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Dinner was fun,and delicious. Evan ate so much that he was drowsy on the way back to the house, but he caught a second wind when we got home. After shifting forms, he ran around like crazy while Elliot and I watched and laughed.
Elliot started doing the dishes while Ev played, so I picked up the dirty dishes and the toys that Evan left out. Sabby called me a few times while we cleaned and chatted, but I didn’t answer. I didn’t want to interrupt the happy peace in our house. We were spending time together, almost like… a family.
And I loved it so much it almost hurt.
I’d call Sab back after Evan went to bed, I decided.
“You’ve never told me about your family,” I remarked to Elliot, as I leaned back against the kitchen cabinets. Ev was chasing a ball around in his furry form, as adorable as always, but my eyes lingered on the gorgeous man my wolf had picked. Seeing that bite my wolf had left on his arm still made me feel way too many emotions I wasn’t ready to deal with.
“I don’t have any, anymore.” Elliot shrugged lightly, scrubbing at a plate with a sponge. The way his muscles moved while he scrubbed…
Hot damn.
I waited for him to say more, figuring he’d let me know if he didn’t want to talk about it.
“My mom died when I was in high school,” he explained, his gaze on the dishes. “Dad followed a few weeks after I graduated. He held on for me, I think, but when he knew I’d be alright, he let go.”
Damn.
My heart ached for him. “I’m sorry.”
He flashed me a small smile. “They’re in a better place, now. It makes me feel better to think so, anyway. And the pack is a family, so I’ve never been alone.” His eyes dropped back to the sink.
“Your pack interests me,” I admitted. “My old pack didn’t believe that SD had hurt me, so I’ve never been a part of one before. I think my wolf might like it, though. Me too, maybe.”
He nodded. “You’re an alpha; we’re like the glue that holds the pack together. Fine on our own, but better when we have people to love and take care of.”
The words made my chest squeeze.
I had always been the friend who took care of everyone else in mine and Sabby’s group in high school. I was the annoying one who made sure the wilder girls had condoms at parties, was the designated driver, and threw away any cups I saw sitting on the counters just in case someone had put something in them. As a dancer, I’d always had to be more careful with food and other things than most of my friends, and they gave me shit for it, but relied on me too.
After everyone separated for college and careers, Sabby and I had been the only ones who stayed together. If we’d stayed in contact with the others, I would’ve been the one who made sure that happened. But my life imploded thanks to SD and Evan, so I hadn’t, and we all had our own separate lives now.
Evan had become my pack, though, and I’d done everything I could for him. Now that Elliot was there to help me, our pack was growing. And we could make things easier, for both of us.
“I think I’ll like having a pack,” I admitted.
He flashed me a small grin. “Guess we’ll find out.”
I couldn’t help but return his grin with one of my own.
“Looks like the little monster’s out for the night,” Elliot remarked, turning back to the dishes.
My gaze flicked to the living room, and I found a cute little diapered-butt sticking in the air while my baby snored on the ground. He’d shifted back to his little human form before crashing, it looked like. “He didn’t have any chocolate milk. Might be a double wake-up night.”
“Good thing there are two of us, then.” Elliot’s grin returned, and I couldn’t bite back another one of my own.
I crossed the room and carefully lifted the little guy into my arms, snuggling him to my chest as I headed up the stairs. A minute later, I’d tucked him into his crib and turned the fan on. I stopped in the doorway, my gaze lingering on my baby.
He was so damn adorable, especially when he was sleeping.
After watching him breathe for a minute, I slipped out of the room, shutting the door behind me and heading down the stairs.
It was only seven, so we still had a couple of hours before we needed to crash.
“I think you promised me a date involving our finances,” Elliot remarked, as I reached the bottom of the stairs.
“Ah, yes. I’ve been so looking forward to it,” I drawled.
