Chapter 11: Isaiah
1046 Words
Layla POV
Little wolf finally awoke about ten minutes after Drake had left Layla to watch over him. Layla had been lost in her own thoughts as his eyelids fluttered, indicating his return to consciousness, and it had taken her a few minutes to notice he was staring at her. When she finally did, she smiled with relief. “Hey there,” she said gently, noting he still held fear in his gaze. “Would you mind shifting for me? I’ll put a blanket over you so you aren’t exposed to the cold.”
The little wolf nodded slowly, watching her as she carefully placed the blanket over him, bringing it up to just under his snout before she backed off and turned around, giving him as much privacy as she could without leaving him. For a few moments, she heard the tell-tale signs of transformation, including the snapping of bones and soft whimpers of pain, and then all went silent. “You good if I turn around now?” she asked.
“Yes,” came the meek reply. She turned around and took him in. His eyes were a deep green, unlike the brown of his wolf’s eyes, and the kid’s light blond hair went down past his shoulders, looking matted and unkempt. He was unusually thin, telling her he hadn’t eaten as much as he should’ve been in who knew how long, though his face was only just barely showing the signs of his hunger with slightly sunken in cheeks.
He was a cute kid, and she knew when he grew older that he’d have no lack of females wanting him. She smiled kindly at him and sat down again before asking, “Can you tell me your name?”
The boy simply stared at her for a few moments, before slowly blinking as he replied in a raspy voice, “Isaiah.”
“Hey Isaiah, I’m Layla.”
Isaiah simply nodded, looking down at his hands. Layla sat patiently, not wanting to push him. Eventually, he looked back up at her and asked quietly, “Why did you help me?”
She blinked, confused. “Why wouldn’t I help you?”
“I’m a rogue,” he said with a shrug. “Pack wolves don’t like us.”
“Well, I guess I helped you because you needed it. I know sometimes wolves are rogues because they’ve done bad things, but that isn’t always the truth, and even if it was in your case, I don’t think leaving you to suffer would be the right thing to do.”
He looked at her incredulously. Obviously, he’d not met enough kind people in his lifetime, which only made her more curious as to what his life had been like before she’d found him. But she knew he wouldn’t likely respond well if she peppered him with questions or pressured him in any way to get his story. Still, she wouldn’t know how to help him until she knew more about him. She chewed on her lip, debating if she should ask him anything more right now, and, if she decided she should, what would she ask him?
After a few minutes of tense silence between the two, Isaiah piped up, saying, “If you want to ask me something, go ahead.”
She looked at him in surprise, her eyebrows raised. “Are you sure?”
“You’ve helped me,” he said simply, playing with an edge of the blanket. “So go ahead.”
“Oh, okay, thank you. I guess I was just wondering why you are a rogue. I mean, it’s unusual to see a kid around your age without a pack.”
He refused to look up at her, concentrating on fidgeting with the blanket as he spoke. “My mom died when I was three. My dad started drinking after that, and he…he wasn’t nice to me. It got worse every year, and the last time I almost died.”
“Why didn’t your alpha or any of your pack members help you?”
“They didn’t care.”
“What?! What kind of pack would do that to a kid??” she yelped, startling the boy. She sighed and rubbed her head when she saw his reaction. “I’m sorry, that just makes me angry. A pack is supposed to protect you, especially when you’re a kid. I just…I’ve never seen a pack do that. I’m so sorry, Isaiah.”
“I’ll get by,” he said sadly.
Layla watched him fiddle with the blanket for a minute before she said, “Well, if you’d like, I can talk to my alpha about you staying here. I know he wouldn’t mind you staying, and I think you should stay here until you are in better shape. I don’t just mean your leg, you look like you haven’t eaten nearly enough in a while. Does that sound okay?”
He looked uncertain as he scratched his head. After a few minutes, he looked her in the eyes and asked, “If I decide to leave, will you stop me?”
“No,” she said, shaking her head. “But I’d prefer if you at least stayed for a while. I’d like to see you get more healthy before you go back out there and try to make it on your own. And you may find you like this pack, in which case, we can talk to the alpha about you becoming one of us. Again, that’s only if you choose to, though.”
He looked back down at the blanket, biting his lip, before looking back up at her. “Okay,” he said, “I’ll stay for a little while.”
Layla smiled widely, resisting the urge to hug the poor boy. Instead, she nodded, saying, “That’s great. I’ll go talk to Alpha Richard now, and get a room set up for you. Do you need anything before I go?” When he shook his head, she reached forward, patting his hand before getting up. “I won’t be gone too long, and Doctor Anders is here to look after you. After I’m done, we’ll get you some food, okay?”
“Okay,” he responded meekly.
Giving him a parting smile, she started to walk away. When she was almost out the door, he called out to her. “Yes?” she asked, stopping.
“I…I just wanted to say thank you,” he whispered, and, if she didn’t have shifter hearing, she probably would have missed it. Luckily, she didn’t, and she simply nodded in response before walking out, her heart swelling in her chest.
Unbeknownst to her, as soon as she went out the door, all the feeling left his eyes, his stare now cold and calculating.
- Writer
