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“Yes,” Maddox replied.
“I think you and I should have a chat, sir,” the officer said.
Maddox was all too happy to leave Will where he was. Impudent, insolent little wretch. He accompanied the officer to a small room festooned with old flyers and imbued with the general ambiance of human desperation.
“I’m Officer Danbury. I was the arresting officer,” the man introduced himself. Maddox had not paid much attention to the man. He had a mustache and probably a wife and a small brood given his dad bod. He seemed like a decent man, an impression that was quickly reinforced.
“So he’s your ward or something similar? Lora Candy intervened on his behalf. Said you had guardianship?”
“Indeed,” Maddox affirmed.
“We found him breaking into the courthouse records room. Looking for his birth certificate, he said.” Officer Danbury shook his head. “I should have put him right on the next prison transport.”
“Yes. You should. But I am very grateful you did not. Young William is struggling with personal transformation.”
“We all struggle. If he acts like that again, he’s in real danger of being shot. Hell, he was lucky he wasn’t shot this time.”
Maddox’s lips tightened. “I can assure you he will be dealt with.”
“I hope so. If he comes to the attention of law enforcement again, he will be returned to prison, and he won't be allowed out again. There is nothing I can do about that.”
“Understood.”
Will was somewhat surprised when his cell was opened. He hesitated a moment before stepping out, as well he might. He kept eye contact with Maddox in a vain effort to appear bolder and braver than he truly felt. He hated this. He felt guilty, but the guilt made him angry too.
The way Maddox looked at him was enough to make anyone afraid. There was a determination in the ancient vampire’s eyes, a particular set to his jaw. Maddox always had a quiet refinement about him. He was made of better stuff than humans and it showed in every line of his body, every facet of his handsome face. Will met his master’s dark gaze for a split-second, then let it slide away again as heat suffused every inch of him.
He allowed himself to be escorted out of the station. The car was waiting outside. They got into the back of it. Will didn’t know who was driving. As usual, the front of the car was sealed off from the rear. Maddox slid in beside him, shut the door, and the car purred into the night.
There was silence. Not just uncomfortable silence, but dangerous silence.
Will was obviously not going to talk first. That would be a terrible idea.
“I have not often punished you,” Maddox observed as the city passed by. “Because you are so very talented at punishing yourself.”
Will looked out the car window. This was far too small a space to be stuck in with an angry, disappointed vampire.
“When we get home, you will go straight to your room and you will stay there.”
“Why not put me in a cage?”
“You haven’t earned a cage, boy.”
Will had no idea what that meant, and he certainly wasn’t going to ask questions to find out. He sat in silence, sulking viciously, without a clear enough mind to make any specific plan. It would have been easier if Maddox had just beaten him or yelled at him. Then he would have had something to resist or fight. Instead, he was being forced to sit with the cruelest things of all, his own feelings and anticipation.
In due course the car was parked in the lot under the house and Will was set free in the concrete confines. He didn’t bother looking back at Maddox as he went upstairs. He didn’t want to see him. Looking into Maddox’s eyes right now might fuck him up more than he was ready for. He was relieved to be out of the cells, and out of police custody. The second the door closed on him, he’d known he had made a huge mistake. It was one thing to pretend to be cocky in the cells. It was something else to actually be comfortable with them. Will was never going back to prison. He’d made that decision. No matter what the fuck happened, he was staying free.
The door to the house closed behind him, echoing the prison door.
He felt Maddox’s hand close on his collar.
He forgot he wore the collar so much of the time. It had become like a second skin, never leaving his body. It must have expanded with him when he became the wolf that one time. He wished he knew how he’d done that. It had never happened before, or since, even when he’d really tried. It was like he was missing something. Maybe there wasn’t enough danger. Or maybe he was missing a vitamin or something. Vitamin Wolf.
Will’s mind desperately tried to escape the present as Maddox propelled him upstairs and into his bedroom. It still didn’t feel like a room that was particularly his. It was functionally and aesthetically the same as it had been the first day he got here. He’d been told he could decorate it, but what was the point? Did Maddox expect him to go through decorating catalogs and pick out sheets? None of that was Will’s style. Will’s style was a complete absence of effort—much like Maddox’s relationship style of late.
He waited for Maddox to release him. It didn't happen. Maddox kept his grip on him and followed him into the room, shutting the door behind him.
“Take your clothes off, boy.”
