Life is quiet and comfortable for Gael. Abel has moved in to his house, school is going great and he has his little solid friend group.
But as the population of wolves grows from one to four, Gael has to figure out how to navigate them looking to hi...
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We sat by the table. Me and the new wolf. River was doing the dishes; Abel was out walking Dave.
"You live here with the vampire?" Frank asked, as he eyed a painting I had made of Abel and Gary, hanging in the kitchen.
"Yes."
Frank nodded a little. "Where I come from, we don't mix like that. I'm surprised to see it, especially from someone as prominent within your community as you."
"The thing is, we're all in the same community. Everyone here is part of the community as soon as they leave the human world behind. We're all living in a world that is inherently not made for us. Vampires, banshees, witches, griffins... Wolves."
"Sure, but this world is friendlier to some more than others."
"You're telling me?" I asked, arching a brow. "I'm a gay werewolf, living with my gay vampire boyfriend who isn't white. My friends are queer and trans and not white and supernatural too. Even without one part of us, the other would make this society, this world, unfriendly. To put it lightly."
"Relax, boy. You can put the banners down. My husband and I have been on the outskirts of this society for longer than you've been alive."
I snapped my mouth closed, feeling heat rise in my face.
"I'm not about to bring around homophobes," River muttered from the sink. "Can't believe you thought Frank wasn't an old queen though."
"Oi, I thought you were doing the dishes, boy. Quit running your mouth more than the water." Frank looked back at me. "You better train that one and keep him in a short leash."
"I try," I said and glanced back up at River, but he was staring down at the dishes.
"The way you run your community here. It's not seen in many places. So yes, I was surprised by your vampire."
"His name is Abel," I said a little too harshly.
"Abel," Frank said, way softer than I had. "You trust him?"
"I bring the new wolves here, when they're ready to talk. He makes them coffee or tea. Usually, he has some baked goods to offer too. He likes baking, you see. He's the more domestic of the two of us. He'll probably also make the most money, once he graduates. So he'll be the home maker and the bread maker. Don't know what that makes me."
"A stereotype?" River offered with a swing of the dish brush.
"So much talking from someone who's still learning how to shut up," I said pointedly.
River rolled his eyes and grabbed another mug. "So yes, I trust him. With my life. With all of the wolves' lives."
Frank nodded and took another sip of coffee.
I closed the door behind Frank and turned to River.
"What is the vampire doing to you?" River asked, the words bursting out of him as if he had been holding it in for hours. He probably had.
