Something was tickling Jack's nose. He was too tired to swat at it and too comfortable lying down in a soft bed. His mother must've cleaned the bedding, because he only smelled something akin to flowers and expensive soap.

His nose twitched again when something soft brushed over it, followed by a small sound. Confusion settled in and Jack slowly started to shake off the heavy sensation in his mind; they didn't have a pet so why was there something yelping inside his house?

A sharp burst of pain shot through his head and Jack groaned, pressing his hand against his forehead. The past few days rushed through his head; the fear of the villagers, his house burning down. Alone and scared in the woods, constantly looking out for that wolf-

The wolf! Werewolves!

Just as Jack's eyes popped open, he felt a pair of sharp little teeth around his nose. The boy nearly had to cross his eyes to look at the little pup, who was wagging its tail happily as he nibbled on Jack's skin.

"Ugh! What the?!" Jack scrambled backwards as the pup flopped down on the bed, drawing his attention to his surroundings. The clay walls were smooth to the touch, painstakingly sanded down and painted in a creamy yellow, which contrasted nicely with the wooden framework.

He couldn't help but think that whoever lived here was rich or well-loved by their family. Everything, from the building down to the smallest decoration in the house seemed to be a work of art, something that was the product of someone's blood, sweat and tears.

"Woof!"

Jack stumbled back as the pup launched itself to his chest before he huffed out a breath as he landed back on the covers. Just as he was ready to catch the pup between his hands, it smoothly shifted until a young, naked boy sat on his chest.

Brown eyes blinked down at shocked blue ones before the boy smiled widely. He snuggled closer to Jack and grasped at his hair, "Is it really your own hair? Why is it white? Did you paint it? My hair is brown just like my moms and I know my daddy has black hair but I've never seen white hair before! Why were you sleeping?"

The boy turned his head slightly to look outside the window before shaking his brown curls and looked back at Jack, "It's way past morning now, you can't stay asleep all day mister."

Jack's mouth felt dry as he tried to swallow, his mind slowly clicking the pieces of the puzzle back to place. A werewolf had really flattened him yesterday and yes; the little boy bouncing on the bed beside him was a wolf too. Even with that tidbit information, he couldn't bring it up to fear the energetic boy.

The child's enthusiastic ramblings and questions flew over Jack's head as he stared down at the boy. It didn't seem to be dangerous at all. True, he had something that made Jack's stomach flutter with awareness of the predator that lurked inside the boy. The child even behaved like a young pup would, being overly curious and letting out small yips and whines when he found out he was being ignored.

Eventually the boy pouted and turned his back to Jack, crossing his little arms with a scowl. Jack couldn't help but chuckle slightly and poked at the boy's ribs, gaining a sharp giggle. The giggle quickly grew out into full-blown laughter as Jack quickly grasped the boy and tickled him mercilessly.

"Stop! Stop!" The boy laughed, kicking with his feet and flailing his arms until Jack relented with a grin, flicking his hair out of his face. His blue eyes glittered with happiness because for once, he had been able to interact with another human being without being looked at with disgust and repulsion.

As they both settled down, Jack's eyes roamed over the boy until they landed on a familiar and slightly dirty piece of red cloak. "So you're the pup that has been following me?"

The child blinked innocently before grinning and nodded. "Yeah, I was supposed to wait for my uncle to come back from the hunt but I got bored. The other pups were sleeping so I wanted to see where you were. I didn't think we'd walk into Merikh though."

"Merikh?" Jack asked hesitantly at the flash of fear in his eyes. The child nodded and shuddered slightly. "The black wolf? He was a part of the pack once but left. I don't know why but uncle said it had something to do with wanting more than he earned?" He finished his sentence as a question, turning in Jack's lap to look at the door.

As Jack followed the boy's lead, he squeaked when he noticed the muscular man leaning against the door, arms crossed slightly and accentuating his bulging muscles. As soon as their eyes collided, the man's hazel eyes flashed golden while a slow smile slipped on his lips.

When the man pushed off of the door and stepped closer, Jack went to stumble backwards because even if these two strangers were both wolves, he knew unlike the whelp, the man was capable of harming him. His wrist burned softly, as if remembering Jack where exactly those sharp canines had pierced his tender flesh once before.

