His Human Mate

The scene after receiving punishment from Roel.

Hamish followed behind Dewei warily. He had heard stories about the shifter in front of him. If he needs one word to describe this researcher, it would be 'crazy'. He remembered about the stories that the triplets told him and Erick about Dewei laughing maniacally in the wee morning.

Although, it was the first time that Hamish had met Dewei but from the stories that he had heard, it was like he personally knew him. Some of the older shifters used to warn them, telling the younger ones to avoid this researcher. There were also stories of Dewei dragging unruly and mischievous young shifters to his laboratory to experiment on them. Hamish wasn't sure whether that was true or not but back then, as a young pup, he was terrified. His father, the Beta of the pack, also like to talk to him about Dewei to make him feel scared. He was like, the 'bogeyman' of the pack.

Watching him now, Hamish was trying to find out what makes this shifter crazy. Was he really crazy, like those typical mad scientists in fictional stories? Or was he just eccentric and misunderstood? He knew that he was a nice man, or else, the Alpha wouldn't have welcomed him into the pack a few years ago. Though, he knew some of the pack mates avoided him because he was different. Different in the sense of how he looked. Hamish was disappointed at some of the pack mates for having such ignorant thinking. One should not see a person based on their colour and race. At least, that's what his mother has always taught him.

A few minutes later, they finally arrived in front of a small cottage, which was in between the pack house and several cottages for the mated shifters in the pack. It was a small brick bungalow with a chimney. Inside, there were a couple of rooms; a kitchen, bathroom, bedroom and a huge laboratory space.

Hamish was lost in thoughts when Dewei called out to him to come inside. He stood inside, an awed look on his face as he looked around him. It seems like the shifter had converted this house as his personal laboratory. Hamish was surprised as he only know of it now. He knew that only mated shifters have their own house. And he also knew that Dewei does not have a mate. Yet he has his own house. It seems like the Alpha hold high regard for this researcher. He pursed his lips, thinking. Probably shifters who have a high position or hold great responsibility, have their own house, despite having no mate.

"What are you doing standing there? C'mere!"

Hamish blinked his eyes, shaking his head out of the thoughts. He looked up and saw Dewei grinning at him. He was standing in front of three huge machines. Two machines were arranged side-by-side while the other one was placed on the other side, making a 'L' shape. The machines looked sophisticated and complicated. There were several monitors with touchscreen interface implanted in the machines, together with output trays. The machines have a flat top surface. Other than that, there were also several trash bins near the machines and papers littered on the floor. Huge boxes were piled up on the other side of the room that reads 'Silvers' and 'Cylinders'.

He walked over to stand beside Dewei and waited for orders.

Dewei laughed when he saw Hamish standing still. "You young ones are so stiff these days," he chuckled. He then began to instruct Hamish on things to do. His tasks were simple. It was to clean the area and helped him with the stuff. Because Dewei wasn't getting any younger, he needed someone young to helped him carry the things he needed for his research.

Hamish was sweeping the floor, when he noticed something in the kitchen. He walked over and was shocked to see the scene in front of him.

The kitchen was a mess. There were literally food on the floor, piles of dirty dishes in the sink, and the rubbish bin was full until it cannot be closed by the lid. He immediately covered his nose from the smell. It smells really foul inside the kitchen. He wondered how Dewei can really survived in this place. He quickly ran over to Dewei, who was writing something on his clipboard.

"Uh, sir," Hamish called out softly.

Dewei looked up with a frown. "What is it?"

"When was the last time you used the kitchen?" he asked.

The researcher frowned, as if he was trying to remember when. Then he suddenly guffawed as a flash of remembrance swept by him. "Probably few months ago," he replied, chuckling.

Hamish's eyes widened in shock. No wonder it smells really foul in there! He probably forgot that the kitchen even exist! He sighed. "Then I'll go clean the kitchen."

Dewei nodded, his eyes already on the clipboard as he continued writing. He waved Hamish away, already forgetting about the kitchen.

It took Hamish nearly a day to clean the kitchen. He had made several trips to the dumpster, throwing the expired food and utensils that can't be used anymore. He had wiped the windows, tables and chairs twice, as well as mopping the floor. He even had to rearrange the utensils in the cupboards and clean the fridge.

Once he was done, he sat down on the chair, slumped over the table. He felt exhausted. The only time he was this exhausted was during practice. He did not expect he would get this tired from cleaning the kitchen. And it was just one room. While he was throwing the trash, he also noticed the bedroom as he walked by. From the glimpse of it, he could tell that the bedroom was also a mess. He sighed in resignation. This researcher was probably one of the messiest people he had ever met. This was probably why Roel had assigned him to this shifter. He knew that Hamish was a neat freak.

He walked out of the kitchen and saw Dewei still standing in front of the machines. The researcher looked up and noticed Hamish standing at the kitchen door. He then asked, "Are you done?"

Hamish nodded.

"Great. Did you see the boxes outside, with the word, 'Metals'?" he further asked.

Hamish nodded again.

"Great, bring them over here. All of them. Thank you."

Hamish inwardly g.r.o.a.n.e.d. 'I'm going to die of exhaustion,' he thought to himself. He then wonder what Erick was doing right now. He probably has a great time, compared to him.