Chapter 10 Sage
Sage
After showing Will the strawberries and letting him eat his fill right from the plant, Sage had eventually gone back inside, leaving Will to explore the Vert wilderness on his own.
Sage had come to the frankly obvious conclusion that procrastinating rather than invoicing was the way to go, so he dropped onto the couch and switched on the ancient TV he’d personally enchanted to display crisp HD.
One of the couch cushions snuggled up around Sage’s shoulders and eased any tension there with a nice, firm massage.
Will joined him after only a handful of minutes, curling up on the couch as well; not right next to Sage, but in the corner. Looks like he’s trying to make himself invisible. Shame. He’s very lookable—a looker. And these are bad thoughts, very bad thoughts. Right?
“What do you want to watch?” Sage asked.
He had no idea what Will liked in terms of shows. The TV had barely been on since Will moved in. There’d been things to do, and a ton of small jobs all over town to complete, and Will had been practicing and reading poetry a lot, doing everything Sage told him to do.
“I’m fine with whatever.”
“That’s not fair. Streaming means there’s everything all at once. It takes me half an hour just to figure out that I can’t decide what I want to watch, and then I end up rewatching that comedy show with the talking cat I don’t really like. Help me out here, Will, I beg you.”
Will scooted a little closer to Sage. “Well, is Beholden to the Moon 2 okay? If you haven’t seen the first one, that’s fine though. We can watch something else.”
Sage cocked his head. “That werewolf flick? The one where everyone takes their shirts off all the time for no good reason?”
Will blushed. “I’m sorry. It’s stupid.”
But Sage was already browsing the library to find the action movie void of plot. “I think that’s its appeal. Please do not expect me to keep my comments to myself.”
Will gave Sage a shy grin. “We can rate everyone’s hotness. I think the wolves in the first one were definitely hotter than the hunters.”
Sage snorted and hit play. “You’re just biased on account of your furry side.”
“Not true.” Will shuffled even closer, though he still wouldn’t touch Sage. “I like humans just fine.”
Sage was pretty sure that was a compliment directed solely at him, and for such an offhand one, it made him feel ridiculously good about himself.
Keep cool. We’re just watching a movie together. We’re just having fun here, nothing else to see.
Sage hit play.
The movie, while plotless, was more fun than Sage had had in years. Will turned into a different person when B-movie action was playing out in front of him. He became a cute, green witch who was convinced the big strong hunter would actually want to be mounted by the wolf.
They ended up laughing at nothing and everything, with Will’s feet brushing against Sage’s leg.
Sage desperately wanted Will closer, but he didn’t dare make a move.
He didn’t want to make Will uncomfortable.
He carried a deep and raw hurt, and while he wouldn’t share its weight with Sage, Sage could still tell it was there.
He simply didn’t want to add to it by pushing too much too soon.
Too soon? What am I thinking? What am I thinking? I’m thinking there is no rule anywhere that says a consenting apprentice is off-limits, but fuck me, what is Peter going to say?
Halfway through the movie—which was inordinately long and contained an improbable number of fight scenes—Will got up, and Sage hit pause.
“You can finish it. I’ll be upstairs,” Will said.
It hit Sage. Night was about to fall. “Can’t you watch a screen or something when you shift?”
Will flushed. “I can watch screens. I just thought that while you’re here—”
“Will, this is no fun by myself. Go, shift, then come back so we can finish the movie. Okay?”
Will nodded. He shot Sage the cutest, shyest smile. “Okay.”
Sage waited. He listened, but he wasn’t sure what for. He had several shifter clients, most of whom invested in warding that prevented humans from accidentally seeing something supernatural in their homes, but Sage had never been present for anyone shifting.
Plus, werewolves are odd. They can control their shifts, but when the full moon comes, their shifted side totally takes over. Some deep magical root there, Gran used to say.
Shifting normally didn’t hurt the shifter, Sage knew that much. The longer he waited, the more curious he got to see Will’s wolf.
In the end, an elegant, sandy brown wolf came down the stairs. The wolf had Will’s golden eyes, and his fur was almost solid brown except for a darker streak that ran from the tip of his nose over his head and back, all the way to his tail.
In his wolf form, Will was huge, which made him also being elegant even more impressive. He was at least the size of an Irish wolfhound, and he stood rooted in place at the foot of the stairs, for once holding Sage’s gaze as if he were daring Sage to send him back up to his room.
“Wow. Don’t take this the wrong way, but I thought werewolves were smaller.” Sage patted the couch next to him. “Come on. This movie waits for no one.”
That seemed to be everything Will needed. He moved, not loping or bounding, but carefully picking his way toward the couch. He got on gingerly, almost as if he were afraid he’d be put outside if he misbehaved.
And whether it was because of his size or something else, he moved closer to Sage. The wolf’s soft fur made Sage want to touch, but he didn’t dare.
He’s not a dog. He’s beautiful and magical, and also really sweet. Not a pet though.
Still, Will was close enough for Sage to feel his warmth, to feel his chest expand with every breath.
Will half turned his head, expectantly.
“Right. More half-naked werewolf goodness.” Sage hit play, and the movie went back to yet another fight scene.
“I still think you’re biased.” Sage pointed at the screen. “The hunter really isn’t all that bad.”
Will huffed. His ears swiveled back and forth.
“Did anyone ever tell you that your ears are kind of cute?” Sage was shocked at himself for blurting that out.
Will turned his head. It was a massive head. Sage couldn’t see Will’s teeth, but they had to be massive as well. The most dominant features in Will’s wolf face were his eyes, large and round and gleaming gold.
Before he could stop himself, Sage brushed a hand through the hair along the side of Will’s face, running his fingers through the soft fur and up to the side of his neck.
“Shit. Sorry. I didn’t meant to do that. Sorry, Will.”
Will hadn’t moved. Their gazes were locked, the on-screen fight forgotten.
Like back in the garden, the moment lasted. It was Will who moved first, but not to pull away. He slowly eased his large body against Sage’s and turned his head to put it on Sage’s leg, breaking eye contact only at the last possible moment.
Sage had no idea what to make of that. He wished he knew what Will wanted, what he needed. Sage wished he weren’t so damn horny—not that Will’s shift had done that. It had been Will himself, gradually, ever since he’d come into Sage’s life.
“You’re so warm. It’s nice.”
Will breathed deep as if an unseen tension had left him.
The movie kept on playing, but neither of them really paid attention.