Zayn pov

That went better than expected. When I saw his terrified face this morning I was sure I would get kicked out, but he 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 he had walked in when he had. We didn't get a lot to eat there, so we were quite weak. As soon as he held out his hand though, his scent

overwhelmed us.

The smell was euphoric, he smelled of apple blossoms. Our head shot up and when we made eye contact web knew. Our mate. He 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 him 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, he picked us, and I've never felt so much happiness. Besides the leash and the fact that he 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 he screamed I felt like I would have a heart attack. I thought he was in danger, only to

realize I had unconsciously shifted back and he was terrified of me. After having explained myself he

thankfully let us stay, and he made conversation with us.

I don't think I've ever felt so content, just talking to him 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, he didn't know that he was our mate yet, but I already knew that

this would be the man I'd spend the rest of my life with. Wait? What if he has a boyfriend?, or girlfriend although am very sure his gay, with the way he was blushing this morning. My wolf, Cade, growled in the back of my head. Clearly not happy with that thought.

'We'll ask him 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 he would

mind me looking around his closet for anything else to wear. I decided not to. I didn't want to invade his space.

As tempting as it sounded to just explore his entire apartment, I didn't want him to think I was a creepy

stalker. He probably already thought that after Cade ogled him last night.

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

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

'He taught we were a dog.' Cade defended.

'And now he 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 he 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 his name, and felt ashamed we didn't ask earlier. I guess in the chaos we forgot.

We started to get restless around 5. He told us he would get back at 4:30. What if something happened to him? We paced around his living room for a while. At 5:30 I was willing to leave the apartment to search for him, but then the door opened.

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

special.

He walked into the kitchen with a bunch of bags in his hands. "Oh thank god you're still here."

I raised an eyebrow. Was he this attached to us already? The mate bond doesn't work that quickly.

"Otherwise I would have bought all this for nothing!" He continued as he held up the bags which I now realized were shopping bags.

"What are those?" I asked him.

"Clothes and stuff for you! I figured you'd need something to wear. Sorry I'm late by the way." He said as he

placed the bags on the coffee table. He then faced me, "Go on, open them!"

I was frozen in place for a second when I saw his breathtaking smile. He was absolutely beautiful. His 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 him a playful growl to which he 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?" He said with a grin.

He clearly was past the fear stage and was now just messing with us. This wasn't what I had expected from our mate. Yesterday he was pretty calm and this morning he was freaked out.

Right now he was acting like we had been friends for years and he was teasing us like it was just a normal occurrence. I wonder if this is what he'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?" he 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." he opened the fridge, "I have some chicken and vegetables?" he 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 harry." He answered with a smile. Harry. I love it.

I walked up to him to help him with dinner but he told me to go change and check out my new stuff. After arguing for a bit I decided that my mate was a stubborn man, 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. 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 he 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. He also bought some

shampoo and body wash specifically for guys. The fact that he spend so much time finding and buying me things warmed my heart. I wondered if it was his 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." Harry

asked as he walked into the room.

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

He 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 boy is perfect.

"That's ok. This is enough for now. Thank you." He smiled again and returned to the kitchen. I checked the phone he bought. It was a Samsung

phone, which I found interesting since he had an iPhone.

But at the same time I was glad he 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 longer, I now felt like I was 20 years old again, which was the age I became rogue.

Harry 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 his kitchen stuff was. I

watched harry in the corner of my eyes. He was beautiful. His long hair was in a bun, though it was a messy one after a day of work. He wore a pair of jeans and a dark green shirt, giving him that hot young teacher look. I wonder if his students eye him.

I had to withhold a growl.

Harry 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?" Harry asked.

"As in?"

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

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

"Cade?" He questioned.

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

"Ah," he 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'." Harry asked.

"Dog mode?"

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

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

picture to your friends."

Harry 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."

Harry chuckled, "I'm not that interesting. I'm 23, am gay, I 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, harley. We're really close." He explained cheerily.

I figured out that he was a very bubbly and talkative person, and that the teasing was definitely part of his 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."

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

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

Thank the goddess. 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 he doesn't need to know that.

"No, we wouldn't want that. My poor puppy being kicked by angry men." Harry 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."

Harry broke out in a laugh, "Big bad wolf huh?" I felt him surge forward, trying to take control and teach

him 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.

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

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

Harry 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."