I was attacked as soon as I walked into the door by a horde of small children. A girl with short ginger hair, two twin boys with blonde curls and bright blue eyes, and a scrawny little girl with two brunette pigtails held up with red ribbons. "Oof!" I exclaimed as I got five fists to the guts. The were all talking at the same time and grabbing at my shirt and arms and hands, all calling me "Human" and jumping up and down.
Aster whistled sharply. "HEY!" he bellowed.
Loki rushed forward towards Aster. "I tried to tell them!" she wailed, her eyes brimming with tears. "I tried to tell them not to touch him but they wouldn't listen to me!" she cried, rubbing her snotty nose on her sleeve.
I knelt down. "Hey, hey, hey don't cry, it's okay," I whispered to her, rubbing her shoulder. "I don't mind, I swear. I'm not mad at you."
Loki sniffled. "You promise?"
"I promise. I'm not mad at you, or your friends."
Loki nodded sullenly and rubbed her eyes with her fists. "O-Okay."
Aster hissed through clenched teeth. I glared at him over Loki's head as she wrapped her arms around my stomach to give me another hug. I arched my eyebrow, asking him to say something about me comforting the crying child. Aster shook his head in annoyance, and snapped his fingers to get the attention of the chattering pups.
A woman rushed out of a door nearby. She was wearing a baggy black T-shirt and gray shorts. There was a huge bruise over her right eye, and a few tiny cuts on her lips. I stared at her in confusion, breathing in deeply. She smelled sweet, like fresh rose bushes, and like sweat. She was incredibly nervous about something.
"They all charged out on me at once, alpha," she panted, resting her hands on her knees. "I went after Suki, she's usually the one that they follow, but they doubled-back and I couldn't find them." She bowed slightly. "I'm deeply sorry as well to you, new one," she said to me.
I was still staring at the bruise. "Did someone hit you?"
Aster inhaled through his teeth. The woman shook her head. "Oh, it's no big deal. After all, we are werewolves."
"So?"
Aster rested his hand on my shoulder. "I'll explain it later. Right now, you are to meet the other werewolves and nothing more. Elaine, I expect you to keep an eye on the pups. I do not want them tormenting our guest."
I glared at Aster. "Stop saying that." I bent down and patted each one of their heads. They were all laughing and chattering with one another. Pigtails gave me a hug, wrapping her skinny arms around my legs.
"I like him!" she chirped.
Aster looked like he was ready to snap. Elaine shook her head sorrowfully. "I'm so sorry Aster- there's just so many now, and they're getting smarter day by day. I can't keep track of all their whereabouts, and they seem to have a habit of tricking me. I keep losing them. I swear I'll do better."
Aster nodded stiffly. "Thank you, Elaine. Please take them away now."
I pouted. "But-"
"That's enough out of you," growled Aster. I rolled my eyes and gave Loki one last hug before she ran off after her friends and the bruised woman. Aster grabbed my arm angrily and pulled me to my feet.
"Hey-!" I protested, tugging against him.
Aster bared his teeth at me. "I am tired of your constant attitude. I want you to be a good boy and do what I say, otherwise things will be much, much harder for you. The other wolves cannot see you acting like this, or who knows what they'll do. Order is important to us, and technically I'm not supposed to allow you to be so bratty. I'm giving you an exemption because you're new to this and don't know how you're supposed to act, but I can tell that you're beginning to. When your gut tells you to do something, you must acknowledge it, but then use your head to decide whether or not to trust it."
"I don't get it."
"The Wolf is wild, and while that's okay in here and out in the woods, once you get back into town you can't always listen to it. Wolves lead with force, not words. There's a big difference between humans and wolves, yet you must learn to live with being both. Does that make any sense?"
I nodded, just to get him to stop talking straight out of an encyclopedia. Maybe I could ask Elaine for answers later, she seemed much more keen to talk than Aster was. Aster had been nothing but a thorn in my side since he dragged my broken, bloodied body back home from the forest. He claimed he'd been "taking care of me". As if. He'd been bothering me. He owed me much more than an explanation for tearing my arm to shreds. I rubbed my arm, the bumpy scars from the bite grazing my fingertips. It made me want to cry everytime I remembered the searing pain of having my arm torn into like that. And Aster still wouldn't tell me why. But like before, my stomach was screaming at me to follow Aster. I wanted to be a good boy for Aster. But my brain told me to slap him across the face for calling me that. I was so confused. It hurt my head.
