Barking interrupted their squabbling, and then an adorable howl filled the room. “I’m pretty sure that’s the cutest sound ever.” Sally sighed.
Jen couldn’t disagree. It was pretty dang delightful. Ugh. She was feeling emotional again. She was so sick of feeling emotional. “Well done, Titus.” The boy in question turned to look at her. Then he took off, running at full speed. Jen’s eyes widened when he launched himself at her. His front paws hit her shoulders, and she stumbled from the surprising strength of his hit. She fell back and hit the mat on her back. Titus stood on her, panting with his muzzle pulled back in a wolfish grin. Jen laughed. “Okay, fine. You got me. I’ll pay you.” She reached up and ruffled the fur on his head. He leaned into her touch and gave her hand a quick lick. “No licking, or I’ll put a shock collar on you.”
Sally called his name, and he jumped off Jen and trotted over to his mom. Jen rolled onto her side and watched as he rubbed all over their healer. Suddenly, tears threatened to fall, and Jen clenched her jaw to keep them at bay. After several minutes, she pushed herself to her feet and headed for the door. “I’m going to check on my mini-hellion,” she called out over her shoulder. “Titus, see if Gavril can help you phase back to your human form. We’ll meet again tomorrow.”
Before anyone could respond, Jen zipped out the door and started toward the nursery. When she reached the door, she took several deep breaths to ensure her emotions were under lock and key. Then she pushed the door open and walked in. Thia was conked out on the floor, doll body parts strewn around her. She looked like some giant laying in the middle of weird-ass plastic graveyard. Slate sat close by, throwing blocks and clapping his hands when they hit the wall and clattered to the floor. Rachel sat next to him, stacking the blocks into a tower, which Slate kept kicking with his little feet and giggling.
“They’re even buttheads as babies.” Jen walked over and took a seat across from Rachel.
“Pretty much.” The healer smiled. “But they’re adorable, so we let them get away with being buttheads.”
Jen nodded but didn’t respond. Her mind was a mess of emotions. She was excited for Titus and eager for Thia and Slate to reach the same point. But she was also afraid of them growing up too fast in a world where they would spend the rest of their days fighting to keep themselves and others alive. One day, they would leave this nursery and lose their innocence, as well as the safety provided by these four walls. It was a bittersweet thing to watch your child grow up, hoping for the best for them but preparing them for the worst.
“You okay?” Rachel began to build another block tower.
“Titus phased,” she blurted out, though that hadn’t been what she’d planned to say. Her mouth seemed to work without her control. “We were in the middle of sparring, and the little turd just phased while he was latched onto my leg.” Speaking of her leg, Jen bent it at the knee so she could get a look at it. A large rip was torn in her workout pants, and blood she hadn’t even noticed had dripped down and pooled on her sock. But the bite itself had already begun to heal.
“Seriously!” Rachel grinned, nearly as big as Sally had. “That’s great. I mean, we didn’t know when or if it would happen since he was a dormant. Didn’t you and Jacque have to go through a special ceremony in order to phase?”
Jen nodded. “We did.”
“Hmm.” Rachel looked thoughtful. “What does the little guy look like?”
“He’s grey with white patches.”
Rachel sighed. “They’re growing up so fast.”
Jen glanced over at her own little wolf. “They have the potential to have very long lives because of what they are. And yet they also have a high probability of having short lives because of what they are. How is that for irony?”
Rachel leaned back and stretched her legs out in front of her and rested on her hands. “Such is life for anyone, really. Not just Canis lupus. Life is not guaranteed. None of us are promised even one more breath.”
Jen tilted her head to the side until it nearly rested on her shoulder and lifted a brow at Gavril’s mate. “You’re not cheering me up, chick.”
“I didn’t realize you needed cheering up.”
Jen snorted. “You’re one of the most observant people I know, Rach. Don’t feed me your innocent act.”
“I’m getting some adult time. Don’t rain on my parade of messing with you. It’s going to be a while before my current audience gets my sarcasm.” She nodded to Slate and Thia. “Though they do think I’m the greatest thing since sliced bread.”
Jen laughed. “Don’t read too much into it. Slate still likes any woman with boobs even though Jacque’s been weaning him from her girls. He seems to think he’ll be able to grin, and we’ll just whip them out.” She tapped her chin. “I suppose he’s not any different from our grown mates, really. And Thia also thinks ripping apart dolls is cool. Having her approval isn’t necessarily a ringing endorsement.”
“Oh, I don’t know.” Rachel sighed. “She’s pretty stinking awesome. I’d take her approval any day over most others.”
Jen smiled. “Well, she thinks I’m the coolest thing ever, so that makes her crazy as all get-out, and crazy people are the best.”
“I can’t disagree with you there.” Rachel nodded. “Crazy beats boring and normal any day.”
“And you’re as old as dirt, so you should be an expert on crazy and normal. I imagine you’ve met some doozies in your day.”
The door suddenly flew open, and Titus—on two legs, with his arms held out wide—came barreling toward them. Thankfully he was fully clothed. Sally must have gotten him some clothes because the ones he’d been wearing when he phased were destroyed. “Aunt Rachel, I’m a wolf! I did it! I did it!”
“Um, aren’t you forgetting something, Teagan?” Jen raised a brow at him.
“Oh, yeah. Aunt Jessica let me bite her leg. Something about biting her made me think ‘this would be so much better if I was a wolf like Uncle Gavril,’ and then, boom, I was on all fours with sharp teeth tearing into Aunt Jill’s flesh. It was amazing!”
“So glad my body could be of service to you,” Jen said dryly.
“I’m a little concerned that you didn’t take that statement and run with it.” Sally walked into the nursery. “The innuendo possibilities are endless.”
