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Roark added three more carrots to it, before feeding Acer a spoonful of finely chopped goose meat.

“Carrots are my favorite vegetable,” Wren declared.

“They’re mine too,” Rusty declared.

“Yay, we can be carrot buddies,” Wren declared.

“We sure can,” Rusty declared. “We grew a pile last year, so the root cellar is full of them.”

“Do you like carrot cake too?” Wren asked.

“It happens to be one of my favorite desserts,” Rusty declared. “And do you know who has the best carrot cake recipes I’ve ever tasted?”

“Uh-uh, who?”

“Papa Roark.”

“Really?” Wren said, immediately turning their wide blue gaze upon their new Papa in a look Logan knew all too well.

“You’ll have to let me know what you think of it tomorrow night,” Roark replied.

Wren’s squeal prompted Bowie to babble and excitedly blow raspberries and carrot bits all over Kale, who started laughing too. How crazy was it that his and Wren’s lives had changed so much in less than 48 hours? The last thing he’d expected was to have his mates comfort him the way they had today. Hell, the thought of having mates he wouldn’t have to hide his past from had never entered his mind. He’d been prepared to have to keep his secrets buried and sleep on the couch indefinitely to avoid having to discuss his intermittent night terrors with his mates.

Now he was having second thoughts about that decision.

Being held by them, not just when his emotions had overcome him, but after when they’d finally settled in to enjoy the movie, conjured up emotions Logan had never expected to feel. Not that he’d held much hope of discovering his mates after the number of packs he’d passed through over the years. He’d reconciled himself to life as a single father to Wren. Never in his wildest dreams had he pictured himself as part of a six-wolf team of dads with five pups to wrangle.

When he asked the Goddess for guidance before making his decision to come to Comet Lake, a part of him had been afraid to trust that there was a softer life waiting for him and Wren at the end of that road. Yet there his pup sat, slowly enjoying their second helping of carrots in between bites of stuffing and goose, not just content, but smiling as Clover grabbed a handful of stuffing and shoved it in her mouth.

“Was I too slow for you, little one?” Logan cooed as he wiped an errant bit off Clover’s cheek and made her giggle.

He waited for her to finish babbling before offering her a spoonful of stuffing, this time, they were able to get it all in her mouth.

“She’s going to be the first one to feed herself, I just know it,” Kale said as he waved across the table at Clover, who’d just scooped up a fistful of carrots and wound up throwing them at him.

“I am just destined to be everyone’s target tonight, aren’t I?” Kale asked as he wiped the mess off his shirt.

The smile never left his face, though. Logan had been around enough wolves and sniffed out enough liars to know when folks were being genuine, and these wolves were as honest and true as any he’d met. It had been rare for him to visit packs that ran on such an absolute communal system, the way Comet Lake did, but the few times he had, he’d longed to linger. It had been the only time he’d been able to let his guard down because the wolves he’d met had been honest, caring souls who’d bent over backward to provide information and safe places for the rescued shifters who needed loving homes.

Less than forty-eight hours here and Logan knew he and Wren had landed in one.

Thank you, Goddess.

“Might have to toss you in the tub when the pups are finished,” Charlie teased.

“A shower will suffice, thank you.”

Snorting, Charlie shot a look at Baz, who smirked across the table at their mate. “He’s not getting it, is he?”

“Nope,” Baz replied.

“Not getting what?” Kale asked.

“That the tub would be much more fun,” Charlie pointed out.

“Baths are way better than showers, especially when there are bubbles,” Wren declared as they carefully cut their meat before taking another bite.

They’d have gotten their feathers ruffled and been all up in their feelings, complaining about being big enough to cut their own meat, if someone had cut it for them. But Charlie had just carefully cut them half a goose breast and lay it on their plate beside their stuffing, taking care not to let anything touch, since Wren had been honest with their new family members the night before and told them all that they didn’t like when the food touched, unless it was in a sandwich.