part of the pack, he would have a few choice words with Mauler, the current Alpha, and his pack brother...

"Nurse! God fucking dammit." The wolf practically howled in fury as he let go of his nephew long enough to stomp his way over to the door, throw it open, and howl down the hallway for someone to check in on them.

No one would've come, Gristle knew, if he hadn't made a scene. He was a big guy with enough scars on his face to make anyone back down like the cowards they were. He got his way, more often than not, without even lifting a finger. The threat he posed was clear enough.

Gristle was more than capable of backing up his bark.

Someone came in, dragging a cart behind them, as they rushed into the room.

"What happened?" They asked Gristle, whose fury only grew.

"How would I fuckin' know!" The wolf's thick East Coast accent began coming through. "You twat suckers are the ones I'm flippin' payin' for, and you asshats can't even take care of my nephew for two goddamn minutes!" He gestured towards PB, and only then did the nurse seem to realize the wolf was awake, still shaking.

The fox quickly came over to check on him, reading the results on the machine he was hooked up to before Gristle returned, shoving her cart out of his way. He reached over and grabbed his nephew once more.

"It's Uncle Gristle, PB. Come on, now. You haven't forgotten this face, have you?" Gristle tried to smile. It was far more intimidating than he meant it to be.

Gristle had a nasty cut over one eye, several claw marks on the side of his muzzle, and the opposing cheek was left with a chunk of fur missing as if someone had literally taken a bite out of it. His ears were tall and perky, not exactly matching his face; the triangular wolf ears had been gnawed one too many times to let that be the case.

The dark gray-furred wolf fur tone shifted and changed over his body. Thick and dark on his back and arms but lightened up on his face and the exposed tuft of fur on his chest. Strands of white fur covered his muzzle showing his age. He was shorter for a wolf but thick and built solid like a brick wall. PB had always joked that Uncle Gristle was a juggernaut who couldn't be stopped once he got going.

PB nodded his head once.

"I can't hear you," PB said softly, whining. And he held his throat. He couldn't even hear his voice.

"Get him some goddamn fucking water!" Gristle spat the words at the nurse, a somewhat reclusive-looking vulpine. She moved out of his way and headed off to do just that. "Seriously." Gristle grounded his teeth, making a sound that PB could practically feel in his bones even though he couldn't hear it.

Gristle had gotten his name because of the bad habit. The hard cartilage in the bone that one would usually spit out; as a pup, he'd grind his teeth with it, making a sound familiar to chewing on Gristle. With his fearsome appearance, scowled, beat up, and scarred face, it was no wonder everyone kept a good arm's distance from him.

Even those in the family.

The nurse came rushing back in with a doctor. Gristle snatched the water cup from her hands and practically shoved her aside to get to his nephew's side as he had done with her cart. Helping PB with the cup, somewhat clumsily, Gristle managed to get the young wolf to finish it in one go, half forcing it down his nephew's throat.

Gristle was not a friendly wolf, and it showed.

"How's that? Is it good, yeah? Only the best for my nephew...." Gristle tried to say and reassure, but his face wasn't one of a happy wolf. Concern lurked in his eyes, and PB was sure the wolf was looking for someone to take his anger out on.

Gristle was a wolf of few words and many fists. There had been legends about the wolf who'd escaped the pack. Some said he fought off ten wolves blindfolded. Others said he had slept with every female in the pack and was allowed to leave, looking for more seeds to sow...

PB had been too afraid to ask.

"I can't... can't hear you," PB whined, his eye watering up, and all he could do was tuck his head as Gristle held him.

The smell of the older, larger timber wolf comforted PB. He smelled of pine, male, and tobacco. That familiar scent of his uncle. He was the only one in the pack who hadn't outright hated or ostracized him. His scent was almost... spicy? A mix of earth and peppers. It seemed fitting for a man that, despite his shorter size, had been known as one of the top brass within the pack.

Gristle made sure the doctor ran every test in the book. Hovering over the tabby cat's shoulder the entire time, grinding his teeth as if chewing cartilage. Gristle didn't need to speak; his actions were loud and threatening enough.

