The Mute Runt

Learning to Trust

It had been two weeks since Winter had been fully accepted into Blue Moon. Phoenix was getting ready to leave for Dragania and the meeting with Sapphire and the other sect leaders. Inferno knocked on the office door and asked to speak with him about Winter.

“Lacey says that she is walking better, she occasionally either signs or mind links Lacey when she has questions or if she needs something. What do you need to speak with me about?” Phoenix asked her.

“Have you needed to pull her from any nightmares recently?” Inferno asked.

“No, not since Sapphire broke the link she had to the Dark. Why do you ask?”

“I just wonder if unbinding her powers earlier than what Sapphire originally thought would be a good idea.” Inferno told him.

“I will ask when I get to Dragania.” Was the reply. Inferno nodded then left him to his packing. She was going to see if Winter would talk to her. It was time to move her out of the guest house and into the pack house. The problem was getting Winter to trust her and Lacey to help her move and buy furnishings as well as other supplies.

Once she got to Winter’s room she knocked on the door and waited. She always hoped that Winter would mind link her to welcome her in, as usual Winter just opened the door and looked at her.

“Hi Winter, how are you today?” She asked. Winter just looked at her, waiting for her to say what she wanted. “How about you and I go and look at open rooms at the main pack house? Lacey and Rosary both say you are ready for your own room and space. You would be able to make it all your own. What do you think?” Inferno watched Winter’s eyes glaze over as she communicated with her wolf.

“Okay.” Winter mind linked Inferno. Inferno stepped back as Winter slowly left her room. The two of them then left the guest house and walked towards the main pack house. As with the guest house the main pack house had automatic doors on the ground floor as well as a main lobby full of glass and living plants. Inferno led Winter to an elevator then pushed the number 10 button.

“There are 10 floors of the pack house, another day somebody will explain how floors are assigned. The thing to remember is there are 40 rooms on each floor, pack members with families have their own homes spread throughout the pack grounds. Everybody else has a choice to either choose a room in the pack house or build a home on pack grounds.” Inferno informed Winter, who nodded in understanding.

“How many currently live in the pack house?” She asked. Inferno was surprised that Winter asked the question at all.

“There are about 250 members living in the pack house currently.” Inferno answered.

“How does this work? I choose a room then what?” Winter asked.

“I do not understand your question. You will be the only one with a key to your room. The Alpha has a master key to all rooms in case of emergencies. Is that what you wanted to know?” Inferno was delighted that Winter was speaking with her, she could sense curiosity behind her questions.

“Is that the room that men will visit me in?” Winter’s mind voice held bitterness, fear, and anger. Inferno froze as she realized what Winter was asking.

“Winter….no. Not unless you want them in the room.” Inferno hesitated then asked, “Has there been any men that you didn’t want to enter coming into your room at the guest house?”

“No. Is that not because I was still recovering and them using me would kill me? I am a mute runt, I am only for the use of men. A tool for breeding, especially if I find my mate. I am to do what he tells me to do, no more or less than that.” Winter replied, she was badly confused. Her answer was rushed, and she tensed up when she finished answering as if she was waiting for a blow. For a moment Inferno was speechless.

“No, that is not the case at all.” Inferno was choosing her words carefully, “Nobody will have s*x with you unless you want them too. Nobody will touch you in any way unless you want them to. And you most certainly will not be cut open, or used for s*x, for the pleasure of others. You are your own person, free to do what you want to do and be called what you want to be called. As for your mate…if he truly loves you he will not force you to do anything you do not want to. Never again will you be forced, not on my watch.”

“Then what am I here for? What is the room for? Why are you nursing me back to health?” Winter asked. Inferno could hear panic in her mind voice, it was becoming more and more clear that Winter was having a hard time trusting any of the kindness that she was being shown.

“Well….you are here to be part of a pack. Everybody needs one, especially Haloing’s. The room is for you, it will be your den…for lack of a better word. It will be your home, your safe space. You will likely even find your mate here.” Inferno paused, “I told you when you first woke up that we first brought you here after you had saved me, you gave me time to call for help. You did not need to do that but you did, the least we can do for you is give you a safe home.”

“I am a runt, not worthy of a mate or a name. Storm calls me Winter, after she would not leave me alone about choosing a name. Winter is my favourite season, and I like being called Winter.. But until Storm started calling me that I never had a name.” Winter told Inferno. She had come to accept and even enjoy the name Winter, but was unable to believe that she would have a mate. She did ask one other question that she had been meaning to ask, “What is a Haloing?”

“You are worthy of both a mate and a name. Is there another name you prefer, or do you like the name Winter?” Inferno avoided the other question for a moment.

“I like the name Winter. Are you sure that I have a mate?” Winter asked.

