Chapter 23 #2
Adam lay on top of Austin with his eyes closed and a comfortable smile in place of his usual discomfort. The scene had me scrambling for my phone so I could snap a picture. The flash went off and a shutter sound woke Adam as he gently pulled away, careful not to wake his kuu mate.
“You’re a light sleeper,” I whispered, motioning to the hallway. “Wanna sit outside?”
Adam nodded and tiptoed behind me until we passed my bedroom.
Roscoe was also taking a nap with the windows open.
Fresh air and pine replaced the musty smell that usually overpowered this part of the house.
What universe had I just fallen into? Mosavi wasn’t behaving like a psychopath, Austin and Adam were getting along, and Roscoe had actually cleaned something.
If this was a dream, I’d be happy to never wake up again.
We stepped outside, and I gently closed the door behind me.
“It’s a pretty day,” I said, following the other half-turn to the fire pit and sitting across from him. “This town may be creepy sometimes, but this area sure is quiet.”
“Cut the shit,” Adam muttered. “Austin’s eyes were blue when we were in the bedroom. They turn blue when you tell him to do something. I want to know if any of this is real, or if you’re doing something fucky again.”
“Were his eyes blue when he was holding you?”
“Well, no. But they are most of the time. I get this feeling everyone’s doing what they’re doing out of pity.” He glared at me. “Or guilt.”
“Didn’t you guys talk?”
“Making small talk about the weather and asking me how I’m feeling isn’t exactly talking,” he said with a sigh. “But it’s better than nothing, I guess.”
“Give him some time, and he’ll open up.”
“Like he opened up to you?” Adam leaned in, staring wide-eyed at me. Even though we’d talked about this many times, he was never going to let it go. “You seem like you know more about him than anyone. He’s obviously fallen in love with you.”
“Not exactly,” I said, turning away. “I don’t know how many times I have to go over this.
He’s got a lot of issues he’s trying to work through, and you know he won’t talk to a shrink, so I’ve been trying to help him the best I can.
I don’t think he’s in love with me, but we do have a weird thing going on. ”
“I knew it!” Adam shouted.
“No, you don’t,” I said calmly. “It’s nothing like what you’re thinking. That night, Mosavi did something to Austin, which I think was an indirect lesson for me. It changed everything. Austin’s become dependent on—”
“Magic?” Adam interrupted, raising an eyebrow and leaning closer.
“Yeah, but that’s only part of it. Once you guys talk about this, you’ll understand—maybe. It’s weird, but I don’t want to judge.”
Adam folded his arms.
“Okay, I don’t judge all the time.” I sighed. There was no point in making this conversation easily digestible, especially to Adam. “You know what? Fuck it. Austin likes to be told what to do. I’m not going to get into the details, but this could be something you could use.”
“So you’re going to teach me how to do it?” His little tail wagged behind him.
“Do what? Tell him what to do? You can do that yourself.”
“You know what I’m talking about. I want to know how to make his eyes turn blue. You said he likes that, right?”
“Adam, this is a kink of his—I think. You can do this without the other stuff. He wants someone to take control.”
“How the hell is a five-foot-eight half-turn supposed to ‘take control’ of a nine-foot monster?” Adam rolled his eyes. “Plus, nothing’s going to ruin the moment faster than him being all submissive and whiny.”
“Get creative. Put a collar on him and command him to be an aggressive service top—or whatever. See what happens.”
He seemed to give that some serious thought, leaning forward and rubbing the side of his head. “It’s been nice. He’s attentive and gentle, and when you tell him what to do, he’s rough and wild, but he’s not sadistic like he used to be. I want him to be like that because of me, not because of you.”
“That’s why I told him after you turn, I’m not doing it anymore.”
“The only way he’ll get in the mood is if you do that magic shit to him.” He examined his arms and the thin layer of black fur covering them. “Am I that unattractive now?”
“Stop. We’ve been through this how many times now?”
“My kuu mate doesn’t want me,” he muttered. “He’s the only one I want right now. I talk a big game, but lately I haven’t wanted to be with anyone else. I need him to want me. I feel like my body is screaming, and I need him.”
“I wish I could tell you that he’ll be receptive without my help, but I don’t know what the fuck I’m doing. Let’s just get you through the change first, and then you both can work on yourselves after.”
