The Human in The Wolf's Den

The alpha looked around the small dirty room cramped with bodies.  This disgusting place couldn't be where the scent had come from. He thought scanning the shack.  This room was where the pack's human slaves were kept. It wasn't unheard of to have a human mate but it was highly distasteful. Werewolves had a bad taste in their mouths when it came to humans. Being driven out and forced into hiding by them for centuries does that. Whenever a human wandered into wolf territory they were quickly captured and enslaved. The ones that happened to be mated to a pack member were frankly less lucky then the ones in the room at the moment. Xander scanned the bodies before him. His eyes quickly locked onto one boy in particular. His eyes widened in surprise. Not only was his mate human but it was the w***e.  Well, I guess he couldn't be called a w***e since he's never actually had s*x. Xander laughed internally at the cruelty of the world.  Number forty-two had a strange story. Not only was he human, he was also the only slave to be born in the wolf pack. All the other humans in the room were taken from the human world. Number four-two was the product of two human whores. They had both been mated to someone in the pack but being only human they decided to cheat on their mates with each other. That is how this boy came to be. That's also why the wolves of the pack had named him w***e before he could even walk. It was in his blood. Just look at his parents, they had mates and they still chose to f**k around with each other.  The room was deathly quiet, not unusual when the alpha appeared, as Xander approached the boy he could do nothing but tremble back in fear. The rest of the room stood in tense silence to see what the alpha would do.  Xander didn't speak. He simply leaned forward a bit to confirm the location of the scent. Once he was satisfied, or more likely dissatisfied, with his findings he simply swept out of the room.  "Come!" The door guard shouted pointing at number forty-two.  The small boy shook in fear but knew better than to disobey. He knew better than anyone in that room. He had been in the pack for all eighteen years of his life. Everyone else in the room had been there for less than ten. No human lasted very long as a slave to the wolves. Not unless they were mated but even then it wasn't much longer.  The boy known as number forty-two his entire life slowly followed the large Alpha male. He has known the man his whole life yet couldn't tell you a single thing about him other than what you could see for yourself. He was twice the size of everyone else in the pack, four times the size of number forty-two. His hair was blacker than ink, a perfectly angled jawline, and grey eyes that always seemed to be looking right through you.  I guess they were always looking straight through me. I am only a slave after all. Forty-two thought.  Once out of the room and into the hall the guard went back into position and the alpha continued to tread into the forest. The slaves were all housed in a shack just outside the pack house. Once they reached the packed house the alpha suddenly turned to the boy before entering.  "What is your name boy? I have to announce you to the pack." The Alpha growled glaring down at the small boy. His hair was  thick and dirty, he guessed the boy was supposed to be blonde, his eyes looked completely and utterly lifeless, a yellowish color with a grey ring around them. Xander supposed that would be the look of someone born a slave.  Number forty-two looked up at the alpha in startled surprise. He had to answer him quickly.  "I am called number forty-two." He responded as clearly as he could.  The alpha tilted his head. "Did I ask for your roll call? I asked... what. Your. Name. Is."  The boy was shaking now. "I was never given one master. I am simply called forty-two."  The alpha looked down at his mate and let out an irritated breath. "Fine, the pack will only ever call you the w***e anyways."  The boy simply nodded. It was the truth after all. Forty-two had never done anything to deserve the name. Ever since he heard the story of his birth mother and father he felt sick to his stomach. How could anyone do that to their mate? Forty-two had seen the wolves at work with their mates. The bond of love between the two had always been so magical to Forty-two he never imagined having that connection with anyone. Now as he looked at the alphas back he smiled for the first time in probably his entire life. A real smile. Not one of the half forced smirks he gave to the new human slaves as he lied about 'everything going to be alright'.  "What are you smiling about mate," Xander asked curiously.  Forty-two hesitated on whether he should answer honestly. He decided to just do it. "I'm happy."  "That's why people usually smile, but why? You think because your my mate people will suddenly stop calling you names and treat you different? Well sorry to burst your bubble but you were born a w***e and a slave and will always be one. The only difference now is you will be mine personally." Xander smirked at the boy happy to help him understand his situation.  "No master. I understand being a slave, that's all I will ever know, I'm happy because I get a mate." He answered truthfully.  Xander glances at the human suspiciously for a moment trying to gauge the truth of his words. Deciding not to bother with it he shrugged it off.  "Whatever. Let's introduce you to the pack and get to bed I'm tired as fuck." Xander replied turning away from the boy. Who cares about this crazy ass slave being happy or not. It was better for Xander if he was happy it would keep his wolf calm.  Alpha Xander stepped into the main entrance and cleared his throat. The reaction to their alpha was immediate. Everyone halted their movements and turned to face the large man.  "Everyone! This is my mate, number Forty-two!" He Shouted for all to hear.  "How shall we address him alpha?" One wolf asked glaring at the boy.  "Address him as you wish, I could care less. Just know that if any of you harm him in any way you will have me to answer to. He may be the slave child of those human whores but he is still my mate, remember that." All in attendance nodded once at the alphas warning and continued where they left off before Xander appeared.  We should name him. The sudden thought was that of Xanders wolf.  "What! No way! What's wrong with forty-two?" Xander asked out loud due to surprise at his wolf's request.  No one paid him any attention except for the small boy who was quickly following on Xander's heels.  I don't want to call my mate by some slave number. His wolf huffed.  Well, what do you want to name him? Xander scoffed not liking the idea one bit. Everyone knows when you name something you grow attached to it.  Something cute... I don't know, find a cute name for our mate. Until then I don't want to hear that stupid slave number come out of our mouth. Or the word w***e. Tell the pack members I don't want them calling him a w***e.  These demands were too much for Xander. The pack has only ever known him as the human w***e. I'm not going to force them to change because he's my mate.  Fine, find a name for him, then maybe they will use it! Your such an ass!  His wolf shut him out then and Xander sighed. His wolf was so annoying when he was angry.  "Well mate, looks like you need a name. What kind of name do you want?" Xander decided to ask his mate directly. Whatever his mate chose would definitely make his wolf happy.  The boy thought for a moment. He had never named a thing in his life. He hadn't expected to have to name himself. What was in a name anyways? The other slaves had names like Jenny and Sam.  Those were very human names. Xander's name was pretty average for a wolf. One thing was for sure, he wanted to distance himself from humans.  "I don't mind what you name me master but I would really like a wolfish name. I don't like humans and would prefer a name that didn't associate me with them..." He finally answered.  "Wow, a human that doesn't like his own kind! I'm not surprised, an awful lot they are." Xander said nodding approvingly at the boy.  "I was raised by wolves master. I see the way you treat each other. All the packs would happily live in peace if you didn't have to fight over small scraps of un-humaned land. The only humans I have come into contact with are poor examples of the type of person I would want to be. I-I wish I could apologize on behalf of all humans..." Number forty-two explained sadly.  Xander stopped suddenly and looked down at his tiny mate. "You have lived in the slave sheds your whole life and been forced to do work since you were very young. Every one of us called you a w***e and other derogatory names... you still would side with us over your own species?"  "I'm sorry... that's how I've always felt about the matter. All the humans complaining in the slave shed are quite annoying. Sure I've never been truly happy but I never complained about the work. Unlike the other humans I know it's the least I deserved after what my parents did." Forty-two's voice rang true as he looked directly into his master's eyes.  Xander was taken aback by his little mate. "This is unheard of... Is it because you were raised among us? For a human to think in that way... to understand the wolf perspective so perfectly. I would think this was some kind of trick but your eyes tell me it's not."  The boy simply shook his head letting his mate know it was no trick. This is what he truly felt.  "Your parents had to be your exact opposites. Back then human mates were actually treated quite well. Maybe not exactly like a natural wolf pair but close to. When they committed the ultimate crime against their mates it was my father who decides their fate. After that, no human mate was ever trusted again. Some wolves with human mates go as far as caging them when they have to leave the human alone for any amount of time. That's how much trust was lost. I was actually thinking of doing the same to you since you were their child...Now I wonder if I'll have to." He seemed to be pondering aloud not really speaking to his mate. The boy heard though and could have hugged his master.  Maybe his master would see his loyalty and treat him like a real mate. His eyes widened in hope at the prospect. He looked shyly up at his master. He wanted something but was unsure whether he should ask. Would he get in trouble for asking? How limitless was the mate bond? Was he allowed more freedom than a normal slave? He was about to find out.  "Master?"  "Yes?" Xander asked the boy as he was broken from his mind's rambling.  "May I hug you?" He asked looking up at Xander with pleading eyes.  Xander smiled but shook his head. "Sorry, I can't let the bond get any stronger until I'm sure of it. Anything we do that could bring us closer together could make our bond stronger and stronger until its unbreakable. That can't happen yet. What if you're just saying a bunch of s**t I want to hear to get me to trust you? Sorry buddy but no."  Although the slave was sad to hear it he understood. "Will you still name me? I would be honored to be named by you master."  "This too may strengthen the bond but my wolf won't talk to me until I do it, so yes I'll still name you," Xander said nodding.  "Have you decided on a name?" The boy asked eagerly.  "Yes, your name is now Cassian. It's a softer wolf name that I feel suits you well. Do you like it?" Xander didn't know why he asked he had decided and wouldn't change his mind. Even his wolf loved the name.  "Cassian. I love it."