The Alpha and the Runt

Alek nodded. He'd hate to see her killed because she ran her mouth.

He wanted to be there to see her reaction to meeting her father again. Did she know he was in the mansion? Perhaps.

I don't think that's it. There was love in her words when she spoke of you. Love wouldn't have sounded if all she did was pity you.

Is what normal? My age? The Wolf heaved a sigh. That is the result of a large mix of both bravery and cowardice.

There were times he ran away to save his own tail.

Noah would be blushing right now if he were able, he did love Dusa as a sister, she was the closest thing to family that he had left in this world, no matter how much she annoyed him.

He shook his head at the Lycan's reply, that was not what he had meant.

Noah shifted back, curling his knees in against his chest as his tail curled between his legs, shielding his private area, he wasn't accustomed to people seeing him naked, nor did he like it, a boy his size was easy to take advantage of, and he knew it.

Reaching up he gripped on of his exposed ears, giving it a soft tug.

"Is this normal?"

He couldn't control it, it was tied to his emotions and he was still young so his emotions got the better of him a lot of the time.

Alek's eyes strayed up to the boy's ears when he transformed back.

Normal, yes.

His eyes turned down to the boy's face. Normal for you? Not so much.

Alek shifted back, pushing himself to sit up, uncaring for his state of undress. His eyes slid shut for a few moments as he concentrated hard on trying to transform only partially.

When his eyes flickered open again, ears and a tail had sprouted.

"Transforming partially takes a great amount of effort and concentration. Even I find ti difficult most of the time. Though, I haven really been practising much." When his lips parted, sharp canines protruded.

A dark blush stained his cheek as Alek sat in front of him completely bare but uncaring.

He made sure to keep his dark eyes solely on the man's face, he had been turned young, his body hadn't yet caught up to his actual age, as such, he had trouble controlling a lot of the reactions that his body had, not just his ears and tail.

"I don't even mean to do this."
He replied, giving his ears a tug before they pinned back against his white hair.

"It just happens, it's always just happened when ever my emotions run too high, I get overly happy, sad, scared, it doesn't matter they just pop up."

"That's...interesting."

So it was completely natural? It happened without the boy thinking about it at all? That was...strange.

Alek leaned forwards, one hand rising to stroke an ear, his own ears and tail dissipating. He had lost concentration and he couldn't stay partially transformed without concentrating on it.

"Its connected to your emotions..."

The man leaned back again, giving the boy his space as his eyes turned to the canopy of leaves. "So instead of being connected to thoughts like my partial transformations, yours is connected to emotions." It sounded viable.

Noah's eyes kept locked onto the Alpha, his blush darkening as the man touched him, a soft, involuntary purr rumbling in his chest as his ear was stroked.

He rubbed his rose with the back of his palm and gave a soft shrug when Alek moved away, he didn't know any more than what he had observed on himself.

"When I was turned I just figured that was what happened, I met other Lycans a few years later, and you can imagine how they took it."

Noah was easy prey to pick on, he couldn't stand up for himself and he attracted the wrong kind of attention easily.

"I was hoping that you would have answers to be honest. I'm starting to think that lycanthropy was just being cruel."

Alek's lips quirked into a little smile when the boy purred softly.

The Lycan gave a little smirk.

"I don't think that your ears and tail are the reason that people pick on you." Noah was small and cute. Easy prey. When people found something that was different or strange about easy prey, they attacked that.

He didn't get attacked solely because of his ears. The ears were just a small part in it.

"Apologies, but I have no answers."

"Yeah.."
He let out a heavy sigh, giving the man a half hearted smile, he knew why he got picked on.

"Not much of a Lycan, huh?"
He replied with a soft chuckle, he could admit that much, he did fit the Lycan stereotype, probably never would.

Reaching over he grabbed his shirt and pulled it over his head, the length of it long enough to cover half of his thighs.

"It's alright, I'll just stick to plan B."

He added, picking up his beanie and pulling it over his head, hiding his ears as they pinned up against his head.

"You're every bit as much of a Lycan as I am," the man assured.

It was only his personality that differed hugely. and no two people had the same personality.

"Perhaps you'd like to meet another Lycan as small and calm as you are?" It wouldn't take much to have him meet Moe. She didn't fight any more. She hadn't done in months and had chosen not to until the pups were old enough to take care of themselves.

She had the same gentle personality as he believed Noah did. They might find a few things in common.

Noah gave a small nod, though he highly doubted that, maybe he was just as much of a Lycan but not as much of a man as Alek was.

Regardless, he wasn't about to wallow in self pity, he didn't mind who he was as a person, it seemed to be everyone else that had issues with him.

"Yeah, I'd like that."
He replied, looking up at the Alpha, if there was someone who could relate to him, then he would content, even if he had a few odd traits.

"She is my granddaughter."

Granddaughter... If only. She was his granddaughter by name only. But, for them, that was enough. She called him Grandaddy and she loved him like a grandfather. That was enough.

"I think she will like you."

A smirk curled his lips. "Though I would be careful of her husband. Don't get too friendly with her."

If Noah got 'too friendly' it would be Moe he needed to look out for, not Zeke. But he doubted that would happen anyway. Knowing Moe, she would adopt him, not have an affair with him.

A blush blazed brightly over his cheeks as he mentioned getting too friendly with his granddaughter.

"Oh, uh...that would never happen. I'm..."