“And what happens if this doesn’t go away? Do you plan on shouting commands at him for the rest of his life? Do you know how fucked up that would be?”
“Maybe Mosavi or his wife will know what to do. I’ll go to them tomorrow and ask.”
“It really is the least you could do,” Adam said, his posture stiff as he chewed on his lower lip. “Since you won’t teach me.”
“Adam, for fuck’s sake—”
“And I guess I should thank you for using your powers for good and not evil,” he interrupted, seeming a little less annoyed.
“I think he’s really trying, and he does care about you. When I told him you were in pain, he panicked and ran inside.”
“You really need to stop lying for him.”
“This time I’m telling the truth. Just be there for him, and he’ll be there for you.” I stood up and pushed the chair back. “I’m going to properly reward Roscoe for cleaning. Let me know if you start feeling those urges, and I’ll do my thing, okay?”
“I’m not going to get over how weird this is, but this has been Darryl-level sex. I never thought I’d say that in a million years.”
“Is Darryl really that good?”
“Out of everyone I’ve been with, no one ever came close to Darryl—except blue-eyed Austin.” He let out an annoyed sigh. “And that one time I was with Roscoe. Goddamn it, Roscoe was really good, but I’m not counting that!”
That gave me an odd sense of pride. “I might have to pay that beach wolf another visit some time,” I said jokingly, but Adam’s eyes lit up. “What?”
“Roscoe didn’t tell you?”
“Tell me what?”
“Darryl’s coming up here for a few days on Halloween.”
“Why the hell am I just hearing about this now? That’s in three weeks!”
“I don’t know. Go yell at Roscoe about it,” he responded, waving me off with the back of his hand.
I turned toward the back door, but when I opened it, I gave Adam one last glance.
“Adam?”
He didn’t respond, just stared at the woods.
“Hello?”
“What?” he asked, finally looking back.
“Just thought I’d say I’m really sorry about the other day. I didn’t mean what I said.”
“Yes, you did, but apology accepted anyway.”
“You know we need to stop doing this, right? It seems like every other day we’re having to apologize to each other.”
Adam smiled. “Yeah, well, we’re just really different people. The fact that we’re still friends at all is kind of a miracle.”
The metal frame of the bed bent as Roscoe tried to move his arms, but the restraints didn’t break. They had come from Mosavi’s black bag, and Roscoe had intentionally left them lying on the floor in the closet.
He howled as I rocked my hips slowly, not giving him time to recover.
This always felt so good, and Roscoe’s slight gut was a little softer than the rest of him, which made this feel even better.
Thinking back on when I was human, I’d have never dated a guy with Roscoe’s body type.
With werewolves, though, it definitely worked in their favor.
“Ready for round four?”
“Babe, I don’t got nothin’ left.”
“We’ll see,” I said, leaning in to kiss him when the bedroom door slammed open.
“Adam’s gone,” Austin said, his tone frantic.
“What?”
“I thought he was in the backyard, but I can’t find him. I can’t even find his scent.”
I hopped off Roscoe and grabbed the keys to let him out.
“He’s probably downtown.” Roscoe rubbed his wrists. “He likes that bar.”
“I checked. No one’s seen him.”
“Maybe he went out in the woods.” Roscoe scooted out of bed and grabbed his hoodie from the closet. I threw on the clothes I’d discarded earlier. “I’ll go out there and check.”
“He was looking at the woods earlier.” I leaned in to whisper in Roscoe’s ear. “You don’t think—”
“They don’t really mess with half-turns,” he replied, grabbing a few of the enchanted stones from the dresser. “I’m sure he’s fine. Probably havin’ some fun with the ferals.”
“He’s out there all alone,” Austin said, frantic, starting to tear up. “What if he’s lost?”
Noting the other werewolf’s distress, Roscoe patted him on the back. “He’s a half-turn. He’s in his element. Trust me, you ain’t got nothin’ to worry about.”
As Austin and Roscoe hurried to the back door, the front door opened and Adam strutted inside before noticing the frantic mood.
“What’s going on?” Adam asked. “ Did something happen?”
“We were gonna go look for you,” Austin said. “Where the hell have you been?”
“I just took a walk. Calm down.” He threw his coat on the stand and made his way to the couch with a slight skip in his step. “Wait, were you actually worried?”
“Well, you left without saying anything,” I said. “And Austin was looking for you in town.”
