One Omega

Chapter 20 - Awkward human interactions

---Marcus POV---

Imagine waking up while having an angel in your arms. That's how I woke up in the middle of the night, feeling something nudge at my mind and my wolf purring in content before I felt a wet tongue lap over my nose.

My eyes flew open as my mind woke up instantly at the sight of an unknown and slightly blushing male in my arms. My eyes widened slightly before our eyes locked and I grinned at the slight yip that escaped Zayne's lips.

But damn, he's cute. And goddamn gorgeous too.

The darkness did nothing to diminish his beauty, his brown eyes sparkling as they were focused on me. I could tell he felt uncomfortable in his body after being a wolf for so long, every motion he made was jittery, tense and seemed painful.

Tugging him closer, I rubbed soothing circles over the tense muscles of his back and smiled as he followed my advice, tucking his face against my throat before he promptly fell asleep. I let my fingers wander over his back before reaching up to sift through his dark brown threshes.

A soft sigh escaped me as my fingers traced his form, feeling his ribs and spine clearly under the ever-present muscles. It was both a blessing and a curse of our species; due to our wolves, we would always retain a certain amount of muscles. That's why it was hard to evaluate malnourished individuals, because their muscle mass would mask their fragility.

"No doubt the poor pup doesn't even know how to control his body, not even to mention the pain he'll have to go through in stretching his muscles." I muttered, smiling to myself as I felt him huff and nuzzle against my throat.

Footsteps sounded in the hallway, the gentle scuffing of a foot against the floor alerted me who it was before Mike opened the door after knocking softly and hesitantly peeked inside.

"Hey Marcus, I was wondering if you wanted....is that...Zayne?" He whispered in shock, fingers falling of the handle as he took a few curious steps inside. I nodded and smiled softly, relaxing my arm the tiniest bit so Zayne rolled a bit on his back.

Mike stepped closer, tilting his head as he looked at the young man in my arms, his eyes wide in awe and curiosity. "Whoa...to think that he's that tiny pup..." His eyes flitted over Zayne's features before they saddened, eyes freezing on certain spots of his body.

I followed his gaze and had to bite my tongue to stop the low and threatening snarl as my eyes settled on the milky pale scars that littered his body. Some I could distinguish as bite scars, others from being beaten. Mike gasped as his eyes landed on circular scars on Zayne's elbows, wrists and hips, all from former pressure sores.

"I-I'm getting Alice..." He muttered, paling slightly before he slapped a hand over his mouth and scurried out of the room. I sighed and hushed Zayne as he whimpered in his sleep before I made sure that he was covered when I heard several feet rushing towards us.

Soon enough the room was filled with curious wolves as they all fought to get through the door first, making me roll my eyes, especially when Alice huffed and shifted before pouncing over the pile of wriggling bodies.

She quickly went to the bathroom to change before she was by the bed, checking what was visible of Zayne's body. She gently lifted his arm, flexed his wrists before staring at the collection of scars.

"Most of them will fade after some therapy. Most, but certainly not all of them." She stated solemnly, making me sigh deeply while the rest of the pack finally got in the room and stared at Zayne in awe.

"Let's just see how he's going to react tomorrow. For now he needs to rest and get used to his new body." Lee spoke softly as he stared down at my mate. Several of the pack pouted at that, obviously tempted to wake Zayne up so they could talk to the boy. Well, they'd just have to wait and let my mate sleep.