Chapter 29
Lazy Day
“Thanks for rescuin’ me,” Roscoe mumbled with half of a pulled-pork sandwich in his mouth. The weather was beautiful and clear, but the air had a harsh bite to it when the wind picked up. Still, everyone insisted on sitting outside. Since I was the only one without any fur, I wore a few layers.
“You’re lucky I’m good at what I do,” I replied, suggestively wiping the barbeque sauce from my lips.
Roscoe stopped chewing. “You sucked both of ‘em off at the same time?”
“Sure did. You owe me now.”
“Austin, eat your brisket,” Adam said, taking a bite of a burger. The werewolf did as instructed, tears still lingering in his eyes. It was strange behavior because he didn’t seem to be crying, but the tears never stopped. “I’m having a hard time believing any of what you just said.”
“I’ll have you know, my oral skills are legendary.”
A black Mercedes pulled up along the curb, and Willa emerged from the back.
Roscoe and I grew tense as we waited for Mosavi to join her, but the car pulled away instead.
A gust of wind kicked up fallen leaves on the sidewalk, tousling her straightened hair while nearly lifting her surprisingly cheerful mauve dress.
“It’s my favorite half-turn,” she said, seeming genuinely surprised to see me, even though we’d been coming here more often lately. “It’s a gorgeous day.”
“Where is everybody?” I asked, noting the empty tables around the patio. Austin’s head hit his empty plate, and he began snoring.
“Still asleep. I’m surprised you werewolves have the strength to be out and about.”
“I feel fine,” Adam said, poking Austin, but the werewolf didn’t react.
“I’m exhausted,” Darryl muttered. “How long does this last? I don’t wanna feel like shit the entire trip back home tomorrow.”
“Barely a day.” Willa hiked her dress and climbed over the bench, sitting next to me. She eyed Roscoe, who was still furiously stuffing his face in between yawns. “What a healthy appetite.”
“Why’s everyone so exhausted?” Adam asked.
“The ward I used last night drains a bit of energy from each werewolf to keep the witches away. It merely feels like a mild hangover.”
Roscoe’s head drooped mid-chew before jerking back up again.
“Why don’t you make yourself some hair of the dog, Roscoe?” Darryl flicked a potato wedge at the older werewolf’s face. “It’ll wake ya right up,” he continued, mocking Roscoe’s accent.
Roscoe snatched the wedge and popped it into his mouth. “Don’t waste food.”
“Darius told me to stop off at the station and let Roscoe out, but he mysteriously vanished.” She turned to me. “No one knew he was even there to begin with.”
My face grew hot as I felt the others’ eyes on me.
“Legendary blowjobs. Right,” Adam said smugly, lifting Austin’s head before sliding the dinner plate out from under him.
“Okay fine. I did a little vironoct manipulation.” I punched Roscoe’s arm. “Stop antagonizing the mayor. Dumbass.”
“How is Austin?” Willa asked, her demeanor growing more serious.
“He’s still not able to go to the bathroom on his own,” Adam responded, petting his sleeping kuu mate’s head. “I’m such an awful person.”
I shook my head. “If you were, you would have left him like that instead of taking care of him.”
“But I don’t want to take care of him, and that’s why I feel terrible.” He folded his arms on the table and rested his head. “I’m a werewolf now, but I can’t even enjoy it.”
“He might be able to do basic tasks on his own as soon as the drain wears off,” Willa said. “But he’ll still not be able to do much more than that without you. Darius mentioned you were going to pursue a wilder alternative to curing Austin.”
“And I bet he sent you here to talk us out of it,” Darryl said.
“He did, but I don’t agree with my husband all the time.
The truth is this magic isn’t binary. There are many ways to tap into it, and the one who knows everything about elder magic would be the very being responsible for it.
” Willa paused. “But summoning a prince of hell to get those answers would be a rather bad idea.”
“What do you think about the ferals?” I asked. “We’ve had a few encounters, but we still don’t know much about them.”
“That’s outside of my knowledge as well, I’m afraid.
Everything I do for Austin from here on out will only be temporary.
The magic Adam used should have never had this effect, even with the corrupting influence of the coven.
Magic was the catalyst but not the cause of all of it, nor will it be the solution.
Austin has locked himself behind his own source of power, and he refuses to resurface, so no amount of therapy will work either.
” She sighed and reached across the table to rub the sleeping werewolf’s ears.
“This is beyond anything we know, but I’m not ruling out the ferals. There’s also the risk to think about.”
