An icy breeze sent a shiver through me, and I blinked awake to discover I was back home in an empty bed. A window-shaped beam of golden light sat low on the wall, leafy shadows trembling inside of it. The maple scent of breakfast lured me upright as dishes clanked in the kitchen from down the hall. 

In the moment of semi-consciousness, I fooled myself into thinking last night was nothing but a fucked-up dream, but that ended the moment I caught sight of the black briefcase containing all of Mosavi’s deviant delights propped up against the wall in the corner. 

I rubbed my head before stepping barefoot on the uncomfortably cold wooden floor. It was time to face the consequences of my actions, and I had a feeling the biggest problem would come from Simon. I could tell from the way he kissed me that this affected him a lot more than he’d ever admit. What Mosavi did sucked the passion right out of him, leaving a hollowed-out husk—more like a puppet than anything. 

Giving myself a few more minutes, I finally sauntered into the living room, Adam’s eyes following me as I made my way to the couch. 

“You okay?” he asked.

“I’m fine.” Every time I’d look at his face, the overwhelming guilt flashed images of Austin, his irises glowing that empty, eerie blue. It became clear that nothing would likely feel normal or pleasant again, and I was supposed to accept this as just a normal part of leading a pack.

“Austin’s making breakfast, and Simon left the house without saying anything.” He scooted to the edge of the sofa, his blood-orange stare closely scrutinizing my reaction. “He was wearing a pair of Austin’s shorts for some reason. Any idea what’s going on?” 

I swallowed hard. “Couldn’t say. I just woke up. How was the hangover?”

His expression narrowed. 

“You’re lying.”

“I had a long night, and I’m kind of hungry.”

“Breakfast is almost done, sir,” Austin shouted from the kitchen. The weird, pitiful way he said that made me cringe. 

“Sir?” I could hear Adam grind his teeth as he jumped up from the couch and stomped toward the kitchen, nearly running into Austin, who was carrying two plates of food in both hands. 

“Watch where you’re going,” the werewolf snapped before setting a large plate of eggs and bacon on one side of the table and another plate of stacked pancakes on the other. This time, nothing looked overcooked. His irritated gaze shifted from Adam to me briefly before he turned away, his pointed ears falling against the sides of his head. “The biscuits are still baking, sir.”

“Stop calling me that,” I said through my teeth. “Just talk normal.”

“If that’s what you want, sir—Arth—I mean, Art.” He nearly knocked over a chair backing away toward the kitchen again. 

“What did you do to him?” Adam asked, his voice rising in familiar hysterics from yesterday. He went to follow Austin, but I pulled him back by the arm. 

“I didn’t do anything. Can we just have a nice breakfast?”

The half-turn looked down at the pile of eggs. “We talked about this, and we both agreed to leave each other’s kuu mates alone.”

“I didn’t—” It felt wrong to lie to him like this, but maybe a half-truth would make this easier. “I’ve never let Austin fuck me.”

The blond werewolf eyed us both from the entryway. 

“What are you two talking about?” 

“You’re obviously having better sex with Art than you do me. Admit it!”

Austin laughed, and it seemed disturbingly genuine.

“If I was fucking Art, I’d do both of you at the same time.” He glared at me, but not before his irises flashed blue. “I—If that’s what you want, sir.”

“You barely last long enough with me.” The half-turn stepped over to Austin and tugged at his arm, thankfully, seeming to have not noticed the sudden shift in the werewolf’s behavior. “You haven’t paid any attention to me since I got back home, and I need you. Also, stop calling Art sir. It’s creepy and weird.”

A strange scent wafted from Adam that I couldn’t place, but the effect was almost instantaneous. Half-turns usually couldn’t smell one another’s pheromones, but Adam may as well have been kicking me repeatedly in the nose. This wasn’t how Simon described me, and instead of a skunky, weed smell, Adam reminded me of leathery cologne and sweat. 

The hair on my neck stood straight, and I had to cover my nose. What was happening to me?

“Can’t right now,” Austin said, brushing Adam’s hand away. He cleared his throat while rubbing his crotch. It was then I remembered what was still attached to him. 

