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Wolf Will’s lip was lifted in a snarl. He knew he was angry. He knew he was hurt. Not physically, but in some way his animal self didn’t entirely understand. He wanted to lash out and slash flesh. He wanted to take brutal vengeance for his feelings.
It wasn’t Maddox who spoke to him in a voice that soothed. It was Henry who stood before him, still in his human form, calm and patient and without any real investment in the outcome. It wasn’t what he said. It was his demeanor.
“Easy there.” Henry stepped forward and placed his hand on wolf Will’s forehead, right between his eyes. “Nobody’s going to hurt you.”
“Speak for yourself,” Maddox growled.
Will snapped and snarled back. He was bigger now. He was stronger. The vampire couldn’t hurt him anymore.
“You can’t talk to the wolf the way you talk to the man,” Henry explained. “You can’t really even talk to the man the way you talk to the man. You have to show a beast respect.”
“I’ll show him respect when he stops destroying my home in fits of pique,” Maddox replied. His eyes were fixed on Will with an intense glare, staring down the beast without any care for what might have amounted to personal safety. Wolf Will didn’t want to kill him, but the idea of hurting Maddox, showing him the power that was Will’s to command, that was increasingly starting to appeal.
“You asked me here to help and provide advice. Here’s my advice. Let this go.”
“Let it go? Wanton property destruction?”
“That fire is nothing compared to the inferno you’ll be facing if this continues to get out of hand.”
Henry stepped closer to Maddox. “Can we speak in private?”
“Certainly. The oversized wolf in the lounge will not make a difference one way or another at this point.” Maddox’s sarcasm was elegant as it was salty. He was in an increasingly foul mood, and a break would probably be good for the soul.
The vampire king followed Henry into his own office, trailing him with an expression that was quite difficult to read but most likely meant pain for someone.
“I’m here to help,” Henry repeated.
“Yes, you mentioned that.”
“It’s obvious you've been handling Will like a pup, and I don’t blame you for that. He acts like one more often than not. But now that he can turn when he pleases, it’s time to change approaches.”
Maddox stepped on the rug. It squished, because it, like almost everything in his home capable of taking on water, had taken on water.
“What do you want destroyed, your property, or your relationship?”
“Should I have to choose between them?”
“At the moment, it is inevitable. He didn’t intend to set a fire, and he certainly didn’t bring the fire department. What’s happened tonight is a series of unfortunate events.”
Maddox looked at him with that elegant, ancient gaze that suggested he was humoring Henry.
“I know I brought you here to help. Maybe I should have made it more clear. I want you to help Will. Not me.”
“You’re the rational, older, more powerful being. How you handle him is how he will behave.”
It was starting to feel like an episode of a particularly British show Maddox had once watched. Super Nanny. Henry was a heavily tattooed wolf version of the Super Nanny, and he, it appeared, was here to tell Maddox what Super Nanny inevitably told the parents of every out-of-control brat in existence: that it was actually all their fault.
Maddox took the news the way any Midwestern couple would. He took great and immediate offense. Unlike a Midwest housewife, however, he knew how to hide it behind a veneer of calm rage.
“He was locked away while we cleaned. He should have been cleaning with us. And he should be compensating you for all losses. More importantly, he should care about the house because it is where he lives. Every wolf needs pride in its den.”
“All good points well made,” Maddox had to admit. This human wolf was not as stupid as he seemed when he was crossing a vampire king.
“I think Will’s probably come to his senses by now,” Henry said. “I’m going to take him out and talk to him about what he’s really angry about. The fact that we’re going to destroy his father.”
“Your wolf form is very impressive.”
The first words Will heard as he slid from beast back to man were ones of compliment, coming from Dante.
