---Zayne's POV---
I didn't know how much time we spent in that bathroom, most of the pack settling down on the floor, talking softly to each other while the others simply observed as Marcus washed me from head to toe. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I knew I should be fighting tooth and claw to get out of Marcus' hands or out of the water but I felt as if I was stuck outside my body.

Calloused fingers gently massaged the soap through my fur, making it stick up in awkward angles as they found countless of knots and matted furs. The quiet snipping of the scissors when he gently removed patches that were beyond repair accompanied his soothing voice as he kept talking to me.

My ears flickered slightly when he washed them, shivering against his skin when water ran over my head and muzzle, eyes blinking against the droplets running over my head and muzzle.

"There we go." Marcus crooned before gently lifting me out the tub, settling me down on soft towels as I shivered, glancing around slightly. My eyes stopped at my reflection in the mirror and I mentally scoffed. No wonder the Alpha always picked on me. I'm pathetic.

"You certainly are not Zayne and I'd appreciate it if you stopped thinking like that about yourself." Lee said kindly, though I could hear the command in his tone. Spreading my ears to the side, my head drooped in defeat. "Yes Alpha. Sorry Sir."

Lee sighed, opening his mouth before stopping and shaking his head. "I know you've had a rough time kid, but we wish to help you. You're part of our pack now and we look after our own." I didn't understand, only stared in confusion before I jumped when a towel was wrapped around my soaking body, long slender fingers rubbing my fur dry.

Seth flashed me a weak smile as he dried me while Marcus got out of the bath, water running off of his body in torrents before he grabbed a towel and dried himself. His eyes remained fixed on me though, even if Seth moved the towel to my head to dry me completely.

Eventually I was left huddled in a fresh towel, ears twitching as I was lost in thought. Everything I've come to know as truth was left unhinged. These wolves showed me that pack-life didn't need to be torture, they even acted as if I was equal to them.

It all just left me extremely confused as I simply stared down at my damp fur, my wolf's usual spirit to fight and defend gone. It made me nervous, wondering if my wolf has finally given up on me as well.

Everyone does eventually.

---Marcus POV---
It was disheartening to see the pup just sitting there, letting everything happen. His golden eyes still flashed with fear but they lacked the spark that gleamed in them before.

I knew it was Zayne's wolf accepting us as pack and lowering its guard but coupled with Zayne's thoughts, it gained a whole new meaning.

Zayne lost his will to survive.

And that had me on edge, gritting my teeth as I ran several thoughts through my mind, all of them containing Zayne's former pack and the great pleasure I would have in exterminating it. My wolf snarled, snapping with its teeth in agreement; that pathetic excuse for a pack needed to be erased.

I could hear Terrance linking with several other pack's of Pack Law, discussing battle strategies and ways to circle the pack to make sure nobody could escape. The horror and anger in the officials' voices was satisfying and I just knew that Zayne's story was going to spread under Pack law, pushing everyone to inspect the packs around them to make sure this wouldn't repeat in the future.

We were going to set things into motion, a snowball effect that would change everything on its path as it hurdled down the hill.

But even while I listened in on the rest of the pack as they settled down, I couldn't help but freeze in shock when Zayne crawled up my chest, hiding his muzzle underneath my chin and settling down with a sigh.

My eyes lifted instantly to the others, a hesitant smile growing on my face before I smirked smugly when I heard a few jealous huffs from the others. Seth merely rolled his eyes, sifting through the cupboard to get the softest towel possible while the rest watched as I washed Zayne.

"Poor kid." I thought as I brushed through his fur, dirt swirling through the water with each brush. It must've been uncomfortable, having all that grime and filth stuck to your pelt and unable to wash it off.

But then again...if he had shifted, he could've cleaned himself up more. Zayne's breath stuttered against my throat with each brush of my hands, I could even feel his little heart racing against my chest.

Nobody should fear his own kind like this, especially not at such a young age. I sighed and redirected my anger into scrubbing Zayne's fur, making sure to remove patches of matted fur until he was squeaky clean.

"Fuck, he's so skinny and tiny." I thought, my defensive walls crumbling down at Zayne's trust. My wolf was softly purring in glee and pride, tail wagging in excitement at the knowledge that Zayne had willingly sought out contact with me.

I sighed and tenderly held Zayne, lifting him out of the bad after a gentle squeeze to his fur and tiny tail to remove excess water. When he stood on the bath rug, shivering in the wind, I heard a few soft wines coming from the pack.