“Oh, Austin. I need to take care of that thing.” Nodding toward the hall. 

Austin’s voice quieted as he looked down at the ground, his tail low between his legs. “What are you talking about?”

Mosavi wasn’t lying. Austin really didn’t remember what happened between us, but it was undeniably affecting him in ways he didn’t understand.

Adam raised an eyebrow, then slid his hand slowly into Austin’s pants, but before he could get too far, I pulled him back to the dining room table. 

“Come on, let’s eat.”

“Sounds good to me,” Austin agreed, but Adam jerked away, baring his teeth. 

“I’m not hungry,” he snarled. “I need to fuck!”

“Can’t you wait?” I asked.

His red glare was the only thing I saw before my head slammed against the wall, nearly knocking me unconscious. Austin instinctively grabbed the back of Adam’s neck, and the half-turn let go of me, his eyes fading back to normal. 

“Shit! I’m so sorry,” he said as Austin let go of him. “I didn’t mean to do that. Are you okay?”

I had forgotten what Adam warned me about days ago, but that violent outburst was a stark reminder that he wasn’t going to be a half-turn much longer.

“I’m fine,” I replied, turning to Austin while rubbing the back of my head. “You need to take care of this.”

“I can’t,” he whispered through his teeth before nudging me to the hall. “Something’s wrong.”

Adam sat at the table, balling both hands into fists as he slowed his breathing. The muscles along his arms were larger and more defined, and the light brushing of fur covering his body had grown thicker, more patches covering once bare areas.

“We’ll be right back,” I said to Adam, who nodded silently.

The half-turn finally looked up at me, his eyes still blood red. “If he doesn’t do it, will you? I need somebody…”

“Uh, sure,” I said, clearing my throat as I pulled Austin into the hallway, shoving him into the bathroom before closing the door. 

“Take off your pants.”

Austin hesitated, his tail tucked between his legs again. 

“I must have gotten really drunk last night, because I don’t remember doing this kinky shit.” He slowly unzipped himself, letting his fatigues fall to the floor. Sure enough, the cage was still attached, and hilariously small. Seeing it again while being in a much clearer state of mind made me snort as I tried to stifle my laughter. “This isn’t funny. I need to go to a doctor or something. Are dicks supposed to shrink like that?”

I reached down and pulled at the cage, but nothing happened. Mosavi said I’d be able to remove it, but I wasn’t sure exactly how.

“Uh oh,” I whispered, trying to twist it a little. “It’s really stuck.”

“This is humiliating,” he said, his tail beginning swaying from side-to-side. “What do you want me to do now, sir?”

“I want to get this cage off so you can fuck Adam before he destroys my house—or makes me have sex with him.”

With a clicking sound, the cage loosened and fell to the floor. Austin stumbled backward as his cock began to swell to its normal size. 

“That’s not normal,” Austin muttered before looking back up at me. “This feels weird, and I’m not really in the mood.”

An aggressive snarl tore from the dining room, which made me start to panic. 

“Get your ass back out there and fuck that half-turn, soldier!” I really hadn’t intended to say it like that, but that seemed to be exactly what he wanted. 

His tail sprung to life, and he gave me an eager salute. “Yes, sir!”

With that, he scrambled out of the bathroom, nearly breaking down the door.

---

I smiled while enjoying breakfast, turning up the television volume to drown out the moaning and banging coming from the second bedroom. It had been nearly twenty minutes and Austin still hadn’t finished. This must have been a record for him. I’d also never heard Adam make those noises before when they were together, but man, did it ever get me in the mood. 

Speaking of that, I wondered where Simon had run off to. I was a little more relieved knowing he wouldn’t remember any of what happened last night, but he was still wandering around wearing that cage. The poor guy was probably just as scared and confused as Austin was. 

After finishing my meal, I put on a light jacket and stepped out into the backyard to get away from the noise, which was growing more aggressive by the minute. As I shut the door, I noticed Simon sitting cross-legged next to the lit fire pit. His slight gut hung over the band of the borrowed fatigues he wore, which were several sizes smaller around the waist. He stared pensively at the growing flames, not bothering to acknowledge me as I walked over and sat on one of the plastic lawn chairs. 