“I am very sure, one day you and him will meet properly. I will tell you that he is aware of you and is aware that you are in the pack. He will not come to you until you are ready though, he understands that you are afraid and do not want contact. We are Haloing, this entire pack. A Haloing is a very powerful shifter, unlike regular shifters we have wings as well as powerful magic and the most powerful can live a millennia. A canine Haloing such as the two of us will likely live about half that.” Winter nodded in understanding, “Are you ready to choose a room?” Inferno asked.

“Are there 40 rooms on this floor as well? I do not see 40 doors. Also, are there any rooms taken on this floor?” Winter asked, she was really not sure about this.

“No, there are only ten rooms on this floor. Two of the rooms are taken, the room numbers that are taken are numbers 1 and 4. You can choose any of the other ones.” Winter nodded in understanding then started to examine the other rooms. Inferno stayed back and just observed.

When Winter entered room 3 she smelled something amazing. She smelled sage, and chamomile. They were her favourite herbs, although she did not see any in the room.What she did not know was that room 1, the room right next to hers, was Phoenixes room. She walked further into the room and saw three other doors.

The main room was the living room and included a kitchen, the room itself was not furnished but had plenty of space. Dark brown hardwood covered the majority of the space, with plain white tile starting at the kitchen. The walls were painted a plain white. She opened another door and found the bathroom which included a large soaker tub and separate shower. The dark brown cabinets above the sink were large and would provide plenty of storage space for any bathroom products that she would want. She left the bathroom and opened another door, she had found the walk in closet. There was no clothing inside it as of yet, a large dark brown dresser with spacious drawers was along one wall. She could not even imagine having enough clothing to fill this closet. The last door she opened was the bedroom, a door on the other side of the room opened up onto a small balcony. Like the main room the flooring was a dark brown laminate, the walls were white. There was room for a large bed but no bed inside at the moment.

She left the bedroom and saw Inferno waiting for her in the main room. “Do you like this one?” Inferno asked. Winter nodded. “Okay, how would you feel about going shopping to find furniture to fill your room?” Winter looked at her, startled.

“I do not understand.” Winter told Inferno.

“What do you not understand?” Was the response.

“I get to choose furniture? Why?” Winter asked, she really did not know what to do about this. She did not even know how to choose furniture. “Why do I get to choose furniture, and a room?”

“Because that is going to be your home, just like you chose a location in the woods to have your den, you get to choose a room here to make your den. You get to choose what goes into that room, what type of bed you want. What colours and sizes of chairs, couches, curtains, dishes, and kitchen table. Anything you want for your bathroom, any kind of soaps you want for cleaning yourself with. You can even choose what paint you want for the walls, rugs for on the floor..” Inferno told her.

Winter simply stared at her, really not sure what to make of any of this. After a few moments she asked, “How will I choose the furniture? Or even pay for the furniture. I do not even know what should go into a room. The only time I have been in a room is with a bed with chains to keep me there, and there was always…equipment in the room for mens use. Will I be chained to the bed here too?” Winter asked, once again Inferno could hear panic in her voice.

“You will never be chained here, ever. We will help you find what should be in a room to make you comfortable. Nothing that you do not want in the room will go in. There is a fund available for new members to furnish their new rooms. Myself or Lacey, or both of us, will come with you to the store in order to help you get the furniture and other supplies including clothing. We have made arrangements with a local mall for you and whoever goes with you to go in before it opens so that you are not surrounded by unfamiliar people. The owner of the mall, is a member of this pack. Everybody who works in the mall is either also part of this pack or part of a werewolf pack in the area. They know not to approach you unless you signal that you are okay with them approaching. Does that make you feel better?”

“It does, thank you.” Winter responded. She was still truly baffled by all of this, and she did not completely believe Inferno when she told her that nobody would touch her unless she gave permission. This idea was foreign to her and she did not know what to make of it. All her life, before she came to Blue Moon, she was always told that she had no choice about how she was used or what happened to her. Now Inferno was telling her that she could choose her own furnishings and other supplies. She already had more clothing than she had every had in her life, right on her person. She also had two other sets that had been provided to her when she left the infirmary. All three sets were a massive improvement from the rough canvas sack she had worn at Black Rose.

“I just need to know which day you would like to go. It is too late in the day to go today, but tomorrow morning would work if you want to go then. That way you just spend one more night in the guest rooms, then you can move into this room officially. What do you think?”

“I will try, thank you. Except….I would like to just stay in this room instead of going back to the guest room. Can that be arranged?” Winter asked, she was nervous about asking as she was unsure if she would be punished for asking.

“Of course, I will bring up some camping gear including a foam mattress. Will that be comfortable for you?” Inferno asked.

“Yes, that will be fine.” Winter responded, she was slowly relaxing. She really liked the scent in this room and did not want to leave, she felt safe. She was not about to tell Inferno that though.

