Carter had a point there.
“I like that you’re a pervert,” John said, just so that there wouldn’t be any confusion. Carter’s kinks—from his enthusiasm for manhandling John to his love of being worshiped—were some of John’s favorite things about his strapping werewolf.
“Good. Things would be awkward if you didn’t.” Carter kissed John on the neck, sucking a patch of skin between his teeth and biting down gently, and John felt a flicker of impatience.
A year. That’s how long they had to wait to make sure that this was real.
John could handle a year.
***
The next morning John woke up alone. He went to the bathroom and removed the plug from his ass, grimacing in distaste as he washed it in the sink, and then pulled on his clothes and trudged out of the bedroom in search of Carter and their guest.
He found them sitting at the kitchen table eating breakfast, looking showered, dressed and ready to start the day.
“Good morning,” Carter said, grabbing John by the front of his shirt when he came within reach and pulling him down for a kiss.
“Morning,” John said when Carter released him. He poured himself a cup of coffee and sat down, looking between the two werewolves. “Why are you guys up so early?”
“I woke up early and started working out in my room,” Elijah said, looking embarrassed.
“It woke me up, so I invited him down to the building’s gym to get a proper workout,” Carter explained.
That explained why they looked so awake and fresh.
“Thanks for letting me sleep,” John said, taking a sip of his coffee. If Carter had woken him up early on a Sunday to work out he would have been annoyed.
“No problem, I know how much you hate getting up before you have to.” Carter knocked his foot against John’s leg, rubbing it up and down his shin and making him shudder.
Carter’s phone vibrated with an incoming message, and Carter’s foot fell away as he reached for his phone to check the message.
“It’s from Spencer Tiller,” Carter said, a strange quality to his voice. “He’s flying in to Builder Falls tomorrow.”
“So this is really happening,” Elijah said. He sounded like he couldn’t believe it. “So what’s the timeline?”
John wondered what was going through Elijah’s head. The plan he and Carter were concocting would end with the death of his father. John couldn’t imagine how bad things had to be for that to seem like a good thing.
“I’ll call a pack meeting on Tuesday,” Carter said, leaning forward and resting his elbows on the table. “In the clearing where we start our runs. Everyone will assume that I’m the one challenging Grayson. Once everyone in the pack is present, I’ll step back and you can present Spencer to the pack and vouch for him.”
Elijah frowned. “Shouldn’t you do that?”
Carter shook his head. “No, the minute your dad thinks I’m challenging him he’ll tell everyone that I’m a human lover. The pack might turn on me, and they might not, but either way at that point a voucher from you will carry more weight than one from me. Especially since you’re technically Grayson’s heir.”
“You really think they’ll stop respecting you just because my dad claims you’re a human lover?” Elijah looked shocked.
Carter let out a mirthless laugh. “No. But when he sends everyone the video of me having sex with a human they will.”
“I’m sorry,” Elijah said. He looked genuinely sad for Carter—like he couldn’t imagine a fate worse than losing the respect of the pack.
“Don’t be. After the challenge I’m moving to Builder Falls. I’ve formed enough of a pack bond with John that I don’t need to live in Forest Hill.”
Elijah blinked, looking at John like he was seeing him for the first time.
“You made a human pack?” he asked. There was no disguising the horror in his voice, and Carter’s expression hardened.
“Watch your tone,” Carter warned, and Elijah flinched back like he expected a blow to the head.
John wasn’t Elijah’s biggest fan at the moment, but Jesus what a dick the guy’s father was.
