I carried Elton up the stairs to his apartment, even though he assured me there was a freight elevator. This way was faster. I was itching to get him settled in bed and see what was going on with Lennon. Elton said he'd stocked up on groceries yesterday, but I wanted to see for myself whether I needed to order more. Now our mating connection was in place, my instinct to provide for his well-being and make a secure den was riding me strong. Hopefully it wouldn't take me too many weeks to convince him to move into the packhouse where I'd know he'd be safe.
Lennon, who we found sacked out on Elton’s couch, appeared to be on the mend. “Dude, I’m so sorry. I’m never eating at that place again.”
Elton rolled his eyes and whispered. “So he says now. Just wait until the next time he visits.”
“I heard that!” Lennon was blond like Elton, but a little shorter and stockier. Though currently he resembled a zombie more than anything else. He’d done a cursory clean-up of the bathroom, but as soon as Elton was in bed and napping, I scrubbed it down more thoroughly.
Next, I inventoried the groceries and placed an online order. Lennon watched me dazedly. “Dude, you’re like the ultimate boyfriend.”
I grinned. “You haven’t seen anything yet. Hey, does Elton have a favorite flower?”
Everything came together exactly as I’d hoped. When Elton woke up, I had roses and daisies in a small vase on his bedside table, a lasagna in the oven, and even a salad in the refrigerator. Lennon was making do with a smoothie.
I helped Elton to the bathroom then carefully got him situated sitting up in bed with a tray of food. He inhaled the scent of the lasagna, then reached out and touched one of the daisies. “I can’t believe you did all this.”
“Happy Valentine’s Day, baby.” I sat on the edge of the mattress and gave him a kiss.
He chuckled. “I'm not sure what it says about my life that this is the best Valentine's Day I've ever had, even if I include getting my testicle removed.”
I laughed. “We can definitely improve on it next year then.”
Later that night, I curled up next to Elton in my wolf form, with Gomez on the pillow next to his head. Peace and contentmentfilled my soul. Elton had agreed to be my mate, had formed the mating connection with me. Valentine’s Day or not, this was the best day of my life.
INSTAGRAM REEL FROM EJVIBES – WEDNESDAY, MARCH 16
“If somebody asked me if they should move in with their boyfriend after only dating for five weeks, I’d tell them that was way too fast.”
He adjusts the camera angle to show the back of a muscular man lifting a moving box, then he focuses on his own face again and grins at the camera. “But I don’t always take my own advice.”
EPILOGUE
ELTON
“This needsto go someplace where everyone can see it.” Lennon lifted the wooden bowl of balls out of a box. When he’d come to help me with my surgery, he’d brought more to add to the collection. Fortunately they were small—a silver metal ball from a pinball machine, and two marbles.
“Put it on the coffee table.” Rafferty tilted his head toward the living room before he carried a box of my books into what was now the study—half my office and half Rafferty’s LEGO room—making sure Gomez didn’t escape. We were keeping him confined to that room—after carefully covering Rafferty’s LEGO projects—until we were done bringing everything inside.
I shrugged. “Sounds good to me.” I continued emptying my box of drinking glasses onto the dining table.
Mom and Dad came out of the kitchen. “Sweetie, we’re going to pick up lunch for everyone. Are sandwiches okay?”
“Yes, thanks, Mom.” Lennon nodded as well.
She went into the study to ask Rafferty what he wanted. Both she and Dad had been over the moon when I’d told them I had a mate. I suspected they’d worried my lack of testicles meant I’d bealone the rest of my life, but they’d never said it out loud where I could hear.
Dad cleared his throat. “Elton, you’ve got a good man there. Your mom and I are happy for you with the mating and moving in together.”
“Thanks, Dad.” I walked over and hugged him.
He squeezed me tight. “That being said, maybe start thinking about giving us some grandkids one day, huh?”
I broke away from the hug. “Dad, I’m almost finished with my supervised clinic hours, and then I have to study for my licensing exam while I work my notice at the bookstore. And when I’m finally a therapist for real, I have to set up my practice. Why don’t you give us a few years to get settled before hounding us for kids?” I wasn’t about to mention that three—three!—of the pack members Rafferty had donated sperm to had spontaneously offered to be our surrogate. How the hell were we supposed to decide between them when the time eventually came?
Dad sighed. “Fine. Hey, do you need help finding office space for your therapy practice? You know your Uncle Bill used to be a realtor.”
“Yeah, but Rafferty and I were planning to turn one of the ground floor apartments in the back building into an office space for me.” Manny, of all people, had told me and Rafferty about the efforts that were being made to stop Wonder trafficking, and Rafferty had volunteered some of the empty apartments to be used as housing for the people who were rescued. Having my office space in the same building would allow me to see those patients discreetly and safely.
Mom came out of the study, and Dad released me and patted me on the shoulder. “I’m proud of you, son.” He walked over to join Mom, giving Lennon a shoulder pat of his own as he walked by. “Lennon here, though, is still a work in progress.” He winked as Lennon yelled in protest. I just shook my head as Mom and Dad left the apartment, chatting about how nice the building was.
