Misfits: The Canine
Fandom: ragehappy Ship: Jeremavinwood, past Raywood, Ray & Jeremy Words: 3.8k Tags: college au, vampires au, werewolves au, pack dynamics, past abuse, non-consensual biting (past), vampire!Ryan, vampire!Ray, werewolf!Jeremy, getting to know each other
Summary: In an attempt to force Ray and Jeremy to spend time together, Ryan sends them on an errand. Unfortunately, bonding is put on hold as they have a run-in with Jeremy's old pack.
Read here on Ao3. Part of the Misfits series.
A/N: set several stories after The Change. Presumes Ray’s return to the manor, the revelation that Ray is Ryan’s ex, and that Jeremy got together with Michael, Gavin and Ryan in the meantime.
Ray found Ryan in his lab already, the sun barely set. He hesitated in the door, glancing around. Aside from the kitchen, this place had changed the most. Gone were the bubbling vials of colourful liquids, the big glass apparatuses were replaced with tiny chrome machines. No smoke clung to the air despite the small windows being closed. Instead a terrible stench hit his nose, artificial and penetrating. Ray wrinkled his nose and considered leaving, but just then Ryan looked up and noticed him in the door.
“Ray.” Ryan waved him inside. “Good. I was going to find you later.”
“Ryan,” Ray drawled, crossing his arms as he leaned against Ryan’s worktable. Somehow he knew Ryan didn’t mean to talk, but they had time. Between them, Ray had always been the patient one. “What’s up?”
“I need to ask you a favour,” Ryan said distractedly, frowning down at a display and scribbling notes in his book. Ray tilted his head, watching him idly.
“What kind of favour?”
“Could you escort Jeremy to the seven eleven?” Ryan pressed his face to something that looked vaguely like binoculars attached to a stand, missing the incredulous look Ray shot him. “He mentioned he needed some stuff earlier.”
“You want me to walk your puppy.” Ray didn’t even try to hide the disgust from his voice. Ryan looked up sharply, but Ray met his gaze evenly.
“He’s not a pet,” Ryan bit out sharply, frowning at him. Ray arched a brow in disbelief.
“Then why doesn’t he run his errands without a big bad vampire holding his leash?” Ray let his mouth pull into a smirk, fangs poking over his lower lip. “Afraid the puppy’s gonna run away?”
Ryan’s eyes flashed red in warning, holding himself still like a predator about to pounce.
“No,” he ground out, visibly fighting his temper down. Ray dropped the smirk and lounged against the table, watching as Ryan took a deep breath. Interesting. He wasn’t sure if Ryan mellowed out in the last century or if his control was getting better.
Good to know that he could still provoke a response, though.
“Jeremy’s… pack.” Ryan spat out the word as if it was filth. Ray blinked slowly, filing the information away. “They’re- well, they’re a bunch of assholes but they still have claim to him, technically. They won’t start shit with witnesses there, though.” Ryan clenched and unclenched his jaw, looking away. “Normally Michael and Gavin would go with him during the day, but with exams coming up…”
Ryan trailed off, flipping the off switch on the nearest machine. The whirring noise came to a slow stop, leaving absolute silence between them. They’d both given up the pretense of breathing long ago, at least when it was just them. It startled Ray, how easily they fell back into the habit.
“So why don’t you go?” Ray asked finally, breaking the silence. Ryan shook his head, waving at his equipment.
“I’m busy,” he said vaguely, not looking at Ray. “I have deadlines to meet.”
Ray cocked his head, eyes sweeping over the lab equipment. This, then, was familiar. The evasive way Ryan busied himself, paging through his book randomly. It screamed louder than pacing ever did: Ryan didn’t know what to say, his mind far away. It stung, but with years of distance between then and now, he could see something else: Ryan didn’t want to talk because he was hiding something. And he hid it behind a farce of busyness.
Ray tipped his head the other way and eyed him intently.
“Do they know?” Ray asked neutrally, so painfully neutral. Ryan froze, confirming his suspicions.
“I have enough money,” Ryan returned tightly, glancing quickly at Ray. “They have enough on their plates already. They shouldn’t have to worry about working through college.”
“So you’re paying their tuition.” Ryan nodded slowly, warily. Ray frowned. “And it costs enough to make a dent in your savings?”
