Wolf Like Me

Fatin POV (Age 15)

The next month is a rough course of events testing them in a way their argument had not. It tests their resilience to hold one another up when at their worst. It tests Fatin’s ability to soothe her mate as she faces some of the most painful moments of their teens.

The third time Leah gets seriously sick it’s something new. It’s not physical sickness or a broken bone, and perhaps that’s why it’s so hard to know how to help. The third time it's mental. A wound that can’t simply be sewn up or helped by a plaster cast.

Her mate had struggled with anxiety her whole life. Such was always evident to Fatin who did her best to ease situations that may aggravate it. However, there would always be certain events that she could not prevent; ones she could not wriggle Leah out of.

The first big event would be Leah’s grandmother’s death. A grandmother she was extremely close to. She passed away without notice or expectancy in her sleep from a surprise heart complication. It was an event that rocked the omega entirely, catching everyone off guard. Maryann had even asked Fatin and Rana to come over when they told her. Knowing Leah, as always, would likely shut people out to cope.

Everyone but Fatin who waited with bated breath.

Fatin who’s face dropped as Leah froze as Maryann told her. It was a stillness so jarring she could even smell the worry on her own mother who was normally a stone fortress. Rana took Fatin’s hand, whispering to her to follow Leah when she silently walked to her room.

The silence of course did not last long.

Minutes passed before her demeanor changed, stillness morphing to screams as Leah swiped her arm across her bookshelf sending her beloved books flying across the floor. Fatin approached her immediately, taking Leah in a secure hold so that she didn’t end up harming herself or damaging things that she loved.

The omega struggled against her strength, cried, and yelled at Fatin who ignored the words knowing she was in pain. She repeated the same sentence over and over, mumbles of, “I’ve got you,” spoken until Leah grew so tired she slumped to the floor with Fatin’s arms still encasing her.

Leah rarely looked small, but at that moment she appeared more vulnerable and confined than Fatin had ever seen her.

She rocked her gently, whispering calming words even as Leah shook with sobs that wracked through her. Fatin held her for what felt like hours, only leaving briefly to pee before returning and trying to get her to eat.

Her mate refused.

Leah slipped into not just her anxiety- but depression for the first time. 

It’s over a number of weeks that it happens, meaning Fatin doesn’t recognise the growing discomfort in her own chest until it’s too late. The emotion, or lack thereof, is new. So much so that she doesn’t think to question it until far later when the physical manifestations become evident.

For the first time, Leah refuses to let Fatin in as she nests in fear. Fatin doesn’t know what to do, stuck sitting in the Rilke’s living room all morning because her wolf won’t let her stray further. 

She hates it, knowing that there’s little that can be done to rid Leah of her pain because it’s not physical. Her wounds cut deeper than the eye can see, and Fatin is at an impasse of not knowing. She ends up reading Google articles that all seem entirely useless. Fatin tried to get her to eat and ran her a bath that was immediately turned down. Her thumbs continued to scroll, and she tried everything under the sun without any change.

It’s how she ended up outside her room that afternoon, a chair propped outside her door with her cello resting between her legs as she played Leah’s favourite songs one by one on a loop, over and over. She played even as her fingers pained, and her throat grew dry. Through the hurt taking residence in her chest and stomach at her mate’s unease. 

Played even as Maryann and Kurt went to bed, all the way through to when Leah opened her door at two in the morning. She tugged Fatin’s cello away from her and propped it by her wall before pulling Fatin into her room. Not a word was spoken as Leah pulled her towards her bed, or as Fatin lifted the sheets over them and held her mate.

They left the door open, knowing Kurt or Maryann may worry when they saw that Fatin was gone. 

The pair witnessed Leah cocooned in her mate’s arms early the next morning, tears forming in their eyes at the fact Leah had let someone in again. 

Fatin played for her each night that week, and all-day Saturday and Sunday. Her fingers hurt beyond belief, Rana growing worried when she refused to cut it out. Yet she played through the pain until Leah’s emotions settled and she managed to get her to go to therapy which helped, though not quite as much as Fatin playing cello had. 

