I Just Wanted a Dog - Werewolf!Zoro x Reader Ch.1

Your relationship with [Male Name] had always been kind of like a rollercoaster of emotions—it was a relationship that most people would deem unhealthy when they saw how quickly it’d shoot up into the air one minute only to come crashing and burning down the next. One week you two could be happily snuggled up to one another, cooing out gentle words of love as you lazily lay about on the couch. But then by the next week, you two could be at each other’s throats with your body tightly curled into a ball as you’d cry while he would be sneering out words that would make any outsider question his love for you. It was in moments like those that you’d find yourself in a deep state of depression, body sprawled out on your bed as you’d blankly stare up at the ceiling and quietly ponder over his words as the sinking feeling of loneliness slowly begins to eat away at you until you’re forced to be the adult in the relationship. Until you’re the one forced to call him and plead for forgiveness while whispering out quiet apologies just so he’d come back.

This week had been no different as once more you found yourself curled up on your bed, heart-wrenching sobs racking your body as you tightly clutched at your chest, bunching and twisting up the fabric of your shirt. Another fight—about what? You didn’t know and probably never will. It had always confused you how quick his temper was, how easy he found it to find something small and insignificant to throw a tantrum over while throwing all blame towards you and only you. Starting a small flame that would quickly grow out of hand as he’d begin to pour fuel over it until he had you as nothing more than a broken mess that didn’t know what to do.

Recently, you’ve been attempting to hold off from being the first one to apologize as you knew it wasn’t right to always let him slip by without an apology of his own. Your friends couldn’t help but wonder what exactly you saw in him, never truly able to understand why you chose to stick around. But, if you were being honest, even you didn’t know why you stuck around—you didn’t know if it was because you were still stuck in a time were you remembered how gentle and kind he was at the beginning of the relationship or because you feared the thought of being alone. A fear that consumed you and heavily outweighed your desire to be happy. In a sickening way, his presence brought you nothing but comfort—even if all he seemed to do nowadays is make you cry.

Knock! Knock!

You barely lifted your head as you quickly clamped your mouth shut and attempted to stifle your cries, puffy eyes now staring towards your bedroom’s open door and out into the darkening hallway that would have led you into your living room. Quietly did you listen to the sounds of someone knocking on your apartment door, listening to the way that the sound seemed to just bounce off of the walls of your silent home. Your mind was already beginning to throb away with a million different thoughts as you hopefully began to wonder if it was him—wondering if he had decided to come back and finally begin picking up the slack and apologize for the hurtful words he had spoken.

Knock! Knock!

“[Your Name], open up, please” those thoughts of yours were quick to disappear the second you heard [Female Friend]’s muffled, soothing voice flutter through the door which was then followed by even more knocking. With a tired sigh, you sluggishly slid yourself off your bed and began to drag your sock-clad feet across the floorboards of your home until finally coming to a halt right in front of your front door. Staring at its wooden surface with a blank stare as you seemed to ponder what you wanted your next move to be. “[Your Name]?” your friend quietly muttered on the other side, gently rasping her knuckles against the door once more.

“What do you want?” your voice came out hoarse, vocal cords most likely raw now due to the violent sobs that had been ripping through your throat since the early morning. “Just leave me be to wallow in my own misery.”

“No” was the curt response you had received as the knocking resumed, now beginning to grow in volume. “I’ll just keep on knocking until your neighbors are forced to call the landlord” she threatened as you continued to blankly stare down the door. Quietly wondering how she had even learned about the fight so quickly, but then again, she always did seem to have eyes everywhere. She was the type of person that knew everyone and everything about this small community you both lived in—it was the one thing about her that always disturbed you. After a minute or two of constant knocking, you finally heaved a sigh and sluggishly lifted an arm, barely putting in any effort at all as you unlocked and opened the door.

You only opened it a sliver of a crack before flinching and stumbling back when it was suddenly thrown open full force as [Female Friend] strutted right on into your home. Her face twisted up into a strange mixture of worry and anger as she wasted no time in slamming the door shut right behind her as soon as she was in. Advancing towards you without any hesitation as her arms were quick to fly out and wrap around your head—willing did you allow her to pull your face flush against her bosom and take little comfort in the sensation of her fingers threading through your hair. Silently listening to the words that she gentle cooed out in a tone that was far from comforting. It sounded as if she was trying to suppress her anger, trying her best to not just break down and begin cursing the name of the man that she so venomously hated with her whole being.

“It’s okay, it’s okay, it’s okay…” she seemed to calmly repeat, slowly leading the two of you further back into the apartment and towards your couch where she promptly sat you both down. Her eyes narrowing into mere slits as she hatefully glared at a certain picture that was hung up on your wall—it was a picture of you and [Male Name]. A picture from way back then when the relationship was still new and you both were still trying to get used to the idea of dating, it was a picture from a time when the fighting was at a minimum and there was no guilt-tripping or blaming involved whenever one did break out.