Inferno nodded then left Winter in the room, she went and got the camping gear out of the storage rooms and brought the gear back to the Winter who was still standing and looking out a window. She had spread her wings, appearing to stretch them out. The colouring had improved, the colours were more vibrant and the sooty black streaks that had been present on the edges of her wings were now gone. Inferno could tell that they did not open all the way though, the bones and joints not lining up properly as a result of the binding she had worn on them. Winter gently folded her wings again as Inferno knocked on the door to alert Winter of her presence. She then placed the bag of gear on the ground just inside the door and left. As she was going to the main office she felt a pressure on her mind, it was Winter.

“I would like to try going to the mall tomorrow morning. I cannot find any sage or chamomile in this room but I cannot find any. Where is it coming from?” Inferno froze for a moment, not sure how to reply to her question.

“I will make the arrangements to go to the mall tomorrow morning. The scent, do you find it soothing?”

“Yes, very soothing and calming. I really like it.”

“That scent, the reason that you find it so soothing, it is the scent you associate with your mate.”

“Do you know who it is?” Once again Inferno froze, unsure how to proceed from here.

“Yes. Do you want me to tell you?” Inferno asked, she then waited for an answer from Winter. She knew that Winter was afraid of men, afraid of everyone at the moment. She hesitated then added, “If it helps, I do know beyond a doubt that he will not reject you. He will also not hurt you in any way. And you have met him already.”

“I have? Who is it?”

“Yes you have. It is Phoenix.” Inferno felt the fear rock through Winter’s mind before she was blocked.

“The Alpha? How are you certain he will not hurt me or reject me?” Winter sounded very frightened.

“He is my son.” Inferno stated.

The next morning as Phoenix joined a nearby patrol going to Dragania, Winter was waking up and getting ready to go to the mall with Inferno. The night before she had told Inferno that she only wanted one of them to come with her, and that she preferred Inferno. Inferno had then introduced her to an SUV, Winter had never been in any sort of vehicle so she was glad that she got to see the vehicle and understand the use of a seat belt before this morning.

Inferno and Winter got in the vehicle then started off towards the mall. When they arrived Inferno focused on the pack members that she knew inside, a female came and opened the doors for them. She had purple hair and silver eyes, like Inferno she was tall.

“Hello Violet, this is Winter. Winter, this is Violet who is the mate of Dracenia. They are the Beta couple of Blue Moon.”

“Hello, it is pleasant to finally meet you Winter.” Violet said, her voice was musical and clear. Winter was immediately put at ease, “All my employees are ready for you. Where would you like to start?”

“Can we start easy? Perhaps with furniture?” Winter asked. She was not sure how much Violet knew about her situation. Violet nodded and led the two of them into the mall. Leading them to a furniture store she left them there to look around.

At the end of the day Inferno and Winter had gotten everything that was needed to furnish Winter’s new room. Workers had delivered the furniture to the room, Inferno and Winter would arrange it when the got back.They also got her soaps that she liked as well as bubble bath, toothpaste, and toiletries. She was delighted to find that she could get chamomile scented soaps, and mint toothpaste. She had even chosen her own plants to grow in the window of her room, as well as the pots that they grow in.

Inferno managed to convince Winter to allow Lacey to help them set everything up and get everything put away. That night Winter was able to sleep in a room that she chose, on a bed that she also chose. The sheets were soft and silky, the comforter warm, and the mattress the perfect softness for her. For the first time in her entire life she felt safe, she felt that she had a place that was just hers. The only thing she was not sure about was the concept of having a mate, especially one who was an Alpha. She was sure about one thing though, she trusted Inferno and Lacey were telling her the truth about everything. She just did not know what to make of all the new information she had received.

“Do you think we should give these guys a chance?” Winter asked Storm.

“I think so, they have done nothing but help us.” Was the quiet reply. Winter sent agreement through their bond as they drifted off to sleep.

The following morning Winter was sitting in her room, watching a show on her new TV when there was a knock on the door. Extending her senses she recognized Inferno’s presence on the other side of the door. She got up to let her in and was surprise when she saw that Inferno had a delicious smelling tray with her.

“I thought we could have breakfast together, I know we did not bring any food up here for you to cook with and I am guessing you are not ready to come down to the main kitchen.” Inferno told her. Winter then stepped back and gestured for her to enter. Sitting down at the table Inferno gave Winter one plate while she took the other. Winter looked at Inferno.

“Why are you doing this?” She asked curiously.

“Doing what? Eating with you?” Winter nodded in answer to Inferno’s question. “Because Lacey and Rosary both said that you still needed help when it came to remembering to eat, and I want to try and get to know you and help you feel more comfortable.”

“Oh. Thank you. I am still not use to the notion that I can simply eat when I feel hungry.” Winter told her as she began to eat.

“I know. You will adjust in time, for now one of us will come and eat with you. Would you like some food brought up here so you can make yourself meals and snacks?”

“I would not know how.”

“Okay. How is this. When it is time to eat one of the three of us will come up with the supplies to make the meal, and teach you how to cook it.” Inferno suggested. Winter was startled at the suggestion but eventually agreed to it, she thought she might like that.