When I Grow Up


"Tanner...?"


"Tanneeeeer..."


no...


"Haha, no won't keep me from waking you up, buddy. You need to take your meds and have a bath, you smelly pup."


I couldn't remember the past day...or three? Except that I was woken up several times and given small pieces of meat, then left to go back to sleep. A bowl of water was always fresh and full right next to the blankets I lay on. The only time I really got up was to relieve myself in the corner. After the first time I did that, I woke up to find paper all over that corner, along with some weird soft paper-like thing that smelled kinda like other animals.


Definitely have to pee on that.


Now it was the third day...I think, and I was feeling a little bit better. My leg still hurt pretty badly, especially when I moved it by mistake, and my neck was sore, but the food and water, along with being out of the elements, definitely helped my body heal from whatever the others had done to it. My only real complaint about this situation was the annoying thing on my head that kept me from biting at my itchy leg and body. I would have also liked the thing around my mouth off, but meh, I could still somewhat easily eat and drink with it there.


Returning my attention to the annoying man—Cole—I rolled my eyes and replied with an annoyed, drawn out Noooo.


"Yeeees. Come on, you. I know it'll feel good, just give it a chance."


I huffed and bared my teeth, but he just smiled and began lifting me up. Instantly I began to struggle, remembering the last time he had taken me from one of these rooms. I had ended up coming back more hurt than I'd come in.


No no no no.


Cole growled and stumbled as he carried me down a hall and into another room. I had planned to dart out of it as soon as he put me back on the floor, but his friend from before was there to get the door shut before I was set down. Darnit! He set me down on some weird, smooth, white, rock-like stuff, and I quickly ran to hide between the big white thing and the other bigger white thing. It was hard to get back there because of the cone on my head, but I managed to at least squeeze in backward.


No ow, no. Cole no ow!


They both ignored me for a moment as the slightly shorter one set a soft thing on the small white thing, and the other started water up in the other, bigger white thing.


Hmm...this reminds me of something, but I can't quite put my paw on it.


When Cole turned toward me and knelt down, I growled a warning to stay back. Whatever they were planning, it would probably hurt, and I was already in enough pain.


No ow, Tanner. Cole help...


Help? I didn't remember what that meant either, but I'd heard it a lot over the past few days.


No help, Cole ow Tanner.


He leaned back a little and sighed, pursing his lips. He looked almost upset but not mad?


Cole did ow Tanner, and Cole is very sorry.


He reached forward again, but this time I only grumbled a little bit as he gently petted the little bit of fur I had along the right side of my face. I was honestly jealous of his wolf. It had had so much beautiful black fur when I first met him in the woods...I must look and feel terrible to others.


I hadn't realized I was leaning against his hand until he began to scratch just below my right ear. Nnnn...That feels so goooood.


"Feels nice? I can only imagine with that mange you've picked up."


I gave a quiet growl, not quite sure what he was talking about but not really wanting him to stop scratching. I hadn't been able to reach that spot with my good leg or either front paws since the weird cone thing was put on my head, so this felt like heaven to have relief from the itching. Before I realized what was happening, though, there was an arm under my belly and I was being lifted into the big white thing.


"Time for a good bath, hm? It'll feel good for you, I promise," Cole said as I was set down again, this time in small amount of warm water. Sneaky Cole... He had scratched me with his right hand, and when I closed my eyes to enjoy it, he had snuck his left one around and caught me off guard. Hmph! I was about to try to get out, since my paws were getting wet, but something thick and watery was wiped along my back and I couldn't help but sigh with relief. It stopped the itching. I never thought it could be stopped like that, but everywhere Cole spread the stuff, it dulled, then vanished.


"I can tell by your face that you're loving this stuff, eh? Doc must have given us the best he had, no doubt. He loves spoiling my pack's pups, and I think he likes you the most."


Yes yes, blah blah, just keep rubbing whatever that is on me, I thought to myself blissfully.


"I think he's about to learn what an orgasm is..." his friend said with a laugh in his voice. I heard Cole and his friend chuckle but just ignored it as I moved a bit to let him get to wherever he'd missed.


Good? he asked through my thoughts.


That word I remembered and quickly chirped mentally, Good good, Tanner good, no ow.


"Good boy."


