The Pride of Glitter Bomb by Maggie Hemlock

rmine Valen is a founding member of The Guardians of Glitter Bomb and a newly independent adult. He has it all figured out – the job, the roommate, the friends, and the occasional hookups to keep loneliness at bay. He’s waiting for his true-mate. So, dating’s off the table for him. Besides, with his best friend’s baby living in the apartment the atmosphere isn’t exactly romantic. That is, until Elliot sashays into his life and awakens passions he didn’t know he had. Carmine wants a family, a passionate love life, and most of all the peace of mind he’s always chased after. He believes he and Elliot can have it all.

Alpha Lion, Elliot, grew up in Chicago and refused every chance for escape to stay with his aging parents. After his parents pass, he reaches out to his childhood friend, Brent, who made his own daring escape a few years earlier with his kid sister in tow. After he escapes Chicago, Elliot realizes how behind his peers he is in life. Except when he looks at his newly met true-mate, he doesn’t feel behind at all. The only problem is Brent has been in love with Carmine for ages. While the dread of Chicago still lives in his stomach Elliot must find a way to fit into the group dynamic that he’s shaken up.

When a threat from the past breaks into their apartment in the middle of the night, Elliot and Carmine must work together to protect their friends and figure out a way forward. Will love and friendship be enough to keep the group together?