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That troublemaker part had made me want to laugh and cry all at the same time. I was glad they hadn’t tried to overdo it and make Binx into something he was not. That would have been horrible.

Binx wasn’t necessarily friendly.

He’d hated most people and had no issues showing it.

But he loved me, and I loved him. Same with Dash. So that beloved cat and best friend were absolutely spot on for not only myself, but Dash as well.

And he would absolutely and without a doubt be always and forever in our hearts. There would never, ever be forgetting a cat like Binx.

He hadn’t actually been my cat because he’d technically belonged to Dash, but could you ever really claim a cat like that? Binx had laid claim to me since the moment I’d first stepped foot into Dash’s cottage. Since he had claimed me, I had only felt it was right that I claim him right back. So I had, and he’d willingly become my cat as well.

So Binx had been my first pet ever, and he was gone.

And now here I was, lost and not knowing what to do with all the emotions running through me.

There was a very big part of me that almost resented Romero more by the day by being here when Binx no longer was, but I knew just how wrong it was to even think like that. If Dash and/or Romero ever got a whiff of me thinking that way, they would be completely devastated by my thoughts. And who could really blame them?

I was a mixed ball of fucked up emotions, and I really needed to figure out how to get a handle on them before I exploded and people got hurt, myself included.

I looked around at all the people circling Binx’s grave, and I still couldn’t believe what I was seeing. All my guys and the dads were here. Baxter and Isobel had shown up with Rain. Brighton stood stoically between Tyson and Quinton, right where he always belonged. Now, whether or not that was where he actually wanted to be was a completely different story and very much not my problem. It was just too bad for him that two Alexanders were able to bully just one lone one. The poor little shit never even stood a chance.

But what was more was that all the boys who’d taken up residence in Marcus’s former house had shown up for this. None of them had anywhere else to go, and every single one of them had jumped at the chance to stay here and had latched on. Them being here for Binx’s funeral just proved they were here to stay and wanted to be a part of our lives, they were here to show their support.

It was very kind and very much appreciated, but also very surprising.

The only person who hadn’t shown up was the doped up chick from the motel basement. She hadn’t shown up because she had actually disappeared not long after waking up at Marcus’s house the day after. Nobody knew where she’d run off to, and not a single person had offered to look for her.

I heard grumbles. The boys didn’t like her, but it was for reasons they were keeping to themselves. I didn’t like it and thought we should have at least made an attempt to hunt her down, but no one agreed with me. Maybe after our commitment ceremony, I would be able to convince them. For the moment, we all had our hands full.

No one had dressed up for this event, we’d all gone our everyday casual. Except for the boys. I didn’t know if they were dressed in their everyday outfits. I had only ever seen them naked or in rags before. Today they were dressed in nice clothes that were very much not rags. Damien had kitted them all out with brand-new wardrobes.

Rain, Quinton, and I had all handed our credit cards to Damien and given him no limits. He had been in heaven, shopping for two days straight. He’d gotten clothes, shoes, furniture—like bunk beds that were delivered yesterday—and bedding for everything. He’d gotten them everything they could possibly need.

They had everything they could need and were finally in a safe environment. That was one burden checked off the list that I could be incredibly thankful for.

I was still very shocked to see them all show up for a cat’s funeral. It said a lot about every single one of them.

I expected to be out here doing this in the clearing where the tent was and where we did our moon rituals, but no, that wasn’t the case at all. And if not there, perhaps at the cottage, but that had been a hard no as well.

We were in the far corner of the backyard at the Alexander house. A dainty white picket fence had been put up in a ten-by-ten foot radius surrounding the area.

It had me wondering about the amount of space still available. Like, who the hell else were they planning on burying out here?

Maybe me?

I liked that thought more than ending up in the basement dirt. I was incredibly happy Binx hadn’t been put down there. I didn’t think I could have ever gotten past that. I felt like Finn here.

Obviously, we didn’t all fit inside the white picket fence.

My coven members squeezed in, plus the dads. Trenton and Simon stood at the little gate but didn’t come inside.

Everyone else stood outside the fence as well. They most likely couldn’t even see Binx’s stone, but they still stood patiently waiting out there.

“Would anyone like to say anything?” Tyson called out to everyone. “Now’s the time to say it.”

Anything, really?

I eyed the guys, giving them all severe looks that promised pain if they talked shit about my beloved cat.