Their dorm room smelled stale from being shut up for the week, but it was too late and too cold to open the window and air it out. Jackson shivered and wished he would’ve gotten the thick curtains he’d talked about. Curling up under two quilts and a warm werewolf was enough for now, but once winter really hit, Jackson didn’t know how he was going to handle it.
Jackson woke up to Wren grumbling and someone pounding on the door. Wren huffed and moved enough so Jackson could get up, but stayed curled up on their bed. Jackson jerked the door open.
Liam stood with a wide grin and four coffees in a to-go carrier. “Mornin’!”
Jackson stared at him, turned to look at the clock, then turned back to Liam. “Can I fucking help you?”
Liam laughed and pushed his way into the room. Zain gave him an apologetic smile and followed Liam in. “Missed you too, Rich Boy. I brought coffee so you can’t be mad.”
Zain looked up at Wren. “I don’t like the idea of it. I don’t want you to get hurt or have to hurt others, but…” His voice trailed off. “If it’s something that you want to do then I think you should get to do it. Every day that passes by, more unlucky wolves are sold into situations that they will never get out of. Just don’t let this be a rash decision. Take some time and really think about if it’s something you want to do.”Jackson couldn’t believe it. Liam was looking convinced. It was three against one. They actually thought Wren should do this. “No,” Jackson whispered. “I can’t -”“It’s not about you.” Liam was firm, but kind. “It’s not about you, and using your connection with Wren to try to change his mind and do what you want to do is not ok.”Shame burned deep in Jackson’s gut at the words. “I didn’t - I
Jackson had his laptop open in front of him and a steaming cup of coffee to the side. The coffee shop was busy. He had been lucky to get a seat at all, let alone one tucked nicely into the corner. The site he’d briefly looked over, way back when he first got Wren, was pulled up.He was scrolling through the various articles on the site, but mostly he was looking at the photos. The Database of Collared Wolves shouldn’t be accessed on public wifi and Jackson wanted to put off searching for any specific ID numbers, anyway. So scanning through the rescued wolves website was his best bet for public searching.He didn’t expect anything to come of it. There were countless wolves in the fighting circles. Countless. The chances of Wren’s little brother being saved by this group was next to none, and the chance of them having a convenient picture up was even slimmer.“Think you’ll do it?” Liam slipped into the seat next to him wit
The space heater made a small difference, but a noticeable one. Jackson turned it off at night. He didn’t want to start a fire and have to go down the death trap of a fire escape. But during the evening hours when the chill was really starting to set in, it was pure heaven to be able to wrap a blanket around himself and enjoy the warmth blowing on him.Wren never seemed to feel the cold. He never complained about it. He never shivered. He never asked to get under the blankets. Jackson was jealous. Jackson was made for warm sunshine. He wanted the heat on his skin. Not the tingling numbness of being too cold.The passing of a week brought a fifteen degree temperature drop. Frost glistened on their window in the morning light. Jackson could see his breath when he and Liam walked to class in the morning. Liam was just as bundled up as he was, so at least Jackson wasn’t the only one wimping out over the shift in weather.Wren was curled up on the bed tak
Jackson hung up the phone. Zain was staring at it with wide, surprised eyes while Wren didn’t look shocked in the slightest. Liam was frowning at the two wolves. Jackson really should’ve put it on speakerphone so they could all hear what was said.“Warrick said he’d show me the ropes. Since it’s my first time registering a wolf in the fights, and as a sign of no ill will, he can guarantee me four million, just to sign him up. We also get a portion of every dollar that’s spent betting on him and we can place our own bets down to increase our profits,” he gave the shortened version to Liam.Liam’s face slowly morphed to match Zain’s. “A sign of no ill will? What’s that mean?”Jackson grinned. “I bid against him for Wren. Honestly, he let Wren go too cheap if these numbers are anything close to standard for what kind of money he would have made, but I assume he didn’t want to get on
Jackson re-read the email from his grandma for the third time. He glanced over to where Wren was doing steady push-ups. It had been non-stop since the date of the fight had been set. Wren was either lifting weights or running or hiking or… Jackson was exhausted just watching him. He’d tried to help at first then quickly realized he was a hindrance.“Are Liam and Zain in their room?”“Yeah,” Wren grunted.Jackson opened the door and stuck his head in the hallway. “Zain, bring Liam down here.” He left the door propped open. Several seconds later, they came in and Wren stopped his push ups.“Grandma emailed. Her and Grandpa took out a loan against their farm. They got us two hundred thousand to put down as a bet.”Three sets of eyes stared at him. Finally, Liam spoke. “I don’t know why this made me nervous all of a sudden.”Probably because it was such a reminder tha
Nerves made it hard for Wren to catch a full breath. He’d thought he was ready. Six weeks. Six full weeks of the gym, running, more gym, more running… Jackson tried to keep up with him and remembering Jackson’s panting breath as he finally admitted he would be more useful as an observer made Wren want to smile and he was able to relax marginally.Then he remembered what was coming up and his eyes would pop open. Jackson was sleeping fitfully. Their hotel room had two beds, but after months of sleeping together, they were curled up on the one.Jackson kept twitching in his sleep. Wren pushed in closer and draped his head over Jackson’s stomach. Jackson grunted and stilled. His hand came up and clutched into Wren’s fur. “Wren?” His voice was rough from sleep. “You ok?”Wren thought he was ready. He’d thought he could do this. He really did.“Wren?” Jackson sounded more awake. He scratc
The building they pulled up to was massive. Jackson had driven past it before. Hell, when they’d left town for college, it had been visible in the distance. There was no sign on the building. No name was given to the arena. Nothing signified the amount of trauma contained within its walls.Wren was silent next to him as they stared at the building. “When you’re ready,” Jackson said quietly. Wren nodded and silence fell again. In an abrupt movement, Wren reached over and clutched onto Jackson’s hand. Jackson held on, desperately wanting to keep holding on and drive away instead of opening the door.But, Wren pulled his hand away and instead reached down for the hem of his shirt. Jackson turned his gaze back to the building.“Put it on now,” Wren said.Jackson jerked his gaze back to Wren. Wren’s voice had been steady. There was no quiver of fear. No sound of hesitation. Jackson swallowed hard and nodded. He o
Jackson previously thought the marketplace was one of the worst places to be, but the marketplace didn’t hold a candle to this. A line of cages with numbers next to them and stats on the wall lined the hallway. Each cage was barely big enough for Wren to squeeze in, let alone turn around or be comfortable. Louis Warrick didn’t react in the slightest to the surroundings.Jackson tightened his grip on the leash he held. Wren’s claw clicked against the tile floor. Most of the cages had wolves already stashed in them. Some were snarling at the bars, lunging as best they could at people who walked by. Some didn’t move from their spots. None of them made eye contact with him as he passed by.None of them had fur like Wren.Wren’s fur was glossy and smooth. It was full and healthy. Every wolf he passed had bald spots, thick mats… Jackson barely held back his body’s reaction to gag at the scent of a particularly filthy wolf.