Runt [ManxMan]

Chapter Ten

Three days later Mason still hadn't gotten used to waking up in a human body, much less in a bed with his brother next to him.

He'd moved into his brother's room his second day on pack ground, though they still spent much of the daytime in the infirmary, with healers helping him learn how to walk and talk. Most of the time he rode around on Chase's back, still too unsteady on his feet to walk on his own away from the supervision of the medics and the safety of the bars they'd set up to help him walk.

Every morning, as he moved from dreams to consciousness, he had to relearn the dimensions of his body, the strange ways his limbs moved, and every morning he panicked a little as he first realized he had hands instead of paws. But every morning, as soon as his breathing started to pick up and he shifted uncomfortably, his brother was there in an instant, assuring him he was fine, he was home now. Mason wasn't sure about the 'home' part—he'd never had a home and didn't really know what having one meant and if he wanted it or not—but hearing his brother's voice always calmed him and reminded him where he was.

After the first day, one of the omegas had started delivering their meals. Mason had refused to go anywhere near the cafeteria. He could hear and smell all the wolves inside and he wanted nothing to do with it, not even for food, and after seeing he would not be budged on the subject, his brother had arranged the meal deliveries.

It was while they were at the infirmary working on Mason's walking skills that he first encountered the mean woman. Dax was with them, an uncommon occurrence but not entirely unusual. He checked on them at least once a day but usually didn't stay long, and had only been there a few minutes before the woman followed him in.

"Daxy! Is there where you get off to? I've been looking for you!" She flung herself at the alpha, the sudden motion and sound startling Mason enough for him to stumble, losing his grip on the bars to either side of him. If Chase hadn't been standing behind him, his hands inches from the omega's hips, he would have hit the floor. As it was, he was left shaken and breathless, fear-fueled adrenaline forcing his heart to pound hard and fast in his chest.

When it didn't settle after he was settled safely against his brother's chest, he knew it must have been caused more by the woman than his near collapse. Which, considering the number of times he'd fallen the last few days and how used to the feeling he was, was not surprising.

Dax sighed, carefully detangling the woman from around himself and setting her on her feet several feet away, scowling the entire time. Mason was startled to see the expression on the man's face, and it made him dislike the woman still more. If even the usually stoic alpha couldn't keep the disdain from his face, Mason wasn't interested in spending any more time than necessary around her.

"What are you doing here, Tala?" Dax asked, his exasperation even leaking into his voice.

"I told you, I've been looking for you!"

"Not here," the alpha said, a tone of finality to the words. "Bother me in my office, in the cafeteria, hell even in my bedroom, but do not bother me here."

The woman pouted, trying to step closer to Dax, but he took a step back at the same time to keep their distance. "But why not, Daxy? Aren't we supposed to share our entire lives soon?"

Even Mason, who had very little sense for social cues, could tell the woman was pushing Dax in all the wrong ways. As a rogue he'd done his fair share of fighting wolves bigger and more dominant than him, but even he knew when to pick his battles, and if it had been him, he would have been skittering out of the room under the wrathful eye of the big scary alpha, but the woman didn't seem to notice.

It was an easy mistake to make as, even furious as he was, the outward signs of his anger were small, mostly in the tightening of his face, the slight downward turn of his lips, and the tension in his body. But this woman should have known the alpha better than Mason, who had only been there for a few days.