Chapter 21 #2
“A human life is so banal. You were a nobody living in a bare studio apartment living paycheck to paycheck. You didn’t even have enough money for mayonnaise.”
Another chill shook me.
“How did you know that?”
She ignored my question.
“You want to be more than some boring human with little chance of succeeding in a life they’ve designed to enslave you.
You want to be like my husband.” Though her words stung, she said them with such understanding.
Flashbacks to what that feral elder told me raced through my head.
“Darius seems like a cruel beast, and he is not well-adjusted, but he’s more complex than that.
He wants to protect you, but he also delights in depravity—a lingering side effect of his repressive religious upbringing. ”
“Are you really trying to paint him as being a good person?”
Willa chuckled. “Do I look like the type of woman who marries a good person?”
“I don’t know what type of woman you are. I don’t even know why we’re talking.” I rubbed my forehead. “And what do you mean he’s trying to protect me?”
“Because you’re dangerous.”
I laughed at that. “I’m dangerous? Your husband assaulted my pack, and he’s using his position to threaten all of us.”
“Trust me. Your very existence is dangerous. All elders still alive started out this way, but not all become leaders. If they do, they become the most potent and powerful creatures on this planet.” She reached for my hand and gently grazed her red painted fingernail over my skin.
“Your presence attracts a lot of attention from those that crave the power you might possess, but it’s still too early to tell how you’ll end up. ”
“Why does any of this matter to him?”
“It matters to both of us, as we both have equal interest in your future.” She chuckled and shook her head. “Now that I’ve met you, I see his usual methods of getting his way aren’t going to work. I know you hate hearing it, but you’re too similar.”
I opened my mouth to protest again, but she cut me off.
“You want to be him.”
“I want to be better,” I snapped, looking away from her. “I’d like to be rich and handsome, but the other stuff—”
“Makes him who he is,” Willa interrupted. “But his methods are driving you closer to the ones he’s trying to shield you from.” She sighed and examined my face. “You don’t want to be caught by a witch.”
“Are witches evil or something?”
“No,” she replied sternly. “But they’re not exactly good either. They don’t bother humans because humans are worthless, but werewolves with the vironoct…” Her eyes narrowed with intensity. “It’s a font of immortality, power, and endless insatiable sex. It’s like a drug.”
A person from the kitchen staff poked his head out from behind one of the doors and nodded at Willa.
She caught her breath and her countenance returned to normal. “Your food is done.” She slid out of the seat. “You should have leftovers for a few days.”
“You’ve never seen Roscoe eat,” I said, following her to the counter. “Why are werewolves all that to witches? What do they do to them?”
She stopped at the counter and gave me a nod.
“That’s a lengthy conversation, and unfortunately my time is short today.
” Willa placed her dainty hand on my shoulder.
“If what my husband has is what you want, don’t fall in with the Whasha.
But unlike what my husband thinks, the Whasha path is not necessarily a wrong one to take.
It just leads to a different future.” She started to turn but caught herself, squeezing my shoulder tighter.
“Also, if you don’t want to end up a mindless husk, don’t chance an encounter with a witch of the wilds.
” She let go and walked the rest of the way behind the counter.
“In other words, stay the hell out of the woods. Darius owns everyone he encounters, human or werewolf, but like I said earlier, you’re a special case.
He knows he can’t have his way with you. ”
“He did. When I was in the jail with him. I was in this place—”
“Really?” she asked. “You think he did that?”
“I didn’t feel in control. I think the lighter he gave me did something.”
She waved me closer, so I took a few steps toward the counter and leaned in.
“I’ll let you in on a little secret.”
“I’m listening.”
“Whatever trinket he gave you does nothing but track your location. What you did the other night was all you, honey.”
“That’s not a secret. He told me the same thing.”
The kitchen staff brought out bag after bag of food and setting them on the counter. There’s no way they could have prepared all of this in the short time I was here.
“What is it you really want from me?” I asked.
She said nothing for a moment, then looked up at me expectantly.
“You said earlier that you didn’t know me.”
I looked at the full counter, the kitchen staff placing more bags on top of bags.
“Is this a bribe?”