Leah POV

The next event also involves Fatin once again caring for the omega.

Leah is indescribable pain the first time it happens. 

She must be sick, she concludes as the fifteen-year-old held her stomach, curling over on her side. 

Whatever she had contracted was heinous, it had Leah writhing in the sheets in pain, her entire body covered in sweat as her breathing sped up. 

Leah must have been crying because her mother knocked, eyes wide in fear when she sees her. 

“Oh, honey.” She left, rapidly returning with a cold pack for her head and a warm one for her stomach, sitting her up.

“Mum, I think I need the doctor.” 

“You don’t need the doctor.” 

“I do, you don’t understand. Are you calling him?” Leah asked when she pulled out her phone. 

“No, I’m texting Rana.” 

“Why are you texting Rana? Mum, I’m in so much pain. Shit, I’m really sick, I think I’m dying or my appendix has burst or something. Oh my god, what the hell?” 

“Honey, Rana is going to grab you some heat medication and Fatin is going to bring it over for you.” 

“Heat medication?” 

“Yes, you should have covered it in health class.” 

“This is what a heat is?” Leah’s tears left her cheeks swollen. No, she would not deal with this on a regular basis. 

“Yes, this is your standard puberty heat. The first one is worse than the others. Not only that but normally you’ll know the warning signs and can take something which eases them greatly before they kick in like this.” 

“It’s like a pain on crack,” Leah yelled. “Is the adult one later on better?” Leah knew she would have two firsts one of each type, though they didn’t learn much about the second type until later on. All she knew was that there was a first that was a sign of typical puberty and readying for birth that joined with changes to your body, and a second later on that made you want to become a parent and face other wants and needs that drew you closer to your mate. It was the bane of the existence of being an omega, both first heats of each kind were supposed to be horrible; whilst the following were less painful, they still were uncomfortable as shit.

Her mother had to restrain her laughter at the exclamation; still sad her daughter was like this. “Honey, it sucks. But yes, it is like that at first. The adult wolf one is worse but don’t worry about that. The earliest that’ll come about is eighteen and most get it in their twenties so no need to worry about that yet; you'll learn more about that when you're seventeen.” 

“Why is this happening?” 

“You, like me, have the pain of being an omega. It may have its lows at times but it brought me you, and it also gives us other talents and strengths.”

“I don’t want a baby anytime soon, can it like, go on pause for a while? Like ideally a decade or five.” She was crying again, tears streaming down her face as another cramp set in. 

“It’s okay, knowing your mate she has her mother driving well past the limit to get you pills right now.” 

“I don’t want her seeing me like this. I’m so gross.” Sweat clung to her face as she doubled over in pain.

“That’s one of the perks of finding your mate young. Mates help soothe you; her presence and scent will calm you slightly, just as the tablets will. Fatin is not going to care how you look, only that you’re feeling better as soon as possible.” 

Leah twisted in bed more and more as the hour passed, too exhausted to even notice the bell going or the sound of footsteps up her stairs. 

“Hey, you’re okay.” Fatin climbed onto the bed, features worried, and pulled Leah against her chest as she passed her a glass. Then she handed her a pack of pills that were clasped under her arm. “Two every six hours. I read the pack on the way here including the warnings. I also grabbed chocolate, and these stick-on heat pad things they had and-” 

Leah curled over in pain, whimpering as it stabbed through her like a knife to the gut. 

Fatin popped out the pills for her, lifting them to her mouth before raising the glass that Leah slightly spilled over herself. 

“There you go, you’re okay.” Fatin carded her fingers through Leah’s sweaty hair. She pulled her closer, kissing her forehead as Leah nuzzled into her neck. 

Fatin held her until her temperature broke slightly; standing and rifling through Leah’s drawers that she knew as well as her own, grabbing her a change of clothes and growing flustered at her underwear. She placed a towel on top of the pile before moving to run Leah a bath. 

Once it was drawn, Fatin placed Leah’s clothing by the side of the tub. “I ran you a bath, the warmth and steam should help.” 

“No.” Leah’s lip trembled. “I don’t want you to leave me for that long.” 

