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“We did it. We have a pack.”

Ember nodded, making a warm noise of agreement. I drifted off, happier than I’d ever been. I was pleased with what we had made from the shambles of our life.

Chapter 62

Ember

Rian’s heat lasted days, and by the time he came out of it, it was easier for me to talk. It still felt like I had to concentrate really hard on what I wanted to say, but it didn’t seem to matter to my pack.

By the time we came out of it, tired and sweaty, I felt like myself. I cried with them, and they cried from relief, and we held one another.

Leaving the nest after Rian’s heat felt like a bigger deal, and between me and Rian, we lounged in the nest longer than normal. But we allowed ourselves to be coaxed out with food and gifts.

We also told my family, and they met me downstairs in the den with hugs and tears. I hugged them back, thanking them, grateful I had so many people that loved me.

Despite the fear of losing them, it wasn’t worth holding myself back.

Outside for the first time in two weeks, I took a deep breath in. The north meadow was starting to bloom.

“The turtle pond would be best suited here,” Raina said, pointing at a flat place in the earth.

“You think?” I crossed my arms over my chest, still feeling too exposed in a big field. West hugged me from behind, his reassurance coming loud and clear through the bond we shared.

I enjoyed having that bond, but I didn’t love him any more for it. I couldn’t, since I already loved him with my entire being.

“We don’t have to get a turtle pond this year,” I said.

“It will add value,” Zephyr said, holding a massive printout in his hands.

Luna gestured around us. “We could have an entire section devoted to water-loving plants.”

I laughed. They were serious. “If all I had to do to get a turtle pond was get kidnapped, I could have arranged that months ago.”

Everyone grimaced.

Rian shook his head. “It’s too soon.”

I grinned. “I thought that was funny.”

“You would,” Ben said, leaning against West.

I poked Rian. “Don’t you have songs to record?”

Rian made good on his promise, and I heard snippets of his new album. It sounded like his old album, plus the ten years of love and heartache he’d felt in the meantime. Ben and I both agreed it would be a hit, but not in earshot. Rian was still kidding himself that the reception to his new album would be tepid at best.

He dedicated it to our pack, to the love he found along the way, and I couldn’t have agreed more. I loved my family, but having my pack was life-changing. Soul-altering.

No wonder my cousins were so happy. I glanced at my brothers and sister. They were next if I had anything to do with it, and since I did work for a matchmaking agency, I was pretty confident they would be joining me in packed -up bliss soon.

After all, with my pack by my side, I could do anything.

THE END