“Not gonna eat breakfast?” I asked, finally pulling his attention. 

“Not hungry.”

All the blood drained from my face. In all the time I’d known Simon, those words had never come out of his mouth. 

“Are you okay?”

“Can you take this thing off of me?” He looked up from the fire, his knowing amber eyes piercing mine. “I fucked up. I’m sorry.”

“Wait. Do you remember?”

He looked away and tossed another split log on the fire. 

“It’s hazy, but yeah.” 

“God, I’m so sorry, Simon.”

He cocked his head. “Huh? Why?”

“Wait, you’re not upset?”

“Not about what you did to me.” He rubbed at his crotch. “I don’t know why I’m so turned on by this. It’s kinda hot, which is weird, but I really want my dick back.”

“Hold on, before I do anything, what exactly do you find hot about this?”

Simon laughed. “I ain’t giving you any more ideas. You might piss in my mouth again.”

“You actually liked that?”

“It was nasty,” he said, sternly at first, but that devolved into a smirk. “Eh, what the hell? It really turned my crank.”

I wrinkled my nose. “You’re so fucking gross.”

“We need to find a way to get the hell away from this place,” Simon said, his tone turning serious again. “That mayor ain’t right at all. That magic he used? I think it happened to me before.”

“I thought you didn’t remember anything from back then?”

Simon nodded. “I can’t remember shit, and I always thought it was because of the drugs, but now I ain’t so sure. I get these flashes in my head, and all I can see is woods and glowing eyes everywhere. I think the reason I remember last night was because I broke free from the same thing when I was younger.” He shrugged, his tail swaying behind him. “Still couldn’t do shit because that guy was using all kinds of weird things. He scares the shit out of me.”

“He scares me, too.”

“The bad news is,” Simon paused, looking toward the woods. “He’s bonded to you now. He’s yer mate, and you can’t do anything about it. He ain’t the kind of guy that takes a willing mate either. I know his type.”

“He’s not my mate,” I said dismissively as I stood and stretched before sitting on the ground next to him. “I, uh…” It was always so hard to say these things, especially to Simon. “I’d prefer to be with you.”

“If he comes back, you’ll fall in line. You won’t have a choice.” He paused and smiled. “And uh, I kinda like havin’ you around as my kuu mate.”

I leaned into Simon’s arm. “Maybe he’ll get bored and leave me alone.”

“Nah. He’s obviously taken an interest, and I don’t know why. It’s like he wants to turn you into him.” He wrapped his arm around me. “He’s an elder, and I can’t do anything to him. The way he smells makes me feel small.” Simon laughed. “Speaking of—did you see the size of his balls? That was just obscene.”

“I don’t want to talk about that anymore.”

“Well, you’re not gonna be able to ignore him, so we need to figure out how to get you outta this.”

I scratched my head, remembering what Simon mentioned earlier. “If you did it, then there must be a way I can too.”

Simon pointed toward the woods. “I think the answer’s out there. I smell ‘em sometimes, and it kinda brings back good memories.”

“Smell who?”

“Ferals. They’ve been close but always keepin’ outta sight.”  

“Oh yeah. I met them… kind of.”

“Shit, for real? Why didn’t you tell me?”

I shrugged. “It wasn’t that important, and you’d probably think I was crazy. Remember that opal I showed you?”

Simon nodded. 

“One of them gave it to me. I keep forgetting to get it appraised by someone. Could be worth a lot of money.”

“Don’t sell it!” Simon jumped to his feet, lifting me up with him. “Where’d you put it?”

“In the top drawer with my underwear.”

“Ah, that’s why I never saw it. I’m only interested in the ones in the hamper.”

I groaned. “Ugh. I take back what I said earlier about preferring to be with you. You’re disgusting.”

“Ah, you can’t call me disgusting after what you did last night, Mister Tinkles,” he said, leading me back inside the house. “Get this cage off me so we can fuck.”

“Nah,” I said, teasingly.

Simon stopped in the doorway, his ears dropping. 

“C’mon Art. It was hot at first, but now I’m gettin’ frustrated.”

