It wasn’t exactly a mystery whose claw marks those were.
I made a few creaky paces through the bedroom and sat on the mattress, giving him a light shake.
“Hey.”
Adam groaned and turned away before falling back to sleep.
“Wake up,” I said a little louder.
“Go away. I’m tired.”
“It’s my bed. I’ll do what I want.”
I climbed up and began jumping in an attempt to annoy him, but the cheap mattress was springier than I had anticipated. The force launched Adam about four feet into the air, and he shouted a curse word before coming to a hard rest on the floor.
“Oh my God! Are you okay?”
Adam moaned at first before the fur on his neck stuck straight out.
“Okay, I know you’re pissed, but hear me out,” I said, reaching down to help him off the floor.
Adam slapped my hand away. “Does it look like I’m in the mood to play around?”
“Does it ever?”
He glared at me, now sitting cross-legged on the floor.
“Did he hurt you?”
“He always hurts me,” Adam said. “This is not news, Cody.”
“All right, we need to do something about him, especially if he’s physically abusing you.”
Adam sighed. “He’s not. He may be a monster, but he has his limits.” He rubbed the bump on his head from the hard landing earlier. “It’s weird. He always seems like he’s going to cross that line, but he never does. He just likes to emotionally torment me.”
“What happened?”
“Same shit, just in a new place. If I don’t turn soon, I’m gonna break my kuu. I don’t care about the future anymore because I can’t keep living like this. What’s more infuriating is he pretends to be somewhat decent toward me around you guys, but the moment you leave, he starts treating me like his chew toy.”
“Roscoe’s talking to him now.”
“He’s gonna get creamed if he pisses Austin off.”
I shrugged. “Well, good thing werewolves heal fast then.”
“Is it possible to hate and love someone at the same time?” Adam asked.
“I don’t know. I would think not.”
“Then I guess I’m an anomaly.” He lifted his clawed hands in front of his face. “I want to wrap these around his neck sometimes. Darryl told me something a while ago that stuck with me. It made a lot of sense.”
“What’s that?”
Adam grinned. “Austin took on a role he wasn’t meant for, and it makes him miserable. He wants to be this alpha male, but he knows he can’t live up to that. So he overcompensates by picking fights with people for no reason. Darryl, though. He’s a natural leader, and he makes people feel safe, not intimidated. That’s what a real alpha is, and it pisses Austin off because he knows he could never be like that. So he makes me feel smaller so he can keep feeling big.”
“Wouldyouactually feel comfortable taking up that role?”
Adam climbed to his feet and sat next to me on the bed. “Right now? No. Darryl told me I’d know my role in werewolf society when I was close to going full-turn.” His gaze went from sad to intense as he spoke. “I think it’s gonna happen soon. I’ve never been more ready, but I’ve also never been sadder.”
