I never meant to let it go this far. It was supposed to just be a kiss, but one minute, Eli's lips were pressed against mine and the next, my back was pressed against the couch and he was on top of me.

I'd be lying if I said that I wasn't enjoying it; that I didn't want to see where this went, but I knew this wasn't the time to be doing so. Eli lightly bit at my bottom lip and I groaned. I wanted this and I wanted him, but it wasn't the right time. So with what remaining willpower I had, I pushed him back and sat up.

Eli blinked a few times confusedly and then focused on me. "Is something wrong? Did I do something wrong?"

"No!" I quickly set the record straight. "Trust me when I say that I want to. I really do, but you just went through a lot and I don't want to take advantage of that."

I could tell by Eli's expression that he still was upset over the Fen and Cronan situation and I didn't want to do anything, knowing that he wasn't all the way there. I reached over, gripped his hand, and squeezed it.

"I don't think you're going to be able to leave tonight," I told him as I glanced around us at the boxes littering the ground.

"I'm not leaving until I can talk to Cronan," he told me.

I nodded and leaned into his side. "Then I'll stay with you for a little longer."

I turned on the TV, but my attention wasn't really focused on it. I kept glancing over at Eli. If someone told me months ago that I'd be sitting on a couch with him after a nearly-sexual encounter, I would've told them to fuck off. It was bizarre to think about just how much we'd changed.

The memories floated around in my mind. Some were good and some were bad, but they were all present nonetheless.

Once the movie was over, I detached myself from Eli's side and started to stand up. "I should probably go—"

"Or," his quiet voice interrupted. "You could stay the night?"

The question is hesitant and a few months ago, I would have said no, however, leaving Eli alone was the last thing I wanted to do right now, so I nodded.

"I'll stay."

If he was truly leaving tomorrow then I wanted to spend this time with him. I sat back down and Eli turned on another movie. Later that night, we ended up ordering pizza and we talked about anything and everything under the sun. My goal was to take his mind off of what happened earlier and judging by the small smile on his face as he attempted to explain to me why hairless cats were not cute, it was working.

"I'm just saying," Eli turned to me. "Maine Coons are, objectively speaking, the better breed."

"There is nothing objective about that statement."

He laughed. "Okay, maybe it's my opinion, but it's the correct one."

"No. No, it's not."

"This reminds me of that date we went on," he hummed. "You remember?"

"'Course I do. You confessed your hatred for Halloween to me that day," I teased.

"Stop," he groaned and lightly shoved my shoulder.

"What? You're the one that told me."

"You asked!"

"I mean, it's kind of cute. Leave it to the werewolf to be scared of a holiday that is littered with paranormal creatures. It does make me wonder though, if I gave you a mirror while you were shifted would you be afraid of your own reflection?" I teased.

Eli huffed. "It's not the creatures I don't like, you bully."

"Bully?"

"Bully," he repeated and I grinned at him.

"Didn't you invite me to stay here?"

"I'm regretting it."

"No, you're not."

"No I'm not," he said. "Honestly, it surprises me that you and I never slept over at each other's house while I was here."

"Yeah, well, that was mostly my fault." A lot of the problems in our relationship were.

"Stop that," Eli said. "The blame game. What's done is done. Besides, look where we are now!"

"Sitting in your apartment the day before you leave?"

"You know what I mean," he rolled his eyes. "Before, you wouldn't have been caught dead in here. Clearly, that's changed."

"Still, I am going to miss you," I told him.

I expected Eli to throw out some type of cheesy, yet sweet speech about how we'd make it work, but he didn't. Instead, he said something that surprised me much more.

"You...you could come with me." his voice was low. "Back to my pack, I mean. You don't have to if you don't want to, but it also doesn't necessarily have to be a permanent thing either, you know? I do think you'd like it there, though. The people are sweet and—"

"Eli."

"It isn't as big as your pack so you might like that a bit more. I'd have to deal with Nixon, but I promise he isn't all that bad—"

"Eli."

"He's actually kind of sweet once you get to know him. Then there's Tatum. I think you two would get along pretty well. Tatum's really kind and—"

"Eli!" I called out and he blinked a few times. "You're rambling."

"Sorry," his face turned a shade of pink. "But I meant everything I said. About you coming with me and all."

"I know," I could see the sincerity mixed with the nervousness in his eyes.

"Is...is that something you'd consider?"

Was it? Though I never fully felt at home in my pack, the thought of transferring to another had never crossed my mind. Then again, a few months ago, the idea of having a mate was foreign too.

"I don't know," I told him honestly. "I don't know about transferring to another pack. I mean, I've never really thought about it before."

What I did know though was that Eli was a beta. He couldn't necessarily just up and leave and for our bond to work, that was a conversation that'd come up time and time again.

"I don't know if I want to transfer, but," I said and he looked up at me. "I'm not against coming and giving it a chance."

It was clear to me that he cared deeply about his pack, so I wanted to make it work. I wanted to see the place that he cared so much about.

"So you're saying...?"

"I'm saying yes, I'll come with you, Eli."