“I think that’s the entire point,” I said, pulling on his mane so he’d lean in for a kiss. It started as a peck on the muzzle, but soon evolved into a furious tongue wrestle as the half-turn urges flooded my brain. “God damn it. I’ve gotta get that thing off you.”

---

Soaked in sweat, I straddled Simon as he howled in climax, and things felt somewhat normal. His chest had this spicy masculine aroma, which was slightly different from the spicy masculine aroma mixed with wet dog and dumpster. It was nice enough that I collapsed into him, burying my face in his fur. 

“Just what I needed,” I whispered. “I’ve always wondered how you learned how to do that?”

“How to do what?” Simon asked, as his cock slipped out of me. 

As soon as we separated, I rolled over onto my side of the bed. “How do you make me come just by fucking me?” 

“Oh that.” He grinned. “It’s easy. Gotta angle myself juuuust right. When I feel you clench up, I know I hit the right spot.” 

“Maybe I’ll do that to you next time.”

His smile faded quickly. “Why don’t you wait ‘til yer full turn before you do that again?”

“Why? You looked like you enjoyed it.”

“I want you to throw all that magic shit out,” Simon responded, pointing to the black briefcase. “That stuff’s dangerous.”

“But it’s hot.” I turned toward him. “It was nice having a bigger dick than you for once.”

“You couldn’t handle that thing.”

“You weren’t complaining.”

“Ha!” He turned and licked me on the nose. “Don’t think I didn’t notice you almost pass out when you got hard. The whole ‘changing body parts’ thing seems risky. I like it when we’re like this.”

“I’m keeping the cages.”

Simon’s eyes shifted away from me. “Why?”

“Insurance.” 

“I’m sorry I got drunk. It won’t happen again, I swear.”

I sat up and jumped out of bed before walking over to the dresser. “You’re damn right it won’t happen again.” After shuffling around some socks and underwear, the glint of a large opal caught my eye as I reached for it. My body tingled and the hair on the back of my neck stood straight, but the strange feeling vanished. “Here,” I said, tossing the stone to Simon. 

He sat up and caught the opal with one hand. “Sure is pretty.”

“Do you know what it means, or why he may have given it to me?”

Simon shrugged, turning the gem over in his hand. “No clue. Should probably ask them.”

“They didn’t speak at all.”

“That’s just ‘cause you can’t understand ‘em.” 

“And you can?”

He gave me an uneasy look. “With the right drugs, yeah.”

“Fuck no!” I yelled, slipping back into my clothes. “Did you learn nothing last night? That was Mosavi letting us off easy. I don’t even want to think about what he’d do…”

“With the ferals, Arthur. That’s how they talk to people who ain’t in their pack.”

“There’s one problem: he was very clear about us not going into the woods.” I held up my left hand and pointed to the gold ring on my finger. “He’ll know the moment I go out there. He knows where I am at all times.”

“Just take it off.”

“I tried. Every time I pull at it, it gets tighter. It’s made of the same stuff as the kuu. It won’t let me take it off.”

Simon hummed contemplatively as he got out of bed, toweling off some of the excess semen dripping from the fur on his abdomen and crotch. 

“Take a damn shower,” I said, snatching the towel away.

Simon gave himself a few sniffs. “I’m fine. I had one yesterday, remember? Got myself all prettied up fer you, and you left me hangin’.”

I pointed to the cock cage I’d placed on the dresser earlier. “Take a shower, or I’m putting that back on you.”

“I’d like to see you try,” Simon growled teasingly, knowing now that I’d removed it, I no longer had any control. 

I folded my arms. “You have to sleep sometime.”

The werewolf stood quiet for a moment. 

“I’m throwin’ that thing away,” he said, rushing for the cage, but I snatched it up before he could reach it.

“I don’t think so!” 

“Yer not strong enough, you little half-turn twerp,” he mocked, easily prying my hand open with his large clawed fingers, but as he touched the metal on the cage, a blinding bolt sent him flying across the room until the wall stopped him. As he slid down, there was a slight indentation in the block where he impacted it. 

I ran over to him. “Holy shit! Are you okay?”

Simon rubbed his head. “See what I mean? Throw it away, Art.”

