Revolting

Heath and William escorted Hannah and Michael through the woods to the small bungalow that Heath called home. Heath was still a rogue for all intents and purposes, though he was mated to the pack's beta. He did not want to join the pack, but the alpha had allowed him to build a house and stay on pack lands. He had built the house with his own hands, with help from William and some other wolves who had more experience in construction. It was small and simple, but it was the first real home that Heath had known as an adult. He flipped on lights as he moved through the small cottage. "The bathroom is here. This is our room. This..." he turned on the light to a small room. "This was always supposed to be Hannah's room."

The room was decorated in delicate pastel colors. It looked like an Easter egg might have exploded in there. The full-size bed was white, the dresser was white, the bed stands were white. The walls were a soft green, the curtains were a patchwork of pastel pink and yellow. The bedspread was mint green and baby pink. Michael scratched the back of his neck. "Is this what she liked?" He glanced down doubtfully at the little female at his side. She was pressed close to him, her face scrunched up as she looked nervously around the house. Being indoors was making her very uncomfortable.

Heath shrugged. "We never had a home of our own, so I don't really know what she liked. Daisy helped me pick out the colors."

Michael didn't know who Daisy was. Whatever, it was a house with a roof, it was a bed with a mattress. And behind the door in the hallway was a real bathroom with a shower, and a flush toilet. Michael would never take those details for granted ever again. "It's fine. Thank you." It was hard to say, but he did mean it. Michael was thankful that Hannah's brother was trying to do what was best for Hannah, even if Heath didn't like it.

William had to forcefully pull Heath away. He took him by the elbow and steered him back toward the door. "We'll send down some food for you guys. In the meantime, there are some groceries in the fridge."

Heath looked back at them one more time, his expression harsh and stormy. "You better take care of her. If you harm a hair on her head..."

Michael waved him away like an annoying insect. "Yeah, yeah."

Finally the door shut behind the two men, leaving Michael alone in the small house with Hannah.

"Well, beautiful. What do you think?"

Hannah gave him a suspicious look, and then started to wander around the house, opening cupboards, poking her nose into drawers, smelling spices from the cabinet, turning on the faucets and letting the clean water run over her fingers. She stuck her fingers in the sugar bowl, and brought some crystals to her tongue. Then she did the same thing with the flour before she made a face and spit the paste onto the floor. Michael just trailed behind her and let her touch and explore. Sometimes she would hold something up for his inspection and he would name the object for her, as though she were a baby just learning to talk.

"That's a remote... it goes to the TV, but I think we better wait before we get into electronics...." He took the remote from her and set it back on the coffee table before she accidentally started pushing buttons. She played with the light switches, stood on the couch, tasted the leaves from a potted plant. Michael put his pack in the pastel room and then went to the bathroom. "Hey Hannah, come here." She followed him into the bathroom with a curious expression. She froze when she saw herself reflected in the big mirror over the sink.

She stared for a long time before she reached out to touch her reflection. She frowned when her fingers met the cold glass. "It's just a mirror," Michael said gently. "It's you. See?" He took her hand gently and brought it up to her own face, so she could see herself and touch herself at the same time."

Her eyes clouded, and her fingers trailed from her good cheek, where Michael had placed her hand, to the scars on the on the other side. The shiny, uneven skin that ran from her hairline, down her temple and cheek. She opened her mouth and a little, distressed sound came out.

"When I first saw you..." Michael admitted, moving behind her and wrapping his arms around her. "I asked what happened to your face... I... I was a moron, you know? I didn't mean it like it sounded. I really wanted to know, who did that to you? How did it happen? Because if someone did that to you on purpose, I would gladly tear their heads off."

Hannah closed her eyes and swayed a little bit in his arms. She whispered, "Never trust a pack."

Michael sucked in a breath, hearing her shape actual words. He didn't dare say anything, in case he might scare those words away. He didn't even know what they meant. Never trust a pack? Had a pack done something to her? Did a pack burn her face? He held his breath waiting, hoping there was more, but when she opened her eyes, they were her usual clear, guileless golden brown. She looked up at him, and then her eyes went to the shower curtain behind him. She ducked around him to investigate it.

"Let's get a shower!" Michael said excitedly. "I promise, this will be way better than bathing in an ice-cold beaver pond." She tipped her head curiously, and followed him as he went briskly back to his pack to pull out the bottle of shampoo, and the razor he had appropriated. He brought her back into the bathroom and shut the door behind them. She seemed a little uneasy and worried about being shut in the small room with him, but she was distracted once he turned on the shower spray.

He stripped off his clothes, and peeled the makeshift rag-bandages off from his shoulder and hip. The water was going to sting like a mother, but it was probably better they got cleaned. When he was completely naked, he stepped under the spray, and held his hand out to her.

She looked at him doubtfully.

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"Come on, it's nice. It's just like rain... but warmer, and nicer." It was just an ordinary shower and bathtub, nothing special. He was a little too tall and had to stoop to get under the head, but he groaned happily as the hot water hit his scalp, neck and shoulders. "Oh, it's so good."

She grunted, and seemed to be convinced by his reaction. She stripped out of the gym clothes she was wearing and followed him into the small shower space. He pulled the curtain shut after her so they wouldn't get water all over the floor. Michael eased himself around her so that she could get under the spray.

At first, she seemed startled by the hot water, then her surprised noise turned into a moan of appreciation as she plunged her whole body into the hot shower, and turned around several times. Michael grinned at her, and tried to ignore the way his body reacted to the noises she was making. "It's good right?"

He let her play in the water for a minute, then he dumped some shampoo in his hand. "Let's wash your hair out, okay? I've been dying to do this. It will make untangling it so much easier." She stood still and let him massage the shampoo into her matted hair. Michael grimaced as the suds of the shampoo turned dark and grimy before they ran down her back and disappeared down the drain. "I wonder when was the last time you actually washed that hair, huh?"

He lathered it up again, careful not to get any shampoo in her eyes. When the water finally rinsed away clear, he switched places with her. "Okay angel, my turn."

She growled at him when he displaced her out of the hot water. Then she got distracted trying to help him wash. She soaped up the hair on his chest, and then used her fingers to draw shapes in the soap bubbles. Michael shook his head at her and continued with his personal grooming. He had his eyes closed, rinsing the shampoo out of his own shaggy hair, when he felt her small, warm hand slip around his penis.

He quickly rubbed the water out of his eyes to look down at her. She looked up at him with a heated look. Her expression was no longer playful and innocent. He gritted his teeth together. "Oh Hannah, you don't know what you are doing." But the sure strokes of her small hands suggested very much otherwise.