four
"You ready?"
Milton nods slowly, sitting on the bathmat, listening as the bath is filled with water and bubbles, the sweet smell of strawberries filling the air.
His broken leg is wrapped in cling-wrap, a plastic bag secured over the top with tape as an extra precaution.
It looked a bit silly, the giant blue cast now cocooned in plastic, 'Bellbrook's finest fruit and veg' plastered on the side in bright red text.
Aldric sits opposite him, legs spread out in the small room, his sleeves scrunched up to his elbows and a soft smile on his face.
He reaches over slowly, careful not to move too fast as he reaches for the straps keeping Milton's arm pinned to his chest and begins to loosen it, supporting the arm while he does so.
Milton lets out a small whimper when his arm moves, but Aldric is quick to adjust, his large hands practically enveloping Milton's entire torso.
"Okay," Aldric moves the strap aside, his other hand still supporting his arm and shoulder. "This is the tricky bit. Callum will be here in a sec, and then we can get you out of these clothes and into the nice warm bath, sound good?"
Milton blinks, the words a little too fast for him to process but he still nods, sucking on his bottom lip in worry.
"I'm here!" Cal enters the tiny ensuite bathroom, a small handful of clothes in his arms.
He steps over Aldric's legs, places the clothes on the sink and squats down next to Milton, a smile on his face. "Sorry, I couldn't decide which clothes you'd prefer so I brought a few different options."
Milton doesn't really react, his eyes focused on the bathmat. Having both of them in the same room was a little overwhelming.
"Here we go." Callum gently begins to help Milton move out of his shirt, gently guiding his good arm through the hole before getting it over his head.
The next step was to get his injured arm through the hole, and with one look at Aldric, together they move in a blink of an eye, removing the shirt and tossing it away. They both pause when its done, looking at Milton to gauge his reaction.
His lip wobbles, and he sniffs, but he doesn't cry and he doesn't start screaming, which Aldric expected.
"That went alright! Now it's just the pants, that's the easy part." Cal gently rubs Milton's back.
A knock on the bathroom doorway has all three heads turning at the noise. Alpha Henry stands there, his hulking frame taking up most of the view. Milton lets out a squeak of terror, and Callum is quick to jump up, moving out of the bathroom and closing the door behind him.
"Alpha, you- you scared him."
"I'm sorry, but I need to talk to Aldric about something."
Callum frowns. "No."
Henry blinks, shock written across his face as he stares down at the small man. He didn't think he'd ever heard Callum say that before.
"What?"
Callum takes a deep breath, both he and his wolf prepared to stand up against their alpha if it meant keeping Milton safe and comfortable.
"I said no. He's busy. In the future, if you want to speak to him, please contact him first or wait until someone can let you into our apartment. We have a buzzer for a reason."
Alpha Henry stands in absolute shock, not knowing how to respond as the little man ushers him away, shutting the apartment door behind him and letting the audible sound of the lock clicking into place cement into his brain that he was not welcome.
"What just happened?"
Cal, on the other hand, shakily walks back to the bathroom, gingerly knocking on the bathroom door before opening it up a crack. "It's just me, he's gone."
"What did he want?" Aldric frowns, still holding onto Milton with gentle hands, a thumb gently rubbing his arm in soothing strokes.
Cal lifts a shoulder, breathing out a stressful sigh as he crouches back down beside the two others. "He wanted you, but I told him you're busy."
Aldric hums in his throat, turning away to look back at Milton. "You okay?"
Milton blinks, shakily nodding once he realises the question as aimed at him.
Cal smiles at the boy, brushing a hand through his hair. "I promise he won't come back in here again. Are you ready to get clean?"
Again, all the boy does is give a soft little nod. Cal and Aldric share a careful look, before shimmying Milton out of the too-big tracksuit pants. It was heartbreaking, as more skin is revealed. Bruises litter his legs; scars decorate his body in thick pink and white stripes.
It takes all of Cal's strength not to burst into tears at the sight. Aldric clears his throat, catching Cal's attention as he smiles sadly and shakes his head. It would not do Milton any good to start crying right in front of him while they try and bath the poor kid.
"Alright, pants are off. Do you want to keep your underwear on, Milton? It's perfectly fine if you'd prefer to do so."
