Raised by Wolves

04 Who am I?*

Random fact...
Wolves tend to hunt in groups of 6-10... significantly different from werewolves massive packs in the stories.

○●○●○●○●○●○●○●○●○●○●○●○●○●○●○●○

Alic takes me to a white room in the two legger structure and lays me on a soft thing...umm.. bed?... How do I know what these things are?

"You're okay... I know this is a lot for you, just breathe... can you speak?" He asks.

"Y.. ye..sss" I make noises that sound wrong in my own ears. His face lights up in a massive grin.

"Good! That's amazing! Do you remember your name?" He keeps smiling down at me.

"B..be..be..."I huff in annoyance that I am failing.

"Hey, it's all good! You know your name, that's what matters. We'll work on the talking." He tells me. "Let's see Be... Beth?" I shake my head. "Be... Beatrice?" I scrunch up my nose, shaking my head. Where is he getting these names? "Bell?" I give him a look, trying to let him know he is close. "Not Bell... but similar?" I nod. "Bella?" I smile and nod. "Well, it's nice to meet you, Bella!"

"All..i..k?" I try to say.

"Alic?... yeah, that's me!" He jumps up excited.

"Waa...Ummm... I?" I ask.

"What are you?" He asks, and I nod. "We're werewolves. Part human. Part wolf."

"Ha..wu?" I ask.

"How?... well, it's how we were born... before you turned into a wolf, you were human." He tells me. "I don't know what happened or how young you were when you shifted, but you were born in human form."

"Mu... pack?"

"I don't know what pack you came from." He answers, making me angry. He took me from them! I just want to know what they plan to do with my wolves!

"Mu pack!" I say again.

"Oh! You mean the wild wolves?... we won't bother them. You have my word." He promises.

"Tank yaw." I tell him.

"No problem! I can get a speech therapist for you to help you speak and a psychologist... it will make it easier for you... are you okay with that?" Alic asks, and I nod. "Great! She'll be here tomorrow!" He grins at me. "Get some rest, and I'll have some food sent over... I'm so glad to see you! I'll get my sister to give you some proper clothes as well!" He turns to leave, but I stop him.

"Alk!" I yell.

"Yeah?" He asks, turning to face me.

"Don lev meh lone!" I say. I'm used to a pack. I can't handle the emptiness of this room.

"You want me to stay?" He asks, and I nod.

"Get some sleep. I won't leave your side." He smiles at me and pulls up a chair. I watch him as he lays back, closing his eyes. "Go to sleep, Bella." He says, sensing my stare.

"Goo naught." I tell him, and he chuckles.

"Good night."

¤•¤•¤•¤•

"Ha...low." I say, trying to mimic the woman in front of me.

"I want you to make an 'e' sound Bella. Watch the way my mouth moves as I say it. "He... low... hello." Now you try look in the mirror and make your mouth like this. "Hello," she says.

"Hello." I say to her.

"That's perfect, Bella! You catch on quickly. I think seeing yourself helps." She smiles kindly.

"Tank you," I tell her as we end our first session.

"Remember 'th' Th..ank you." she says, enunciating the words. "And you're welcome... I'll see you tomorrow, Bella."

"Thhhank you." I say, and she smiles at me before leaving.

"Sooo? How'd it go?" Alic asks, entering my new room. Once the doctor checked me out, he decided I was healthy and didn't need to stay in the white room.

"Good... said I lean fost." I tell him.

"Learn fast." He corrects. "And I'm glad... would you like a tour? I know we kinda threw you in the deep end. I thought you might like to take it slow for a bit. Get outside. I imagine being indoors is driving you nuts after years in the open."

"Owside!?" I yell excitedly. He chuckles.

"Out-side... yeah." He smiles at me. "Wanna go?"

"Outside! Yes!" I say excited. I run to the door.

"This way." Alic says, leading me to the correct door and to freedom.

We walk through the woods around what he calls the pack house. I took off the shoes they gave me, wanting to feel the earth beneath my feet.

"This pack controls a lot of territory." Alic says. He has been talking nonstop about his pack. I can barely speak, and he has so many words. I just want to borrow a few. "We have many towns spread out to keep things running smoothly. It used to be two packs, but we are combining them once I take over here in a few days its all..."

"You All-pha?" I cut him off.

"Yeah. I'm gonna be Alpha. We're calling it the Royal pack." He tells me. Royal... like princes in fairy tales?

"Royal? You a prince?" I ask. He pulls the collar of his shirt down to show his chest.

"I am the king. That's what this mark means." He says. I look at the raised skin it looks like a wolf and a crown.

"Cool." I say, running my fingers on the mark. I pull away quickly as the contact makes my hand feel weird.

"Yeah." He says awkwardly fixing his shirt he continues talking. "But right now, Aaron and Lilly are the Alphas. Once the ceremony is over, it will be just me... I'm nervous, honestly. I mean, we live in dangerous times, and everyone is looking to me. I'm only 19! What do I know?"

"You help me. You care. You're good leder." I tell him.

"I hope I'm a good 'leader', but it's... different with you... you're special, Bella." He says. I suddenly feel my face get hot with his compliment, and he chuckles. "No need to be embarrassed it's the truth. You will always be special to me." He looks like he is about to grab my hand but stops himself. "Let's keep going. The land is beautiful."

We walk a while in silence. It's nice. I'm not used to speaking, so just listening to the nature around me is calming. I'm surprised Alic has stopped talking, but I'm glad he did. It's like he knew what I needed in the moment. Eventually, we head back to the house.

Alic's POV

"It's honestly amazing that she can speak at all." The psychologist tells me.

"What do you mean?" I ask.

"Well, there is a case where a child was never spoken to her speech was never normal, and it took a lot of work for her to speak. Considering the prime age for learning language is about 2-5 years, I'd say she was older than that when she became locked in wolf form. She must have been quite the talker as a pup to retain so much. With her wolf genetics, she should be able to learn quickly and heal... she is smart. The fact that she survived on her own proves that but she is basically a child in a young woman's body. Keep that in mind when you interact with her." She explains.

"What is that supposed to mean?" I ask.

"No offense, my King... but it is rather obvious she's your mate... don't expect her to become that for you any time soon." She explains. I growl.

"I'm not that guy! I wouldn't do anything to harm her! She doesn't even know about mates! I won't push her and am offended you'd suggest otherwise! I'm not blind! I can see that she is not mentally capable of being a mate to anyone! I wouldn't do that..." I rant.

"I'm sorry, sir... I was just looking out for her." The doctor says.

"Thank you... I'm glad you care for her... I'm gonna go see her now... thank you for the update." I say and head out to see Bella.

"Sooo? how'd it go?" I ask as I enter her room in the pack house, nodding to the speech therapist. I'm so glad she's out of the hospital.