Pack of Lies

"I have nothing to hide.""Neither do I," Eli purred. "Look at us. Two open books.""Sure. Except yours is written in code. And invisible ink. And has one of those paper snakes that pop out and scare the shit out of anyone who picks you up."Eli made that odd huffing sound again. "I assure you, Mr. Doran, I've never received a single complaint from those blessed enough to pick me up."

ELIIIIII IT'S ILLEGAL TO BE THIS SUAVE, YOU SMOOTH CRIMINAL

>>> technically standalone but i highly recommend everyone first read the Big Bad Wolf series for the ~Total Experience~ <<<

[3.9] welcome back to Maudit Falls, our infamous hush-hush shelter for rebel pack runaways! and what a return this was, with some long-awaited dual pov goodness dances in the ocean of grief and trauma that comes with having twice the number of perspectives

we finally get to see the world from the eyes and mind of a wolf character, and it is the one-and-only snarky flirt of a fashionista Elias (Eli) Smith, manager of the new haven and MY KING. i've adored him since he appeared in the original series, and i still laugh at the irony of him falling in love with a human when he said he would never. the human in question? Julien Doran, fading Hollywood actor following his brother's bread crumbs to discover the truth behind his mysterious passing.

Eli and Julien resemble two animals of prey in a dance, gauging each other amongst a crowd of other suspicious characters with witty banter and sneak peeks at vulnerability cushioning the space in between. things take a rapid turn when dead bodies start piling up, and they have no choice but to join forces while keeping their own secrets close to their chests.

i shouldn't have expected anything less, but color me surprised by the bumbling, shy school boy energy Julien would exude in the face of Eli's flirtations, where his blushing face became indistinguishable from a tomato. but despite any underlying hesitation given a general lack of experience with men, trust me when i say he's a whole new breed of man in bed