Milton only blinks, watching as Aldric leans over to turn off the water. The tub wasn't filled very high, they didn't want to have it too deep in case Milton slipped under. Not that either of the wolves would let that happen.
When he doesn't respond, Cal simply smiles. "It's okay. We'll leave them on for now. Ready to get in? Al will lift you up and I'll support your arm."
Together they gently pick him up, Milton only letting out a very quiet whimper as he's placed into the warm water, Cal holding his injured arm as securely as he can as the two wolves prop him up in the tub.
Cal hums, taking in the sweet strawberry scent of the steam that washes over him. "I love this scent."
Aldric smiles at his husband, grabbing a washcloth to begin gently wiping down the boy. "You've always liked the sweet scents."
Callum shifts his grip, making sure to have an arm around Milton's back for support. The boy was beginning to relax in the water, his scrunched-up toes uncurling under the bubbles, his shoulder slouching as he rests back into Cal's arms.
Aldric continues to wash the boy, careful of the bruises. The doctor had given them the okay to wash him as long as they were gentle. She reminded them once again that his bones were very fragile. A wrong move could be serious, but they couldn't keep him sitting in his own filth any longer.
"Are you ready to get your hair wet?" Aldric asks, voice soft in the quiet room.
Milton nods, but he isn't overly alert, his eyes glazed over as he watches the water ripple around him.
When was the last time he had a bath? When he could relax in the warm water and breath in the sweet steam.
When was the last time someone gently washed his skin or held him in their arms?
It was humiliating, yet as he sat in the water leaning on the strength of these strangers, all he could feel was a sense of relief and – and gratitude.
Aldric hands Cal a cup, shifting in his position to tip Milton's head back, using one hand to shield his eyes as Cal slowly fills the cup and tips it over his head. The warm water rushes through his hair, dripping down his neck.
Gentle fingers massage his head, Aldric leaning over with concentration as he cleans the boy's hair. He was so small, Aldric's whole hand could cover Milton's entire head.
Cal begins to hum, a lullaby he learnt when he was a pup himself. The song echoes softly in the tiled room, Milton sinking further into the warm water. He felt as if he was floating, that the steam was dancing around him in tune to the song.
It doesn't take long for the two wolves to finish, Aldric smiling at the sight of the now sleeping Milton. It was probably best that he slept while they took him from the bath and dried him off.
Cal picks out some soft grey pyjama pants donated from one of their packmates and a matching t-shirt with a moon on the front. He'd also brought an under shirt, making sure to dress the boy in layers. He was too skinny to keep his temperature up all by himself.
Once his brace is back in place, pinning his arm to his chest, Aldric sits him in his lap, helping Cal dry his hair with a soft pink towel.
Surprisingly Milton stays asleep the entire time, his eyebrows creasing only slightly when they place his arm back into its sling.
He doesn't wake when they remove the plastic and tape from his leg either.
"What do you think Alpha wants?" Cal whispers, helping his love to move the boy to lie back in the middle of bed, tucking him in with two blankets.
Aldric hums. "It's probably something about Milton's case."
Callum frowns, holding his arms against himself in a reassuring self-hug. It pained him to hear of the horrors Milton was put through, but he didn't want to be kept out of the loop. He wanted to help him, but he could only do that if he had all the information.
"Al, what- what really happened to him?"
Aldric sighs, walking over with open arms, enveloping his small mate. "It's not good Cally, Henry only gave us part of the story. I don't think the council gave him all the information to begin with."
Cal squeezes his mate in return, face buried in his chest. The soothing musk of earth and spice soothing his frazzled nerves.
"I don't want to be kept out of the loop." His words are mumbled into Al's chest.
His love sighs, hands rubbing up and down Cal's back. "I know. Alpha Henry is just trying to protect you, as am I."
Callum didn't need protecting. He needed to know how to help the boy in their care and the only way that was going to happen was if his love kept him informed, no matter how gruesome or heart breaking it was.
"I promise I won't keep anything from you. I'll chat to Henry about it too."
Cal knew their chat would be more of an... argument, as usual, but he was grateful to his mate. They needed to be honest with each other so they could support Milton and in turn, support each other. That was what being mated meant; always having each other's back.