“Putting kids through college has gotten ludicrously expensive.” Ryan shrugged, joining Ray at his table. He stood close enough for his aura to seep into Ray’s, a lack of warmth and tantalizing power. “And Gavin’s parents aren’t paying. Michael’s try to help, but they got several other kids to take care of. And Jeremy-”
Ryan broke off, shrugging. Their shoulders brushed together, and Ray felt himself lean into the touch almost against his will. Habit, he told himself, mind honing in on the last fact Ryan accidentally revealed.
“The puppy’s in college?” he asked, trying to tone down his incredulity. Going by Ryan’s sharp look, he didn’t quite manage. Ray shrugged unapologetically. “What’s a werewolf doing chasing a degree? Don’t the packs usually keep to themselves, teach their own and all that?”
“He was in college when he was bitten,” Ryan explained, voice cold. For once, his ire didn’t seem directed at Ray. Still, as far as explanations go, that was unhelpfully vague. Ray squinted at him.
“What does that have to do with anything?” Why would he want to go back of all things? It made even less sense if the puppy already had a degree. Unless he dropped out when he was bitten? Was the mutt sad he never finished his degree what, twenty, thirty years ago or something? Why else would he want to go ba-
Ray froze as the penny dropped. He stared at Ryan, searching his face. No. No way.
“When?” He grabbed Ryan’s shirt, pulled him close. His eyes bored into icy blue. “When did he-”
“Six months ago,” Ryan stated quietly. It felt like ice sliding down Ray’s back. “He just started college when…”
Ray pushed him away and turned to pace the length of the lab, aware of Ryan’s eyes on him. Fuck. Fuck.
“So the puppy is literally that. A damn puppy?”
“Ray,” Ryan said warily, eyes narrowed in warning.
“Don’t Ray me, asshole.” Ray snapped his mouth shut, grinding his teeth. His jaw worked furiously as he glared at Ryan. What was he thinking!? “He should be with his pack, learning whatever passes for manners amongst wolves, not screwing around with a couple vamp tramps in your fucking house!”
“Ray.”
“Really, Ryan?” Ray threw up his hands and stalked away from the other vampire. Of all the infuriating, harebrained- “You think you know how to housetrain a wolf pup? You’re a vampire, for God’s sake!”
“Then who!?” Ryan made a frustrated noise, crossing his arms. “I’m not fucking sending him back.”
“Pack laws exist for a reason, you realize.” Ray pushed up his glasses, pinching the bridge of his nose. “A wolf without a pack… You know how loners turn out. If you actually care for him-”
“They’ll kill him!” Ryan shouted, and Ray stopped in his track. Silence rang between them, unnaturally still. Ryan grit his teeth. “He can’t go back, Ray. It’s not an option.”
Ray blinked, slowly, intentionally. Ryan took a deep breath, air hissing through his teeth as he exhaled sharply.
“Michael found him in the woods, a bleeding mess. His packmates were harassing him, biting and clawing and he just… laid there and took it.” Ryan closed his eyes and shook his head, turning his back to Ray. “Do I think I’m qualified to teach him? Hell no. I have no clue what I’m doing. But what else can we do?”
Ray watched him silently as Ryan clenched and unclenched his fists.
“He’s not going back,” Ryan stated firmly.
“So, what. You’re just gonna wait until something happens? Until he attacks one of your humans?” Ray asked, tilting his head. Ryan swallowed, his adam’s apple bobbing.
“We’re looking for a suitable pack for him,” he answered quietly, pressing his palms flat onto the surface of the cabinet. “Michael has some contacts. We put the word out, so now we just need to… wait.”
“And hope for the best in the meantime,” Ray snarked, his shoulders slumping. Way to take the wind out of his sail, huh. “Jesus Christ. Alright.”
“Alright?” Ryan asked, looking up at him from under his long lashes suspiciously. Ray sighed, shaking his head.
“Alright, yeah, fine, you win, whatever. I’ll take your puppy on his walk.”
Ryan hesitated, giving him a sideways look. Ray rolled his eyes and crossed his arms.
“What?”
“I was… hoping you’d spend some time with him,” Ryan offered sheepishly, scratching his head. Ray shot him a look. “Get to know him better.”
“Oh God,” Ray groaned, hanging his head in realisation. Jesus, Ryan. Really? Really? It wasn’t like he cared if Ryan hooked up with others, but… He didn’t expect him to be serious about two humans and a wolf.
