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Wolf rumbles another growl. I stroke my fingers through the thick coat at the back of his neck. “It is fine, Wolf,” I say, although I do not believe he understands the words in this form. “We are nearly there. We are nearly at our new home.”

Seven smiles. He doesn’t smile often, and it feels like the sun is coming out, making me light and happy.

He shifts back to a stag, and we continue at a trot with the stag escorts forming around us. The narrow forest track opens into a broader path. Soon after, joining a wide, meandering, cobbled road.

Ahead, on the left and nestled among the giant trees, is a huge ruin covered in creepers and vines, with great tumbled rocks spilled all around it, half buried under tall ferns. A river merges to the right of the cobbled road, and as we turn the next corner, the stag city—for this must surely be a city and no village—comes into view with tall trees and buildings peeping over a high stone wall that is covered in lush creeping foliage and vibrant flowers.

A distant horn sounds, setting off flutters in my belly.

On the left, where the wall merges with a craggy hillside, a tumbling waterfall springs, feeding into the river, which passing under a low bridge directly before the soaring stone entrance to the city.

A horn sounds again as we cross the bridge and enter the walled city.

Inside, I find magnificent stone dwellings surrounded by manicured gardens, ornate statues, and flowers blooming in every color of the rainbow.

A horn sounds yet again, closer, and my heart pounds in my chest as the noble citizens surge from parks and buildings, gathering at the side of the road: ladies in their flowing gowns, men in silk suits, and warriors in armor.

Wolf remains in his animal form. Riding on his back offers me a vantage point. I feel his tension under me, note how his head swings from side to side, how his nose lifts, catching the unfamiliar scents on the light breeze.

Our procession stops before a sprawling building that must surely be a palace, where trailing blooms spill from every window and balcony and yet more crowds await us.

Seven shifts to human. Our escort forms a protective circle around our party, holding the curious citizens back.

I am intimidated. In all my life, I have never seen such grandeur, nor so many people.

The circle of stag escorts turn to face me. They shift to human form and drop to one knee, heads lowered.

Blue sits attentively close to Wolf, like me, perhaps a little overwhelmed.

Seven holds out his hand.

He has made no move to touch me since we left my former home, and it seems significant that he does so now.

Ahead, two regal men step forward, entering the circle. They are dressed in the manner of warriors, with simple leather pants and boots and naked and unadorned chests. The one on the left has shimmering bronze skin and red-gold hair. The one on the right has a lighter golden complexion, raven hair, and dark, intense eyes.

As I slide down Wolf’s back, he shifts to human, and his hand catches mine, stilling me.

There is an impasse.

Seven still holds out his hand, waiting expectantly.

“Be welcome,” Seven says, his voice carrying over the hushed crowd. “Welcome to my home, now your home, Fawn and Jude.”

Wolf’s hand trembles very faintly where it holds mine, and I glance up at him to find his jaw tight and his gaze fixed upon Seven before it moves to the two stag shifters who joined us in the circle.

“I always knew you were playing the long game,” Wolf says dryly, breaking the stifling tension. “I just didn’t know how it might manifest.”

Seven’s acknowledgment is a brief smile.

And then Wolf steps forward, taking me with him, until I’m at Seven’s side, where his hand, large, warm, and comforting, claims mine.

A cheer goes up from the crowd around us.

Why do I feel like I am sliding out of my skin and into a new, unknown one? Why do the intense gazes of these two unknown men melt my doe, making her want to prance, skip, and preen?

“If I may introduce you to my two closest companions,” Seven says, first indicating the male with the shimmering bronze skin. “This is Eiden, our herd omega.”

I blink and turn to Seven in question. “An omega?”