Chapter 8 - First steps to recovery

---Zayne's POV---

The small piece of meat was gone sooner than I'd liked. Licking my lips and sniffing my paws to make sure I had indeed finished everything, I eventually let out a saddened sigh. My ears flickered to listen to the rest of the wolves in the room as I turned around in my crate, feeling a bit more comfortable.

I did feel a bit guilty though; the meat wasn't earned, and yet, I ate it. Maybe they were waiting for the right time to attack, when I was asleep or something? Lowering my head to my paws, I froze halfway as came to realize something and lifted my ears up, frustrated that the tip of my right one just flopped around.

Are they...

I slowly pushed myself up on all fours, holding my breath to listen intently at the sounds of the room...or rather the lack thereof. When the silence kept stretching longer and longer, I slowly crept towards the entrance of my crate, licking my nose before sniffing sharply.

"Their scents are still here but..." I poked my head out of the carrier, "They left the room?" My tail twitched, curling against my stomach out of habit as I stayed in my crate. What was I supposed to do?

"Maybe they're just outside, waiting for me to leave the crate. I'm sure that as soon as I take a step outside, that door will fly open and I'll be attacked." I let out a sad sigh and went to lay back in my crate until two set of bowls caught my eye.

Clear liquid shimmered in the soft bedside light that was left on, casting a yellow hue through the room as it reflected off the water and the two shiny bowls. My stomach turned and saliva pooled in my mouth as I realized what was in the second bowl.

"They left the food and water?" I whimpered softly, confused and scared.  Hesitating on the edge, I turned my head back and forth, yawning to relieve some stress before aiming my ears towards the door.

I could still hear them, talking to each other but it seemed that they all went downstairs? Taking a deep breath, I slowly took a step out of the crate and froze. My heart was nearly beating in my throat as I kept my ears pinned, trying to hear anything over the roaring in my ears.

Nothing.

One step was followed by another, hesitant one until I sat just outside my crate, tail curled tightly against my stomach. Maybe I should just get back in the crate...my eyes landed on the food before wincing at the liquid growl of my stomach.

"But I'm hungry..." My paws took me closer to the bowl, each step winding me up even more to the point that as I was certain that if one of those wolves decided to come back upstairs, I'd probably grow sick on the spot.

My nose twitched at the scent of the food and when nothing happened, I quickly rushed to close the distance and dove muzzle first into the bowl. As soon as the first bite was in, my instincts and wolf took complete control.

I nearly inhaled the food, gasping for breath between mouthfuls as I hardly took the time to chew. All I felt from my wolf was the hurry-quick, quick! thought and the intense fear that any moment now, someone was going to steal the delicious food.

The chicken was mildly spicy, which was a new sensation for my tongue and lips but the tingling burn was doused by the rice and the broth it had been cooked in. There were a few vegetables spread between the rice that I didn't know and had never eaten before but I didn't care.

So hungry!

When the bowl was completely empty, I snorted a few times, feeling the tickly sensation of rice sticking to my nose before I licked the grains off. Lowering my nose to the ground, I inspected it closely for any missing grain, licking them up as I found any morsel of spilled food.

My stomach was heavenly full, a warm, comforting sensation as I waddled towards the water and started lapping, quenching my thirst and dousing the last of the flames caused by the spices.

Just as I licked my lips clean from any excess water, soft footsteps sounded on the stairs. As soon as they hit the corridor, my heart started racing while my stomach churned in dizzying waves.

Turning on my heels, I quickly ran for my crate but skidded to a fearful halt when the door opened, blinding me with the bright light from the hallway. I only saw a slender figure standing in the doorway before it came closer, making me whimper and shake as I quickly hunched down and rolled on my back.

"I knew it! I just knew it, it was all a trap! I shouldn't have eaten their food, stupid, stupid dog!" I cursed myself as I whimpered softly, my tail brushing over my stomach.

"Oh sweetie, shhh. I'm not going to hurt you." A feminine soft voice crooned as manicured fingers gently rubbed over my stomach, understanding my submission but not accepting it.

As her fingers curled under my back, I froze, my throat tightening as I panted, eyes flitting through the room to try and find an escape route. I was more than confused when I was gingerly scooped up and held against her ample bosom, the smell of cinnamon and apples numbing part of my anxiety.

"Now, let's go and get you a bath, huh?" She smiled down at me, lips curling in a stunning smile that made me slowly relax the tiniest bit. I could smell she was a wolf too and that she was pretty high ranking too.

"Julia?"

The woman turned, her warm brown curls bouncing slightly as they swished around her head as her eyes landed on the person that spoke, narrowing playfully. "Why is it that beside Alice, neither Marley nor I have been informed of the newest addition of our pack?"

The Alpha slowly approached, smiling wryly to himself as he shook his head and stuffed his hands in his pockets. As he came to a halt, he balanced back and forth on his heels before snorting with amusement, nudging Julia slightly.