“We know how to ward against those witches,” I said. “The ferals gave us those stones I used last night.”
“The witches aren’t the risk. If Austin stays too long, he’ll become feral and won’t return.
There’s also a chance that whatever pack finds him out there will prevent him from going back.
Not only that, werewolves feel at home in the woods, more so than they do in civilization.
If Austin is reluctant to break through this spell, it might be impossible for him to come back once he’s out there and can forget his past.”
“They can do that?” I glanced at Roscoe who had fallen asleep sitting up, drool dripping from his hanging tongue. “Can they actually make you forget your past?”
“It’s very common, and it’s why ferals rarely return.
The moment they come back to their old life, there’s always an emptiness that can never be filled.
They would never fully adjust to life in the town, but I don’t think that’s necessarily a bad thing.
They keep the coven from becoming too unruly with their own unique knowledge.
It’s why I’m not averse to you seeking them out, but it will be up to you all whether you want to take the risk. He’s your packmate.”
“Would he be happier out there for good?” Adam asked.
We all turned toward him in unison, Darryl and me shooting him glares.
“Maybe it wouldn’t be such a bad thing to leave him with the ferals,” he continued.
“This isn’t a get out of jail free card, Adam,” Darryl said. “You won’t be able to just leave him out there.”
“Why’s that?” he asked.
“You’re a werewolf now, and you get all of the weird shit that comes along with it.” Darryl yawned again, barely able to keep his eyes open. “If you do decide to dump him there, Austin’s gonna have to be aware enough to agree to leave the pack, or he’ll just follow you back home.”
“Do you still really want to leave him?” I asked. “I know you planned on it before, but you guys seemed to be getting closer lately.”
“I don’t know what I want anymore.” Adam’s ears fell. “I just want to be happy. I don’t think I’ve ever felt happy.”
“Then this might be good for you and Austin in the long run, if this all works out,” Willa said. “You both may learn new ways to cope with your problems.”
“No way,” Adam said. “I’m not going out there. What if they don’t let me come back?”
“I’d take him, but he’s not listening to me anymore,” I said. “You’re the only one that can do it.”
“But—”
“Or have a mindless werewolf following you every minute of every day, for the rest of your life,” Darryl interrupted, his tone growing more impatient. “You decide.”
“You don’t need to decide right now,” Willa said. “Give it time and see if the problem resolves itself.”
Adam averted eye contact, his posture submissive. When he’d been a half-turn, it had been hard to pick up on his feelings, but now his emotions were much harder to hide.
Darryl’s scornful gaze softened, and he wrapped one arm around Adam, pulling him close.
“Maybe I’ve been too hard on you. Sorry,” he said softly, rocking the smaller werewolf from side to side. “We all fuck up, and we’ll keep fucking up for the rest of our lives. You seem like you don’t care, but I know you do.”
Adam didn’t respond, laying his head against Darryl’s chest with his eyes closed.
I stood and stretched before shaking Roscoe awake. “Let’s go home.”
The Next Day
Darryl’s ride pulled into the driveway, and the werewolf slipped a burly arm through one of the straps of his bag while holding his guitar case.
“I wish you could stay,” I said, wrapping my arms around him.
“And I wish you guys would move back to the beach. Being away from the ocean is stressing me out.”
“You have been a tightass lately. Kinda wish you would go back to being a beach bum that gets high all the time,” Roscoe said, smooshing me between him and Darryl. “Is Adam gonna say goodbye?”
“We had a long talk last night, and it’s going to be rough for a while.” Darryl pulled away and stepped out onto the porch, nodding to me. “You’re gonna need to give him some extra attention.”
“He’s really upset with me, isn’t he?”
“Kind of, but you guys will get through it. When he wakes up, I think the two of you should go somewhere to talk alone.” Darryl rubbed his hands together as he turned toward the car.
“The first thing I’m gonna do when I get back is get stoned and lay on the beach—and maybe wreck some human’s ass. We’ll see how the day goes.”
“Call us when you get there,” I said, giving Darryl one last hug.
“I will.”
The werewolf trotted across the yard, then tossed his bags and guitar case in the backseat before opening the SUV’s passenger side. He gave the man driving a flirty smile before saying something I couldn’t hear. The human’s eyes widened when Darryl shut the door.
“Hope he’s got lube in his bags,” Roscoe said, standing next to me.
“I’m sure Darryl doesn’t fuck everyone he meets.”