Rejection

Chapter 18 - Bonding

---Drake's POV---

We all watched from the other side of the room, waiting as the pack slowly approached the doorway, hesitant to enter with the new scent permating the room. I watched them approach and back away again and again, taking whiffs of the air and gazing inside the room before finally, one of them ventured inside.

I smirked softly, watching as the young she-wolf glanced at Kyle before beelining it to where Erina was standing, huffing and sniffing at her clothes and hands. It had been her mother and her as a little pup that had helped Erina through the hardest moment of her life.

Seeing that nothing happened, the pack slowly trickled inside, those already imprinted sniffing and greeting Cedric, Erina and I while the rest eyed Kyle warily from his position on the couch. A few approached to give him a hesitant sniff, but none of them really seemed keenly interested in him.

My arms slowly slid to my sides as I noticed one of the last wolves enter the doorway, shoulders scraping against the hatch as it squeezed its massive bulk into the room. The pack's enforcer was huge and known to be volatile at best, though none of the wolves under his care genuinely acted out.

Still, I eyed the wolf warily as I averted my gaze when it glared at me, a low snarl building in its throat with hackles rising. He had been brought to us as a youngster, trapped by humans and abused until he grew too big and too aggressive to handle.

In fact, I recall he nearly killed his last human handler... We never knew what the man was up to but police had responded to pained cries and snarls, finding the mangled man slowly bleeding out besides a splintered wooden mace, the wolf bloodied and pacing in agitation.

It had made its dislike for human contact, in specific males known very clearly by attacking any male that ventured in its territory. Hell the first few times I had entered the enclosure myself, it had charged at me and dealt several bites and scrapes until eventually it learned that the pack and I were safe.

So seeing this wolf venture into the room with bristling tail and hackles fully up was less than reassuring for anyone in the room. Especially Kyle. My nose might not be able to sniff out how weak he was but a wild wolf's life depended on that.

They would know within seconds that Kyle was easy killing, if he were a prey animal.

"Cedric..." I warned softly, glancing at the man to make sure he knew my intent. He nodded softly, pushing Erina to the side and crouched slowly, not even blinking as several of the pack approached to lick at his throat and cheeks.

A sudden yelp made us all jump, including the pack. One of the other wolves had been sitting by Kyle's side, sniffing and leaning over the boy with curiosity. Now it was squished on the floor, tail quivering in fear and tucked tightly against its creamy belly with whimpers slipping from its muzzle in an attempt to sooth the massive wolf on top of it.

Kyle was blinking rapidly, edging himself back as far as he could and letting out a soft whine when he pressed too much on his hands. I went to approached but stilled as the wolf snarled sharply, snapping its teeth at my approach.

The youngster curled its tail even tighter and slowly crawled away from the black and grey wolf while Kyle's eyes widened in worry when the enforcer approached him.

Slowly, almost hesitantly so, it sniffed at Kyle's trembling hands, tail wagging stiffly above its back. A paw landed on the seat between Kyle's legs before the wolf pushed up, towering above Kyle in all its might. And yet, it was extremely gentle and cautious as it sniffed Kyle from top to bottom, hackles slowly relaxing.

Kyle groaned slightly as the wolf dropped down on his legs with a huff, settling in with a grumbling yawn and laying its head on Kyle's chest. I watched as Kyle's lips twitched into a bitter smile, hands trembling terribly as he raised them slowly to place against the wolf's fur.