As if the man knew what he was thinking, he focused his attention first on the smaller boy and grinned softly before motioning towards the door. "Why don't you ask your mother about that tale? I need to speak with out guest for a moment." His golden eyes flitted back to the shivering man on the bed and he sighed warily.

"Merikh be damned to the deepest pits of Hell." He muttered under his breath as Jack swallowed harshly, watching the little boy wave at him as goodbye before it darted out of the room.

The werewolf was at least happy that Jack didn't faint again; it had been quite upsetting and a bit amusing to finally find your mate, only to have them faint dead away in your arms. At first he had been surprised and a bit pained, thinking that Jack didn't want him.

But, come to think of it, it was a normal reaction for a human. No doubt the villagers have filled his mind with lies and deceitful tales of his kind. Well, most of it; Merikh was the true example of the 'werewolf' the villagers sought out to destroy.

And now he had to reap the fruits of those lies by tiptoeing around this beauty and hopefully, earn his trust. He was pleasantly surprised though when Jack pushed himself up and stared straight at him, pinning him with those sharp blue eyes. "Who are you?"

With a soft chuckle, the man replied, voice tinged with amusement and annoyance at the same time. "My name is different in our language than yours, Jack. You can call me Kaiden, if you like." Kaiden was happy to see that Jack merely nodded, his eyes seemingly fixed on Kaiden's strong frame before the boy realized this and flushed brightly.

"I do have to apologize, it wasn't my intention to bite and mark your wrist when we first met...and I'm sorry about your mother. I was on Merikh's trail but..." Kaiden trailed off and walked closer when Jack nodded again and buried his face against his knees, hugging himself.

Silently the wolf walked closer and sat down gently before reaching out towards Jack. As their skin brushed, the first tears started to fall and Kaiden didn't hesitate to pull Jack closer, offering the comfort he desperately needed.

As Jack sniffed and cried softly, Kaiden brushed a tanned hand through his mop of white hair and down his spine, over and over again until the hiccups and bad memories slowly faded away.

"You're not...what I expected you to be." Jack murmured softly, breaking the pleasant silence. He quickly became aware that he was seated in Kaiden's lap, those strong arms caging him in as they had once before but again, Jack only felt comforted. Safe.

When Kaiden chuckled, small butterflies started to swirl in Jack's stomach while his ear was pressed against the bigger man's chest. "Yes, no doubt you'd think I was a savage beast, a monster that steals children out of their cradles, slaughters families and hunts man throughout the night. That's what the villagers thought you, am I right?"

The guilty flush was his answer and Kaiden snorted before shaking his head. "You'll need to learn more about the forest and what we truly are little one." He spoke softly as he reached for Jack's wrist and slowly pulled it closer.

Jack didn't object but he did whimper slightly when Kaiden gently tugged at his bandages, revealing the barely healed wound. Blue eyes warily watched as Kaiden took a deep breath and slowly pulled Jack's wrist closer, before he lapped at the wound.

He slightly cringed and scrunched his nose up but he watched in awe as the wound slowly seemed to look better, healthier, before it disappeared. Jack looked from his wrist up to Kaiden, again feeling that funny sensation in his belly as those golden eyes swirled with emotions that Jack couldn't quite put his finger on. All he knew was that those eyes and the look in them amplified the fuzzy and warm feeling in his gut.

A finger brushed over the soft skin of his throat before Kaiden closed Jack's mouth, smiling as the boy flushed before he grabbed his hand and pulled him up. "Come on, let's get some food in your stomach and some answers on all those questions. I can feel you nearly bursting with everything you want to know." Kaiden chuckled fondly.

Jack didn't hear; he was too busy staring at the warm golden skin that contrasted sharply against his own pale hand. Kaiden's thumb brushed soothingly over his knuckles and Jack bit his lip when the wolf pulled their intertwined hands up to place a tender kiss on the back of Jack's hand.

With another tug, Jack finally decided to trust the wolf and followed him. He was eager to learn more of the gorgeous man and why he felt this attracted to a stranger.