He stopped cleaning himself and stared at my outstretched hand. He leaned forward slightly and sniffed the air in my direction.
“Hi, kitty. If you come over here, I’ll pet you.”
His ears twitched back and forth, then he took one step toward me. Elton chose that moment to come out of the bedroom, and the cat raced away, disappearing under the couch.
“Did Gomez let you pet him?” His tone was slightly incredulous.
“No.” I stood up and turned around, smiling in appreciation of Elton’s trim form in well-worn jeans that hugged his thighs and a blue long-sleeved t-shirt that brought out the color of his eyes. “But some things are worth the wait.”
INSTAGRAM REEL FROM EJVIBES – FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 11
The camera is set up on a bathroom counter, and he has both of his hands gripping his hair. “I have a date tonight. I haven't been on a date since my first bout of testicular cancer three years ago. Hookups are easy. Hookups don't notice when one of your balls doesn't feel quite like the other one. Hookups don't require any explanations.” He lets go of his hair and uses his fingers to tame it. “This is completely nerve-racking. Wish me luck.”
CHAPTER 5
ELTON
“So where are we going?”
Rafferty drove his gigantic pickup truck out of my building’s pothole-ridden parking lot. It was still light out, and I stared longer than I should’ve at his strong, callused hands on the steering wheel. “It's Friday night. My pack has a tradition where everyone eats together on Fridays before going off and doing whatever they have planned for the weekend.” My stomach dropped. Surely he didn't mean.... But he did. “We’ll have dinner there and you can meet everybody.”
“Rafferty, it's our first date. Meeting your family seems serious.” No way was I having our first date in front of who knew how many shifters, all of whom had super hearing and would be exceedingly interested in my and Rafferty’s conversation.
Annoyingly, he just nodded. “You wanted to get to know me. Meeting my pack is absolutely the best way to do that.”
I opened my mouth to object again, but I stopped. This was obviously important to Rafferty, and what else was I going to do tonight? Sit around my apartment and dwell on my impending lack of balls? I blew out a slightly frustrated breath. “Um, okay.But I'm not sure how long my social battery will last after everything else today.”
He reached his hand out before jerking it back. “Anytime it gets to be too much, let me know and I'll bring you home.” He scratched his beard. “But, uh, don’t freak out when you see the packhouse. I promise not everyone will be at dinner.”
I turned in my seat. “Oh?”
“It’s not really a ‘house’. It’s more of an apartment complex. But it’s notthatbig.”
Holy fuck. How many people were in his pack?
The packhouse—pack apartment complex?—was south of 610 near 288. “We bought it out of foreclosure fifteen or so years ago and refurbished it. It has sixty units, and right now thirty-seven of them are occupied. It's got a pool, and we ripped out the tennis court and put in an obstacle and agility course so we can exercise in our wolf forms. When we want to run for long distances we have to drive out of town.”
The complex consisted of two buildings. The larger one faced the street and blocked the view of the rest of the property. When we went through an entry gate, the smaller building came into view, and to the right was an Olympic-sized pool with a hot tub. There was a large open grassy area and beyond that more grass dotted with the dog agility equipment Rafferty had mentioned. Several people were walking around, but I didn't see anyone in wolf form.
I didn't have time to look at everything in detail because Rafferty took an immediate left into a parking garage, pulling into the first numbered slot. I guessed being pack alpha had its perks.
“Wow. This is nicer than any apartment complex I've ever lived in.”
He snorted as he turned off his truck. “It was falling down and riddled with mold when we bought it. What you see now is the result of years of manual labor.”
As we walked from the parking garage to the main building, people called out Rafferty’s name and waved. A few of them called him “Alpha” but it wasn't universal. A big man, slightly more heavyset than Rafferty but of a similar build, jogged over. “Hey, Rafferty. Will you have time to review the inspection report for the house on Chester Street this weekend?” He examined me curiously.
Rafferty clamped the man on his shoulder. “Gene, this is Elton. He's joining us for dinner tonight.” The man greeted me, but we kept walking so I didn't shake his hand, just said hi back. “I'll try to look it over on Sunday. Will that do?” Gene agreed and walked off in a different direction.
We entered the larger building, and it was obvious this was the heart of the packhouse. To the left was what appeared to be a commercial kitchen, and straight ahead was a dining hall with long tables. To the right was a huge room with areas demarcated by rugs or furniture. There was a giant TV with video game consoles, a couple of tables for arts and crafts, a colorful play mat with blocks and other toddler toys, and two sectional couches set up in opposite corners. I counted twelve kids ranging in age from infant to late teens, along with several adults. Three of the younger kids had Rafferty’s dark hair and unmistakable widow’s peak.
He waved to the right. “Let me show you my apartment before dinner. I’ve got the only one on this floor.” So everyone could easily access the alpha if they needed to. Made sense.
We walked past the big recreation room and down a short hallway. A door at the end led into a kind of office-slash-reception room containing a desk and a seating area with a couch and chairs. “I use this as my office. My apartment is through here.” That door was locked, with a keypad for entry.
I hadn’t expected, well, anything really about Rafferty’s apartment, but I’d never imagined it would be intentionally decorated. The furniture was covered in sturdy suede or microfiber, and everything had a dark green and light gray color scheme, with pops of yellow and orange here and there. It was cozy and inviting. “This is great. I like how you decorated.”
His face flushed. “Thanks. The bedroom’s that way, and I use the second bedroom for my, uh, I guess you’d call it a hobby.”