“Hey, it will do you good to soak.” 

“It will hurt more not having you near.” 

Fatin sighed, disappearing down the stairs. 

Fatin cleared her throat beside Leah’s mother. “Maryann,” 

“Yes, Fatin?” 

“I ran Leah a bath.” 

“That was sweet of you.” 

“She um… she won’t go in because she needs me near so I…” Fatin paused, averting her eyes. “Is it okay if I go in? I obvi promise to only look at the wall the entire time. I’ll just sit by the side of the tub, with all of my clothes on.” 

Maryann was again holding back laughter. “That’s fine. Under those terms exactly of course” 

“Come on,” Fatin offered Leah a hand once she made it back to her room, fate still hot with mortification. “I’ll sit outside of the tub and hold your hand while you bathe.” 

“My mum will lose her shit; you know the rules.” 

“All my clothes on, no peaking at you, sit by the bath and look at the wall,” Fatin repeated, folding her arms. 

“What?” 

“The terms I just agreed to with Maryann.” 

“You agreed to terms about bathing me with my mother?” Leah asked, embarrassed. 

“You’re in pain, and I did not sit through that for you to let your bath get cool. Talking about that with her was a totally fucking embarrassing convo I’d like to erase from my mind.” 

Fatin helped her up, following every rule to the T as she turned her back. 

Leah swallowed nervously; this was new. Sure, they changed in the same room on occasion but there was always underwear and Leah wasn’t sweaty and gross and crying in pain. 

“Tell me when you’re in and covered by bubbles. I’m going to have to look at the tub just so I can sit by it without bashing my head.” 

“I’m in,” Leah sighed, the warmth already quelling some of the pain. 

Fatin didn’t peak at her though, she only looked at the bath, it made Leah smile because for some reason Fatin was sacred of her parents even though they loved Fatin like family. Then again, as her mate she really was. 

“Okay.” Fatin held one hand over her shoulder, waving It around aimlessly in the air until Leah took it with a soggy palm. She relaxed further into the bath with a sigh. 

“Is it helping at all?” 

“A lot.” 

“When your mum asks, you’d better mention that I followed each rule exactly.” 

“I will.” Leah grinned, shaking her head. For an alpha, her mate was an exceedingly adorable dork. 

She remained in there for forty minutes. Fatin caught Leah up on random things and mimed out the new cello piece she learned, playing each note on her hand as if it were the neck. 

When Leah got out Fatin turned, facing the door with bated breath as Leah dried off and dressed. 

“Do you need any pads or tampons?” 

“Those we had. I’m decent by the way.” 

Though Fatin had the same downstairs as Leah, she would never go through a heat as she was never intended to carry children. Instead, her rut would bring glands in her neck that would allow her to reproduce through a bite.

It seemed unfair as hell that Leah had to go through this intense pain whilst alphas only got horny and moody. 

Fatin turned, placing a kiss on her nose before taking her downstairs and making food with Leah at her side. 

“I hope you listened to the rules Fatin,” Maryann said as she walked in. To her it was a bit of fun; she knew Fatin more than enough to both read when she was lying but also knew that she’d never rush Leah on anything or pressure her. 

Fatin was always so worried for Leah that she tended to follow her pace on everything, and Maryann knew Leah would wait a while yet. Leah still blushed whenever Fatin kissed her, averting her eyes and giggling away. 

“She did,” Leah chided her mother with narrowed eyes, knowing what she was playing at. 

Fatin baked her cookies, made her pasta, and ditched cello rehearsals. Instead, she watched documentaries with Leah for hours on end even though she hated them. 

“I’ll sleep here tonight in case they come back.” 

They did come back, and Leah awoke crying at three a.m. 

Fatin padded down the stairs and returned with cookies and hot cholate, as well as the stick-on heat pads and a bottle of water for her pills, all balanced between her arms because she didn’t want to take longer doing two trips. 

“Thank you,” Leah hummed as she curled into her soulmate’s side. 

“I’ll be here every time you need me through this.”

Leah blushed, curling deeper into her neck where she nuzzled in until the pain calmed enough to drink her hot chocolate.