Page 10 of Broken Souls

Hurting for all the shit he has been through, for all the paranoia that has been forced on him since he was a kid, when that first knife went into his back, I pull out the stuff needed to make waffles. They’re his comfort food. And they are quickly becoming mine too.

“So why were you babysitting Khalid?” I ask as I crack open the eggs and separate the whites from the yolks. “He get hurt too?”

I look up to see Maddox shake his head. In another bowl, I start mixing the egg yolks, milk, butter, and vanilla extract into a batter.

“Nah. Turns out the dumbass bonded to a fucking WALL member, and he’s been chasing her all night. Varius wanted me to stick with him so he didn’t do anything stupid.”

I stare at him dumbly, my mind incapable of computing any part of that. The WALL are humans who hate sups so much that they vivisect us and call it God’s work. I know Khalid has been obsessing over some girl for the past three months, but aWALLmember?

“Let me guess, she knows how to kill a werewolf with a toothpick?” I finally manage.

He laughs.

“Wait a sec,” I cut in just as he starts to say something. “Varius askedyouto keep Khalid in line.You?”

“Hey!”

“You have a six-inch-tall sex fiend as a pet in your room. You keep her in a fish tank, and she humps her tower. You cannot possibly argue you were the best pick for the job.”

He starts to try, then he grins. “Yeah, I just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

“And did you?”

He cocks his head. “Did I what?”

“Stop him from doing anything stupid?”

“Depends on your definition of stupid.”

“Will Varius be happy about it?”

“The guy’s never happy.”

I open my mouth to tell him that’s not true, but then I shake my head. If someone knows what makes you happy, they’ll know what will break you. And Maddox specializes in torture for the Family. Varius wouldn’t be happy with me sharing anything about him at all.

“Have you never seen him happy?” I ask softly, my heart hurting over just how distant he has to be with everyone.

“I haven’t, no. By the time I was born, he was how he is now. But the others say he used to laugh a lot. He used to read them bedtime stories and show them bugs he found.”

“Did he have a favorite bug?” Maybe I can get him a pet for his birthday.When is his birthday?

“You’ll have to ask Leno. Or Talon. They know him best.”

“Not Khalid?”

“Obviously Khalid, but he ain’t gonna share shit.”

I laugh as I go back to making the waffles. Of course he wouldn’t. But I like that about him, that he has Varius’ back all the way.

“But I wouldn’t ask either of them,” Maddox says softly after a few minutes of silence. The batter has been mixed and is cooking in the waffle maker. I have a pan of omelets going and another sizzling with bacon.

“No?” I ask, not turning around as I focus on keeping everything from burning.

He shakes his head. “Varius doesn’t like snooping, and I would hate to see him become suspicious of you.”

My heart aching, I realize getting him a pet would be a bad idea anyway. Insect or dog or cat – it doesn’t matter. Pets are clear weaknesses. Hurt them, hurt Varius.

He would never let himself love it.