My new friend

(Christian) I watched Eli add a few more lines to his drawing. He didn't seem bothered by me sitting beside him, which was nice. Most people I knew would have started asking questions by now. Eli was more interested in finishing his house. few more lines to his drawing. He didn't seem bothered by me sitting beside him, which was nice. Most people I knew would have started asking questions by now. Eli was more interested in finishing his house. "How long have you been drawing?" He looked at me before answering. I wondered if he thought I was being nosy. I was only trying to start a conversation. "Since I was little." I nodded and looked at his sketchbook again. There were several drawings underneath the one he was working on. I wanted to see them, but I didn't want to annoy him. He already seemed like someone who enjoyed keeping to himself. "Can I show you something?" I looked at him in surprise. He turned a few pages before I could answer. The drawing he showed me was of a wolf standing near a river. "Wow, you did that?" He nodded and watched my reaction. I took my time looking at the drawing because it was really good. The wolf looked like it was watching something across the water. I wondered if Eli had used his own wolf as inspiration. "Is that your wolf?" "No." I waited, thinking he might explain. He didn't, so I decided not to ask anything else about it. I knew what it felt like when people wouldn't stop asking questions. "I wish I could draw wolves like that." Eli looked interested now. He placed his pencil between the pages and turned toward me. I wondered if I had finally found something he enjoyed discussing. "What do you normally draw?" "People, buildings, trees, anything really." He nodded and opened his sketchbook to another page. This one had several faces on it, and I couldn't help admiring how well he'd drawn them. I was beginning to think he was much better than me. I wanted to get my own sketchbook and show him what I could do. "Do you have your drawings with you?" I shook my head and laughed. I hadn't planned on meeting another person who liked drawing. Most of my things were back at the pack house. "No, but I can bring them next time." Eli looked at me for a moment. I couldn't tell whether he liked the idea of seeing me again. Then he nodded and returned to his drawing. "Okay." I smiled and looked toward the houses. A few children were playing outside while an older woman watched them. One little boy fell while chasing another, but he got up and continued running. I wondered how many families were living here now. "Have you lived here long?" Eli stopped drawing. He looked toward the building Pop and Arlo had entered earlier. I noticed his expression change, and I wondered if I'd asked something I shouldn't have. "Not really." I nodded and decided to leave it there. He didn't owe me an explanation about his life. We had only just met, and I didn't want him thinking I was another person who needed to know everything about him. "I haven't visited in a while." He looked at me again. I wondered if he was curious about why I'd come. I decided to tell him before he had to ask. "My Pop and Arlo came to check on a few things, so I tagged along." "Who's Arlo?" I looked at him in surprise. I thought everyone here knew who Arlo was. Then I remembered Eli had said he hadn't been here long. "He's the luna, and he's practically family." Eli looked toward the building again. He seemed surprised, but I didn't think much of it. I was used to people reacting differently whenever they learned who my family was. "So you know the Alpha King?" I couldn't help laughing at that question. Know Jacob was putting it mildly. He'd been around my entire life, and sometimes he was just as annoying as my fathers. "Yeah, I grew up with his sons." Eli raised his eyebrows. I could already tell he had more questions. Thankfully, he didn't ask whether I was friends with them or anything else. "Must be interesting." I laughed again and shook my head. Interesting wasn't the word I would use. Living with Greyson, Mason, and Jaxon had been an experience I wouldn't wish on anyone. "You have no idea." Eli finally laughed, and I found myself doing the same. It was nice hearing him laugh after how serious he'd been when I approached him. I was beginning to enjoy his company more than I'd expected. Maybe I could convince him to draw with me sometime. "Christian!" I turned when I heard Pop calling my name. He was standing outside the building with Arlo beside him. I wondered how long we'd been sitting here because I hadn't been paying attention. "Coming!" I stood and brushed the dirt from my pants. Eli looked up at me before closing his sketchbook. I didn't want to leave without knowing whether I'd see him again. "Are you usually around here?" He nodded and stood as well. I noticed he was a little taller than me. That wasn't surprising since almost everyone seemed to be taller than me. "Most of the time." "Good, I'll bring my drawings next time." He looked at me before smiling. It wasn't much, but at least he seemed interested. I was already looking forward to showing him my work. "I'd like that." I waved goodbye and started walking toward Pop. Arlo was watching me with an expression I knew far too well. I groaned because I could already guess what he was thinking. "Who's your new friend?" I looked back at Eli before answering. He had already returned to his seat and opened his sketchbook again. I hoped Arlo wasn't going to make this into something ridiculous. "His name is Eli." Pop looked interested immediately. I should have known he wouldn't let me introduce a new friend without asking questions. He was worse than Arlo sometimes. "Eli? Is he new?" "I think so." Arlo looked toward Eli and smiled. I didn't like the way he was looking at me afterward. It reminded me of when he and Pop started making jokes about the triplets being my mates. "He's cute." I groaned and covered my face. Pop started laughing while Arlo looked pleased with himself. I knew exactly where this conversation was going. "He's my friend, Arlo." "I didn't say otherwise." I gave him a look. He tried acting innocent, but I knew him better than that. Pop was still laughing, which made everything worse. "Can we please go home?" Pop took my hand while Arlo came closer. I looked back toward Eli one last time before we left. He was still drawing, completely unaware of the trouble I might be walking into. When we appeared outside the pack house, I released Pop's hand. I was about to head inside when I noticed Greyson standing near the entrance. Mason and Jaxon were with him, and all three looked toward me. "You're back." I nodded and started walking toward them. Greyson looked me over before stepping closer. I knew he was checking whether anything had happened while I was away. "Did you have fun?" "Yeah, actually." Jaxon smiled and came to stand beside me. Mason looked at Pop and Arlo before turning his attention back to me. I could tell they wanted to know what I'd been doing. "What did you do over there?" I looked at Mason and grinned. There was no reason to hide the fact that I'd made a friend. I hadn't done anything wrong. "I met someone." Greyson stopped moving. Jaxon looked interested while Mason raised his eyebrows. I watched Greyson's expression change and knew he wasn't going to like what I said next. "Someone?" I nodded and tried not to laugh. He was already acting ridiculous, and I hadn't even told him anything. Pop and Arlo were standing behind me, enjoying every second. "His name is Eli." Greyson looked at me without saying anything. I could practically see the questions forming in his head. Mason looked toward Jaxon, who was trying not to laugh. "Who's Eli?" I folded my arms and looked directly at Greyson. He was going to have to get used to me having friends who weren't part of our family. I wasn't spending the rest of my life asking permission to talk to people. "My new friend, Greyson." He looked past me toward Pop. I wondered whether he was going to ask him about Eli instead. Knowing Greyson, he probably wanted every detail about the boy. "And where did you meet him?" "At Omegaville." Greyson looked at Mason before turning back to me. I didn't like that look one bit. He was already thinking of something, and I doubted I would enjoy hearing it. "Next time, I'm coming with you." I shook my head immediately. We'd already discussed this before I left. I wasn't going to have the same argument every time I wanted to go somewhere. "No, you're not." Greyson stepped closer and looked down at me. I refused to move because I knew he wanted me to give in. He could complain all he wanted, but I wasn't changing my mind. "We'll see about that, Christian."