6

Growing up, mates were all any of us could talk about. They were one of the first things you learned about. After my grandparents told me what mates were, I always dreamed of finding my own. My friends were the same way; most of us had these ideas of what our mates would be like.

Indiana had a whole story about her mate being some badass warrior from another pack who went rogue and now fought evil, Emilia thought her mate would be an alpha from a neighboring pack, and after hearing so many stories about mates, I had believed my mate was going to be this kind and shy omega — the stereotypical luna who the pack loved.

Now as I look back at those memories, I can see just how wrong we were. Indiana had been mates to one of the omega males in the pack. He was nice enough, just shy which wasn't a problem considering how forward and loud she was. Emilia had been mated to one of the female doctors in the pack and she quickly dropped the whole idea of becoming a luna; she was happier being a warrior.

As I stared down at my own mate, who was glaring at me as if I was trying to murder them, I realized just how wrong I had been. It was clear to me that they were an omega, but shy and calm were not anywhere in their vocabulary.

"Come on, it's just a bath," I said, crossing my arms over my chest as I stared down at the dirty wolf. The wolf was very much trying to take residence on my bed and looked as if I had offended them by saying they needed a bath first.

The wolf growled back at me, not budging. Their eyes moved away from mine and quickly attempted to run toward the bed. Before they could launch themself onto it, I quickly moved to grab them. Since they were underweight, it wasn't hard to carry them even as they squirmed around trying to escape my grip. I walked toward the bathroom, ignoring the growls that escaped the omega, and slowly lowered them into the already-prepared bathtub.

The bath was long overdue, but so was a haircut. Their fur was outgrown and seemed to dwarf their whole body as it hung. If their fur was this long, I wondered how long their hair would be in human form.

"Come on, it isn't that bad," I told the wolf, a teasing smile forming on my face.

The wolf just continued to glare at me as if they were cursing my existence.

I grabbed some shampoo and moved to start washing them, but the closer I tried to move, the more the omega growled in warning.

"You have to get a bath, mate," I scolded and attempted to move once again. This time, the omega extended their body and nearly bit my hand causing me to frown.

I tried again, and this time they did manage to bite me. I winced but continued with my mission. This wolf was getting clean today even if I had to get bitten in the process. The wolf tilted their head at my lack of a reaction and bit down harder.

"You're just full of love aren't you?" I mumbled to myself. "Your bites aren't going to work."

The wolf continued to fight against me, but after a few minutes, it seemed to realize that the bath was inevitable and I wasn't trying to kill it. With a glare on their face, the wolf sat there and let me continue to clean their coat until I could make out a grey coat.

"See doesn't that feel better?" I asked as I stood to get a towel from the cabinet below the sink. The grey wolf's head tilted as they watched me turn and approach them with a towel in hand. Unlike the bath, I noticed their light brown eyes lighten as they stared at the towel, almost as if recognizing what it was.

How long were you in there for?

That was the question I desperately wanted to know an answer to and now just for my mate, but for the other rescues as well. There were some records for some of the wolves, but they were completely unorganized and it was hard to figure out which documents matched which wolf. Alphas Bowen, Emerson, and I were supposed to go through them when we figured out the division plan, but I was already dreading doing so.

A low growl caught my attention causing me to look over at the wolf who now had two paws out of the water and was looking at me expectantly. So I pushed the thoughts about the inevitably long day I was going to have to spend in my office and smiled as I approached my mate.

I quickly lifted the drain out of the tub and wrapped their body in a towel, which was much easier than getting them in the tub. When dry, I pushed open the door that connected the bathroom to my room and the little wolf darted past me. I blinked as I watched as they immediately beelined for the bed. They jumped on it before turning to look at me with a mixture of smugness and suspiciousness. Their eyes followed me as I moved throughout the room, almost as if they were daring me to try and take them off the bed.

I guess after being shoved in a tiny cage for so long, sleeping on a bed does seem like a dream come true.

So instead of moving them, I shook my head and a small smile formed on my lips.

"You can stay for now," I told the wolf, but the expression on their face told me that it didn't matter what I said. I wasn't going to be able to get them off if I tried.

Normally, I wasn't a fan of other people being in my space, but as I stared at the curled-up figure in the center of the bed, I found myself not minding one bit.

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