“I think you’d get along well,” Ryan defended himself, pursing his lips and giving him a look with wide, soft eyes. Ray’s eyebrows shot up, staring back in disbelief. Puppy dog eyes. Puppy dog eyes over a puppy, how perfect. Christ.
“Yes, yes, I’ll give your werewolf boyfriend a chance.” Ray rubbed at his forehead and then dropped his arms. “You know, like any good ex does. Fucking hell, Ryan.”
“He needs more allies,” Ryan insisted stubbornly, because of course he did.
“Uh huh.” Ray arched his brow and bumped Ryan’s shoulder as he stepped past. Because that clearly was the only motivation here. “Sure.”
“It’s gonna be fun?” Ryan called after him, not even having the decency to sound certain.
“Sure is,” Ray muttered to himself, knowing the vampire’s ears would pick up the words over the short distance. “Gonna be a party. Next thing you know we'll be braiding each other’s hair and painting each other’s nails.”
Ray pretended not to hear Ryan’s short burst of laughter and ignored the thrill it sent down his spine.
***
“Sorry for this,” Jeremy told him on the bus they were taking into the city. Running would’ve probably been quicker, but Ray wasn’t sure how fast and long the pup could go in human form. Was it something wolves learned with age or practice? He didn’t quite dare to ask, so the bus it was.
“I could’ve gone on my own,” Jeremy pressed on when Ray remained silent, staring at the passing trees through the window. “Ryan’s just been…”
“Overbearing?” Ray suggested bemusedly, glancing at the pup from the corner of his eyes. Jeremy grimaced.
“Worried,” he settled on diplomatically, looking down at his lap. Ray snorted.
“Yeah, he gets like that.” He turned his head slightly to watch the pup, who was tugging on the strings of his hoodie. “Here’s the secret of dealing with Ryan: tell him no.”
“What?” Jeremy’s head snapped up, frowning at Ray. Ray shrugged one shoulder.
“Establish boundaries. Draw the line and then enforce it.” Ray glanced away. Ryan meant well, but he could also get stuck in the mindset that he knew best. He was so fucking clever, it was easy to just… let him. Until it escalated and turned him into a controlling bastard. “You give him an inch, he’s gonna take a mile,” Ray warned the pup.
Jeremy frowned, gaze dropping to his hands. He fiddled with the strings, looking troubled. Ray left him to his thoughts, having said his piece.
“Is that what happened?” Jeremy asked two stops later, not looking at him. “Between the two of you?”
Perceptive, Ray thought and ground his teeth. It was more than just that, of course. A hundred small things accumulating over the centuries, until he needed a break from his infuriating lover.
“Something like that,” he replied vaguely. Complicated, he wanted to say, but in the end it was much more simple. “Living that long, you grow tired of people,” he offered, staring at the fields turning into houses as they entered the city. “Annoying little habits start to rub you wrong.”
Jeremy was silent as the bus stopped and more people boarded. Ray eyed them idly.
“How long were you together?” Jeremy finally asked, once they moved back into traffic.
“Oh, couple years here and there.” Ray waved him off. “Once we made it to a full century. That was a fun anniversary.”
And also ended with their biggest fight, but the pup didn’t need to know that. Ray stood up, gesturing for Jeremy to do the same.
“We’re here.”
The seven-eleven was a square little building with red neon letters spelling the name out front. Ray followed Jeremy around idly, watching curiously as he stuffed bags of chips and salted peanuts into a purple and orange tote bag. He teetered in front of cheap cans of beer before veering off towards the Monster energy drinks. Ray snorted a laugh in surprise, earning himself an uncertain look from the pup. How ironic.
And kinda cute, in a weird way. Ray shook his head, pushing the thought away.
It happened as they headed to the cashier. Three young men walked into the shop, slouched and with their hands stuffed into their pockets. Ray glanced them over quickly before dismissing them, they looked like nothing more than college students in desperate need of basic hygiene. Their greasy hair framed their faces in lanky strands, clothes unkempt and rumpled and clearly slept in. Ray wouldn’t have given them a second thought if it weren’t for the way Jeremy tensed at his side.
“Dooley!” one of the newcomers called. The others’ heads snapped up and turned towards them, like hounds catching a trail. They smirked, bumping into each other as they sauntered over. Jeremy froze, like a deer caught in the headlights.