The bath ended much sooner than I wanted, but at least afterward, the itching was much more bearable. He even rubbed more goopy stuff over my skin, which didn't need to be washed off. When he finished everything up, I was mostly dry and feeling soooo much better.


"Is Cole good now? He made Tanner no ow?"


I lifted my head and grunted a few times, then gave a slight tail wag.


No ow. Tanner good.


"Oh I see, you get all the credit, and I do all the work."


I wasn't sure what he was saying, but when he laughed, I just snorted again and tried to get out of the wet tub. He helped me out, being sure that my bad leg didn't knock on the edge. I was still getting used to it being down since I had been holding it up for so long. Heck, I wasn't quite sure it would still work, and considering how much it hurt, I didn't really wanna try.


~Cole~


I had a feeling bathing him was going to be MUCH easier than bathing one of my pack's pups. Tanner was just like putty in my hands when he realized the shampoo was stopping the mange from bothering him.


Rowin opened the bathroom door, which I was a bit hesitant to let Tanner walk out of, but eh, it had already been three days, so let's see if the pup can handle his new leg. At first he looked confused that I wasn't trying to pick him up, but when I began walking out, I heard him stumbling after me, trying to follow.


Nnn, Cole, ow.


I didn't slow my walk until I was at the end of the hallway where it opened up to the living room, then the kitchen. There I turned and squatted, opening my arms to either side with a big smile.


"Come to Cole, Tanner."


The pup took a step and quickly sat down at an awkward angle with a loud whimper. He had knocked his bad leg.


Coleee, ow. Tanner ow! he whined in my head, obviously wanting to be picked up now, even though I knew he didn't really like it. Poor kid was gonna have a lot of 'ows' in store because he really needed to learn how to walk on that leg. It was all pinned up and stabilized, so might as well start now. Thankfully werewolves healed fast enough for it to be safe already to put pressure on.


"Come, Tanner," I said again, hoping to spur him to try another time. He whined louder and remained where he was for a minute before getting back up and stumbling forward. I could tell he was trying to hold his leg up, but Doc Wolf had done a darn good job of keeping it extended where it needed to be. When he began to slow, I called to him again, cheering him on to make the short walk to me. There was one more stop before he finally fell into my arms, his voice in my head tiredly chanting as he panted, Ow ow ow ow, Cole, Tanner ow...


I gave him a loving pet along his back and a few good scratches as I cooed, "I know sweetie, but you need to learn how to walk again."


Since he had done what I'd asked, I carefully picked him up and toted him to the sofa so he could rest. I figured after three days locked up in that guest room, he'd want to be out a bit. Although, if he wanted to go back, he could; the door was left open. When he looked like he was comfortable, I knelt down and patted his head one more time and carefully removed the cone. He hadn't tried to mess with his leg with it on from what I saw, so might as well reward him and make him more comfortable.


"I'm gonna go help Rowin in the kitchen, okay? Tanner, stay."


Thankfully he seemed to understand that word and dropped his head to the armrest to watch Rowin and I work from there. So glad I invested in a split kitchen so I can see the living room while cooking...


"Hey, Alpha, he looks to be doing much better."


I had to agree. After three short days, he was worlds better and much less aggressive. Granted, I didn't think I'd gotten his trust quite yet, but that was okay. It was something we could work on, along with his leg.


"Yeah, I'm so glad we didn't kill him by mistake. Orlando was about to take the shot when Tanner shouted into my head. Of all the words, he called me stupid."


Of course I knew it wasn't really understood, and he was just repeating what I had said, but it was a fun joke to tell to pack members who asked how he was doing.


He chuckled, then replied in an entertained voice, "If he were pack, you probably would have skinned him for that."


True. My wolf wouldn't tolerate being called stupid, or anything else for that matter. He was pretty damn dominant, and the only reason he hadn't gone after Tanner's random outbursts and aggression was because it knew the pup didn't understand yet.


"Probably. I'll have to work on that with my wolf when Tanner begins to start understanding things more. For now, though, I'm gonna go give him his pill."


