''You know how they came up with the word Lunatic?'' he asked.
I shook my head, feeling like I probably didn't want to know the answer. His lips pulled up on one side in a mischievous, lopsided grin.
He stepped closer. ''Because all of the worst m...
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Funnily enough, nobody had ever told me that I would feel completely normal waking up next to a werewolf boy who was coming down from a drug-induced high. I guess it was one of those things that you had to learn on your own.
Ben seemed completely normal the next morning and we didn't talk about the events of last night. He seemed eager not to breach the subject and eager to leave without seeing Owein. Slowly but surely, I was gathering that the Joy boys did not like being around their uncle.
I wasn't too fond of him either. The black eyes I'd seen in my first vision always gave me pause. There was darkness in him but I didn't know if I was sensing the wolf side or something else.
Ben left quickly and quietly, away from Owein's prying eyes. An ominous feeling settled in my stomach as soon as Ben left. I couldn't put my finger on why it was there but I was beginning to get fed up.
Why was there so much darkness? Couldn't I have gotten abilities that let me feel all good things about the world?
As I was feeling incredibly pessimistic about my new found abilities and moping productively around the house, noise from Owein's office distracted me. I stood outside the cracked door and listened for a moment.
"Mistletoe is effective, of course. But there are other, more attainable, items that would work just as well."
The unfamiliar female voice confused me. What the hell was mistletoe effective for?
"I want mistletoe. It's less detectable," came Owein's response.
My first thought was that Owein was having some weird Christmas-themed affair on my mom. The idea seemed preposterous and I ruled that option out quickly. Realization dawned on me and I knew the mistletoe must have been a wolf thing.
I made a mental note to ask my friendly neighborhood giant dog about it. Ben would surely know it's importance.
Fearing that I would be caught, I began to walk away from the door. A flash of curly red hair was the only thing I could see of the woman before I made my quiet escape. Owein's clandestine meeting in his office was surprisingly the least of my worries.
Lucas told me that he could help focus my abilities. The thought that I could one day touch someone without the fear of seeing their death or destruction almost sent me running out of the estate to the Joy boys.
"Lou, sweetie?" I heard my mom say from the kitchen.
I peered around the corner and spotted my mother's familiar appearance. She was wearing her ratty t-shirt pajamas. The previous silk nightgown was nowhere in sight. The familiarity of her outfit comforted me.
"Did your friend leave?"
I nodded and sighed, thinking about Ben saddened me. Last night made me understand why Tucker was so afraid for his brother. Ben's darkness was all-consuming and, so it seemed, was Owein's. My unease around him was growing with every passing day and every perfect smile.