They went through several checkups and tests, asking PB questions he couldn't answer and could barely hear them say. Gristle was more than happy to step in and tell them where they could shove their questions and that they just needed to help his nephew a "damn hearing aide," or he'd sue the entire hospital.

If Gristle wasn't there watching their every move, PB was sure they'd have just written the half-blind, deaf, crippled wolf off and kicked him to the street.

"Can you hear me?" Gristle asked again after the doctor had gotten them a hearing aid.

"I'll need to contact an audiologist and run some tests to get a proper fit." The tabby cat just said, keeping his distance from the wolf.

"Shut it!" Gristle snapped his teeth, glaring at the feline. "Don't go ratting on me either, cat." The wolf spat. "I've recorded all this. I'll gladly show it to my lawyer the second you think to try anything."

Gristle didn't even wait for an answer as he snapped his fingers in PB's face several times as if the wolf wasn't watching him like everyone else in the room was.

"Can you? Hear me?" Gristle shouted, making PB's face cringe as the hearing aid buzzed loudly in his ear.

"Somewhat, Uncle." PB ended up just nodding along. It was terrible, but at least he could hear somewhat.

"Good. That'll have to do for now." Gristle sighed, rolling one shoulder as he stood back up. He glanced over at the nurse and doctor, looking them over slowly. "The hell ya' want? A cookie? Fuck off while I talk to my nephew!" The wolf snapped his teeth, and the two fled.

"Uncle..." PB winced from the sound, rubbing the side of his head.

"PB... the hell they do to you, pup?" Gristle just asked as he dragged the chair over to take a seat in it once more. "Those asshats didn't even text or call me. Or the doctor! Fuck, should sue them all...." The wolf ground his teeth in annoyance.

"Did... Did you see anyone else here?" PB swallowed, fearing the answer he'd get.

Gristle looked up at him, and if only for a second, the older wolf's face fell.

"Oh. PB..." Gristle started before shaking it off and clapping his knees, pushing himself back up even though he'd just sit back down. "I got my truck out front. I can load you up now, and we can go to Bellingham. See a doctor there. Not these twats!" He snapped his teeth once more. "Get you the help you need...."

"Uncle...?" PB needed an answer.

"...it's nice there, pup. Not like this shitsburg." Gristle spat to the side, stepping closer as if he was going to scoop the wolf up on the spot and carry him out.

"What about Alan...?" PB's voice croaked out, and his one good eye was spilling tears.

"I... Pup... fuckin' hell." Gristle kicked the chair over, grumbling as he stomped around the room, muttering one curse word after another.

"If I go. Then he'll have a hard time finding me...." PB swallowed again, unsure if he wanted to be found. He was so conflicted about this, everything.

"I warned you about this! About him! About the pack." Gristle just growled, pacing back and forth. He picked up the chair, setting it upright... before chucking it to the side as he cursed again. "Going to kill him. Kill them! Burn the whole place down! That fucking mansion of his. Didn't even want it. Can keep that damn thing. Once I burn it down!"

"Uncle," PB said softly, and Gristle came to an uneasy stop. "I. Alan. Can you... find him?"

"Pup," Gristle warned.

"I just want to make sure he's... okay." PB grabbed at the sheets. "I know you hate me, but-"

And PB felt the hand in his. He looked down to see his uncle's hand on top of his own.

"I don't hate you, you stupid. Stupid, daft pup. No brains, I tell ya'!" Gristle shook his head. "What are they teaching you in school these days? Waste of money."

"Please...?" PB whined out softly.

Gristle gritted his teeth. "Fine. I'll make sure the kid is okay. You'll need time to be discharged before we head out, anyways. See one of those ear doctor people." The wolf shook his head, holding the side of it as he groaned. "This is going to cost a small fortune!"

"I... thank. You, Gristle. For everything." PB tried to smile.

It hurt to smile as his Uncle messed up his hair with a hand.

"I'll be back. You just let me know if that damn doc' tries to screw us over again!" The wolf roared from the open doorway, keys in hand. "I'll be back!" And with the door slamming behind him, PB was left alone again.

Waiting for the news as he looked out the window.

Unaware that Alan's family had moved after their son was attacked by the very wolves that had injured PB and what had transpired that night six months prior to PB waking up from his coma...

.....