But I didn’t regret stepping out of the shadows to get rid of the roaches, no matter the commotion it had caused. No… I was the number one evil in this city. We may be a dying group of criminals no one needed anymore, but we were still here, ruling the underworld just like we did in our glory days.

And they all were better off remembering that.

Besides… I wouldn’t have found the kid if I’d done nothing about the roaches.

I carefully opened the door to his room and peered in. He was fast asleep. No surprise there. He’d mostly just slept during the past three days, waking up only to eat. He was still weak, but he was slowly regaining his strength.

His glass was empty on the nightstand. I hesitated for a moment, but then entered the room, trying to be as quiet as I could. I was almost by his bed when my presence alerted him awake. He jolted a little, but as soon as he saw me, he quieted down.

“Hey, baby boy. Sorry I woke you up. I just wanted to bring you more water,” I told him, taking the glass, but then stopped to watch him. “How are you feeling?”

He stretched a little as a response. I smiled and sat down on the bed, still holding the glass.

“Feeling better, I assume?”

He was much more relaxed around me now. Once he was done with his stretches, he turned toward me, hugging his pillow, and just watched me with curiosity in his eyes.

“You do look much better now,” I said.

He still wasn’t talking to me, and he didn’t really interact with me much, but his human side was awake most of the time. He was still too scared to take full control of the body, but he was there, watching me behind his alpha. And thank god he was there when the body needed to use the bathroom because the alpha sure didn’t care where it was relieving itself.

“How’s your hand?” I asked, but he didn’t react. “Can I look at it?”

I pointed at his bandaged hand, and when he still didn’t react to me, I moved a little closer, trying to make sure he understood I wanted to check his injury. When he decided I was getting uncomfortably close, I stopped.

“Can I see your hand?” I tried again, still pointing at it, and waited.

I wanted to think his alpha was consulting the human, and they were now having a little meeting about this old ugly mafioso who had arrived to pester them once again. And again trying to see the hand…

I guess they decided to let me bother them, since he moved his bandaged hand a little closer to me. My alpha told me to stay still and keep waiting, though after changing the bandages a few times already, I knew the drill. The kid hated it when I poked around his painful wound. His alpha didn’t really want me to change the bandages, but the human in him knew the wound had to be treated. I just had to wait until these two sides reached an agreement, since moving in too quickly would only cause them both to retreat. My alpha could sense these things, and it was very eager to make sure the human in me wouldn’t mess things up with this kid.

The kid shifted a little, his hesitation still showing in his every move, but finally gave me his hand.

“That’s a good boy,” I said quietly, taking a loose hold on his wrist to take a closer look at it. “I don’t think I need to change the bandages just yet. It’s been healing just fine, and I don’t want to stress you out. I know you hate it.”

He relaxed while he listened to my ramblings, so I assumed his human side was awake and understood me. When I was done making sure the bandages were still tight enough, I released my hold on him, but he didn’t pull away. He just watched me, resting his hand on mine. I smiled and carefully rubbed his fingers.

“Getting comfortable having me around, huh?” I asked quietly. “That’s good news. You may need to stay with me for a little bit longer, after all… We, uh… We’ve tried to find your family, but… We got nothing. No one seems to know where you came from. It could help if we knew your name…?”

I knew he wasn’t going to talk to me, but I still waited just in case. When he turned his attention to our hands, I gave up.

“Anyway. It’s good you’re getting used to me,” I said with… with mixed feelings.

I… kind of didn’t want to… But that was selfish.

I was better off not getting any more attached to him than I already was.

“Are you hungry?” I asked, resting his hand on the bed before pulling away. “I can go get something for you.”

I didn’t expect a response, so when I got up on my feet, I was surprised to notice him sitting up like he wanted to follow me. When I turned back to him, he stopped, his expression turning uncertain.

“You…? Do you want to come with me?” I asked.

He glanced at me, then at the door, pulling his covers tighter around himself.

“Would you like to go for a walk around the house? I could give you a proper tour once you’ve had something to eat,” I said, returning to the bed, but he stayed still. “You’ve been in bed for three days now. I think getting out of this room would do you good.”

He looked like he really wanted to, but after a short moment of hesitation, his expression dropped, and he dug himself deeper under the covers.

“Are you cold? I can bring you warmer clothes,” I said tentatively. “And my fluffiest slippers.”

He stared at the door, then glanced at me, then at the door again. He wanted to.

“Come on,” I said with an encouraging smile. “You must be bored staring at these walls.”

Still, no. I nodded slowly when he turned away from me.

“It’s all right. But I’ll go find you warmer clothes in case you change your mind later,” I told him, and left the room.

Since I didn’t really have clothes that fit the kid, I went to find one of my warmest robes instead. And a pair of nice, warm slippers. I preferred to keep my home nice and cool, but I guess it was quite cold for someone who was basically skin and bones, so I increased the temperature.

When I returned to the kid, he was still sitting in the middle of the bed, facing the door.

“I found these for you,” I said, and put the robe on his bed, and the slippers on the floor. “Now you need food. I’ll be right back.”

I was deliberately slow when I made my way back to the door. He was tempted, so I hoped I could somehow draw him to come with me. I just needed patience. He was slowly finding his courage.

I heard him move when I stopped behind the door. With a smile, I turned back to him. He had moved to the edge of the bed, his duvet forgotten behind him. His feet were still on the bed as he hesitated, but I knew… if I just waited for a moment longer…

“Want to come with me after all?” I asked. “Come. You’ll feel better once you’ve stretched your legs a little.”

I opened the door and stopped to wait for him. He bit his lower lip, then glanced at the robe next to him.

“Go ahead, put it on. It’s nice and warm. So are the slippers.”

Then I figured it out. Before he could follow me, he needed to decide if he was ready to trust me. He was still scared of getting hurt, but maybe even more, he was afraid to trust another person after what he’d been through. If I were the wrong kind of person… I couldn’t even imagine his pain if I ever were to betray his trust.

“You’ll be fine with me,” I told him, but how on earth would I ever be able to convince him only with my words?

And yet, he got out of the bed.