Belonging To The Alpha King

Chapter Eight

At last, the day 'Ash' dreaded arrived. He was not one to be afraid of most things, but this...this made him feel more terror than he'd ever felt before in his entire life. He'd heard Rosà mumbling about it and she'd even mentioned it to him once-he often times found himself in a one-sided conversation with her-.

And if he remembered past the intense rage he felt at the market, he'd also remember the main reason they went there in the first place; to buy, or more like barter, supplies in preparation for this horrid situation he found himself in right now.

 'BATH DAY'!! It was not like his people didn't prioritise cleanliness, he just was not a fan of being dowsed in practically an ice bath and having his furr weighed down by the excess water he could not get free by shaking. Like humans, his people partook in cleansing themselves in their humanoid forms, but he could not really shift and risk her finding him out. He had called off shifting for a while, it wiuld be somewhat taxing, but since he could not go too far from the hut and shifting in the house is garenteed to get him caught, seeing as she could come home at any time, he decided on not shifting unless it is necessary.

For the past few days, he had been lurking around the hut, using his injury as an excuse for not letting her bathe him. He felt emmence embarrassment when he had to resort to whimpering and whining incredibly loud and acting like a pup throwing a tantrum to get her to reconsider. But it seems she had made up her mind to not let another day pass with him looking like a stray with his matted furr that had started to look a little too dark and even seem to be changing colour and poorly wrapped bandages.

He and Rosà were what any bystander would call a hilarious sight to be seen, as they dashed around the cramped space as if they were playing tag. But to 'Ash', this was no game. To him this was a matter as serious as a life and death situation. He dashed left, she dashed after him

He zigzagged, she replicated his movements . At some point he wondered if she was an experienced fighter to be able to predict his movements so easily, but that was impossible. He just shrugged it off thinking it was because his injures slowed him down. 

What he didn't know was that she had picked up a few... skills here and there; watching the many showoffs in bar fights and being prone to getting attacked by pervs on her you way home late at night tend to teach you a few things.

He used the little opportunity he got from her slipping on his 'blanket' and dove under the bed for protection, but sadly, the bed was too low and he couldn't make it under there in time. 

He fought tooth and nail as she gripped him with a grate force- she was having a hard time doing so since she tried to avoid his injures- and hauled him over to the other side of the worn out curtain. He wriggled and wined and whimpered as she forced him into the bath, but his begging fell on deaf ears.

"Hee-hee" She laughed a mischievous laugh that sent dread of all sorts through his mind. He could have sworn he saw her pupils turn into cat- like slits and her teeth growh incredibly sharp, as she hovered above him with a bowl of water and a bar of soap. He wriggled and squirmed and wined even more as what felt like a waterfall was poured onto him, soaking his ashy fur and turning it a darker shade. He almost cried big fat tears but could not bear to subject himself to anymore humiliation.

After much struggle, the bath came to an end and both parties resembled a wet cat. 'Ash' pouted the best his wet snout would allow and turned his head away. However, he was grinning and wagging his tail inside his head at the thought that he was able to bring a smile to that gloomy face that looked as though it had never been graced with a smile before.

Rosa' laughed so hard for so long that she had to gasp for air when she finally calmed down enough to look for a towel to dry 'Ash's' fur. Still chuckling, she headed to the bathroom after drying 'Ash's' fur and setting up his bed again to take a well needed bath herself.

Rosa sighed out a blissful breath wearing a content smile. Her face which was always pail and gloomy, was tinged with pink and looked inviting. She did not even feel the aches of her soar muscles from rushing about the tight spaces of her little hut, hunting for the oversized wolf to drag him to the bath. She let loose little happy chuckles as she recalled the hilarious sight they must have been. The happy chuckles turned to full blown giggling. They kept slipping out the more she thought of the silly situation. Though she loved animals with a passion, she was never really interested in adopting a pet; for she knew she would have no way of providing for them if she were to take one under her care; the poor thing would probably starve and become just as small and miserable as her.
A sad smile slipped past her little snickers as the thought finally came to the front of her mind; she woyld have to send 'Ash' back as soon as he recovered. She was already struggling to feed them both as is. What would happen if her pay started getting smaller?
Her relaxing bath turned into a pool of depression and anxiety really quickly. She heaved heavy sigh, one that squeezed all her organs and made her a little light-headed. She rapped up her bath, disposed of the murky water, and made her way to her cot of a bed. 'Ash' perkred up and rushed to her side, nuzzled her hand and went back to his blanket. That little exchange cheered her up a little; enough to draw out a smile as she went to sleep with an eased mind.