Rowin nodded as I walked over to the fridge and got out the peanut butter. For the past few nights, we had been using meat, but I had been wondering if he was a peanut butter pup like the rest of the pups in the pack. When I returned to Tanner, I noticed he had been watching me the entire time. Even though the television was on, he didn't seem to care about it in the least. Well, good, 'cause I don't like sharing my television. That's why I bought Rowin his own for his room, along with the few guest rooms that Conner and Orlando often frequented. As I took a big scoop of peanut butter out of the jar, I noticed Tanner leaning forward and sniffing the air.


"Peanut butter, Tanner? Good?"


His head tilted, and he leaned a bit closer, big paws hanging over the edge of the sofa.


Pea...nut....budder...?


I grinned and brought the spoon to my mouth, then licked it and made an Mmmm sound.


Mmmmm...he repeated back to me mentally. I was about to open my mouth to gesture for him to do so, but that muzzle... Hmm. It was a risk, but he hadn't been too bad over the past few days. After that bath, he almost seemed friendly, so I guess we could try...Setting the jar down for a moment, I put the spoon inside and reached forward. He seemed a bit confused at what I was doing, but when the muzzle came off, he immediately yawned and shook his head a bit, which made me smile.


"Good?"


Good. Good, he replied with an excited shout.


"Alright. Then, Ah?"


I opened my mouth and nearly laughed out loud when he gave another huge yawn in response.


"Okay, not that big, haha. Here, you," I said as I lifted up the spoon and pushed his little pain pill inside, then put the spoon on his tongue. Tanner took the peanut butter easily off, but when he started trying to chew...


hehehehe.


You're an ass sometimes, Alpha.


I know it, Rowin, but come on. I couldn't help it.


Poor Tanner was tilting his head at funny angles as he opened and closed his mouth, smacking his lips together as he tried to figure out how to actually swallow the peanut butter. His tongue was even flicking out every few seconds to try to help. Okay, I really should get back to help in the kitchen and leave the poor pup alone with his trauma. With one final chuckle, I stood up and started walking back toward the kitchen with the spoon and jar of peanut butter. Except, when I stepped into said kitchen, I felt something nudge at the jar and looked down.


"Oh you little brat."


Peanut budder, Tanner yipped in my mind as he quickly sat at my feet with his broken leg stuck out to the side and gave me the most ridiculously cute puppy face I had ever seen.


Tanner good... Tanner peanut budder?


I could hear Rowin snickering as he glanced over his shoulder at my predicament.


I guess you've just made yourself another peanut butter devil.


Hmm. Well. Normally I would punish a pup for begging, but what could it hurt to let it go a few times? I thought to myself as I smiled down at Tanner.


"Want peanut butter?"


Peanut budder, he replied immediately.


"Tell me, Tanner. Want peanut butter?"


He seemed to be getting frustrated at my words, but after a minute, he began to try to figure it out.


Peanut budder....Tanner peanut budder. Wan...want. Tanner...want peanut budder!


The second he said what I wanted, I gave him a big scoop of the sticky deliciousness. He yipped with excitement and quickly gobbled it up while I put the jar away so the rest didn't disappear. Before I even turned around, I felt a paw on my jeans and looked down at those darn eyes again.


Tanner want peanut budder...want peanut budder.


Oh great, now he was gonna be a broken record for peanut butter. With a quiet sigh, I knelt down and petted his head gently.


"No more for now, Tanner."


His ears flattened as he tilted his head slightly to the side.


Tanner want peanut budder.


"No more," I repeated. He whined, but I just shook my head and pointed to the living room. "Tanner, go."


He pawed at my pants again, but when I didn't reply and just turned away, he sulked and eventually wandered back to lay on the couch. Rowin was finishing up the cooking, so I got plates down for the three of us and began adding salad to each. Tanner got the least amount, but he needed to learn to eat healthy, too. Peanut butter and beef wasn't going to cut it for a growing werewolf. Once the meat was added to each plate, I grabbed my own and Tanner's and brought them over to the sofa as Rowin walked off to eat in his room. After setting mine on the coffee table near the armrest, I knelt down and set Tanner's plate near his paws. He immediately went for the meat, inhaling it in less than three minutes but when he sniffed the salad, he snorted and turned to flop his head back on the armrest.


"Tanner, you need to eat something besides meat. It tastes good, look."


