Will wondered who these two were.One was blond and green-eyed, the other was taller and had nearly black hair, his eyes a shimmering blue.Not the sharp blue of Peter’s eyes, but still nice enough.
I used to like blue eyes, didn’t I?I guess I still do.
Will cleared his throat and pushed the mouse away from him as he stood.“I guess I found his secret.”
Maybe it was just a hobby the vampire had.Maybe it was a fan thing, and those guys were actors in some TV show Will didn’t know.He’d not been allowed to watch or stream anything he wanted to with the loups-garous, and he had no idea what was popular right now.
Will’s stomach growled.He decided that art stuff was super weird and a little upsetting, but not a reason to run, so he left the basement and went back upstairs.Peter had probably been embarrassed about his…unusual pastime.Maybe he was even lonely.Maybe he’d want to keep Will around for some company.
Maybe, if I don’t get in his way, I can be like a…houseboy?That wouldn’t be so bad, maybe?I just have to do what he tells me to.
Will turned off the light and closed the basement door behind himself.It was later in the afternoon by now.He looked at the note and money in his hand again.The store wasn’t that far.Peter would never have to know.
Just twenty minutes, max.
Instead of the whole trip taking twenty minutes, Will spent that long just looking at all the stuff on the shelves.
The store had made that easy.There was a large selection of nuts and seeds, nut and seed butters, high-end ice creams in the freezers, and beautifully presented ready-to-heat meals in the fridges.There was chocolate from Belgium and large grapes that looked like candy.
The money was in his pocket.Seeing all the food and the premade lunches, Will wanted to get everything, lock himself in the bedroom Peter had put him in, and wolf it all down.But he knew that would be stupid, so he couldn’t decide what to get.He didn’t want to spend too much in case he made Peter think he was a freeloader.In the end, he chose three granola bars: cherry, apricot, and walnut.
The interaction with the cashier was daunting, and Will stuck with what he knew was safe:thanks, fine, here you go, thanks, bye.He felt so guilty for spending Peter’s money.Part of him really wanted to spend Peter’s money, seeing as how it was obvious that the vampire wasn’t hurting for it, but Will couldn’t get those two sides of himself to find a middle ground.In the end, it left him feeling both anxious and guilty.
He left the freshly squeezed orange juice and patchouli smell of the organic store behind and walked out on the street, his three granola bars clutched tightly in a paper bag.He hadn’t even quite reached the corner when his wolf screamed at him in terror.
Will froze.He looked over his shoulder.Sure enough, Ed was jogging toward him, avoiding other pedestrians so as not to cause a scene.
For a heartbeat, Will thought he was mistaken about this being Ed, but he wasn’t.Fear kicked in, survival instinct, and Will ran, his heartbeat drowning the sound of his feet hitting the pavement.He breathed hard, lungs heaving from the panic and the need to get away both.If he stuck to where people were, Ed wouldn’t be able to shift, and if he stayed in his human form, he wouldn’t necessarily be able to catch Will.
He took two corners at a dead run, then realized he hadn’t been paying close attention to where he’d been running.
Shit shit shit shit—the houses look familiar.I’m still close.I can getback.Will stopped, turning west toward the setting sun.He came to an alley with trees on either side.Where’s the house?Shit, where is the house?
Will sniffed the air.Right.His gut told him right, and for all the things Will sucked at, he was good with directions.
He cleared the alley and went right, hearing the echoes of Ed’s footfalls behind him.Will was doing his best to keep to where people were still out and about.
“Do not make me come and get you, boy!”Ed yelled.
Will didn’t react, but the voice, that voice… Will took a left without thinking, and it led him to another alley that was both lonely and a dead end.
Shit!
There was nothing he could do but scale a tall wooden fence and pray he didn’t end up nose to nose with some angry neighbor.Will sprinted to the fence and reached for the top.
Just as he pulled himself up and over it, Ed rounded the corner.“I’ll make you pay for this, you little bitch,” Ed said, his voice dripping with anticipation.
Will’s fingers almost gave out when he heard those words in that voice.
“Fuck you, fuck you.”
Will couldn’t say it loudly—it seemed a physical impossibility—but at least he’d said it.He still could do that.
With more effort than it should have taken, Will cleared the fence.There was a dog in the garden, and it barked in surprise at Will’s presence.
Few dogs minded a werewolf though, and this one wasn’t one of the few.Will ran past the animal, hearing a woman’s scream as he passed.
Will couldn’t stop for that.He ran across the neat lawn and through a flower bed, crushing a bunch of primroses under his shoes as he jumped the next fence.
