Argent's Wolf [NaNoWriMo 2020]

Chapter 15

The question made the writhing ball of nerves in his stomach quiver. Milo pulled the veil that was a Matthews over himself, refusing to let the fear show. A fruitless endeavour given the last few days revealed the truth of Milo to Ross. Milo was a wimp rather than a force to be reckoned with. Not much could be done to fix that perception right here, right now but some things could be sorted. 

"We are going to get some clothes that fit me, right?" Milo picked at the jumper on him that drenched him in Ross's scent. It didn't make him envision being killed anymore but there was something intimate about wearing someone's smell. Milo wanted his Dad's smell. The blanket in his room had lost most of it now. 

Ross grunted. Milo didn't feel reassured by the sound. It wasn't a 'sure, I said we would, didn't I?' sound. It was an 'I hoped you weren't serious' sound. 

"Ross!" Milo tried to bark with authority rather than whine like a simpering child. He wouldn't get any respect from Ross for it.

"We'll be getting back to Grasmere tonight. Surely you can last a few more hours with my slacks," Ross pointed out, the parental scolding tone slicing through Milo. The voice echoed with reason. Milo didn't need new clothes when he would have his own soon. 

"It's the least you could do, and you promised."

"Promises mean little, pup. Not unless you're fae or a baby," Ross changed gear. Milo flinched as Ross moved his hand. Shame washed through him. Hand movements shouldn't make the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. He was pathetic. Ross eyed him. "I'm not inclined to let you out when you are so jumpy. Without that collar, you'd be wolfing out constantly."

"I'm not that bad." Except he was. 

The replying hum disagreed. The traffic slowed as the morning rush hour kicked in for the local city. Tired humans commuted to work, and exhaustion rolled through them all. A car as pink as the blanket over his lap overtook them, but it got stuck at the next junction as a lorry blocked the exit lane. A small car with a personalized license plate sat conked out at the side of the road, and a depressed man stood at the barrier shivering in the morning chill. 

The radio spat out traffic reports regularly in between pop ballads. Ross's scent mixed further with his, sinking into his skin and making them smell like pack. Sleeping next to each other had encouraged that too. Ross didn't quite have Milo's scent over him, but it lingered. 

"You could at least get me some shoes."

"King." A warning but not angry, Milo controlled his breathing and ignored another flare of his wolf being stifled as it tried to break through. His nails itched. 

"I'm going to need to leave the car today, and going to a service station bathroom barefoot doesn't sound hygienic," Milo rambled, curling his legs up and hugging them to his face. "Unless you want to give me piggyback rides everywhere?"

"I'm going to regret this, aren't I?" Ross tapped his fingers against the steering wheel. "Maybe I should have asked you to stay as a wolf." There was a light teasing his voice.

"You never did say what your plans for me were," Milo couldn't help but bring the conversation to a more serious topic that was weighing on his mind. One promise, it was a simple little thing, but it spoke of far more dangerous, deadly things heading his way if Ross had no intention of keeping his word. "You won't let me take the collar off, and you aren't keeping your promises."

Ross didn't grunt as a reply this time. He didn't say anything, changing fears again as the pace picked up and cars started to move faster. The claws of dark whispers returned, and Milo tried not to panic. Maybe trusting that Ross would hurt him was a mistake. Maybe, not fleeing in the hotel had signed his death sentence. Maybe Ross's plan involved humiliating him on his own turf before putting him down.