Kia stacked their empty bowls back on the cart then migrated to the bed and the open laptop. Jackson dug through his bathroom drawers for a comb. It’d been awhile since his hair had been long enough to require a comb to tame it, but he knew he had one hidden somewhere.

Wren sat in the wooden chair and didn’t move. Jackson wondered how his hair was taken care of before, though judging from the scars covering his face and the visible area of his arms, he’d take a guess that it wasn’t taken care of at all.

Finding the comb, Jackson paused with a good bit of space between him and Wren. “Someone needs to comb the mats out of your hair. It’s your choice who does it; you, me, or Kia.”

Wren didn’t say anything, but his shoulders tensed and his hands clenched into fists.

“Choices might be difficult,” Kia spoke from where she was laying on the bed with his laptop open on her stomach. “I mean 24 years in the fights, and according to this article I’m reading, fighting wolves don’t really live happy lives where they might be allowed to make choices.”

Articles. Why hadn’t he done even a basic search on how to deal with potentially traumatized wolves? “You’re a fucking genius. I don’t know what I’ll do without you.”

Kia rolled her eyes at his words.

At least he now had a game plan for tonight after he talked with his dad. There has to be some sort of advice out there for his situation. “All right. I’m going to comb the mats out of your hair. Don’t growl at me. If you need a break, say ‘I need a break,’ and we’ll stop for a bit.”

Wren didn’t respond, but his hands unclenched, even as his shoulders stayed tense. That was good enough for Jackson. Jackson stepped behind him and stared at the mess.

“Start at the bottom,” Kia said. “I think Sue-sue has some detangler stuff that her mom uses on her. I can go see?”

“Yes, please.”

Kia pushed the laptop aside but kept it open on the internet page she’d pulled up. Jackson carefully held the first bit of hair between his fingers and tried to force the comb through. It didn’t work.

“All right. Let’s cut the mask and see if we can just work that out first.” He grabbed some scissors from his desk, but froze before reaching for the blindfold. “I have scissors. I’m just cutting the blindfold and then I’ll set them down.” No response.

Jackson cut the blindfold as close to Wren’s hair as he could without cutting the hair itself. It took a bit of tugging, and a bit of finger picking at the knots, but he was able to get the blindfold worked free. The hair was still matted and a disaster, but it looked better without the wet fabric hanging from in.

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Kia returned as Jackson chucked the mask toward the trash can. He missed. She rolled her eyes and tossed it in herself. “Got the spray. You just spray it on the knots. Not that hard.”

Jackson looked at the bottle. Unscented detangler spray. He shrugged and sprayed at the first spot he’d tried to comb. Wren jerked, then froze. “Whoops. I’m going to spray this a couple more times on this spot and see if it helps.”

He sprayed it three more times then set the bottle down. Wren was almost shaking, he was so tense. “We could just cut your hair?”

“No,” Kia spoke from where she was lounging on the bed. “I’ll comb it out if you don’t want to.”

“No, I’ve got it. This is just… really bad.”

The spray helped. It took entirely too long to get even a small section combed out, but he managed to get it done. “Hey, there’s a new piece of legislation being discussed on werewolf freedom,” Kia said.

Jackson didn’t want to have to use the detangler again, but the spray had helped. “I have to spray down more of your hair. I’ll be quick.” Wren’s only response was to tense back up. “Doubt it’ll pass. Not while we have fuck-face as president-extraodinaire.”

“I know,” Kia sighed.

Wren’s hair was surprisingly soft under hand as he worked the tangles out. It hung in loose curls down to his shoulders. “Have an extra hair tie?”

Kia tossed the one around her wrist at him without looking up. It fell short. Jackson ran his fingers though Wren’s hair. The silky strands were damp from the washing and the spray. He ignored the way Wren jerked forward when his fingers brushed against his scalp and separated it into three pieces. It was a short braid, but it would keep the hair nicer than just leaving it down.

“What do you think?” Jackson asked the room at large. Wren didn’t respond.

Kia looked up from the computer. “Turn around,” she said to Wren. Wren stood and turned. Jackson stepped back as Wren towered over him. His heart skipped in his chest and Kia’s eyes shot to him. He stared back at her. “It looks good. Good job.”

“You can sit back down,” Jackson said.

Wren didn’t move. Kia frowned and exchanged a tense look with Jackson. Jackson shrugged. “When’re you going to see your dad?”

“Soon. I want his hair to dry a little more.” Jackson glanced at Wren. “Sit down.”

Wren sat down on the floor, exactly where he’d been standing. Jackson sighed and let him stay there. “Come look at this,” Kia said and patted the bed next to her.

Jackson climbed into the bed next to her. She had the legislation pulled up. Jackson skimmed it, but there was no chance of it passing. No chance. “I’ll keep an eye on it,” he promised her.

If it would just pass then the next year wouldn’t matter. Kia was his best friend. He wouldn’t let his dad change that. He wouldn’t let his dad take away all the best parts of her. He glanced over at her. She was leaning in close to the laptop, eyes skimming down the lines quickly.

“Your mom would be so excited for you,” Kia said out of nowhere.

“Mom would have made sure you were the one coming with me.”

It was hard not to be bitter. His dad worked best under contracts, agreements, favors… Power. It was always and forever just a power play when it came to him, and Jackson turning 18 took away a big part of the power his dad held before. With the law no longer keeping him under his dad’s control, his dad turned to Kia. The only person, or wolf, he would willingly stay under his dad’s control for.