“After what you just did? I don’t think so.”

“Oh come on, I was joking.”

“You were challenging me.” The room started to turn a familiar silver, the tone of my voice growing deeper. “No one challenges me in this house.”

“Art!” Simon’s irises lightened to blue, but he squeezed them shut and turned away. “Yer doin’ it again.”

The intense emotions taking over my body only grew, and I grabbed the scruff of Simon’s neck, forcing him to look at me. 

“Tell me who your alpha is,” I said with a growl, and his eyes snapped wide open. “Tell me.”

“It’s you,” he whispered, his countenance now distant and glassy. “What do you want me to do?”

I snatched the opal out of his hand and pointed to the bed, but not before a jolt of electricity shot through me in waves, causing me to stumble backward. The sensation intensified so much that I was thrown to the floor as the room darkened back to normal.

Simon crawled toward me, his eyes returning to their usual honey amber. 

“Shit, are you okay?”

“I don’t know,” I groaned out, still shaking as I sat upright before examining the opal that now lay shattered on the floor. “So much for it being valuable.” I picked through the pieces, shaking my head. “It was just glass.”

“Look at the ring,” Simon said, pointing to the blackened band on my finger. 

When I tried to pull it off, it crumbled away, leaving behind black soot on my skin. 

“What the hell?”

“I kinda had a hunch,” Simon said, picking up a piece of the broken gem. “I think I remember these things. They ward off witchcraft. There aren’t that many things that’ll scare a feral werewolf, but witches sure do.”

“You think the mayor’s using witchcraft?”

Simon shook his head. “No way in hell that’s possible. Witches can’t be male the same way werewolves can’t be female.” He went silent. “Shit…”

“What’s wrong?”

“I don’t know, but I got this feelin’ Mosavi ain’t the one runnin’ the show here.”

The door to our bedroom flung open, and Austin walked in, wearing nothing but a wet boner and an earnest expression. 

“You scared the shit outta me,” Simon yelled, holding his chest. “What’s the matter with you?”

Austin looked down at me with a salute. “The target’s been neutralized and is safely asleep, sir!”

“What the fuck?” Simon whispered under his breath. 

“Uh…good work, soldier,” I said with a bit of hesitation as his creepy blue eyes locked with mine. 

“Awaiting your next command, sir.”

Simon snorted and jumped to his feet, circling the rigid werewolf. “Is this some kinda sex thing?” 

“No. When Mosavi made me do…all that stuff, it kind of messed him up. Now he just does what he’s told.”

Simon’s grin widened. “Are you fuckin’ serious?”

“Austin, why don’t you—” 

“Clean my dick with yer tongue. That’s an order, soldier!” Simon interrupted.

“God damn it, Simon, no!”

“What? May as well make the most of it.”

Austin’s eyes dimmed to a familiar blood orange, his brows furrowing as he grabbed Simon by the nape of his neck.

“What did you just tell me to do?”

“Is that how you talk to yer superior officer, sold—”

The larger werewolf shoved Simon against the wall. “You ever speak to me like this again and you’ll be eating through a straw until your teeth grow back!” He released the older werewolf and looked over at me before turning away. “I’m going to my garage.”

“Take the still apart,” I called back to him.

Austin groaned, but didn’t respond as he disappeared into the hallway. 

“Thought you said he did what he was told?” Simon said, rubbing his neck. “God damn, he dug his claws in and everything.”

“I still don’t know what triggers it, and I really don’t want to experiment. The guy’s already messed up enough as it is.” I stood up and walked over to the door. “I’m going to go check on Adam.”

“What’s wrong with him now?”

“He’s been getting aggressive lately.”

We both crept down the hall to see Adam sleeping naked, spread eagle on the bed with the biggest smile on his face. Simon went to say something, but I caught his mouth with my hand and led him away from the door, closing it behind me. 

“Okay, maybe this isn’t such a bad thing after all,” I said, letting go of Simon. “Adam’s happy. Austin’s… happy—ish, and we’re okay, right?”

“I won’t be able to sleep good until we know what the hell the mayor did to you.” Austin walked out of the garage carrying about five bottles of homemade moonshine. “Uh, whatcha doin’ with those?”

