The break of dawn brought new sensations and issues with it. The sun illuminated the room slowly but surely, curtains billowing softly in the wind. The nurse opened the window a bit more, allowing the air to breeze through the room.

It seemed that the winter had laid back for a moment, allowing near spring temperatures to make it seem as if summer was right around the corner.

Yet I laid in bed, grumbling softly to myself and ignoring the nurse's amused smirk. Light was bouncing on the cone around my neck, which the nurses had to reattach somewhere during the night.

The thick cast was proving to be an annoyance. Even though it was helping my broken leg to mend and heal, it was also too hot and starting to itch. Then the stitches themselves were bothering me too, as the skin around them was slowly healing, pulling at the stitches and sending pinches of pain through my stomach.

Of course, instinct had pushed me to lick at the wounds, as that soothed the pain and loosened the stitches a bit. The nurse obviously disagreed and after her first stern warning and minutes of scolding, she had produced the cone once more when I had ignored her warning.

And now I laid here with restricted movability and this ridiculous cone stuck to my head. I was told that a doctor would come check my leg in a few hours, to see if it had healed enough for the cast to be removed.

All I did was curl my lip in annoyance and avert my head, eyes pinned to the dark-blue skies outside. After living as a rogue for so long, being inside was unnerving. I shuffled my weight on the bed, feeling tempted to slide off and attempt to go outside.

The brown eyes of the nurse landed on me as she crossed her arms and frowned down at me. "I can almost hear you contemplate trying to stand. Don't you even dare, I take my duties seriously and I will knock you out if you even try to get up."

I snorted, not that I didn't believe the woman but curious to see how she'd knock me out. She produced the answer herself by producing a capped syringe, twirling it in her hand before sticking it in her front pocket.

Crossing my paws, I laid my head on them and huffed. Ignoring the smiling nurse as she thumbed through a magazine, I instead perked my ears and listened to the footsteps around me.

This place wasn't really a hospital, though it certainly had the medical equipment to aid any werewolf in need. It was still placed in the pack house, a floor or so below the living quarters from the sound of it.

I could hear the clattering of pots and pans, a shrill laughter followed by running footsteps and a door smashing open. Conversations were vaguely heard at best, sounding more like distant murmurs.

Sounds that I've been familiar with when I had spent time at my old mate's packhouse. It had always felt cosy, waking up next to your loved one as you could hear your extended family getting ready for the day.

A soft whine slipped from my lips, drawing the attention from the nurse as her stern gaze turned sympathetic. "You seem to do that a lot..." She pondered, making me look at her with a tilt of my head.

Her lips pinched together as her eyes seemed to well before she averted her eyes and murmured, "You tend to whimper and whine in your sleep...quite a lot."

For a few seconds I couldn't feel my body as a cold sensation rushed through it. I knew the reason behind the whimpers, as I was always forced to relive the past. Dreams made from memories of playfully chasing my mate, waking up next to them or running with them, side by side.

Nightmares of where I was glared at with contempt and disgust, where the pack turned their tails on me. When the Enforcers treated me like a rabid wolf, chasing me from their lands and mauling me to near death when they caught up to me.

Sometimes I'd have dreams of that short period after, where I was stuck in the horrific limbo between life and death. Where my body was slowly giving up, organs shutting down as I bled out before my regeneration kicked in and started fighting against death, sputtering when I lacked the energy only to repeat the whole process again.

Honestly...at times, I had wished that my abilities had kicked in too late. That I would've bled out and had drawn my final breath right outside pack territory. It had come very close after all, maybe down to half a minute.

Thirty seconds between life and death. Peace or torment.

The door opened and I jolted on the bed, fur bristling and a growl rumbling in my throat. The aging man merely glanced over his glasses before continuing to read the report in his hands. My ears splayed back as the Alpha walked in behind him, along with a few lanky teens.

The teens didn't seem to be part of the Alpha's entourage, especially as they were helping one of them hop to a nearby bed, his legs bend at an impossible and awkward angle.

"Broke your leg again Simon? I told you to let it heal before you guys went and played rugby." The nurse scoffed, tossing her magazine to the side before heading to the youth. Simon smiled, though he was obviously in pain, his face pale and sweaty.

"Ah Karen, I couldn't wait to see you again and what a quicker way to meet up than to get down here." He chuckled weakly, though yelping as his leg was touched the slightest bit. She snorted, brushing her hair behind her ear before moving through the room to grab supplies.