"Because, I knew you would become mother hen on Zayne and truth is, he needs it. But I'm not sure if he can handle it." The man replied while my wolf softly recalled that he was named Lee.

Lee chuckled again before he slowly reached out to pet my head. I couldn't stop the small whimper when I felt his hand covering most of my head, my ears pinned back as I shivered in Julia's hold.

Oh my god, oh my god...what's going on?! Why are you being so nice to me? I don't understand!

Julia's hand rubbed over my back, shushing me softly as I panted and shivered anxiously. Lee's smile turned painful before he pulled his hand back with a low grumble. Julia shot him a warning look, her thumb rubbing soothing circles over the back of my ear.

"Lee, calm down."

"Calm down? You want me to keep calm while I know the boy has been abused probably since birth? He's an Omega Julia, he should've been protected and treated with love and affection." Lee ranted angrily, shoving his hand through his hair and grabbing a handful, pulling it angrily.

Julia sighed, leaning down to brush her lips over my head that only succeeded in making me even more confused as I pitched one ear, trying to make sense of what was happening here.

"Look Lee, I've always loved you like a brother and I've known you since we were little, but even Amanda would've hit you upside the head for letting your emotions get the best of you." Julia said with a sternness that didn't fit her gentle demeanor.

Lee's shoulders sagged at the mentioning of a certain Amanda, his eyes turning hollow for a split second before he painfully cleared his throat and sighed, hand slipping out of his hair.

"I know." His broken answer was barely audible as he quickly slid a hand over his eyes with a sniff and looked away to hide the redness of eyes. Julia's hand stilled before she reached it out to Lee and gently squeezed his shoulder.

Her smile became softer, more reassuring as her deep brown eyes glimmered with unshed tears. "I know you miss her Lee...you've lost your mate while I lost my sister. But we both know we have to get through this."

"Now," she added with a more joyful tone, "We need to get Zayne here a bath and maybe clip his nails a bit. The poor things has obviously been neglected and I know you guys don't think much about personal hygiene, but I'm sure Zayne's going to enjoy his bath."

I doubted it but I wasn't in the position to protest. Instead, I flattened my ears and shivered slightly, the memories of my last 'bath' pushing its way to the forefront.

One of the pack's female wolves had taken pity on me when I was ten years old and had coaxed me out of my cage, wanting to give me a warm bath. She meant well but the Alpha had eyes and ears everywhere and by the time she arrived at her house with me trembling in her arms, the Alpha had been notified.

I had nearly fled out of her arms when she walked through the front door, only to find his muscled frame relaxing in her couch. He had sneered, grabbed me harshly by the scruff with his claws and had tossed me into the shower, setting the water on boiling hot before he kept the door shut.

So when Julia set me down in the bathroom, intending to run my bath, I bolted the other way, ignoring her surprised shout as I skidded between Lee's legs and nearly tumbled down the stairs.

Hide! Hide!

With my tail tucked between my legs, I dashed away from the stairs, crisscrossing through the hallways and open doors in an attempt to shake the Alpha off. Running through another opened door, I came to a halt and listened intently.

Yes. Finally safe. I thought to myself with relief, as I didn't hear anything. Sniffing slightly, I tried to find my way around the darkened room, using all my senses to move around. When I bumped into something soft, I quickly sniffed the air, trying to detect a scent.

I got several, all mingling with each other but all sharing that familiar scent of werewolf. Did they keep prisoners down here? I took a hesitant step, flattening my ears and letting my tail swish softly before I realized what this was.

Laundry. I sniffed again, nudging the pile and scampering back when it fell apart.  Lots of laundry. My tail slowly relaxed, realizing that there was nobody around as I scanned the pile, sniffing each piece intently to figure out how many wolves were here.

After a few minutes of sniffing and pawing at the fabric, I came to realize that this pack was probably smaller than my own. Thank the heavens for small favors. There were fifteen different scents in the air and I had to sneeze a few times to get the overload of male testosterone out of my nostrils.

But even with all those different scents in the air, I slowly felt myself relaxing, my eyes drooping slightly as exhaustion hit me full force.

Glancing back at the door, I contemplated to nudge it closed but then again, they would suspect something if I did so; it had been left open for a reason. My wolf was nudging at my mind until I finally relented and crawled on the pile of clothes, falling down on them and huffing slightly when most of it tumbled down on me.

I flicked my head to remove the shirt off of it before wiggling a bit to find a good spot and then sighed, curling up with my tail covering my nose. My scent would be covered by the laundry all around me, so hopefully, they wouldn't find me any time soon.

With a long yawn, I nuzzled the shirt underneath my jaw before allowing my eyes to droop and close completely. I just hoped that this pack didn't decide to act normal when I was at my most vulnerable.