He muttered shyly, fiddling with the sleeve of his shirt, he was sure the Alpha's granddaughter was a lovely girl but Noah didn't exactly like girls...not in that way.

He didn't finish his sentence, instead he just shook his head and covered his face slightly with his beanie, trying to hide his intense embarrassment.

The Alpha laughed, leaning forwards to pat Noah on the head.

"It was merely meant as a joke."

But his reaction did have the Greek man curious. I'm...

He was what? Not looking for a relationship? Gay? Asexual? None of which mattered here. The Coven picked up all sorts of people; all of those categories included.

"Perhaps i should warn even her not to pick on you." Even Moe succumbed tot he seductions of easy prey occasionally.

He gave a soft nod as the man laughed, his ears shifting slightly under his beanie as his head was patted.

"You don't have to do that, I'm use to it."

He replied with a soft shrug, Noah tried not to let what other people said or did to him effect him too much.

The boy just dusted himself off and went along with life as he always did, trying not to dwell on the past too much.

"Perhaps, but I'm introducing you to her for you to find someone with similarities to you. What good would that be if she picks on you much the same as everyone else?"

He'd ask her not to take aim at easy targets around Noah. It was the least he could do to make the boy comfortable.

He was under his command thus his responsibility. He wanted all of his charges - if not all then as many as he could - to be happy.

"Do you like children?"

"Not much good at all, I suppose."

He replied, looking down at his toes as he spoke, Alek made him nervous, but that wasn't saying much, everyone made him nervous, even Dusa most of the time.

He gave a soft nod as a smile graced his light pink lips.

"Yes, but I haven't spent much time around them."

The boy was only young still and had no younger siblings so being around children was a rarity.

"Exactly."

He gave the boy an easy grin.

He was wary around the Alpha. Many were at first. They didn't expect such an easy-going person to have such a powerful, overbearing aura and that knocked them for a loop.

Noah would get used to his presence soon enough.

The grin shifted into a little smile.

"I'm sure she'd love for you to meet her children."

He returned the man's smile with a small one of his own, Alek seemed nice, a surprising thing for an Alpha, though he didn't have much experience with packs.

Life was usually more dangerous as a lone wolf but for Noah it seemed like a safer option, he was always going to be at the bottom of the food chain in a pack, that was not an easy life to live, normally the burden would be past on to the newest member of the group but he doubted that would happen with him, it would always be him no matter how long he stuck around.

"I'd like to meet them."

He would like to meet new people, though he was shy, he did enjoy the company of others, even if they put him on edge.

"I don't know how long we will be staying here though."

As soon as Dusa said that they were leaving he would go with her, he didn't have a choice.

The Alpha nodded with a smile.

"The two of you will get on well, I think."

Brandusa was the ringleader of their two-man pack, then. She decided whether or not they were going to travel or stay somewhere.

"I think she will want to stay here longer than she had first intended," the man said with a secretive little smile.

Alek knew something Noah and Bradusa didn't; it was obvious in that little smirk on his lips.

His brows furrowed slightly as he looked at the man smile, he was clearly keeping secrets, but how that effected how long they would be staying here was beyond him.

"What makes you say that?"

He asked, tilting his head slightly as he looked at the man quizzically.

"I'd like to be able to stay somewhere for a while, we've been traveling non-stop."

He wasn't the type for excessive travel, he got worn out far too easily.

"I know something about the inhabitants of this Coven that she doesn't. When she finds out, she will want to stay, even if only for a little while longer."

Dusa's father was here. He knew that. Zakhar Avdeyev. She smelled just like him. There was no way that there couldn't be a relation. And in the talks that the two of them had had since Alek had holed him up in his room, the Alpha had found out about his daughter.

"Enjoy your time here. Make friends and have fun."

Fun clung to the Mansion. Dangerous fun but fun nonetheless. Most inhabitants of the mansion enjoyed their time here.

"What is it?"

He asked, normally the boy would not pry but if it meant that they wouldn't have to run off again, chasing the shadow of the man that they had no idea where he was, he would ask.

He gave a soft nod and played with the hem of his shirt.

"That's what I am trying to do, hence why I am hiding out here, I snuck off while Dusa was in the bathroom."

His sister never left his side since he had a bad habit of getting into trouble, but he wasn't going to let her smother him.

Alek shook his head.

"I think I shall let the two of you find out yourself. I shall have to stick around and watch from the shadows. I'm interested in how this will play out."

He wanted to see Brandusa's and Zakhar's reactions to seeing each other again.

"Hiding..."

Not the best attempt at hiding he had ever seen. He was sitting out in the open talking none too quietly with one of the most well known members of the Coven. Not the best move for hiding.

The boy let a soft whimper as Aleksandr spoke, watching from the shadows sounded quite sinister, he almost dreaded finding out what the man meant by all of this.

His tail was still poking out from beneath his shirt and at this point curled around his body protectively.

"Not the best hiding spot, I know but she would find me regardless of where I hid so it really doesn't matter all that much."

Dusa had a keen nose and when she was determined enough she could sniff him out anywhere.

Alek chuckled softly at the whimper.

"Nothing to worry about. I just want to see her reaction without being involved in it. And the best way to do that is to watch from the shadows."

Watching without being seen was easy enough.

"She cares for you a lot then if she will go to such lengths to find you." It was admirable to see someone care for another so much.