Chapter 8

"Goddammit!"

Andre pinched his lips to contain his giggle as he watched Rafe squint angrily at the bark of a tree.

"Who was that?" Caster's voice piped up from the cellphone speaker.

"Sorry. That was Rafe. He's just doing some pre-dinner workout."

Which he had been doing for the last three hours. Andre had woken up from a dreamless nap to ireful growling. At first, he panicked that it was a Graybite wolf who had come to collect on behalf of Renkin, who had changed his mind. It was a relief and quite humorous to find his only friend having an intense staring contest with a camphor tree on the outside of a wooded area that sat in the corner of Outville Piers. He decided to stay and be the great cheerleader he promised to be.

A few days after the visit to Ironward, Toby had hooked them both up with phones for leisure calls and emergencies that required attention outside of the academy. Andre was eternally grateful that Beau's mate somehow got to connect with Jan and the others back home.

"He kisses his momma with that mouth?" Gena's spoke up, playfully stern.

"No!" Caster answered her. "It's 'cause he's not a baby."

"Hey! I'm not a baby!"

Bylo, who Andre had been speaking to while watching Rafe trying to shoot daggers from his eyes, admonished them both. "Alright, you two. That's enough. You're both gonna make my ears fall off at this rate."

Andre chuckled. "If it helps, that's a good sign. It means that you're settling in nicely, By."

"I guess, but how long is that phase, big bro?" Bylo groaned. "I gonna be in hearing aids by the time you get back."

"I bet Jan can hit you up with that."

The two shared a laugh. The omé didn't know how Toby was able to set up a wireless connection in a forest and how Beau was able to teach the orphans how to use a phone, but he didn't question it. Werewolves possessed the advantageous and convenient ability to telepathize with their fellow tribe members. However, a more powerful wolf, typically the alpha, could sense links taking place and could tune into the conversation without the original linkers knowing. Andre wasn't familiar with electronics, but it was their safest bet if they didn't want someone like Axel Hemming to catch onto anything.

Plus, Renkin still thought they were in Spain. The punishment that would follow for lying to him was something the young omé did not want to think about.

"So, how's Caster 'number one hero' doing?" Bylo asked.

Andre grinned and looked back at Rafe, who had just punched a hole into the tree he was trying to sever in half. "Trying to figure out how to fire lasers out of his eyes like last time."

"Man, the amount of money I'd pay to see that. I always hated those gammas, you know. Serves him right. His arm still hasn't grown back yet since the wound was already cauterized. People are calling him Axel Stumping now."

"Well, it was either that or he went after you guys. So, serves him right this time."

And Andre didn't feel too vindictive saying that.

Rafe crouched and glared harder at the tree, his face reddening in extreme concentration.

"Come on!" he gritted his teeth.

Something did well up inside him this time. It bubbled up in his stomach and zapped down the lower base of his spine, then blasted out of his rear like a low, croaky cough. The world went still for a second before Andre flew backward off the log he was sitting on, cackling himself to tears.

Rafe's face was a tomato as he glared at his friend, silently threatening to use the omé as laser practice instead of the tree. "Shut the hell up!"

"What?" Bylo questioned. "What he do?"

Andre relayed the past thirty seconds between gasps for breath while his superhuman friend grumbled threats, and soon the omé over the phone was sent into hysterics. All the while, Andre gleefully gazed back at the simmering blond, who stomped away from the tree line to the edge of the ocean water.

"Any harder and there's gonna be a brown stain in your pants, dude!" the young wolf couldn't help but taunt.

"Shove it, man!" Rafe tossed back with a middle finger.

Bylo chuckled. "At least he isn't one of those super guys who have explosive gas."

Half an hour later of phone call and more glaring passed when Andre finally took pity on his struggling buddy.

"Take care, you guys! Love you all!" he exclaimed before hanging up.

He walked over to Rafe, who sat and glared at his faded reflection in the water, the crescent moon hanging just right above him. Andre took a seat next to him as he tried to contain his giggles.

