TEN
LIZZY
The next fewweeks passed so quickly, but so slowly.
Elliot continued taking care of Evan. I continued watching him, thanks to the wolf that wouldn’t take her eyes off of him.
Evan warmed up to him, and started calling him a word that sounded a lot like “Ehwt”. I was pretty sure it was his version of Elliot, and it was so freaking adorable that it made me wish I was there. He seemed to get just a little grumpier every day that I was in wolf form, but Elliot was actually pretty good at distracting him with snacks and games.
They had a pretty good routine going, and after a couple of days had passed, I wondered what the hell my wolf was waiting for. Elliot hadn’t shown any sign of violence, or impatience, even. He grinned more than anyone I’d ever met, and laughed more too.
I wasn’t looking for a relationship, but if I had been, he was the kind of guy I would’ve gravitated toward. He always had a good attitude, never complained, and was extremely adaptable. He made friends easily, too, and wasn’t intimidated by the judgment, pity, or stares he sometimes received when he took Evan places. And a couple of weeks taking care of a two-year-old werewolf you’d never met before was a hell of a lot, both physically and emotionally, but he handled it incredibly well.
I mean, it hadn’t really been long enough to say that he was the perfect man. And I didn’t want a relationship, but even I was starting to like the guy.
As a friend—just as a friend.
He might still flip his lid and change his mind when he realized that was all I wanted to be, in which case I would do whatever I had to in order to protect my son.
But I didn’t think he would.
On the final day of the fifth week my wolf had been hunting Elliot, he collapsed on the couch, exhausted after putting Ev to sleep. Evan had been particularly difficult that day, dumping four different chocolate milk bottles and throwing tantrums every five minutes. Honestly, I felt bad for Elliot. I loved Evan, but he could be a real pain.
Elliot didn’t turn the TV on or pull his phone out of his pocket, just draped his head over the couch’s arm rest and closed his eyes. His hand was in my wolf’s fur, scratching her gently. He never got tired of her following him around, either; another impressive feat.
I’d been annoyed about not being able to pee without a wolf in the room with me all day every single day SD had been hunting me.
My wolf nudged him in the arm.
His eyes cracked open, and he gave her a small smile. “What’s up?”
She lifted her nose and pointed toward the door.
“You need to go out?” He continued to scratch her head, slowly making his way to his feet.
She led him to the back door, then tugged at his shirt. Understanding dawned in his eyes, and they brightened a bit. “You want me to shift so we can go for a run?”
She nodded her head.
“Let me call someone to come hang out and listen for Evan,” he said, pulling his phone out and lifting it to his ear.
I knew him well enough to know that he’d call Dax first, and Ford second. Dax because he and Elliot were the last two single guys in the pack unless you counted Ryder (whose mate had rejected him), and Ford, because he was Elliot’s beta.
“Hey, man. Can you come hang out over here while Lizzy and I go for a run?”
There was a pause, and he nodded, absentmindedly dragging his fingers through my wolf’s fur. “Sounds good. Thanks.”
He hung up his phone, setting it on the kitchen table. His shirt went over his head, giving me a long look at those damned muscles on his abdomen.
The guy was ripped, there was no question about it.
My ovaries would be screaming like a fangirl at a boyband concert if my wolf wasn’t at the helm.
Elliot opened the back door a minute later, and Dax stepped into the house with a laptop tucked between his arm and side.
“Thanks, man.” Elliot shot him a grin as he and my wolf stepped outside. “If he wakes up, give him chocolate milk and then stick him back in bed before he can dump it everywhere.”
“Got it.” Dax gave him a two-fingered salute before Elliot shut the door behind himself and my wolf.