“Blake’s the one that handles all the agreements, so go yell at him.”
I took a step back, my feet splashing in a puddle of water that was now making its way across the wood floors. “You knocked out the drywall to take care of the mold there, and now we’re going to have mold everywhere.”
“Austin was gonna replace the floor anyways,” Randall said as Austin walked back into the bathroom. “Ain’t that right, mate?”
“I was gonna do iteventually.” Austin let out a sigh. “I still haven’t finished the extra foundation around the garage.”
“I can’t handle this,” I muttered before walking out into a waterlogged hallway, the planks of wood already warping under my feet. It was seven in the morning, and I hadn’t had my coffee yet. As I walked through the house, I found everything caked in the usual white dust, the wall dividing what was once the garage and the dining room now missing.
There were used paper plates and beer bottles lying next to air mattresses strewn across the area, and the kitchen looked like a complete disaster. My coffee pot was still half-full of day-old java that no one cleaned out, and both sides of the sink had piles of grease-covered dishes and pans.
There were six werewolves living in this house, and I had lost control of the situation. As much as I tried to get ahead of the messes, a tsunami of fur, dust, grease and trash appeared faster than I could clean. I stood gazing in awe at the mess, and something inside of me finally snapped. It wasn’t anger—it was something a lot more disturbing. The room lightened to silver.
“Uh, Roscoe was gonna clean this,” Blake said. I hadn’t heard him come in from outside as the pulsing in my ears had become so loud it drowned out everything else.
The room faded back to a normal hue, and I turned toward the black werewolf with a widened expression.
“I will burn this whole place to the ground.” My voice was empty to match what I was feeling at that moment.
“We’ll get it clean, I promise!”
“I will burn this place to the ground with everyone still inside, I swear.”
“O–kay,” Blake took a step back. “You need coffee. I’ll make you a fresh pot.”
I didn’t respond. Instead, I made my way to the dining room table before sitting on the chair, looking around at the devastation. A week ago, Mosavi had insisted I live with him for a while so he could teach me elder things, but as usual, I had refused. Living with him would likely keep me on edge, but I knew now there were much worse things in life. Hell, I’d have chosen to live in the woods at the moment just to get away from all the filth and noise.
The door creaked open, and Adam trotted carelessly inside, his clawed hands covered in dirt from working in his greenhouse. Austin bought it for him using that stash of money under the porch. As he shut the door, he left a brown handprint on the wall next to it.
“Hey Cody. You mind going to the hardware store with me for some more soil? I need an extra pair of hands.”
The room turned silver again. It was getting harder to control the vironoct—every day, more fur sprouted up on my arms and legs. Was it possible to bring about the transformation through unbridled rage alone?
“Oh, you’re in a mood again,” he said, averting his eyes. “Maybe I’ll get Randall to do it.”
I remained silent. If I so much as opened my mouth, I knew what would happen. Once I started yelling, it was like Castle Bravo. Everyone seemed so happy lately, and I didn’t want to ruin what we’d spent months trying to fix.
There was little choice left. I had to leave the pack for a while.
I stood and walked over to the door, the floor in the living room now covered in the water that had made its way from thebathroom. After slipping on my wet sandals, I quietly made my way outside.
The elegant double doors opened. I had expected to see Mosavi’s butler, since he was the one that answered the intercom to let me into the estate. Instead, I was greeted by a grinning Darius, his sharp, white teeth glistening as if mocking me.
“You look a mess.”
“Thanks,” I muttered. “I wanted to ask if—” Man, this was hard. With every word, his sharp grin grew wider.
“Yes?” The way he said that made me want to punch him in the face.
“Is the offer to live here still on the table,” I said quickly.
“Hmm. I don’t know. You were quite adamant and rude about not accepting my gracious offer when I made it the first time.”
“I was wrong, okay?” I was now speaking slowly through my teeth. “I would very much appreciate it if I could stay here for a couple months.”
“I’d have to discuss this with—”
“Is that Cody?” Willa’s voice echoed excitedly from inside the foyer as she descended the stairs.