Ray came to a stop next to him, casually brushing their shoulders together.
“You know these people?” he asked quietly. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Jeremy nod sharply.
“Know us?” The leader barked out a laugh, a rough and abrasive sound in the mostly empty shop. “Why, we’re practically family!”
“Are you now,” Ray returned dryly, giving them a pointed once-over. “I don’t see the resemblance.”
The three howled with laughter, as if Ray had just told them the greatest joke. His eyebrow rose a tick and he gave Jeremy a deadpan look. Jeremy sighed and rolled his shoulders, clearly uncomfortable.
“What do you want, Duncan?”
The leader spread his arms with an affected Who, me? expression.
“I couldn’t help but notice you were out and about without, ahh, supervision, if you catch my drift.” Duncan smirked, dropping his arms. “Finally old enough to leave the nest alone? Or-” Here his eyes narrowed in dark pleasure. “-could it be? Have you been replaced?”
“I’m not alone,” Jeremy snapped back, crossing his arms. Duncan glanced at Ray before clearly dismissing him. Ray’s other eyebrow rose to join the first.
“Him? Pfft.” Duncan waved him off. “I’ve never seen him around before. Have you, boys?”
“Not once,” one of the others chimed in, flexing his arms with a grin.
“Can’t be anyone important, I don’t think,” the third added with a flash of teeth.
“Wow. Rude,” Ray drawled. Duncan didn’t even look his way, stepping up into Jeremy’s space.
“Tell me, Dooley, does your new friend know? How you kneel and beg for scraps at your master’s feet?”
Jeremy growled, pushing Duncan back, taking a step to insert himself casually between the three wolves and Ray. Curious. Did he consider Ray one of his, or was it his connection to Ryan that brought out the protective instincts? Ray cocked his head, willing to let the puppy take the lead on this one. To watch and see where it went.
“You must confuse me with you, Duncan. Tell me, does Preston allow you to lap up his leftovers from his plate if you suck up to him enough?” Jeremy bared his teeth in a mocking grin. “You jockeying for beta, is that what it is? Aww, look at you. All grown up and ready to settle for second best.”
Ah. The puppy got teeth, after all.
Duncan flinched back, eyes wide. Then he snarled, glaring at Jeremy.
“You got guts, Dooley. You think you’re so tough after playing lapdog for your bloodsucker?” Duncan sneered, shoving Jeremy. “But he’s not here this time, isn’t he? Just the three of us - and you.”
“I don’t need help to take you down,” Jeremy growled, his hackles rising.
“But you can’t be everywhere at once, can you?” Duncan took a step back and looked at his companions. “What do you think, boys? Time to teach the bitch a lesson, isn’t it?”
“Needs to be taken down a peg for sure!” the first yipped, stepping up next to Duncan. “Needs to relearn his place in the pecking order.”
“He’s been salivating after those humans. Like a bitch in heat,” the other commented with a lecherous grin. “Not that I can blame him. The blond one looks delicious, I just want to take a bite outta him, y’know?”
They laughed as Jeremy tensed and Ray straightened, narrowing his eyes. They were talking about biting humans against their will. That was against pack laws, especially in a neutral zone like this city. The Council would not take such threats lightly.
“We told you, didn’t we, Dooley? What happens to your friends if you don’t play nice and obey the alpha?” Duncan leered at Ray. “Shame your little friends aren’t here right now. But your new one should be as good a start as any, shouldn’t he, boys?”
The wolves laughed in agreement, jostling each other. Ray narrowed his eyes and stepped up next to Jeremy, brushing a hand over his back. To calm him down or support him, Ray wasn’t quite sure. Jeremy shot him quick look, worry and something deeper, darker reflected in his amber eyes.
“Careful,” Ray spoke up, letting his fangs poke over his lower lip. “You don’t want to say the wrong thing now.”
The wolves fell into startled silence as Ray let a sliver of his aura slip. Power bled into his eyes, his senses sharpening. Ray let his gaze wander over the three lazily before catching Jeremy’s eyes. The glowed golden in this heightened state, as much of a giveaway as a vampire’s red eyes. Dangerous, his instincts told him. Jeremy snarled, crouching lower. For a split second, Ray tensed, expecting a blow- but Jeremy’s attention returned to what by all rights should be his pack.
