The next morning, I found all of my clothes washed and dried in my closet. I was amazed. I had already done my usual, but spent a bit longer in the shower. I spent a whole four minutes in there. It felt amazing in the hot water—to finally be able to enjoy the way it cascaded down my back.

I reached for the stack of underwear and pulled on a black pair of boxer-briefs. They felt so wonderfully snug.

My eyes caught sight of the shorts and pants on clip hangers, so I grabbed the black shorts that Waltz picked out and pulled them on. I kind of looked like a child, but I liked the effect it had. I would get lots of kisses today for sure.

My fingers brushed along the shirts, jackets, and hoodies. I put on the shirt Briar picked for me, which was a soft pink with little white bows around the collar. I grasped the solid violet oversized hoodie that Angel had picked out and pulled it on. Now I was warm and cozy.

The next shelf down from the underwear were socks. I saw the rolls of thigh-high socks and chose one set that was violet with pale pink dots of various sizes. I had to lean against the shelf to put them on, and they really did settle at around mid-thigh. There was a band of sticky plastic at the top, so I guess that was the "nonslip" part. Now I was ready to go.

I hopped out of my room with a happy smile, almost bouncing into Zaire. His eyes sparkled when he saw me.

"Anwyll, look at you! You're so cute!" he exclaimed, gathering me in a hug.

I giggle, wrapped my arms around his waist. "And that is all thanks to you and everyone here."

Zaire petted my hair. "Yes, and man, Waltz was right to toss in packages of thigh-high socks. You look absolutely adorable."

My cheeks warmed, and I tilted my head back to kiss him. Zaire groaned, burying his fingers in my hair as he curled down. He shyly dominated the kiss, which I liked a lot. I nuzzled his jawline when the kiss ended, then placed soft kisses down his neck. It was good that he stayed bent over, otherwise I would not have been able to kiss him as much as I could.

Zaire nuzzled my head and squeezed me tighter. "Come hang out after lunch. I have a new game."

"Okay, cuddle time is scheduled for after lunch." I giggled, tapping my temple.

He grinned and pecked where my finger had been moments before. "I'll see you at breakfast, my cute little Anwyll."

I flushed and waved as he left. I continued on my way towards the dining room, but felt myself being caught up in a pair of strong arms. I giggled and hugged my daddy's neck.

He nuzzled my cheek, kissing my lips. "You look happy, baby. And very adorable."

I beamed. "Thank you, Daddy. I am happy, 'cause I'm very, very happy here. Thank you for yesterday."

Daddy smiled at me, petting my head. "You are very welcome, my little wolf. After your time with Zaire, I need you in my office."

"Ooh, okay. Am I in trouble?" I asked softly, but Daddy laughed and shook his head, so I felt relieved.

"No, baby, but because of your hybridized nature, I was forced to give a bit of information to my clan." he sighed, rubbing his temples with one hand.

I nosed his cheek, pressing a kiss there. He looked happy when I did that, but irritation was clearly showing from the whole "clan business."

"They want to meet you, my sweet baby. I was firmly against them doing experiments on you, but they want blood tests done at their facilities."

I grimaced. "I'm not going to be too friendly with them, Daddy. They are the reason you left me in the first place."

"That's fine with me, baby. Believe me, I didn't want to give them the information, but they somehow learned of your dragon nature beforehand. It's likely that by your dragon coming out, it had an effect on my clan, since I could feel it Emerge."

I twisted my lips to the side. "I guess Emerging as a dragon is something special?"

"Not many dragons are born nowadays, my dear boy. They are scarce, but treasured. And although our race lives a long time, the females have shorter estrus periods and longer amounts of time between them. And even though it could be between two dragons, a dragon may not be born. And as for thr Emerged, the ones like Dian who are unable to shift are more common, although still a bit rare. So, my little dragon-wolf, you are extremely rare, even more so as a hybrid that can shift into a dragon."

I hummed, then rested my head on his shoulder. "I guess I'm a problem."

"No, baby, you are misunderstanding me. This is all a good thing. The dragon clan often breeds only in the clan, in hopes of making another dragon. But you, my baby boy, are not only part human, but wolf and dragon."

I nosed his throat. "Okay, Daddy. Thank you for explaining."

Daddy nuzzled my head and kissed my crown. "Let's get to breakfast, baby. I can feel a rumble growing in your tummy."

My skin flushed in response, making Daddy chuckle. My tail wagged when he gently threaded his fingers into my hair. I kissed his jaw, then moved around to peck his lips. My tail was now whirling at high speed, which Daddy smiled at. He calmed me down with a simple kiss to my temple. His honey-gold eyes sparkled with happiness as he carried me to the dining room.

