Big And Bad (Book Two)

Chapter Twelve

 I parked in front of Candy's house. The sun was about to set. I had an hour left to find out if Candy still loved me. Beverly couldn't be heartless enough to tear us apart!

 Especially not over some asshole who cheated on her. 

I got out of the car and ran up to the front door. Candy opened it, giving me a dirty look. She was probably in a bad mood. I spoke.

"What's wrong, baby?"

"I know you don't like Merlot, but breaking him and Bev up is too far," Candy said, crossing her arms.

"But he was cheating. I saved her the heartbreak."

"That's bullshit, Brandon. You sabotaged their relationship on purpose."

"You're siding with her?"

"Yes, because you're obviously wrong. I never want to see you again. You're acting like a jackass."

She slammed the door in my face. At this point, I was completely alone. And it was 100% Beverly's fault. What the fuck?

 This wasn't fair. I ended her relationship with Merlot as a favor. She tore me and Candy apart just to be petty. The fact that she compared both out relationships was laughable.

I walked away from the house and got in my car. As I drove down the street, a phone rang in my the glove compartment. Oh my God. I forgot I had a backup phone.

Except it was on silent before. I took it out. The missed call was from Shay. I called her back.

"Hi, Shay."

"Hey, Mr. Gray," she said.

"What did you want to talk about?"

"I did a background check on Merlot Crimson. His real last name is Jones, and was given up by his mother Rose."

"Why did she give him up?"

"She had him when she was 15. His Aunt Tyra raised him."

I hit the brakes. Shit. Candy was right. I was acting like a jackass.

I wish I could undo all of the ridiculous things I did. Too bad, I couldn't. There was no way everyone would forgive me that quickly.

My car wouldn't start. I tried again. Same result. I was halfway home. This was the worst day.

"Mr. Gray? Are you still there?" Shay asked.

I clenched my fist. "Yeah. What else did you find out?"

"Merlot's grandfather Tom owned a shop in Phenix City and hunted wolves. His cousins Paula and Alex went missing when they were two."

"Can you send me photos of these relatives?"

"Of course."

My backup phone chimed three times. The call ended. I looked at my messages from Shay. The first photo was of Tom Woods. He was almost unrecognizable without the flannel shirt.

In the other two photos, Paula and Alex were smiling next to a red wolf. They both looked familiar. My head throbbed in pain. Of course, Tom was the kind of sick asshole who would kidnap children.

If he wasn't dead already, I'd kill him.

I got out of the car, rubbing my temples. It got darker out here, and the moon was full. My groans in pain turned into growls as my body morphed. A car drove past me once I was in wolf form. 

 The car came back, and parked in front of me. A brown skinned guy got out. He approached me slowly. My head was still hurting, so I didn't look at his face.

"Hey, fuzzy boy. Are you okay?" the guy asked.

I shook my head. My eyes closed for a minute. Next thing I knew, my feet weren't touching the ground anymore. When I opened my eyes, I was lying down in the backseat of the man's car.

He drove down the road, with all the windows down. Someone put their hand on my head. I looked up, and guess who was there too? The one person who I didn't want to see.

"Travis, Fuzzy just woke up. Give me the steak!" Merlot said.

Travis chuckled. "Here. This is the last piece."

Merlot dangled the piece of steak in front of my mouth. Of course, I ate it. He started petting me. I moved my head away from his hand and sat up.

I'm a werewolf, not a fucking dog.

 Travis parked in front of a huge black cabin. All of us got out of the car. The pain in my head only went down a little bit. Once we entered the cabin, I was speechless for real.

There were paintings of the full moon on the blue walls. A big gray mattress in the middle of the living room. I walked there, and laid down on it. Someone sat behind me.

"You can stay here until tomorrow, Fuzzy," Merlot said, chuckling.

 I didn't respond. As long as he's not here tomorrow, the situation can't get worse. The scent of cherry and cinnamon soothed me. My eyes slowly closed.

It got quiet. Merlot sighed heavily. I said nothing. He would kick me out if he heard my voice.

"I wish my girlfriend's brother was as chill as you. That man clearly has a stick up his ass."

Ouch. I thought I was chill. Then, everything I did this morning replayed in my mind. None of that was chill. He was right.

 Wait a minute. How will I get back home tomorrow? My phone was in the car. I can't have Merlot drive me home, because it might get ugly.

  He got up and walked away. I fell asleep. The whole situation can be dealt with tomorrow. This headache better be gone by then.