Inside, everyone is chatting happily. Mom and Estelle are discussing pediatricians with Zara. Dillon looks like an angry little bean in Tyree’s massive arms, but Tyree looks comfortable, cooing and smiling playfully at the infant with his canines elongated. Sam and Dad are shaking hands and laughing at one of their corny inside jokes.“Mom, Dad, I’d like you to meet Jasper’s mates. This is Katie and Kara.” I motion to the twins, who are hand in hand next to Jasper. “Girls, these are my parents. They are helping Zara find that cure we were talking about.”The girls bow their heads and shrink back. Katie grabs Jasper’s hand and pulls him closer until she was hiding under his arm, her head buried into his side. “It’s okay, Katie. You two know most of these people. Phil and Amy are almost like my parents.” He smoothes her hair back and reaches for Kara. “Come here, Beautiful. No one’s going to hurt you.”Kara leans heavily against Jasper’s chest and buries her head next to Katie’s. Both

Keller’s POVWe eat a subdued dinner without Zara, Katie, and Kara. Mom packs up all the leftovers while Dad and I clean up the tables. Estelle takes Dillon to my bedroom to get him to sleep. Sam and Tyree take dish duty. Jasper goes home to put together an overnight bag for his mates and himself in case they sleep through the night. When Jas gets back, we all sit in the living room and have a long conversation about what has happened in the past several years, and how we are all committed to help change things for the better. Sam tells us he and his parents have spoken with the Goddess Foundation and made him the manager for all properties that involve their initiative. Mom agrees to help him make sure the sigmas have a female wolf to turn to if they are too nervous around males to speak to him.“Jasper, I know you are supposed to go work for your parents after you graduate, but how would you feel coming on full time with us?” Dad puts an elbow on his knee and looks at Jasper with r

“They’re not here and they’re not his.” Rocky bares his sharp teeth at the man. My head snaps toward the second man trying to look through the dark tinted window at Dillon. “GET BACK!” “Rocky, we need a quick shift.” I let my consciousness fall back. From what Rocky says, few wolves can perform what Rocky calls a ‘quick shift’, but he and Avalanche can. It’s a painful and disorienting two seconds for both of us that drains both of our energy. We’ve only performed it twice before. Once when I was eighteen and Dad showed me how and once when Zara was being attacked in front of the library. Rocky pushes forward and shifts as he lunges toward the broken window above Zara, smashing it outward. By the time he is through, the heavy weight of his paws is on the man’s chest, pushing him to the ground with a hard thud. People on the sidewalk scream and run from the terrifying sight. A searing pain in Rocky’s chest interrupts our forward momentum, but it doesn’t deter him from his target. He b

We take our time getting ready and finally make our way downstairs. Mom is in the kitchen preparing lunch, moving furiously around the room, making sure everything is just right. I can hear Dad in the dining room speaking with someone about sigmas.“Hi Mom.” I give her a kiss on the cheek and smirk at her. “Sorry we scared you.”“Keller Joseph.” She turns and points the tip of her knife at my nose, making me back my face away from her. “Just tell me you’re feeling better and we never have to- wait…” Mom grabs me by the shoulders and pulls my shirt collar to the side. A small smile comes over her face and she looks at Zara. She seems to forget about me completely and walks over to my mate. I watch Mom gently pull Zara’s shirt collar. The sight of Zara’s mark makes her gasp and pull Zara and Dillon into a powerful hug.“I’m so happy for you two!” She kisses Zara’s cheek with a little squeal. “When you get engaged, you’ll let me help with wedding planning, right?”Zara looks a little sp

“Are you okay?” Mom kneels down with a first aid kit and touches the sides of my face. She looks uncharacteristically worried. “You already look pale.” “It hurts, but I’m more worried about Zara than about myself.” I cringe as she pulls the makeshift bandage away. The sight of my hand makes her cringe, too. She looks at the bathroom door and listens to Zara wailing uncontrollably. She speaks to me and Dad through a mind link. “Estelle is on her way to check on you. They are sending the Doc through a portal since Dillon is in there with Zara. She thought it was for the best.” “I don’t know what happened. I took my eyes off of her for a second to make sure there weren’t any sharp objects around and she lunged at me.” I send a mind link back. My mouth opens wide in a silent scream when Mom turns my hand over and presses gauze against it, then looks at the gauze pad. “It didn’t even occur to me I had her trap-” “OWW! Goddess damn, Mom. That fucking hurts.” I say out loud through grit