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Fen’s smile was slow and happy. “Mmm. Well, good. We can share.”

“Soup’s easy. Are the clothes okay? Did you have anything stashed somewhere that I ought to go and fetch?” Hopefully, no one would shoot him. No one seemed to find him a threat at all.

“No. I—I was traveling light.” Fen chuckled. “I kind of left everything.”

“I’m sorry. I brought all of my things with me, so if you need anything…”

“Thank you.” Fen squeezed his hand. “You’ve been so kind to me. I—you’re amazing.” That gaze warmed, making his heart beat fast.

“How could I not be?” Fen had been hurting, and there was something about him—something wonderful.

“So tell me about the pack?” Fen tugged him over to sit closer.

“I’m not sure what to say. It’s thriving now, but it didn’t used to be. It all was different before Jameson and Keegan took over. The pack attacked the dragons, even. It was wild, stressful. And then? Slowly everything started to change. The dragons started having others come in and the babies started happening. And then when Jameson and Keegan challenged the alpha here and won together, it was sort of like, you know, when there’s a terrible storm, and suddenly the sun comes out.”

He grinned, thinking how many supply runs he’d made then. “Everything changed. And of course there’s always some people who believe, even though the former alpha was evil, that anything that wasn’t exactly like he was was evil. Strongly inferior. He was a violent, ugly man. But then there were still those who followed him. Who believed his bullshit. Who believed that anything different from them was bad and that moving forward was wrong. That the only way to rule was by, you know, an iron fist and power and fear.”

Rory shook his head. “I don’t understand it. I’m never going to understand it. I don’t get how they’re still so damn mad. But they are and I can’t change that.”

Fen nodded, pondering that. “My family pack was small for the same reason. Our pack was mostly a mix of brown and gray. Like your average gray wolf. But my people had this silver coat. And my two sisters were white. So they drove us out.”

“Where are they? We can go get them. I’ll go get them if you want.” Anything to ease Fen’s pain.

“What are left moved off north toward Alaska. Closer to where there are others, you know, like us. Me.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. I don’t know what to say. I mean, there’s even a half fae and half wolf here. They let me stay here, and I’m not a wolf at all. We have other white wolves, even. Our shaman, for example. Niall’s amazing and dear. His mate, Loyal, in fact. He’s Keegan and Jameson’s brother. So there’s this tiny little pack up in between where the dragons lived and here. It’s the shaman and a handful of others. And then all the babies. They come down and visit a lot, especially the little ones. They love their uncles Key and James.”

Fen shook his head, smiled. “This is a magical place.”

“It really is. Genuinely, I… I just can’t imagine not being here. Not now that I got to come and stay. I mean, I suppose…” He shrugged, letting his words trail off, because what was he going to say?

He supposed at some point, there wasn’t going to be a place for him anymore.

He didn’t really think so. After all, Keegan and Jameson cared for him. He had a little cabin and kept it clean. He contributed. He wasn’t taking up more resources than he was bringing in. He wasn’t going to be any more alone and isolated here than he was at home.

Every so often, he wondered where the dragons had gone. If they were dead or if they’d just gone to some magical place that wasn’t here.

He desperately wanted to know. He wanted to know if little Sebby was okay. The young dragon had been so proud of his “larparcas”, as he called alpacas, that he’d chosen for Gareth.

And his little chickens, that boy was mad for his chickens.

Surely they weren’t just dead. Surely that amazing energy hadn’t just been erased like it had never existed.

“What’s wrong?” Fen grabbed his hand. “Are you all right?”

He nodded, even though it was a lie. “I’m just… I was just thinking. Memories.”

Memories and worries and hopes. He had to believe that Seb, Penny, Stella, and Kiefer with his little books… He had to believe that they were all okay.

He swallowed hard. “I get a little choked up about the dragons,” he explained.

“They just disappeared?”

“Yes. They call it crossing the veil, but I always thought that meant they died.”

“No one has ever heard anything from them?”

“Niall, he’s the shaman, swears that there will be contact—letters, that sort of thing. Not yet though.” Not yet.