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Henry jiggled a plastic bag. “Maddox sent sliced and freeze-dried human jerky for your animal appetites. For everything else, there’s deer.”
“Oh, God. No. I just want some fucking toaster pastry,” Will cursed. “I’m going back to the city.”
“Where a force of insatiable evil wants to kill you?”
“Where there’s toasters. And pastry.”
“Oh, hey,” Lorien said. “It’s you.”
Lorien also looked uncomfortable, Will was glad to note. He didn’t want to be the only one unhappy with the woods. Lorien was filthy. What had probably once been impeccably fashionable clothes were now not only dirty but ripped and torn besides. He looked like he had been pulled through the forest backward. He also looked hungry, Will noticed. There were not a lot of humans to feed on out here. Dark circles were starting to appear under his eyes, a certain hollow look that did not bode well.
It was Lorien, more than anything, that made Will’s heart sink. If the most composed vampire he knew besides Maddox had deteriorated so much out here, then what chance did he have of surviving? Bravado aside, Will knew damn well he was softer than Lorien, and there was no more of a human food supply out here for him than for the vampire. The baggie would run out soon enough, and then his eyes would sink, and his ribs would hollow, and he’d hunt. Hunt the way nobody wanted him to hunt. The way where he lost his mind and his morals and went for anything with human flesh. Again the image of a gas station attendant in pieces flashed through his mind. He’d resisted then, but there was no way he was going to be able to resist now, not now that the hunger was growing in him.
“Yeah,” Will said. “It’s me. I miss having a roof already.”
“Tell me about it,” Lorien agreed ruefully.
“Two of you whining might be too much to handle,” Henry said. “The woods are our natural home, Will. They are part of you. You’ll settle in soon. Lorien’s a little more sensitive.”
“I have to hide myself under leaves to avoid the mid-day sun,” Lorien complained. “The tent lets too much sunlight through. We need to find some kind of actual structure before a strong wind blows my cover and I turn to dust.”
“Leaves? That’s why you look like the thing from the… woods.” Will’s sass did not end as strongly as it had begun. “Why don’t you put a sleeping bag over you? Better than leaves.”
“Vampires also have the instinct to go to ground when threatened,” Henry explained. “It’s not ideal. We need to find a cabin, but one away from people. But not too far away, because Lorien needs to feed. So.”
“Seems like Lorien would be better off back in the city,” Will said.
“I’m staying with Henry,” Lorien insisted.
“Then you’re gonna die with Henry. Or more likely, Henry will come back from a hunt one day, and you’ll be a little pile of ashes.”
Will knew he was being an asshole. He just couldn’t help himself. Saying horrible things to Lorien and Henry made him feel a little better about his own predicament, somehow. He was jealous that they got to be together. And even more jealous that they intended on staying together through their hardships. Maddox had sent him away at the first sign of trouble, and at this distance, in these woods, Will wondered if he hadn’t been looking for a reason to get rid of him.
“That’s enough,” Henry said, glowering at Will.
“Is it? Who fucking says?” Will made the outright challenge.
“I’d really like it if you could be out here for ten minutes without making me whip your ass,” Henry growled. “I’ll do what I have to in order to maintain peace.”
Will looked at him warily.
“Keep your hands to your fucking self if you want peace.”
It had been a while since he was in Henry’s presence, and he was absolutely not in the mood to submit to anybody who wasn’t Maddox. He couldn’t help but be hurt by being sent away, even if it was supposed to be for his own good. Maddox was back in New York with a handsome ancient. Will didn’t feel exactly confident in Maddox’s promise. Everybody Will knew lied. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust Mad specifically, it was that he didn’t trust anybody generally. It was easier to start a fight with someone older and meaner than be sad.
“I’m not fucking staying here,” he cursed. “This is bullshit. The tent isn’t big enough for all of us.”
“It doesn’t need to be. You’ll sleep outside like the spoiled whelp you are.” Henry took the bait immediately. Will got a kick out of that. He’d half wondered if Maddox had made him too obedient during their extended vacation. Nope. He still had it in him to be a complete and utter little shit.
“Is that why you’re making Lorien sleep under leaves? Is he spoiled too? Is a roof too much to ask for in your realm, pack master?”
Henry narrowed his eyes. “We’ve been waiting for you. Now you’re here, we can move deeper into the forest and take up one of the old hunting cabins.”
“Lorien’s going to starve,” Will pointed out pragmatically. “This is a stupid idea. Everything about this place is stupid. Including you.”
“Alright,” Henry sighed. “You want a beating? I can give you a beating.”
“You put a finger on me, and you’re gonna lose it,” Will promised.
