*Adam's POV*

That went better than expected.

When I saw her terrified face this morning I was sure I would get kicked out, but she actually let me stay.

I turned on the shower. I hadn't had a proper shower in so long. I usually cleaned myself in wolf form or went to the stream to clean. It must have been years since I last had a proper warm shower.

I used to be part of a pack. But that pack was destroyed and since then I've been living as a rogue inside of the woods. I had always been a fan of the forest, so living there was never a problem. My wolf and I have a great bond too, so we managed to adjust quite quickly.

Admittedly, we had become more animal than man. I mean, it had been six years since we became rogue. Most wolves don't even make it one month without losing their humanity. When we got caught, I was simply a ghost in the background. They put us in a cage and there were camera's everywhere. I couldn't escape without exposing werewolf kind, and Cade hadn't let us shift in well over a month at that point. I had basically given up. I heard the caretakers talk about them putting me down and I wasn't sure if I would be too bothered by it. Eventually, my wolf had become quiet too, giving me control of his own form. That rarely happens, especially since we were almost fully rogue.

We basically slept through the entire month at the shelter. I hadn't even realized she had walked in when she had. We didn't get a lot to eat there, so we were quite weak. As soon as she held out her hand though, her scent overwhelmed us.

The smell was euphoric, she smelled of apple blossoms. Our head shot up and when we made eye contact we knew. Our mate. She was right in front of us, looking at us with interest. Before I realized it, my wolf had taken over again and tried his very best to make her adopt us, as degrading as that sounded. Like a switch was flipped our humanity had returned to us, and our mate was the only thing we could focus on.

Thankfully, she picked us, and I've never felt so much happiness. Besides the leash and the fact that she was convinced we were a dog, the first day went well. We didn't like acting like a dog. But at the same time we both knew we would do anything for our mate.

The next morning when she screamed I felt like I would have a heart attack. I thought she was in danger, only to realize I had unconsciously shifted back and she was terrified of me. After having explained myself she thankfully let us stay, and she made conversation with us.

I don't think I've ever felt so content, just talking to her at the breakfast table. It's what we always wished for when we were young. A mate we could spend all our time with. Who we could love and take care of. When we lived in the forest we had given up on that dream slightly, but it always stayed in the back of our minds. Now, she didn't know that she was our mate yet, but I already knew that this would be the woman I'd spend the rest of my life with. Wait? What if she has a boyfriend?

My wolf, Cade, growled in the back of my head. Clearly not happy with that thought.

'We'll ask her about it later.' I told him.

Cade responded positively to that.

I turned off the shower and dried myself. I put on the sweatpants, which were tight. I wondered if she would mind me looking around her closet for anything else to wear. I decided not to. I didn't want to invade her space. As tempting as it sounded to just explore her entire apartment, I didn't want her to think I was a creepy stalker. She probably already thought that after Cade ogled her last night.

'As if you didn't stare at her too' Cade snarled.

'I wouldn't have done it in such an obvious way.'

'She thought we were a dog.' Cade defended.

'And now she thinks we're a pervert!' I reminded him.

Cade whimpered at that.

I looked at my reflection in the mirror. I looked rough. Since I hadn't been in human form in over two months I hadn't been able to shave either. My hair had been this long for a while since I didn't really have any money to go and have it cut but I always tried to at least trim my beard with something sharp. No wonder she looked so scared of us this morning.

We spend most of the day watching TV, waiting until our mate would come home again. I had realized that we didn't actually know her name, and felt ashamed we didn't ask earlier. I guess in the chaos we forgot. We started to get restless around 5. She told us she would get back at 4:30. What if something happened to her? We paced around her living room for a while. At 5:30 I was willing to leave the apartment to search for her, but then the door opened.

"I'm home." She spoke, making me smile. She told us yesterday that she always says that, but it made me feel special.

She walked into the kitchen with a bunch of bags in her hands. "Oh thank god you're still here." I raised an eyebrow. Was she this attached to us already? The mate bond doesn't work that quickly. "Otherwise I would have bought all this for nothing!" she continued as she held up the bags which I now realized were shopping bags.

"What are those?" I asked her.

"Clothes and stuff for you! I figured you'd need something to wear. Sorry I'm late by the way." She said as she placed the bags on the coffee table. She then faced me, "Go on, open them!"