He glanced sideways at me as I took a spinach leaf and ate it. There was a bit of ranch dressing on the salad to hopefully help his interest, but evidently that wasn't making any difference. Hmph. With a grumpy snort of my own, I got up and took his plate to the kitchen. A little peanut butter might help out here... After mixing a small amount of it with the greens, I returned, only to see a certain pup licking his chops and my two steaks missing from my plate.


"Oh of course. You unfuzzy bastard. Shoulda seen that coming from a mile away."


He almost looked like he was smirking at me, but I would have the last laugh. In salad form.


"Okay, you, open that thieving mouth of yours."


I moved a few smashed together spinach leaves in front of his nose until he caught the scent of peanut butter. At first, he took the ball, and I smirked, but then he spit it out and began very precariously licking off the peanut butter from between the leaves. Gah! Really?


"Oh come on, it's not that bad."


With a growl, I went back to the kitchen and got out a big scoop of peanut butter and shoved some leaves inside, then closed it up and smashed it together. Returning, I found the spinach leaves I'd left mostly licked clean and scattered about the sofa. I rolled my eyes.


"Here, peanut butter."


His head snapped up and his tail thumped as I handed him the inconspicuous ball. At first, he was enjoying the sticky ball of happiness, but after a minute, his chewing slowed and he began tilting his head and flicking his tongue out. Another minute later and there was a lump of chewed-up spinach spit out on my floor. Unfuzzy butthead was smarter than he seemed.


"Alright, fine. But I'll get you next time, just you wait."


He flopped down on the sofa with a decent bloat to his belly and yawned. Well, at least he was definitely being fed better than he had been in the past years. I was absolutely sure of that. By the time I had finished cooking myself another dinner, Tanner was out cold, stretched out on the sofa, snoring away. I turned the television down a little and relaxed in the recliner by the sliding glass doors, which lead out to the backyard. While I normally got annoyed by people sleeping on my couch or snoring in general, he didn't seem to bother me much at all. At some point, I think I passed out after eating, because the next thing I knew there was an annoying little pup pulling at my tennis shoe lace.


...wait a second.


Opening my eyes, I blinked a few times to clear my vision, then frowned.


"Aw, man. Really, Tanner?"


My brand new shoe lace from my right shoe was in pieces all over the floor, and he was working on the left one, tugging on it to free it from the shoe. Dammit, my wolf really wanted to discipline him, but he was just acting like the pup he'd never gotten the chance to be.


"Tanner. No."


He paused in his tugging and pinned his ears to the side in confusion.


No?


"No. Bad boy."


Bad... he repeated quietly.


"Yes. Bad," I growled back as I took the lace from his mouth after forcing it open, then shook it at him.


"No, Tanner. Bad."


He backed up a step and sat down in his funny pose with his broken leg outstretched again. The look on his face actually had me confused, but when I glanced back at the television and saw what was under it, a thought came to my mind.


"Hang on a sec," I told him as I got up and went over to the bucket of toys beneath my television. I left them there for when the puppies of the pack came over. Pulling out a colorful rainbow rope toy, I turned around and waved it in front of his face. It didn't take him but a second to snatch the toy in his mouth and begin tugging with a deep, rumbling growl.


"Heh, somethin' you like, eh? Gonna have to get it from me."


I gave the toy a hard yank, only to get several more from the relentless pup on the other end. He was even using his splinted leg a little to help with his balance as he began pulling me forward. We fought over the rope for a good ten minutes before he got it out of my hands and ran off into the kitchen triumphantly. I tried to get the thing from him several times, but the darn brat was quick now that he was using that back leg more. Pain pill must definitely be working, too.


Alright, need to try another tactic then...


I went back to the tub of toys and pulled out a tennis ball that had seen better days. Maybe... Turning, I began lifting the ball when I noticed Tanner staring right at me. Or well, right at the ball. His jaw went slack on the rope toy right before he bounded toward where I knelt.


Want! Tanner want.


Before he got the chance to tackle me, I threw the ball into the hallway, and bam. He was off like a damn bullet. There was a surprised yelp and the sound of something hitting the wooden floor before Tanner bounded back around the corner and flopped onto the sofa with the ball happily. A moment later, Rowin came sauntering out of the hall, limping slightly from where, I'd assume, my 'little' pup had run into him while retrieving his ball.


"He likes balls," I stated with a smirk.


He rolled his eyes at me but then grinned and replied, "No shit."

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