“How does that apply to you?”
The town car pulled to a stop in front of my apartment block, and Dominick put it into park. He propped one arm behind my headrest and leaned against his door.
“It’s only a matter of time before the pack realizes I’m not with someone. When I get into my thirties and I’m not married, and I haven’t spawned any new Alvarez babies, they’re going to start asking questions.”
“Oh, Dom, there’s still plenty of time for you to get married. I don’t see how—”
“Even if I do get married, Secret, it just means they’ll figure it out sooner.”
“I don’t understand.”
“You’re worried you won’t be accepted into the pack because you’re part vampire, right?”
I wished he hadn’t said it out loud, but I nodded in agreement.
“Well, try being a gay werewolf.”
To say I was stunned would be the understatement of the year. I’d never had any indication Dominick’s interests ran towards other men. With Genevieve, she was so bold about her preference for women it was something I had immediately accepted as being a part of who she was. It wasn’t Dominick’s homosexuality that shocked me; it was how I’d managed to be totally oblivious to it.
“Wow.”
Dominick grinned and ruffled my hair. “Did I blow your mind a little, McQueen?”
“Little bit.”
“But do you see why it’s so complicated for me?”
“I guess… But in this day and age? I mean, gay marriage is legal in most states now. The pack must be adaptable, right? They can’t shun you over something that isn’t your choice.”
“Being a vampire wasn’t your choice. How forgiving do you think they’d be if they found out?”
Touché.
“Does Lucas know?”
Dominick shook his head. “Desmond knows. My mom knows. I never told my dad, and that’s probably for the best. He was pretty old school about pack stuff. I would have hated to have him shun me before he died.”
“But your mom?”
“You’ve met Grace Alvarez, right?” he said with a sly smirk. “She doesn’t care who I love, so long as they make me happy and they eat their fair share of pot roast.”
“And…is there someone?”
“There might be.” His hand gripped the back of my headrest so hard the leather cried out. “But it’s hard to deal with. He’s a good man, but he’s human. It’s bad enough, the lies you have to tell your loved ones when you’re gay. It’s harder still when I have to keep all the werewolf stuff from him.” He closed his eyes and pursed his lips together in a tight line.
“Can we meet him? Me and Desmond, I mean.”
Dominick opened one eye and stared at me, probably trying to judge if I was pulling his leg. “And tell him what? ‘Hey, Cas, this is my werewolf brother and his girlfriend, Queen of the Damned.’”
I slapped his arm. “I’m not queen of anything. And just tell him the truth. That we’re family and we love you.”
He opened both eyes, and a fine haze of tears shone in them. “You know something, Secret?”
“What’s that?”
“For someone who isn’t human, you’re a hell of a woman.”
Chapter Seventeen