I was frozen in place for a second when I saw her breathtaking smile. She was absolutely beautiful. Her blonde hair was like the sun, and her emerald green eyes sparkled with excitement. I shook myself from my trance and walked over to the bags. They were filled with some shirts, hoodies and a few pair of sweatpants. Another bag was filled with toiletries, the third bag was filled with underwear and socks and the final bag was filled with a phone.

I faced my mate, "You didn't have to get all this!"

"What? And let you live off my sweatpants for the rest of your life? It was either this or more dog toys so you should be happy." Our mate explained.

I gave her a playful growl to which she looked surprised. "How much did this cost you?"

Our mate shrugged, "It's fine. I got paid last week. Don't worry about it."

I frowned, "I'll pay you back somehow."

"How? By barking at our neighbor?" She said with a grin. She clearly was past the fear stage and was now just messing with us. This wasn't what I had expected from our mate. Yesterday she was pretty calm and this morning she was freaked out. Right now she was acting like we had been friends for years and she was teasing us like it was just a normal occurrence. I wonder if this is what she's normally like. If so, I love it.

"I'd figure something out." I responded.

Our mate chuckled and headed to the kitchen. "What do you want for dinner tonight?" she asked.

I walked over, "Uh, I don't mind. Sorry, I should have started on dinner. I was scared something happened to you,"

Our mate smiled, "That's fine." She opened the fridge, "I have some chicken and vegetables?" she suggested.

"Sure, whatever you want." I paused, then asked, "So uh... in all the chaos we didn't catch your name..." I scratched the back of my head in embarrassment.

"Oh, that's right. It's Annabelle." She answered with a smile.

Annabelle. I love it.

I walked up to her to help her with dinner but she told me to go change and check out my new stuff. After arguing for a bit I decided that my mate was a stubborn woman, and that I indeed was going to check my items.

'whipped' Cade chided.

'Says who?' I shot back.

I looked into the bags again. There were two pairs of sweatpants, both black and they had a string to adjust the size. The t-shirts were all sized Large. I figured she guessed my size and she had guessed correctly. There were 4 t-shirts and two hoodies. The t-shirts were a few different colors. Two black, one grey and one navy-blue. The hoodies were black and grey.

It seemed as if she just bought a few packs of underwear. So I had enough to wear for at least two weeks before having to do laundry. They were all boxers, which I was happy with.

I checked the toiletries. There was a toothbrush, a razor and some shaving cream. She also bought some shampoo and body wash specifically for guys. The fact that she spend so much time finding and buying me things warmed my heart. I wondered if it was her personality to be so caring or if the mate bond had something to do with it.

"Are they the right size and stuff? I just guessed. It's all from Target, so I hope it's the right quality." Annabelle asked as she walked into the room.

"It's perfect. Really you didn't have to get all this." I told her.

She gave me another breathtaking smile, "It's fine. Maybe this weekend we can go shopping together from some other stuff. Normal pants or something might be nice to have. As well as shoes."

This woman is perfect.

"That's ok. This is enough for now. Thank you."

She smiled again and returned to the kitchen.

I checked the phone she bought. It was a Samsung phone, which I found interesting since she had an iPhone. But at the same time I was glad she didn't waste so much money on an iPhone when Samsung was a lot cheaper. I decided I would install the phone later and grabbed some clothes to put on.

When I emerged from the bathroom I felt like a new person. Wearing my grey hoodie and some sweatpants. It's been a while since I had worn so much clothing. In the woods I had some boxers, a single t-shirt and a pair of sweatpants. I only wore them when I went into town. When it was cold I just shifted into fur to keep me warm. I had also shaved myself completely clean, the way I preferred it. Besides my hair still being shoulder length, I now felt like I was 20 years old again, which was the age I became rogue.

Annabelle beamed at me as I entered the kitchen, "I'm glad it all fits!"

I smiled and nodded, before setting the table. This morning I got an idea of where her kitchen stuff was. I watched Annabelle in the corner of my eyes. She was beautiful. Her long blonde hair was in a ponytail, though it was a messy one after a day of work. She wore a pair of jeans and a dark green blouse, giving her that hot young teacher look. I wonder if her students eye her.

I had to withhold a growl.

