--Zayne's POV--

Laying my head on my paws, I watched all these strangers roaming around the room, sniffing at the floor before they skirted around Marcus as he growled warningly. My ears flickered at the aggressive sound, a shiver coursing over my body before I closed my eyes when his rough tongue lapped soothingly over my head.

"Xavier, stop aggravating him." Callum sighed before he sat down, keeping a respectable distance between us. He glanced down and smiled at me while I eyed him warily, ears pinned back.

"Maybe this Alpha will be the same as Him?" I questioned my wolf, hearing it grumble before it shook its head. Catching movement, I flinched and pressed myself against the couch.

Callum's hand stalled before he slowly reached out, gently rubbing over my head. " Did you find any leads on his former pack?" He questioned, voice crackling with anger and making me quiver in fear.

They were quick to sooth my anxiety, hushing and cooing at me. My attention was divided between their gentle touches and the little pup that yawned and slowly stretched. Marcus laid down, acting as a barrier between me and the curious wolves before he gently nudged me.

"Have you never seen a pup before?"

Flinching at the new sensation of their metal voices inside my head, I shivered but managed to shake my head in denial. I have seen wolves my ages but the real youngsters were kept away from me.

They didn't want me to spread the weakness.

I slightly winced at the angry grumbles but blinked when I felt something swat at my nose. When I was swatted yet again, I dropped myself with a tiny whine but was confused to find the little pup standing in front of me.

The white pup was a bit wobbly on its paws, tail wagging like crazy before it yipped and jumped me. I froze, falling in a submissive pose as it gnawed and tugged at my ears before Marcus nudged it with his muzzle.

"Calm down Zayne, he just wants to play." the bigger male chuckled before growling as the pup jumped up, swatting both paws against Marcus' teeth. It seemed fearless as I shook, horrified at the disrespect and future punishment the pup would receive.

I was stunned when Marcus shifted back, catching the little bundle of white fluff mid pounce. "We'd never punish a pup for playing. We give it limits and learn his bite limit of course but a normal wolf would rather chew its own paws off than harm a pup."

Marcus looked down at me and gave me a reassuring smile as I processed this new information. Tilting my head slightly, I watched with confusion as the little pup let out a few growls as it nibbled on Marcus' fingers...and he...allowed it?

Why didn't he retaliate? I mean, those little teeth were more like needles and equally as sharp! Soon enough the little pup lost interest in his living chew toy and turned back to me. Sticking its little bum in the air, it wagged its tail and whined, pawing at me.

"What?"

The pup huffed, as if showing its annoyance at my slow reaction but I didn't understand what he wanted from me. I let out a soft huff when it reattached on my ears, growling and yipping as I allowed it to run all over me.

Marcus chuckled slightly before setting both of us down on the floor. "It's alright, you can play if you want." He assured, warm brown eyes staring at us with fondness before they turned cold when I silently replied in my mind.

"I don't know what playing is..."

Shivers wrecked my body at the deadly stares all around the room before the tension broke when the little pup got fed up and tackled me to the floor before bolting away. I still didn't know what was expected of me but that became all too clear when Seth's slender wolf stalked towards the pup.

The fox-like wolf dropped on its front legs, tail flicking through the air before he dashed away when the pup yipped and scrambled after him. When the white pup caught up, Seth growled and nipped back but made sure to tuck his teeth behind his lips so he wouldn't hurt the boisterous pup.

"Just let your wolf take over Zayne. It'll know what to do." Seth assured whilst playing with the pup. I wasn't so sure but followed the pair hesitantly as they tumbled over the floor, my eyes drifting to the other wolves as I crept through the room, belly rubbing against the floor.

--Marcus' POV--

I watched as Zayne seemed overwhelmed, stumbling back as the little unnamed pup invited him to play. The couch shifted slightly and I smiled as Wyatt stared longingly at the pup, fingers squeezing in Sebastian's arms.