Rafe's cheeks pinked instantly. "Don't."

"I wasn't."

"You were."

"I-I promise," his words were stuttered by more snickers. "Let me help."

Rafe glowered at him. "How? You wanna get your arm sheared off, too?"

Andre leaned back with his hands up in surrender, his teasing smile still present. "Point those orbs of death away from me, sir."

The blond rolled his eyes, though, there was a slight quirk to his lips. Feeling accomplished, the omé sobered up and thought back to the distressing situation.

"Well, you must've activated them somehow. What were you feeling at the time? Seeing me get hurt?"

Rafe winced. "Christ, don't make me think about that. Seeing you like that…"

"Made you what? Angry, right?"

The blond shook his head, keeping quiet for a minute before forcing himself to respond. "Fucking helpless, man. Like I couldn't…"

"Then, use that," Andre hopped up, pulling Rafe with him. "You exploded the last time. Let those feeling well up inside you and burst outward! Let it fly free!"

His voice went high-pitched at the last word, making the superhuman finger his ear. "Alright, alright! Don't get weird all of a sudden. Stand back."

The omé chuckled but did as he was told, putting ten steps in between him and the other boy. Everything went silent as Rafe closed his eyes and focused, wrapping himself up in the calm rush of the ocean waves as he dug through his memories.

"Ex… plode…" Andre spouted, his voice undulating as if he was a spooky ghost.

"Hush up, peanut gallery!" Rafe glared at him.

Andre clamped his jaw shut but kept twiddling his fingers at him.

The blond retreated into his head.

There was nothing like feeling weak when he was supposed to be strong…

Like sentinels guarding their master, the two wolves lunged for the superhuman, wrapping their arms around the boy's and gripping him as tightly as they could.

"Hey!" Rafe struggled in their grasp. "Get the hell off me!"

His hands tightened as sweat build up on his forehead. Just thinking about it sent a humiliating ball of shame and disgust rolling in his stomach.

However…

"Not so tough now, are you, monkey?" Axel laughed loudly.

The tanned one squeezed tighter. "He's like a wild chimpanzee!"

The paler wolf hummed in agreement. "We may have to euthanize him to keep the public safe."

"Axel, please," Andre begged. "J-Just let my friend go. He didn't do anything. He-"

There was nothing like innocent people…

"N-No, please! I-I'll do better! I p-promise, I-"

…who couldn't fight back…

"Weak. You're weak, boy. And what did I tell if you ever displayed any weakness before me, Raphael?"

"N-No! No, don't! Please! Not her! Please-"

…that sent him over the fucking edge!

The rage was already too much to contain at that point. Rafe opened his eyes but instead of red, the world around him went green.

"Fuck. You!"

He shouted the malevolent image in his mind, a viridescent storm of power rushing through his body and out of his sight. There was a thunderous boom as painful, sun-hot heat emanated out of Rafe's eyeballs, and he could make out a shining singularity among the emerald event horizon just before his vision went black.

For a full minute, Rafe thought he blacked out, but then his perception began to restore, his world a blur while his head swiveled in his lightheadedness. As Outville Piers refocused and the trembling in his legs lessened, something in the back of his head alerted him to immediately search out Andre. With now clear eyes, he spotted Andre laying on the ground, unmoving.

"Shit! Andre!" Rafe blanched, terror suddenly making it hard to breathe. He was at the omé's side in a split-second, gathering the brunette in his arms and trying to shake him awake. "Andre!? Andre, are you alright, man?"

The prospect of Andre being hurt was already too much for Rafe to handle, but if it was he who caused that harm…

Those harrowing thoughts were cut off by the boy-in-question himself, who blinked his eyes open and blew out a shocked breath. "Woah… I think you blew up. Like, literally blew up for a second there."

