G1BT woke up in a bed which was extremely odd due to the fact that he had never actually been in a bed before. The air around him was warm, smelling of pine, and the wolf could hear the crackle of a fire beside him. Anxiously he shot up and with a start realized his hands were tightly bound to the bedpost behind him, the rope biting against the soft flesh of his wrists. The panic set in fast and hard as his gaze frantically took in his surroundings. From the looks of it he appeared to be inside some kind of cottage. He must have been taken prisoner. He trembled slightly, questions still racing through his head. Was he going to be tortured? He had never heard of humans taking wolves alive.

Suddenly the door to the cottage swung open and G1BT’s entire body went frigid as his captor entered, a chilling gust of wind bellowing through his cloak behind him. The person didn’t look a thing like G1BT expected. He was small and slender and carried a wicker basket filled to the brim with items. His face, along with the rest of him, looked like a porcelain doll. It seemed to G1BT that if he so much as gave this boy a little push he would fall over and shatter. How the hell had this person managed to bring him here?

The boy looked to him now, his eyes wide. “Oh, so you’re finally awake,” he said, his voice as gentle as the rest of his appearance. White flakes of snow clung to his lashes and raven black hair creating a startling contrast and G1BT couldn’t help but stare as the boy plopped down on the bed beside him. Almost immediately he began digging through his basket before finally removing some sort of glaze. “I brought you some medical supplies for that nasty gash,” he said softly. Quickly his dainty hands moved to G1BT’s arm as he began to undo the bandage tied tightly around his wound, a bandage the wolf hadn’t even realized was there. G1BT grit his teeth now at the slight sting of pain as the boy gently began to rub the glaze over the cut running across the length of his arm. Everything around him smelled like violets and honeysuckle and G1BT couldn’t tell if it was the glaze or the boy. His nose twitched slightly at the strange scent. “Your leg was broken when I found you. I tried to take care of it the best I could but it’ll need time to heal,” the boy continued.

Shit, that meant G1BT wouldn’t be able to escape from this place even if he wanted to, not until his leg was healed.

“My name is Hansel by the way,” the boy said softly. “Sorry about tying you to the bed. I know you’re a wolf so I had to take some precautions just in case you were dangerous. You must be starving. I’m going to make us both a nice chestnut soup later.” The boy looked to him now, curiosity swimming in his large hazel eyes as he gently began to wrap clean bandages around his arm. “Are you dangerous?”

G1BT stared at the boy in shock. He was a wolf and this Hansel person looked like he could be snapped in half like a twig. Why was he not terrified of him? Why was he sitting so close?

“Are you daft? Of course I’m dangerous. Why…” G1BT growled, his voice hoarse, “why are you being so nice to me?” His gaze darkened. “Is this your plan? To heal me and then try to get information out of me?”

Hansel shook his head, the light from the fireplace causing shadows to flicker across the soft features of his face. “Of course not.” The boy sounded surprisingly sincere. Something came over his gaze now, something warm. “I always told you I would protect you Ethan.”

G1BT blinked. “Ethan?”

Hansel was staring at him intently now. “Do you not know who I am?”

“Of course I don’t know who you are. I’ve never seen you before in my life,” G1BT said gruffly. What the hell was wrong with this kid?

A new emotion swarmed across Hansel’s features, an emotion somehow distinct yet unreadable all at once. “Right...of course. What was I thinking? You can’t be Ethan. Ethan’s…” he abruptly stood up. “It was stupid of me to think that you were actually him. I can clearly see you two are nothing alike. I don’t know why I believed there could even be a possibility that..” He shook his head, realizing he was trailing off. “I’m sorry,” he said softly. Then all of a sudden he began to move to the kitchen area of the cottage. It was connected to the bedroom so G1BT could still clearly see him. “What do you want to eat?” Hansel asked suddenly.

G1BT stared at him, confused. Was he genuinely asking? Why was he still looking after him even after realizing he wasn’t this Ethan person. This had to be some kind of trap.

“I don’t care,” G1BT grumbled.

“Chestnut soup still sound okay?”

G1BT’s pride wouldn’t permit him to answer. There was no way he was sucking up to this kid.

His stomach rumbled.

Hansel chuckled from the kitchen. “Okay, I’ll take that as a yes.” He removed some vegetables from his basket and began to quickly chop them up. “Do you like cake? I make a really good strawberry one,” he said, casting a glance in G1BT’s direction.

“You should be careful,” G1BT mumbled. “I could tear you limb from limb right now if I wanted to.”

The boy only offered him a small smile, his gaze glued to him all the while, still chopping. “Well, judging from that fact that you’re tied to a bed sitting there like a kicked puppy I have a feeling I’m safe for the time being.”

G1BT responded with only a scowl.

A heavy silence hung between them as Hansel continued his work on the soup. As he began to pour the ingredients into a large iron pot however he finally spoke again.

“So, what’s your name?”

G1BT shifted slightly. “I don’t have one.”

Hansel blinked. “You don’t have a name?”

“I haven’t earned one yet,” G1BT mumbled. “Until I prove my worth to the pack I’m to remain wolf number G1BT.”

Something flickered across Hansel’s gaze. “Everyone deserves a name,” he said slowly. “What if I gave you one?”

“I’m not a pet,” G1BT snapped.

Hansel had begun stirring the ingredients with a large wooden spoon now and the aroma drifted from the kitchen to G1BT causing his stomach to growl again. Goddess knows how long it had been since he had eaten.

“Still,” Hansel said, “I don’t want to have to call you G1BT. It feels too degrading. What if I gave you a name, just for now. You wouldn’t have to accept it as your real name.” A smile tugged at the corner of his lips. “Just think of it as my nickname for you.”

“And what kind of name are you thinking of?”

Hansel thought for a moment, the spoon still in his hand. “What about...Gilbert?”

G1BT, blinked. “Gilbert?”

Hansel’s face fell. “Oh...do you hate it? Should I not call you that?”

G1BT tensed. For some reason the name made him feel oddly warm inside. It was a strange, foreign, sensation. He had never thought he had ever wanted a name but for some reason having the word Gilbert attached to him made him feel almost...happy. G1BT shook his head. What was he thinking? Wolves weren’t supposed to feel happy. They had trained their entire lives to get rid of pointless emotions like that. Still...why did he want this boy to call him Gilbert again?

G1BT swallowed hard. “No...I don’t….mind it.” He sighed heavily. “You can call me Gilbert.”