A chorus of exclamations made me blush. Daddy put my feet on the floor, so I was then picked up my Angel. His pretty sky blue eyes sparkled.

"Aww, sweetheart, look at you. You're even more adorable than before." whispered Angel, kissing my cheeks and lips.

I giggled and hugged his neck. "Thank you, Angel."

"And from the way you're dressed, it looks like you're not wearing anything but the hoodie I picked and the thigh-high socks that Waltz chose."

Angel grinned when I pulled up my hoodie's hem. He teased underneath the hem of my short shorts and snapped the thigh-high socks against my skin. I mewled, hugging his neck.

"Damn it, sweetheart. You are just too cute for words."

I beamed and kissed his cheek. "Hehe, thank you, Ange."

Angel chuckled at his nickname. "No need to thank me, sweetheart."

He pecked my cheek again, then let me slide down to the floor. I hugged his hips, then skipped further into the room. Waltz grabbed me in a hug, spinning around until I couldn't stand straight. He smirked, kissing my lips.

"You look exactly how I imagined with those tiny shorts and thigh-high socks. You're so irresistible." said Waltz, as he nibbled along my jaw. He drew me into a kiss that made my knees weak.

I was swept away by Dian, which surprised me. He threaded his fingers into my hair and rubbed my scalp, causing shivers to roll down my spine. I mewed, nosing his side. Dian shuddered, curling down to press his lips to my temple. I curled my fingers in his long dark brown hair, gently tugging on his locks.

Dian groaned, thumbing my cheek. "May I kiss you?"

"Mm, please do." I smiled, then mewled when his lips met mine.

"Doesn't he taste so good?" asked Waltz quite loudly, making Dian flinch. "Now I'm remembering last night, so I'm hungry for something else."

Dian's eyes widened. "Hmm?"

I drew back with a laugh on my lips. "I guess Waltz needs to be fed. Have fun!"

After Waltz kissed me again, he dragged a shocked Dian out of the room. I giggled with a broad grin, then walked over to the table. Briar leaned down and nuzzled my cheek, rubbing his cheek on mine. I turned my head with a broad grin.

"Bri, I'm wearing the shirt you picked out. See?"

I lifted my hoodie, feeling my shirt rise up my tummy. Briar's fingers slid around my waist, his thumbs sliding on my skin. His lips pressed against my tummy, leaving soft smooches there. I giggled when he blew air into my belly button and kissed it again.

"Bri?" I inquired, my tail wagging. "May I have a kiss?"

Briar laughed. "I have been kissing you, Ann."

"I know, Bri. I meant on the lips." I pouted, then felt him tug down my shirt and hoodie. I took a deep breath of fresh air, grinning when Briar cupped my flushed cheeks. "Kiss, please?"

Briar grinned. "Of course, Ann."

After the sweet kiss, I plopped down in a seat and hugged Gavin's waist, which made him smile. He kissed the tips of my ears, then my forehead.

"Gav, wanna cuddle later?"

Gavin looked much cheerier after I asked, so I told him we could cuddle after breakfast. I was looking forward to it.

__________________________

"Hey, um, Anwyll?"

"Hmm?" I rolled onto my side, looking at Gavin with hazy eyes.

He had been playing piano for awhile without headphones, so I was blessed with the beautiful melodies. I was nearly asleep when Gavin stopped playing and turned around on the bench.

"Anwyll, this has been on my mind for awhile."

I slowly sat up and patted the bed, but Gavin shook his head. I pouted a bit, but gestured for him to continue.

"I-I want to show you something."

My ears perked, which made Gavin chuckle as he got to his feet. I watched him move around the bed to a small trunk I hadn't really noticed before. He unlocked it, then pulled out a small wooden box and shut the lid of the trunk. Gavin's hands trembled as he showed it to me, moving in front of where I sat on his bed, and kneeling down to rest his arms in front of me.

"Take it." he whispered, his voice shaky and uneven.

I gently took the wooden box, and noted that it was not ornate or pretty in any sense. It was something rough with ragged edges and claw marks. I carefully set it down in my lap, then looked up into Gavin's dark blue eyes.

"Open it." murmured Gavin, his lips trembling.

I reached out to touch his face, but I paused when I saw the darkness in his eyes. I curled forward and kissed him, making Gavin sigh and relaxing into my gentle touch as I cupped his cheek.

"I'm here, Gav."

"I-I know. This is really, really hard for me, but I want to do this. I want you to know my past, and I want you to be able to love all of me, even the parts I hate."

I kissed each of his eyelids before I sat up again. My eyes were already filled with tears. "All right, Gavin. Believe me, I already do, even though I don't know the deepest and darkest parts of you yet."

