Page 162 of Growls & Greeting Cards

I should know. Once they both settled on me, I was done for.

“I’m sure. Now the only question is … do we stop at one?”

Roderick snorts, tilting his head just enough to steal a quick kiss. “Whatever my mate wants.”

His mate. It’s been a month, but I’m still surprised by that word.

Once I decided Roderick would be mine forever, I didn’t want to wait. So, a week after the standoff with the Bear Valley pack, the Pine Falls pack gathered in the snowy backyard of the Jameson household. With the mountains in the background and the sky turning purple with twilight, I fed Roderick my perfect éclair, and he offered me lemon cream pie off his fingers, asking me to lick them clean.

I bit him, blood mixing with the lingering tart flavor. He groaned. In a happy way.

And when his teeth marked just above my heart, I didn’t flinch, not even when the buzz of magic flowed through me.

Now, I hear the wordmateevery day, and I love it. We’ve tied enough positive memories to the label to drown out the negative ones.

That’s not to say that I don’t still have anxiety attacks brought on by random things that remind me of Cory. Last one was a jingle of keys that sounded exactly like his set. The sound I would hear a moment before he walked through the front door.

But this time, when my mind wrenched me back to the past and I panicked outside of the grocery store, Roderick stood close, whispering reassuring words until I was calm enough for him to hold me.

It helps that I know my ex doesn’t remember me anymore. That he won’t be testing the Pine Falls territory boundary because he has no reason to. I’m free of him, and I can build my new life—and my new family—without worry.

“Bruce will eat her whole.” I mention Warner and Zoey’s giant mastiff.

“No. If she’s anything like her mama”—he tugs the end of my ponytail playfully—“she’ll have that big dog following her around like a sappy, lovesick puppy.”

I wrap an arm around Roderick’s waist and rest my head on his shoulder. “She should have a yard.”

“That’s why I fixed the fence.”

“And she should have her daddy living with her.”

Roderick’s muscles tense, then relax. “Is this your way of officially asking me to move in?”

“Well, you’re at my house most of the time anyway. We’re mated. Might as well make it official.” Glancing up, my eyes lock with his. “As long as you don’t mind living next door to your in-law.”

Roderick smiles wide. “Makes me feel better. Having a witch who loves you just down the road.”

“Makes me feel better too.” Though where the alpha wolf is thinking about safety, I’m thinking about family.

I still can’t believe how lucky I am to have found Pine Falls and all the wonderful people here. One day, I hope Roderick can have all his people again too. He received a postcard from Texas on Christmas, with a short message from his mom, explaining she has a job on a ranch, driving cattle. Maybe the rough work and time on her own will give Rebecca the space she needs to understand the hurt she caused and find a way to pay proper penance.

But life isn’t perfect. Sometimes, you lose the ones you love.

Today though, I have the chance to make my family grow.

“What do you want to name her?” I scratch behind the pup’s ear, and she licks my hand.

Roderick dips his chin until he’s eye to eye with the puppy. After a minute of contemplation, he straightens up.

“Pie.”

“You want to name our dog Pie?”

“It’s something we both love.”

“Good point.”

When we return to our little house on the outskirts of town with our new fur baby in tow, Roderick carries Pie to the tub for a bath while I pull out my box of paper crafts and start cutting out triangle-shaped cards. Readying announcements to be sent around town so that everyone can welcome Pie to the Adair-Jameson family.

I’m keeping my new name. Just like I’m keeping my new life.

As I work, my wolf settles Pie onto a plush bed in the corner of the kitchen. Then he presses a kiss to my lips before slipping on his apron and setting to work on our dog’s namesake.

I breathe in deep and sigh out a breath of pure happiness as I take in my little family.

Finally, I’m home.