I pulled up in front of Char’s house. It was a lot bigger than my place, but wasn’t huge.
What was I going to say to Lizzy’s friend, Sabrina?
I chuckled to myself as I opened the door to let Lizzy’s wolf out.
The whole thing was a damned mess, but… I was kind of glad for the mess. At least I wasn’t waiting to meet my mate anymore, wondering why the nesting instincts had never really kicked in. And now, I knew why the nesting instincts hadn’t kicked in—my wolf wasn’t going to hunt.
He must’ve sensed that, or known it somehow.
When my mate eventually bit me, I would transform, and my wolf would bite her right back. There would be no wondering whether or not she would decide to be with me, so my inner-animal wouldn’t bother waiting or hunting her.
That was kind of a relief.
I unbuckled Evan and eased him out of his car seat. He flopped like a damned fish, which made it even more difficult to be careful with him. He was small and fragile, and I was worried I’d hurt him by accident, honestly.
Grabbing Lizzy’s clothes, phone, and keys, I headed toward the front door. Her wolf followed me up to it, and waited patiently while I knocked. Her tongue stroked the back of my palm, and I scratched her head in response.
She already seemed to like me at least a little; that was a good sign, I hoped.
The door opened a moment later, and an Asian woman with stylish glasses and long, dark hair stared at me with bright brown eyes. “You must be Elliot. I’m Lizzy’s best friend, Sabrina. Here, I can take Evan.” She reached for the kid.
I didn’t want to let him go, for some reason, but started to ease him out of my arms anyway.
Lizzy growled fiercely at my side, and both me and Sabrina paused.
The wolf wedged herself between me and Sabrina, and snarled.
“Step back, Sab.” Charly told Sabrina, her voice calm. Char was tall, pale, and slim, and dressed all in blacks and grays as usual, with her long, platinum hair falling to her waist. She was sitting on a sectional, her feet propped up in front of her as she faced the door. “You don’t want to piss off a mama wolf. Especially not one who’s hunting.”
“She knows I can take care of Ev,” Sabrina said, frowning.
“Hunting wolves have unique priorities,” I said lightly, trying to tone down the tension in the room. “She’s thinking through instinct, not logic. Seems like she’s testing me, not doubting you.”
Sabrina’s eyes widened a bit. “Crap.”
“Yeah. Where’s Evan’s room?”
“He and Liz share. Right over there.” She gestured toward a closed door just off the living room.
I thanked her as I crossed the room, and she followed me to the door. I opened it quietly, trying not to wake the little man.
“He sleeps in the crib,” Sabrina offered, gesturing toward a simple black crib in the corner of the room. A twin bed sat in another corner, and a couple plastic tubs with lids were stacked up neatly against the wall near the door. “He can sleep through pretty much anything. If he wakes up crying, he’ll want water and snuggles. The water is on the windowsill, and if he does wake up, just tell him to shift so he can snuggle with Liz. That only happens once or twice a month though, so you’ll probably be fine.”
“Thanks,” I murmured, still looking around the space. It was small, but clean. And it wasn’t in bad shape or anything, but I couldn’t help but think that it wasn’t much room for a grown woman and her active toddler.
“I work from home, so I can help with him in the morning. If she still won’t let me near Ev, then I can tell you what to do. If you need to go to work tomorrow, I can try to convince her to stay with me, or let Ev stay with me.”
I nodded, but knew that wasn’t going to work even without trying it out. Lizzy’s wolf was still chasing me, so she wouldn’t let me out of her sight—and she and Evan were a packaged deal. “Thanks.”
“Sure.” She gave me a quick, small smile.
“Can I ask what happened to her first mate?” I tilted my head toward the wolf.
“We call him the sperm donor, or SD,” Sab corrected me. “Lizzy doesn’t consider him her anything, except her past.”
I nodded, though my concern grew slightly.
She didn’t consider him her anything, yet he’d broken into her house and attacked her?