“No,” Adam cried out. “I didn’t wantthis.”
Willa slid her finger under the chain Austin wore. “This represented something close to his broken heart, and you took that from him.” She looked back at the remorseful werewolf. “You may not have realized it at the time, but this may have damaged him more than we know.”
“Can it be undone?” I asked.
“I don’t know,” Willa responded. “This is a fusion of witchcraft and the vironoct. Adam should have never been able to use it, but when the coven took control of his body, they tapped into the power all werewolves possess.” She shook her head. “They would have never been able to do this if Adam hadn’t been willing.”
“So, it’s my fault,” Adam said, wrapping his arms around Austin who stood straight, still staring at nothing while tears fell from his eyes. “I’m sorry. Please come back.”
He didn’t respond. He didn’t even look at the smaller werewolf.
“We should get him home,” I said, both sad and furious, but this was just as much my fault as it was Adam’s. I should have taken his anger more seriously, but I’d mostly ignored him, thinking it would all go away when he transformed.
“I’ll need to discuss this with Darius. He may be able to fix what was broken, or perhaps even your friend Darryl.” She held her finger to her lips. “But let’s keep what I did here between us. I don’t want him knowing the risk I took to bring you back to safety, and I may have locked them both in the building.”
“Why would you do that?” I asked.
“They would have gone into the woods after you, and I would rather risk myself than the town. If something happened to Darius, I could not continue living. He is not only my love—he is my lifeforce.”
“He’s gonna be pissed,” I said, as Adam led his catatonic kuu mate by the hand toward the town without looking back. “I don’t know what we’re gonna do. He was so close to being okay, but now—”
“We’ll have somethin’ good to eat, and we’ll sleep on it,” Roscoe said.
“I don’t think anyone’s gonna be hungry after this.”
Roscoe slid his arm around me. “I’ll make somethin’ anyway.”
“Aw come on,” Adam shouted from his bedroom, startling Roscoe and me awake. “It’s everywhere.”
I jumped out of bed, Roscoe following. When I burst through the door into their room, the strong smell of urine hit me.
“What happened?” I asked while Adam grabbed an armful of towels from their closet. Austin was sitting up, but like last night, was unresponsive.
“He wet the bed.” Adam stood over the werewolf and snapped his fingers. “Get up, I need to get the sheets.”
Like a marionette, the blond werewolf turned and lifted himself from the damp mattress.
Roscoe hummed contemplatively as he scratched his head. “He’s still doin’ what he’s told, but ain’t doin’ nothing else. You probably gotta tell him when to go to the bathroom now.”
“Are you kidding me?” Adam asked, ripping the sheets off the bed. “How am I going to know that? He’s not saying anything.”
Roscoe shrugged. “Dunno, but you better figure it out before he takes a big steamy shit on the floor.”
Adam’s eyes widened. “Austin, go to the toilet and do your business.”
The huge werewolf cocked his head.
“Uh, I think you need to be more specific,” I said, pulling Roscoe out the door. “Make sure he’s actually on the toilet, please. I’d rather not have any surprises like that.”
Adam sighed, grabbed Austin’s hand, and led him toward the bathroom; Roscoe and I walked outside to the chairs around the pit. Darryl was already out there, stoking the fire.
“Darryl?” I asked, but he didn’t turn toward me.
“Why are you two up?” he asked, his tone licking at my ears like the angry flames he stoked.
“Austin pissed all over Adam’s bed,” Roscoe said. He normally would have laughed at such a silly statement, but not this time. The werewolf plopped down on one of the larger plastic chairs and leaned his head back, looking up at the sky. “He ain’t gonna be able to do anything anymore without Adam.”
“I want to know exactly what happened last night,” Darryl demanded as I sat.
