Through a Wolf's Eyes

Chapter Five - On probation

I shouldn't have taken that nap.

I was currently at the pack's infirmary, that is of course if Larissa, the pack's medic, was not deliberately giving me false information. Although the elderly wolf had shown no animosity towards me, she had not given away any useful information either.

When I had asked her some basic questions about my surroundings, she had simply said that it wasn't her place to answer them. She was only there to treat my wounds, and nothing more. The only thing I managed to find out was that some other wolves had carried me to the camp while I was unconscious and had left me in Larissa's care.

Apparently I had slept for over a day, and although I wouldn't even dare to imagine what could have happened while I was in such a vulnerable state, I had to admit it had been relieving to finally catch some sleep.

"Here you go", Larissa said and handed me another steaming cup of an unknown substance. During my years as a lone wolf I got used to eating weird or tasteless stuff, it had been necessary to survive, but that didn't stop me from cringing when I swallowed the liquid down.

I had finally cleared the whole cup when someone pushed aside the entrance flap of the infirmary and stepped inside the tent. He was about my age, with obviously dyed platinum blond hair and a pair of obnoxious sunglasses hanging from the collar of his shirt.

My mind strayed to some fitting human vocabulary I had learned over the years in search of a word to describe this rather unpleasant figure. After a few seconds, I mentally glued a piece of paper with 'douchebag' written on it to the newcomer's forehead, since that one seemed to fit the most.

"Ian," Larissa said, "what can I do for you?"

"That guy," Ian said while he nodded towards me, "is he ready to go yet? The alpha wants to see him in the mess hall."

Somehow, I had the sudden urge to punch this guy in the face. I had to congratulate myself for not actually going through with such a thing. Although his words were carried no hatred, his eyes were staring me into the ground. As his gaze kept downgrading me, I could almost hear his thoughts. Disgusting. Not trustworthy. Doesn't belong here.

He was not the first wolf that looked at me like this. During my stay at the infirmary, other wolves had come in to have some of their injuries treated. All of them had remained silent when they took notice of me, but their expressions had told me enough to know I was not welcome here.

So here I was again, probably being valued even less than a patch of dirt by a guy with a horrendous taste of fashion, and swallowing any remarks that came to my mind. I could not afford to offend any of these wolves if I wanted to survive this whole ordeal.

However, this time, it seemed like I did not have to defend myself. Larissa did so for me.

In the short time I had been awake, I had discovered that Larissa was a non-nonsense woman and that she was extremely protective of her patients. Every time a wolf passed by and gave me some foul looks, she would send them on their way while throwing not so lady-like language after them. Her patients seemed to be her number one priority, but of course that didn't stop her from smacking their heads when they would not cooperate.

"My patient is still in a weakened state and needs to rest", she said. "I will not have him undergo an unnecessary amount of stress while his body is not yet in a condition to handle it." The male wolf, Ian, let out a grunt.

"They've been waiting for over a day for that stray to wake up, and now that he is awake you won't let them see him?" He let out another growl, but Larissa got none of that.