Using the keys he pulled from his pocket, he unlocked the door and pushed it open. When he turned back around, thickfur covered his human face. “I am not asking for the impossible. Simply keep your pack in check, and if you cannot do that, I will need to explore more intrusive options.” Without another word, he stepped inside and closed the door.
As I turned away, a loud rip pulled my attention.
“Shit! My new suit!” he shouted from inside.
I couldn’t help but laugh at the bit of karma.
Mechanical noises whirred from the closed-off garage as I approached the house. Austin had spent most of his time there, and while it was nice he’d found something to keep him occupied, that much isolation couldn’t have been good for him.
The mayor’s warning was still fresh, despite the unintentionally hilarious way the meeting ended. As I walked into the house, I was greeted by a suspicious scene. Adam and Roscoe were sitting together at the dining room table, laughing.
“Welcome home, buddy,” Adam said, his expression infuriatingly sly—or was it content? Either way, I could feel my anger reaching the boiling point.
“What’s going on?”
Roscoe held up a bottle of water. “Had to rehydrate.”
I turned to Adam and wrinkled my nose. “You… actually let him do that? God, you’re disgusting. You’re all disgusting!”
“Why are you making a big deal about it? It was nice to just get fucked the right way for a change.”
“What?” I flushed as blood angrily pulsed in my ears. “What do you mean, fucked?”
Roscoe’s ears fell as he rubbed the back of his head. “Well, you see… the pee stuff kinda works better with you, ‘cause you don’t enjoy it.”
“I hate you both,” I muttered before stomping into the kitchen to put the bag of coffee beans in the cabinet.
Roscoe jumped up from his chair and shuffled behind me. “Ooo,” he said, sniffing the air. “Those smell good.”
“Don’t touch my beans.” I slapped him away. “And don’t touch me either.”
“He was too into it, so I didn’t go all the way with the original script,” Roscoe whispered in my ear. “They didn’t like him as much as they liked you.”
“If that’s supposed to make me feel better, it doesn’t.” I shut the cabinet door as a sheet of paper slowly slid in front of me on the counter. It had a lopsided drawing of a werewolf with big, teary eyes holding a heart out with the word ‘Sowwy’ written on it.
“I’m quite the arteest.”
“You’re quite the asshole.” I picked up the paper and examined it before folding it neatly into my pocket. “You gave yourself abs. Now that’s hilarious.”
Roscoe sniffed me and backed away. “Kinda expected you to smell like sex.”
“You really don’t know me, do you?”
“Shit. I’d have done it if I was alone with that guy.”
I turned around and folded my arms. “When I read about the elders in Darryl’s book, I thought they would be these gross, ratty-looking wolfmen that could barely walk. That guy has to be at least two hundred years old, and he could probably take Austin like he’s nothing.”
“Oh, he definitely could,” Roscoe replied. “They ain’t considered alphas for nothing. When we get older, we get stronger and smarter.”
“I guess you’re the exception?”
Roscoe smiled. “See? This is why we work. I do shit that pisses you off, and you throw insults.”
“What are you guys doing in there?” Adam called out from the living room in a teasing tone. “Is Roscoe talking about how amazing I was?”
“He’s just bein’ a kid. Don’t tell him what I said about people liking you more,” Roscoe whispered.
“Yeah. You were amazing, Adam. Congrats,” I said loud enough so Adam could hear before lowering my voice again. “I’ve got some bad news.”