“Leave,” he growled, hunching in preparation of a fight.
“Unless you still want a bite,” Ray drawled, letting his power swell. The wolves cowered, flinching back. Young, he mused. Not unlike Jeremy. “I haven’t had werewolf blood in over a century. It’s quite heady.”
The leader scowled at that, inching back.
“This isn’t over, Dooley,” he warned, eyes darting towards Ray before he scurried off, tail tucked between his legs. The other two followed suit, stumbling over their own feet in their haste.
Ray pulled his aura back in and watched as Jeremy slowly relaxed.
“Sorry about that,” the pup offered with a grimace, carding a hand through his hair. Ray shrugged, bumping their shoulders together.
“No problem, dude.” He gently nudged Jeremy forward, grabbing the six pack of energy drinks from the floor where the pup had dropped it. “Not your fault they decided to be douchebags. Though I’m honestly questioning your choice in packs. First Ryan, now this.”
Jeremy chuckled dryly. “Not really my choice.”
Ray remained quiet as they checked out and payed, turning everything he knew about the situation over in his head. The picture it painted wasn’t pretty. There was a pact loosely upheld by both vampires and werewolves, in an attempt to keep further bloodshed between the two factions in check. Human cities were neutral zones, the denser the population the worse the retaliation if either faction tried to claim territory there.
And no human could be turned against their will.
An old relic of a law, from the times of the vampire-werewolf wars. Both sides had turned too many humans for cannon fodder, forcing the other supernatural races to intervene. Consent was the compromise they agreed to, if somewhat reluctant. If the pack here was violating that law, the Council had to be informed.
Ray glanced at Jeremy. The pup was checking their surroundings alertly, but his shoulders had relaxed.
“When they turned you…” Ray trailed off, trying to phrase the question inoffensively. “Did they… ask if you wanted to be turned?”
Jeremy shook his head, looking grim, and Ray’s heart sunk.
“I kinda had no idea what was going on. Only figured it out later, after a week of transformations.”
So. That confirmed it. The question was, what to do next? The Council had to be informed, for one. The pact had been broken, and now the werewolf in question lived with one of their own. Speaking of which-
“Does Ryan know?” Ray asked, keeping a careful eye on the pup. Jeremy shrugged, clearly uncomfortable with the topic.
“Yeah, I guess.” He sighed. “Didn’t really make an effort to hide it. I was just happy to get out of that situation, and Ryan… well, he wasn’t all that happy with me at first. Tolerated me for Michael and Gavin’s sake, you know?”
Ray blinked slowly, tilting his head. That was new. Somehow he’d imagined Ryan welcoming the pup with open arms, the way he acted now. All protective and adoring and stupidly in love. He couldn’t really see it, but he supposed… it’s how he would’ve expected Ryan to react, if he hadn’t seen him be all lovey-dovey and concerned.
“I don’t really know when that changed, but… I talked about some of it. He’s… a good listener.”
“Sometimes, yeah,” Ray agreed, shaking his head. He was pretty damn sure Ryan hadn’t informed the Council, or Ray would’ve heard of it and came back to shake some sense into him much sooner. But why? “You’ve lived with them some months now, right?”
“Yeah.” Jeremy shot him a furtive look from under his lashes before ducking his head. “Do you… do you mind? About Ryan and me?”
“Nah,” Ray returned easily as he led the way back to the bus stop. “Ryan and I have a very… casual agreement. As long as we live, it really doesn’t make sense to hold us back like that. It’s a very human sentiment anyway.”
“So… you’re not jealous?” Jeremy asked cautiously. If he had ears, Ray mused, they’d be perking up. It was a bemusing image. The question on the other hand… that was complicated and not something he really cared to get into with what was barely a stranger. Though the pup did step between him and danger, unnecessary as that was.
And… he was kinda cute. In that bulldog puppy way.
“Sometimes,” he admitted lightly, “but no, I don’t mind you nearly as much as I should.”
Jeremy blinked rapidly. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Vampires and werewolves don’t get along, kiddo.” Ray rolled his eyes. “I honestly have no idea what’s going on in Ryan’s head, but it’s just not done.”
“Oh.” Jeremy frowned, looking down. “I… didn’t realize that.”
Ray hummed noncommittally.
“Don’t worry about it, pup,” he sighed, jostling Jeremy playfully. “Let’s go home.”
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