"Come along, Red," Aster said, beckoning me forward. I followed obediently, but my brain called me a pussy for it. Aster opened the door at the end of the mud-room area, and opened it into a hall. As soon as I walked in I smelled dozens of other people (wolves?), and they were all dead staring at me, like they'd been waiting for me to walk through that door. They lined the walls of the hall, both people and wolves alike. They were mingling together, some people were brushing the wolves, some were piled together like they'd been sleeping. But they were all staring at me now, and they were all growling ferociously. I felt my skin start tingling again. Aster grabbed my hand briefly and whispered. "Stay calm. They can smell your fear," he hissed, and then let go. I missed the touch already.
I crossed my arms and straightened my posture, refusing to cower like my gut told me to. I may not want to be here, but I had a right. Plus, Aster had dragged me here pretty adamantly. He wasn't letting me go anywhere. I sort of understood the twisting in my gut. Wolves cared a lot about hierachy and power, and right now I was at the bottom of all these werewolves. Which meant that I was supposed to listen to them, I was supposed to show submission to all of them. But I wouldn't do that, not if I could help it.
"Who's your new pet?" a man asked. He had a long scar across his left eye, and he was leaning against the wall a couple yards away from me. This long hall had a scattering of seating areas, TVs, and lots of different entertainment items throughout the long room. This had to be where the werewolves hung out when they weren't doing anything, like a gigantic living room. It made sense, there had to be at least two dozen werewolves in here alone, and I could smell even more than that.
Aster grimaced. It was clear by his rigid posture that he didn't like this one. "I saw Elaine," Aster said simply. Whatever that meant to the man, it made him freeze slightly. Aster turned away from the man and addressed the whole pack. "This is Red. Yes, that's his name."
I glared up at him.
Aster ignored me. "There was a misunderstanding a couple nights ago in the woods, and Red will be staying with us for a little while as he tries to figure out what the hell is happening to his body. Since you've all gone through the exact same thing, I expect you all to be courteous and understanding of our guest while he's learning. It won't be long before the Wolf is ordering him around, and then he'll be much more bearable. Does everybody understand me?"
There were a few yips of agreement from the wolves and verbal assurance from the people. I noticed that Scarface over there didn't say anything. He was staring at the ground, arms crossed angrily like a toddler that'd been told they'd had too much candy. It was almost comical, really, watching him act so immaturely. He was nowhere near as muscular as Aster, but he looked strong enough to at least give him a fair fight.
"So this new pet is going to be given special treatment?" Scarface sneered.
Aster glanced at him. "I seem to remember you, Tyler, when you were first bitten. Your face was shredded, do you remember that? Do you remember the pain? Do you remember how they treated you?"
Scarface bared his teeth at Aster. A couple wolves growled low in their throats at Tyler, assisting Aster. "I just don't get why the pet gets to be treated so well. He needs to be smacked around some to learn that he's supposed to listen."
Aster shook his head. "That is not how I run this pack, and you know it. Aster is still learning, and I am certain that his Wolf will assist in his behavioural problems. However, if Red continues to act like a brat-" he said this to me specifically, lowering his voice so that I was probably the only one that heard it. Tyler chuckled. "Then punishment will be in order, and I will deal with him justly. Violence is only going to be used when there is no other option. I trust Red and his Wolf will learn to get along with all of you soon. Punishment will also be in order for anyone who chooses to disobey me and bother Red. I want to make it clear that no one is to touch Red, no matter how disrespectful he is. He will learn, and I will make sure he is made aware of his mistakes. Come to me with any problems you have with him, and I will take care of it. Understood?"
Everyone in the room nodded.
"Good." Aster snapped his fingers, and almost everyone in the room flinched. That seemed to be his way of getting people's attention. "Follow me to my quarters. You had some questions, and I will be answering them away from prying ears. Come along boy, and don't make eye contact with anyone. It's seen as a challenge."
I ducked my head and followed him, obeying his warning not to make eye contact. I felt burning gazes on my back as I left the room, scurrying after Aster like a stray puppy. Which, I supposed I was here.