It is an Honor

Chapter 3

In truth, Griffin was awake the whole time his mate was busy sniffing him but he had to keep himself calm to slowly gain the trust of the wolf. But now his focus was to somehow keep the wolf on the hospital bed.

"Okay, um, how about we don't  try to nip at the bounds... alright?"

Griffin slowly pulls the bounds away from the wolf's snout, but the wolf lets out a low growl and tries to bite his hand. Thankfully, the muzzle was securely on his snout so no damage was done but that didn't make Griffin any less frustrated. Griffin starts to stare down the wolf on the bed, a silent challenge to prove that he is much stronger. In response, the wolf lets out a small whimper but doesn't lower his head. Griffin growls under his breath, needing to release his frustration before whispering to himself.

"Fuck... do you even speak English?"

Griffin glances at the wolf before rubbing his hands over his face. 

"Ok... wolf... My name is Griffin, the youngest sibling of the pack alpha. Do you understand me?"

Griffin looks into the wolf's gray eyes hopefully but the wolf only huffs in response and continues to stare him down.

"Um... This is great. I don't even know if you understand english."

Griffin leans back in his seat and presses the call button on the wall to alert a nurse that the wolf was awake now.

"Can I pet you again? You seemed to like that" Griffin slowly raises his hand, Griffin can feel his heart ache when he watches the little wolf flinch at the movement.

"shh... Its okay..."

Slowly, Griffin touches the wolf's head and his hands slowly make their way to his ears, rubbing them gently before a nurse knocks on the door. 

Instantly, the wolf starts to move and struggle on the bed, trying to get away despite how good it felt to have his ears massaged. Griffin tries to calm him down but it looked like it only added to the wolf's stress. Griffin hesitantly brings both hand to the side of the wolf's head and presses his forehead against the wolf's furry one, he then gently coo's him, trying to his best to calm him down.

"Hey hey, you're okay... You are doing so good, surviving for so long... Can you just calm down a bit?"

The wolf jerks his head, trying to get out of Griffin's grip but he keeps a tight hold.

"No no its okay... I'm right here, I promise you will be okay.."

Griffin's muscular forearms wrap around the wolf's neck just tight enough to keep him still. It takes a lot more motivational soft words for his wolf to finally stop squirming, his chest raises and falls rapidly as fear still runs through his body like electricity. Griffin keeps him in an arm lock while one hand works to scratch the area behind the wolf's ear as the nurse and doctor come in to check his vitals and his wounds.

Occasionally, the wolf would jerk and snap his jaw but the whole time Griffin maintains a firm  grip while gently scratching him behind his ear. It felt like hours but really, only a few minutes later the nurse and the doctor try to get Griffin's attention but he just ignores them and focuses on his mate. At some point, Grayson must have entered the room because there is chatted behind Griffin but he pays them no mind, only nuzzling into the wolf's mane while mumbling praises. 

Griffin can't help but smile when the wolf stops trembling and flinching and instead lets out a defeated sigh as it leans closer to Griffin's hands. Griffin feels a hand on his shoulder, likely his brother but Griffin doesn't budge from his place in the wolf's neck.

"Griffin," Grayson speaks up, "Is he in the position to shift? We need to know more of his information." Griffin lets out a sigh and slowly removes his face from the wolf's neck, making him jolt a bit. Griffin leans down closer to the wolf, stroking he fur before gently speaking.

"Come on, can you please shift?"

Griffin sees the hesitation in his mates eyes but Griffin just continues to stroke him gently

"Please? There is nothing to be afraid of here..."

A small whimper breaks out from the wolf and he tries to shift away from Griffin. Griffin wraps his arm around his mate's neck once again and speaks to him softly.

"Please, we want to take care of you."

... 

It takes a few more days until the wolf has grown used to Griffin, accepting that his touch was warm and comforting, and that he showed no agression. Whenever Griffin was in the room with his mate, he made sure to be quiet and that he wolf could read his movements and everything was at his pace. The one in charge was the wolf. 

Grayson and Griffin were sitting in the cafe, when Griffin started to feel a bit jittery. Griffin was just about to take a sip of his juice when he suddenly dropped the cup to rush out of the cafe.

"GRIFFIN! What the hell- STOP DROPPING CUPS!"

Griffin couldn't stop his legs, they sprinted up stairs and he ran past nurses and patients to burst into his mates room. 

He's shifting. My mate is shifting!

Griffin rushes over to his mate's side as his bones slowly deconstruct and shrink. Griffin was forced listen to his mates cries in pain but soon enough, a small frail boy lays on the hospital bed... Oh how cute he was. Griffin reaches out to his mate, only for them to jump back and move away from his touch. 

"No no... Look at me, its just me... Im not going to hurt you."

Griffin is quick to bend down to the side of the bed to make sure his mate didn't feel threatened. 
Griffin offers his hands out to the little body that trembles on the bed but they don't take it. He notices that terror filled eyes flick between Griffin and everyone behind him, Griffin shifts slightly to glance behind himself, giving Grayson a nod before turning back to his mate.

"Its okay... They are going to leave so its just going to be me and you, okay?"