“Everyone in this house leaves without saying anything,” he rebutted before flipping on the television. “Come sit with me, Austin.”
“Don’t really wanna watch TV,” he said before walking into the kitchen.
“Sit with me now! That’s an order,” he shouted. Austin’s ears stood straight, and his tail swayed a bit.
“Yes sir,” he said with a confused upward inflection before taking his place next to Adam.
“We’ll uh, give you guys some privacy,” Roscoe said, pulling me back into the bedroom before shutting the door. “That scared the piss outta me. Is everyone gonna start shouting orders at the guy now?”
“I honestly didn’t expect him to do that,” I said, turning the knob on Roscoe’s old TV. “Wanna watch a movie?”
“Hell yeah! Whatcha in the mood for?”
“I don’t know. You pick. I’ll probably end up falling asleep anyway,” I said plopping down on the old couch. “This thing smells so much better.”
“Just wait until we start havin’ some fun on it.”
“I’m not having sex on this thing.” I gave it a second thought. With how heavy Roscoe was, there was a really good chance he’d end up breaking it. “Actually, let’s do it. Right now.”
Roscoe’s eyes narrowed as he slipped a VHS tape out of its cover.
“What? You told me to loosen up, remember?”
“Since when do you listen to me? Yer up to something.” In a panic, he looked around the room. “You found the bag, didn’t you?”
“Maybe,” I said, hoping he’d get worked up enough to lead me to its location.
Sure enough, Roscoe darted out of the bedroom, and I crept into the hallway only to run into him around the corner.
“Nice try. I may be stupid, but I ain’t that stupid.”
Later that night
Austin cracked open our bedroom door and peeked inside
“Cody, I need you,” he whispered, looking back toward his bedroom. “Adam’s waiting.”
I carefully stood from the couch and followed the large werewolf into the bathroom.
“I thought Adam—”
“It doesn’t work like it does with you,” he said, slipping his fatigues off. “Just give me the order. He thinks what he did worked, and that I’m getting ready in the bathroom.”
“All right. I—”
The door opened, and a disappointed Adam stood on the other side.
“I thought so,” he muttered. “Hurry up.” Adam looked at the floor before walking away.
“This is it, Austin. I mean it this time,” I said, pulling Austin’s chest mane until he was eye level. “Go make love to your kuu mate,” I said, the bathroom light turning silver as Austin’s eyes lightened to blue.
“Yes sir.”
As he ran out of the bathroom, I turned toward the mirror. Was this really helping them? That look on Adam’s face broke me a little, and I felt even more like a piece of shit. Austin was still dependent on the vironoct, and there was nothing anyone could do.
This was my canary in the coal mine. Today, he would need me for a quick fix in order to get in the mood, but like with any addiction, one day he might need more. Mosavi might have had a point, and I didn’t want to find this out the hard way.
My eyes wouldn’t fade back to their original color like they usually did; instead, the half-turn staring back at me had an almost malicious look to him. The room faded until my reflection was all I could see.
You want to be him, don’t you?
Willa’s words echoed in my mind as my reflection began to morph like it had when she’d handed me her enchanted mirror.
I grew muscular and refined until I was barely recognizable.
My body grew taller as the visage morphed into a formidable werewolf wearing a black expensive suit.
The way I held myself seemed larger than life, but my eyes were empty as though the facade could shatter at any moment.
My irises finally dimmed to their normal color, and the reflection rippled until it was back to normal. This wasn’t some hallucination—it was a warning. I could have everything I want but it would cost me my soul. I turned away to catch my breath before hobbling back into the room.
“Let’s go to bed,” I whispered, pulling at Roscoe.
“This couch is so comfortable,” he said, standing and stretching before turning off the television. “Aren’t you glad I found it?”
“We should really have sex on it.” I crawled into bed, waiting for Roscoe to hop in next to me, but he stood still and his ears rotated toward the hallway. “What?”
“They never sound right when they’re doin’ it,” Roscoe said before slipping next to me. “You did that thing again to him, didn’t you?”
“Adam needs Austin, and Austin needs me. What can I do?”
“I just hope you know what yer doing.” He wrapped me in his arms and pulled me close.
“I don’t.” I let out a sigh and looked back at him. “I might need Mosavi’s help. There’s something wrong with me.”