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He winked when he said it, while Roark groaned upon hearing the invitation Logan had issued.

“I’m just going to step over here and grab the soap before I forget that Rusty asked for oatmeal honey this time,” Roark said, sliding over a booth while Emari launched into what he was sure was going to be an epically embarrassing story.

“See, this is why notepads and pens were created,” Emari began. “If you’d just introduce the two…”

“I swear if you finish that I will stand here and tell the story of your epic battle and Finnick the Ferret.”

“I counter your Finnick the Ferret story with the one about the swallows.”

Roark couldn’t believe his ears and stood there opening and closing his mouth like a fish out of water because talks of the swallows were not to be shared.

“I know I’m the new guy here,” Logan declared. “But I think that’s checkmate.”

Emari laughed. “Definitely. Now, where was I?”

“You were about to tell us at least one story after all the teasing you’ve done,” Logan pointed out.

“Already siding with the enemy,” Roark tsked. “I see how you are.”

“You should have seen how he was after tangling with a pesky pair of swallows determined to keep all the blueberries in the bush for themselves,” Emari said.

“Weren’t there more bushes?” Logan asked.

“Not any they were interested in,” Emari said, not just telling the story but acting it out, bird noises, flapping hands, and all. “Every time he reached for a berry, they flew at him, tweeting up a storm, dive bombing him and yanking his hair out until he finally fled the bush. Never have I seen a wolf so thoroughly defeated by a pair of tiny birds. It was carnage. Like watching tiny fighter planes zeroing in on a target.”

“You suck,” Roark grumbled over Logan and Wren’s laughter.

“Maybe,” Emari chuckled. “But I’ve never been defeated by a swallow.”

Chapter Ten

(Logan)

“That’s the last signature,” Brooks declared. “It’s my honor to declare you and Wren official members of the Comet Lake pack. Your registration will be filed here as well as with the High Council.”

“Thank you for expediting everything,” Logan said as he accepted the packet of official documents Brooks handed him and tucked it in his satchel.

“It was no trouble,” Brooks explained. “Are you ready for me to show you to the command center?”

“Command center?” Logan muttered. “Roark mentioned that I’d probably be working there but I still have no clue what it is.”

“I think you’ll like it,” Brooks said as he stepped past him on the way to the door, leaving Logan no option but to follow and try to keep up, which wasn’t easy.

Brooks’ long strides weren’t the issue, it was everything else there was to see as they headed down the hall. Outside each office, there were wide, square benches for wolves to wait on that looked hella comfortable no matter what form someone might be in. The artwork on the wall in this wing was an eclectic blend of beautiful landscapes and adorable marker and crayon creations that had clearly been made by pups from the school.

Logan saw names carefully printed in handwriting that was still developing. One even had a letter x’d out and replaced with the correct one.

“We change them out a few times a year and return them to the pups to hang at home,” Brooks explained when he caught Logan lingering. “Seeing them there serves as a reminder of who and what we’re supposed to be fighting for when we step into the council chamber.”

“The future,” Logan muttered as he finally turned away from the wall that had captured his attention.

“Exactly. It’s the responsibility of each generation to preserve the past, safeguard the present, and leave everything better than it was before they came along.”

“If only we could spread that philosophy to the rest of the packs.”

“All we can do is lead from the front and hope the rest follow us.”

Logan understood the point Brooks was making, even though it was grim to have to resort to hope when action would have been preferable to end the suffering of shifters who had no control over their futures. Comet Lake had already experienced an invasion when the Red River outlaws had infamously made it onto pack grounds only to be cut down in their efforts to secure a wolf they felt belonged to them. None of them left these lands alive. Logan had seen some of the images that had been circulated through underground channels, deliberately put out there by the wolves of Comet Lake as a warning to those who might be entertaining similar ideas.