"There's this thing, a neat little invention, called a phone. You youth might find it pretty interesting." She drawled, gaining several barks of laughter from Simon's friends before they calmed down.

"Who's that?" One of them murmured, before biting back a snort when his eyes landed on the cone. "Someone's wearing the cone of shame."

He cringed when Karen tapped the end of her scissors on his head none too kindly. "I recall you spending several days with said cone of shame after breaking your hips while imagining you were canine superman."

"KAREN!" He whined while the rest of his friends broke in hysterics, brightening his blush as he tried to defend himself with a stuttered, "I was five years old for crying out loud!"

"Canine superman!" Simon howled, slapping the bed in hysterics as one of his friends fell on the floor while grabbing his stomach.

I observed them quietly, having temporarily forgotten about the Alpha and the doctor standing on the other side of my bed and jolting my cast. My eyes were more focused on these carefree teens as they laughed and jested.

They seemed so...happy. Carefree, knowing they lived in a healthy pack that supported them. Another deep sigh escaped me before I averted my eyes and nuzzled the bed, waiting to be released from this hellish cone.

Even though its been a few years since I spent a night inside, in a decent bed, being inside these four walls made my skin crawl. There was no way of telling when these wolves might snap and if they did, at least I wanted a fair opportunity to escape their wrath.

After a few minutes of prodding and contemplating, the doctor decided against removing my cast, at least for now. Meanwhile Simon had his leg wrapped up and was good to go, being helped outside again by his friends.

The Alpha watched as I looked at the door closing behind them, sighing deeply. Within seconds I yelped, as I was being lifted in the Alpha's arms and carried outside while I flailed and snarled. I did not want to be picked up and toted around like some dog!

When I was put down, it was in a nice little bit of shade, though partially in the warming sun. I grumbled and stretched my limbs, frowning when the Alpha reached around to undo the cone. The second it came off though, he was quick to grab my muzzle and stare me in the eye when I started to growl.

"No. Licking. Got it?" He demanded as I growled and tried to pull out of his hold. What was it with him and not understanding I did NOT want to be touched?! I snarled as I broke free, pinching his skin between my teeth in such a way that I didn't draw blood, yet it still pinched painfully.

He glared as he shook out his fingers while I yawned and stretched my neck, grumbling at the Alpha for touching me in the first place. "Fine. You can walk around, stretch your legs for a bit but don't overdo it. "

Crouching down, he pointed sternly at me while growling, "But don't you dare lick those wounds, they need time to heal. So no licking and I'll try to remember not to pick you up again, okay?"

I huffed, averting my head to the side and enjoying the little bit of sun that landed on my face. The alpha grunted before moving away, letting me lay there in relative calm and peace. At least the weather had changed, allowing the sun to break and to melt the snow from a few days ago.

After a few minutes, my throat was aching and dry. I licked my lips, feeling my throat burn before pushing myself upright, looking around for a gleam of water. Stretching myself as best as I could, I slowly roamed around for a bit, looking for any spot to drink from.

One of the youngsters who had been playing football ran off the field towards a tap, opening to drink from it. When he noticed I was looking, the boy moved to the side before motioning with his hand.

Perfectly fine tap water... not going to decline that.

I walked over, lapping at the water and stilling my thirst as best as I could while the boy waited up until he could close the tap again. When I turned and headed back to the soft pillow they'd laid down for me, I scowled when I noticed one of the teens had laid down on it.

And the teen was staring at me with a smug look.

That's a challenge if I've ever seen one.

I wasn't one to back down though, wounded or not. The teen probably assumed it was safe, since I couldn't bite or attack to reclaim my spot. But I wasn't going to fall down to simple aggression. There were other ways to handle this.

Hopping closer, I could see his friends giggle and smirk as they eyed my approach, frowning when I didn't stop. I simply walked up him before planting my legs down, which made the youngster jolt back.

I didn't snarl or bare my teeth, I simply stared him down while claiming the pillow. He tilted back, uncomfortable by our close proximity. When I pressed a bit closer, he moved off of the pillow with a snort.

He eyed me as I laid down, the rest of the teens watching in amazement as I reclaimed my pillow without a fight. I laid down with a huff, nuzzling the fabric before curling up as best as I could.

I couldn't do much of my current situation until my wounds were healed. All I could do now was to rest and allow my body to recover before I'd decide what to do next.