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8
MADDOX
The scent of wolf hung on the air, making it easy to follow Fenrir. I knew that, if he wanted, he could likely hide his scent. He left it drifting so that I would be able to follow him. He wanted me to find him.
The knowledge made my stomach tighten uncomfortably. Just how similar could we be? Fenrir acted as though we should be brothers in arms. He treated me not as an equal, but as a potential ally—which was fairly close to being the same in my opinion.
Would I become like him in time? I didn’t want to live long enough to find out. The world around me sang with the sound of life. My home turf was sleepy, but alive. People laughed. The rev of engines roared up and down the roads. The birds called out to one another overhead.
I didn’t want to become the kind of monster that could no longer see the value in these things. If there came a day when my hunger meant more than the sanctity of life…I scowled at myself, remembering the small animals I’d been hunting. Did that count?
Yes, I found myself in the middle of a small crisis as I tracked Fenrir’s scent. It wasn’t the most optimal time for one, but it wasn’t like I had a whole lot of time in between disasters. The past few weeks had sent my life spiraling from one crisis to another. If it wasn’t a close personal friend hunting people, then it was a shifter tearing holes in reality.
Now, it was an ancient god-like shifter walking free from the constraints thatgodsput on him. I honestly missed the days of simple homicide cases.
An arm fell over my shoulder. Fenrir pulled me close. In my thoughts, I’d lost touch with the world around me, letting Fenrir sneak up on me.
I snarled at him, but the man cared little about a threat from the likes of me. The slight made my beast stir in challenge. The beast tried to convince me that I could take him, especially if I had access to Addie’s arcana.
Right now? Not so much.
I had to play a careful game right now. It was like cornering a murder suspect. I had to get the confession from him before I could do anything.
“I knew you wouldn’t be able to stay away,” Fenrir said. He still had his arm over my shoulder like we were brothers meeting for lunch.
The window of a restaurant boasted piles of meat rotating in front of burning salamanders. A man carved a swath of meat from the spinning pile and stacked it on bread for someone out of view. My mouth watered at the sight of it.
“Good idea,” Fenrir said. “Let’s get lunch!”
He steered me towards the restaurant though I tried to redirect him away from humans several times. I didn’t like being out here, in the center of my small town where there were too many civilians around. One wrong move, and Fenrir would kill everyone around.
We waited our turn in line like everyone else. Fenrir surprised me with his patience. The smile on his face seemed genuine and never slipped once. Unfortunately for him, I could see the twinkle of madness in his eyes. Had it always been there? Or had the time in Hel’s dark caverns sparked that wild light?
I nervously shifted my weight from foot to foot and prayed that everyone inside would find their way out. The numbers inside never dwindled. It was a nice day, and everyone was looking for a place to escape the bright sun.
“What makes you think that your little witchling will take care of you forever?” Fenrir asked after placing his order.
He obviously cared little for the humans surrounding us because he didn’t bother to code his words at all. He called Addie a witchling so casually that no one bothered to give us a second glance. I wanted to hush him, but we hadn’t caught anyone’s attention so far.
I swallowed. “I don’t know what you went through, but don’t you dare compare it to what I have.”
The corner of Fenrir’s mouth lifted. He shook his head like a father who’d seen far more than his child. Fenrir thought he knew better.
He jabbed his bony finger into my chest. “Just because that witch has an iron grasp on your soul doesn’t mean you need to give her your heart, too. Let her keep your soul, anyway. We won’t need it.”
A snarl nearly escaped me. I shoved Fenrir’s hand away just as our name was called at the counter. On my way to pick up our food, I counted the number of heads in the restaurant. Though the space was small, there were fifteen people scattered around the room.
I had to get Fenrir out of here before he pushed me too far. My beast and I were on better terms, but I didn’t trust my control in Fenrir’s presence. He made every effort to push my buttons, but to what end?
When I returned with the food, Fenrir snatched both plates and pulled them close to himself. My stomach roared in rage. The void inside me split open and demanded sustenance. I had to grip the edge of our cheap table in order to keep myself under control because every part of me wanted to grab the food and pull it into myself.
“She’s going to feed you scraps. They always do. The witchling will give you just enough to keep you coming back. Did you think that she was trying to satisfy you? It’s a leash, and we both know it. You’re already starving. You do a great job of controlling your face, but I can see it in your eyes. You already need to go back to her, don’t you?” Fenrir took a bite from his pita.
Rage made my fingers dig into the cheap table. I leveled a burning glare in Fenrir’s direction. He gave a shrug and waved his hand in the air.
“I’m not wrong.” He pointed at me. “That’s what makes you angry. I’m not trying to provoke you, and you know it. All I’ve done is pull back the veil and reveal the truth that was always there. Believe me. I’ve been in your place once before.”
Fenrir wasn’t right. Addie was giving me everything she could. If she gave more, I would keep drinking it down until there was nothing left of her. My hunger was endless. It was all consuming. It was the end of everything.
