Page 106 of Vampire Kings Box Set

“Move him closer. Or her closer.” Henry allowed for the possibility of a female. “He’s not going to like what I do. You might not either. But I’m not here to waste my time.”

“I understand.”

The pack master was still not done laying out problems. “His father’s reputation would have made him an outcast even if he hadn’t been raised as an orphan. My pack has learned how to live peacefully and most importantly, privately. Killing people is strictly against the laws of our pack.”

“You are aware Will has several charges for murder. He kills easily.”

“Not anymore, he doesn’t. He needs boundaries. He needs to learn to submit.”

“He knows how to submit very well.”

“To you, maybe. He needs to learn to submit to a code of laws and behaviors, not to one creature capable of destroying him. He needs to respect his elders and betters. All of them. Vampire, werewolf, human. He needs to feel shame when he behaves the way he just did.”

“I am certain Will feels a great deal of shame,” Maddox said. “And misery. And pain.”

“He has more in his future.” Henry predicted. “Much more.”

Will was waiting for Maddox upstairs when Maddox finished negotiations with their guest. He’d locked himself into the cage, as he did every night. The key was over on Maddox’s bedside table. It was a level of submission Maddox had never imagined he’d get from Will, but that was before Will was forced to do battle with an internal monster that seemed to rise every time he slept.

“You did not make a good impression on Master Henry.”

“I really don’t give a fuck,” Will said, his hands on the bars, arms out, back stretched in a muscular way, as if he was limbering up to prepare for a fight. “He seemed like an asshole. I’m not interested in pleasing anyone besides you.”

“And that is sweet, boy. But I am not the only creature in the world. And you have to learn how to be what you are. You need a pack.”

“No. I fucking don’t. Did you make him leave?”

“He’s gone,” Maddox said.

“Good. Fuck him.”

“But he will be coming back in the morning. And you will need to adjust your attitude.”

Will stared at him with that rebellious blue gaze.

“I really don’t want to have anything to do with him. I didn’t like the way he smelled. I didn’t like the way he looked. I didn’t like the way he looked at me.”

“Of course not,” Maddox said. “He’s an alpha. And so are you.”

“I am?” Will’s expression was somewhat brighter than before.

“Yes. Of course you are. Or you will be one day if you survive this transition. Give Master Henry a chance to teach you something.”

“Why would you trust some random guy you didn’t even know existed last week to touch me?”

“He has survived for a long time with a level of secrecy our kind envy. He has an entire pack who depend on him. Men. Women. Whelps. He has many vulnerabilities and he knows I have access to all of them. This is not a single deal, William. This, as everything I do, functions on many levels.”

“Uh huh.” Will was not convinced. “He seems like a douche.”

“Because he’s used to being in control and you hate anybody who is accustomed to control.”

“You’re accustomed to being in control and I don’t hate you,” Will said, sliding up against the bars with a lustful smile. “I’ve never hated you.”

“We have something special, don’t we, boy.” Maddox reached into the cage and caressed Will’s cheek lightly. “But none of us are islands, and even you and I need help sometimes.”

“I don’t want that kind of help. I don’t need that kind of help.”

“And yet you are going to get it. Goodnight, my boy. You start with Master Henry in the morning.”