The clearing was Flint's favorite spot; it had been since he had found it as a pup. After the pack had discovered his condition, it was his only true refuge outside of the Den, a place he could go that wasn't filled with the distrust, sadness, and disappointment that surrounded him wherever he went.
For the longest time, the three of them stayed quietly sitting in that clearing. It was a new experience for Flint. He could smell the decay of the fallen tree a dozen feet away, the crisp scent of the man behind him, the tree sap from all the rain falling on the leaves, breaking tiny veins in their stems. His wolf was heightening his senses, one at a time. First had been touch. Every time the wind blew it felt as if a stream of water was running over him. Now, his sense of smell was so powerful it made him dizzy with every breath.
Flint sighed as another spasm passed, this one in his right thigh. He could feel Garrett's hand rubbing the outside of his leg, easing the twisting muscle.
"Is this helping?" Garrett asked, probably worried by the sigh. The way he quietly whispered his question while being so close and connected made Flint feel like blushing. He quickly tamped the feeling down, but he still grew a little pink under the light sprinkling of fur on his face.
Flint nodded his head. "Y-yeah, it aaactual-ly is."
Dominic still had a hold of Flint's hand, the warmth of their contact radiating up his arm, all the way to his shoulder. It was a comfort even to have such a small amount of contact with Dominic, but it had nothing on what the contact with Garrett was doing to him.
Flint could feel Garrett's heart beat through his chest, and resonate throughout his entire body. Warmth coated every part of him, inside and out. Flint had felt it in the Omega Wing, while he was being torn apart by his own bone and muscle. As he had laid there silently begging for someone to end his suffering, Flint had felt the same warmth coax him back from that edge, stabilizing him long enough to gain control of his instincts and push them back down. It had been Garrett who had kept him from dying that day.
Flint wasn't sure if he was grateful for that or not as his wolf once again tried to shift into its physical form. He could feel his bones slowly changing shape, elongating and shortening as his muscles continued to try and reconfigure themselves. There was no order, no synchronization. One bone would lengthen while the attached muscles stayed their original length, or a joint would pop out of place because the ligaments were trying to shape themselves to form the joint of a wolf, only to pop back in when one of the two shifted to fit again. At no point was he ever alleviated from the pain as his body shifted back and forth in slow motion.
Being out in the open was a relief though. Flint hadn't been allowed to leave that hospital room since the fight, and there was nothing more oppressive than a hospital room. It was slowly killing what little fight Flint had in himself to be trapped in that room. No amount of pleading had convinced his family, mainly Hale, to let him out or to let anyone else in for that matter. As if he was a child that couldn't make his own decisions.
Without warning, Flint felt his instincts surge forward and send his body into another intense episode. This time was different though. Every part of his body was spasming at once, which was something Flint would not be able to stop in such a weakened state. He had thought he would be able to hold of his wolf down until Hale got back.
He had been wrong.
"D-D-Dominic!" Flint's entire body began to rock with the spasms. Every bone, muscle, ligament, joint, and tendon fighting between human and wolf shapes, causing the fur on his body to grow. He tried to push his wolf back down, but it had gained too much control over his transformation. Panic set in at that moment. This was happening far quicker than it was supposed to. No other transformations had come on this fast and hard.
Flint could feel Dominic's hands on him, helping keep him upright as he thrashed in Garrett's arms. "Flint? What's happening?" Flint sobbed out a scream as the nails on his hand and feet outgrew their beds, splitting the tips of each digit. "What can we do? What do you need?"
"Th-the, the sssi-ssilvver! Y-yyou have to ge-gET IT OH LUNA!" Flint's pelvis began cracking into pieces, then fusing back together to create a new shape piece by piece.
Garrett tightened his hold. "It's happening now?" Flint nodded, crying out as his left humorous extended rapidly and snapped his bicep. "Fuck."
Flint watched as best he could as Dominic began shuffling the blankets and his clothing to try and find the syringe. He was patting down his pockets when he cursed and stood to his feet. "Fuck, it's still with the wheelchair! Flint? Are you sure this is it? Can you hold on till your brother gets back?" Flint thought about it, but then his skin tore as the bones in his feet elongated too far for it to stretch over. He screamed, thrashing his head back and forth in a "NO." Dominic cursed again and turned to face the trail. "I can run for it-"
"No, I'll go." Garrett laid Flint on his side, being careful to set him down gently. "You're still hurt and I'm faster, I'll do it." He leaned down, so that he could whisper in Flint's ear. "You hold on; you hear me, Flint? You told us you could hold on till Hale got back, and we didn't bring you out here for you to die on our watch. Don't make me have to take another life."
By the time Garrett's words processed in Flint's pain-drunken head, the blond was already gone and running down the trail. Dominic took his place, sitting down so that he could put Flint's head in his lap. "Just hold on Flint. You can do this, just hold on for me."
Flint looked up into Dominic eyes, tears falling out of his own. "I-I-I'mmm sso, sssso ssorry, Dom-. I th-thought I c-cou-ld, mmmake it."
"Don't you dare apologize for this Flint. This isn't your fault."
"B-but, it isss, mmy ff-fault." Flint cried out as his hips popped out and back in to their sockets. "I, dd-don't under-stand, wh-why I cc-can't do it!" For years, he had tried to figure out why he couldn't connect with his wolf. Every time he brought it to the surface, he could never seem to fully embrace the wolf, form the necessary bonds in order to become a full fledged werewolf. Everyone around him made it seem so simple, so natural. It had never been that way for him. It was never anything but pain.
Even as used to pain as he was, Flint was still overcome with the intense agony of his entire body coming apart. His cries would alert any patrol that was nearby to their presence, but with the order that it was to be Hale who would put Flint down; they would keep their distance. No action would be taken until there was no other option.
Dominic stayed with Flint the entire time, stroking his head and giving him words of encouragement. They were hard to hear with the ringing in his ears, but it was nice none-the-less to know Dom was there with him.
