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“You met Emari.”

“I did indeed. Tate won’t be the only one taking classes at the art studio. Emari invited me to try my hand at his charcoal workshop after I mentioned how much fun it used to be to teach the pups how to do rubbings of leaves so they could study their different shapes and patterns. My upcoming week will be packed with new firsts. He wanted to pick my brain about the art classes I used to teach, so we are going to the Smoke Shack afterward for barbeque and some hard cider.”

“That’s Atlas’ place. We pick up meals from there twice a week.”

“High praise from a barbecue snob like yourself. Remember the time you nearly blew our whole operation because you refused to eat a plate of ribs that had been boiled before they’d been put on the grill.”

“Because why do that to perfectly good meat. All the flavor gets lost in the water and what comes off the grill is tough, stringy and tasteless unless you count the sauce. A good one can only hide so much and a piss-poor one just wrecks the already tortured meat even further,” Logan grumbled as their plates arrived, Zoe snickering as she set their meals in front of them.

“I have to agree with you there. I’m sorry for listening in,” she said as she stepped back.

“No worries and thank you. At least someone gets it,” Logan said. “This smells amazing.”

“Enjoy,” she said and headed off to wait on one of the other tables.

Each space was like a private cubicle, with their backs to the room and the view in front of them, it was easy to forget that they weren’t the only diners in the restaurant. Lysander and Logan had glanced around when they were shown to their table, hesitant at first to sit where they couldn’t see the door. It had taken them both a moment to shed their old training and get comfortable.

“Whether Zoe agrees with you or not, insulting one’s host rarely leads to successful negotiation,” Lysander pointed out.

“Meh, the outcome was going to be the same one way or the other,” Logan pointed out. “Those weasels weren’t fit to be walking upright, much less breathing the same air as descent folks.”

“True,” Lysander said as he carved a piece of his plump, tender bird.

Holy shit.

Logan’s knife glided through the meat, juice beading up as he drew the succulent morsel to his lips. The citrus overtones were what hit first, but they didn’t overpower the sweetness of the game hen, they just enhanced it.

“This is arguably the best bird I’ve ever tasted,” Logan declared. “The only reason I’m wavering about giving it the top spot is because Rusty roasted some geese shortly after I arrived that were mind-blowingly delicious.”

“You found a pair of wolves who fit you perfectly. Listening to the three of you in the kitchen giving one another crap about taking each other’s tails hostage to sleep on was one of the last things I would have expected to find when I landed here.”

“I told you I’d found my mates.”

“You did. Guess I needed to see for myself that you were truly happy and not putting on a façade, so we’d take our time and get here safely.”

“I can see why you’d be worried about that. It is some shit I’d pull.”

“Exactly. Until I saw you together, I was skeptical. I’m not anymore. Coming here was the right move for all of us. Tate’s excitement level was through the roof after he got finished with his meeting with Charlie. They created some rough sketches of the hatchery layout for Charlie to start working on.”

“That must have been what he and Baz were working on the other night at the drafting table,” Logan replied. “They kept going back and forth between the drawing board and the pups, not that Rusty needed any help entertaining them. He had finger puppets and Floofy stories, he was in his element. Kale was helping Wren with an art project they’d started based on their hibernation lesson. They won’t let me see it until it was finished so I have no idea what it is yet.”

“Of course. You know how much they like to surprise you.”

“Always. I can already see Wren beginning to thrive here.”

“How could they not with all the love surrounding them,” Lysander pointed out. “You exposed them to a ton of amazing things while you were on the road. You did your level best to show them how many possibilities there were, even in the worst circumstances. Here they get to explore them all with people who share the same interests.”

“From the moment Roark and Rusty realized we were mates, Wren became our pup,” Logan explained. “I spent so many years fearing that I’d meet a mate who didn’t want to accept a pup who wasn’t theirs that I didn’t know what to do with that at first.”

“Look at all we’ve seen. How could you?”

“Exactly. They understood that too and it showed through every interaction that would never be the case here. Before we reached the house, they’d arranged Wren’s bedroom furniture. When Wren decided to sleep in the pups’ bedroom, they just ordered a square bed perfect for a wolf pup to get in and out of. No one suggested moving Wren back to their room. They understood Wren’s concern and protectiveness the same as I did and determined that Wren would sleep in their bedroom when they were ready and not a moment before.”

“Good for them. Anyone can have pups. Knowing how to put their needs first is the mark of a true parent.”

“Exactly. Wait until you hear some of the stories they’ve shared about their early weeks with Bowie and Acer. After hearing them, I didn’t feel so bad about the way I struggled and had to rely on you after I found Wren.”

“Nothing prepares you for being a first-time parent.”