gaius

Difficult was an understatement when it came to trying to get my mate home.

The first issue started with Doctor Glassman, the man was nice but he had completely misunderstood what I was asking for. He had assumed that when I said "put to sleep" I meant kill. The man, to my horror, wore a smile as he talked about "humane" ways to kill my mate.

After I explained to him that I didn't want to kill him but rather temporarily knock him out, his smile dimmed slightly but he still helped.

The second issue was getting close enough to knock him out. He fought tooth and nail against the two of us as we tried to do so. Ultimately we managed to get him asleep but it definitely wasn't easy.

The only good thing that had come out of the struggle was the fact that I was now aware my mate was a boy. How did we figure this out? When he peed on Doctor Glassman.

The final step was transferring him from the hospital and to my house. We had to move quickly to make sure he wouldn't wake up.

Once we got him in the house, Doctor Glassman said to call if I needed anything but I decided that wouldn't be a smart thing to do.

After Doctor Glassman left, I took a seat and looked and the sleeping wolf. He looked peaceful like this, I only hope that he will soon be this calm when he's awake also.

Standing up, I make my to kitchen to get started on making lunch. He should wake up soon and I bet he'll be hungry.

As I cook, I think about Gray and Foster. I hope in time they will come around to the idea of having him here. Once he's calmed down then maybe I could invite them around and show them the improvement. The three of us had been friends for too long and even if they did annoy me from time to time, I didn't want to lose them. They had been there when I first shifted, when I took over as beta, when Mom had passed away.

A pain filled my chest at the thought of Mom. Would she be happy for me? Mom always believed in not judging a book based off the cover, it was this philosophy that caused her to give Dad a chance besides his rough exterior.

I paused at the thought of Dad. I hope nobody had told him about my mate yet, he was nowhere near as understanding as Mom and I didn't want to argue with him. Knowing how he is, it wasn't out of reach to assume that he'd be on Gray's side and want me to kill my mate. He was the one that taught me about feral wolves after all.

The sound of something moving pulled me out of my thoughts. I turned around and red eyes met my brown. Doctor Glassman had tried to convince me to get a cage and lock him inside but I turned that option down - three times to be exact.

The idea of locking my mate up didn't sit well with me. I'm sure most people would call me stupid or reckless and I probably was, but I would trust him until he gives me a reason not to.

"Hey," I greeted with a smile.

The red eyes stare blankly at me before he blinks and sniffs around. I watch as he makes his way into the kitchen, probably smelling the chicken that was currently being cooked.

A growl escaped his mouth and I watch amusedly as he tried to figure out how to get up to the stovetop.

"It's not done yet," I tell him with laugh.

He turns to face me, tilts his head, and growls again.

I'm beginning to realize this was his way of communicating.

"Hold on-" I try to say, just as he jumps and props his front legs up before I can stop him. A whine escapes his mouth as his paw connects with the stovetop and without thinking, I quickly pull him away with a sigh before examining it. Due to his werewolf healing, there's, thankfully, not too much damage.

With a growl, he pulls away but makes no move to attack as he walks back towards the living room and plops down on the floor with a huff.

Shaking my head, I turn my attention back to the food and readjusted the pan.

"Gaius!" Foster yells loudly through our link causing me to wince and reconsider our friendship.

"Why are you yelling?" I groan.

I can hear the shrug in his voice as he says, "Have to make sure your new roommate hasn't killed you yet."

I roll my eyes. "He hasn't attacked me if that's what you're wanting to know. He's growled a few times but nothing more. I think deep down he's aware of our bond."

Foster goes quiet which is unusual for him.

"Just be careful," he says in a serious tone, all traces of humor gone. "I don't want you to get hurt."

I smile to myself. Foster was always like this. While most of time he came off as childish, he was actual the most caring out of our group. While Gray made decisions based more on facts and I tended to be more connected with my emotions, Foster was somewhere in the middle. When Gray and I disagreed, Foster was the one who usually found a middle ground.

I would never say it to him, but Foster really was the glue to our trio.

"I know," I tell him honestly. "I'll keep you updated, I have to go though."

"Alright, I need to go too. Taylor's yelling about nursery designs...again."

I snort at this, when it came to nursery designs and baby names, Taylor definitely took charge. They would be good parents I knew it.

When I finish talking to Foster, I turn the stove off and place the chicken on plates. I intended to let it cool down first, but the growling brown ball decided otherwise when he knocked both out of my hands.

The plates hit the ground and shatter into pieces and I sigh knowing I'd have to clean them up. The culprit of the crime didn't seem to mind the mess as he quickly moved to try and eat the chicken breasts. I pick them up, ignoring the slight pain from the heat and move them away from the pile of broken glass.

No point in getting another plate, he'll probably break that one too.

He moves towards the chicken and pounces on it as if it was still alive before eating. I watch him for a minute before moving to grab the broom and begin to clean up.

Something tells me that a lot of things are going to have to be replaced now that he's here.