Caius glanced at his watch. “Is Lukas not coming?”
“He’s out on a run.”
Max glanced between them, still unable to comprehend their relationship. Caius was obviously the boss, but unlike Max’s father, he wasn’t punishing Quinn for stepping out of place. “You all are, like, military or something, right?”
Quinn beamed at him. “Marines, yeah. We’re both out,” he said, flicking a finger from himself to Caius, “but Lukas has a few years left on his contract.”
“Why’d you leave?”
Caius grimaced, but instead of snapping at Max to mind his own business, he sighed and set his coffee down. “Medically retired.”
“I served my eight years and didn’t reenlist.” Quinn tipped his head towards Caius. “He offered me a pack, so I joined him instead.”
“It’s just the three of you?” Weren’t packs supposed to have dozens of shifters?
“Four of us,” Quinn said firmly, poking Max in the shoulder. “You’re pack now.”
Max made a face, ignoring the fresh burst of warmth in his chest as he shoved another bite in his mouth. He doubted pack meant family like the movies liked to portray, but it was still more than he’d ever found at home.
“Ready?” Caius asked.
“You don’t actually need me to go, do you?”
Caius raised an eyebrow and stood. “You don’t want me picking out your things for you.”
“You really don’t,” Quinn agreed. “Everything will be beige and scream ‘old man.’” He returned Caius’ dark look with an unrepentant grin and headed for the door.
With a groan, Max followed and hoped he didn’t set the car on fire. Especially when he saw the sleek cobalt-blue sports car in the driveway. He let out a low whistle as he dragged his fingertips along the side before getting in the back seat.
Quinn settled in the driver’s seat and slid his sunglasses on, popping a piece of gum in his mouth before backing out. “So, other than a phone, laptop, and clothes, what else do you need?”
“Nothing.” Max winced when Caius shot him a glare over his shoulder, his mouth dropping open when Quinn smacked the back of his hand into Caius’ chest.
“Stop with the scary face, O captain, my captain.”
Caius turned his glare on Quinn. “It’s colonel.”
“O colonel, my colonel doesn’t have the same ring to it.”
Caius sighed, muttering under his breath about corporal punishment.
Ignoring him, Quinn continued. “Seriously, Max, whatever you need. Or want. Might as well take advantage of thecolonel’splatinum card. Any hobbies you need supplies for?”
Were they testing him? “No?”
Quinn let out an exaggerated sigh. “We’ll figure it out along the way.” He braked at a red light and turned on the wipers when the snow flurries started. “How about a gaming laptop? Lukas and I play some online games sometimes if you wanna join in.”
“Really?” he asked before he could help himself.
Quinn glanced at him in the rearview mirror and grinned. “Yup. We’ll get you set up.”
BY THEtime Max was “set up,” they’d fought their way through an insane holiday shopping crowd to get him a new laptop worth a few grand that he was frankly terrified to touch, an art tablet and one of the newest phones on the market, several bags of winter clothes, two pairs of shoes, and a pair of combat boots almost as expensive as the laptop. And that was only the “necessities.”
He also had a bag of nail polishes, eyeliner, and skincare products Quinn had insisted on when he’d caught Max staring at someone’sstunning makeup. The shifter had even waved down an employee for a quick tutorial, since Max had never dared touch the stuff before, no matter how much he’d wanted to. His father would have skinned him alive, literally, to remove it.
Caius hadn’t said a word, which wasn’t as surprising as the fact Max had caught him watching more than once with a look of interest.
After that, Quinn had dragged them past every hobby shop in the strip mall until he found Max’s kryptonite: an art store.