Annabelle placed the pans on the dining table and we sat down to eat. It was kind of weird. I mostly ate in wolf form in the forest, so it had been a while since I had dinner like this. Same counted for breakfast this morning.

"So, anything I should know about you?" Annabelle asked.

"As in?"

"I don't know. You said you were alone but any friends or anything?" she clarified.

I picked at my food, "Not really no. It's been just me and Cade for the past few years."

"Cade?" she questioned.

I heard my wolf purr in the back of my mind as she spoke his name. "My wolf. His name is Cade."

"Ah," she chuckled, "So not Hunter."

Cade growled and I chuckled too, "No, he hates that name."

"Should I call you Cade then? When you're in 'dog mode'." Annabelle asked.

"Dog mode?"

"I don't know. When you're a dog!" She explained with a laugh.

"I call it wolf form." I told her, "And I think that would be best. Did you tell anyone about us? You said you sent a picture to your friends."

Annabelle nodded, "Yeah, but I can talk my way out of that. I'll just tell them I thought Cade fit better. I picked Hunter just because that kid suggested it. I'm horrible at names."

I smiled, "If you say so. Speaking of friends, tell me about yourself."

Annabelle chuckled, "I'm not that interesting. I'm 23, work as a teacher. Most of my college friends moved away after college but I've got a couple of them left. We usually hang out during the weekends. My family is back in Oregon. I have a twin sister, Isabelle. We're really close." She explained cheerily. I figured out that she was a very bubbly and talkative person, and that the teasing was definitely part of her personality.

I smiled and nodded, "Sounds great. Much more interesting than my life."

"Are you kidding, you're a caveman!"

I cringed at the description, "I lived mostly in wolf form so I called it a wolf den really. I kept in touch with the human world though. Sometimes I'd go into town to just look around. I didn't have money so I just walked around town and went back into the forest afterwards."

Annabelle hummed in response, "Have you always lived in the forest?"

"No," I paused, "I used to live in a pack. Just like normal wolves, werewolves live in packs. I grew up in a pack with my parents. I was an only child." I sighed as I remembered, "When I was 20, the pack was attacked. I was travelling at the time. No one survived. After that I became a rogue and lived in the woods."

Annabelle looked at me in shock, "I'm so sorry."

I gave her a weak smile, "It's fine. It was lonely at times, but now I'm here so things are looking up for us."

I saw Annabelle hold back a laugh, to which I raised an eyebrow. "Sorry, it's just cute how you say 'us'. It's cute that you include your wolf like that."

I chuckled, "Well it's been the two of us for 6 years now. He's the only one I could talk to for a long time." I gulped as my next question popped up in my head, "So anything else I have to know? Any boyfriends who'll get angry if they find out there is a guy living in your apartment?" I asked, hoping it came out in a joking way and not in a desperate attempt to find out if she is single or not.

Thankfully, Annabelle laughed, "No boyfriend. Tried that in college and it never got anywhere with anyone so I'm single."

Thank the lord.

I decided to give a chuckle as well, "Good good. Wouldn't want to get beaten up." As If they'd ever get the chance but she doesn't need to know that.

"No, we wouldn't want that. My poor puppy being kicked by angry men." Annabelle said with a pouty face.

I couldn't stop the growl that escaped from Cade. "Sorry," I immediately apologized, "Cade doesn't like being called a dog, or pet. Especially a puppy."

Annabelle broke out in a laugh, "Big bad wolf huh?"

I felt him surge forward, trying to take control and teach her just how bad we can be, but I managed to hold him back, "Yeah," I gave a weak chuckle trying to hide my inner battle, "We've been on our own for a while and he's convinced he's an Alpha."

Not that that would be wrong. Back in the pack we were the Alpha.

Annabelle hummed, then stood up, "It's quite late already. Do you wanna check out the den now or tomorrow?" she asked.

I smiled at her use of the word den instead of cave. "If you don't mind today would be great."

Annabelle nodded, "Sure, normally I don't like being out in the dark but I figure you can handle yourself out there?"

Cade and I beamed at the trust the put on us. Protecting our mate means everything to us, so her giving us that trust is like a gift.

I smiled, "We'll protect you with our life."

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How did you like Adam's POV?

Thanks for reading!