“All I want is for you to come by again. I really want to get to know you better. Plus, if you want to get back at Darius, I know his secrets and weaknesses.” The way she said that was almost tantalizing.
“Wait. You want me to get back at him?”
“Well, someone besides me has got to knock him down a notch every now and then, and after watching you handle yourself the other night, I think you might be able to use what you have to really get under his skin.”
My eyes widened. “What do you mean you watched me?”
“Honey, it’s a jail. There are cameras everywhere.”
“Oh…”
The driver stepped into the lobby, and the kitchen staff silently carried the food out to the car. Willa slid across the floor toward a darkened hallway, then stopped and looked back.
“I’ll keep my husband away from you for now, but don’t go back into the woods again.
It took everything I had to hold Darius back from tracking you down the other night.
It’s hard to get an angry alpha under control, and even I have my limits.
” She winked before disappearing into the shadows, her rose-scented perfume lingering in the air.
The four of us stood around a loaded table, the scent of mesquite and rubbing spices filling the house. Austin and Roscoe gawked at the buffet, drooling, while Adam turned to me with a suspicious squint.
“Well well well,” he said with a sharp-toothed smirk.
“What?”
He slapped my ass hard. “I’ve done my share of favors for things, but there’s like a thousand dollars’ worth of meat here, and I know you can’t afford it.”
“Just what the hell are you insinuating—”
“Hell yeah,” Roscoe interrupted as he shifted through the paper bags. “If yer gettin’ fucked for this much free food, we gotta capitalize on that.”
“I am NOT—” I paused and shot him a disgusted glance. “Did you really suggest I whore myself out just so you can have free brisket?”
Roscoe took in a deep sniff, closing his eyes. “Brisket’s soooo good.”
My disgust turned to something more threatening.
“I’m just jokin’,” he said, nervously scratching his head. “I hid that bag after you left, so don’t get any funny ideas.”
“If you didn’t screw some werewolf chef, how did you get all this?” Austin asked, pulling out a chicken quarter and tossing it into his mouth, bone and all.
“Mosavi’s wife.”
Roscoe and Austin froze, but Adam kept rummaging through the food.
“Getting kind of chummy with the mayor, are we?” the half-turn asked jokingly as he piled food onto his plate. “What’s wrong with everyone?”
“Nothing. Let’s eat,” I said, grabbing a paper plate.
“There’s something weird going on here.” He flashed his sharper teeth for a second. “If we’re all going to be this family, don’t keep treating me like I’m on the outside.”
“I’ll talk to him,” Austin said, with an unusually compassionate tone, “after dinner.”
The werewolf’s dark, orange stare widened before turning baby blue as if waiting for my approval.
I nodded, which prompted an immediate tail-wagging response.
Part of me wished I could turn off the vironoct effect, but for whatever reason, I couldn’t with Austin.
He was either way too willing or Mosavi’s magic was permanent.
“How ‘bout you guys talk in the living room, and Cody and I’ll eat in the bedroom,” Roscoe said, balancing a ridiculously high pile of food on his flimsy paper plate.
“The food’s not going anywhere, Roscoe. You can always come back for more,” I said, handing him another plate to reinforce what he was carrying. “And we’re not eating this mess in my bed.”
“Didn’t say nothin’ about the bed.” He gave me a familiar mischievous grin before padding toward the hallway. “I got a surprise fer ya.”
“Oh fuck me,” I muttered.
Roscoe and his surprises. I followed him into the bedroom. The first thing I noticed was a curtain of hanging beads in the doorway followed by a musty smell, like cloth that had been left out in the rain and then left out in the sun—for a month.
“What. The. Hell. Did you do?” I asked, looking around the room, though most of my attention focused on an old loveseat pushed against our bedroom wall.
It was a vintage dark brown, orange, and tawny flower pattern I hadn’t seen since childhood.
The fabric was faded, and the cushions had a thin layer of what I assumed was either mildew or dirt.
There were also slight tears along the tops and sides, like they had been clawed by a housecat.
“Would you believe someone was just throwin’ this treasure away?”
“Of course I would!” I shouted, causing the larger werewolf to slink backward, his ears falling. “It’s disgusting. What the hell is wrong with you? Why do you keep bringing other peoples’ garbage into my house?”