"We need to name the little rascal." Wyatt grinned as the white pup stumbled over his own paws with a startled yip, frightening Zayne in the process before the bigger Omega stalked closer, hesitantly sniffing at the pup to make sure it was alright.

The leather creaked under my weight as I turned on my seat, eying Wyatt with curiosity and amusement. "We? Technically the pup belongs with the Southerner Pack Law Wyatt. They get to name him." I teased, knowing all too well why Wyatt was so excited and throwing his mate the soulful puppy eyes.

Sebastian calmly observed his mate, icy blue eyes shimmering with amusement before he nodded, making Wyatt squeal and bounce in his lap. The pair had been searching for an orphaned pup for quite a while and the youngster was their perfect match. Sebastian quickly went to ask permission from both Lee and Callum to adopt the pup but judging from the wide grins on both the alphas' faces, they agreed wholeheartedly.

"Have you thought of any names, my love?" Sebastian asked with a soft smile as Wyatt threw himself into his arms, showering him with kisses. Wyatt nodded as he leaned back, planting one last steaming kiss that forced a tiny, lustful growl from Sebastian's lips before Wyatt patted his mate on the chest with an amused little smirk.

"Down boy. And yes, you know I've been thinking of names ever since we first thought of adopting a pup." He planted himself firmly on Sebastian's lap and settled in his arms with a contented sigh. "We're naming him Kody , Koda for his friends."

Kody...it was a good name, cute for the little pup. I looked up and chuckled, shaking my head as I noticed Kody clinging onto Zayne's tail, growling and shaking while the Omega had his head tilted in confusion, wondering what he was supposed to do with the pup.

"Sad, isn't it?"

I nodded, shooting a glance to Callum and Lee as they sat with us before glancing back at Zayne. His shaking was noticeably disappearing as the pup played with him while Zayne tried to figure out what he was supposed to do.

"He's, what? An adult wolf in our world and he doesn't know what's considered as normal behaviour." Lee sighed deeply, rubbing over his face while Callum's face was a mask of anger.

A slight tugging at my pants got my attention and I felt a proud grin flash over my face as Zayne clawed up my pants in his attempt to escape the playful little pup.

Okay, I know I'm supposed to feel bad that he wasn't comfortable enough to play and that he most likely never would be as outgoing as a normal pup. But I couldn't stop this shit-eating grin from spreading over my lips as I caught several jealous looks.

Zayne came to me for comfort. That meant that out of the whole pack, he trusted me the most.

I tugged the pup up in my lap and froze as I got a thankful lick on my throat before he yawned in confusion, eying the little pup that was very bravely attempting to clamber up my other leg.

Kody yipped, pawing at Zayne while Zayne snorted and shook his head, yawning in confusion before backing up in my arms. I smiled and rubbed his fur while Sebastian picked the wriggling pup up and settled it in Wyatt's arms.

"Pup, daddy. Daddy, pup." He jokingly introduced them, gaining a smack on the arm from wyatt while Kody looked confused before he shook his fur and nipped at Wyatt's fingers. Wyatt smiled warmly and huddled the fluffy youngster to his chest, grinning up at his mate when Kody slowly started to relax, eyes drooping and head swaying before the pup yawned one last time and fell asleep.

I smiled and nodded at the pair before my attention wavered to Zayne as he curiously sniffed my fingers. Kody had managed to pierce skin, the wound had already healed but I was stunned and unable to breath when Zayne's pink tongue curled out to gingerly lap at the healed skin, cleaning the blood away.

My chest tightened with emotion as I stroked his fur while Zayne hesitantly groomed my skin, shooting me an occasional glance to check if I was okay with his attention. My wolf was purring and in seconds I shifted before my wolf pushed me to start grooming Zayne's fur as well.

All the while I was doing this and felt the little Omega settle against me, a single thought started to form in my head, growing stronger with each passing second.

Could it be?