Page 33 of Wolves Always Bite

Didany supernatural come in a human sized package?Well, other than green monkey creatures like my boss.Although, she wasn’t a typical human size either, since she was so short.Yetanother question to add to my growing list.Ihoped there was a stationery store in town.Ineeded to stock up on notebooks, preferably ones with tabs soIcould keep everything organized.

Hey,Icould create my very own bestiary.

Hmm…Itdidn’t sound very nice to call them beasts.Therehad to be a better name.AnEncyclopediaofSupernaturalBeingssounded a little stuffy.ACompendiumofMagicalPersons?Nah, that wasn’t any better.I’dhave to think about it.Thenagain, there was a high probability of me calling itSuperSupesor something like that, because my imagination tended to get shy whenIput it on the spot like that.

Ialso needed to decide on a classification system.Forinstance, should minotaurs, centaurs, and werewolves be grouped together because they each changed into animal-like forms?Thiswas getting complicated.HowwasIgoing to keep everything straight?Itapped my finger on my lips asIwaited forAdrianto finish booking us in.

Ihad offered to pay for half, butAdriansaid no.Veryadamantly.

Ididn’t fight him very hard on that.

Mybank balance was a little sad andIdoubtedI’dget any more money fromBabette, even though she owed me for two weekends not counting today.Assoon as this whole thing blew over,I’dneed to go job hunting again.Thatwas a shitty thing to think about, soIshoved the thought aside and went back to thinking about supernatural creatures again—in particular,Levi’snose, since it was right in front of my face.

Theguy’s nose wasn’t unlike a bull's nostrils.Andhe made this weird sort of huffing sound when he laughed at some jokeAdriansaid.Hehad to be the minotaur.Ofcourse,Icould totally be influenced by theideaof the guy being a bull creature and seeing things that weren't there.

I’dnever been good at the sciences.Itended to be too swayed by my own wants and desired outcomes to wait for the final results of an experiment.Andfactual descriptions were so boring.Dispassionateobjectivity was no fun at all.

Still,Ishould add another column to my supernatural checklist that addressed how a creature's supernatural form snuck into their more human-like appearances.Icould pretend to be scientific.Justthis once.

“Thereyou go,” the must-be-a-minotaur said. “Hereare two keys.Youare booked in for a week.Check-out is at eleven in the morning.Thismonth’sWi-Fipassword is posted in your room.”

Ibet this month’s password was the same all year long, butIdidn’t call him out on it.Ihoped it was something likeLostInLabyrinthorTheseusSucks.

Adrianscooped the keys off the counter.

“Youbooked us in for a week?”Iasked.

IguessIhadn’t thought about that.I’dneed to call my parents, so they didn’t worry.Andmy landlord too.I’dhate for the building manager to not see me, thinkI’dskipped town, and toss my stuff away.Iwas already late on my rent.I’dpromised himI’dpay him tomorrow becauseI’dbeen expectingBabetteto pay me today.

Damnit.

Ihated the idea of asking my parents for money.Thatwould really, really suck.They’dask a lot of questions.Andhow the hell wasIsupposed to explain thatI’dlost my job because a werewolf saved me from my boss, who’d turned into a nasty green monkey creature.They’dnever believe me.Intheir shoes,Iwouldn’t believe me either.AndifItold themIwas staying in a motel with a stranger for a week…They’dprobably stage an intervention.

"Let'stake our stuff up to our room,"Adriansaid, jingling the key in his hand.Anactual key.

Didall supernatural creatures have an aversion to technology?

Themotel only had about twenty-odd rooms, so finding ours was easy.

Whenwe got to the top of the stairs, we ran into a guy about my age.Hewore a security uniform with a badge that saidS.Rivers.Hehad to be a supe because as soon as he sniffed, whichInow identified as a supe behavior, his eyes widened.Hehissed at us before bolting in the other direction.Ihoped he wasn’t the only security dude because he wasn’t inspiring a lot of confidence.Iwatched him disappear down the stairs at the far end of the exterior walkway.Theguy wasn’t fat, but he had a bit of bulk, soIwas surprised to see him sprinting away so fast.Actually, his body type reminded me a bit ofAsh’sbrotherBirch.AndnowIwas back to wanting to text myBFFagain.

Thedoor to our room was the color of an eggplant emoji.Honestly, it was begging to be the punchline in a joke.Whoon earth saw that color and thoughtyes, that is the perfect color for a door at my classy establishment?

Adrianswept inside.Ifollowed a step behind untilIspied the two double beds.Okay.Imean,I’dbeen hoping for the “just one bed” scenario, butIguess only characters in books got that lucky.

AtleastAdrianwasn’t bothered by the idea of sharing a room.ThankGod.

Iwasn't normally so needy.Icouldn't be.Asa kid, my parents had to divide their finite time among seven of us, soIwasn't used to being coddled.Myparents had been too tired by the timeIcame around.Inschool,Iwas so and so's younger brother without a real identity of my own.Theteachers didn’t set aside time to praise me or reprimand me.Mygrades were enough to keep me in school and that’s all anyone cared about.And, in university lectures,Iwas a face in a sea of other faces.Professorsdidn’t have time to worry about each of their students.ButknowingAdrianwould be in this room with me tonight, just becauseI’dasked, eased some of the roiling worry that had nagged at me since the accident.Ashprobably would have done the same thing for me.Imean, he was amazing, which was why he was myBFF.Butthis felt different.

Forinstance, knowingIwould be bunking withAdrianalso made me horny.Thatnever would have happened withAsh.Noway.Eww.Hewas more like another brother than anything else.

I’dnever known it was possible to be worried and horny at the same time.Maybeit was some kind of wacko survival instinct where my brain was shooting out messages ofthe world is ending, you must breed.Itforgot thatIwas gay and not about to pop out any babies since, sadly, magical werewolf jizz didn’t exist.

Yeah.Ishould think about something else.

And, honestly, this room gave me plenty to think about.Thecolor scheme was evidently inspired by the vibrant purple on the outside door becauseeverythingwas purple.I’dnever seen so much purple in one place in my life.Therehad to be ten different shades of the color, from the palest shades used on the bed sheets and the ceiling to the shocking ones used as accent pieces in the lamps and artwork.Maybethe minotaur had a thing forBarney…Or—and this was much more likely—Leviread the same kinds of booksIdid and was fantasizing about certain amethyst dragons when he designed this room.WhenIcornered him to ask him about what it was like to be a minotaur—because, of course, that was going to happen—Ishould pepper in a few questions about his favorite books to confirm my suspicions.

Adriantossed his bag on the bed closest to the door.Ididn't have anything except my backpack, andIwasn’t giving that up anytime soon.It’dalready proven useful, so it went whereIwent.Although,Iwas beginning to wishI’dpacked a change of clothes in there too, because what wasIgoing to wear for the next week?