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Inodded,not wanting to press the subject any further. I knew why Perry felt this way—his mother and father had been directly responsible for the choices that'd led to his unhappiness—but it was still difficult for me to fully understand. I'd been raised with the belief that family—flesh and blood—be always given a certain level of respect, regardless of misunderstandings or differences. This belief conflicted with my thoughts about Gregor, too. He didn't deserve to be a part of Jupiter's life, but he was her flesh and blood. If she did become my daughter, what would I do later in life when she asked about her birth father? Would I want him to have a place in her life, even after the things he'ddone?

"Arthur! Daddy! Look!"

Perry and I exchanged a glance,and ran over to where Jupiter was standing in the tall grass. It was the first time she'd ever called to me by myname.

She heldup her hands to show us—except they weren't hands, they'd shifted into paws. She giggled as she waved them in the air, and then they popped back into human form. She looked at them,disappointed.

"Aw. I had paws."

"Isaw,"I said, crouching down. "Can I see yourhands?"

She came over to me,leaned against my leg, and placed her hands in my palms. I glanced up at Perry, and he nodded to me in happy acknowledgement. Jupiter had never been this comfortable with mebefore.

Iturned her hands over,looking at both sides. She still had her ears, nose, and tail shifted out, and she looked at me with wide eyes, her tail waggingcuriously.

"Close your eyes,"I said. "Think about your hands becoming paws again. Picture it in your head. Can you dothat?"

"Okay."

She closed her eyes.Almost immediately, she became completely human again. Then, fur pushed from the back of her hands, and her fingers fused to become paws. She opened her eyes and squealed happily. Then she tapped her paws on top of her head and her butt, and frowned,disappointed.

"Aww. I lost the other stuff."

"Yes,but you were able to control the shift. That's a very good sign, Jupiter. You know what itmeans?"

She shook her head.

"It meansthat you're almost ready to complete a full shift." I stood up, and Jupiter's paws shifted back to hands. She reached up and took my hand, holding on to three of my fingers. She squeezed her eyes shut, straining, and her ears popped up from the top of her head. She touched them, and looked very pleased withherself.

"She's goingto be able to complete her first shift, soon," I toldPerry.

"I'm goingto need to arrange a ceremony," he said. He looked flustered. "I don't have anyone to performit..."

"Perry,"I said, taking his hand. Jupiter looked up at us, glancing back and forth between us with curious eyes. "We're ateam. Okay? It doesn't matter if you're still married to Gregor. In my mind, we're already together. I know my family would be more than happy to perform the ceremony forJupiter."

Ididn't sayit out loud, but I knew that eventually, my family would be Jupiter's family. I was sure of it. So, it was more than appropriate for us to do the rites of the first shift for her, to witness the most important first step in any shifter's life—especially when she had no oneelse.