---Milo's POV---

I was glad that Felix hadn't been forcefully removed from me, not that I'd ever allow that to happen again. I could hear Lee talking to Felix' parents in the other room after having calmed down Felix' mother.

Nuzzling against Felix, I huffed and inhaled his scent before letting out a content sigh. What more was there to discuss? Felix was safe and right here in my arm, and I'd never let him go again.

Not unless he wanted me to. A slight frown appeared on my face but instantly disappeared. Judging from the way Felix was latched onto me, face buried in my throat and his fingers clasped tightly together behind my neck, he wasn't going to let go any time soon.

Movement caught my eye and I looked up, growling slightly as one of the pack members approached. Even though they didn't mean any harm, I was on edge after that woman screamed like a banshee, threatening to take Felix away from me.

Never.

"Easy..." Marcus whispered while holding up a soft blanket, motioning with his chin towards Felix. I frowned slightly, not understanding what he meant until Felix let out a little huff and sighed deeply.

I leaned back to look at his face, understanding instantly why Marcus was speaking so quietly as Felix has slowly fallen asleep. His once tight grasp was slowly drooping, his weight resting against my body as his slowly relaxed.

I could clearly see the goosebumps on his arms, probably the reason why Marcus had come over with a blanket but there was no need. Without any words wasted on useless conversation, even if it would be easy through the pack link, I shifted.

Gently and without disturbing Felix too much, I nuzzled and nudged him until he was stretched out against my body, his head resting on my hips. I rested my head on his hips, covering most of his stomach and huffed in appreciation when Marcus carefully wrapped the blanket over Felix' bared feet.

I only hoped Felix wouldn't roll over in his sleep and roll off of the couch...

Keeping a close eye on the people roaming through the house, I stayed on guard as Felix slept without a care in the world. I knew his parents were still around, just like his cousin and that girl but...

To be honest, I didn't trust anyone.

I've had enough of people stabbing me in the back, of people luring me in with kindness and promises of love, nurturing and food, only to take it back and bash me on the head for being so foolish.

Even now I sometimes had issues with trying to get a read on their actions. These werewolves were easier to understand because of the wolf inside, sure. Their actions were pushed more towards instinct, and instinct was easy to predict.

Fight or flight. Kill or be killed. Hunt when you're hungry, sleep when you're tired...

My eyes flitted towards the side, my heart thudding rapidly as my tail twitched the lightest bit.

Find and protect your mate.

And that was exactly what I was going to do. Even if I found it difficult to trust these people, I would always trust Felix' judgement. He has never lied to me, had always respected my boundaries as I had respected his.

Anywhere he went, I would follow.

The sound of an opening door made me pitch an ear to the side before raising my head as I saw Felix' parents emerge back into the room. My eyes were focused on the woman, as she had been the one to scream and shove me to the floor in her attempt to take Felix away.

She did make a small sound of protest in the back of her throat, probably at seeing her son laying with me. But other than that, she didn't respond and I was glad for that.

Felix needed his rest.

He frowned in his sleep, fingers curling into my fur before he let out a sigh and relaxed once more. Meanwhile, his parents watched from beside the couch, staring down at him as if they couldn't believe their eyes.

I snorted slightly, resting my head on Felix' belly while keeping my eyes trained on the two humans in the room. A low growl escaped me as the woman kneeled beside the couch, already reaching out to touch Felix.

"Easy Milo. They're his parents..." Marcus hushed but I kept on growling, even lifted my head to bare my teeth at the woman. Being Felix' parents didn't give them the right to touch him while he was unaware. Especially not because they knew that Felix detested being touched.

And Marcus must've heard my thoughts somehow, as he paused before turning towards the woman. "Excuse me, but I believe it would be best to approach Felix when he's actually awake."

The woman looked up, glaring as she spat, "Who are you to tell me what I should do and how I should act towards my son?" I snarled sharply as she once again reached out, snapping my teeth inches away from her wrist to prove I wasn't kidding.

She instantly flinched back, her other hand grasping at her wrist as if I'd mortally injured her instead of grazing the skin with my whiskers. "Savages! You're all just animals!" She shrieked and I felt tempted to bite her, only to pause as she gasped sharply.

Her eyes were wide, lips parted slightly as the loud slap still rang through the air. Looking to the side, Felix' father still had his hand raised as he looked at his wife with a mixture of anger for her words and presumably regret for hitting her in the first place.

"Don't you dare say those words to these people. They have succeeded where we have failed, as parents and as a family. Is a family not meant to accept one another for what they are? To listen without judgement, and to know something's wrong without it being said?"

The man snorted, shaking his head with an ugly sneer but it was aimed at himself and at his wife. "We've listened to what the authorities told us, that Felix wasn't capable of anything, that we'd have to live with an adult acting as a child for the rest of our lives. Yet we never tried to reach out to Felix, to see if what the doctors said was true."

His eyes landed on his son and it seemed as if he had aged tremendously in the past few minutes. "I'm ashamed to call myself a father. I'm not worthy of that title. Instead of standing up for my son, to guide him through the world and accept him as what he is, I tried to conform to the norm and change him to what was acceptable."

Silence filled the room, except for the soft hiccups that came from Felix' mother as she covered her face and sobbed softly, landing on her knees next to the couch. Her husband crouched down behind her, hugging her closer as I whined when Felix twitched, no doubt reacting to the tears that landed on his arm.

As everyone else was distracted, I noticed another door opening, this time revealing Felix' nephew walking out the room with a resigned expression. His girlfriend came out behind him, grasping his hand while murmuring something, her eyes full of regret and hurt.

And even though I saw the pain shining brilliantly in Mathew's eyes, he just whispered something back and pressed a gentle kiss on Charlie's forehead. He gently removed her hold on his wrist and then he walked out of the house, shoulders sagging and hands tucked away in his pockets.

Charlie watched with a grimace, slightly calming down when Dimitri stepped up behind her to place a soft, reassuring hand on her shoulder.

Huh, wonder what's going on there?

Eventually Felix' mom looked up, her eyes finding mine before she glanced at her son for a brief second. "I'm sorry." She whispered, stunning me as I had not expected an apology. Her breathing was still heavy and hitching as she tried to calm herself down while Felix stirred the slightest bit.

"We're not worthy of being parents...I-I always tried to follow the advice of my family...to do what they told me was best. I should've known better, I should've been a better mother..." She hiccupped again, tears welling in her eyes.

"Oh gods, we drugged our own son. Each time he lashed out, we gave him pills to calm down...and he always understood what was happening but we never listened...We are the monsters."

She was spun around and pulled in her husbands' chest as they both cried silently, realization of their treatment of Felix finally sinking in. I suspected they acted from the best intentions for Felix, but they never paused to think about what Felix wanted.

Being drugged by your parents was not something any kid would want. I could still remember the scent of his skin, the pain that clung to him both physically and mentally. I was even willing to bet that Felix would refuse any and all kinds of medication, even if he were to become sick at some point.

I huffed softly, nuzzling closer to Felix as I listened to his parents silently apologizing to their son, whispering pleas of forgiveness because they were afraid that Felix would break all contact with them.

Instead, I stilled before whining and curling closer to Felix, his face turned against my fur.

Yet, even through that protective layer of thick fur and warmth, I still felt the cool tears dripping through them.