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As much as Maddox had tried to socialize and civilize William, it was easy to forget that he was a young man with a very rough past and a history in the prison system. One did not simply smack an ex-convict upside the head and expect matters to be at an end.
“Are you going to put a stop to this?” Lorien appeared at Mads’ elbow.
Will was, at that point, attempting to bash Dante around the face with a metal dinner tray, only to be pulled back by Jake before he made a proper connection.
“I could,” Maddox said. “But then what would have been learned? By any of them?”
“Will never learns from beatings. That’s his problem. He’s a…” Lorien searched for the word while the lounge turned into a wolf-infested fracas. “Barbarian,” he finished, as Will desperately tried to hold his own, three against one. It was only a matter of time until…
“And now he’s shifted,” Lorien sighed.
Will’s wolf form was larger and probably more powerful than any of the others. He came from bigger, darker, more dangerous stock, a lineage that was on the verge of dying out. Henry and his pack could still take him down, though. Four against one was never going to be a fair fight.
“Your house has been flooded once,” Lorien reminded Mad. “You want the halls to run with blood as well?”
The sounds coming from the lounge were incredible. Snarling, yowling, barking. Dante, Jake, and Norris had managed to pin wolf-Will down by his throat, while Henry went running naked through the house to retrieve something. For once, Lorien shut up as the heavily tattooed, ultra-muscular, and enviably well-hung pack master streaked past.
“I didn’t want to do this,” Henry said on his return. He had a thick ring of metal in his hands. He ran to Will’s side, crouched down, and touched it to Will’s neck. The howl that emerged from Will made Maddox’s heart break and almost got Henry outright slaughtered.
Will was immediately pulled out of his wolf form, turned to a naked, writhing, helpless boy screaming on the ground in absolute agony. There was a mark on his neck where the ring had touched him. It looked angry, red, and sore.
“What is that?” Maddox was instantly by Will’s side, glaring death at Henry.
“Moonsilver. It’s the one substance that prevents us from taking our wolf forms. It can pull anybody out of their form with the lightest touch. It’s a last resort. It hurts. A lot.”
The last part of the sentence was very unnecessary. Will was still writhing as if he had been tasered, and the silver had only touched him for a moment.
“You have got to get your head straight, pup,” Henry lectured Will. “Or your world is going to be nothing but pain. I promise you that.”
Will looked into Mad’s eyes for some semblance of sympathy. Maddox made sure he would find none there. Will had to learn that Mad was not the only authority he had to obey. He needed to exist in a world where consequences came fast and hard when he acted like a feral brat. As much as Maddox had the softer impulse to comfort his boy, he knew that to do it now would be to ensure greater pain later on.
“Fucccckkkkk,” Will grunted, curling up on his side in the fetal position. “Fucking ass fuckkkkkkkk…”
The lounge was now full of naked muscular men. Maddox only had eyes for Will, but he noticed Lorien couldn’t keep the stupid smirk off his face, though arguably that may have been because he was getting eyeful after eyeful of Henry. With some surprise, Maddox realized Will might have been right. There was definitely some kind of crush there.
“If you ever shift to intimidate or get out of trouble again, I’ll put a collar of moonsilver on you,” Henry threatened Will. “It will be unspeakable agony.”
Will made a faint gurgle of understanding.
“Alright,” Maddox said. “I’m going to get him out of here. I think we’ve all had quite enough of this. Enjoy your evening, gentlemen.”
He picked his quivering boy up and carried him upstairs. There were beads of sweat on Will's forehead, and that mark was like a burn that was going to take some time to heal. Maddox almost felt sorry for him. Almost.
“I can’t believe you let them do that to me.” Will spoke through pain-chattering teeth.
“I can’t believe you tried to attack someone twice your size with a dinner tray,” Maddox replied, easing Will down on the bed. “Boy, you know how to make yourself unpopular.”
“I don’t care,” Will grunted, drawing the bed blanket over himself. “They’re assholes.”
Sometimes Maddox wondered how he had found himself with this feral little beast as his mate. Will was so rough around the edges, so absolutely undignified in so many ways. But he was also beautiful and brave and charming in his own insolent way.
“I will get the doctor for that burn.”
“Just need some ice and for them to fuck off.”
“That’s not going to happen, boy. You're just going to have to get used to living with them.”
Will grabbed the bedding and pulled it over his head, terminating the conversation.