The nurses and doctors slowly trickle out of the room before Grayson gives Griffin one last glance as he shuts the door.

"See? Nothing bad is going to happen to you..."

Griffin watches as brown eyes lock onto his through rowdy dark brown hair. Griffin clears his throat, trying not to get lost in his mate's freckles and such light brown eyes. Griffin looks around and quickly takes one of the blankets from the foot of the bed and shifts it closer to him, offering him to cover his exposed body.

"um... Okay, do you understand English? Can you tell me your name?"

Griffins hands rest on the edge of the bed as he tilts his head with the question. He watches as the little man on the bed shifted slightly on the bed and rested his back against the headboard. They both remained silent but just as Griffin was going to give up he spoke up quietly with a raspy voice.

"... Q-Quinn..."

Griffin perks up and can't help it when a smile spreads across his lips.

"Quinn? My name is Griffin... You have a very lovely name. Is it okay if we talk like this?"

Griffin watches as Quinn shifts, clearly hesitant and testing the waters. Quinn scratches the back of his neck nervously but yelps out in pain when he accidentally scratched at a scab. Griffin jolts to help his mate but this causes Quinn to press painfully against the headboard of the bed.

"Ok... Fuck this is hard..."

Griffin grips onto the handle along the bed and stares down at his feet, trying to calm himself down and he reminds himself that he's on very thin ice around Quinn.

"Quinn..." His name felt like a little piece of heaven on Griffin's tongue, he just wanted to say his name over and over again. "Its okay Quinn, you are in the hospital of our pack, the Ivory Pack. My bother is the pack alpha and I'm his youngest sibling. We promise that you will be safe... Okay?"

Quinn seems to tremble when Griffin introduces himself as a relative of the pack alpha... Bad idea?

‿‿‿‿‿‿‿

P-PACK ALPHA? Quinn's mind was racing, no wonder Griffin seemed so powerful! He was related to the pack alpha! Is it because he's the brother of that pack alpha that he's sticking around so much? Is he going to-?

Quinn didn't realize but he started to hyperventilate, thinking about everything that happened before waking up in this strange building from when his mother was raped to death and his father following after. Leaving him alone in a society only built for the strong and for alphas.  

It hurts... I can't breathe... My chest hurts and my head feels light...

Quinn is snapped back into reality when a large hand is clamped onto his mouth. At first, Quinn squirms and claws at Griffin's arm, predicting the worse before gentle hand cradles the back of his head.

"Shh... its okay, just breathe for me please, In... and out... You're okay, you are safe just breathe with me, okay?"

Quinn whips his head in every direction before flinching when the hand on his mouth moves down to his bare chest, rubbing warm circles. He whimpers and tries to claw the hand away but eventually gives up at the sound of a warm voice close to his ear.

"Breathe in... and out... in... and out... You got this, you are doing so well... In... and out..."

Quinn's hiccups of breaths slow down as he follows Griffin's voice and the warmth of his hand relaxes his muscles. Eventually Quinn's breathing matches Griffin's and his eyes start to flutter close... He felt so relaxed and calm... it was making him kind of sleepy.

Quinn glances up when he hears Griffin mutter a curse under his breath but he continues to rub circles on Quinn's back. Quinn felt really odd, like his head weighed down but also floating at the same time. There was also a faint smell in the room that Quinn was trying to pin point. 

"Sorry..." Griffin mutters as he removes his hand from Quinn's chest, "I-I didn't mean to put so much of my scent in the air... I-I was just worried for you so it just happened and-." Quinn tilts his head, not really knowing what Griffin was talking about but Quinn didn't have the mind to push Griffin away. He couldn't stop his head from dropping down, he felt so so content but deep down inside of him Quinn was fighting for the control that he seemed to have lost. 

Fighting the urge to surrender under such a scary alpha, Quinn suddenly lifts his head and pushes Griffin away with a shaking hand. One hand presses against his forehead, his head was pounding from the sudden movement and his body trembling once he remembers just what such a strong person is capable of. The weight on the bed shifts when Griffin silently sits back down, Quinn could feel the alpha's amber eyes staring at him and roaming over his body. Quinn flinches when he hears him sigh before listening to the sound of clothing shifting. Quinn's eyes fly open to see Griffin slowly moving a blanket over Quinn's exposed body.

Quinn's legs shift, curling up to press against his chest as he watches Griffin pull the blanket over his legs before giving him a look of... Worry...? Quinn watches as Griffin slowly takes off his hoodie, making Quinn flinch and cover his head with his arms defensively.

Griffin immediately pauses and takes a step back from where Quinn laid to give him some space. 

"Quinn." He flinches at the sound of his name and doesn't look up or lower his arms, "Quinn can you look at me... Please?" Quinn shakes his head and stays in his little defensive ball.

"Okay... I was taking off my hoodie to give it to you... I don't want you getting cold because the hospital blankets are pretty thin. Can I do that for you?"

Quinn remains silent and doesn't move a single muscle.

"Um... I'm going to leave it on the handle of your bed, alright? If you don't want it then you can leave it... I-I need some fresh air."

Quinn hears footsteps draw further from him before the door quietly shuts.