“How’d you find out?” you quietly asked, forcing her to finally look away from the picture. “It’s only been…I don’t fucking know, maybe ten hours since the fight broke out” you muttered, tiredly letting your eyelids droop and flutter shut as if wanting to bring some relief to your stinging eyes while your breathing began to slow as well. Quietly wishing to yourself that this pain in your chest would just hurry up and go away.

“That doesn’t matter” she responded, quick to dismiss your question with the simple wave of her hand as her fingers continued to brush through your hair while her body slowly began to lean further back into the couch. “What matters is that you need to—”

“Don’t say it” you cut her off with a quiet plea, lips tugging downwards as already you could feel another lump start to form from within your throat. You weren’t stupid, you knew exactly what she was about to say. “You say it every time this happens, and the answer is always the same, so please, just don’t say it.”

“But this isn’t healthy! You need to just cut him out of your life—this is getting ridiculous!” she shot back with a huff as she pressed your head further against her chest until your ear was flat against the valley between her breasts, forced to listen to the meticulous beating of her heart as she tried her damnedest to just comfort you. “Why do you keep going back to him when all he does is hurt you? Do you just like the pain that he causes you?” her eyebrows knitted together in frustration becoming nearly frantic at such a thought as the questions begin to just start spilling from her lips like a flood.

“I already told you…I don’t want to be lonely…” you quietly mumbled, arms finally encircling around her as you snuggled yourself closer—wishing to hear more of that beautiful melody that was her heartbeat. It was strange how such a sound could bring you such comfort. It wasn’t long though until you suddenly felt her chest puff out as she sucked in a large amount of air before releasing it all in one heavy sigh.

“I know” she mumbled right back as silence now fell over the two of you—a silence that quietly began to lull you to sleep only for you to be harshly jolted back awake at the sudden movements of your friend who now sat up straight with a sharp gasp. The corner of her lips twitching upwards as her face lit up with such a bright idea. “A pet!” she loudly exclaimed as you pulled away from her, carefully eyeing her now as you found yourself disturbed by her sudden shift in mood.

“A pet?” you echoed with a raised brow as you watched how she happily nodded her head.

“That’s right!” she sounded giddy as she now wore a wide smile. “You said you don’t want to be lonely, correct? Then just get a pet to keep you company so you can dump that fucker’s ass!” she puffed her chest out with pride, seemingly pleased with this idea of hers. “Maybe a cat—no! What you need is a dog, their hyperactive personalities are sure to help in picking up your mood!” you couldn’t stop the way your lips suddenly twitched upwards as you began to smile when you spotted that pleased look she now wore.

“I’ll think about it” your breathed out with a breathless laugh, eyes closed as you began to mull over her words.

-Time Skip-

Your eyes blankly stared at each animal you passed by as the shelter’s employee carefully lead you through the back, barely listening to him as he talked up each animal that you walked by. Each one looked just as cute and just as cuddly in your eyes that it made you frown when you remembered just how poor you were and just how limited your choices were as well. In the very back of your mind, you couldn’t help but think about how you would have easily loved to just adopt every last animal in this shelter if only you just had the money and resources to do so. But, at last, you had to instead be careful with your choice—quietly keeping in mind just how small your apartment was and how you needed just enough money to properly take care of both yourself and your soon to be new companion.

“See any you like?” the employee, Jaden you believe as written on his nametag, asked as he peered back at you. Motioning with his hand at all the various cages and the animals inside that seemed to eagerly stare up at you, silently pleading with their eyes for you to pay attention to them and only them. You said nothing and only continued to stare back at the animals as your heart was already beginning to ache upon seeing those glossy eyes of theirs. Fuck, this was the reason you usually tried to avoid places like this—knowing by heart that you’d only end up broke due to the impulse of wanting to give all of them a good home with lots of love and care. Just as you parted your lips and started speak, ready to just pick at random and get the excessive amount of guilt you were sure to feel over with…you halted.

Ears perking up and twitching as you heard the sudden sound of growling coming from further into the shelter. Jaden raised an eyebrow as he watched you clamp your lips shut, quick to follow after you the second you began to walk again looking as if your feet were beginning to move you all on their own. Your mind was curious now, desperately wanting to find the animal that was supposedly growling and kicking up a ruckus that greatly different from the soft whines and barks of all the other animals.