Gavin was quiet, just peering over his arms at me. I carefully lifted the lid and I bit my lip at the contents. I eyed Gavin when I reached for it, but he slowly nodded for me to pick it up. I lifted the thick leather collar, the tags jingling when I placed them on my palm.

"Whose collar was this?" I asked, looking at the giant size, and the vet tags.

Gavin closed his eyes, deeply inhaling and slowly exhaling. When he opened his eyes again, they were filled to the brim with anger and pain.

"It was mine."

"What?" I whispered, carefully eyeing the collar. There was no tag with a name, but there was one with a serial number. "Wait..."

"I can fully shift into a tiger, Anwyll. When I did that for the first time in front of my parents, I was tossed away like I meant nothing. I was given to an underground fighting ring, and used as a baiting animal."

Tears rolled down my cheeks. "Bastards! You were just a kid!"

"The master was a cruel man. He didn't know I was a shifter. However, I wasn't able to shift back. I didn't know how. So as I survived and grew stronger through sheer force alone, I could finally fight back."

"You killed other animals."

"And humans..." whispered Gavin, tears sliding down his cheeks. "Sometimes I can't eat meat for fear I'd taste blood in my mouth when the memories hit me hard."

"The dips in your back..." I breathed, and Gavin turned his head in shame.

"They were marks of my supposed victories. The master made a special contraption that would keep the wounds as they were, forcing them to heal that way."

I wiped my eyes. "How did you get out of there?"

"Some government rescue place broke up the fighting ring and confiscated the master's animals, which included me. Many were sure I wouldn't make it, but I was strong. I had to be if I wanted to see Zaire again, eventually find love and have a family—to be happy again."

A fresh batch of tears slid down my face. "Gav..."

"Ssh, Anwyll. I am happy now. I have what I always wanted."

I slowly nodded with tearful eyes and a happy smile. "I'm happy about that, too."

"Alexandre had heard of me; a tiger with human eyes. He came to me, helped me, let me live as a human once more. It was hard to cope, but I relearned how to talk, write, eat, and walk within the next several years. I attend school online, which I'm thankful for. I'm not comfortable with the humans who have tortured me."

"How old were you when Daddy came to the rescue?" I asked in a soft voice, putting the box aside and reaching out to him.

"Alexandre told me I was eleven. I was six when my parents handed me over to the master. I was there for five years!" he growled, tears pouring down his cheeks. He slammed his fists into the bed and sobbed.

I slowly pulled him up onto the bed, on top of me. I cuddled him as he cried loudly, his pain pouring out from the depths of his soul. I petted his hair, his tears soaking into my hoodie. I whispered soft words of love for him, letting my own tears pour silently and freely as he lay on top of me, on his bed in our home of second chances.

When the tears dried, and Gavin was weak with exhaustion, he sat up and tugged off his shirt. I cupped his cheeks, pressing a soft kiss to his lips.

"I love you, Gavin. I love all of you."

He smiled sadly, his tears coming out once more. He turned around, and I covered my mouth to stop the sob from breaking forth. He had so many deep wounds, but they had been healed into dips. It was the opposite of raised scars. These were gouges.

I placed my shaking fingers on his shoulder blades, slowly sliding my fingertips down. Gavin flinched, a soft cry on his lips. His body trembled when I placed gentle kisses along each mark, his breaths leaving him in short gasps.

"You are strong, Gavin, my handsome tiger. You went through so much, but here you are, still able to smile, play, express emotions, know love, and allow yourself to be loved. You are so much stronger than you realize, but it's okay to let it all go once in awhile. You don't have to keep yourself chained up anymore. You're not an abused tiger, nor are you a broken human; you are just Gavin. My Gavin." I smiled with my forehead resting on his back, my tears flowing freely down his skin, a few getting caught in the divots of his gruesome markings.

Gavin turned around and hugged me, burying his face in my hair. "I love you. I love you, Anwyll!" he whimpered through a choked gasp.

"I love you too, Gavin. Thank you for sharing your past with me. You don't know how blessed that makes me feel."

Gavin weakly chuckled. "I want to get rid of that collar. Will you help me?"

"Yes, Gav, I will help you."

"Let's do it in the backyard another night."

I nodded and kissed his collarbones. "We will."

"Then will you sleep with me for awhile?" he asked, his reddened dark blue eyes and puffy cheeks probably looked similar to mine.

"Of course." I beamed, hugging him tightly and pecking his lips. "I love naps and cuddle time with you."

Gavin chuckled and kissed my head, as we eased ourselves down. I snuggled into him and settled my nose along his neck.

"Love you," I mumbled tiredly, weakly clutching his shirt.

"Love you too, my cute little wolf." he whispered, curling around me as I slowly fell asleep.

@NocturnalCraziness