gaius

He shifted.

I can't believe it. He's standing in front of me and I still can't believe it's really happening.

"North?" I call out in a quiet voice.

His face twists in confusion and the his hazel eyes meet mine.

They're no longer red.

"Whoish North?" He questions.

His words come out a little jumbled together and he seems annoyed by it, but I'm just happy he's talking. It's a lot better compared to the growls he usually responds with.

"North is what I've been calling you since I didn't know your name...do you have one?" I ask.

He opens his mouth before he closes it and stares at me. He appears to be thinking so I wait patiently.

"...yx?" He says though it comes out more like a question. He shakes his head before I can say anything and tries again. "Yx...nyx...onyx..." his eyes widen. "Onyx!"

"Your name is Onyx?" I ask and he quickly nods.

"Onyx," I repeat. "I like it."

And I did. After calling him North for so long, finally knowing his true name made me ecstatic.

"What...whatish your name?" He questions.

I smile at him. "Gaius."

"Gai...us?"

I nod causing North- well, Onyx- to smile. His eyes move from mine and he looks around the rest of the room. I loosen my grip on him slightly and his hand grips my shoulder as he tries to find his balance. I guess after being in wolf form for so long, he's not used to walking in his human form.

The fact that he has a human form still shocks me. I always hoped he would shift but now that it's actually happened, I don't know what to do.

"Gaius," Quinn calls through the pack link. "The council and elders would like to talk about North, can you bring him to the meeting room?"

Well there goes the happy moment.

"Okay, we're on our way, but I'm warning you now that he isn't the same as before," I reply back.

"What do you- you know what? I'll wait for you to get here, Goddess knows it's been a crazy few days," Quinn replies and I can feel the sleepiness in her voice.

I move towards the door while helping Onyx but stop when my hand is on the doorknob. He needs clothes. After only seeing him in his wolf form, I've gotten used to not having yo worry about finding clothes or anything for him.

"Come on, let's get some clothes on you," I tell him.

Onyx attempts to follow me towards the bedroom, but nearly falls in the process. I quickly grip him and help him make his way to the closet. Luckily, the muscle he had in wolf form is still there so most of my things should fit him until we can buy him his own clothes.

Once Onyx is dressed we're ready to head out. He's only wearing a simple shirt and some joggers but the look on his face tells me he doesn't like them. I shake my head as I help him into my car. I never really drive around pack lands but with him not being able to walk well, I decide to make an exception.

Onyx looks out the window with wide hazel eyes as he takes everything in. He has to frequently move his black hair out of his eyes so I mentally make a note to take him to get a hair cut when we had time.

The drive over is short and I help Onyx out the car before we slowly walk towards the meeting room. When we get there, I push the door open and all eyes land on us. Gray's eyes knit together while both Foster and Quinn's widen. The elders and council members also seem surprised.

"That's North?" Foster questions.

"Well his name is actually Onyx, but yes," I tell him.

Onyx's eyes take in the scene before he frowns. He looks down for a second before looking back up and mimicking the wide-eyed expression causing me to snort.

"What are we here to talk about?" I ask.

Elder Rachel blinks a few times before turning to me. "His trial."

"Is he still going to have one?" Quinn asks.

Elder Rachel nods. "He will, we've decided to postpone it due the incident that has taken place recently. We need to primarily focus on interviewing Doctor Glassman- it's strange enough to find one feral, let alone two."

Relief fills me and I nod at her words. At least with the delayed trial, they're more likely to reconsider their biases especially now that he's shifted.

"We will also be interviewing your father," Elder Rachel turns to me and says. "He was friends with Doctor Glassman to my understanding so he mag know something."

I frown at this. Part of me wants to believe that Dad could be apart of something like this, but now it feels like I don't even know who he is.

"Will the council be staying longer than planned?" Foster questions.

Councilman Steele shakes his head. "Most of the council will be returning. I, however, will be staying until the issue is solved."

Of course it's him.

Councilman Steele's eyes never leave Onyx who stares right back at him curiously.

"Can he talk?" The councilman asks.

I nod my head. "Yes, some of his words are a little jumbled together but he can talk."

Councilman Steele nods before he leans in closer and stares at Onyx intensely. I frown at this and place a hand on Onyx's back.

"If he can speak then he won't mind answering a few questions, right?" Councilman Steele says but it seems directed at himself. "Maybe you can tell us just how a feral rogue is able to shift and why you haven't done so before."

"Councilman!" Elder Rachel scolds but he shakes his head at her.

"To be frank, I don't trust you," he tells Onyx. "You could be just another spy from wherever that other feral came from. So tell me, just who are you and where were you before you found this pack?"

Onyx frowns at Councilman Steele's question and his brows furrow. He opens his mouth, shuts it, and then opens it again. His eyes drop to the table before he finally speaks in a whisper.

"I don'tknow."