“No,” he replied. “It’s a pretty night, and I wanted to make a fire.”
“Okay…”
“Austin said he’d come out, but he never did.” He shifted one of the flaming logs, letting it fall against another one, sending tiny orange embers fluttering through the air before they disappeared into the blackness. “I wish I could make him do stuff like you can. Maybe I can convince Mosavi to let me in on this big secret.”
“What exactly did Austin tell you?”
“Not much. He wasn’t making sense, but apparently, you’re alpha now.” He flashed me a lascivious glance. “You’ve really changed since we got here.”
“Well, yeah. I’m getting hairier.”
“That’s not what I mean. You’re just… different. I can’t explain it. You walk around like you own the world, and Roscoe and Austin do anything you say. I’m the one that has to beg for attention now.” He looked back up at me, and while he smiled, his eyes shimmered. “It’s like you’re sucking away all the air in the room, and you’re not even trying.”
I wanted to reply, but instead, I stared at the fire.
“Go ahead and brag now,” Adam snapped. “You’ve won.”
“This is my fault. I’ve been trying to push you guys closer together so that you both don’t move away after you turn.”
The furry half-turn’s face softened in the flickering glow.
“Wait. I thought you didn’t want us here? I thought you couldn’t wait to get us out of your hair, especially since I put you in animpossible situation without talking to you first.”
“I still stand by that, but I love having both of you here. You’re like family, and family can be annoying, but it’s hard to picture this place without you guys.”
“Then teach me,” Adam insisted.
“Teach you what?”
“If you don’t want Austin and me to leave each other, then teach me what you did to get him to listen to you. Darryl can do the same thing but won’t let me in on the secret. He said it’s none of my business, and that it was stupid of me to try. He apologized for what he said when I went with Roscoe to visit him, but I still think about it, and it pisses me off.”
“He probably told you that because forcing someone to obey you doesn’t exactly make for a healthy relationship.”
“And you think it’s healthy now?”
I let out a frustrated sigh. “Adam, I don’t understand what I did. Mosavi never explained it, and he’s kind of forcing me into doing things I don’t feel comfortable doing. I think his wife might be more helpful though.”
“Perfect,” he said, shooting up from the lawn chair. “Can you take me to her tomorrow?”
“I didn’t mean we should go asking her how to control werewolves.”
“Then I’m gone once I shift and the kuu breaks. There are a lot of werewolves out there that would love to have me—”
“As a half-turn, yes. Do you think you’ll have the same luck as a full werewolf?”
“Are you saying that werewolves aren’t interested in other werewolves?” He crossed his arms. “Because that’s bullshit.”
“I’m saying, I don’t know if you’re going to have the same mass appeal you do now. I don’t know enough about any of this, but I do know that turning Austin into a thrall isn’t going to make either of you happy.”
“He sure seems happy when he’s obeying you.”
“Is he really happy, or is that just some fucked-up side effect from what Mosavi did to him? I’m hoping this isn’t a permanent thing, and if it does wear off, I’m not doing it again. Austin’s got a lot of problems.” I shook my head. “I can’t force him to open up to you. He’s gotta make that choice, and he’ll only do it if he feels comfortable talking to you.”
“So he feels more comfortable talking to you,” Adam muttered. “He tells you stuff he won’t tell me, and you still want us to be together?”
“You know why he tells me stuff? Because when he’s a traumatized mess, I don’t tell him to stop bumming me out.”
“Are you saying this is my fault?”
