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I choke on my glass of orange juice but Austin steps in, reaching over to pat my hand reassuringly.

“What do you know of the wolves, princess?” he asks, softly.

She shrugs. “Not much. I just dream of them sometimes. Especially this great big black one. He’s nice to me and I think he’s the biggest of the wolves. Then, sometimes I dream about living with them. Like, we’re all wolves. Even Mama. She’s such a pretty wolf.”

Austin cracks a smile and looks at me. “Your Mama would be a very pretty wolf, wouldn’t she?” he asks.

She nods, solemnly, and he continues, “When we go home, you’re going to learn a lot more about the wolves. I promise. They are very important to us and our history.”

She looks at me and then back at Austin. “Does that mean that I can run in the woods? In my dream, I got to run in the woods with the big, black wolf!”

Austin reaches out and pats her hand. “I can’t wait to show you the woods, princess. There’s so much that you’re going to get to see.”

***

It took seven days for us to pack up my life in the city, quit my job at Ruby Clinic, and make arrangements to move back to the pack’s land. My father came to help us pack and spend time with his granddaughter while Austin took care of some Pack affairs. A part of me feels sad that I will see my father less now. He still doesn’t come onto the pack properly, but I assure him we’ll make the trip to see him as often as we can.

Cleo has adjusted to the news that wolf shifters exist and that she is one, with surprising calm. Her biggest concern is what color her wolf will be when she finally gets her wolf. She constantly asks when it will happen and when she will get to shift like us. I reassure her that it will happen when the time is right, and that it doesn’t matter what color her wolf is, because she will always be our little princess.

But I can understand her impatience. I remember how eager I was to shift for the first time, to feel the power of my wolf coursing through my veins. It’s an indescribable feeling, like a part of you that you never knew existed suddenly comes to life.

Austin, on the other hand, has been more hesitant. It took her begging for two days before he agreed to shift in front of her. He was so worried that she would be terrified of him. But, after she told him that his wolf is what makes her feel safe during her bad dreams, he finally did it. The look on her face was priceless when his majestic, black wolf stood in our living room.

I almost cried when she reached out, running her hands through his thick fur in wonder. It was a beautiful moment.

Now, she asks Austin to shift and lay with her every night while I read her bedtime story.

The look on his face when he heard that made me realize that Austin would stay in his wolf form permanently if it meant that his little girl felt safe.

Night after night, he shifts and they snuggle on the floor. I had to hide my laughter when she tried to make him do tricks in his wolf form like a pet dog.

The fact that he allows her to play and learn this way makes me love him anymore. To everyone else, he’s the Alpha. The protector of the pack. He’s fierce and unyielding when he has to be. But to us? He’s our love. The man who will do anything for us.

Unfortunately, the news that Cleo is a Seer has been harder for her to understand. Teaching her to control her powers and exist in this new reality is not going to be easy. At least I can console myself with the fact that the pack will work with us to keep her safe.

I put the last bag in the bed of Austin’s truck, and turn to face my little house. It’s time to say goodbye and go back home.

Austin sent word ahead to the pack and let them know that we are coming. He told me a small celebration has been planned, but I’m still nervous about how we will be accepted.

Cleo keeps up a steady stream of conversation as we make the long drive back to the pack lands. Her silly questions keep themood light and soon, I see the familiar roads that mark the boundary of pack property.

We’re finally home.

Austin slows the truck as we enter the front gates. I raise my eyebrows when I see how many guards are posted by them. I look over at Austin with a question in my eyes, but he shakes his head quickly, his eyes going to the rearview mirror where he can see Cleo.Later, then.

“Are we here? Is this is it?” she says excitedly, peering out the window.

“Welcome home to Nightwing Pack, baby,” I say with a smile.

“To you as well,” Austin murmurs, reaching over to squeeze my knee. “Our Luna has finally come home.”

I flush red and my insides tingle at the way he looks at me.His Luna.

The future I once thought was lost, is now reality. It’s a little hard to wrap my head around.

“Mama, mama look! There’s wolves! I see them! In the trees!” Cleo shrieks. I crane my head and smile when I see the pups playing in the meadow by the road. They aren’t too much older than Cleo, in the first or second year of their shift. They tumble and race through the grass and trees with wild abandon.

I look back at my daughter and I know that will be her soon.