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“Grab your stuff.We leave in twenty minutes,” Sterling said.

The kids bolted upstairs.Nina watched them go, a soft smile tugging at her lips.“They’re getting so big,” she murmured.

I nodded.“Too fast.”I made a silent promise to enjoy the moments while they lasted.From the way the kids would curl up against Sterling’s side during movie nights, with their little hands clutching at their father’s shirt, to the way they tore through the house the same way Sterling used to tear through soccer fields.Watching them with Sterling always filled me with awe.He had come so far, from a man who’d once been afraid to let anyone in, to a father who wore his love for his children like a badge of honor.

Sterling’s hand found mine under the counter, his fingers twining with my own.

The kids tumbled back downstairs, backpacks half-zipped, excitement buzzing around them like static.Sterling herded them toward the door, pausing to press a quick kiss to my lips.“Back by sunset.”

I nodded, watching as they piled into the car, with Sterling behind the wheel, Oliver chattering nonstop, and Adeline already nodding off against the window.

Nina sighed and bumped her elbow against mine.“They’ll be fine.”

“I know,” I said, though my heart ached just a little.Tonight would be Oliver and Adeline’s first full moon with their father and uncle.Their first controlled shift under the guidance of the two men who’d taught them what it meant to be strong, to be kind, to be themselves.

It was a milestone I’d been both dreading and anticipating.The thought of my babies shifting for the first time was overwhelming.But I trusted Sterling and Dean to guide them, to show them that their wolf sides weren’t something to fear, but a part of who they were.A part that could be as beautiful and powerful as they chose to make it.

The day passed in a haze of laughter and nostalgia.By evening, the car pulled into the driveway, and Sterling stepped out with a sleeping Adeline in his arms.Oliver trailed behind, his eyes heavy but bright with excitement.

“How was it?”I whispered as Sterling laid Adeline in her bed.

He brushed a curl from her forehead.“Perfect,” he murmured.There was a rawness in his voice that made my chest ache.He looked at me then, his eyes shining with something I couldn’t quite name.Pride, maybe, or gratitude.“They were amazing, Ariel,” he said, his voice breaking.“So brave, so strong.Watching them was like seeing a part of myself I’d spent years suppressing, but through their eyes, it was beautiful.”

I reached up and brushed a tear from his cheek.“You’ve given them that, Sterling.You’ve shown them there’s who they are is beautiful.”

He pulled me close then and tightened his arms around my waist.“Thank you,” he whispered into my hair.“For giving me this.For trusting me with them.”

A lump rose in my throat.“You rewrote your story, Sterling.And it was your strength that helped me write mine.”

Sterling’s lips met mine, tasting of campfire and s’mores.“Our story has just begun, Ariel.”

I smiled.With his arms around me and our children upstairs, I believed him.