“Because—” He paused again, stumbling over his words. “Because that’s what we’ve been told.”
“Have you actually seen any of these places? Do you know anyone who’s reached the end of the contract?”
“No, I guess not,” he muttered. “You think it’s all a lie?”
“I don’t know what to think anymore. Just some of the shit Mosavi said makes me wonder. He mentioned kuu-bound werewolves being easier to control. You were passed out drunk, so you didn’t hear it, but that’s been bothering me a lot.” I unclasped one of the golden hoop earrings, and it came out effortlessly. “These don’t work on me, by the way.”
“Whoa! Shit, Cody you broke our kuu?” His wide eyes teared up.
“No. It never worked to begin with. Whatever makes me different nullifies this stuff.” I quickly put the earring back in before the hole closed. “They’ve grown on me, though.”
“That’s cause you look good in ‘em.” Roscoe’s sad eyes turned squinty when a smile pinched the sides of his maw. “So this whole time we weren’t kuu-bonded, but you stayed anyway.”
I slipped my arms around him. “I guess I did. You’re just too damn comfortable, even if you are a slob.” I pushed him away. “That feral elder in the woods was the only one that didn’t seem to have some kind of agenda. When I was around him, I was more comfortable than when I was around Mosavi or his wife.”
“Ooo, I meant to ask. What was she like?” he asked, picking up another potato.
“She’s definitely a witch—I think.”
Roscoe fumbled as he sliced, letting the knife fall into the bowl.
“What makes you think that?”
“A feeling,” I responded. “There’s weird shit going on in the woods now, too. The confusing thing is, she warned me not to go out there because of the witches. If she’s a witch herself, she’s either a good one who protects werewolves from other witches, or she’s really greedy. Both explanations would make sense seeing how Norwich has such a huge werewolf population.”
“If yer right, the mayor ain’t the one running the town. Witches are bad news, man.”
“‘I’m still not one hundred percent sure.” I looked back up at Roscoe. “You know something, don’t you?”
He scratched his head. “I wish I could remember. Don’t know why I’m so scared of ‘em, but I know something happened when I was younger. It wasn’t good though.”
The bathroom door opened, and Austin crept into the dining room, his eyes wide as he stared at me.
“I need you to… do that thing you do.”
“What?” I asked as he got closer to the table.
“I can’t get in the mood, and Adam’s waiting for me.”
“Ain’t never seen that happen before,” Roscoe said. “I bet I can get it nice and hard for ya.”
“That’s a good way for you to die,” he muttered before turning back to me. “I tried everything.Youknow what I need.”
“All right. Fine.” I stood and pointed to the bedroom. “Get in there and fuck your mate, soldier!”
Austin stood still, his eyes not changing color like they usually did when I gave him a command.
“Uh oh,” he said.
“I don’t know how to do this on the fly,” I said, trying to stare directly into his yellow eyes. It seemed Mosavi’s vironoct effect had worn off. “Do you feel any different?”
“No,” he whispered. “Try slapping me around.”
“What the fuck?” Roscoe asked. “Did I miss something really funny?”
“You could say that,” I said, shakily gripping the back of Austin’s neck as he got down on one knee. “This doesn’t feel right.”
Austin turned to Roscoe. “Can you fuck my kuu mate?”