"Are you okay!? Are you hurt anywhere?" the superhuman carefully inspected the wolf, gently brushing off the dirt that covered his white shirt and checkered pajama pants.

"Nah. Just a lil' dazed is all," Andre smiled reassuringly up at him, brown eyes gleaming with pride. "A shockwave blasted out of you, dude! And your lasers? They were green!"

Rafe blinked. "Green? You serious?"

"Yup. Last time they were red, but this time was, it was a big ol' ray of lime. How'd you change its colors like that?"

"I… I don't know. I can't really control it. And I've never seen anybody fire green lasers back at the Coat."

No one that he knew of. Not even the other Golds.

Hurried footsteps came pounding down the dock that led to the woodlands, and the two looked over to find Toby in only his boxers and what Rafe could only assume was an otherworldly gun strapped to his right arm.

"Boys! Is everything alright!? What happened? Who's getting a killer death beam to the face today?"

"Yeah, real intimidating," Rafe snorted as he and Andre got up. His silver eyes looked over his friend's form, doing a thorough examination for any hidden injuries.

"We're all okay, sir," Andre waved. "Rafe was just practicing his laser technique."

At that, Toby relaxed, brushing his disheveled hair back as he walked over to them. "Oh? You got a hold over that now?"

"No," the blond let out, looking away in disappointment. "I still can't control it, but I think I know how to get one brewing thanks to Dre."

"You should have seen it! It was green this time!"

"Green?" Toby turned to the sky and contemplated. "I've been around Wolframite my entire life, and I have never seen or heard of any superhuman with green lasers," he faced Rafe with wonder. "It was red when you used it in Graybite, right?"

"Right. I think it was bigger, though."

"And there was a huge shockwave that knocked me off my feet, too," Andre added in happily.

"From red to green, eh? You sure you don't have a blue laser tucked under those eyeballs as well?"

The blond quirked his head in puzzlement. "Why blue? Like… like fire?"

"Sure," Toby shrugged. "Bio-soul energy has a rather simple system in the way it functions. Red is strong, blue is stronger, and green is the strongest. Seems plausible, don't you think?"

If that was how it worked, then Rafe was at the peak of his anger just then. There was a spark of hope regardless of the fact that he had to think about Andre being hurt to utilize his newfound ability.

"Did we wake anybody else up?" he asked instead, mentally deciding to clock out for today.

"Probably," Toby grinned, "but I think everybody's just used to you making a ruckus during absurd hours of the night. Though, I don't think Beau wouldn't have winked if he were here. Guy sleeps like a log."

With that, the three ambled back to their isolated cabin to clean up. They ate dinner without Beau, who was on kappa business for a couple of days. Currently, Rafe was trudging out of the restroom when he heard arguing downstairs. He knew Beau had yet to return since his entrance would have been boisterous. Slipping closer to the stairs, he tuned into the middle of a dispute between Toby and somebody on the other end of the phone.

"…to stop calling here, Gold. Phone calls are taken into account when getting a restraining order, you know."

"I just want my son back, Tobes. Come on. Just this one favor for an old friend?"

Ice filled Rafe's bones at that voice.

The same one that made him explode just earlier today.

"You lost every favor that I owed you when you tried to kill me, my mate, and Maisie," an angry sneer Rafe's never heard from Toby laced his tone.

"It always comes back to that overgrown mutt of yours, does it? I've always wondered what happened to our friendship, but maybe I should have realized that it was that big lug you got attached to your side since he returned sooner."

Rafe nearly shot down the stairs, vigilance spiking to a new level. He wanted to curse out the other end. Guard the fellow Wolframite against the danger and menace the caller represented. It wasn't like he hadn't had any first-hand experience doing that before.

The hidden threat did not go unnoticed, but Toby's confidence was unshaken, replying in a harsh, dead tone. "No. You and your need to always go overboard is what ended us. Don't call this number again, Rhys. I'm serious about that restraining order."

Rafe heard the hang-up button ring out with finality, but no relief followed.