He also said Reau hated loud noises, even fun ones like the fireworks we tried to watch on the Fourth, but he could get loud himself if he was happy or excited.
We also discovered that he got scared and panicked easily. Em said he hadn't been like that before, and we knew it was an effect of his parents' abuse. We hadn't been able to get many details out of Reau yet, but his physical condition told a lot of the story.
The poor kid's mental health was just as roached. He kept asking when we were going to make him go back in his cage, which broke our hearts. How often did they lock him in that dog crate?
Finally, two days ago, I took him outside and we set fire to the thing. He was more fascinated watching the flames than celebrating the destruction of his torture chamber.
I wasn't sure he fully understood the gesture, but he hadn't asked about his crate since then.
Now, with a heavy sigh, Em plunked down on the couch next to me, rested his elbows on his knees, and dropped his head in his hands.
"What do we do now?" he mumbled.
Clamping my hands on his shoulders, I kneaded the tense muscles.
"Orsacchiotto(teddy bear), do you remember the luna telling us she'd been given wolfsbane several times? Let's take Reau over for a visit. She's the resident expert in this, so maybe she knows or sees something we don't."
His head shot up and he looked at me with a hopeful smile.
"Okay. We—"
Then his eyes fogged over, and I figured he was about to be called out somewhere, which was fine. Our plan could get shelved until tomorrow, when we were going over to the alpha house anyway for Beta Tyler's birthday party.
"She's actually asking if we can come over. She wants Reau to meet the alphas' younger brothers, and needs one of us to take her into town for some supplies."
"See? The Goddess' hand at work." I grinned at him. "We'll take Leo, too. He needs to get out of the house a bit."
"Good idea."
#
Thoreau Jones
I jumped out of Bubba's big car and looked around. My little eye spied a pair of bikes parked at the top of the lot, and I ran to them.
"Reau! Don't touch!" Bubba called.
I just wanted to look. To show him that, I shoved my hands in my pockets as I walked around the two bikes.
They looked like fun! I wondered if they went fast.
"Hey, man. Who are you?"
I didn't know that voice, and I spun around to see who it was. We were here to see the pretty luna, not meet new people. My little eye spied two big boys. They were only wearing swim trunks and were all wet. For some reason, my insides fluttered as I watched the water run down the interesting bumps and lines of their chests and bellies.
Why are there butterflies in my tummy? If I fart, will they go away?
"You like our bikes?" asked Mr. Blond, walking up to me.
He was taller than me, which was scary, and I hunched my shoulders.
"I didn't touch!" I shouted.
"Okay?" Mr. Blond looked at Mr. Black-hair for a second, then back at me. "You want to go for a ride?"
With round eyes and a big grin, I forgot my fear and nodded my head really fast.
"I think that's a yes, Arch," laughed Mr. Blond. He came closer and held out his hand. "I'm Wayne Black."
