Lunatics {Book 1 ✔️}

Chapter 31

"Where exactly are we going?" I asked, curiously looking out the window.

"My apartment."

I looked at him in surprise. "You have an apartment? I thought you lived in-"

My voice trailed off and he laughed a little. His eyes crinkled when he laughed and it was a pleasant thing to look at.

"You thought I lived in the camp? No, no. Contrary to my traditional pack brothers and sisters I prefer my plumbing to be indoors."

He shot me a goofy smirk, and I couldn't help but laugh. He put me in a good mood, something I needed more than anything else at this moment.

"I don't want to put you in danger," I muttered, feeling guilty suddenly.

"You're not. I'm glad Tucker asked me. Truth be told, he's not my biggest fan. You may have noticed."

He turned into an apartment complex that was neither fancy nor rundown. We pulled into a spot and I couldn't help myself from asking the question when he stopped the car.

"Why does he hate you?"

He sighed and walked around to my side and opened the door for me. It was such a polite gesture that seemed like nothing for him while it completely surprised me. Instead, he seemed to think about my question.

"I don't know if he hates me, really. It's probably more like jealousy."

I thought for a moment that he was joking but his face remained stoic. He opened the door to one apartment and let us both inside. It was small, but comfortable inside and looked like a typical bachelor pad. He had a tv that was too large for the size of the room, a video game console, and little to no decorations. Shoved haphazardly in the trash were multiple pizza boxes and two lights were still on. Somehow the appearance of the carefree college apartment seemed to match Gray's personality.

"What do you mean jealous?" I asked, taking a seat on the couch.

Gray plopped down next to me, his arm resting on the top of the couch above my head. He shrugged a little at my question and he looked casual, but I sensed the sadness in him.

"We were best friends. Did you know that?"

I nodded, remembering the conversation I'd had with Ben. Gray didn't seem surprised.

"He was the brother I never had. We went everywhere together, did everything together... and then his mom died," Gray's voice trailed off as if picturing the day, "until then, nobody really knew or asked which pack the Joy boys would join. Most thought it would be their mother's because she was the alpha, but Tucker always said he wanted to join mine. Because his dad was our daemon, they would've let him."

"Then," he continued, "after his mom died, they set it in stone. They would join Tommy Joy's pack. Ours. For a while, it looked that way, but no wolf joins a pack officially until he's eighteen."

I filed away all of this information, craving more. Gray stopped and looked down at his hands. When he looked back up at me, grief colored his eyes.

"When Tommy died, people kind of lost it. Being a werewolf- or any supernatural creature for that matter is dangerous, but Tommy had a way about him that made him seem invincible. It hit Tucker the hardest, of course. He was eighteen so, legally, they put him in charge of four kids. My family tried to help him for a while, but he's nothing if not stubborn as hell. And proud too."

I smiled a little as he seemed to remember his former best friend fondly.

"Owein, however, was just a dick-"

"So not much has changed," I interjected, and Gray pointed a finger at me playfully.

"Bingo. But anyway, Tucker was struggling, obviously. He hardly had a source of income and no experience in taking care of anybody- much less four kids. Owein offered his own sort of fucked-up help to Tucker when he most needed it."

"What kind of help?" I asked.

"Owein offered to take care of the Joy's financially if Tucker would promise to do two things. One was to join his pack with no questions asked. The second was that he had to cut off all communication to my pack. Which, by extension, meant me."

My eyebrows narrowed and my fists clenched as Gray continued his story.

"When he told me, I lost my mind. I told him that Owein was nuts and that we could help him but he wouldn't listen. We got into a huge fight because of the kid's damned pride."

"If he was so prideful, why did he let Owein help them? I don't understand."

Gray met my eyes. "Owein didn't just offer him help. He threatened to split his brothers up if Tucker didn't take the deal."

I gritted my teeth together. My soon-to-be stepfather was looking worse by the minute. The man was a murderer and barely cared for his own family.

"As for me and him, I guess we both figured it would be easier if we hated each other." 

He shrugged noncommittally, but I didn't believe him. Gray still seemed distraught over his former friend's story. Neither of them could truly hate the other, but Tucker thought pushing him away was the answer. One question still bothered me.

"So... why is he jealous?"

"Because," Gray sighed, looking around his apartment and gesturing to me, "I'm the only one living the life we were both supposed to have." 

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