“You could say that of any Weres compared to them. I’ve never seen anyone but the Moonwalkers take their pack pride so far as to put bumper stickers of their symbol on their cars.”
“They have good reason to be proud. They did some great things in their time. If not for Rohrik, I’d still be human to you.”
That made me laugh. “Yeah, I guess you would.”
“The Sunstrikers are proud of who they are, too. Almost everyone has the pack symbol tattoo by now.”
I reached out to brush my fingers over the hint of his pack tattoo on the upper portion of his right bicep, partially hidden by the sleeve of his T-shirt. It was a simple drawing of the sun pierced by a spear, nothing terribly elaborate. All of the Sunstrikers had this symbol. The part hidden under the sleeve was something a little different from what the rest of the pack had: a pair of crossed spears above the sun, just big enough to tell anyone who might look for it that Chaz was the leader of his pack.
Though I’d seen the tattoo hundreds of times before, I hadn’t understood that it was a pack symbol until Chaz spelled it out for me. It hadn’t struck me as out of the ordinary until then, especially since he had a couple of others, usually hidden under his clothes. The warmth and coiled steel muscles bunching under his skin were a fascinating diversion for me, too.
I was distracting him from driving, and stopped teasing him once he came within inches of creaming someone’s bumper. He gave me a mock scowl, and I reddened, giving him an apologetic grin.
“So what should I know before meeting everybody? I don’t want to make any dumb mistakes and make an ass of myself in front of all your friends.”
Chaz gave me an amused glance out of the corner of his eye. “You? Come on.”
I socked him lightly on the arm, grinning. “Yes, me. Seriously, what do I need to know? I’d like to make nice with these guys.”
He soberly considered my question. After a long moment, he spoke.
“Mostly, just be yourself. Avoid staring them in the eyes. That’s considered a challenge, and at this time of the month they may take it too personally to let it slide. Otherwise, they’ll most likely end up playing human for you as much as they can. Until it becomes unavoidable, anyway.”
“By unavoidable, you mean when they shift, right?”
“Yeah.”
“So you don’t do any weird stuff in private?” I teased. “Nothing you wouldn’t want me to see?”
He chuckled. “That’s a matter of personal preference. We’re just like anybody else, you know. We’ve all got our bad habits and dirty secrets, just like any human might.” I didn’t totally get the significance of the look he gave me, but flushed uncomfortably anyway. His words brought to mind a desire I once had for another man, another time, for blood instead of sex.
Or maybe a bit of both. At the same time.
I quite suddenly had to roll down the window a crack to get some air.
Chaz continued in a lighter tone, apparently oblivious to my discomfort as he returned his attention to the road. “The main difference is that even if we’re not necessarily related by blood, we are all family and rely on each other for survival.”
“Does that mean I should be worried?”
“Nah. It’s true we’ve never had someone along on one of these trips who wasn’t immediate family or going to be turned into one of us. So they might be a little nervous, but they all know who you are, and I can pretty much guarantee the whole pack will be on their best behavior. Seth and a couple of his friends might give you a little trouble, but everyone else is easygoing once you get to know them. Just talk to them and treat them like you do anyone else, and everything should be just fine.”
“Okay. Who’s Seth?”
“Seth is Ricky and Armina’s kid. He’s a bit of a dick. Hits on anything in a skirt. If he touches you, I’ll kill him.”
I shot a look at him.
“That was a joke, Shia.”
A blush lit up my cheeks. “Sorry. I can’t always tell.”
His smile widened, making me feel even sillier for jumping to conclusions. “It’s okay. I know we’ve got a rep. That’s part of why I want you to come out and see what we’re like when we’re not trying to hide ourselves from the public eye. I doubt