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I’m excited. A familiar tingle under the surface of my skin as all the joy I feel threatens to bubble out. My mind turns backward to my fifth birthday when I should have been playing in my nest, but I got excited and shifted.

It was the first time I met Seven.

It was the catalyst for many changes.

I bite my lip and glance back at the open door. My excitement is thrumming under my skin. I’m not five anymore but grown up. I could shift for a little while. No one will know. I can be quick about it, have a little play, and change back. Technically, he said I should not shift and play in the garden, and this is not even the garden but the home… and shifting is such a joy.

The airwhooshesin my ears. When I glance down, I see my dress lying among the cushions and blankets of my nest.

Oops.

My hooves dance on the spongy nest. Oh, I like this. I bound all over the nest, setting the pillows bouncing and tumbling.

Distantly, I realize I should not have my hooves on the blanket, but this is so much fun.

Blue appears in the open doorway, curious about the noise. I lower my front hooves and head in a play bow before chasing him out of my nest. He yips and darts out of the way, ready for a game.

The stone floors of the main rooms are highly polished and a little slippery under my hooves, which makes it extra exciting as I chase Blue around the furniture. A butterfly flutters through the open balcony door. I give chase. It flutters over the occasional table. I skip after it. Something crashes.

Oops!

The butterfly moves on, and I give chase—the rug slides under my hooves, and I skid into the grand piano. A vase tipples off the top and crashes.

Double oops!

Blue woofs.

I play bow, encouraging him to chase.

We run around the apartment until I grow tired when I go to my nest and ward him away. Hounds are not allowed in here. With his tongue hanging out the side of his mouth, he flops down on the floor outside for a nap.

Satisfied that he respects the privacy of my sacred nest, I trot into all the way to the deepest, softest center, where I turn a full circle and settle down to a contented nap.

Wolf

Today, I join Nox and Eiden on their patrol. It feels good to take my wolf form and get the lie of the lands surrounding the stag city. My wolf is a pack creature, and he misses the sense of purpose we had as the enforcer.

Running with stags is odd, though. There are similarities but also differences in the way they move, and despite all they would have you believe, they are not the predatory pinnacle that is a wolf.

Being unable to communicate in beast form is frustrating, although Seven’s scholar indicated yesterday that this will change once we bond during Fawn’s first season.

I hope so.

This is my home now. I will always be an outsider who smells and acts differently. For Fawn and my own sake, I want to find a way to make this work.

It is not easy to share a woman. Any man who says it is, is lying to himself or others. Fawn and I are new to one another—which is my fault for not acting sooner—and I want my time with her.

But Seven also needs his time, as will Eiden and Nox… I cannot think about the brooding fucker toying with her at the table and remain civil, so I cut that thought off.

The patrol is incident-free, and we return to the city, donning our clothes in the barracks.

“Seven asked us to meet him in the Constable's office,” Nox informs me.

I have met the constable previously, and I was surprised to find a human alpha living in the city and taking such a prominent role. When we arrive today, Ambrose is seated behind his desk, with Seven and Eiden sitting opposite.

“Have a seat,” Seven says, making a simple request sound like a royal command.

I contemplate standing for no reason other than to be annoying, which isn’t me. I catch Nox smirking at my slight hesitation.