He shook his head. “No. It’s in the city south of here, and they aren’t werewolves there; they won’t know why I disappeared. They’re probably still pissed. But the nicest restaurant here in town has been trying to convince me to take over for a few years, so I’m sure I can at least get a job there. The money won’t be as good, but there’s less of a commute, and they won’t question where I’ve been for the last year.”
I grimaced. “I’m sorry.”
He poked my cheek lightly with his fork. “Don’t be. You’re a hell of a lot better than a job.”
I rolled my eyes, and he pulled his fork away to take another bite of his food.
“Would it bother you if I worked on my old video footage here? I could set up permanently in the spare room, and move my clothes to your room. Our room.” I corrected myself when I saw that look in his eyes. “I’ll pay my fair share of the utilities, and—”
He smooshed the flat part of his fork over my lips.
I narrowed my eyes at him, and he gave me a bit of a smirk. “When you’re ready, we’ll pool our bank accounts. Until then, I pay. You can consider it my apology for the year you were running away from my wolf.”
I sighed, and he moved his fork away again. “Fine.”
He nodded, and returned to eating. “I think we should schedule a few trips a year, too. You can’t have seen everything the world has to offer in just a few years on the road. We’ll travel to some beautiful places, you can get some new videos, and maybe you’ll start to remember why you wanted to see the world in the first place. I think that’s an incredible part of you that you shouldn’t ignore.”
I studied him, as he continued eating.
He was nothing like I’d imagined he would be. Not even a little. Yet there we were, sharing a meal, and talking about our future.
It was strange. The world was big, and wide, and beautiful, but I’d never met anyone like him.
Then again, I had never given anyone else the chance to get close to me like I had him.
And even with him, I hadn’t shared the worst parts of my life. The most painful moments, the ones I didn’t know whether I’d ever share with anyone. Del didn’t know them, Stewart didn’t know them; the only people who did, were my parents. And my mom was dead, while my dad was… who knew where.
I sure as hell hoped I’d never see him again. If I did, I definitely wouldn’t stop Zed from attacking him the way I had with Stewart.
We finished eating, but weren’t ready to crash again yet, so I texted Del.
Me: Can we come see you guys?
Del: You just want me for my baby
I snorted, and Zed glanced over curiously. I showed him the texts, and his lips curved upward in a slight smile.
Me: So?
Del: Duh. Get over here. I miss your cute butt.
Del: Don’t tell Zed I said that. I don’t want to get my throat ripped out by a possessive werewolf asshole.
Zed snorted, and I sent her a “shh” emoji before we got up and headed over.
Del opened the door before we even got there, throwing her arms around me. “You have no idea how lucky we are to be werewolves, Jay. I was reading online about healing from birth when you’re human…” she shuddered. “Your hoo-ha tears. Rips. Like a damn piece of paper. And if you’re human they just stitch the fucker back up and send you home as if your entire ass-vag area isn’t an erupting volcano. For a werewolf, the damn thing heals up in like twenty minutes!”
Wow.
“You okay there, Delly?” I checked, stepping inside and tugging Zed in behind me as I pressed the back of my hand to her head as if I was checking her temperature.
“Yeah, sorry, hyped up on caffeine. We’re not sleeping much.”
That was understandable.
There was a massive guy I didn’t recognize sitting on the couch, with long dark blond hair up in a messy bun, and tattoos curving over his hands and up his neck, peeking out through the long-sleeved tee he wore. He was holding Felix, who looked like he was asleep.
“This is Ryder, Rocco’s brother.” Del gestured to the man I didn’t recognize. “He’s couch-surfing right now. Elliot and Rocco have been fighting with the main alpha in an attempt to convince him to let us build another townhouse next to Jesse and Tea’s, and adopt him into our pack,” she explained.