Grinding my molars together, my eyes were transfixed on little Zayne as Seth quickly brushed him dry, each movement of the towel flashing a part of Zayne's ribs and spine sticking through.

"Terrance, You need to ask Mike about everything he knows of Zayne, how he got the Omega, how many scars he had from before and if he behaved in the same way." I sent, gaining a nod from Terrance as he glanced down at his mate.

I didn't have the pleasure to talk much with the human, but that was Terrance's fault. As soon as he realized Mike was his mate and the Alpha postponed his interogation...well, let's just say that Terrance jumped on the oppertunity to do his own sort of interogation.

Terrance flashed me a smug smile, winking cockily at Mike and causing the boy to flush beetred. It was a bit amusing to watch though and calculated Terrance, the ruthless Warwolf leader of our pack being so loveydovey with his mate.

"Are you having any thoughts about me and my mate?" Terrance huffed, crossing his arms so that the muscles bulged and threatened to tear his shirt. My eyes flitted to Mike and I smiled warmly as the human kid couldn't take his eyes off of his mate.

"Yeah I do. How's he still standing after the last few hours?"

Terrance barked with laughter, reaching forwards to snatch Mike and pull him against his chest. Mike didn't protest much as Terrance nuzzled his nose against Mike's neck, smiling against the boy's tanned skin.

Our light banter removed part of the tension but I instantly focused as Seth stood up with Zayne swaddled in a towel in his arms. The pup looked awefully cute and at times like these, it was hard to remember it was a teenager I wanted to coo and fuss at, not a young little pup.

"Oh, who am I kidding?" I muttered to myself before reaching for Zayne, gaining a tilted eyebrow and knowing smile from Seth. Huh, wise little know-it-all. I didn't take Zayne out of his hands as much as I wanted to. Instead I gently patted his fur before sighing deeply.

"Hey buddy, Zayne?" I waited until the pup lifted his head, golden eyes narrowed slightly in suspicion and fear. My wolf grumbled uneasily, sensing something just waiting to happen but after I mentally discussed it with the Alpha and Terrance, I sighed.

"Can you shift back bud?"

It was a simple question, one that he could answer easily. As soon as we reached the age of 3, we could willingly change back and forth between our forms. Before then, our shift could overwhelm us whenever our wolf pleased to shift.

What I expected to happen was Zayne nodding its head, even shifting back on the spot or maybe shaking his head slightly to indicate he didn't want to shift right now.

But that didn't happen. Instead I felt my heart twist and tear painfully as the once docile pup instantly started flailing, trying his best to get out of Seth's hand with fearful whines. For a moment, it truly sounded like he was in severe pain, causing everyone to step closer to Seth and even reach for Zayne.

"No, No, No! No shift, can't! Won't!" Zayne screeched in our minds, stunning and confusing us even more. Why the hell was he so afraid to shift? It wasn't a painful thing to do and I had thought Zayne would've liked walking around the house in his human form.

Instead of being happy to shift, he was genuinely afraid, terrified even to the point where he would probably faint from hyperventilation of we didn't do something quick. When Zayne slipped from Seth's grasp and started to tumble down, my wolf reacted and pushed forwards.

Cloths shredded and fell to the floor as I was able to catch the flailing pup by the scruff, making sure not to bite down and injure him. Zayne instantly froze when he realized I had shifted before I started walking to the bedroom.

"I'm sorry! I don't wanna train, please, no!"

I froze mid-step before continuing towards the bedroom. "What do you mean with train Zayne? You're too young to be training." Zayne's confusion filled my head as I nudged the door open before he slowly, hesitantly pushed a memory to the forefront.

A memory where he was dragged out of a cage, muzzled and tied to a post before a man ordered the rest of the gathered wolves to attack Zayne. I heard the telltale ripping of clothing in the hallway, indicating that the images I was seeing had also been sent to the rest of the pack and they had shifted in anger.

Zayne seemed even more confused at our reaction, though the fear was still strongly present in his actions, making me sigh. Laying the pup down, I nudged it on its belly before laying down beside him and draping a paw over his back.

He needed to sleep, badly, and as soon as he was dreaming, we would use the link to observe his dreams for past memories. Every reliable source of information was more than welcome and after a small discussion, I heard both Dylan and Brandon running for the door.

As soon as they were outside, they were going to split up and inform the nearest Pack Law officials from neighboring packs. It was time to go out and find Zayne's so called pack.