Page 431 of His Hungry Wolf
“Has he tried to kill you since?”
“Nah. We’ve been good. We talk a lot.”
“You guys are friends?”
Nero chuckled. “I wouldn’t say friends. But, he’s been showing me how things work. There’s a lot of things we didn’t know growing up here. It’s wild out there, man. The things you don’t know would give you nightmares,” he said with a laugh.
“So, you haven’t been hesitant to shift after the attack?”
“Hesitant? Fuck no. I’ve been shifting more since then. You can’t let those muscles weaken. You have no clue how many things will kill us if we let them.”
“So, it’s like Dr. Tom said. You think we should keep the protective barrier up?”
“Nah. That shit is the problem. It’s been keeping the wolves in this town weak. You can’t develop your sense of smell. It stopped us from creating a pack. Those are the things that protect wolves in the outside world. And believe me, we need it.”
I thought about that. It didn’t help my hesitation to shift again. But it did tell me I was on the right track about getting Dr. Tom to take down the protective barrier.
“Hey, do you remember that thing Big Mac said about the stadium being on magical ground.”
Nero snickered. “Remember it? I live with it everyday. What about it?”
“He said that, at the stadiums, it prevents football players from shifting. But do you think it could have different effects in different places?”
“The way I understand it, the magic fulfills the desires of the person who owns the land. Why you asking?”
“When I was at Lou’s place, he was telling me how his family has always been lucky. And when his grandmother’s will was read and his father inherited the estate, something about him changed. Then an hour after that, Lou’s fiancé showed up saying he felt compelled to come. Do you think Lou’s family estate could be on magical ground?”
“Did I hear my name?” Lou said entering the kitchen with Quin and Kendall.
Lou had the devilish smile he got before saying something playful. God, did I miss it. And not ready to tell him what I thought was going on with his family, I instead tested Nero’s theory about his relationship.
“Nero was just saying that you and I won’t have a chance against him and Kendall now that you’re engaged and distracted by love.
“Ha!” Lou balked. “It’s sad watching him grasp for straws, isn’t it Titus,” Lou said moving beside me. “If you think my mind is anywhere but right here,” he said slipping his arm around mine, “then you are in for a rude awakening.”
“I stand corrected,” Nero said giving me an I-told-you-so look as he took another swig of beer.
We all hung out in the kitchen laughing until Cali arrived. After that, we moved to the living room where Cage joined us. With an uneven number of people, we decided on Wavelength. It was our go-to game and always fun to play.
In our group, Cage and Quin were the super couple. They could practically read each other’s minds. Lou and I usually beat out Nero and Kendall, but it was always very close. This time we split the team into brains versus brawn.
“Football players versus nerds,” Nero said teasingly.
“So, what you’re saying is you want to lose badly,” his boyfriend replied.
“That does sound like what you’re saying,” I added. “They’re gonna murder us.”
“See. Even your teammate agrees,” Kendall said with a smile.
“It’s going to be hard to watch,” Lou joined in.
“I said football players versus nerds, and that’s what we’re doing. And, we’re gonna win.”
I hissed like I had been burned.
“I said, we’re gonna win!” Nero insisted.
We lost ten points to two.