The black wolf stood up and walked purposefully toward them, not stopping until it was directly at the fence. It sat again with an annoyed little sniff.
“Holy fucking shit,” Dean breathed. “Did I—did I do that? Is this my Dr. Dolittle moment? I can’t believe Sophie’s missing my Dr. Dolittle moment.”
“Shhh, how about some Dr. Do-less,” Cooper said tensely. He stared at the wolf and the wolf stared back. Up close its eyes were a light silvery-blue.
Suddenly, it winked.
Beside Cooper, Dean choked.
“Hello,” Cooper said tentatively.
The wolf jerked its head to the side as if gesturing them over. Then it stood and walked along the fence to the corner behind the brush where the employee access presumably was, and disappeared.
Cooper exchanged looks with Dean.
“I can’t believe you were giving me shit about not speaking wolf,” Dean whispered. “You literally just booked a date with one.”
Ignoring his brother, Cooper glanced around to make sure they were still alone and hopped over the short railing.
“Wait! You shouldn’t—” Dean protested.
Cooper hurried along the fence in the same direction the wolf had disappeared. He scrambled through the brush, hearing Dean curse and follow behind him. About a hundred feet later, the carefully placed foliage cleared and he found the access point to the habitat: a double door system in the fence, where one door needed to be closed before the next opened, in order to prevent escape. Cooper only noticed that in periphery, distracted as he was by the pile of concrete slabs outside the fencing, on top of which sat a very naked man.
A very naked man Cooper had met before.
Chapter Two
“Eli,” Cooper said as Dean crashed to an astonished stop beside him.
“In the flesh.” Eli flourished his hand and crossed his legs, as prim and elegant as a tea party. “And the fur.”
“And not much else,” Cooper noted.
Eli dipped his long, dark eyelashes in a come-hither look Cooper would not have dared try himself even if he wasn’t lounging around stark-naked at a zoo, but somehow it worked on him. Cooper had forgotten how depressingly good looking Eli was with his blue-black hair and scruff kept just long enough to look like a rakish pirate without dipping into bunker-man territory, and his body’s muscles and fat combined to look powerfully sensual.
His eyes were as mischievous as Cooper remembered them when they’d met back at the Park pack’s estate after the death of Park’s grandfather, but under the careful air of amusement, they flickered with exhaustion and were adorned with dark circles and crow’s lines that hadn’t been there before. There was a slight tremble in Eli’s arms too, and as Cooper followed them down, he noticed his fists were clenched in his lap...
“Undress me with your eyes any further and you’re going to hit bone,” Eli said wryly. “Er. So to speak.”
Cooper looked away and hoped the flush he felt in his cheeks wasn’t too noticeable.
“You know each other?” Dean demanded.
The thought of introducing Eli as Park’s ex-lover and current, active and honored member of his family’s pack was laughably unappealing. “Yes, we’ve met,” Cooper answered shortly.
“A technically true statement, if characteristically lacking in flair,” Eli said archly. “Antony and Cleopatra met. Romeo and Juliet met. It’s what happened after that’s become the stuff of legends.”
“This day is certainly shaping up to be a tragedy,” Cooper said. “So maybe you’re onto something.”
Dean was looking between the two of the curiously. “Do you...work together?”
“Well, we’ve both dedicated long, long hours to the betterment of man. One man in particular. So yes, I think you could say we’ve collaborated on a project.”
“No, you could not say that,” Cooper protested quickly. “We’re definitely not saying that. Eli, my brother. Dean, this is Eli. He’s...a friend of Oliver’s.” Eli twitched an eyebrow, but for once kept his mouth shut. Not that it mattered. From the expression on Dean’s face, he could add one to one and get a couple just fine.
“So that was you back there, right?” Dean asked. “I mean, you were the”—he gestured in the direction of the fence—”you know.”
Eli leaned back on his hands provocatively. “What’s the matter, don’t you recognize me...cutie?”
“Ah ha ha.” Dean’s voice was a little higher pitched than usual and a blush spread up his neck. Eli’s smile widened.
“The more pressing question,” Cooper said meaningfully, “is what the hell are you doing here?”
“Just dropped into town to see an old friend.”
“Hotels all full?” Cooper asked sarcastically. “I was more wondering what you were doing here as in here in the zoo undercov-fur.”
Eli gave him a vaguely disappointed look, which Cooper figured he deserved. “Yes, I see how you might be confused,” he said briskly. “And I’m endlessly empathetic to it—ask anyone and they’ll say Eli is empathy personified—but this really isn’t a good time, so I don’t suppose you’d be a couple of dolls and tootle off back down the mountain to play with the pandas and forget this ever happened?”
“Funny,” Cooper said flatly. “Now, what’s going on?” He hesitated. “Are you okay? Did... No one forced you into this, did they?”
Eli’s expression softened slightly. “No. Not like that.” He shifted a bit awkwardly on the concrete slab and Dean stepped forward, taking off the long green cape that was his Halloween costume.
“Can I—” Dean hesitated, then took another cautious step forward, holding it out in offering. Eli stared blankly at the cape, looking uncharacteristically lost for words.
“I’m a pupae,” Dean said, then stuttered. “From the metamorphosis, life cycle, butterflies.”
“That’s always been my favorite stage,” Eli purred, accepting the fabric.
Cooper momentarily yearned for the end of his own life cycle. “Anyway,” he prompted.
“You’re really not entitled to the private ins and outs of my life, you know,” Eli said evasively, taking his time to drape the pupae costume into a sort of toga, somehow managing to look even more pretty and ethereal when he was done, like a fae they’d stumbled across who was about to ruin their lives.
“Entitled, no,” Cooper said. “But consider me curious.”