“Hey, ma’am, you can’t go back there” Jaden quickly and nervously piped up, his eyes widening when he noticed that you were now entering a more secluded area of the shelter. You came to a stop the minute you pushed the curtain aside and now stood in the open doorway of this new room, already spotting even more cages lined up against the wall—cages that’s animals barely even bothered looking your way. All of them opting to instead stay where they are as they quietly slept in their confined spaces. They all looked ragged and less than desirable, some even looking as if they had been caught up in fights while others looked as if their beauty had simply been snatched away from years of being left out on the streets with no one to feed or love them. You took notice to how the growling you had heard earlier was now louder back here as it slowly became clear to you that the animal was most likely kicking up a fuss because they were enraged with this “prison” of theirs.

“Ma’am, you really shouldn’t be here” Jaden nervously spoke, his eyes shifting from you and back towards the open doorway as he acted as if he was frightened that his boss would just come bursting through the curtain at any moment. Ready to just chew him out and fire him for daring to allow someone such as yourself to enter this room that was normally cut off from people. Already you had an inkling that this was where all the animals that were put on “death row” were normally placed—stealthily hidden away from the public eye and separated from the other animals as they patiently waited to be put down. Patiently waiting to be euthanized for daring to act up in violent ways or simply because they just weren't able to get adopted after being here for a certain amount of time and the shelter just needed to make more room for new animals. You simply ignored the young man, slowly moving forward as you barely cast a glance into any of the cages you passed by until finally, you came to a halt right in front of the one that held the culprit of the growls that you were hearing.

He was quite large, to say the least—bigger than any of the other dogs that inhabited this shelter. But, his appearance was just as rugged as the others back here, his fur dark and coated in grime that just matted it down in certain spots. You winced upon spotting the nasty scar that ran straight over his left eye as well as at the large scar that seemingly ran from his left shoulder and all the way down to his right hip. It was clear that beauty wasn’t on this dog’s side.

“Those are some sharp teeth” you whistled when he suddenly drew his lips back into a snarl the moment he saw you, seemingly already eager to just show off those pearly whites of his to you. A twisted part of you quick to make note that this animal could easily rip you to shreds if he so desired to.

“Yeah…almost ripped off the feeder’s arm on his first day here” Jaden mumbled with a soft nod as he walked up beside you. Keeping some distance as he peered into the cage at the animal that was now hatefully snarling at the both of you. You only hummed in response, barely even acknowledging what the man had said as you seemingly found yourself distracted with wanting to examine this animal—silently taking note of the strange tugging sensation that was now pulling at your chest, a sensation that was just barely there and could easily just be brushed off as nothing more than your heart still aching over [Male Name], who still hadn’t contacted you.

 “Is he part wolf?” you suddenly asked with the tilt of your head, curiously taking a step closer towards the cage which only caused the animal’s snarling to get worst. His body now crouching low to the ground as if he was preparing to just pounce towards you, but despite that thought fluttering in your mind, you couldn’t bring yourself to be frightened at all. Choosing instead to just lift your hand up and press it up against the cool metal of the chain-link fence that served as the door to his cage.

“He could have some wolf in him, I mean, he sure does eat like one” Jaden shrugged, awkwardly beginning to rub at the back of his neck as he shuffled around in place. Still occasionally throwing nervous glances back towards the doorway. “He only really accepts raw meat, nothing else” he muttered.

“I’m guessing he’s back here because…” you didn’t really need to finish that sentence, the employee already nodding his head as he automatically knew what you were about to say. It grew silent after that, neither of you speaking now as the only sound to break through the air was the dog’s growls. “I’ll take him.”

“W-what?” Jaden sputtered out in bewilderment, unable to really process what he had just heard as he stared at you like you had just magically gone and grown a second head. Slowly did you pull your gaze away from the animal to look at him, unable to understand yourself why you wanted this dog in particular—but at the same time, it felt like there was a soft voice whispering in the back of your mind, quietly begging you to adopt him and save him from his fate. You didn’t doubt that the employee probably thought you were insane; I mean you did just ask to adopt an animal that basically looked ready to pounce and sink his teeth into your throat. “I-I’m sorry, I didn’t quite catch that.”

“I said, I’ll take him” you calmly repeated, lips twitching upwards into a gentle smile as you looked back towards the burly animal. Silently watching as his snarls started to slowly die down while still keeping his ears flat against his skull and his body crouched low as he now curiously watched you with his one good eye. An eye that’s iris was the color of emeralds and had just a tiny splash of gold mingling around inside it—it was such a pretty color, nothing at all like [Male Name]’s boring old, simple eye color. Jaden owlishly stared at you, slowly blinking his eyes as he frantically thought of various reasons why you should just turn around right now and pick one of the more friendlier animals in the front. But, the longer he stared at that gentle look in your eyes, the more he felt his resolve weaken before finally he just heaved a heavy sigh.

