I snorted.
Den Mother Elliot?
It was perfect.
“Not the Den Mother,” Elliot protested. “More like the…pack dad.”
“Pack Papa?” I grinned. “Even better.”
Rocco chuffed beside me, and I scratched his head as Elliot grimaced and Dax grinned.
“Be real, man. How many snacks do you have in your pockets right now?” Dax checked, leaning over the bed frame.
I turned my gaze back to the wolf I was scratching, not wanting to be a creeper.
“Three?” Elliot dug into the pockets of his sweat pants, and came up with a Twix and two Clif Bars.
I laughed. “Seriously? I don’t even remember to put a bra on half the time.”
Rocco growled, shoving himself between my boobs and the other guys in the room, making me laugh harder.
“That’s because you’re a gamma,” Elliot said, flashing me a grin. He didn’t look ashamed in the slightest of all the snacks he’d brought.
“A gamma?” I checked.
“It’s a role in the pack, like alpha.” Dax tossed a hand toward Elliot, still focused on the bedframe he was building.
“The gamma is basically the pack’s entertainer,” Elliot explained. “They keep everyone laughing.”
“Well, I can tell you straight-up that I’d be the shittiest comedian any of you have ever seen.” I gestured around the room.
“Your pack role is only one aspect of your personality,” Dax said with a shrug. “Elliot’s the Pack Papa, but he’s also really into boxing, which is a pretty violent sport. Rocco’s a pretty funny guy, usually, but he loves history more than anyone you’ll ever meet and can rattle off dates that all kinds of random shit happened.”
My eyebrows lifted, and I glanced over at the wolf. “Guess your human wouldn’t forget my birthday or our anniversary.”
The wolf snorted, and shook his head no.
I glanced back at the guys, who were still working on building shit. “So what day do you guys celebrate for anniversaries? The day two mates meet? Or the day you bite each other, or what?“
“It’s up to the couple,” Elliot said with a shrug. “Some celebrate the day the mate hunt started, others celebrate the day the female wolf bites her mate, or the day after the climax ends. The majority eventually have a wedding for the human’s sake, and celebrate the wedding day as their anniversary just to make things easier for extended family and whatnot.”
My chest hurt.
Even if I wanted a wedding—which I didn’t—I wouldn’t have had anyone to attend it, other than June. She would definitely show up if I asked her to, but I’d feel bad even asking her to because I knew her heart was on the road. She hated being in the same place for more than a day or two.
That thought was depressing, but I didn’t let myself linger on it. I may not have had any say over my parents’ choice to abandon civilization, but I’d made my own decisions when it came to keeping to myself and avoiding crowds. If I had tried, I could’ve made friends. I wasn’t bad with people; just anxious.
“So Rocco can hear everything we’re saying right now, right?” I checked, before I asked a question that might be awkward for hottie-Rocco.
“Yes,” Elliot confirmed.
Never mind, then.
I’d keep that question to myself.
“You look like you want to ask us something,” Dax observed.
Damn him.