“Dumping them,” he replied.

“I got an idea!”

I grabbed a magazine Adam was reading earlier from the coffee table. After rolling it tightly, I smacked Simon over the head with it. “No!”

“Now hold on, I ain’t talkin’ about the booze. We could trade something to the ferals to get them talkin’. I happen to know for a fact those fuckers love white cheddar popcorn and soda. Hell, they’d suck yer dick dry for a Little Debbie Swiss roll.”

Austin rolled his eyes and continued to the kitchen.

“You know for a fact?” I crossed my arms. “Are you sure you’re talking about the ferals or yourself, because half of our pantry is full of junk food.”

Simon didn’t respond as Austin sauntered back out of the kitchen. 

“Yer not gonna dump the beer too, are ya?”

“Beer?” I asked. “Where the hell did you get beer?”

“Made it,” Austin replied, his ears slowly drooping and his eyes changing color again. “I’ll dump it all, sir.”

“Now, hold on. That beer was amazing.” Simon placed his hand on my shoulder. “Yer really gonna make Austin dump all his hard work down the drain? Yer gonna crush him. Just look at his face!”

We both turned toward the blonde werewolf staring at us with the same stern, emotionless expression he often wore. 

“The guy obviously wears his heart on his sleeve. Would you really want to hurt his feelings?”

“You fucking bet. Dump the beer.”

“Wait a minute! C’mon. You gotta taste it first. Please.”

“Simon, I’m putting my foot down.”

His eyes grew wide and watery as he leaned in, his pupils dilated. How the hell did he get them to do that voluntarily?

“Not going to work this time, Simon.”

“Pwease…”

“Christ, you’re like a hundred freaking years old.”

His tail wagged faster. “If you don’t take at least one sip, I’ll do my Andy Dick impression every time we have sex.”

“Bring me a goddamn beer,” I demanded, to which Austin replied with a salute before disappearing into the garage. “One sip, and then it’s going down the drain.”

Simon knew I hated beer, so I was kind of confused as to what he hoped to accomplish by this. Drinking foamy home made bread-water wasn’t exactly going to change my mind. Austin returned holding a brown bottle with a faded Budweiser label.

“You did wash these, right?”

“Of course I did. I’m not a dirty dumpster-diving animal like Simon,” Austin said with a snarl, pushing the bottle into my hand.  

“I ain’t done that since I left the city, but I bet they throw away a lot of cool shit around here.”

“Don’t bring any garbage into this house,” I said, holding the bottle to my lips. As the frothy liquid poured over my taste buds, the flavor was something completely unexpected. It tasted like beer, but the aftertaste was where it got interesting. 

Simon smirked as I took another, larger gulp. 

The beer became a malted chocolate with a hint of heat, like either ginger or cayenne pepper.

“What the hell is this?”

“It’s beer,” Austin replied, matter-of-factly. 

“No, I mean, what did you put in it?”

“It’s a secret.” 

I gulped down more of it. 

“You wouldn’t want to know, anyway,” he added.

I stopped mid-swallow, slowly spitting it back into the bottle. “Okay now I want to know what the fuck I just ingested.”

“Nope.” Austin turned and walked back into the garage. 

“So?” Simon asked, his expression more eager than before. “What do you think?”

“It’s good, but—”

“Then let’s take some bottles out in the woods, have a little fun and see if we come across any ferals to trade with.”

“I don’t know about this.” 

Simon took my hand, and rubbed the sooty mark on my ring finger. “Without that ring, he ain’t gonna know nothin’.”

“There’s also the lighter.” I reached into my pocket, expecting to feel it there, but it was gone. “Well, shit.”

“What lighter?”

“Never mind.” Austin ambled back through the dining room holding an entire box of beer. “Hey, uh… don’t dump those. I changed my mind.” 

Though he didn’t smile, the werewolf’s eyes lit up, and his tail wagged. 

“Alright,” he replied, setting the box on the table before taking a bottle out for himself. As he went to open it, I snatched it out of his hand.

“No drinking,” I said, placing the bottle back into the box. “We’re saving these.”

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