“I guess we can work something out” he muttered, shoulders drooping as he watched your eyes light up with excitement—shining brightly with a certain kind of happiness that neither you nor he really understood.

-Later-

Quietly did you watch as the employee shakily attempt to reach out a hand towards the snarling animal, a leash clutched in his grasp as he heavily swallowed down a large amount of saliva. He looked quite frightened at the moment as if the thought of losing a hand to some animal scared him or something.

“C-come on, big guy, I’m n-not going to h-hurt you” he shakily said, gently trying to coo out calming words that only made the animal growl even more. “I’m j-just going to p-put this leash on—ah!” he screamed in fright when the dog suddenly lunged towards him, jaw viciously opening, and snapping shut as the chain that held in place made him fall just short in reaching the poor employee. Jaden’s face was pale as he slowly backed away, violently shaking as his grip on the leash tightened until his knuckles were turning white. You watched as his gaze frantically began to flicker between you and the animal multiple times before a look of regret settled itself on his face. You couldn’t help but feel a silent mixture of amusement and pity for him as you watched how his feet slowly began to subconsciously move him further back and away from the growling dog that still needed to be put into his new leash.

“May I?” you softly piped up, carefully stepping up and prying the leash from the employee’s hands before suddenly dropping to your knees in front of the canine. Barely flinching at all when he began snarling at you, once again tugging his lips all the way back so that he could show off those pearly whites of his.

“M-ma’am, I have this under c-control, there’s no need to—” you held up your hand, silently motioning for him to be silent while still maintaining eye contact with the animal in front of you. You knew by heart that you couldn’t show any fear or weakness to him as he needed to understand that you were now his owner and he wasn’t going to just simply scare you away like he was trying to. Then suddenly at that moment, you felt another tug at your chest which you once again chose to ignore.

“Hey there, buddy, no need to be frightened” you softly cooed, ignoring the look Jaden gave you as he began to question if you knew the difference between being frightened and being vicious. “I’m not going to hurt you” you whispered as you lifted one hand up and held it out towards the animal, letting it just hover there in midair. The dog only continued to growl, his jaw slowly unhinging open as if he was ready to just snatch up the hand you were offering him and sink his teeth into it—ready to just tear through the flesh and bone, but then he stopped. Head now tilting upwards as he took a tentative whiff of the air which caused his growling to die out once more as he hesitantly leaned forward and began to sniff at your hand. Looking as if he was now entranced by your scent.

“What?” Jaden owlishly blinked as he was taken aback by the canine’s sudden shift in attitude—now going from deathly intimidating to calm and peaceful. The snarl that he had been wearing now dying away and being replaced by a look of excitement as he ears perked right on up into the air and his tongue lulled out the side of his mouth, it was as if just the smell of you was enough to sedate him. Even you were confused by this, not understanding this sudden shift in his mood. But before you could really sit and dwell on it, you felt your eyes widen as suddenly there was a harsh and violent tug at your chest that caused your heart to seize up in pain until your body practically flung itself forward. Your arms quick to clumsily wrap their way around the dog’s neck as a way to prevent yourself from face planting into the concrete ground.

What was that? What was that sudden and awful feeling? It felt as if someone had just reached out and taken hold of your heart, harshly squeezing it in their grasp until it was ready to burst as they pulled it forward as if they were wanting to simply remove it from your chest cavity. But just as quickly as the pain had come, it ended the minute your fingers found themselves entangled within the dog’s fur and your face was practically buried against his chest. It almost looked as if you were giving the animal a simple hug.

Jaden found himself confused by your sudden movements, his mind taking a moment to process all that had happened before simply brushing it all off with the thought that you had just been overly excited upon seeing your new dog suddenly warm up and adjust to you. You barely paid the employee any mind the moment he started to speak, suddenly praising you for being able to get such a vicious animal to trust you so quickly while also curiously asking you what technique you had used despite the fact that he had seen you only hold out your hand. Shakily you pulled away from the animal, hand nervously reaching up to rest against your chest as you tried to process what you had just felt. Was this something you needed to be concerned about? Do you need to go and see a doctor about this?

Such questions bounced around inside your skull, all of them worrying you and causing your heartbeat to suddenly pick up—but, before you could dwell on your concerns any longer, your thoughts were abruptly cut off when you suddenly felt a wet tongue lick up the side of your face. Such a feeling causing your body to tense up and shiver as you could already feel the way that the dog’s saliva began to quickly dry thanks to the cool air of the building. Jaden fell silent, watching you in slight amusement as all his fears and worry started to melt away. But still…he couldn’t help but wonder what it was that you had done to get the animal’s mood to change so quickly.